Seeing the sun starting to set, Yan Yun and others gathered in front of the academy's well, but Lu Jing was nowhere to be seen.
After waiting for a while, someone couldn't help but said, "What should I do? Do you want to hurry up?"
The white jade master Lu Ping shook his head when he heard this and said, "My residence and his residence are not too far away. When I came here just now, I wanted to invite him to come with me, but no one answered after knocking on the door."
"If he's not at home right now, then we'll be in trouble."
It was still some time before the dinner started, but considering where they were going and the people they were going to meet, it was obviously necessary to set off early, because it would take a lot of effort just to enter the imperial city, let alone All the red tape along the way.
But Lu Jing didn't know where he had gone at this moment, so some anxious people suggested that everyone go on the road first, and then send a messenger to deliver a letter to Lu Jing. If he can catch up, he can catch up, and if he can't catch up, forget it.
Anyway, this errand sounds very simple, and it is enough for six people.
But before he finished speaking, he saw a figure striding towards him from the direction of Hanging Sky Watching Fish.
He was a man with a square face, about thirty years old. His face looked a little sallow, as if he was ill. The beard on his face had not been taken care of for an unknown period of time, and some of it was even tangled together. Plus the pair of tattered straw sandals on his feet.
The first time they saw him, the word "raunchy" appeared in everyone's mind involuntarily, but then they had to admit that this man did have the capital to be raunchy.
Taken alone, his facial features cannot be said to be handsome, but together they give people a faint sense of vicissitudes, the feeling of a prodigal son in the world of mortals. It can be said that he has all the charm of a man of his age. played out.
But after the six people looked at each other, they all saw a trace of doubt in each other's eyes.
It has been almost half a year since they entered the academy, and they are very familiar with the teachers and handymen in the academy. No one has seen this man on weekdays, and they don't know where he came from.
It wasn't until Xia Huai saw the wine gourd hanging on the man's waist and felt that it looked familiar that he was the first to react and tried to shout, "Lu Jing?"
The square-faced man nodded when he heard this, "It's me. I just took a while to disguise myself and kept everyone waiting."
Mr. Bai Yu's family history was also involved in Yu Yirong, but at first glance, he could not see through Lu Jing's disguise. It was not until Xia Huai spoke that he noticed that Lu Jing's palms did not look like three Even for a ten-year-old, the wine stains on his clothes looked a bit new.
But judging from the face alone, there was indeed no flaw, which made him a little surprised. He asked curiously, "Brother Lu, is that a human skin mask you are wearing on your face?"
"That's right." Lu Jing took off the human skin mask on his face and showed it generously in front of everyone.
After obtaining Lu Jing's consent, Lu Ping reached out and touched the mask, and then said with emotion, "It is indeed the work of Li Qiaoshou. No wonder I didn't see it at all before."
"Li Qiaoshou?" Lu Jing raised his eyebrows.
"Well, Nan Qian Mian and Bei Qiaoshou are the two people with the best skills in making human skin masks in the world. Every human skin mask made by the two of them can be fake. Unfortunately, one of them washes his hands in a golden basin, and the whereabouts of the other are unknown. , which has also led to the fact that the human skin masks made by the two of them are now hard to find in the world."
Lu Ping returned the human skin mask to Lu Jing as he spoke, "I wonder what the relationship between Brother Lu and Senior Qiaoshou is?"
"Oh, I don't know Li Qiaoshou. I got this human skin mask by accident from a flower picker."
In fact, Lu Jing himself doesn't like this human skin mask very much. The reason is very simple. It's just a bit too eye-catching. It's just an uncle style, and it has to bring out some vicissitudes of life. It's a bit eye-catching, no. Convenient for fishing.
But there was no other way. He had a total of six human skin masks on hand, some male and female, some old and some young. After all, Lu Jing had never seriously learned the art of disguise. It would be a bit difficult for him to disguise himself across a large age range or even gender. .
He had used Feng Jiulang's one again before, so this time he only had Qi Kui available.
Yan Yun didn't speak until everyone arrived, and then she reminded him, "It's getting late, we should set off."
No one had any objections. When they walked out of the coffin shop's door, Si Tianjian's carriage was already ready outside the door. There were five carriages in total, one for two people, and one was used to pull the people waiting for the next practice. of required materials.
Although it was just a show, everyone had to be fully prepared. In addition, among the seven people there was also Xie Anshi, a real Taoist.
Although he practiced the art of looking at the air and stars before entering the academy, he would naturally not miss out on the exorcism rituals used by Taoist priests to eat. However, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous when he thought that he was going to the palace to do it this time.
Fortunately, in addition to them, the academy disciples, Si Tianjian also sent a governor to accompany them.
The governor's name was Cheng Guan, but he was not a practitioner. His usual duties in Si Tian Prison were mainly to handle some documents. Like Lu Jing and the others, he was also a captured man this time.
Fortunately, Cheng Guan was an official after all. He had participated in several court meetings, and he was familiar with the officials. Of course, he was familiar with the officials, not the other way around.
But he did seem to be much calmer now, and he even shared some matters regarding entering the palace with Lu Jing and the others.
Si Tianjian is not under the control of the imperial power, but he still tries his best to build good relations with those in power in the past dynasties. After all, if he can gain the support of the imperial court, in addition to getting money, it will be easier and more convenient to do many things.
So at least the face should be given on the surface. Even if Guo Shouhuai, the de facto boss of Si Tianjian, was summoned, he would have to take time out of his busy schedule to enter the palace to deal with it, let alone others.
However, according to Cheng Guan, Lu Jing and others only need to maintain basic etiquette, and there is no need to bend the knee to greet them. Si Tianjian has a special status, and the officials will not treat them as ordinary ministers. There will be more of them tonight. Enter the palace as a guest.
In addition, Cheng Guan also warned everyone not to interfere in the struggle for imperial power, especially the matter of seizing the heir, which was a taboo of Si Tianjian. It was best not to get too close to those nobles from the beginning.
Anyway, no matter who sits on the dragon chair, Si Tianjian cannot do without Si Tianjian, so there is no need for Si Tianjian to bet in advance. The benefits of winning the bet are limited, but losing the bet will have many consequences. More importantly, once this is opened, First, in the future, there will only be endless incidents of practitioners interfering in the struggle for secular power. Everyone wants to be the emperor, and no one will deal with those weird things and protect the human world.
In Cheng Guan's words, "It's not difficult to gain power. What's difficult is to control the desires in your heart and use this power to do the right things, rather than things that are beneficial to yourself."
