As soon as Ding Chengyuan said these words, everyone in the pavilion was shocked and angry at the same time, and they couldn't help but look at the young man, with some sympathy in their eyes.
Qi Jingzhi frowned slightly, and after thinking for a while, he asked Zang Hailiang, the commander of the county army: "May I ask Mr. Zang, are there any casualties in the team of soldiers who went out of the city to find the body of Captain Ji in the evening? The civilians who came in and out of the county today Has the number of people increased or decreased significantly, and have they ever been stopped and searched outside the city?"
Zang Hailiang was stunned when he heard this, shook his head and said: "The soldiers under my command didn't even touch the shadow of the thief, so naturally they were not damaged. As for the people, although no one paid any attention to it, they didn't hear anything outside the city. Abnormal."
Qi Jingzhi nodded, then looked at An Feng Hou and said: "Ding Hou Mingjian, those people with evil intentions can intercept and kill the demon-suppressing captain, and even assassinate the city god Yinsi first, but it is impossible to surround the entire county. It's like an iron barrel, otherwise they would attack the city directly from the east gate, and they would not be spreading rumors and committing murderous crimes."
"Therefore, you don't have to have a cavalryman or a master to send a letter asking for help. Several of your lords selected a few confidants who have no experience in spiritual practice to pretend to be ordinary people and sneak out of the city. Although the journey is slower, you can still deliver the urgent documents."
Ding Chengyuan's eyes flashed, and he nodded and shook his head: "I have already sent the people, but you said it yourself, ordinary people walk slowly, and it is impossible to wait for the reinforcements from the city and counties to arrive, and they will be able to give us these People collect the bodies!"
He paused and said, as if mocking himself but also as a reminder: "Others may still try to sneak out of the city, but all of you present are famous people in the county and city, so don't have such thoughts in your heart."
After hearing what Marquis Anfeng said, the county governor Han Songde immediately patted the armrest of the seat and said solemnly: "We have received great kindness from the Lord of the country. In this time of crisis, we should fulfill our duties faithfully and ensure peace and stability for the people. We will never dare to flee in fear of death." Disaster and shame for thousands of years!"
As a warrior, Zang Hailiang spoke a little slower, and now he could only say in a low voice: "The same is true for the commander-in-chief. The only one who died in the county army is to repay the country's favor!"
Cui Zitao's face seemed unhappy, and he also expressed his position: "As the magistrate of Changle County, Cui also has the responsibility of guarding the land, and I would like to join you all!"
Then, everyone's attention focused on Qi Jingzhi again.
By this time, Qi Jingzhi had already figured it out. He had been ostentatious in the city all day, and had long been noticed by interested people. He was definitely not the right person to break out and deliver the message. This was not what Ding Chengyuan had in mind when he called him.
"Actually, not to mention being a messenger, even if you are walking alone in the city, you may encounter something unexpected. Cui Zitao and I rushed from the county office to the Anfenghou Mansion. We must have made fishing bait again along the way, but the person behind the scenes did not Just bite the hook."
"Hey, Cui Zitao's desire to revive the family is not as simple as what Ding Chengyuan said just now. Perhaps Cui Zitao's memorial to the king from the Anfenghou Mansion in the future will already show Cui Zitao taking the initiative to act as a bait without sacrificing his own life. As for Whether or not I, an insignificant police officer, can be brought along depends on the mood of Marquis Anfeng."
With this thought in his mind, Qi Jingzhi felt a little more wary when he looked at Ding Chengyuan, the Marquis of Anfeng with a deep and cold heart.
He doesn't care about any achievements, and he doesn't like to be coerced by others. However, the current situation is indeed extremely dangerous. Even if it is just for his own life, he has no choice but to be tied to the people in this pavilion.
After thinking about this, Qi Jingzhi no longer hesitated, walked directly to the opposite side of Cui Zitao, and sat down under Zang Hailiang.
This move can be regarded as his statement on behalf of the Demon Suppressing Academy, so everyone present looked slightly relaxed and unanimously nodded to this police officer who did not even have a rank.
"So good!"
Ding Chengyuan put his hands on his hands and smiled, then stood up and looked around the pavilion: "You must already know by heart that the past few days have been the most dangerous time for Jiuzhen County. Who knows, the thieves will start tonight. I then invited several people to come to this pavilion for consultation after nightfall."
After saying that, without waiting for anyone to react, he suddenly walked quickly to the huge bronze incense burner in the center of the Nuan Pavilion and opened the lid.
In an instant, there seemed to be a brilliant golden light emitting from the incense burner, which was so bright that it was dazzling. At the same time, the fragrance in the Nuan Pavilion suddenly became a little stronger.
.
Qi Jingzhi took a closer look and saw many pieces of incense burning slowly in the bronze incense burner. This was where the faint firelight from the furnace came from.
These incense coils surround a bird's nest. The branches building the nest are all made of gold. They look lifelike, extremely rich and gorgeous.
In the golden nest, two exotic birds lived quietly. They were shaped like sparrows and covered with soft golden feathers.
Ding Chengyuan took two steps away from the furnace lid and gestured to the people in the pavilion: "Everyone, please see, this Nuan Pavilion is called Bihan Pavilion, this furnace is called Wenxiangwu, and these two inside are my Ding family's support for generations. The golden bird!"
When everyone in the pavilion heard this, even though their hearts were heavy at the moment, they couldn't help but cheer up, and they rushed to look at the pair of golden birds.
The county guard Han Songde even blurted out and asked: "But the origin of the East China Sea tribute "Bihan Gold"? "
Ding Chengyuan nodded lightly and continued: "That's right! The Golden Bird is a rare treasure from the Burning Continent overseas. It is most afraid of frost, snow, wind and cold, so it usually places it in the Nuange warm furnace and feeds it heavy iron, pearls and Turtle brain, this bird spits out gold flakes like millet every day, the grains are bright and beautiful, warm jade and fragrant, so it is called "warm-warming gold". It has always been loved by the nobles in the palace and used it as a hairpin. "..
Ding Chengyuan paused, then suddenly raised the corner of his mouth and added: "Because the output of this kind of precious gold is very small, all the output is sent to the palace every year. Not to mention that it is not visible to the people, even I, the Marquis of Anfeng, can't see it. Don’t dare to keep it for your own use.”
As soon as these words came out, the officials of Jiuzhen County looked at the large gold embroidery on Ding Chengyuan's clothes and the golden bird's nest in Wenxiangwu. They couldn't help but nod their heads, and they all praised Anfeng Hou for his loyalty to the country. Sincerity is truly a model for all officials in Jiuzhen County.
At this moment, the two golden birds in the golden nest suddenly made a few sweet bird calls, which soon turned into a strange sound like coughing.
Every time they cough, they will spit out one or two grains of gold slightly larger than corns from their mouths, and they will clink into the gold nest. After a while, they will accumulate a small pile. If they cough like this every day, no matter what, It cannot be called limited production.
After the pair of golden birds vomited all the golden grains in their bellies and lay back quietly in their nests, Ding Chengyuan stepped forward to cover Wenxiangwu, returned to his seat and said to everyone: "At this time, I am not returning. I'm in the mood to show off, but I just want you to see it for yourself... In recent days, the diet of this pair of birds has not changed at all, but the production of Bihanjin has increased several times, which is really weird."
As soon as these words came out, everyone in the pavilion was thoughtful. After all, they were all officials in this land of the East China Sea, and they all knew more or less about the golden spirit and golden evil.
The so-called "Wu" refers to a mountainous area with high heights on all sides, or a place surrounded by water. The incense burner that breeds golden birds is not surrounded by all sides, but it is called Wenxiangwu. This is the most abundant gold energy in the East China Sea. The sharp increase in the output of Pihan Gold is mostly related to this.
Sure enough, I heard Ding Chengyuan continue to say: "Early this morning, I summoned the meritorious officials from the Demon-Suppressing Lieutenant's Office and carefully inquired about the evil spirits and monsters in the county. The two masters, Commander Han and Zang Dutong, arrived late. So I didn’t listen to them all. According to what the other party said, most of the evil spirits that have been coming and going recently are caused by the two evil spirits of gold and tiger, and the majority of them are gold evil spirits."
Hearing what he said, Cui Zitao's expression suddenly changed and he said, "If this is really the case, I'm afraid this incident is not limited to Jiuzhen County!"
"Huh? What do you say?" Even Ding Chengyuan, who knew the most about the situation, was startled.
This was a major matter related to the situation in the East China Sea and his own safety. Cui Zitao did not dare to neglect, and immediately said seriously: "My father wrote a letter ten days ago, saying that the autumn floods along the coast of Laizhou are much longer than in previous years, and there has been no sign of ebbing. "
"There were swarms of fish and tigers in the sea, and they often besieged fishing boats or even landed on the beach to cause nuisance. The soldiers and civilians of Yecheng guarded the anti-tiger embankment day and night, and even killed more than a dozen extremely rare sharks and tigers! "
Hearing this, the county guard Han Songde on the side couldn't help but interjected: "As the saying goes, a majestic head is a tiger among fishes, while a water rhinoceros and a wind dolphin are cowardly companions!"
"I have also heard about the fish and tiger tide in Laizhou. Every autumn there is a major or minor flood season. It is not surprising that it is more serious this year. This is consistent with the unusual movement of the golden evil in our Jiuzhen County.
Can't we go together? "
Cui Zitao's face was quite serious, and he immediately shook his head and said: "Originally, I didn't take it seriously, but after listening to what Ding Hou just said, I made some connections."
"According to my father's letter, this autumn flood of fish and tigers is not only more severe than in previous years, but the teeth and thorns of fish and tigers are sharper, and the scales are harder, making it much more difficult to kill. Now that I think about it, it's not It’s just that the tiger evil in the sea is causing trouble, but it is more affected by the golden evil!”
When Ding Chengyuan heard this, his eyebrows were already twisted.
Others may not know, but the details of the Cui family in Yecheng cannot be hidden from him. The so-called tide of fish and tigers is inseparable from the ancestors of the Cui family. Originally, a few fish and tigers were nothing, but successive generations of Cui family's descendants did not. After trying to live up to his expectations, he gradually became a scourge in the sea.
He pondered quietly for a long time, and then said: "The Cui family of Yecheng is based in Laizhou, and they are most familiar with the tide of fish and tigers. Since my nephew has this suspicion, we have to think more deeply. If it is true It is involved, the six states of the East China Sea and the counties of Liaozhou are all plagued by the Golden Evil, so I am afraid that the reinforcements will be less than we expected and they will come even later!"
Hearing this, Han Songde and Zang Hailiang looked unhappy, and turned to discuss in low voices with their respective entourages. Apparently they also found this matter quite difficult.
Apart from Cui Zitao and Ding Chengyuan, Qi Jingzhi had the deepest understanding of the Cui family in Yecheng. He was shocked when he heard about the so-called tide of fish and tigers. He turned to look at Magistrate Cui and asked in a low voice: "Dare you ask Brother Cui?" , what are these fish-tiger, shark-tiger?"
Cui Zitao also knew that his "Pictures of Tiger Fish and Tiger Fish" had been known to this young man, and if he didn't tell others, they would still think about it blindly. Therefore, although his face looked a little unnatural, he answered straightforwardly.
"The fish tiger is a strange fish in the sea. It has a head like a tiger and a back skin like a hedgehog with many spins. All fish are afraid of it and dare not attack it. Although it is named after a tiger, and it is said that a fish tiger can truly transform into a tiger when it comes ashore, but the bigger one Only six or seven inches, the two are really far apart."
"As for the shark tiger... it is a kind of sea shark with black stripes on its head. The big one can weigh more than 200 kilograms. It likes to land between the mountains and the sea, jumping and rolling at the foot of the mountain. After about ten days, it can transform into a tiger. Of all the shapes, only the fins are the most difficult to change. It takes a month to form claws, and from then on it can roar proudly in the mountains and forests."
"There are anti-tiger embankments built on the seaside of Laizhou, all in the shape of hills. When the sharks and tigers come ashore, their limbs have not yet matured, so they roll on the ground and cannot walk, let alone climb up. All it takes is for a strong man to stab the embankment with a spear. , you can kill it!"
The more Qi Jingzhi listened, the weirder the expression on his face became. Suddenly, a thought emerged: "So this problem caused by raising tigers seems to be inherited from the Cui family?"
Cui Zitao looked away from the young man and seemed to want to explain a few words, but in the end he just let out a sigh.
At this moment, Ding Chengyuan suddenly put his palms together and made a crisp sound, which immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the pavilion.
In just this moment, the Anfenghou's expression became as usual, and the eyebrows that had been knitted together relaxed, and there was no trace of happiness or anger at all: "You should understand now why I advocated that the corpses of the Wei clan be buried. We stopped at Baiyun Palace. After all, the Wei clan has a special physique and a rather miserable death state. If we leave it alone, something bad will inevitably happen due to the abnormal movement of the golden evil spirit."
Zang Hailiang, the commander-in-chief of the capital, nodded immediately after hearing this: "After all, there is a statue of the Qiu God in Baiyun Palace to suppress it. I also heard that the Marquis's concubine is working in the palace, so it is more appropriate to have him take care of it!"
Ding Chengyuan shook his head gently: "My younger brother has no cultivation. He works as a sutra master in Baiyun Palace. He only cares about chanting sutras in the sutra hall, but he doesn't care about secular affairs."
"I put the corpses of the Wei clan there because I wanted to fish. After all, those thieves committed such a big crime and used obviously evil methods. If the more than a hundred corpses were not put to good use, what would happen? Isn’t it too wasteful? Or maybe...those corpses are the bait they set to lure us in!"
Ding Chengyuan paused for a moment, and finally showed off some of his fierceness that he had never seen before: "As for who is the fisherman and who is the fish in the end, it all depends on their own abilities!"
Not long ago, Qi Jingzhi witnessed Cui's old servant fishing with his own two lives in the Houya of Changle County. Unexpectedly, he met An Fenghou, who liked fishing even more.
"At this moment, he is still in the mood to show the golden bird to everyone slowly, as if he is not in a hurry. Maybe what he is studying is the book "Heart is like a flat lake, those who wish to take the bait" of the Demon Suppressing Academy ” method. "
"I just don't know what his fishing skills are. If he is not good at fishing and is caught by the thieves behind the scenes, he will harm others and himself, and it will be too late to regret it."
Naturally, Ding Chengyuan could not guess Qi Jingzhi's slander.
He looked at the young man, raised the corner of his mouth, and asked with a smile: "Qi Jishi is very kind to the Wei family. I wonder if you would like to go to Baiyun Palace as bait?"
