The dirt road up the mountain was gentle and wide, winding up the mountain. When we reached the mountain with a height of tens of feet, we saw three or four carriages parked outside the mountain gate, and a few horses were tied to the stone piles. The mountain gate was not big, and the Taoist priest could tell at a glance
It is a two-entry courtyard surrounded by three small tile-roofed houses. The plaque "Quanzhen Star Observation Pavilion" hanging on the mountain gate made He Qizhou feel particularly cordial.
He Qizhou tapped the door knocker, and after a long time he saw someone coming to open the door. The person who opened the door was a young Taoist priest. Seeing He Qizhou coming one by one, he asked with some surprise: "Little brother, are you coming to stay?"
"Exactly..."
Before He Qizhou could finish speaking, the Taoist priest closed the door and said, "This temple does not accept pilgrims at night. Please go back."
He Qizhou hurriedly held the door with one hand and said: "Brother Taoist, I am a lay disciple of the general altar. Please make it convenient for me."
The Taoist priest glanced at the ultimatum handed over by He Qizhou, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Just wait, I'll ask the temple master."
This time we didn't wait long. The young Taoist priest quickly brought a middle-aged Taoist priest. The middle-aged man had a kind face and smiled and said to He Qizhou: "I'm a poor Taoist, Tianyin. I'm a young Taoist from the main altar. I'm sorry. Xiaoguan is just right."
We have received several pilgrims, and both guest rooms are full. We can’t vacate the guest room now. I’ll ask the doorman to squeeze into my room. Can you please stay in the doorman’s small room tonight?”
"Then thank the Taoist Priest. I'll leave early tomorrow morning." He Qizhou was not polite and put his hands together in a salute. Anyway, he left some money when he left tomorrow morning.
"Little fellow Taoist, those pilgrims are regular customers of this temple. They are listening to my sermon. I will not accompany you. Zhiming, you can take this junior brother to rest and get some food." Taoist Master Tianyin said.
.
"Senior Brother He, please come with me." The Taoist priest named Zhiming said.
He Qizhou thanked him again and tied his horse outside the door. He followed the young Taoist priest in with his luggage. The Taoist priest's residence was in the west wing of the door. The young Taoist priest introduced that there were only seven Taoist priests in the temple, and the pilgrims mainly came from thirty miles away.
Outside, there were the common people of Xihe City, as well as the merchants traveling on official roads.
After He Qizhou walked a few steps, he suddenly smelled a strange fragrance. He felt as if he had smelled it somewhere before. He couldn't remember it for a moment. He also felt that this place was remote, so he asked: "Brother Taoist, why is this temple built in Li?"
A place so far away from a small town?”
"Oh, this was built by Taoists who practiced Qing Dynasty in the past. The main thing they liked was the clear spring on the mountain, and the fact that the terrain here is quite high and the feng shui is good. We Taoists are not afraid of poverty and can endure loneliness, so we have been keeping
Stay tuned to this small temple." The Taoist priest said.
When He Qizhou walked to the entrance of the Taoist temple, he could indeed see Xihe City thirty miles away from a high place. He had walked from that small town for more than an hour to reach this Taoist temple, and he praised: "Senior brother, what a character!"
The hut where He Qizhou was brought to stay was indeed simple. After the little Taoist priest led He Qizhou into the house, he went to get food for him. Maybe they were having a meal in the courtyard. After a while, the Taoist priest named Zhiming came in with a dinner plate and two vegetarian dishes.
, a big bowl of rice, and a jug of wine.
He Qizhou asked in surprise: "Why is there still wine?"
"Oh, because Xiaoguan often receives businessmen from the past, it is better to prepare some drinks. After all, it is necessary to save some silver to maintain the Taoist temple. Naturally, we will not drink. Master said, you are a lay disciple and you are tired from traveling. Please drink some water and wine.
, I can sleep more soundly tonight.”
He Qizhou was a little moved and hurriedly took out about a tael of silver and said, "Thank you, Taoist Master. These should be used as food and accommodation. Please don't refuse, senior brother."
But the little Taoist priest refused to accept it, saying that he would be beaten and scolded by his master if he accepted it. He Qizhou had no choice but to give up. At worst, he would just leave the money in the room tomorrow morning.
After the little Taoist priest left, He Qizhou, who was already extremely thirsty, took a sip directly into the wine pot, which was ordinary rice wine.
The little Taoist priest who was still outside the door and hadn't gone far heard the sound of people drinking up their drinks in one go. After a while, there was the sound of chairs falling down and people falling to the ground.
With a "squeak" sound, the door of the hut was pushed open, and Zhiming came in again. He saw the empty wine bottle poured on the table, He Qizhou and his chair fell to the ground, and the sound of heavy breathing could be heard.
"Junior brother, junior brother!" Zhiming called twice, squatted down and pushed, but saw that He Qizhou still had no reaction. Zhi Ming looked back at the door, and Tianyin had stepped through the door without knowing when: "Master...
"
"Little brother, are you okay?" Tianyin made a gesture to stop Zhiming's questioning, then stepped forward and leaned down, as if to see what happened to He Qizhou, but when he was about to approach He Qizhou, he struck out like lightning, and even
Touch the Tanzhong and Qihai points on He Qizhou's chest and abdomen.
‘Porphyrin, porphyry’, He Qizhou’s body trembled on the ground with two muffled sounds. Tianyin sat on the chair beside him as if he was relieved and let out a long breath.
"Master, do you need to be so careful when dealing with a young boy?" Zhiming asked.
"You know nothing!" Tianyin scolded angrily.
At this time, another middle-aged Taoist priest appeared at the door. The man asked: "Brother, has everything been done?"
"Well, luckily we met him in Zhongnan Mountain. If we act recklessly, we will unfortunately get killed by this kid!" Tianyin said proudly.
"When several uncles were fighting, he could stand firmly on the stone flat. If a fight really broke out, we wouldn't even be able to fill the gap in his teeth. Fortunately, he is still just a baby. What should we do now?"
"Huh, give me a tael of silver? His sword is worth tens of thousands of taels!" Tianyin stood up and took out the "Deceiving Frost" sword from the luggage on the bed and smiled scornfully.
"Brother, I heard that this sword is a bit hot to handle!" said the middle-aged Taoist priest at the door.
"Ah? Who is he?" Zhiming was about to be shocked.
"He is the eldest disciple of the old master, the new champion He Qizhou!" Tianyin said. Apparently he had met He Qizhou after going to Mount Zhongnan to observe the ceremony, and had heard about the commotion He Qizhou made in the capital.
"Ah, then how can we afford to offend him? Master, what should we do with him next?" Zhiming asked.
"This kid must have missed his stay and just turned in on the spur of the moment. I have asked your two senior brothers to check on the official road again. If no one comes from behind, just chop it up and throw it into the back mountain. No one will find it.
, Besides, this guy is from Yuanbao's faction, if we destroy him, our uncle will have fewer opponents in the future. As for this sword, find a way to present it to the general, hum, kill two birds with one stone."
"Then congratulations, senior brother, I finally don't have to live in this poor place. I hope senior brother won't forget us brothers." The Taoist at the door said flatteringly.
"Don't worry, if I am promoted by the general, this good job will definitely be left to you. By the way, has the Persian let go?" Tianyin asked.
"That guy was only willing to give a high price to the girl named Zhang. It has already been raised to one thousand five hundred taels. The others refused to pay another penny." The junior brother replied.
"No, the one with the surname Zhang is what Mr. Hou has designated and cannot be sold yet. Are you sure you haven't touched her?" Tianyin asked.
"How dare we?"
"Go and tell the Persians that they will keep it for them, but they will have to pay half of the deposit first."
"What should we do with the Marquis?"
"Have you ever seen a Marquis keep someone for more than half a month? Besides, he only accounts for 20% of this business, and it doesn't count if he does it alone. It takes almost a month for the Persians to come back and forth. We may not know it by then.
I can borrow it for a few days to play." Tianyin has long since lost the calm demeanor he had when he was at the door.
"This little girl surnamed Zhang is really nimble. I didn't expect her skills to be very good. If it weren't for the drug, it would be really difficult to capture her so well. But senior brother, she is the daughter of the magistrate of Xihe County and a member of the Zhang family.
Will..."
"Humph, we never kidnap locals, he won't be suspicious. That Zhang Zheng is a branch of the Zhang family and has ruined our good things many times. We want to show him some color. Besides, Mr. Hou also treats his daughter.
It has been coveted for a long time, and it can be sold for a good price after playing it. Why not do it if you can achieve multiple things with one stone?"
"What if the Zhang family finds out..."
"Cowards! Which of the things we did can be found out by the Zhang family? Besides, that girl's entourage was slaughtered by us, who will find out that we did it? There were so many pilgrims this morning, and everyone saw that girl had left long ago
, no one will doubt us.
Hum hum, it is a well-known thing in the city that she comes to pray for her deceased mother on this day every month, and people disappear on official roads. Even if Zhang Sheng searched Xihe City, it would be in vain.
Didn't Zhang Sheng come over in person in the afternoon and ask us to help find someone? The Zhang family is so big, and they are now worried about the possible invasion of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. A small county magistrate's daughter will not let them take notice, so we can let a hundred of them go.
Heart."
"What if the Persian merchant is caught..."
"As long as the general is in office, all the checkpoints along the way are ours. What the hell are you afraid of!" Tianyin said angrily.
"Master, Master..." A hurried cry came from outside the door.
"What happened? Why are you back so soon?" Tianyin asked a Taoist priest who was running into the gate as he walked out of the hut.
"We saw from a distance on the mountain road that Zhang Sheng was bringing someone over again. Senior Brother Tianguang is bringing him up. I'll run over to report to you first," said the little Taoist priest.
"How many people did you bring?" Tianyin asked.
"It seems that they only brought two people, but one of them is the chief arrester of the county."
"That's okay. You go and tell the third uncle to hide him in the secret room and greet the Persians." Tianyin arranged: "Zhiming, you move this guy named He to the bed, and I'll send Zhang Sheng away first."
The sound of horse hooves could be heard outside the gate, and Tianyin hurriedly ran out, only to see three people dismounting from their horses holding torches, and a Taoist priest running up behind the horse from afar.
"Master Zhang, have you found your daughter?" Tianyin stepped forward and asked with concern.
"No, I just want to ask the spectator for help." Zhang Sheng, who was in his fifties and dressed in smart clothes, had a dusty face. When he saw a few carriages near the gate, he asked casually: "Today we are stargazing.
Are there any guests in the pavilion?"
Tianyin replied: "Well, in the afternoon, a few merchants passed by and stayed at this temple. They are some old guests. Why don't you go to the living room to talk?"