Chapter 421 Zhao Duan: Have I become a rebel?
Whoosh——
The cold mountain wind slapped the cloth, making a slight sound.
In the large tent, the skylight faintly filtered through the tent's cloth. Zhao Duan sat cross-legged, his eyes closed, and his hands clasped in front of him.
Every time I take a breath, two thin white turbulences come out of my nostrils and then shrink back, which is extremely mysterious.
As he breathed in and out for a complete week, the energy in his body reached its peak, and his thumbs suddenly crossed in his clasped hands.
With him as the center, ripples appeared in the air around him, and then an illusory and faint "golden bell" slowly emerged, covering itself.
After a while, it collapsed.
“Hu——”
Zhao Duan opened his eyes, the mark of a green lotus between his eyebrows slowly faded away, and the corners of his mouth slowly rose:
"It is indeed the most classic 'Golden Bell' in Buddhism. It is indeed difficult to learn, but at least I finally got the hang of it."
A few days have passed since the Spring Festival. After Zhao Duan left the city, he pondered over and over again, trying to learn from it. Learn Buddhist self-protection techniques in "Knowing the Sea Green Lotus".
The main reason is that when the Empress killed the Shenlong Temple with her sword, Abbot Xuanyin protected the entire temple with a big golden bell, and the momentum of resisting the Empress' three swords in the realm of heaven and man was too great.
Although Zhao Duan is a martial artist and can gather Gang Qi to protect his body, when it comes to defense, among all the techniques, the Buddhist Golden Bell is indeed the most exquisite.
“Although I have not yet fully refined it, it has only begun to take shape, which is comparable to my full strength in condensing the Gangqi body protection. As for the glowing body protection, it is already a little behind my level.
Once I fully master it, my life-saving ability will be greatly improved. Coupled with the large number of buffs I have now, I can resist a few moves when encountering a ghusl monk again and will not be killed instantly again. "
"Unfortunately, the growth of cultivation has slowed down these days, and it is still stuck at the middle level, which is still a long way from the top level of the divine seal... Well, it is fast enough, people can't be too greedy... "
"But in a few months, Zhenbao may have to do something to enshrine himself. It will give me a headache..."
As an "emperor's wife", Zhao Duan was worried about gains and losses, and suddenly heard that Footsteps approached.
Then a scabbard suddenly penetrated through the gap in the tent curtain, accompanied by the voice of female colleague Haitang:
"We'll go out to eat. It's time to enter Fengcheng in the morning."
......
Zhao Duan opened the tent curtain, and the early morning light suddenly shone down in the mountains.
This is a mountain col with leeward direction.
There is no snow around, only grass, but the oncoming mountain wind with a hint of moisture is very different from the coldness in the capital.
Yesterday, this team, disguised as an ordinary caravan, had crossed the boundary between Linfeng and Binhai and officially entered the boundary of Binhai Road.
To be precise, it is the "Fengcheng" area where Kuangfushe's headquarters is located in the intelligence.
At this moment, a whole fleet of horse-drawn carriages was parked all around, and the ground was densely covered with many tents.
At the break of dawn in the morning, the white fish belly rises in the east. Many of the bodyguards or the captains in brocade uniforms pretending to be bodyguards or caravan escorts have already gotten up and started feeding the horses, fetching water from nearby streams, and collecting firewood.
Preparing to light a fire to make rice, a busy scene
——This time, in order to assist Zhao Duan in arresting the rebels, Ma Yan waved his hand and selected elites from each of the nine Zhaoya Halls, supplemented by Lihua Hall, a direct descendant of Zhao Duan, to form this "caravan".
In addition to Zhao Duan, several other acquaintances were also emerging from the tents at the center of the team.
"Good morning, Brother Zhao!"
In the tent opposite, a short, fat, round-faced young man yawned and came out, holding a hemp rope in his hand.
While tugging on the wrinkled cotton robe, he tied a large bamboo tube wrapped in cloth to his back with a hemp rope.
Amazingly, he is one of the Zhudian boys from the Tianshi Mansion:
The descendant of the God of Craftsman, Gongshu Tianyuan.
Gongshu Tianyuan, who successfully advanced to the "Worldly" realm on New Year's Eve, was radiant. Although he was tired from traveling, his complexion was much better than when he was in the craftsman's shop of Tianshi Mansion.
At this moment, he turned to look at Haitang, who had a high ponytail and was holding a scabbard, and asked curiously:
"Hai Ji Si, is my junior sister back?"
Haitang, who shared a tent with Jin Jian last night, glanced at the sloppy fat man with disgust, raised her chin and pointed at her tent:
"I'll be back at dawn."
You can vaguely hear soft snores coming from the gaps in the open tent.
After spending the night outside last night, the young priest Jin Jian came back to catch up on her sleep early in the morning. She wrapped herself in a tent and slept with her arms stretched out.
When I heard someone calling me, my ears trembled with my own thoughts, and then I curled up silently to block out the external noise, and even kicked my legs.
"Who would have thought that the mysterious and ethereal genius girl priest is not only a night owl with an upside-down schedule, but also snores?"
Zhao Duan twitched the corner of his mouth. During this short journey, he was very impressed with Jin Jian. Have a deeper understanding.
Two Heavenly Master disciples appeared in the team, naturally they were attracted by Zhao Duan.
After the priest of Tianshi Mansion was promoted to the "worldly world", he had a rule of going out to practice. Of course, Zhao would not let such a good thug go.
Jin Jian and Gongshu Tianyuan were also very interested in catching the rebels, and they were very excited that they had finally learned the lesson, and the masters came down the mountain, ready to slay demons.
It's a pity that the little Celestial Master Zhongpan's status is too high, he doesn't want to participate in mortal battles, and his relationship is not strong enough. Zhao Duan can't use his personal relationship to invite him, which makes him quite regretful.
"Sir."
In the other two tents, Lang Shiba, who had been released from prison, with disheveled hair and a machete hanging from his waist, emerged from the other two tents.
Although Jiyue had woken up early, she was still unwilling to come out because she was hiding in her small tent due to social fear.
Yes, Zhao Duan kidnapped the two of them again this time. In addition, there was...
"Master Shaobao, go to the river to wash up. You can eat soon."
In the distance, Zhang Han, who was directing the actions of the Jinyi people, came over without a smile, carrying a Heavy kettle.
Zhao Duan looked at his wet hair, the water on his face that was almost frozen into ice crystals, and the people in Jinyi beside him who had already started to light firewood to cook. He smiled and nodded:
"Thank you for your hard work. . Just call me by my name.”
“Okay, Zhao Shaobao.” Zhang Han nodded calmly.
……
Ruqing.
A trail of smoke rose from the camp. When Zhao Duan came back from washing up at the river, everyone had already started eating.
The conditions for camping in the wild are not easy, so we have to boil water to heat some leftovers and pancakes.
Fortunately, a group of people disguised themselves as a caravan and openly carried a lot of goods. It was convenient for people to eat and for horses to chew.
"Let's have a meeting."
Zhao Duan took the soup bowl and pancakes from the soldiers, sat on the pony in the center of the camp and greeted, everyone also sat around and formed a circle. , while eating and having a morning meeting.
"Fengcheng is ahead. Before entering the city, it is necessary to unify the plan after entering the city to facilitate action."
Zhao Duan squatted on a small stool and took a bite of the cake. A mouthful of soup gives me a sense of déjà vu as in war movies from previous generations, when armies were discussing battle plans while marching.
It’s a pity that I don’t have a baton in my hand, and there is no map on the ground. It’s a bit of a sight, but I still scolded Fang Qiu and said:
"Haizi Si, please tell me about the situation first."
Haitang has finished her meal. As the person with the best detective ability in Zhao Ya Jiutang, she looks the most serious among them. of:
"As you all know, according to the information sent back by the Shadow Guard, Kuangfu Society's home base is in the Fengcheng County area. The specific location is unknown. The leader of the rebels, Zhuang Xiaocheng, has been hiding here all year round, commanding the rudders in various places."
"Chief Rudder It is not clear how many enemies there are, but according to the known information, the former commander Qi Yuchun, the second prince Jian Wen's retainer, and the earth god warlock Ren Kun are all veteran worldly experts.
In addition, Zhuang. Xiaocheng's men still have appointments Thirty Shenzhang Realm...and a large number of club members. Well, of course, most of these people are scattered in different places, so the number of strong people in the headquarters is definitely far less than this number, but they still cannot be underestimated."
Gongshu Tianyuan said with a smile:
"In other words, the enemy has two worldly realms? On our side, our two senior brothers and sisters, including Brother Lang and Yue Meizi, there are four In the world, and although Brother Zhao has not yet been promoted, he is still very capable, even if those rebels still have trump cards, they are not afraid of them in comparison."
After a pause, he frowned and added:
< br>"But the manpower below...Although there are everyone from Zhaoya Jiutang, I'm afraid the manpower is still not enough."
Zhao Duan smiled and said:
"It doesn't matter, I have ordered the shadow guards to pass the news to the military government on Binhai Road in advance. As long as I give the order, the officers and soldiers will arrive at any time.
It's just that we are here Okay, it’s better to keep a low profile to prevent the other party from being scared away. For now, we should wait until we enter the city to find out the situation first, and then make detailed arrangements for our actions.”
Gongshu Tianyuan spread his hands: “Then junior sister and I will be fine. ”
Haitang continued:
"Compared to the combat power of the enemy and ourselves, what is more important is to determine the location of the headquarters of the rebel party, and...whether there are local forces colluding with the rebel party in the boundaries of Fengcheng...
Just imagine how big the Yu State is, Why would Zhuang Xiaocheng set his headquarters here?"
Since he was released from prison and made up his mind to join Zhao Duan, he gradually regained some of the temperament he had when he joined the army in the north. Tang wiped the water stains on his beard with his big hand, and said solemnly:
"You already have a suspect?"
Haitang shook his head and said:
"Without any evidence, I can't give an answer. But I do suspect that one person is the Taoist priest of the Zixiao Palace Taoist Temple in Fengcheng, Zishan Taoist."
Zhao Duan swallowed Panzi said with calm eyes:
“I also read the information here on the road. In Fengcheng County, Zixiao Palace is quite a famous dojo. Its owner is said to be successful in practice and can control several powerful weapons. Flying Sword.
Decades ago, when the late emperor came to the south for summer vacation, he got acquainted with this man. He presented a treasure to him, and the late emperor Longyan was greatly pleased. He rewarded him with a mountaintop as a Taoist temple and a plaque with his own inscription. Many acres of land.”
Haitang nodded in agreement:
"That's right. It is said that after the purple-shirted Taoist became famous, he had many interactions with people in the world. He was also a big figure in the world. Even the disciples who came down from Qingshan in Emperor Wu City would go to Zixiao Palace to pay a visit when they left Binhai Road...
Well, this legend is somewhat bragging, but it also shows the power and reputation of this Taoist in the local area. Among the people, he is even regarded as an 'immortal master' by the local people. There are many properties and manors below, and their cultivation is unknown."
Zhang Han frowned and said:
"This person's status is probably greater than that of the magistrate of Fengcheng County. Zhuang Xiaocheng is planning to build it. Kuang Fushe has close connections with Jianghu people, and I am afraid that even if the master of Zixiao Palace is not against the party, he will not report the information."
Zhao Duan looked surprisingly calm:
< br>
"Since there is no evidence, it is just suspicion, and we are not busy convicting people."
He turned his head, looked at the God Craftsman Warlock, and said sincerely:
"The public loses the priests, the Tianshi Mansion is the Taoist sect of the world. Chief, do you understand this Taoist from Zixiao Palace?”
The great inventor, who was carrying a bamboo tube and wearing a dirty gray robe, showed disdain:
"Lu Zhengchun of Zixiao Palace, I know him. Although he holds Taoist credentials, he insists that he is the master of Zixiao Palace personally bestowed by the late emperor. Therefore, he has always distanced himself from our Tianshi Palace and probably wants to stand on his own. Bar.
However, the local Taoist temples are not popular, so they can only dominate Fengcheng County and barely become a figure on Binhai Road.
As for how capable the flying swords are, I don’t know, but I heard that they are somewhat sophisticated in the formation methods... However, it is naturally impossible to compete with the orthodoxy of Tianshi Mansion. match. "
Tsk, you are quite proud...
Yes, the Tianshi Mansion has a transcendent status in the Taoist sect. The little fat man is a disciple of the Tianshi, and he is very senior in the world of cultivation. ...
Zhao Duan lamented, who made him and Lao Zhang get to know each other first, which caused all the filters for Taoists in the world to be shattered...
Gongshu Tianyuan thought for a while and added:
"By the way, I heard that this guy is quite lecherous...accepted a group of female disciples..."
"Ahem, this goes without saying. "Yes," Zhao Duan interrupted:
"In short, after this person enters the city, Let’s do some more investigation. I have contacted the Shadow Guards in advance. After we enter the city, we will first join the Shadow Guards as a caravan, and then we will learn the latest information and investigate.”
Well, what he called it. The latest information is that they plan to contact the spies headed by Wu Ling and insert them into the rebel party.
After everyone agreed, they also hurriedly finished their breakfast, got up, loaded the tents onto the carriage, and prepared to set off.
“嘤咛——”
In the tent, Jin Jian, who was lying on his back and sleeping soundly, suddenly felt a dazzling sensation.
She opened her eyes, and the bright sky reflected in her pupils without glasses.
She sat up in confusion and found that the tent was taken away by the little secretary Qian Kerou:
"It's not...I..."
Zhao Duan walked over with a smile and resisted the urge to rub the young priest's messy long hair:
"Get in the car and stay at the inn in the city. "Sleep."
"Inn? Where?" Jin Jian was dumbfounded and asked subconsciously.
“Jinfu Inn.”
Zhao Duan said casually, raising his eyes to look at the city at the end of the official road in the distance. This was the place where he met the imperial shadow guard.
……
……
Fengcheng County Government.
At dawn, the Fengcheng County Magistrate was still asleep when he was awakened by a "dong-dong" knock on the door.
The middle-aged inn man was bleary-eyed, wearing pajamas, and stuck his head out of bed angrily, yelling:
"Why are you banging on the door so early in the morning? Master, I'm sleepy."
Outside the door The eager voice of a government official came in:
"County Master, come out and take a look, the prefect is here!"
"The prefect?!"
The Fengcheng County Magistrate's mind went blank for a moment, and he suddenly jumped out. His sleepiness disappeared, and he quickly removed two Shangguan robes. He walked out and asked about the situation.
The official replied:
"I don’t know, but the prefect suddenly came with a large group of government agents. He was full of murderous intent. He must have entered before dawn. "
Fengcheng County Magistrate was confused. When he arrived at the front hall, he saw a large number of police officers standing in the courtyard. These people were obviously wearing armor. Carrying swords, bows and crossbows.
In the hall, a middle-aged scribe-like official wearing a crimson official robe sat upright.
Standing next to him was a dark-faced warrior with sharp eyes and two swords hanging from his waist.
"Your Excellency, the magistrate, I didn't know that you were visiting, so I missed your welcome..."
The county magistrate forced out a smile and greeted him with flattery, but felt uneasy in his heart. Seeing this gang of officials, he felt extremely nervous. , in an instant, he went through all the bribes he had accepted in the past few years in his mind, and his legs became weak.
Luan Cheng, the prefect of Fucheng, Binhai Province, looked at him coldly, was too lazy to say anything, and said straight to the point:
"Do you know why I came unexpectedly?"
"No... I don't know, please make it clear."
"Humph," the prefect Luan Cheng pointed at him and said angrily:
"This government has received news that there is an important figure who rebels against the party. I arrived in Fengcheng County today and came here to arrest him. "Huh? I don't know." The county magistrate was stunned.
Luan Cheng scolded him and then said:
"When you find out, everyone will run away! Let me ask you, is there an inn in the city named Jinfu?"
"Jinfu Inn? Yes!"
"Then there is That's right, get ready and go with me to arrest the rebels!" Luan Cheng's eyes lit up and he was determined.
……
Cavan
(End of this chapter)