The sun is just right in the morning and the old willows are shady.
Ji Ping'an looked up and saw a tall, thin man with a birthmark on his neck approaching.
Next to her, followed by a pretty young lady in a sarong, was "Honggu", holding a bamboo basket in her hand.
After rescuing the man yesterday, the man went to report it to the police. After all, the entire escort team was killed, and he, as a survivor, could not hide his return.
Afterwards, watching the sky darken, he rested his body for another night.
In the early morning, the young couple bought gifts to thank them.
"You are here." Ji Pingan smiled, glanced at the man, and said:
"If you survive the catastrophe, you will be able to survive."
The man hurriedly put on a smile, pulled his wife respectfully, knelt down and kowtowed in public, and said:
"Your Majesty Li Shenxian, please accept my and my husband's respects."
Ji Ping'an raised his eyebrows and said, "Just call me sir. Besides, I didn't do anything."
Hong Gu murmured: "Without Mr. Li Shen's guidance, I'm afraid my husband would have died in that suburb."
Not that... Ji Ping'an complained, but as the saying goes, do as the Romans do. After the two expressed their gratitude, he raised his hand, asked the young couple to sit down, and said curiously:
"I don't know what exactly happened to cause this difficulty?"
The man sighed and immediately recounted the story of his escort, which was basically the same as what he had told his family yesterday.
A coffin escorted from another county... a corpse?
Ji Ping'an wrote down this information and decided to order the Yuhang Dark Net to investigate. For such matters without clear direction, it would be more convenient to use the Dark Net.
After a brief exchange of greetings, the couple left with a lot of thanks, and then the small-eyed calligraphy and painting shop owner on the same street came over suspiciously:
"Boss Xiao Li, what just happened was..."
He saw the two people prostrating themselves.
Ji Ping'an said "Oh" and said with a smile: "It's nothing, the guest is just thanking you."
The owner of the calligraphy and painting shop was stunned, unable to contain his surprise.
What on earth could have happened that would allow someone to thank me so generously? But there was no one else around, so it wouldn't be a big deal if I thought about it.
Is it possible that this boss Li really has some skills?
…
The other side.
Honggu and his wife returned to their courtyard. As soon as they opened the courtyard door, they saw several old neighbors sitting in the courtyard, talking with the old couple.
"Dad, mother...this is..." Hong Gu was surprised.
The old man sat on the horse and heard the words: "The neighbors heard about the escort agency and came to take a look."
The couple understood that these days were different from the Earth that Ji Ping'an was familiar with. Neighbors had close relationships. The news hadn't spread yet last night.
Early this morning, all the neighbors came over and immediately pulled the young escort to ask questions. One of the rather elegant women suddenly looked at Hong Gu:
"I heard that you found a fortune teller to find it? Which one was it?"
The young lady glanced at the latter and knew that the other party's daughter was sold as a maid in the Pei family's mansion.
The Pei family was a large family, with many maids and servants, some of whom were bought, and some of whom were hired. They were paid monthly, and the family lived well in the neighborhood.
"It's a newly opened shop on Laoliu Street." Hong Gu blinked, "Auntie, why are you asking this? Are you asking for divination?"
The woman shook her head and said mysteriously: "It's not me, it's the Pei family."
Seeing that the attention of a group of neighbors was attracted, she said in a mysterious tone:
"Something seems to have happened to the Pei family recently. The old lady is looking for a capable Kanyu fortune teller in the city. My girl came back yesterday to talk about it and asked us to help find out. If the one Hong Gu is looking for is really capable, I'll send a letter to my girl later, and maybe I can recommend him to a big shot in the Pei family."
The implicit logic behind this sentence is:
If the person recommended by the maid is really an expert, then the old lady of the Pei family will definitely reward him.
The young lady was startled: "Why did Mr. Pei find so many fortune tellers?"
The woman shook her head and said:
"Who knows, maybe it has something to do with the new girl? Hey, you guys don't know, right? A few days ago, a girl from Zhongzhou came to seek refuge with the Pei family. I heard that the girl is very handsome. Woolen cloth."
…
…
In the next two days, Ji Ping'an's shop was still deserted.
Occasionally, people come to visit, and it's all trivial matters, such as asking about marriage, wealth, auspicious dates for weddings and funerals, and other miscellaneous matters.
This is normal, and it cannot be triggered by things involving practitioners every day.
The investigation of the saint Yu Yu has been repeatedly frustrated.
The drama girl went from being high-spirited at the beginning, to being tired of running for her life, to being dejected at the end.
Fully understand the complexity of the world.
"It's a mess, and I can't find anything useful at all." During dinner, Yu Yu slapped the table angrily, his mouth pursed, looking like a defeated rooster.
Ji Ping'an asked with a smile: "Isn't it possible? It shouldn't be difficult to investigate using Taoism."
Although Yu Yu has no talent for detective work, he can cheat in Taoist magic. But when he mentioned this, the girl became even more aggrieved:
"I went to investigate as you said, and found out that people from the government had taken the lead."
"oh?"
"Even the local Yamen of the Demon Slayer Division in Yuhang is also investigating this matter. I am not familiar with the place, so I can't compare with them." Yu Yu said angrily, "It's not that our army is incompetent, it's just that the enemy is too cunning." posture.
Ji Ping'an smiled and said:
"I heard that the military attache of the Yuhang Demon Slaying Division is also a woman. I remember you said before you came that you wanted to compete with her. But now you haven't seen her, so why did you lose?"
Yu Yu stared at him with wide eyes and angrily, his chest rising and falling under his pink skirt. Then he threw down his chopsticks and angrily went back to his room and ignored him.
Huang He, who was holding a rice bowl next to him, was trembling and didn't dare to say a word.
Mu Yaoyao buried her little face in the huge celadon bowl, immersed in her own world.
Only Ji Ping'an smiled and found it quite interesting to tease this girl, but there was a thought in his eyes:
"Is the court already investigating? It seems I have to hurry up."
…
That night.
After nightfall, Ji Ping'an woke up from his meditation, quietly opened the door and walked out of the yard. At the same time, he grabbed a page of Taoist scriptures in his arms and shook it gently.
A strange wooden stick with a withered yellow background and green accents, thick at the top and thin at the bottom fell out.
Ji Ping'an held down the "Mountain God Scepter" with one hand and tapped the ground gently. The khaki halo of light swayed. He took a step and walked a long distance in an instant.
Shrink to an inch!
Although he can also directly mobilize the power of the "Suppression" star to control the earth escape, it is undoubtedly more labor-saving to use the Mountain God Staff.
At the same time, the air twists.
Wearing a black wizard robe, Jiang Jiang came out with a pale face and a dull expression, raised his finger, and tapped Ji Ping'an lightly.
The latter's figure entered a translucent state, shrinking into an inch without restraint, and speeding on the street under the night.
Tonight is the last day of this month. According to the information read from Ling Popi's memory the day before yesterday, there will be a gathering of the Four Saints in the city.
"I hope that the disappearance of the rogue and the court's investigation will not alert others."
Ji Ping'an walked through the wide streets like a ghost.
There were carriages and carriages along the way, and pedestrians turned a blind eye to his existence, as if they didn't see him at all.
Jiang Jiang was more direct, following him like a female ghost. When he encountered a carriage, he didn't go around it and just "walked through" it. Ji Ping'an looked envious.
With the blessing of magic, one person and one spirit are incredibly fast.
Less than half an hour later, they had arrived at a residential area in Dongcheng.
Compared with the bustling and bustling core area centered on the Qinhuai River, this place is quite remote and there are not many lights.
Ji Pingping followed his "memory" and arrived at a certain alley, which was still empty.
Tonight, the stars and moon are thin, making it extraordinarily dark. Jiang Jiang floats in the air, his figure blending perfectly into the darkness, leaving only a pale face floating, looking quite strange.
At this time, his paint-like eyes turned and said:
"It looks like you came here in vain."
"Shh." Ji Ping'an leaned against the wall and said, "It's still early."
Sure enough, after a while, a sneaky figure came like a brown bear on the street in the distance.
Astonishingly, there was a man with a slightly tall build, but he was wrapped in thick clothes and covered his face with a black cloth. Only a pair of eyes were exposed, looking around.
Oblivious to the two men so close to each other, he waited patiently.
Then, a slightly stooped woman came over, also with her face covered, then a short man, and then a woman who looked young.
Everyone came silently from different directions. They all covered their faces and looked at each other silently. The atmosphere was quiet and strange.
Ji Ping'an looked at these people, and it was slightly different from what he imagined. These believers did not seem to be practitioners, but mostly mortals, including men, women, old and young.
However, the "Four Holy Sects" at that time also attracted a large number of mortals to make money and support the operation and expansion of the entire sect.
"If the warriors who kidnapped the escort are also in the Four Holy Sects, they should be the real members of the sect, and these mortals are the outermost believers."
Ji Ping'an thought about it and was not disappointed.
After all, even gangsters can participate, so it's not a high-end gathering.
"Why is there one missing?" In the silence, the earliest burly cultist spoke, and then shook his head, "No more. Come with me."
With that said, he led the group of people towards the depths of the alley.
Ji Ping'an and Jiang Jiang looked at each other and followed them silently. The group went around and around for a long time before finally arriving at a private house.
After exchanging the code with the masked warrior inside the door, he was able to enter the house. They also recited the sacred prayers one by one to verify their identities.
Finally, I was able to enter the house. When I opened the curtain, my dark vision suddenly became brighter.
Ji Ping'an mingled in the team and saw a table placed in an empty house.
A circle of oil lamps is lit above it, and a cloth with strange patterns is spread on the ground, creating a mysterious atmosphere.
Inside the house, about forty or fifty people had gathered, divided into several teams.
Sitting next to the oil lamp table was a mysterious man wearing a black robe, covering his whole body, and he was coldly scanning a group of believers.
"See the Altar Master!" the believers said in unison.
The Lord in Black!
Ji Ping'an's eyes lit up. This person was the one who ordered the rogues to distribute the "Encyclopedia of Immortality" in the memory obtained by Wen Ling.
Hearing this, the Altar Master who was sitting on the chair slowly stood up.
Under the illumination of lamps and candles, his figure was projected on the wall, distorted into terrifying light and shadow, and an indescribable sense of oppression filled the air.
The eyes of the group of believers became increasingly fanatical.
"Very good," the altar owner said in a rough voice, and glanced at everyone with cold eyes, "There has been a lot of noise recently. The court's hawks and dogs are trying to destroy our holy religion. When you come here, will anyone follow you?"
The congregants shook their heads and denied it, scrambling to emphasize that they had only arrived after repeated confirmation.
The altar owner said "En", raised his hand and lowered it, making the atmosphere much quieter, and said calmly:
"That's very good. Since some saints are here for the first time today, or they still don't understand the Holy Religion, if you have any questions, feel free to ask them."
After finishing speaking, a tightly wrapped man in the crowd said:
"Altar Master, will the Holy Master really return to the human world?"
The black-robed altar leader said:
"Of course! Kyushu is about to face a catastrophe of destruction, and our Holy Religion comes out of necessity. The Holy Master has awakened from his slumber. Now we are assigned to spread the teachings in order to welcome the return of the Holy Master."
"What is a Saint Master? Eons ago, there were four Saints in heaven and earth. Dao Zun, Buddha, Demon Patriarch...were the third among them. The ones we inherit are the mantle of the fourth Saint Master. These are the 'Four Saints'. 'The origin of the name..."
The black-clothed altar leader’s voice was passionate and he began to read the brainwashing tactics loudly.
Ji Ping'an stood on the edge of the crowd, his expression moving slightly.
As a thousand-year-old living fossil, he holds far more secrets than ordinary people, so he naturally knows the details of the Four Holy Religions.
The so-called "four saints" theory is purely to put gold on one's face. The first three can indeed be called saints. After all, they are traceable and are the source figures of several major lineages.
The Piru Taoist system was founded by Tao Zun after he obtained the "Tao Jing Heavenly Book".
But this fourth "Holy Master" is purely made up. Its true identity is a demon named "Magic Master" from thousands of years ago.
He calls himself "the Patriarch of the Demonic Way", is not at odds with good and evil in the Taoist Alliance, and is indeed extremely powerful.
The former Four Saints leader received part of the magician's inheritance.
He had mentioned this not long ago that night when he met the owner of Tingxue Tower.
"After all these years, is it still the same?" Ji Ping'an shook his head, physically disgusted with such rhetoric that fooled the people.
However, putting aside these boastful words, two pieces of information are more critical, namely:
The Holy Lord revives and the Holy Master returns.
The latter can be understood as a slogan, but the former... the so-called "Holy Lord" undoubtedly refers to the "Four Holy Lords".
There is no doubt that Ji Ping'an beat him physically and mentally with his own hands, but the altar owner claimed that he had revived and assigned them to preach.
"Is it just a lie to deceive the people, or is there someone pretending to be the leader of the Four Saints? Manipulating things behind the scenes, trying to imitate the Four Saints of the past? Making trouble?"
Ji Ping'an thought for a while.
The lecture has also been completed.
The believers in the room were drunk, and they all believed:
The great calamity is approaching, and only by believing in the Holy Master can we avoid the calamity of death and become a master.
Seeing that the brainwashing was successful, the altar leader in black nodded with satisfaction. With a flick of his wrist, he lifted up the cloth with runes on the ground.
Underneath is a simple altar. According to the folk sacrifice method, fragrant rice, cloth, jade, incense, dishes and other items are placed.
A group of people knelt in a circle with hula and began to chant and worship.
Jiang Jiang floated in the air and glanced at Ji Pingan, meaning:
"Aren't you going to take action yet?"
Ji Ping'an shook his head, his lips moved silently, and said with his lips:
"Look again."
Although he believed that the so-called sacrifice was fake, he still wanted to see clearly what these people were doing.
Gradually, as the incense burned, green smoke curled up.
A mysterious and mysterious aura spread out around the altar.
Those mortal believers all felt that their bodies and minds were empty, as if they were wrapped in a vast and mysterious power, and they couldn't help but become more pious and awe-struck.
The rising green smoke slowly condensed into an illusory eyeball without eyelashes.
At this moment, his eyes suddenly trembled slowly, and the expression of the altar master in black who was originally presiding over the sacrifice changed, and he said sternly:
"Who's hiding nearby!"
Jiang Jiang's dull face showed human surprise, and he looked at Ji Pingan, meaning:
Have we been discovered?
She was a little unsure. After all, Miss Qi Ling was extremely confident in her spells, and it was impossible for the entire group of followers to see through her disguise.
"Crack!"
As he finished speaking, there was a sudden crisp click sound on the roof, and several warriors guarding the courtyard drew their swords:
"There's someone on the roof!"
At the same time, using some strange secret method, the eavesdropper, whose figure was hidden, flew down into the courtyard like a big bird. His right hand touched his waist and his wrist flicked.
"Ding ding ding!"
In the darkness, several rays of silver light cut through the night, like heavy rain, colliding with the swords of those warriors, and some people immediately cried out in pain.
inside the house.
The altar leader in black roared and rushed out of the house. What was a little strange was that the people seemed not to notice and still knelt down to pray.
outside the house.
Fang Ling, who was wearing night clothes and covering his whole body, threw out hidden weapons and suppressed a group of Qi-nurturing warriors.
This woman, who is known in the neighborhood as a shrewd woman who usually only wears a sarong skirt and beats her son with a wooden stick, showed another side of her.
The Jianghu side.
At this moment, Fang Ling tiptoed to the ground, not daring to stay any longer. A mouthful of spiritual essence sank into his dantian, and his trouser legs tightened with a snap, flying towards the courtyard wall like a sharp arrow.
Originally, with her strength, she prepared a sneak attack and waited for an opportunity to capture the altar leader.
But the aura coming from the altar made her instinctively feel fearful.
"Where to go!"
At this moment, the sound of the wind seemed to break, and Fang Ling, who jumped into the air, suddenly felt a chill coming down his back.
In her mind, her rationality began to fade away, all kinds of evil thoughts in her heart were drawn away, and her eyes became cloudy and bloodshot.
His body that should have been light suddenly became heavy, and even his thoughts began to slow down.
She turned around with difficulty and caught a glimpse of the altar master in black who was also jumping up behind her, only a few feet away from her.
I could see that he was holding a thin blade in his hand, with a black and red aura lingering on it. Under the black robe, on a looming twisted face, there were two blood-red and violent eyes.
The weapon in his hand was a magical weapon, and the method he used was clearly the magic method recorded in "The Book of Immortals".
At this moment, Fang Ling realized with horror that she had lost the ability to resist, and could only watch the blade stabbing at her heart inch by inch.
There was confusion, confusion and unwillingness in her eyes.
According to her judgment, the other party's force should not be so much stronger than her own.
That's right, magic suppression... The opponent hid his trump card, perhaps in order to cope with the possible arrest by officials tonight.
Prepared early.
However, her pure martial arts skills and the strange techniques she mastered were all restrained by the opponent.
Desperate situation!
"No..." Fang Ling screamed sadly in her heart. At the end of her life, she was thinking of her seven-year-old little chubby boy.
But it was already too late.
However, at this critical moment, Fang Ling suddenly saw in shock that a right hand with well-proportioned and clear joints was outlined in the void.
He accurately grasped the black-clothed Altar Master's wrist and squeezed it gently. The sound of bone cracking was extremely clear in the night.
Ji Ping'an didn't know when he appeared between the two of them, his eyes were indifferent, and he deliberately said in a hoarse voice:
"Killing someone in front of someone, have you ever asked me?!"
…
Correct typos first and then correct them
(End of chapter)
