The sun sets in the west and the sky becomes dark.
The scene of the assassination was surrounded by military guards and Tang soldiers; torches were lit, illuminating the entire long street.
Governor Wen of Dunhuang County stood beside Zhou Jun and saw the corpses and blood stains on the street by the firelight. Faced with such a mess, he couldn't help but panic.
The interview envoy from Longyou who was responsible for conducting examinations and selecting officials was assassinated on the first day he came to Dunhuang and almost lost his life.
However, this Zhou supervisor was also a famous person in the court. Whether he was a saint or a right minister, he was highly praised.
He, the governor, is to blame for both emotions and reasons. If the trouble is not good, it is common for him to be dismissed from office and questioned.
Thinking of this, Wen Zhongyu sweated on his forehead and his hands and feet trembled.
Zhou Jun glanced at him and asked Long Qi beside him: "How did you get here?"
Long Qi: "I was practicing martial arts in the temple. Suddenly I heard the sound of arrows calling for help, so I jumped on the wall and rushed all the way here."
Seeing Zhou Jun cast his gaze over, Hua Yue said: "The ringing arrow thing was not my idea, but Kong You's. He said that Erlang had offended many people in Liangzhou, and asked me to follow him at all times.
By your side, if danger arises, use the sounding arrow to call for reinforcements."
Zhou Jun also sighed and thought to himself that it was rare for Kong You to think so thoughtfully.
After a while, Sun Aying led his men to Zhou Jun. He first sang a song, and then presented something, saying that he found it from the corpse.
Zhou Jun used the torch to see the object clearly.
It was a token made of wood, and the outside was painted with tung oil. There was a symbol - "n" carved on it, and the symbol was painted bright red with cinnabar.
When Long Qi saw the symbol on the token, he paused and whispered: "Hidden Gate."
Zhou Jun heard the word "hidden door", looked at the symbol "n", turned to Long Qi and asked: "What is the hidden door?"...
Long Qi: "I heard from the elders in the clan that... the Yinmen was established around the end of the Qin Dynasty and originated from Hepantuo in the Western Regions."
"Yinmen was just a place name at first. It refers to a grotto, which was originally a gathering place for ascetic monks. Ascetics from Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Shamanism, Christianity, Shamanism, etc. gathered there to debate scriptures and
Lecture on the Dharma.”
Zhou Jun: "Why would a group of assassins appear in a place where scriptures are debated?"
Long Qi: "Some believers in the Hidden Sect learned from the strengths of other schools during the debate, integrated the teachings of many sects, and put forward the concept of 'heaven and earth are eternal and all gods are unified'."
Zhou Jun was stunned after hearing this: "What this sentence means is that the gods of all religions in the world are just called by different names. In the final analysis, they are all the same existence?"
Long Qi nodded and continued: "After the Yin Sect's concept of religious unity spread at that time, it aroused the hostility of many religious forces, who regarded the Yin Sect as a heresy. Soon after, an army attacked
After drinking Pantuo, they found the entrance to the Hidden Gate. What followed was a bloody massacre. Not even a single ascetic in the Hidden Gate was left alive. Those who survived were forced to take up arms and resist in secret.
, that is, from that time on, Yinmen was no longer a place name, but a faction among a group of people."
Zhou Jun: "Then what's going on with these killers?"
Long Qi: "After hundreds of years of development, the Hidden Sect has gradually evolved into an organization. The sect leaders will secretly establish ministry points in the towns around the Western Region. Whenever someone wants to seek revenge, or find someone to complete some unscrupulous tasks,
If the light does a good job, a red sticker will be sent to the Yinmen. If the Yinmen gets an errand, a reward list will be sent to the disciples in the sect."
After Zhou Jun listened, he finally understood the ins and outs of the Hidden Sect.
Long Qi on the side carefully looked at the token in Sun Aying's hand, and then said: "Look at the style of this wooden token, the holder's status in the Yinmen is probably not low. If I miss this time, the Yinmen will definitely not
Let's give it up, we will send a second batch of assassins next time, and they will definitely be even more difficult to deal with."
Huayue said to Long Qi: "You are so familiar with Yinmen, you must have dealt with them. If we pay for Yinmen to kill the person who posted the red sticker, will they be willing?" Long Qi
He smiled bitterly and said: "That's not the rule. Yinmen's work also has a first-come, first-served basis. Even if the person who was assassinated is willing to pay, it will only be after his death and Yinmen has completed the transaction that he will help him kill the poster.
man of."
Hua Yue heard this and said angrily: "After the person who was stabbed is dead, we kill the person who stabbed him. What's the use of that?!"
Long Qi said helplessly: "This is how the Yinmen behave."
Zhou Jun: "Is there any way you can contact the people from the Hidden Sect?"
Long Qi thought for a while: "Three years ago, I met the receptionist of Yinmen in Qiuci Town and helped her do some work. I think that person should still be there now."
Zhou Jun nodded slightly when he heard this.
Long Qi added: "I plan to go back to the Luo Tu Dragon Tribe and ask the clan leader for some good hands. They have dealt with the Yinmen and know the opponent's base. This way, it will be safer to protect them."
Zhou Junyun agreed.
Seeing Long Qi leave, Hua Yue frowned and said, "This hidden door is like a piece of plaster. Once it's stuck on, you can't shake it off even if you want."
Sun Aying bowed to Zhou Jun and said: "My brothers and I are at war with each other day and night, and we will protect the master's family!"
Zhou Jun: "We can't tell when the Hidden Sect will make a comeback. Anyway, be careful. During this period, I will live in a mansion first and wait until Long Qi comes back before making any plans."
At this time, the uneasy Governor Wen moved to Zhou Jun's side, cupped his hands and said, "I am guilty of dereliction of duty and causing Zhou Jun to be frightened."
Zhou Jun said with a smile: "Why should Wen Gong blame himself? Dunhuang City is a mixed bag of good and bad, and it is difficult to distinguish the good from the bad. From now on, we will strengthen the defense and inspections."
Wen Zhongyu took a long breath after hearing this.
Zhou Jun's words were tantamount to exposing the matter and not pursuing further investigation.
At this time, Wen Zhongyu felt both guilty and grateful to Zhou Jun.
In excitement, Prefect Wen bowed to Zhou Jun and said, "Supervisor Zhou is very righteous! I am here to guarantee that there will be no mistakes again!"
Zhou Jun entrusted the subsequent cleaning up of the scene and investigation of the case to Prefect Wen, and he led his men back to the mansion.
When they heard about Zhou Jun's assassination, Liu Zai and Luo Nandou were shocked and came up to inquire together.
Zhou Jun comforted them with a few words, then said that it was getting late and told them to go back and rest early.
Walking into the bedroom in the back compartment, Zhou Jun changed clothes and washed himself under Hua Yue's service.
While Huayue was busy, she asked Zhou Jun: "Then, who is the mastermind behind the red stickers on Yinmen?"
Zhou Jun: "As the supervisor of the Hexi Mutual Market, I am also the transfer envoy and interviewer of Longyou appointed by the imperial court. Yinmen dared to take the risk of assassinating the imperial official and accepted this red post. This shows that the mastermind behind it must be
I paid an unimaginable amount of money." Read the book
Huayue: "I heard Kong You say something about Liangzhou. You ruined the good things of the Kang family in Hexi, and caused the Kang family to be executed and exiled. Could it be them who contacted the Yinmen?"
Zhou Jun: "It's possible, but the Kang family is not the only one who can be suspected..."