Zhao Mu frowned slightly, turned around, and rushed towards the direction where the sound came from.
The strong smell of blood permeated the surroundings, and the mottled shadows made the woods look very eerie.
Zhao Mu's figure flashed over and he saw a woman's body lying under a strong tree.
The corpse was covered with wounds, and bright red blood was still flowing out. The miserable appearance made people suspect that she had been attacked by some kind of wild beast.
"What a cruel method!"
Zhao Mu walked to the body and thought in his mind: "Who did this woman offend and was tortured to death? Where is the murderer now?"
He looked up and looked around, but saw no suspicious signs.
"It seems I'm still too late, the other party has already run away."
Zhao Mu sighed, shook his head and said: "Ashes will return to dust. Since you are dead, how can you just expose your body to the wilderness like this? I'd better bury you."
He squeezed the seal with his hand and shouted softly: "The five elements rotate, the earth spirit listens to the call, open!"
Boom!
The ground below the female corpse suddenly shook violently, opening a deep pit that was ten feet long, and the female corpse fell directly into the deep pit.
Zhao Mu controlled the earth element's spiritual energy, closed the pit again, and prepared to leave.
But suddenly, he stopped and turned to look at the woods to the right.
He saw a snow-white fox standing there in the grass more than ten feet away, looking at him with its dark eyes.
Those eyes were full of spirituality, and they seemed to be no ordinary fox.
Suddenly, the white fox man stood up, and his two front paws imitated the appearance of a human, bowing and saluting towards him.
"interesting."
Zhao Mu smiled and said: "That corpse is your owner, are you thanking me for burying her?"
The white fox shook his head, and then nodded again, looking very interested.
Zhao Mu asked again: "Then do you know who killed her?"
The white fox thought for a while after hearing this, but seemed to have no intention of answering. He just bowed and saluted again, then turned around and ran into the forest.
"I didn't expect to meet a fox that became a spirit here."
"But this fox doesn't seem to have a high level of cultivation. It doesn't seem to be able to transform into a human being. What a pity!"
Zhao Mu shook his head and chuckled, then left the woods and continued towards Dajin Dynasty.
…
The capital, the imperial palace, the imperial study.
Emperor Yongchang was reviewing the memorials when his personal eunuch Qian Delu came in.
"See Your Majesty."
"Well, what's the matter?"
"Your Majesty, the outer deacon of Ziwei Dao Sect has arrived."
"So fast?"
Emperor Yongchang smiled in surprise and said: "Hurry, hurry, hurry and invite people in. No, no, I will go and greet you personally."
He was very excited, got up and walked outside.
Outside the Imperial Study Room, Zhao Mu was wearing a Taoist robe and holding a dust in his hand, looking like an expert with an immortal air.
Seeing Emperor Yongchang coming out, he shook off the dust and bowed his hands in salute: "Ignorant Taoist Xuan Chengzi, I pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Jin Dynasty."
"Taoist Master, you are polite. Please come inside quickly, Delu, and serve tea."
Emperor Yongchang gave an order and excitedly pulled Zhao Mu inside: "Taoist Master, I have been looking forward to your arrival for a long time. You must have a good chat with me today."
"Haha, Your Majesty, you're welcome."
The two of them walked into the imperial study and sat down respectively. Qian Delu served them tea.
Zhao Mu took a sip of tea and said: "Your Majesty, I have been ordered by my master to come to the Great Jin Dynasty to garrison. I also ask your Majesty to order someone to send clues about the suspected demons that have appeared in recent years, so that I can
Let’s get started.”
"That matter is not urgent. I will have people sort it out and send it all to the Taoist Priest's house. I have also arranged a residence for the Taoist Priest."
"In addition, I am also preparing to issue an edict to confer the Taoist Priest as the national advisor of our Great Jin Dynasty. This will make it much easier for the Taoist Priest to act in the future."
"In addition, I have personally selected two hundred maids and have arranged them in the Taoist Priest's residence. From now on, they will serve in the Taoist Priest's daily life."
"Also, I..."
Emperor Yongchang seemed very excited, as if he wanted to give all the rewards to Zhao Mu at once.
Zhao Mu shook his head secretly, thinking that Emperor Yongchang was completely different from the heroic figure when he first ascended the throne.
Yes, I know this Yongchang Emperor Zhao Mu.
Because this person was the successor selected from the royal Sima family after Zhou Yuniang abdicated.
Although Zhao Mu did not attend the original enthronement ceremony, he did catch a glimpse of Emperor Yongchang from a distance.
I remember that Emperor Yongchang at that time was very handsome and had the style of an emperor.
Zhou Yuniang also said that this person is a rare hero in the world, and he will definitely become a wise master after he ascends the throne.
In fact, this is indeed the case.
Zhao Mu had already inquired about it on his way to the capital.
In the decades after Emperor Yongchang ascended the throne, he made great efforts to govern and purge officials, and indeed the governance of the Jin Dynasty flourished.
It's just that no one is static.
At least when we met today, the impression given to Zhao Mu by Emperor Yongchang seemed to be that he no longer had the ambition of the past, and instead seemed to have the feeling of a late hero.
He shook his head and interrupted Emperor Yongchang's words: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for not being able to accept the position of Imperial Master and those rewards."
"Pindao came to the Jin Dynasty this time under the orders of the sect to slay demons. As for the trivial matters in the world of mortals, Pindao doesn't want to pay attention to them. Please forgive me."
"If your Majesty has any instructions, please tell me directly. If I can do it, I will definitely not refuse."
That's right, he didn't think that Emperor Yongchang's successive rewards were just to get closer to him, the deacon of Ziwei Dao Sect's outer sect.
As the saying goes, one must ask for something from others, and His Majesty, the Emperor, obviously asked for something.
Sure enough, Emperor Yongchang pondered for a moment and said: "The Taoist Master is indeed an expert. He can see through my thoughts at a glance. Well, if you have anything to say, I will say it directly."
"Your Majesty, please speak."
"It's like this. I've gotten older over the years, and I often feel powerless when doing things."
"Sometimes, I think of the time when the late Emperor abdicated the throne and followed Master Changkong to Ziwei Dao Sect to cultivate immortality, and I feel very envious."
"So I would like to ask Taoist Master Xuanchengzi if I have any destiny?"
"Why do you need to ask me, Your Majesty?"
Zhao Mu shook his head: "Your Majesty should know that those who cultivate immortality must have spiritual roots. I believe that your Majesty must have had someone test his body over the years. Your Majesty should have known for a long time whether he has immortality or not."
"Hey, of course I know that I have no spiritual roots. I really envy the late emperor for being able to condense the acquired spiritual roots with his national destiny. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible for future emperors to encounter such an opportunity."
Emperor Yongchang sighed: "I am really unwilling to give in, so I would like to ask the Taoist priest, is there really no other way in the world to change one's fate against the will of heaven, except for the destiny of the country?"
Well, His Majesty is obviously tired of being an emperor, and now he wants to live forever. No wonder it makes people think that heroes are dying.
But think about it, emperors in history seem to have coveted immortality after enjoying all the wealth and honor in the world.
This has become a common problem for almost every emperor and cannot be avoided at all.