When Old Eunuch Chen and the others came up from the tunnel, they were in a manor shaded by green trees. There was always someone guarding the garden at the entrance of the tunnel. They seemed to recognize Hua Mi. After saying hello, they led the way.
They met the important person in a magnificent living room with red paint on the tables, chairs, cabinets and columns.
There were guards standing behind the man. He was wearing a scarlet robe with a dark pattern, round collar and wide sleeves. His hair was held up by a jade hairpin, his cheeks were slightly concave, his eyes were large and beardless, and his two curved eyebrows were mingled with silver.
When Hana Mi and the others came in, this man was looking at a piece of letter paper in his hand with an extremely cautious and dignified expression. After a few seconds, he folded the letter paper between his fingers, pressed it on the table, and looked up.
Old Eunuch Chen could tell at first glance that this was also a eunuch.
"This is Jiaozhi's supervisor, Lord Ma Qiangma!"
Hua Mi introduced them, "This is Eunuch Chen from the Jurchen Imperial City."
Ma Qiang's expression changed: "Jianyi?"
Old eunuch Chen's expression remained unchanged, he clasped his hands and said with a smile: "I didn't expect that a big shot like the supervisor was secretly supporting leader Hua Mi. I'm so glad to meet you."
Ma Qiang remained silent and looked at old eunuch Chen for a long time before sighing and turning away: "It doesn't matter, the people in the court are really unkind. Over the years, they have taken away the confidants and the humerus of some generous masters left by the late emperor. I eradicated the officials one by one, and finally it was my turn. They were the ones who forced me to this point. Even if they are dealing with Jianyi, it is no wonder that I am unjust."
Hua Mi sat down directly on the chair on the other side. After hearing this, he said with a somewhat surprised tone: "Oh, Mr. Ma's determination seems to be stronger than the last time we met. Could it be that he has received some news?"
The last time they met, they successfully surrounded and killed Jiuhe, and Hua Mi sent a message about it.
Jiuhe is not only Hua Mi’s biggest enemy, but he has also offended Ma Qiang a long time ago.
When Ma Qiang wanted to forcefully close the peacock's tail, Jiuhe brought a peacock into the house and made a bet with him. As long as he put the peacock in the treasury, the treasury would be filled with bird feathers overnight.
Ma Qiang naturally didn't believe it, so he made a bet with him and asked the warlock guards he recruited to guard the house. As a result, when he opened the treasury the next day, he found that there were thousands of peacock tails created by illusion in the treasury. , standing on the ground, swaying like flowers. After destroying the illusion, there is still a sharp sword hanging on the wall. The warning is self-evident.
Wudang's backstage was tough enough, and if things really went wrong, Ma Qiang would not be unreasonable, so he had no choice but to admit the failure of the contract, and he resented it for a long time.
Ma Qiang was naturally happy to see Jiuhe die.
Ma Qiang said: "Let me tell you why you are here today."
Hua Mi said: "The battle to seize the order was ruined. If the original plan went well, we would be able to assist at the Dharma Assembly and come up with some means, and then let the successful person seize the order take the opportunity to destroy the ritual. They can use their own serious injuries as an excuse. The price is that all the mages present will be trapped internally and externally, and their magic power will be lost."
"This move is out of the question now. We can only work on the other side. I need to ask Lord Ma to use your connections to place my subordinates in the defense of the Chengyin Palace Dharma Assembly."
If such a master could disguise himself as a defensive soldier and break out at close range at a critical moment, the people at the Dharma Assembly would never be able to cope with it.
It's a pity that there must be many warlocks exploring Feng Shui in the place where the Dharma Assembly takes place, and methods such as tunnels cannot be used, otherwise there would be no need for such trouble.
"It turns out it was for this matter. Hmm, let's put aside the arrangements for the Dharma Conference for the time being. Now there is an opportunity to assassinate the King of Yue."
Ma Qiang sneered and said, "Originally, the King of Yue was governor of Jiaozhi. According to the procedure we set, he would first go to Jiaozhou Prefecture and inspect the three prefectures in sequence, and then arrive at Chengyin Mansion on July 12th to prepare for the Ghost Festival. It was about the Dharma Conference. But he played a trick of surprise and came to Chengyin Mansion more than ten days in advance."
Hua Mi narrowed his eyes and said, "Oh? With this kind of trick, it seems that the prince is not at ease with Master Ma either."
"More than just worried..."
Ma Qiang paused for a moment, "None of my confidants in Jiaozhou Mansion sent a message to remind me of this matter. It is estimated that the outcome will not be good."
Hanami glanced at the letter and said, "Then where did you get the news?"
Ma Qiang stood up and said with emotion: "I have to say, God will never stop me. Although the King of Yue brought the most precious team with him, he could not have expected that there would be monsters causing trouble and attacking him midway. them."
"I have secretly planted some informants in the Capital Command and Envoys Department. Today they suddenly received orders to search and rescue and respond to the prince. Only then did they realize that something was fishy and sent a secret message to me."
He handed the letter to Hanaya.
"The King of Yue should be protected by the remaining tribesmen and escape into the Guangyu Mountains at the junction of Dongning and Chengyin. This prince is much more courageous than we thought before, and his steps are compact and secretive, which is even more impressive. For your and my plans.”
"We must eradicate him before he is picked up by the army, otherwise he may directly launch a big move as soon as he arrives in Chengyin."
Ma Qiang was pacing in the hall, his hands clasped behind his back, his fingers tightened, and his eyes flashed with a sinister look.
"The evildoer is causing trouble, God is really helping me! Hua Mi, God will bear the blame if he refuses to resist, and our arrangements must also change according to the situation. He guesses better than us, and has a deep layout. I am afraid that all parties have been involved. All aspects are more important than we thought. His death will bring more turmoil than the originally planned July 15th. We can use as much power as we can. You, me, and even Jianyi can Anyone who needs it should stop holding back!"
………………
Zhenwu Temple, in the Yaowang Courtyard.
Click, click, click, and the sound of chewing is endless.
When Qiu Shi and others came after hearing the news, Guan Luoyang had already eaten for almost half an hour.
A rough estimate showed that he had already consumed more than twenty kilograms of medicine.
"what happened?"
"I don't know, he suddenly asked me if these medicines can be eaten? Before I understood, he had already picked them up and was about to chew them. I had to point out the medicinal materials I was going to use to make a medicinal bath for him and let him eat those first. , at least if you eat those, you shouldn’t be poisoned by the conflicting properties of the medicine, right?”
"It's true that he won't be poisoned, but without the master's and uncle's level of magic cultivation to guard the fire and adjust the potency, it will be of no use if he just eats it like this."
Qiu Shi looked worriedly at Guan Luoyang, who was holding a basket and chewing non-stop, and said, "There seemed to be something wrong with him after the fight. Could it be that he was tricked by someone in the ring?"
After much thought, he walked up to Guan Luoyang with a lantern and circled around him, reciting Liujia's secret blessing, reciting a word with each step he took.
The so-called secret blessing of Liujia is recorded in "Baopuzi Neipian No. 4 Dengshe": "It is advisable to know the secret blessing of Liujia when entering the mountain. The blessing says: 'Those who are facing battle should march forward in formation.' Every nine times, often You should pray for it secretly, and avoid everything. It is important to follow the path without being troubled, and this is what it means."
This kind of magic is good at dispelling the evil spirit of evil spells and restoring people's calm and sharp minds. Although it cannot be said to be able to ward off all evils, as long as there are really evil spells, under the temptation of Qiu Shi's chanting, it should be able to do something. reaction.
After Qiu Shi walked around for a few times, Guan Luoyang really raised his head, stopped chewing, and opened his mouth as if to say something, with a look of discomfort on his face.
Qiu Di hurriedly stepped forward: "Is there really an evil curse on you?"
Qiu Shi glanced at the lantern in his hand. The flame was steady and he didn't feel any feedback. He shook his head and reminded, "He needs to drink water."
Qiudi quickly turned around and fetched a bucket of well water. Guan Luoyang held the bucket and poured it directly into his mouth.
He had already eaten all the medicinal materials that the Taoist priests had prepared for him to make a medicated bath, and it could only be described as having a strange taste.
Those that taste like hay, wood or even stone are secondary. After all, with his chewing ability, even a real stone can be easily chewed and ground into powder.
But it's bitter, spicy, sticky, and has a fishy-sweet smell inside. When these flavors are mixed together, it's really not that easy to tolerate.
Guan Luoyang drank half the bucket of water and took another sip in his mouth. Only then did he feel that the smell was slightly diluted.
He pressed his belly and could clearly feel the tremors of his belly muscles. He could even hear the sound of blood vessels flowing, rapidly delivering streams of heat.
With such a weird taste, he could bear to eat it until now because he felt the real benefits.
The restless feeling that stimulated his spirit was relieved step by step after swallowing these medicinal materials. The blue bird's vitality extended downward and forward between the chest and abdomen with a full feeling.
After having room to think calmly, Guan Luoyang half guessed and half speculated, and roughly understood where the restlessness of Qingniao's vitality came from.
This kind of growth of vitality may take a long time to spread from a certain part of the body to the whole body. Like the foreigner who can grow scales all over his body, it should be done through hard work, and it will overflow naturally.
However, Guan Luoyang obtained this vitality only for a short period of time. It was due to a conflict of yang energy and external blows that caused the blue bird's vitality to spread from the shoulders to the spine, which was almost like pulling the seedlings to encourage growth.
A more efficient and drastic way is needed to replenish the foundation.
He is not so much digesting the medicinal materials now, but rather the Qingniao Yuanqi is directly extracting the beneficial substances in the medicinal materials and replenishing them for him. The speed is incredible.
More than twenty kilograms of medicinal materials may not sound like much, but you must know that these are all dried in the sun. Just looking at the volume, it is almost the same size as more than half an adult, which is enough to support multiple medicinal baths.
After Guan Luoyang swallowed it all, his stomach didn't bulge too much. It was precisely because the blue bird's vitality began to be extracted and condensed in the first bite he took.
Qiu Shi and the others felt relieved when they saw Guan Luoyang sitting there quietly with water in his mouth, his expression becoming more and more peaceful, and not looking like there was something wrong with his body.
"Huh?" Qiu Shi suddenly realized that the temperature around Guan Luoyang seemed to be higher than that in other places.
He took a few steps outside, but the feeling was not obvious yet, so he simply walked faster to the outside of the courtyard, then re-entered the courtyard to feel it carefully.
Sure enough, the temperature in the entire yard was higher than outside.
The natural climate in Nanyang is hot enough. Even if you light a stove in the yard, it may not make such a significant difference in the temperature of the entire yard.
He quickly walked to Guan Luoyang and reached out to touch his shoulder.
Fortunately, although the surface of his body was warm, it could not be said to be too hot. The heat seemed more like it was gathered from the outside world, rather than being radiated from his body.
'Is it the effect of some kind of spell? '
When Qiu Shi thought about it, he felt that everything made sense. It was very strange for boxing practitioners to suddenly eat medicinal materials, but seven out of ten people who studied magic had quirks, let alone eating raw medicinal materials. Even swallowing glass beads alive and chewing pages of books are normal things.
After all, Guan Luoyang is a man with magical powers, not exactly a boxer.
Although Qiu Shi hit it by mistake, he almost guessed the truth.
Gu!
Guan Luoyang swallowed the saliva, pressed his stomach, and gradually frowned in Ninghe's expression.
Some of the heat flow received by Qingniao's vitality will be fed back, and the bones in his whole body will be warm, but this warmth only makes him feel a little empty in his chest and abdomen.
It's not as difficult to suppress as before, but it still means that the body is not satisfied yet.
Guan Luoyang coughed lightly and asked in a low voice: "Are these medicinal materials... still available?"
"You still want to eat?" Qiudi blurted out, looking at Guan Luoyang's belly with some fear, as if he was afraid that it would burst in the next moment.
Guan Luoyang said: "If I eat it directly, it seems to have the effect of refining the bones, but this is not enough."
Qiu Shi shook his head and said: "There are still some auxiliary medicinal materials. Even the yin fir wood chips can be re-precipitated from other pills. But among the many junior disciples in the Zhenwu Temple, none of them have reached the standard of bone training medicinal bath before. I specially prepared the main medicine for bone training.”
Guan Luoyang asked: "Is this medicine rare?"
"It's very rare, mainly the bones and gallbladder of the male snake. This is a python, but the female snake has venom glands and fangs, and the male snake's head is as thick as its abdomen."
Qiushi said, "There are only three places in Jiaozhi where there are traces of such snakes. They are all dangerous places. The one closest to us is more than 20 miles away, at the junction of Dongning Mansion and Chengyin Mansion, called Snake Valley. It is said that there are tens of thousands of venomous snakes and pythons in it.”
There was a look of thought on his face, "Going to Snake Valley to catch the Xiongbo Snake is difficult for others, but with your martial arts achievements, ordinary poisonous snakes cannot bite your skin, and you can walk on flat ground in the dangerous valley. , Well, I'm going to ask Taoist Master Zhiyuan for a few bottles of fragrant pills that can lure such poisonous snakes, and you can go there yourself."
"good!"
Guan Luoyang stood up and looked up at the dawning sky, "It's only more than twenty miles. If everything goes well, I can walk back and forth in one day."
He touched his belly again.
But before that, he had to go to the toilet.
After cleaning his stomach and getting the fragrant pills, Guan Luoyang left from the back mountain.
Qiu Shi and the others still have to go to the front hall to deal with the follow-up of Wei Dinggong's incident.
After having breakfast, the masters from various sects took a short rest and were gathering in the temple to discuss the various parties involved with Leshi Temple and whether there should be any changes to the Hungry Ghost Festival ceremony.
Suddenly, someone came to the foot of the mountain on flying horse, carrying a message up the mountain urgently.
"Taoist Priest Qiushi, there is an adult who has been attacked by monsters and disappeared. The envoys and magistrates have promised a heavy reward. I ask all the mages who are good at tracking him to come with me and my horse."
………………
When the sun became hot, Guan Luoyang came to Snake Valley and pulled out the stopper of a bottle of fragrant pills.
There was fragrance in his left hand, and he held the knife in his right hand and stepped into the deep valley.
This valley, which is said to be home to tens of thousands of venomous snakes and pythons, is overgrown with weeds, messy small trees, and sparsely large trees standing in the distance.
Every corner seems to have traces of snakes and insects crawling.
But Guan Luoyang couldn't hear any strange noise in his ears. He walked deeper and deeper, almost crossing the entire valley, and didn't even see a snake.
"It's strange. Is this a fragrant pill that attracts snakes, or is it a fragrant pill that repels snakes?"
Guan Luoyang glanced at the meatballs in his left hand and wondered if there was something strange about the blue bird energy in his body that made those snakes and insects run away.
He found a stone and placed the fragrant pill, and then he ran to a very high place, ready to look down from the height to see if any snakes would take the bait.
However, when Guan Luoyang rushed to the heights, he was so surprised by the first scene that caught his eye that he stopped suddenly.
He saw a winding ravine sweeping out of the forest, sinking deeply into the grass, winding into the distance. Where it passed, small trees bent and large rocks collapsed.
The rough roots of the big tree have obvious defects that appeared after being violently rubbed.
The crawling tracks of countless snakes and insects uniformly follow this long ditch, from the valley to the heights, and further away.
