rustle……
The drizzle was falling, hitting the window paper of Mingyuan Building, making a soft sound.
Song Xuezheng bowed slightly, carefully raised his eyes, and looked at the "sword holder" who was sitting behind the desk and meditating.
Dare not speak.
There was silence in the room for a while, and then Ji Pingan came back to his senses. He tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of Huanghuali chair, as if thinking, and said:
“Are the darknet killers in place now?”
As a Jianghu organization, in addition to the "hidden officials" buried in various places on the dark web who are responsible for maintaining the operation of the organization and collecting intelligence, what really scares the people of Jianghu is the killer system.
Before Ji Ping'an came to Yuhang, he ordered Han Bachi to mobilize some elites to Yuhang. Later, after confirming that there was no problem with Song Xuezheng, he handed them over to him for coordination.
"Your Majesty, all the personnel are in place. According to your order, they are all placed outside the city and can be mobilized at any time."
Song Xuezheng was startled at first, surprised by the turn of the topic, but he quickly answered.
Ji Pingan nodded with satisfaction, thought for a moment, and said:
"Assemble people to the city. They may be needed in the next few days. Then we will use the token to call for contact. No matter what happens in the past few days, it is best not to wander around so that we can find you more easily."
Song Xuezheng's heart trembled, wondering if the sword holder was finally going to show his fangs. He was both uneasy and inexplicably excited, and hurriedly said:
"As you command!"
Ji Ping'an said "yes" and was about to leave, but Song Xuezheng stopped him and said:
"Sir, I haven't reported to you the major events that have happened in the city these days, such as the Pei family and the deployment of the White House..."
Ji Ping'an waved his hand and said, "I already know."
After saying that, the figure twisted and disappeared out of thin air. Only Song Xuezheng was left in the room.
He waited respectfully for a while, then let out a deep breath, sat back in his seat, picked up a handkerchief and wiped his forehead, his eyes thoughtful.
The last sentence just now was regarded as a small "test" for him, it seems now.
"Could it be that the attack on Banyue Villa was also the work of the sword holder? Just like the Four Holy Sects before? Sure enough, the real power of the dark web is far more terrifying than I expected. As a hidden official, I wonder if I have only touched the huge iceberg. A corner."
Song Xue was looking at the cold rain outside the window, his awe grew stronger.
…
The Demon Slayer Division.
The Yamen in the night is much less evil, and a lantern with the Chinese character "Yamen" written on it under the lintel is swaying gently.
In the hall, Ye Hongling sat alone in a chair, closing her eyes and thinking about the day's experience.
Her black cloak was hanging casually aside, and her sword was leaning diagonally on her right hand side, which was the most suitable position for drawing the sword.
After a long time, she opened her eyes and sighed softly:
"A person who comes back from the dead..."
If the previous investigation was still not clear through a layer of window paper, Sun Xianzu's actions made many things clear.
Ye Hongling still didn't know the whole story, but with the information she had, she was able to piece together the truth.
"The stars returned to their positions, the spiritual elements revived, and people who should have died were resurrected one by one. The Four Holy Religions were revived, and the skills that had disappeared from history reappeared... So, it was the people in the history books who were resurrected? Incredible."
"The Military Mansion, Qin Tian Jian, Dao Sect, Beast Control Sect... and the powerful warrior who came to see me before... are all looking for these people."
Ye Hongling whispered softly, still finding it difficult to accept this guess.
But it seems that only this explanation can perfectly explain all the abnormalities that have happened recently.
what to do?
Continue to act stupid?
Do you think you know nothing?
Emperor Yuan Qing obviously didn't trust the local officials. Of course she could pretend not to know, but in addition to being an official, she was also an extremely talented practitioner.
There is obviously a big secret brewing in Kyushu, and all the major factions have come to an end. How can Ye Hongling be willing to turn a blind eye?
"Dong dong." At this time, there was a knock on the door.
Then came the voice of a trusted official: "Chief Secretary, there's something going on."
Ye Hongling said in a deep voice: "Come in."
The door opened, and the short, fat official's robe was soaked through. There were still raindrops on his round face, but his little eyes were extremely bright:
"Secretary Chief, you asked us to pay attention to the Nangong family. There is a situation..."
Ye Hongling sat up straight and said in a deep voice: "Sit down and talk carefully."
…
…
Laoliu Street, a quiet place.
When Ji Ping'an held an oil-paper umbrella and walked back to the back door of the shop and returned to his residence, the night was already dark.
The whole street was plunged into darkness.
But the lights in the rooms in the small courtyard were all on, and when I heard movement, it was like the "silhouettes" imprinted on the window lattice were twisting, and then there was the sound of the door being pushed almost simultaneously.
"Master!" Huang He's eyes lit up, "You are back."
Mu Yaoyao and Yu Yu were also standing at the door, looking expectant. The former was just curious and wanted to hear the gossip. The latter accused with his arms akimbo:
"Why did you come back?"
Seeing that Jian Zheng was not there, the drama queen became angry again.
Ji Ping'an glanced at the three people and motioned to enter the room. As soon as the four people sat down around the round table, Yu Yu took the lead in asking questions, asking the whole story of what happened today.
Ji Ping'an then slowly explained how he had met Jian Zheng so early and how he had planned his plan. However, the "Black Gold Pawn Shop" and the letter from "Nangong" were not mentioned.
The three of them were stunned for a moment, just like listening to a story about a tea house.
"I see. So, the imperial court realized that it could no longer hide it, so it simply stopped pretending and chose to use thunderous means to close the net?"
Yu Yubai's tender little hand slapped the table, showing his wisdom in seeing through the truth.
Huang He muttered:
"This is going to be troublesome. With the imperial court's control over various places, when it comes to collecting clues and arresting targets, I'm afraid no one can do it. And it will be difficult for all parties to go to the major military offices to snatch it."
Ji Ping'an was very indifferent:
"Not necessarily. You know, in a big city like Yuhang City, the core of Jiangnan, Sun Xianzu only arrested a few people, and only one of them was indeed a reborn person. What does that mean?"
Mu Yaoyao's eyes lit up and she raised her hand to answer:
"It means he has bad luck."
"..." Ji Pingan glanced at her and continued:
"It shows that this kind of arrest is hasty and very inefficient. Most of the reborn people are extremely smart people. How can they just sit back and wait for death?"
Huang He agreed:
"Young master, that's what you said. Especially after such an experience, I'm afraid the hidden reborns will hide even deeper... Hey, is this the purpose of the court? They are worried that after the major forces enter the scene, more and more reborns will The emergence of new targets will undermine the control of the royal family, so why do you do this to scare away potential targets and delay their return to their respective sects?"
Ji Ping'an praised:
"It is indeed a possibility."
Yu Yu couldn't help but get annoyed when he saw that the two of them were talking about each other, but he couldn't get into his mouth. He snorted and raised his white chin:
"What's the use of saying this."
Ji Ping'an glanced at her: "What do you think of the saint?"
Yu Yu's delicate little face had a corner of his mouth, and he proudly grabbed an invitation and slapped it on the table:
"Here, look at this."
"What's this?"
Yu Yu said with a smile:
"Invitation from the Nangong family. Several of us came back before, and this saint was at the forefront and returned first. Then I bumped into the person who came to deliver the invitation, saying that tomorrow a woman in her family would hold a wedding ceremony...
In fact, invitations have been sent out a few days ago. It may be that it was only in the past two days that I learned that you were Pei's guest. The fortune teller in the city who has recently become famous also came to make up for it..."
It's Nangong again... Ji Ping'an was stunned for a moment.
Then, I heard the saint say mysteriously:
"However, I have vaguely heard in the past two days that a young man from the Nangong family seems to have suddenly risen to prominence. Well, although I haven't conducted an in-depth investigation yet, it looks suspicious. I think we can take advantage of this opportunity to visit the spot. …”
Ji Ping'an didn't hear much of the rest of the words, he just opened the invitation and started thinking about it.
Huang He and Mu Yaoyao next to them were greatly surprised. They did not expect that the saint would go behind everyone's back and get a big clue, and they were suddenly moved:
"Sir, what do you think?"
I think there's something wrong with this... Ji Pingan muttered in his heart, looking at Yu Yu's proud face, as if he was finally feeling proud and proud.
After all, he couldn't bear to tell her that the news this time was not only second-hand, but also deeply suspicious.
After pondering for a moment, he said:
"It's okay to take a look. Let's go together tomorrow."
After the three of them received the order, they suddenly felt very energetic and stood up to leave.
After everyone left, Ji Ping'an gently tapped the invitation on the table, flipped his wrist, took out the octagonal astrolabe, and used the invitation as a medium to perform rounds of divination.
…
A night of silence.
The next morning, Yu Yu got up early and started organizing. Knock on the door.
When Ji Pingan opened the door, he yawned and said:
"Why are you so anxious? Are you afraid that people will run away?"
Yu Yu crossed his arms and snorted, looking arrogant:
"You are lazy. It took you so long to come out. Let's eat first."
Ji Ping'an shook his head and said:
"I'm not very hungry. I'll go out and meet the neighbors first to prevent rumors from spreading."
After the three of them came back yesterday, although they explained to the neighbors, Ji Ping'an felt that it would be safer to just brush their faces, at least to reassure the landlord Fang Ling.
Yu Yu looked at his back after being discharged from the hospital, suddenly frowned and muttered:
"Why does it feel a little weird?"
Sure enough, after Ji Ping'an appeared in public, some neighborhood rumors were dispelled. Everyone suddenly realized and felt relieved and did not become suspicious.
In their simple cognition, being brought back by the government in a big way, of course it was okay.
Later in the evening, the group of four people did not use the escape technique. Instead, they took a rented carriage and left Yuhang City, heading towards the target location along the official road.
Huang He was driving, and Mu Yaoyao held her stomach with a grimace after getting in the car. She hadn't eaten in the morning. According to her, she had an empty stomach and was preparing to have a big meal after the banquet.
Yu Yu sneered at this, feeling that as a saint she needed to be dignified, so she ate very well and tried not to lose her share at the banquet.
As for Ji Ping'an, he closed his eyes and fell asleep after getting in the car.
When Yu Yu talked to him, he didn't respond very positively. He looked very sleepy and drowsy.
The saint frowned, and the strange feeling in her heart became stronger, but she couldn't find the reason.
…
Nangong's family is located in a separate village dozens of miles outside Yuhang City. Taking into account the road problem, the hairpin ceremony was held in the afternoon and lasted until evening. Guests could stay overnight and return the next day.
When the group approached Zhuangzi, they found that the carriages and horses on the road began to get denser. When they arrived outside Nangong Villa, they were immediately overwhelmed by the dense carriages.
"So old people? Are they all here to attend a haircut ceremony?" Mu Yaoyao covered her stomach, extremely surprised.
Huang He explained:
"The Nangong family's business is spread all over Lanzhou, and they have stronger control over merchants than the Pei family. At today's banquet, dignitaries may not come, or send a servant such as a butler to deliver gifts, but in the Yuhang Chamber of Commerce, large and small How can small merchants and wealthy employees dare to miss out?"
Ji Ping'an opened his eyes from his deep sleep, saw this and got out of the carriage, and said:
"Let's go in together."
When everyone approached the door of the manor, which occupies a large area and is surrounded by mountains and rivers, and presented their invitations, servants of the Nangong family eagerly led the way.
The four of them entered the manor along the main road. Along the way, they saw an endless stream of businessmen of all kinds, many of whom held hands with each other and "looked up to each other for a long time," highlighting a business exchange.
In contrast, customers in other areas are clearly separated from merchants.
"Mr. Ji... Li! Are you also invited?"
Suddenly, Ji Ping'an heard someone waving from a pavilion in the distance. It turned out to be Chief Qiu Shan, who was wearing a Confucian scholar's robe.
Only one night later, we met again by chance.
Ji Ping'an walked over and nodded with a smile: "Chief, we meet again."
At the same time, the four people also attracted the attention of some other literati in the pavilion.
Obviously, there is a small circle of literati among this group of guests, and Chief Qiu Shan is quite prestigious among them. He immediately made a few vague introductions and learned that they were guests of the Pei family, an expert from the Qi family. The group of literati suddenly became much more polite. Invited to take a seat.
Ji Ping'an didn't refuse, he sat down happily and said with a smile:
"Has the party not started yet?"
Qiu Shanchang said "En" and pointed to the guests gathered scattered in the huge garden:
"It won't start until later. After all, there are still guests who haven't arrived yet."
Another scholar also held a folding fan, shook his head and said:
"I accepted the invitation after I heard that Song Xuezheng was also coming. Otherwise, why would I have traveled such a long way to gather with a group of businessmen?"
In the chain of contempt of the Great Zhou Dynasty, merchants were at the bottom. Jiangnan had a prosperous literary style, and scholars habitually suppressed them.
Another person sighed: "I heard that I was originally going to come, but it rained last night and Song Xue was suffering from cold. It is inconvenient to come."
Suddenly, a group of literati sighed and lamented, looking aggrieved that "we didn't want to come here." They did not mention their desire to have a good relationship with the Nangong family.
Ji Ping'an didn't say anything. He smiled at everyone's reaction and thought:
Lao Song was quite obedient. He said he wouldn't let him run out, but he really stopped moving.
At this time, he glanced across the huge garden and saw some "acquaintances" one after another, such as "Zhou Banxian" who he had met once before, but he looked depressed for some reason.
It's as if "yesterday, someone broke into the house and beat me up and tortured me for information. Today, I was forced to go to work even though I was injured under the coercion of the leader. I am guilty of meritorious service and came here to gather information."
Another example is Pei's housekeeper, whose family members are not suitable to attend any banquet due to the funeral of the eldest son.
There are also some officials in the government office. Their official positions are not big, and they probably have the attitude of a prefect.
Ji Ping'an searched several times but did not see the young man named "Nangong Aotian" in the intelligence.
Just when he was about to find someone to ask.
Suddenly, there was a commotion at the gate of the manor, and then a voice shouted: "The Master of Sanqing Temple has arrived."
In an instant, the four people hiding in the pavilion turned their heads at the same time, especially Yu Yu, who looked even more surprised.
I wonder why the people from Yuhang Daomen are here too? Attending an unimportant ceremony from a second-rate family?
Even if someone is sent to congratulate, given the status of the Taoist sect, at most one deacon or even an ordinary Taoist can be sent here to give face.
How can we get the Taoist monk from Yuhang, whose rank is comparable to the "abbot" of Buddhism, and who is also an elder in the main altar of the Taoist sect in Shendu, to come and congratulate him in person?
Ji Ping'an also looked over, and saw several Taoist monks wearing Taoist robes, holding fly whisks in their hands, and carrying the Taoist spirit of immortality floating over.
He narrowed his eyes and said in a voice that only he could hear:
"It's getting more and more interesting."
…
Near the Nangong Family Manor, on a hilltop.
A captain of the Demon Slaying Division moved the magic weapon that looked like a mirror tube away from his eyes, bowed and trotted towards the dense forest behind him.
Immediately he stopped and said, "Secretary Chief, the people from Sanqing Temple have entered."
In the forest, the sun pierced through the trees, and the mottled light shone on Ye Hongling's black cloak. The female warrior sat cross-legged and meditated with her eyes closed.
Hearing this, he opened his eyes, his face filled with an unexpected expression:
"Where is Yin Yang Academy? Has anyone been sent here?"
The captain shook his head:
"I didn't see it. But you asked me to keep an eye on it. Master Li Gua from Yijingzhai is indeed among the guests."
Ye Hongling suddenly understood and closed her eyes again: "Continue to observe."
"yes!"
After the captain left, Lin Zhong was among the demon-slaying siwufu nearby, and someone asked:
"Chief Chief, are we just going to wait like this? How about we go in and have a look? It's not like we don't have an invitation."
According to the rules, enough invitations from aristocratic families must be distributed. People don’t have to come, but you can’t not invite them.
Therefore, although the Demon Slayer Division almost never attended any banquet organized by non-governmental organizations, the invitations were still sent in advance.
Ye Hongling ignored him. She just wanted to find out something and had no intention of jumping into some high-level struggle.
"Just wait a little longer."
…
Inside the manor.
As soon as the people from the Taoist sect appeared, they immediately attracted the attention of everyone.
Even the merchants were shocked and didn't know what was happening. You must know that the imperial government was already the highest power within their reach.
As for the Master of Sanqing Temple, in the eyes of mortals, he is already a great figure at the level of "god".
Although the Nangong family also has a large number of martial arts practitioners, they do not dare to neglect them at all.
Suddenly, in the main hall of the main house, the head of the Nangong family, who was accompanying some distinguished guests, and the core members of the clan, hurriedly stepped out to welcome them.
The head of the Nangong family, who was in his prime, with black hair and a rather elegant appearance, looked surprised:
"The master of the temple is here in person, and Nangong's Pengpi is shining brightly, please come quickly!"
Among the several Taoists, the leader was an old man with white hair and a childlike face. His expression was dull, neither happy nor sad.
Hearing this, he only glanced at the whole audience, hesitated for a moment, seemed to find a certain name difficult to say, but still said:
"Nangong...Aotian, where are you?"
…
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(End of chapter)
