As expected, it rained for a long time until it was dark in Chang'an. Chen Qingshan took an umbrella and sent Xiao Jiu back to the imperial city.
Xiaojiu asked Chen Qingshan a question.
"Are we friends now?"
Chen Qingshan thought for a while and finally nodded, saying that of course they are friends. Xiaojiu was very happy and entered the Danfeng Gate, looking back with some reluctance.
"Go, go, come find me at Kongmingfang when you have time." Chen Qingshan waved to Xiaojiu.
Chen Qingshan understood that Xiaojiu was born in this imperial city and was loved by all, but he only lost some freedom and some friends. Chen Qingshan held an umbrella and walked into the curtain made of rain, and his figure gradually blurred.
Perhaps because of the rain, there were fewer tourists on the street, but there were still many vendors wearing raincoats and working silently.
Chen Qingshan stopped, bought a bunch of candied haws on a stick, ate it leisurely, and finally walked into a deserted alley.
Deep in the alley, Chen Qingshan also finished eating the candied haws. He flicked his sleeves and the bamboo sticks shot backwards with a whistling sound, creating air waves and opening a corner of the rain curtain.
"Your Excellency has been following you for so long, so it's time to come out." Chen Qingshan turned around and looked at the person behind him with a half-smile.
A mask covered his face, he was wearing a raincoat, and in his hand was the bamboo stick that Chen Qingshan had just shot.
The man threw away the bamboo stick, spread out his hands, and said, "I just want to come and see the Prince of Taiping who has been personally consecrated by the Holy Emperor."
"Just go and see, then why don't you dare to show up?" Chen Qingshan said.
The man stood at the entrance of the alley, dressed as a wanderer, blocking Chen Qingshan's path. He sighed: "I hope Mr. Hou understands that what we are doing is shady after all."
Under the raincoat, a pair of bright silver full-moon scimitars were slowly pulled out from behind by this person.
Chen Qingshan smiled: "A rainy day is a murderous day, but the rain in Chang'an today is a bit beautiful, and I don't want it to be stained with blood."
"It's an order from above. There's nothing we can do about it. After taking the money, I naturally have to help others to eliminate disasters. I'm really sorry for ruining Mr. Hou's enjoyment of watching the rain." The man crossed his hands, put two scimitars together, and fired a blade.
Ming.
"It's just that I can't figure it out." Chen Qingshan paused.
"What can't you figure out?" the man asked.
"I can't figure out why such a weak person was sent." Chen Qingshan replied.
"No matter how weak you are, I can still kill you!"
The man got angry and quickly approached Chen Qingshan with a scimitar. Then he jumped up high and chopped off Chen Qingshan's head with a pair of scimitars.
Chen Qingshan remained motionless. A jade fist stretched out from behind and punched out. The assassins in the four realms turned into a rain of blood. It was Chen Lingguan who took action.
"Originally I wanted to ask this guy's name, but now that he has become a pulp, I have nowhere to ask and I don't want to ask." The assassin died, leaving behind his scimitar, mask, and a piece of it.
The brass token has a tall building engraved on the front and the words Yanyu Tower on the back.
Chen Qingshan sighed. He probably knew who wanted to kill him. What came to Chen Qingshan's mind was the figure of the current prince. As for why he wanted to kill him, it might be because of his friendship with Monk Fan, or because of his relationship with Monk Fan.
That winter hunting ceremony overwhelmed him.
Chen Qingshan also recognized the Yanyu Tower on the brass token. In the Tang Dynasty, this was a secret association similar to the Luan Shen Cult.
Different from the strict order of Chaoshen Cult, Yanyulou is a loose organization, and its members are all assassins, and what they do is to take people's money and eliminate disasters for others.
The assassin tokens in Yanyu Tower are also different, with wooden tokens being the lowest and jade tokens being the highest.
No one knows who the founder of Yanyu Tower is, only those who own its token are its members.
Chen Qingshan threw the man's scimitar into the storage ring, then picked up the mask and put it on his face.
There was a small formation inside the brass token. The small formation recorded a location. Chen Qingshan understood that this should be Yanyulou's stronghold in Chang'an.
After changing his clothes, Chen Qingshan walked out of the alley and headed straight for the Yanyu Tower stronghold.
He had to confirm whether the current prince wanted to kill him.
The stronghold of Yanyu Tower is at the junction of the inner and outer cities of Chang'an. When Chen Qingshan arrived, he realized that it was the place where the beggars of Chang'an City gathered.
These beggars are also very particular about asking for money. They know that there are many rich people in the inner city and they cannot enter the inner city, so they gather in the area between the inner and outer cities. They always meet some soft-hearted rich people who ask for more money.
money.
The beggars in Chang'an City were better dressed than the villagers in Jishui Town, which made Chen Qingshan feel somewhat emotional.
Chen Qingshan followed the instructions and entered an open courtyard. He patted the third brick from the courtyard door three times. When a tunnel appeared, Chen Qingshan ducked into it. It was very narrow at first and he walked dozens of steps.
, it suddenly dawned on me that there was a cave under the courtyard.
Everyone here has their faces covered with masks, so Chen Qingshan's appearance is not surprising.
Chen Qingshan even saw a few people wearing official robes, but people here were accustomed to them. Obviously, it was not necessarily new for people from the court to enter the Yanyu Tower.
The young man on guard saw the brass sign on Chen Qingshan's waist and nodded politely.
The status of the Brass Token in this Yanyu Tower is not high, but it is not low either. It can be regarded as the backbone.
Although there are many people in this underground stronghold, it also looks empty. There is a table in the center for the assassins to rest.
Behind the counter is a woman with a fox face and a long-handled pipe. She must be the steward here.
Chen Qingshan walked straight towards the fox face.
"This steward, I want to buy some information." Chen Qingshan said.
The fox-faced man took a puff of cigarette, then glanced at Chen Qingshan and asked: "What's the matter?"
"If you want some information about the current prince, you don't need to be too detailed. Just look at what he usually does and who he comes in contact with." Chen Qingshan answered.
"This shouldn't be something you, an assassin with a brass token, should ask." Fox Face said softly. She wasn't saying there wasn't any, but that Chen Qingshan shouldn't ask.
In other words, even the information about the Prince of the East Palace is available in the Yanyu Tower.
Chen Qingshan understood the idea and took out a silver note with a face value of ten thousand taels.
"I'm just curious. The manager will sell me." Chen Qingshan said.
The fox-faced man said nothing, put away the bank note, lowered his head and rummaged through the cabinet, and placed a piece of yellow paper in front of Chen Qingshan.
"This is the current crown prince's activities this year, up to now." Fox Face said.
Chen Qingshan took it and skipped the beginning. It started with the days after Liao Fan entered Beijing.
Two lines recently read: "In the twelfth lunar month, the prince of the current dynasty launched a military campaign to kill the cultivators of the Seven Realms."
"Winter Hunting Ceremony, the prince traps and kills the cultivator of the Sea of Stars."
Chen Qingshan turned his attention to the last line: "On the twenty-second day of the twelfth lunar month, the Holy Emperor summoned the prince. I don't know what happened. It may be related to the Taiping Marquis. It has not happened until now."
Chen Qingshan calculated the time and found that the day when the Holy Emperor summoned the Crown Prince was after he summoned himself.
The Crown Prince has not yet returned to the East Palace, which means that the person who wants to kill Chen Qingshan is not His Highness the Crown Prince.
The clue was broken, and Chen Qingshan pondered.
Then, Chen Qingshan asked again: "Do you have any information about Marquis Taiping?"
The fox-faced man glanced deeply at Chen Qingshan, then threw a piece of paper from under the cabinet.
"You gave me 10,000 taels, so this information about Marquis Taiping can be regarded as a gift."
Chen Qingshan thanked him and took the piece of paper with his information written on it.