At first light, Mr. Changqing woke up from his bed. Although he was seriously injured due to the backlash of the spell, practicing Taoism has brought him all kinds of miraculous abilities. Even if he is blind, he can still sense changes in Qi.
Take charge of your surroundings.
Along the wall, Mr. Changqing carefully moved his steps and arrived outside the back hall. Before he entered the house, he heard the sound of eating and drinking.
"Mr. Changqing? Why are you here?"
As soon as Su Wangting finished applying medicine and bandaging himself, he looked up and saw Mr. Changqing, who was blindfolded, arriving. He quickly ordered his servants to help him sit down.
"Taiyi ointment?" Mr. Changqing's nose twitched slightly, and he could accurately judge the wound medicine used by Su Wangting based on the smell alone: "Are you injured?"
"Mr. made you laugh." Su Wangting did not elaborate.
"Looking at you like this, did you meet a master last night?" Mr. Changqing asked with a sneer.
Su Wangting waved his servants to leave, closed the door and replied: "Not bad."
"Then the star marrow must have been lost too?" Mr. Changqing said angrily.
Su Wangting could only answer: "It was taken away by the other party."
"Sure enough." Mr. Changqing laughed angrily and said, "This is your boss Su's plan, to let the other party get the star marrow without any effort, thus causing a catastrophe!"
At this time, in the back hall, Cheng Sanwu was holding a basin of hot soup cakes, gulping down the soup and sweating profusely. Afu was sitting in the corner, playing with a horse-head dagger in his hand, with a pair of green eyes.
He was keeping a close eye on Cheng Sanwu.
"Things are indeed as expected, sir." Su Wangting could not help but admire the other party's resourcefulness, and then told the whole story of last night's experience, his tone was sincere, and he did not hide anything.
Mr. Changqing listened from beginning to end, and his expression changed several times. When he finally learned that it was Cheng Sanwu who had forced the old man with a beard to retreat, he couldn't help but laugh and said: "I didn't expect that you, a rude fellow, have some abilities."
Cheng Sanwu put the soup basin down heavily, his mouth full of oil: "What? Are you not convinced?"
After saying this, Cheng Sanwu picked up another Hu Pancake, dipped it in the soup and stuffed it into his mouth.
"A total loser." Mr. Changqing sneered.
In order to prevent the two from arguing, Su Wangting took the initiative to ask for advice: "Sir, do you know the origin of that person yesterday?"
"Based only on oral accounts and without having witnessed it with my own eyes, I can't be sure." Mr. Changqing said: "But the magic he performed obviously did not come from the Central Plains, nor was it entirely Zoroastrian."
Su Wangting added: "He claimed to be not a Zoroastrian, but he was just pretending to be a Zoroastrian."
Mr. Changqing said calmly: "This is not surprising. There are so many people in the world who cling to religious sects and pretend to be authentic. Why should Zoroastrianism stay outside?"
"Just like your Fu Zang Palace, you pretend to be a Taoist sect and misinterpret Taoist classics. In fact, you are just a group of military masters who have failed in the court." Afu teased.
"You -" Mr. Changqing scolded angrily, and then showed a well-educated and arrogant manner: "I don't care about your shallow knowledge. But I want to make it clear that whether it is the art of strong soldiers defeating the arts, or the art of acting,
The methods of astronomical and meteorological divination all come from Taoism."
Afu couldn't help but laugh: "A fake Taoist priest from a side sect is still confident."
"You're just a Yaksha tribe, just a human being who drinks blood, but you want to pretend to be a human. I want to see how capable you are!" Mr. Changqing was furious and jumped up from the table, overturning the soup pot and hitting Cheng Sanwu in the face.
"Damn it, you're not done yet, are you?!" Cheng Sanwu also had a fit on the spot.
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Su Wangting quickly stepped in to stop him: "Calm down and don't be impatient! Now is not the time to argue!"
After his anger faded, Su Wangting apologized and said, "It's all my fault. It was indeed my fault for handing the star marrow to Mu Xide. I originally just thought that the Protector's Office wouldn't be able to get this thing, but everything went wrong."
If Miss Afu hadn't come to my rescue in time and Old Cheng showed off his might, my life would probably have been surrendered on the spot."
Su Wangting was always kind in his dealings with others and was best at mediating disputes. He immediately said to Mr. Changqing: "Sir, Su apologizes to you. I was the one who acted on my own initiative before. But now that the disaster has been caused, I still need to ask Mr. Chang to come forward."
, rescue one or two.”
Mr. Changqing said: "Don't talk about my current situation, even in the past, I couldn't solve it alone. The situation has evolved to this point, and the Protectorate must mobilize manpower to deal with it... I understand,
Do you think the Duhufu cannot accommodate Baochang Society now, so you want me to contact the Duhufu?"
Su Wangting replied without hesitation: "Sir, I know that Su works for Prime Minister Lu, so he cannot run away like an ordinary businessman after causing a big disaster. The loss of the Star Marrow now is due to my incompetence.
Only by retrieving this thing can we protect ourselves. As for the rest of the credit, it belongs to sir."
"But if Mr. Wu dies, the Protectorate may not let you go." Mr. Chang Qing questioned.
"Now most of Baochang Society's personnel are following Qi Dadu to protect the outside world. I believe I am still a bit thin-faced." Su Wangting replied: "At the moment, it is nothing more than Wen Changshi taking the opportunity to do bad things and embezzling. As long as he can cooperate with Qi Dadu
The cause and effect of Guardian Star Essence’s incident will definitely be resolved by the Protectorate.”
"I understand." Mr. Changqing did not refuse: "I also have acquaintances in the army. I will ask them for help when the Imperial Guard of Qi returns to the city. The Imperial Guard of Qi is in charge of the military affairs of the Western Region. He should have heard about Mani Zhu.
I don’t think they will turn us away so easily.”
…
The news of Muside's death spread throughout Quzhi City that day, and the Zoroastrian believers were shocked. Especially when they learned that Muside's head was missing and his body was decomposed, they were extremely angry.
Different from the Han people in the Central Plains who pay attention to the burial of peace, Zoroastrianism believes that burying corpses in the ground will prevent the soul from leaving the evil body and ascending to the eternal kingdom opened by the Great Light Lord, which is one of the biggest taboos.
Therefore, Zoroastrianism practices sky burial. They usually build a sky burial tower on a hill, with the entrance and exit facing the east. The corpse is brought here by the Zoroastrian priests, naked, and allowed to be eaten by eagles and eagles. This symbolizes the unclean nature of the deceased.
The body was purified by the messenger of the gods, and the soul was bathed in light and ascended, thus getting close to the Great Light Lord.
It is said that the Zoroastrian believers in the Central Plains also tried to perform this kind of funeral in the early years. However, there were not so many eagles in the Central Plains and Han Dynasty. Instead, they attracted wild dogs and crows. Moreover, because the climate was milder than that in the Western Regions, the corpses rotted
It was so filthy that it breeds flies and insects. Passers-by hid their faces and ran away when they saw it, eventually attracting the attention of the government.
After such matters were reported to the court, the Emperor of Daxia issued an order to rectify funeral customs, which made some believers dissatisfied. This was also one of the reasons why the temple was banned and destroyed.
A Zoroastrian elder like Muside is highly respected in Quzhi City and even in most of the Western Region. Both he and other members of the religion hope that Muside will follow the old custom of sky burial after his death.
But now Mushid's head was in a different place, his death was unclear, and the body dug out from the collapsed rubble was in an embarrassing state of decay. It is understandable that the believers were shocked.
However, the day before, Director Su of Baochangfang came to visit, and it was said that a holy object was returned to Mu Xide. However, the believers searched the ruins and found no trace of the holy object, which further deepened the suspicion of the believers.
Shock, fear, anger, suspicion...all kinds of emotions spread among the congregation. I don't know who first proposed to file a complaint with the Protectorate, demanding a thorough investigation into the cause of Mushid's death. But when the angry crowd came to the gate of the Protectorate, they immediately
It turned into a riot, and some of the excited believers threw bricks and stones directly at the soldiers of the Protectorate.
The Duhu Mansion was not a bunch of civil servants. Wen Changshi decisively ordered the dispersal of the rioting church members. All the garrison troops and horses were mobilized, shields were raised, guns were raised, bows and crossbows were fired, and a group of cavalry put on sticks and launched directly on the street.
He charged to disperse the crowd and immediately suppressed the commotion.
However, the situation became even more chaotic. The overwhelmed believers ran wildly, trampling on each other, leaving corpses on the ground. There were also many local ruffians who took the opportunity to rob homes, and half of Quzhi City immediately fell into chaos.
I'm afraid no one expected that the situation would develop to this point. But at this time, news came that the Qi Protector was about to return to the city. Wen Changshi was afraid of being blamed for his incompetence, so he quickly suppressed the chaos in the city.
On the other hand, he went to Zoufang to appease the believers, stating that the Protectorate would find out the cause of Mu Sid's death as soon as possible and give the believers a clear explanation.
"Suspect Su Wangting, show up quickly!"
Outside Baochangfang, Wen Changshi brought more than 200 soldiers and horses to prepare for the battle. He shouted loudly in the chaofang: "I suspect that you are related to the death of Zoroastrian elder Mu Xide, and now I order you to go to the government office immediately.
On trial!”
If it had been anyone else, Wen Changshi would have rushed into the village with his soldiers and horses to arrest him. But Su Wangting was not an ordinary person. He had a big backer like Prime Minister Lu behind him, not to mention the evil name Cheng Sanwu.
If the expert guards outside only use force, they may suffer a lot of casualties, which is not what Wen Changshi wants to see.
After a while, Su Wangting and Cheng Sanwu came to the square gate, followed secretly by A Fu and Mr. Chang Qing.
Of course, Su Wangting knew the situation in the city. Without Mr. Changqing's prediction, he himself expected that Wen Changshi would attack him when he had nothing to do.
"Wen Changshi, Su has not stepped out of the house in the past two days, so how can he be unjustly blamed?" Su Wangting crossed his hands in salute and asked as soon as he came up.
"Stop quibbling here!" Wen Changshi said rudely: "Mu Xied met you alone before his death. If you have serious suspicions, come with us to the government office immediately!"
"First we ransack the house, then arrested the person, and then we want to kill the person in prison?" Cheng Sanwu stepped forward with his knife pressed and asked in a deep voice.
Cheng Sanwu's imposing manner made the soldiers guarding the outside retreat slightly. Most of them had heard of Cheng Sanwu's name, and some had seen his skills. Their morale was shaken for a while.
"Unbridled!" Wen Changshi shouted fiercely, raising his whip and pointing: "You are Cheng Sanwu. I have known from the past that you have always been lawless and have repeatedly violated the law with force. Today I will deal with you too!"
"Let me see who dares to step forward?!"
Cheng Sanwu drew his sword angrily, and the moment it was unsheathed, it made a sharp sound, and the sword gave off a cold light, which was frightening.
In fact, this was not Cheng Sanwu's ability. Su Wangting made up his mind to delay the time until the Qi Dadu Guards returned to the city. Therefore, when Wen Changshi led his troops to attack, he had to keep them out. Otherwise, he would be captured and imprisoned.
, Wen Changshi would probably use Su Wangting's life to calm the angry Zoroastrian believers.
In order to stop the soldiers and horses of the Protectorate, Mr. Chang Qing blessed Cheng Sanwu's horizontal sword with magic, making it sharp and dazzling, enough to intimidate ordinary soldiers.
Cheng Sanwu shouted like thunder, Wen Changshi's horse was frightened and kicked, and he was thrown off the horse. If the soldiers on the left and right hadn't rushed to rescue him, he would have broken his bones.
"Rebellion, rebellion!"
Wen Changshi stood up in embarrassment and ordered angrily: "Kill me! Whoever takes Cheng Sanwu's head will be rewarded with a first-class guest of honor for one year!"
The four-town Protectorate Mansion governs the vast territory of the Western Region, and the officials appointed by the imperial court alone are unable to administer it. Therefore, each successive Protectorate will recruit staff and guests on their own, handle paperwork and government affairs, and even assist in military aircraft and counselors in war.
Among the staff and guests, there were many scholars from the Central Plains who came to seek refuge because they failed in the imperial examinations. In order to win over them, the Duhufu would often give generous rewards as compensation. Moreover, when the Duhu himself returned to Beijing to report on his duties or was promoted or reassigned, these staff would
Guests can also usually get recommendations and soar into the sky in their career, just like a fish leaping over a dragon's gate.
In the Daduhu of the Four Towns, different court guests followed the imperial rank and were distinguished. The first-class court guests were paid five thousand yuan as gifts per month, and there were also rewards such as corn, cloth, and silk. The annual reward was quite generous for the soldiers present.
considerable.
"A year's reward? Is my head worth this little money?" Cheng Sanwu laughed loudly when he heard this. The laughter hit everyone's ears, and the soldiers in the front row became weak and found it difficult to move forward.
"Three years! Three years of reward!" Seeing this, Wen Changshi quickly increased the reward.
"Do you think I'm a lamb to be slaughtered? Do you still dare to bargain?" Cheng Sanwu raised his sword and pointed at the soldiers present: "So what if there is a lot of money? There are only two words: life and death on the battlefield. Heroic men can come forward. Cheng Sanwu is here.
Learn from me!!!"
After saying the word "learn", Cheng Sanwu stepped forward and directly cracked the stones outside the square gate, causing spider web-like cracks to spread along the ground.
"This Cheng Sanwu is really an ignorant and reckless man, and he acts solely on the basis of bravery!" Mr. Changqing in the back shook his head slightly.
Afu leaned against the door frame and said with a smile: "A rude man can be useful. If you don't rely on bravery at this juncture, what else can you expect?"
"What if Wen Changshi really ordered a strong attack at any cost?" Mr. Changqing asked: "Why don't you speak, Mr. Su?"
Su Wangting turned back with a serious expression: "You'd better hope that Wen Changshi won't be stupid."
"What? Cheng Sanwu really dares to let go and kill him? Those are the troops of the Protectorate." Mr. Changqing couldn't help but laugh.
However, Su Wangting fell silent, which puzzled Mr. Changqing for a moment. As for Afu, who was so wild and angry after witnessing the whole process, he did not dare to relax at the moment.
"Old Cheng, Old Cheng, you must hold it back." Only Su Wangting heard the cry in his heart.
"A good man is in charge, but I want to see how capable you, Cheng Sanwu, are?"
At this time, shouts and questions were heard from the other end of the street, and a young general in red robe was galloping forward with a spear in his hand, and he was stabbing with the spear!