Fuxing Street was in a mess, the smoke and dust had not dispersed, and the wind blew, making it even more desolate.
A few streets away, in a small teahouse, the aroma of tea wafted.
This teahouse is not very good, but it usually has a lot of customers, but at this time, there is only one table of customers in the entire teahouse.
The shopkeeper and waiters of the teahouse waited on them tremblingly, looking at the seriously injured six-door arrests beside them, feeling really frightened in their hearts and not feeling the slightest sense of security.
The eyes looking towards the center of the hall were filled with anxiety and fear.
Qiu Zhanyu stood beside him expressionlessly, pouring tea for Xu Wenji, but he refused to pour a glass of water for him.
One moment he was shouting about beating and killing, and the next moment he was sitting and drinking tea, not to mention several seriously injured people beside him. He himself couldn't accept it either.
Even though, such things are common in officialdom.
With him like this, Zhao Qingchuan, Bu Lingxu and others felt even more aggrieved, with some complaints rolling in their hearts that they could not express.
This, however, is aimed at Xu Wenji.
Even the most stable Tang Bailie and Yu Xuan couldn't understand what this old man wanted to do.
If there is a killer weapon, wouldn't it be better to just release it and kill this bandit?
Qian Sheng waited until they were beaten to death before he came forward.
"Sir, do you like strong tea?"
Ji Longshan naturally didn't care about Qiu Zhanyu and the people from Liumen who stood beside them as if they were facing formidable enemies. In his eyes, the only thing in his eyes was Xu Wenji, who was sitting across the table:
"The tea is too strong, isn't it bitter?"
"It's not about whether you like it or not, it's just that you don't pay attention to it."
Smelling the strong aroma of tea, Xu Wenji nodded slightly and poured a cup for the other person:
"The princes and nobles of Kyoto are too particular. To drink tea, you have to be served by hundreds of people and go through dozens of procedures. It's too cumbersome and I don't like it."
As he spoke, he blew on the hot air and took a sip.
It tastes bitter in the mouth and has no aftertaste.
"Is a sip of tea so luxurious? No matter how complicated it is, it is still just a sip of tea."
Ji Longshan drank it all in one gulp. The hot tea naturally had no burden on him:
"It's just because of the hard work of the 'servants'."
A glimpse reveals the whole picture. A sip of tea is already so luxurious and cumbersome, let alone anything else.
"I know what you want to say. I don't want the extravagance in Kyoto to flourish, but I can finally bring it to light so that I can take action."
Xu Wenji dropped the teacup:
"At the very least, it is much better than these people bringing gold and silver underground... Hiding gold and silver in every household is not a good thing for the people or the country."
"maybe."
Ji Longshan sneered, held down the tea bowl, and said in a deep voice:
"Sir, just say what you have to say. Don't try to delay time. I hope someone is not that stupid! I only drink three cups of tea!"
"No rush, no rush."
Ji Longshan's words were sonorous, but Xu Wenji was tepid and even raised his hand to pour him a second cup of tea:
"I invited you here, but I just want to ask you something. In return, I can also help you answer your questions."
"Um?"
Looking at the steaming tea bowl, Ji Longshan's eyes flickered, unable to guess the thoughts of the old man opposite him. After thinking about it, he still held back and asked in a deep voice:
"Ji really has some doubts that I would like to ask, sir, but I may not be able to answer your questions. Do you still want to talk?"
Xu Wenji nodded and made a petition.
"Although Mr. Ji has been in seclusion for a long time, he still has good control over Changliu. Where did Mr. Ji know the whereabouts of Mr. Ji?"
Ji Longshan exhaled slowly.
Not many people knew about his departure from the customs and his descent from the mountain.
But Xu Wenji seemed to have known where he would go. Not only did he come to find him, he also called in Zhao Qingchuan and others.
If it hadn't been for his magical power, he might have been stuck in Fuxing Street.
"Before coming to Qingzhou, I studied your life. You were born in a poor family, but you have made great achievements in both civil and military affairs.
Not to mention that you can step into the top martial arts in a state by becoming a monk halfway. Even if your literary skills are not smooth, it is probably because you don't know how to cater, not because you lack talent and learning.
For a person like you, if you don't do it, if you do it, it will shake the world. If you want to declare a challenge to me, then naturally, Qingzhou is the first choice."
Xu Wenji seems to have nothing to hide:
"Revisiting old places is human nature. It's not difficult to guess."
"Just a guess?"
Ji Longshan frowned slightly, greatly disbelieving.
Seeing that Xu Wenji's expression was magnanimous and a little surprised, he did not confirm again and asked instead:
"Second question, what exactly are the 'gadgets' that the boss is talking about?"
Ji Longshan asked this question casually.
However, the expressions of Qiu Zhanyu and others on the side changed, and they all spoke to stop them. Zhao Qingchuan summoned up his remaining strength and shouted:
"Don't be fooled, sir!"
When you are in a hostile situation, you still need to ask for someone's trump card.
Ji Longshan asked casually, as if he was sure he would not get an answer, but Xu Wenji answered very calmly:
"You mean that piece of yellow paper? It comes from 'Qin Feibai', the Minister of Rites of the dynasty. According to him, this is called origami into a soldier."
Qin Feibai.
Origami into soldiers?
Ji Longshan narrowed his eyes to determine whether it was true or false.
But Qiu Zhanyu couldn't help it anymore: "Sir, how can I tell him?!"
"It's not a big deal after all. What's there to say?"
Xu Wenji waved his hand.
His voice was not loud, but when Qiu Zhanyu and others listened, they couldn't help but feel less agitated and their expressions calmed down.
"From the Qin Dynasty to the present, in the three thousand years, Dao Fruit has appeared from time to time. It can be counted in all dynasties. Perhaps it is not as many as the Dao Fruit that has appeared in this dynasty..."
After taking a deep look at Jilong Mountain, Xu Wenji's face was as dark as water:
"The conflict between heaven and man may be one of the reasons for the collapse of legal principles..."
"Sir, you are exaggerating. There are millions of reasons for the collapse of legal principles. They are Zhang Ming's incompetence, Gong Gun's incompetence, aristocratic families' manipulation of power, and powerful landlords oppressing the people..."
Ji Longshan chuckled, filled with disappointment and ridicule:
"Unexpectedly, at this time, you are still trying to excuse Zhang Ming and the imperial court. Isn't it ridiculous to blame the incompetence of emperors, generals and prime ministers on the conflict between heaven and man?"
The idea that heaven and man are in conflict is not new at this time. This idea can be traced back to the fall of Qin and the early Han Dynasty.
I don’t know who proposed it, but it has been widely circulated and has been mentioned by people in all dynasties in later generations.
In their mouths, the rise and fall of a dynasty is related to heaven and earth. Whenever a country is about to fall, there will be monsters running rampant, and the so-called monsters come from the Tao Fruit.
In many dynasties, supernatural powers were derogated as sorcery. Once discovered, everyone would kill them.
"How can I shirk it?"
Xu Wenji smiled dumbly, but the meaning was incomprehensible:
"How can you be sure that there is no 'Tao Fruit' among all the chaos you said about Zhang Ming's lack of Dao, the incompetence of the public, and the manipulation of power by aristocratic families?"
"Um?"
Hearing this, Ji Longshan was shocked.
"What is the conflict between heaven and man? As far as heaven and earth are concerned, everything is like a stupid dog. Mountains that are too high will collapse, and valleys that are too deep will be filled up. Water flows from high places to low places, and the water level in low places also becomes higher...
…
However, this is not the case with humanity. There is a saying that goes very well: To everyone who has, more will be given to him and he will be made redundant; from whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."
Xu Wenji sighed:
"Tao and fruit may come from heaven, but those who control it are humans. If the human mind controls the way of heaven, it will inevitably be incompatible with it, and it will cause great harm to both humans and heaven.
Therefore, I say that magical power is not enough to maintain. Everything will eventually come with a price."
At this point, the teahouse was completely silent. Everyone was quietly chewing on Xu Wenji's words, frowning, confused, or confused.
Seeing this, Xu Wenji paused for a moment before continuing:
"This is why the so-called ritual of refining Tao Fruit is so unreasonable. This ritual may not come from heaven, but it certainly does not come from humans.
If man is sufficient and all things are lacking, then he will be cut down and all things will be perfected. Do you agree with this statement?"
Xu Wenji has done some research on Daoguo.
Having once compiled various histories in the Ouchi Library, he had naturally seen the actions of those who were suspected or clearly the owners of the Dao Fruit in the past dynasties.
He is very certain that all rituals of Tao and Fruition deviate from the way of humanity and tend towards the way of heaven.
For the way of heaven that exists or does not exist in the dark, this may be his way of balancing all kinds of things, but for humans, this is extremely harmful.
Looking around the world, is there any mountain in the world that is higher than a human being?
"Heaven and man collide..."
Ji Longshan's heart was shaken.
These words were something he had never heard before, but they made perfect sense.
It made him a little confused for a moment.
"Your Dao Fruit may start a war or something else, but ask yourself, is this so-called ritual really what you have in mind?"
Xu Wenji looked slightly gloomy:
"You and I are still human after all."
"...Ji can't convince Mr. Boss, but you don't have to expect to convince me."
Ji Longshan's heart was slightly shaken, but he still calmed down, took a deep breath, said no more, drank the tea in the cup, and asked the last question:
"Nie Wendong, where is it?"
"Nie Wendong..."
Xu Wenji was a little surprised, but also a little understanding.
There are two types of questions that ordinary people ask. One is to get straight to the point. The first question is what they most urgently want to know.
On the contrary, it is the second type.
In other words, in Ji Longshan's mind, how his whereabouts were leaked and the means he had to threaten him were not as important as the whereabouts of Nie Wendong...
Thinking in his mind, Xu Wenji poured him a third cup of tea. Instead of answering, he asked a question of his own:
"Is your purpose of going down the mountain really Qingzhou City?"
Um?!
Listen to Xu Wenji's question.
Qiu Zhanyu, Zhao Qingchuan, Bu Lingxu and others were slightly shaken and recovered from their previous thoughts.
I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
Now that we have reached this stage, it is meaningless to still ask this question?
"Ji said that he may not answer any of your questions."
Ji Longshan stood up expressionlessly, raised his tea cup and drank it all in one gulp. Without any movement, he was already outside the teahouse.
A few flashes disappeared from everyone's sight:
"Tomorrow, I will come again!"
The words echoed, and the person had gone far away. Until the last word sounded, it seemed that he had left Qingzhou City, and it was so vague and inaudible.
It shows his exquisite and profound light skills and internal skills.
"As expected, isn't it..."
Xu Wenji held the teacup, thoughtfully.
Ji Longshan did not answer.
But he turned around and left without even asking about the whereabouts of Nie Wendong, whom he was most concerned about. This attitude said everything.
Qingzhou City is not his ritual for refining Dao Fruit...
But why did he want to attack Qingzhou again?
"Sir! Does a bandit deserve such mercy from you?"
At this time, Zhao Qingchuan could no longer hold it in any longer. He staggered forward, feeling both out of breath and a little angry:
"Why, why don't you give me a helping hand to kill this beast?!"
His voice was filled with resentment.
Not only him, the other masters of the six doors are also the same.
If not, that's fine. You clearly have the means, but you sit back and watch the four of them being beaten like this. How can you not complain?
Even Qiu Zhanyu's face doesn't look good.
With Ji Longshan's martial arts and magical powers at this time, without surprise, even if he had a method, it would probably not be effective, right?
"Are you blaming me?"
Xu Wenji blew on the steam and drank tea slowly.
"Don't dare."
Zhao Qingchuan's breath was stagnant and he gritted his teeth: "I just want to ask you, sir, why this is!"
"Do you think I really have the means to capture Jilong Mountain?"
Xu Wenji asked rhetorically.
"ah?"
Zhao Qingchuan and others were immediately stunned.
"Qin Feibai is indeed capable of 'turning soldiers into soldiers', but this man is the son-in-law of the chief minister 'Wang Qinglin' who was once defeated by me. How could he give me any means?"
Xu Wenji shook his head and slapped the page of yellow paper on the tea table.
The yellow paper with flying swords on it, under the gaze of several people, collapsed inch by inch at a speed visible to the naked eye, turning into flying smoke and disappearing.
"this……"
Looking at this scene, Zhao Qingchuan and others were stunned, feeling shocked and scared.
Qiu Zhanyu was also shocked.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Xu, who seemed to have the pearl of wisdom, actually deceived Ji Longshan, and he actually deceived him...
After a long while, Yu Xuan, who was still the least injured, spoke hoarsely:
"But, if not, why can we force Jilong Mountain back..."
"This yellow paper was discovered by me when I was sorting out books in the Ducheng Library. It was left by the master of Qixuan Sect who made the rumored 'Hundred Steps Flying Sword' four hundred years ago..."
Xu Wenji blew away the dust on the table.
Seven mysterious gates, a hundred-step flying sword?
Yu Xuan was horrified in his heart.
He naturally knew that the Qixuan Gate of Longyuan King's Baojia had been stolen some time ago, but he never expected that there really was a Hundred-Step Flying Sword.
Moreover, a piece of yellow paper left four hundred years ago actually scared Ji Longshan away...
It seems that the master of the Qixuan Sect is not a Martial Saint...
Xu Wenji didn't want to say anything more, waved his hands and said:
"You guys are seriously injured, you'd better go and heal yourself."
Several people looked at each other and explained that they could see each other's fright.
After a long while, he got up and left with the help of a group of six-door catchers.
The teahouse became quieter for a while.
"Sir..."
Seeing Xu Wenji slowly drinking tea from pot to pot, Qiu Zhanyu couldn't help but smile bitterly:
"You have no choice. How can you resist when Jilongshan comes again tomorrow?"
"he's gone."
At this time, Xu Wenji took a deep breath and put down the teacup.
Qiu Zhanyu was confused and looked blank:
"Who? Who is gone? Ji Longshan?"
"Who else could it be?"
Xu Wenji patted his butt and stood up, put down the money, and spoke in a much lower voice:
"Of course it's our Qingzhou Six Gates chief arrester, Fang Qidao, Mr. Fang!"
"Fang Qidao?"
Qiu Zhanyu's breathing quickened:
"Sir, you mean that Fang Qidao was on the side before? But why did he..."
"You want to ask why he didn't take action and just sat back and watched Zhao Qingchuan and the four people escape from death, right?"
Looking at the empty streets without any pedestrians, Xu Wenji's expression was complicated and even more indescribable:
"He probably wants to see if I have any means to defeat the enemy..."
"He actually..."
Qiu Zhanyu felt a chill in his heart, and became worried again:
"But you..."
"He can sit back and watch..."
Xu Wenji gathered his thoughts and walked towards the tower: