The Taoist boys ate very quickly. They drank the porridge in a few mouthfuls when it was served and went out to play with the steamed buns.
So when the carrier pigeon flew back, several tables in Jixiang Courtyard where they were eating were empty, except for Guan Luoyang and Qiudi.
After taking off the yellow talisman from the pigeon's leg, Qiu Di's face suddenly changed after seeing the line of words.
Qiushi is the eldest disciple of Taoist Master Jiuying.
When the two Taoist priests Jiuying and Jiuhe came to Jiaozhi from Wudang in Quanzhou to preside over the Fengzhao Zhenwu Temple, Qiu Shi was already with them.
Among the disciples of the Qiu Zi generation, Qiu Shi is the most outstanding in magic, meticulous, steady and reliable, and has long been the default successor of the Zhenwu Temple among the juniors.
Four days ago, the old lady of the Liu family in the Chengyin Mansion was entangled by a kid. She fell into a coma. In her dream, bruises like baby palms appeared on her neck and ankles. The Liu family came to invite him immediately, and Qiu Shi went there in person.
Thinking about the old lady of the Liu family, he is already over seventy years old, and even the kid can't kill him easily. After Qiu Shi passes, he will definitely be able to capture him. At most, he will stay for two more days to recuperate the old man's body.
Taoist Priest Jiuhe, Qiu Di and others were all very confident about Qiushi, but they did not expect that today he would actually use the most dangerous "message on the back of a talisman" to ask for help from the temple.
"The talisman is the spiritual mechanism of heaven and earth. Asking for help on the back of the talisman paper means that it has lost its function and is trapped in a crisis of ambushes from all sides. It is like walking in the abyss on a moonless night, on the verge of being shattered into pieces at every turn."
Qiudi seemed calm on the surface and had time to explain to Guan Luoyang the meaning of this method of asking for help. However, when he stood up, he knocked over the stool he was sitting on.
"Master and uncle are not here. I am not accomplished enough in the art of paper crane communication to directly track their auras. Brother Guan, please go to the foot of the mountain to buy a horse and go out to chase the master. I will go to senior brother Qiushi first. "
Guan Luoyang put down the bowl and chopsticks, raised his toes, raised the stool, shook his head and said: "Your master has been walking for a long time. There must be more than one way from here to that place in the envoy's house. I am not familiar with the place where I am. Go after him? Why don't I accompany you to help your senior brother?"
Qiu Di refused intentionally. There was no reason for him to let someone he just met accompany him to risk danger. However, he also knew that Guan Luoyang was stronger than him. If he went with him, he would have a greater chance of saving his senior brother.
"Senior brother..."
Qiudi murmured in a low voice, considered for a long time, then resolutely raised his fists and said, "Okay, then I will shamelessly ask Brother Guan to accompany me, but if there are ghosts and ghosts, I'm afraid Brother Guan will have trouble dealing with them with his fists and feet. Can you use the customary sword?" "
Guan Luoyang said: "I am a swordsman, and I can probably use a sword."
"With a knife?" Qiu Di thought of something, turned around and left in a hurry, and soon returned to the courtyard with a long sheathed knife in his hand.
It has a green sharkskin scabbard, an oval brass guard, hundreds of thin red ropes wrapped around the handle, a copper ring at the head, and the overall length of the knife is about four feet.
"This sword is said to be an ancient sword from the Tang Dynasty. When the master got it, the handle was completely rotten, but the blade seemed to have been refined by an expert. Once the magic wine was poured on it, all the rust disappeared. It was filled with evil spirits and could To exorcise evil spirits from the house.”
"Master re-fitted the handle and scabbard for it, and hung it in the Evil Suppressing Hall for ten years. In the past two years, every full moon night, just after midnight, you can hear the soft sound of the sword in the hall. Howling.”
Guan Luoyang took the knife and pulled out half of it.
The long knife is swallowed, the color is light gold, and the cold blade is connected.
The knife is three fingers wide and has a straight back. It should have been made of a silver-white 100-forged steel knife, but inside the blade, sparse emerald-colored cloud patterns are faintly visible.
Qiu Di said: "This sword probably killed many warlocks back then. Later, it was buried underground. The warlocks' resentful blood and the earth's energy were attracted to form this dark green cloud pattern. If you are used to using it and have this knife in your hand, You can kill those ghosts as if they were alive."
Guan Luoyang returned the knife to its sheath, put his fingers on each section of the handle, loosened and closed them slightly, and said with a smile: "Okay!"
Qiudi went to give some instructions to the Taoist boys, prepared several magical tools that he wanted to use, and then set off on the road with Guan Luoyang.
Guan Luoyang had little experience in riding horses, but with his current skills, he had already adapted to this situation before he got on the horse and ran a hundred meters, and galloped wildly.
They rushed for nearly an hour from dusk to the southernmost county under the rule of Chengyin Mansion.
There is naturally more than one family named Liu in Chengyin Mansion, but Mrs. Liu and his family have something unique about them.
The eldest son of their family married the beloved daughter of Magistrate Chengyin and was very famous in the county.
When Guan Luoyang and the others arrived at the Liu Mansion, they could still see several teams of government officials patrolling and guarding them.
As soon as the people from the Liu Mansion heard that someone else was coming to the Zhenwu Temple, they immediately went out to greet them.
Mr. Liu has his hair bound in a jade hairpin, wears satin round-neck clothes, his beard is trimmed neatly and softly, his body is slightly fat, but not bloated, and he has a somewhat capable temperament.
But today, he and his sons behind him all had dark blue eyes and were slightly swollen. It was obvious that they had not slept well for many days.
Qiudi was eager to find out the news about his senior brother, so he skipped the polite greetings and asked a few questions at the door. The result was that the situation was worse than he had expected.
According to Mr. Liu, his family has an old house by the river, which was built more than 30 years ago. Ten years ago, the water level increased and the walls were flooded, making it uninhabitable, so the family moved out. However, Mr. Liu Grandpa was still attached to the old house and would often go there for walks.
When Mrs. Liu came back from there a while ago, she fell into a deep sleep. From time to time, small green and red palm prints appeared on her body. She screamed in pain and was dripping with cold sweat in her sleep.
They sent someone to invite Qiushi over, and sure enough they said that there was an imp at work, and that they had to disperse the imp before they could subdue the yin energy in Old Master Liu's body.
But after Qiu Shi visited the old house, he said that there was more than one ghost entrenched there and it was a bit troublesome, so he used paper cranes to fly letters and asked several junior brothers who were working nearby to see if any of them could help.
This morning, Qiu Mu and Qiu Hua came together.
After Qiu Shi met the two of them, he was confident and went to the old house at noon, but there was no sound not long after they entered.
The servants sent by Mr. Liu waited until night and still didn't see the three Taoist priests coming out, and they didn't dare to go in, so they ran back to report the news.
When Mr. Liu and the others were worried, Guan Luoyang and Qiudi came.
Something is wrong.
Guan Luoyang and Qiu Di looked at each other and realized that there was something very fishy in the whole matter.
The old house, which had not had any problems for decades, suddenly became troubled by ghosts. It might be because after the earthquake, the qi was disordered and evil spirits appeared frequently.
But it was a little weird that a haunted house that could not even kill Old Madam Liu was troublesome for a Taoist priest like Qiu Shi who was skilled in magic.
Qiu Shi did not directly ask for help from the Zhenwu Temple, but instead summoned the surrounding junior disciples. Based on his stable character, he should have at least investigated the haunted house thoroughly and had a certain degree of certainty before doing so. If you behave like this, don't bother the teacher.
But after he took his two junior brothers with him, he encountered unknown dangers again, and even reached the point where he had to use the most urgent means to seek help.
No matter how you look at it, it looks like a trap specially set up to target the people of Zhenwu Temple. If this is the case, if Taoist Master Jiuying and the others happen to be away today, will they also be part of this bureau? '
Guan Luoyang thought of this and said, "Qiudi, do you have any big enemies?"
Qiu Di said: "Although Zhenwu Dangmo uses corpses, demons and demons as enemies to protect the peace of the common people, over the years, we have become enemies with evil sorcerers, and I'm afraid I can't even count them in one time."
Guan Luoyang said: "But you can trap three of your senior brothers at once, and even look like you want to lure more people into the bait. There shouldn't be many enemies who can do this, right?"
The anxiety and worry between Qiudi's brows were about to overflow. He frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "Of those evil warlocks in my impression, none of them can defeat my three senior brothers with one person's power." You can’t escape even if you run away, but if some people join forces, it will be hard to say.”
Guan Luoyang lowered his eyelids and shook his head slightly.
Asking is like asking in vain.
The instructor can also provide the characteristics of the experts in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. When it comes to Qiudi, the enemies are like blind boxes.
The only option is to take the crudest approach.
Guan Luoyang raised his eyes and asked Master Liu, "Can you get gunpowder?"
………………
The night is dark and the moonlight is dim.
Along the river, hundreds of tall and tall willow trees line up in a row, stretching along the bank.
The wall enclosed a grand old house that spanned hundreds of steps, standing on the shore. The paint on the door was mottled and the tiles were damp.
The turbid water flow, two to three inches high, soaked the base of the wall, and a lot of moss grew on the wall bricks. The water waves washed away the roots of the flowers and plants in the yard, and some rotten leaves undulated with the waves.
Wow! ! ! !
The wind outside was getting louder, and the river was running faster. It surged in from the backyard, and several broken corpses were floated by the current.
In the corner of the backyard, the muddiest part of the land, Qiu Shi held a lantern with a pale face and a sword in his right hand, letting the tip of the sword hang limply in the muddy water.
Qiu Mu and Qiu Hua sit back to back on the ground, within the range illuminated by the lantern.
"Senior Brother." Qiuhua, who was missing one of his right arms, said in a hoarse voice, like sawdust rubbing against oil paper, "Senior Brother Qiumu, his aura has weakened again."
Qiu Shi's eyes trembled and he looked sideways.
Qiu Mu's scars ranged from his lower abdomen to his neck, and his clothes were torn. There were more than a dozen yellow talismans attached to the wounds, which could only close the skin and minimize the bleeding rate, but could not completely stop the bleeding.
But the injury that cut open the flesh and blood was not the most serious. What was really scary was that there was a smell coming from his lower body - his intestines had been broken.
Qiuhua's lips turned black and he spoke again: "Senior Brother, we can't hold on any longer. You can save some lights. Maybe you can rush out by yourself."
"Shut up, stay calm, and don't think wildly."
Qiu Shi took a deep breath and blew it towards the lantern in his left hand.
This breath seemed to ignore the obstruction of the lantern and directly blew the candles inside. The lights swayed, crackled softly, and the light became brighter.
He raised the lantern higher, almost pressing it on Qiu Mu's head, maintaining the life cycle of his last breath.
"All twenty-six of my paper cranes were shot down, but the homing pigeon protected by the paper talisman flew out. Before sunset, the pigeon will fly back to Zhenwu Temple. Master, uncle and the others are almost there."
Qiuhua reluctantly moved her lips: "On purpose..."
In these old houses, there were a dozen warlocks who had made a name for themselves in the evil ways, ambushing them.
Although they killed seven of them desperately, the strength of the other five was obviously a level higher.
White Paper Fan Master Luo, Monkey Officer Tang Zhi, Human Butcher Zhao Qianniu, Wanhu Sugar Cane Wa Qing, and Boss Wen.
Among these five people, the first three were remnants of the water pirate war in the Five Prefectures, who had gone through hundreds of battles and fled to the sea.
The latter two were also the most wanted criminals in the entire Jiaozhi Fifteen Prefecture over the years. Wa Qing was rewarded with 5,000 taels of silver, and Boss Wen was rewarded with 7,000 taels of silver.
If these five people were willing to be injured, Qiuhua and the others might not have a chance to kill the other seven.
Not to mention the corpses and monsters hidden under the hands of these five people.
"I know they did it on purpose, but they don't know."
Qiushi looked at his lantern with dead eyes, swallowing the last half of his words.
——They have no idea how powerful Master and Uncle Master are when they join forces.
As long as the master and uncle are in the Zhenwu Temple, as long as they receive the news.
Qiu Shi's eyes slowly turned and looked at the roof in front of him.
In his eyes, the black roof was empty, with only tiles and moonlight.
But he knew very well that at this moment, on the roof, a pair of playful eyes were looking at the three brothers.
It's like watching an earthworm struggle after being skewered on a fishhook.
In fact, the five men were actually standing on the roof waiting.
Boss Wen was wearing an old gray Confucian robe, with gray hair, and used two thin brushes as hairpins. The old man put his hands in his sleeves and looked up at the moonlight.
"Old man, this situation extends from noon to now. As the saying goes, the time is not before noon and noon is not before midnight. When it reaches midnight, it will be unsustainable. Master Luo, do you really want to wait any longer?"
"hold on."
Master Luo was holding a short four-sided staff in his hand. His face was so old that it was covered with wrinkles. When he squinted, he could hardly tell where the eyes were and where the wrinkles were.
"Boss Wen, don't worry, the only ones who can come here are juniors. Even if you wait until the end to remove the illusion, just the three of them are enough to take down these little guys in one fell swoop."
Boss Wen snorted in his nose as a response.
Zhao Qianniu waved the steel knife in his hand: "I would like to meet that Jiuhe. I heard that he stole the show during the battle with the water pirates in the Five Prefectures."
Master Luo just smiled: "I can't give you that awesome nose. If you are really interested, you might as well try the sword that the great disciple of Zhenwu Temple is hiding. I saw that an hour ago, his sword had Maybe one of you will be seriously injured, but until now, the most I can do is trade your life for your minor injuries."
Zhao Qianniu is eager to try.
Boss Wen suddenly turned his head and looked at the main entrance of the old house: "Finally here, hehehe, let's see how many steps you can take out of the old man's game."
As he finished speaking, the lights and shadows everywhere in the old house began to float.
The water on the ground tilts subtly, changing angles. The courtyard walls, houses, lobbies, backyards, and the scenery in every place are pulled out of the same illusion.
The same scenery has been changed and rearranged. At this time, even if a hundred people break into this house at the same time, they will see a hundred completely different houses.
Boss Wen, whose real name is unknown, happened fifteen years ago. He used Feng Shui to create illusions and played tricks on 73 families. One hundred and two people had their temperaments changed drastically. Ninety-three people committed suicide and thirty-seven people became stupid.
But it wasn’t people who came in.
The large cart collapsed the front entrance of the old house and burst into the front yard with thousands of sparks. The person pushing the cart raised his arms, and the entire cart and more than a thousand kilograms of things on it were thrown out and scattered wildly. shoot.
The next moment, there were hundreds of explosions.
The sky is filled with fireworks, trees and silver flowers.
