Gu Xu had a dream.
He dreamed that he was back in his childhood, fighting with a child wearing a golden shirt.
The boy was born with a strong body, and Gu Xu was no match for him. He was soon beaten until his nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and his consciousness was paralyzed.
Then, the boy in gold clothes grabbed him by the collar, dragged him to a small dark room, and kicked him in.
"Just stay in there, there's no need to come out."
As the boy spoke, he closed the door with a bang and locked Gu Xu in the room.
Gu Xu shouted for help in the small dark room and kept punching and kicking the door, but no one could hear his voice.
…………
I don't know how much time passed, but Gu Xu finally woke up leisurely.
He slowly opened his eyes and found himself lying in a dark basement. There were moss marks on the gray-black rock walls, and there was a smell of dampness and decay in the air.
The only light source in the room was a candle on a wooden stand nearby. The orange flame was swaying and seemed to be extinguished at any time.
Under him was a narrow, old wooden bed. As long as he moves a little bit, it will make a harsh "crunch" sound.
"Master Gu, you are finally awake." At this moment, a light and soft female voice came from beside him.
This voice is very familiar, but even though Gu Xu has a memory far beyond ordinary people, he can't remember where he heard it.
He turned his head and saw a woman with slim shoulders and slim waist guarding the bed. She wore a dark green short coat, an embroidered pleated skirt, and a half-face fox mask, with pale lips and a gracefully curved chin exposed under the mask.
The half of her face exposed, her quiet and elegant temperament, and the faint fragrance on her body also gave Gu Xu a very familiar feeling.
"What is this place? Who are you? How long have I been sleeping?" He slowly sat up on the bed and asked the woman wearing the fox mask.
"This is a secret branch of Qing Ming in Xin'an County," the woman chuckled and replied, "You slept for three whole days and three nights.
"As for my identity... Mr. Gu, please forgive me, I don't want to tell you yet."
"Three days and three nights..." Gu Xu took a deep breath, not expecting that he had slept for so long. The Da Qi court must have laid a dragnet and waited for him outside.
At the same time, he also noticed that the scorching true energy was surging in his meridians, containing majestic power.
Apparently, after three days and three nights of rest, his nearly depleted true energy had been completely restored.
"Master Gu, in the previous battle, your true energy was greatly overdrawn and almost damaged your foundation," the woman in green continued, "So, while you were unconscious, the leader of our 'Qing Ming' Wenchang Xingjun specially gave you the 'Yi Shen Yang Yuan Dan', so that your true energy can be quickly restored during sleep to avoid any sequelae."
At this point, she paused for a moment, touched her chin with her slender fingers, and said in a teasing tone: "Looking at how soundly and deeply you sleep, it must have been a long time since you had a good night's sleep."
Gu Xu looked at her and did not deny it.
Because monks can use practice instead of sleeping, Gu Xu has spent almost all his sleeping time practicing since he traveled to this world.
Although it was harmless to the body, his spirit was tense for a long time and never relaxed.
It was obvious that the woman in green wearing a fox mask knew herself very well.
But Gu Xu thought about it again and again, but still couldn't recognize who she was.
At this time, he lowered his head and suddenly realized that the clothes he was wearing were no longer the plain blue shirt, but a clean and dust-free white single garment. The material was light and soft, and it smelled refreshing. Fresh fragrance.
"This shirt—"
"——I changed it for you," before Gu Xu could finish the question, the woman in green rushed to answer, "Your original clothes were soaked in sweat and covered with dust during the battle... I can I don’t want to dirty this new bedding.”
Gu Xu thought to himself: It turns out that I was in a coma and was seen naked without even realizing it.
But then he thought about it and felt that as a grown man, he shouldn't care too much about this kind of thing.
So without changing his expression, he politely thanked the other party.
The woman in green covered her mouth and chuckled, imitating his polite tone and said, "You're welcome."
Her voice was clear and graceful, like a warbler's call in spring.
Then she said: "By the way, Master Gu, our leader said that he wants to meet you after you wake up."
Gu Xu nodded and said: "No problem. I also wanted to thank him personally for saving his life."
Gu Xu was very curious about the identity of "Wenchang Xingjun", the leader of the "Qing Ming" organization.
He really wanted to know what kind of person it was that so many masters were willing to serve for him, and they dared to provide him with shelter under the overwhelming pursuit of the Da Qi court.
…………
The woman in green called three girls dressed as maids to help Gu Xu wash and dress.
They all wore masks so that Gu Xu could not see their true appearance.
In each of their hands, they held a piece of clothing, including a lining, a robe and a belt.
The woman in green took the clothes from their hands and put them on for Gu Xu herself.
Gu Xu was not used to this feeling of being served.
"I'll do it myself," he said.
But the woman in green shook her head repeatedly and held the clothes firmly in her hands: "'Wenchang Xingjun' has told me to serve you well and provide you with treatment worthy of your status."
"My current status is just that of a fugitive. How can I deserve such treatment?" Gu Xu said with a self-deprecating smile.
The woman in green didn't bother to argue with him.
Without saying a word, she put the black brocade robe embroidered with gold thread on him, then bent down and Gu Xu tied the jade belt carefully.
Then, she pushed Gu Xu to a wicker chair, took out a small wooden comb, and ran her green jade fingers through his hair. She quickly tied his messy black hair into a bun, and then replaced it. He put on a small white jade crown.
After doing this, she held up the fox mask and her eyes stayed on him for a long time, lost in thought.
"You are so handsome..." she murmured.
"What did you say?" Gu Xu didn't hear clearly.
"I would like to say that a man's clothes depend on his saddle," the woman in green smiled, "A handsome man like Mr. Gu should spend more time dressing up so that you can fully show off your beauty."
As she spoke, she took out the bronze mirror she carried with her for makeup and placed it in front of Gu Xu.
Gu Xu looked at himself in the mirror quietly.
His face is like a crown jade, his eyes are like bright stars, his facial features are beautiful, his appearance is beautiful, and he looks like a fairy.
In his memory, every time his level improved, someone would praise him for "looking more handsome than before."
But the problem is that it has never been mentioned in the books that practice can improve a person's appearance.
Could it be that this is his unique talent?
Gu Xu couldn't figure it out for the moment.
…………
Then, the woman in green led Gu Xu to a dark and narrow conference room.
There were already seven or eight people wearing different masks in the room, sitting on both sides of an old wooden long table. On a wooden table lie seven burning candles, arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper.
The chair at the head of the long table was still empty.
It was an official hat chair with exquisite patterns carved on it. The back of the chair was slightly higher than the other chairs in the room.
Gu Xu thought to himself, if nothing unexpected happened, that should be the seat of the leader of "Qing Ming", "Wenchang Xingjun".
At this moment, a tall and thin man sitting on the right side of the main seat suddenly stood up. His hair was disheveled and he wore a dramatic mask. The eyes under the mask were sharp and piercing, as if he could see through all the secrets in the world.
"You all stand down!" He ordered in a calm and dignified tone.
His voice also gave Gu Xu a sense of déjà vu. But Gu Xu couldn't remember where he heard it.
"Yes, Your Excellency."
Upon hearing this person's words, all the masked people present stood up, bowed to him, and then left the room one after another.
The woman in green fox mask next to Gu Xu also planned to turn around and leave.
But the tall and thin man suddenly stretched out his hand and pointed at her: "You stay."
So the woman in green stopped and stood obediently, with her hands folded in front of her.
Seeing that these masked people were respectful and obedient to this tall and thin man, Gu Xu secretly guessed: This person should be the "Wenchang Xingjun"!
It's just that Gu Xu couldn't figure out why the leader of an organization didn't sit in the main seat during meetings, but sat to the side - could this be a leader with a personality who likes to "not take the usual path"?
Just when Gu Xu was wondering, the tall and thin man looked at Gu Xu again and said in a kind tone: "Gu Xiaoyou, come here and sit down!"
As he spoke, he pointed to the main seat next to him - the high-back official hat chair at the head of the long table.
"Me?" Gu Xu suspected that he had seen it wrong.
"That's right," the tall and thin man said with a faint smile, "This is the place reserved for you."
As he spoke, he took off his mask.
Gu Xu stared at his face, shocked——
Luo Chuan, the head of the exorcism department who was supposed to be seriously injured and unconscious in Luojing City, suddenly appeared in front of him!
"Sis... Sir Sishou, why are you here?"
"As the leader of Qing Ming, why can't I be here?" Luo Chuan asked with a smile.
Gu Xu took a deep breath and tried to keep calm.
The leader of the secret organization "Qing Ming" is actually a powerful saint who holds an important position in the Qi court!
Once this news gets out, it will definitely cause an uproar across the country.
Gu Xu finally understood why the other party's voice sounded so familiar.
But there is still one question in his mind——
Why didn't I recognize Luo Sishou's voice the first time?
Is it because of that mask?
"Sit down quickly, Gu Xiaoyou," Luo Chuan said again, "This is a small request from your old superior to you."
Speaking of this, Gu Xu naturally could no longer refuse, so he had no choice but to sit down at the head of the long table.
Later, Luochuan conjured a white porcelain tea set out of thin air and poured Gu Xu a cup of hot tea with his own hands.
"This is Mengding tea from Shu," Luo Chuan introduced. "Many emperors of the Qi Dynasty loved this tea very much. They asked all states and counties in Shu to pay tribute to Luo Jing every year, calling it 'immortal'. Tea', 'the crown of tribute tea'. Gu Xiaoyou might as well try it."
Gu Xu raised the tea cup and took a sip. He felt the taste was fresh, rich and sweet.
Luochuan is indeed a well-known tea lover. No matter where he goes, he carries all kinds of precious tea with him.
After a brief silence, Luo Chuan said again: "Gu Xiaoyou, if I guessed correctly, you must have many questions to ask me."
Gu Xu nodded.
There are indeed too many confusions in his heart: such as the agreement reached by Luo Sishou and the Ghost King of Mangshan, such as the true position of Luo Sishou and the "Qingming" organization, such as Luo Sishou's strange attitude towards himself...
"Just ask," Luo Chuan smiled, "As long as I know something, I will try my best to answer it."
Gu Xu thought for a moment and asked the question he most urgently wanted to answer: "Why would Emperor Tianxing suddenly want to kill me?"
"Well, this is a long story," Luo Chuan took a deep breath, his eyes wandering a little, as if Gu Xu's question brought back his distant memories, "As we all know, the 'God' that the people of the Great Wilderness believe in is A god with two sides in one body - the 'Tai Shang Haotian Jade Emperor' and the 'Zhongtian Arctic Ziwei Emperor' are her two incarnations.
"But in fact, 'Tai Shang Haotian' and 'Emperor Zi Wei' are two gods, and they are also a pair of sworn enemies who once fought life and death."
Luo Chuan's words once again caused a strong shock in Gu Xu's heart.
In all the temples of the Daqi Dynasty, a statue with two sides is enshrined. One side is "Tai Shang Haotian" and the other side is "Emperor Ziwei", corresponding to day and night respectively.
In Dahuang's practice system, most of the prayers and most of the incantations also contain the names "Tai Shang Haotian" and "Emperor Ziwei".
The "Tai Shang Arctic Demon Suppressing and Ghost Killing Talisman" that Gu Xu often uses is a typical example.
But now, Luochuan told him that "Tai Shang Haotian" and "Emperor Zi Wei" were actually two immortals who were mortal enemies of each other!
This simply broke through his previous understanding of the world!
Luochuan took a sip of tea and continued: "In addition, Gu Xiaoyou, I also want to tell you that the wild world we live in is not the real 'human world', but the 'underworld', which is a world created by 'Tai Shang Hao'. A prison built by God himself.
"Because of this, not only are ghosts and monsters rampant in the wilderness, but there is no 'spiritual energy of heaven and earth'. The monks can only risk their lives and practice with the help of the aura of death."
Luo Chuan's words reminded Gu Xu of the vision he saw in front of the grave of "Chiyangzi"——
The sky and the earth are all airtight black iron nets.
Outside the iron fence, there are blazing fires and iron snakes and iron dogs patrolling back and forth.
Each person's feet were wearing a pair of scorching iron shackles, which burned their skin and flesh black and caused blood to flow freely. _&
