At three o'clock in the morning, the outside of Hu Yue Tower in Sanglinfang was deserted. There was only one boy sweeping the house outside. The smell of alcohol in the streets and alleys had not dissipated. There were still a few pools of vomit and filth in the corners, which was unsightly and unsightly.
The tiles, carved beams and painted pillars are out of place.
Mr. Changqing's face was full of disgust. He was about to enter Hu Yue Tower when a guard walked out yawning.
"Go, go, it's broad daylight, the girls haven't woken up yet." When the guard saw someone coming to the door, he waved his hand impatiently.
"I'm here to find someone." Mr. Changqing didn't look at the guard at all and looked up at the height of the pavilion.
The guard smiled: "Everyone who comes to Hu Yue Tower is looking for someone. As I said, the girls haven't woken up yet. If you have an appointment with someone, I will tell the fake mother to make arrangements for you tonight."
Mr. Changqing sneered: "I thought that brothels and brothels put service first and should know how to treat guests. Wouldn't your rude words be annoying to the guests?"
The guard looked Mr. Changqing up and down, and saw that he was dressed in white, with his hair tied in a cloth scarf. He looked like a Han scholar, not from a wealthy family, so he pointed back at Hu Yuelou and said in an arrogant tone:
"Do you know where this place is? Hu Yue Tower! It's the largest brothel in Quzhi City. All the dignitaries are welcomed there. Just two days ago, Director Su of Baochang Society entertained the inspectors from the imperial court.
Sir, do you know how much money you spent? You are as poor as you are. How dare you come to our place to look for someone? Why don't you urinate and look after yourself?"
Mr. Changqing didn't bother to refute: "What I'm looking for is not a prostitute, but Cheng Sanwu. I heard that he stayed here last night."
The guard immediately reprimanded: "I think you think you have a long life and want to inquire about everyone's news. Get out of here now. If you don't leave, I will call someone!"
Mr. Changqing had no intention of getting entangled with these vulgar people, and immediately walked straight towards Hu Yue Tower. Upon seeing this, the guard quickly stepped forward to stop him, and Mr. Changqing swept him away with a flick of his sleeves.
The guard bumped into the wall and felt dizzy for a while. He knew in his heart that the person who came was evil. After he recovered, he immediately shouted loudly: "Here comes someone! A thief broke into the yard!"
This attracted other guards and thugs to run over one after another, quickly took out their sticks and chased Mr. Changqing.
However, Mr. Changqing moved faster. He had already sensed where Cheng Sanwu was. He left the others behind and went straight to the upper room on the second floor. He opened the door and bolted the door and entered. This upper room occupied almost half of the second floor.
The furniture and furnishings are not Hu style. Instead, they imitate the style of the Southern Dynasties in the past. There are many screens and curtains, which are more twists and turns. However, the patterns painted on the screens are not flowers, birds, fish and insects, but scenes of men and women making love.
The smoke of beasts in the room was not gone, the brocade door was still warm, and the invisible smell of wine and sex made Mr. Changqing couldn't help but raise his hands to cover his nose. After passing through several screens, he saw Cheng Sanwu naked on a large bed with a length and width of more than ten feet.
He was sleeping soundly on his back, and there were four or five other women lying on each other's pillows, overlapped with Cheng Sanwu, and their light gauze skirts and silk lingerie were scattered on the ground.
Mr. Changqing couldn't stand it any longer, so he clasped his fingers together and used a trickle of water vapor to form a ball of water on his fingertips. He raised his hand and threw it out, dousing the men and women on the bed and waking them up.
"Who?!" Cheng Sanwu woke up first. When he raised his eyes, he saw Mr. Changqing looking at him with a cold expression. He breathed a sigh of relief, and his head fell again: "It turns out to be you, running here early in the morning.
What are you doing here?”
"Already hit." Mr. Changqing took two steps back. Seeing this, the prostitutes picked up their clothes to cover their bodies and fled, while the guards shouted from outside.
Several brothel guards rushed into the upper room. Cheng Sanwu probably guessed what happened. He stood up and waved his hands: "This is an acquaintance of mine. There was a misunderstanding. You can go down."
The guards bowed their hands to Cheng Sanwu, glanced at Mr. Changqing, and did not dare to say any more words of blame. They hurriedly left the room and closed the door tightly.
Cheng Sanwu stood up and wanted to put on his clothes, but he forgot where he had taken off his pants. He could only pull off a piece of curtain and wrap it around his lower body. He also found a jar of unfinished wine and drank it with a spoon.
Sensing Mr. Changqing's gaze, Cheng Sanwu handed over the wine spoon: "Do you want to drink it?"
"I didn't realize that you are a drunkard and a womanizer." Mr. Changqing didn't even look at it.
"What? The imperial law prohibits me from indulging in wine and sex?" Cheng Sanwu found a place to sit down: "In the past few days, I fought hard and lived with my head hanging on my waist. Now that I have finally survived, is it possible that I still need to learn from the monks?
Eating fast, chanting Buddha's name, purifying one's mind and having few desires?"
"In this world, it is normal to breathe wind and drink water, eat grain and eat meat." Mr. Changqing looked like he was pointing out the ignorant and mediocre people: "In order to have a long line of children, men and women love each other, and the pleasures in the boudoir are beyond reproach.
, but the key is not to indulge in it to the point of becoming confused. If you are addicted to wine and sex like you, you will sooner or later wither your bones and shake the foundation of martial arts."
"Don't worry, I'm extremely talented. I can do it a dozen times a night." Cheng Sanwu had a proud look on his face when he said this, which made Mr. Changqing's eyes twitch.
"By the way, why did you come to Hu Yue Tower?" Cheng Sanwu stretched out: "If something happens to Baochang Society, Lao Su won't let you come to me."
"I have something to do with you." After Mr. Changqing said this, he took out a charm, lit it on fire, and then raised it outwards. The invisible magic enveloped the entire upper room, seeming to isolate the inside and outside.
Cheng Sanwu could see that Mr. Changqing was serious about his matter, so he put away his relaxed and playful expression.
"Do you still remember the obelisk pillars we salvaged from Tianchi?" Mr. Changqing also sat down and asked.
"Remember." Cheng Sanwu said without a smile on his face: "At that time, you angrily criticized the dominatrix in public. If Lao Su hadn't stopped you, you would have really gone up and fought with her."
"You are not a magician, so you don't understand how strong our expectations are for improving our magic." Mr. Changqing lowered his head and said in a depressed tone: "The night before yesterday, Master Zhou Lian passed away."
"My condolences." Cheng Sanwu didn't know any other words of comfort.
"Mere condolences are not enough." Mr. Changqing looked at his hands: "Master Zhou and I have both personally experienced the backlash of spells. You can say that we are arrogant, or you can blame it on the demon's conspiracy, but in the final analysis, we still have feelings for foreign lands.
I know very little about magic.”
Of course Cheng Sanwu would not have thought of this, and could only listen silently to Mr. Changqing's continued words: "Although the monks of the Great Purity Temple also died in Tianchi, they did contain Anquti at that time. The Buddhist magical power is based on inner hair.
Even if you recruit your own masters in the Dharma world to seek praise and borrow Dharma, the foundation is still the perfection of your own nature and the wisdom of Buddha and self.
"From the perspective of Taoism, all things in the world are evolved from the innate Qi. All the qi flow and change, the sun, moon and stars, the heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, ghosts and spirits, animals and plants, are all like this. In the final analysis, Taoist magic is just a matter of war.
God controls Qi, changes all things, and achieves profound things, he can call the wind and rain, move mountains and seas."
"What do you want me to do?" Cheng Sanwu took the opportunity to interrupt. When Mr. Changqing talked about familiar things, he would talk endlessly.
"I plan to rub the characters and patterns on the obelisk pillars, and I would like your help." Mr. Changqing looked at Cheng Sanwu with bright eyes.
"Those stone pillars are currently placed in the Protector's Mansion and are being closely guarded." Cheng Sanwu rarely became serious: "The mother-in-law said that those things are under the control of the internal servants, and neither I nor Old Su can get close to them."
"That's what I said." Mr. Changqing smiled: "But as far as I know, Taoist Shang of the Protectorate has been studying the obelisk pillar carefully every day in the past few days, and has not been hindered."
"How did you know?" Cheng Sanwu asked.
"The Taoist boy next to Taoist Master Shang told me that no matter what, I can be considered a member of the Taoist sect." Mr. Changqing replied.
Cheng Sanwu didn't really want to agree: "Then you go find that Taoist Shang. Anyway, we can build friendship."
"This matter... I don't want to make it public." Mr. Chang Qing explained: "Taoist Master Shang was born in Xuanduguan in Chang'an. He was a Taoist envoy sent by the imperial court to the Western Regions. He is said to be a Taoist, but in fact he is not much different from an official."
"Xuandu Temple? I've heard of it. It seems to be a royal Taoist temple?"
"Not only that, Xuandu Temple is also responsible for the management of Taoist books and books, just like the official department in charge of promotion and demotion. If Daxia Taoists want to improve their Taoism, in addition to the inheritance in their respective sects' palaces, they must come to Xuandu Temple to study.
Mr. Changqing said simply: "To put it bluntly, Xuandu Temple is the government office that trains and manages Taoists for the imperial court. If I told Taoist Shang that I wanted to rub stone pillars, I'm afraid he would take me down and send me to Qi."
I will ask you for my crime in front of the Protector."
Mr. Changqing actually felt a little regretful. If he hadn't talked about dragon energy in public, he might not have attracted too much attention from Qi Daduhu and Afu, and he would have had the opportunity to get close to those obelisk pillars.
"You don't dare to go yourself, but you want me to take action. If the matter is exposed, you will refuse to admit it and put all the blame on me, right?" Cheng Sanwu asked.
"Do you think I am this kind of person?" Mr. Changqing stood up immediately after hearing this, as if he couldn't bear the slander: "If the truth is really exposed, you can blame me!"
Cheng Sanwu said: "Who would believe that? Moreover, the Protector's Mansion is heavily guarded, and the Taoist Master Shang you mentioned may also be guarding the stone pillar."
"No, Taoist Master Shang has not been in Quzhi City in recent days." Mr. Changqing added: "In order to forge the magic sword, he has to go to the Yuquan Altar in the north of the city to take care of the fire, and he can't get out at night."
"I understand, you want to go to the Duhu Mansion to rub stone pillars in the dead of night." Cheng Sanwu still found it difficult: "But I'm not good at being a snitch. If I make any noise, I'm afraid I'll have to break out of the siege.
.”
"Don't worry, I will go with you and use magic to cover up my steps." Mr. Changqing said: "And I will leave two paper figures here, transforming into you and me, pretending that we have never left Hu Yue Tower.
"
"Have you been ready for a long time?" Cheng Sanwu was quite surprised.
"What else? Are they all like you, indulging in wine and sex?" Mr. Changqing took out the paper man: "Stretch out your hand and prick a drop of blood. I'm going to cast a spell."
…
It was past midnight, and there were strict patrols around the Duhu Mansion. Braziers and torches were placed at specific distances to keep the light bright.
When the two groups of soldiers passed by each other, Cheng Sanwu followed closely behind Mr. Changqing. The two men, shrouded by the invisibility method, could not reveal the slightest trace even next to the torch, which made Cheng Sanwu secretly claim to be strange.
The two of them climbed vertically, climbing over the fortress-like outer wall of the Protector's Mansion. They also dodged the sentry soldiers above, and then jumped directly from the other side.
Different from landing quickly in the past, this time Sanwu felt like he was as light as a goose feather, falling slowly, without having to adjust his body shape at all, and there was no sound of footsteps when he landed.
Mr. Changqing was obviously very familiar with the layout of the Duhu Mansion. He sneaked with Cheng Sanwu all the way, avoiding groups of patrolling soldiers, and came to the outside of the company warehouse where the obelisk pillars were stored. Although there were soldiers stationed nearby, the number of them was small.
Not very dense, after all, this is already deep inside the Protectorate.
Although Mr. Changqing asked Cheng Sanwu to help, when he arrived at the warehouse door, he used magic to open the lock, pushed open the door and slipped in. What Cheng Sanwu really wanted to do was to look out.
Cheng Sanwu stood guard in front of the warehouse door, carefully covering the door and holding the lock as a cover. He watched a soldier passing by with a torch in his hand. He glanced at it casually and did not notice anything unusual.
Even though Cheng Sanwu has always been bold, he still felt a little guilty for doing this in the depths of the Protectorate. If the two of them could get here with magic, wouldn't other more powerful masters be able to sneak in at will?
Is there chaos in the Protectorate?
For some reason, Cheng Sanwu's heart suddenly jumped violently, and he instinctively felt alert. He raised his eyes and looked at the eaves of the main hall in the distance. It was obviously a dark night, but there seemed to be a halo of light shrouding the main hall.
Just when Cheng Sanwu was worried, Mr. Changqing gently pulled the door leaf to signal. Cheng Sanwu glanced around to confirm that no soldiers were passing by before opening the door to let him out.
Cheng Sanwu didn't ask any more questions. Before setting off, they agreed not to say a word to each other throughout the journey. Mr. Changqing closed the door of the warehouse, locked it again, and immediately led Cheng Sanwu over the wall and left in a hurry.
But just over ten breaths after Cheng Sanwu and others left, Qi Daduhu suddenly jumped from the direction of the main hall. At this moment, he was only wearing silk pajamas and carrying an iron gun. His eyes showed alertness and he looked around the rows of warehouses.
Qi Daduhu didn't see any movement, he just frowned slightly. The Gang Qi penetrated his body and spread rapidly outward in a round shape. The subtle and unpredictable Gang Qi passed through the rows of warehouses, without destroying any plants or trees.
Swirling up some dust on the ground.
The Gang Qi disappeared as soon as it was released and did not last long. The Protector of Qi did not notice that anyone else was here. He came to the door of a warehouse with a little doubt, raised his hand and pressed the door leaf lightly, and it closed as usual.
Qi Daduhu was puzzled for a moment. He stretched out his hand and touched the brass lock. The pure energy from his fingertips touched it lightly, and a subtle feeling appeared in his heart.
It was the reverberation from the ancient times, a ferocious thing that towered above all living things. An ominous afterimage appeared in front of his eyes in an instant, causing Qi Daduhu to retreat in shock.
"Is it him?" Protector Qi reacted instantly and fell into deep thought.
Suddenly realizing that the patrolling soldiers were approaching, Qi Dadu didn't cause any trouble, so as not to cause the whole house to hear the movements, so he turned over and jumped back to his residence. Everything was calm as before, as if it were countless ordinary nights.