It rained heavily and there was lightning and thunder.
The man was wrapped in a quilt in fear. On the bed was a torn corpse.
When a man wakes up from his sleep, his favorite concubine in his arms has turned into a pile of minced meat.
Candles were lit in the room, and beside the round table, a man in black was wiping a long knife.
"You...who are you..." the man asked tremblingly.
The man in black remained silent, stood up, and walked slowly towards him with a long knife.
"You...what are you going to do?"
The man jumped out of bed and ran towards the door, exclaiming:
"Here comes someone with a thorn..."
The long knife passed through his chest, and the man couldn't finish his words after all.
He spit out two mouthfuls of blood, twitched his body a few times, and fell down softly.
The man in black pulled out a long knife and wiped it clean on the man's clothes. Then he found a brush in the room, dipped it in the man's blood, walked to the cleanly painted wall and drew something on it.
After doing all this, the man threw away the blood-soaked brush, opened the door, and disappeared into the rain.
…
Li Xin'an sat at the desk, staring at the yellowed paper in her hand, her face solemn.
Murong Bai asked curiously: "What is written on it?"
"I sent people to Yingtang to find information about the Iron Flag Gate before Song Yuanfeng died. Jiangnan has been fishing for days, and it was delayed until now."
Li Xin'an handed the paper over and sighed: "There is someone here that we didn't expect."
Murong Bai took the paper and frowned slightly.
"Yang Fei?"
"Yang Guozhong's son was still a teenager back then, but he was already in charge of the Yang family's underground forces."
Li Xin'an sighed: "Since Iron Flag Sect and Yang Guozhong are able to get in touch, it is not difficult to suspect that he did it."
"Actually, it doesn't mean much anymore. We have already concluded that the Yang family is the murderer who killed Song Yuanfeng. Now that Yang Fei has appeared, we just want to find out who did it."
Li Xin'an smiled and said: "Let's not talk about it anymore, Bai Mumu, I see you are unhappy today. You have been sitting there without talking for a long time. What happened?"
Murong Bai pondered for a while and said, "If I tell you, don't get excited."
"I'm only excited if you don't tell me." Li Xin'an said slyly, "Could it be that your beloved girl was fished away? That's not possible. Even if I risk my life, I still have to help my brother find the place.
return!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Murong Bai said with a straight face, "Song Hui is dead."
"What did you say?"
Li Xin'an's smile froze on his face, and after a few breaths, he slapped the table and stood up.
"She was staying in the Huangsun Mansion honestly, how could she die suddenly... ahem..."
Li Xin'an coughed violently, and his face turned as red as blood. Murong Bai hurriedly rushed to his side, patted his back gently, and said comfortingly:
"I told you not to get excited, why are you still so reckless?"
"Song Hui is dead! How can I not be excited?"
Li Xin'an sat down in frustration, "What on earth is going on?"
"According to the person who reported the news, Song Hui was found dead in the cell this morning by the person who delivered the food." Murong Bai said, "A knife pierced the chest. It was very clean and there was no excess blood. Judging from the technique,
, his sword skills are very proficient, I have never seen the corpse, but judging from the description alone, he should be a second-grade master."
"No, it can't be a second-grade one." Li Xin'an shook his head, "Are there any signs of damage to the scene? Are the prison door locks intact?"
"No." Murong Bai said, "I asked specifically about this. The cell where Song Hui is held is underground, and there are no signs of damage along the way."
"That's strange." Li Xin'an frowned and said, "The cells in His Highness's residence are all controlled by mechanisms. They were originally built by Tian Yang, a master of the Mo clan. Even if you have a key, you have to be familiar with the mechanism to open them."
"Other than His Highness, as far as I know, there are only two of his confidants who can open this mechanism, and not even Suhedo."
"Is it the spy next to His Highness?"
"I don't know. Maybe the murderer is also proficient in mechanism skills." Li Xin'an rubbed his chin and said:
"There is another possibility that there is more than one murderer."
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"A master who is proficient in machine skills and sword skills, or a master of machine skills and a master of sword skills, no matter what the situation is, it is not easy to mess with..."
Murong Bai's eyes flashed with passion: "Next, I want to see Song Hui's body. I want to determine the specific state of that person."
He gently stroked "Feng Ming" lying on his lap and said, "I look forward to playing against him."
"You can't rest after a few days of training?" Li Xin'an said with a smile, "I have to lie down for a month, and I don't know how much my swordsmanship will regress."
"I see you are so alive and kicking, but you don't want to lie down for a month."
Li Xin'an shrugged and said with a smile: "You may as well go and see if they have missed any details. Now that Zhang Quan is away, some affairs of the Blood Clothes Hall will be handed over to you."
"Is this okay?" Murong Bai was a little worried, "I have only joined the Blood Clothes Hall for a few days. Won't the old people in the Blood Clothes Hall have any objections to this?"
"Do you have any opinions?" Li Xin'an said with a smile, "Young Master of the Martial Arts Alliance, it's too late for them to admire you, so they don't have time to be jealous."
"Don't worry, I won't let you participate in anything that dirty hands."
Murong Bai nodded, stood up, "I'm leaving."
"Remember to bring me some Su Xin Zhai."
Murong Bai's figure disappeared at the door of the study. Li Xin'an leaned on the back of the chair, looked at the empty and dilapidated study, and sighed.
He gently rubbed his temples, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and wrote something on the rice paper.
In the end, he angrily blackened the rice paper full of writing, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it out of the door.
…
Murong Bai came only at night.
Li Xin'an didn't care that he didn't bring Su Xin Zhai's pastries for herself, because Murong Bai brought something else.
There was a small box of gold shining brightly, and a small box containing two precious medicinal plants.
"This is what His Highness asked me to bring to you." Murong Bai said, "These golds were found from the Immortality Cult. Your Highness said you deserve them. The medicinal materials are for your recovery. The ice and snow collected from the Tianshan Mountains are
Jade Ginseng.”
Li Xin'an stared at the two small boxes for a long time and said with a wry smile:
"Your Highness has spent a lot of money."
Murong Bai chose the wrong wording and asked tentatively:
"Xue Yi Tang, are you going to be alienated by His Highness?"
"Otherwise, what else can we do?" Li Xin'an said helplessly, "This is giving us severance pay."
"Why did Your Highness do this?" Murong Bai was puzzled, "When I went to the Emperor's Sun Mansion, I saw that the soldiers there had almost changed, and the number of people in heaven had obviously increased. I want to see Your Highness, Xie Li
I have to search my body even if my teeth are missing.”
"As expected." Li Xin'an said, "In his sleep, a swordsman master sneaked into the heavily guarded Huangsun Mansion, opened the mechanism built by the Mohist master, and killed Song Hui, who was under strict protection. If you were His Highness, you
What do you think?"
"Aren't you worried about the head on your neck?"
"What's more, Suhedo has left."
Li Xin'an felt a headache when she thought of the bald monk.
He couldn't figure out what Su Heduo wanted to do. He was away from Chang'an for 300 of the 365 days a year, which made Li Xin'an know very little about him.
"In this case, it's a good thing that His Highness was not frightened out of his wits."
"Now that I am seriously injured, His Highness won't be able to use me for a while. If you see the number of people in Tianzhong suddenly increasing, it means that the Blood Clothes Hall is not important to him for the time being."
"Then, are you planning to recuperate here safely?" Murong Bai suddenly felt that Li Chu's decision was correct, and it would be perfect for Li Xin to rest in peace.
"Maybe." Li Xin'an sighed, "Let's not talk about Song Hui. I can't let go of Tongji Fang."
"Tongjifang?"
"You still remember what I said, I brought Tongjifang to monitor people from the Western Regions, right?"
"Um."
"Jiang Yanyan once used the methods of illusionists from the Western Regions. This makes me feel even more horrified by the methods of those Western Regions people."
"Illusionists can control others by invisibly pulling them into illusions. They will make you unable to distinguish between illusion and reality. Even the most powerful masters cannot escape."
"When the Wu family was in power, they recruited strangers from the world, including illusionists from the Western Regions. They followed Wu's orders and controlled the court ministers.
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In the end, their ambitions grew and they even set their sights on the Wu family. If Di Renjie had not uncovered his conspiracy, the current Tang Dynasty would have been unimaginable."
"Illusionist from the Western Regions... I have never encountered such a person when I traveled around the world. When I have the opportunity in the future, I must go to the Western Regions to have a look." Murong Bai's face showed longing.
"But since illusionists are so terrifying, why doesn't the imperial court ban them?"
"Illusionists in the Western Regions are just like you and me in the Tang Dynasty. Their world is the world of illusions."
"For the people of the Western Regions, illusionists are extremely noble, and the Tang Dynasty will naturally treat them with courtesy. Even if they come, we cannot expel them. This is the magnanimity of a great country."
Li Xin'an raised her eyebrows and said, "There are five illusionists in Tongji Square. They are going to perform in the palace on the birthday of the Imperial Concubine this year. This is what I'm afraid of."
"Then let everyone know to replace you?"
"It can only be this way."
Li Xin'an sighed: "It's just Tongjifang, not just an illusionist."
"Baitou Mo, if you stay there for a month, it only takes one month, and you will find that there is a crouching tiger, hidden dragon in Tongji Square!"
"Zhongyin is hiding in the city. Could it be that there are senior experts living in seclusion here?"
"If there are senior experts here, I won't worry." Li Xin'an shook his head, stared at the small box of gold, and said:
"lets change a topic."
"Tomorrow you come with me to the outside of the city."
"Going outside the city? What to do."
"Donate money and love."
…
The white fog covered the ground with a layer of hoarfrost in the autumn morning. The city gate opened in a vast expanse of white, and two horses walked out of the city gate.
The sound of horse hooves was heard on the path outside Chang'an City. Li Xin'an let the horse walk leisurely and contentedly, feeling very uncomfortable.
He was wrapped in the white mink cloak given to him by Li Chu, and his mouth was steaming.
"Why did you suddenly think of giving charity money to the temple? I remember, didn't you worship Taoism and suppress Buddhism?" Murong Bai asked curiously.
"I don't believe in Buddhism, nor do I believe in Taoism. I just prefer Taoism's advocating purity and inaction," but Buddhism also has its merits."
"Rescue the suffering and be compassionate. Qinglong Temple opens a porridge shed every morning to give alms to nearby villagers. Some beggars even travel thousands of miles from other roads, but Qinglong Temple has never changed for decades. Such a Buddha
, how can I not like it?”
The two of them walked on the country road for about an hour. Gradually, the road widened and pedestrians could be seen.
"Qinglong Temple is almost here." Li Xin'an pointed to Murong Bai, "Here, that's the one with the shed in front."
Li Xin'an jumped on his horse and whipped his whip. Murong Baigang just wanted to dissuade him, but he had already ridden away.
Murong Bai had no choice but to follow him on horseback.
"Shutan!" Li Xin'an jumped off the horse. The young novice had already taken the reins and pulled the horse to tie it.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a hearty ride on a horse.”
"You are fooling around again! Can you please take care of yourself and don't always let others worry about you?" Murong Bai Xun said belatedly.
Seeing Li Xin'an blocking his ears with a look like "I won't listen, I won't listen, I'm just a bastard chanting sutras", Murong Bai helplessly handed the reins to the monk who came up to him.
He looked at the temple named "Qinglong Temple", but he couldn't connect this simple little courtyard with the splendid temples he had seen before.
There were some sallow and thin people standing at the porridge tent at the door. They took a bowl of sticky porridge from the monk who gave the porridge, said thank you to the master, and then found a place to squat down and drink.
"Don't be stunned, go in."
Li Xin'an greeted Murong Bai to go inside, and the young novice monk showed them the way.
"Master Li, I haven't seen you for a long time."
"Xiao Huixin, do you miss me?"
Li Xin'an rubbed the little novice's head and stepped into this dilapidated temple.
An elderly man walked towards me, tall and kind-faced.
Murong Bai's heart skipped a beat. His mother believed in Buddhism, so he had been in contact with many Buddhist monks since he was a child, but this man gave him a different feeling from all the previous monks.
This man has clearly been stained with blood!
Li Xin'an clasped his hands together and saluted the man.