Qi Ning smiled and said: "This is just my personal guess. After all, the King of Shu is a local leader in Xichuan. When he surrendered to Chu, I'm afraid he has always been unwilling to do so."
Eve said: "But I heard that in recent years, the King of Shu rarely left the city, and he fasted and chanted Buddha's name, hoping to cleanse himself of the previous killings."
"Oh?" Qi Ningqi asked: "Is there such a thing?"
Eve nodded and said: "I also heard what others said. They also said that the King of Shu has donated and built several temples over the years and often gave alms to the poor." She sneered and said: "It's just that his son Li Yuan is not a good person and often bullies others. "
Qi Ning smiled and said: "Your Black Rock Ridge is some distance away from Chengdu City. Even you all know that the King of Shu eats fast and chants Buddha's name. It seems that he has done a good job in publicity?"
"publicity?"
Qining said: "If he really wants to eat fast and recite Buddha's name, why should he publicize it everywhere and make everyone aware of it? I'm afraid he is doing this deliberately to deceive others."
"Hiding others' eyes and ears?" Eve whispered, "Why do you say that?"
"Eve, you should know that our King of Shu was the local emperor of Xichuan back then. In order to dominate Xichuan, he fought with the Chu State at war." Qining said: "Back then, the old prince Jinyi led his troops to attack Shu and broke through all the way. The generals were beheaded and their troops were approaching the city of Chengdu. If the Northern Han people had not moved in the north, the city of Chengdu would have been captured. Li Hongxin's head would have been hanging on the city wall many years ago."
Qi Ning now naturally knows the grievances between the Jin Yi Qi family and the Shu King Li family very clearly.
At that time, the Jinyi Laohou led an army of 100,000 to attack Shu. The king of Shu, Li Hongxin, mobilized his troops and generals to confront the Chu army, which indeed caused the Chu army to lose troops and generals.
However, the strength of the Chu army was finally superior to that of the Shu army, and the Jinyi Old Marquis was a famous general in the world. In the end, the Chu army came to Chengdu. It was at that time that the Northern Han people suddenly sent troops southward, but Li Hongxin Seize the opportunity and take the initiative to surrender.
Qi Ning had to admit that the time for Li Hongxin to submit to the imperial court was just right.
If they continued to resist stubbornly, the Chu court had already decided to capture Xichuan first, and after annihilating Li Hongxin, they would send troops north to meet the enemy. However, this would also entail great risks. Once the northern front was unable to resist the Northern Han people, At that time, it would be too late to mobilize troops from Xichuan.
Li Hongxin's initiative to surrender was what the Chu State wanted. Under such circumstances, the Chu State naturally tried its best to meet the surrender conditions proposed by the King of Shu.
Because of this, the King of Shu Li Hongxin still has a profound influence in Xichuan after so many years. Many local officials in Xichuan are still members of the Shu King lineage.
Qi Ning always felt that with Li Hongxin's personality, it would really make no sense to say that he had truly surrendered to the Chu State.
Li Hongxin is obviously a master who is very good at seizing opportunities. The late emperor passed away, the new emperor succeeded to the throne, and the political situation of the court was not stable. In this situation, something unexpected happened in Xichuan. Qining was naturally the first to think of having an affair with the King of Shu. relationship.
But this time, a boy holding a treasure suddenly popped up, which made Qining a little puzzled. He thought that the boy holding a treasure was Ksitigarbha, so who was Ksitigarbha? Is he related to Shu King Li Hongxin? Ksitigarbha has already extended his tentacles to the Qi family's old house before, which is really unbelievable. Now he is making trouble in Xichuan. If he is really a party with the King of Shu, it can be explained. But if Ksitigarbha and the King of Shu are not related, then this Where does this power come from
Of course, Eve didn't know what Qining was thinking.
Qi Ning arrived at Black Rock Ridge in time, and Bai Tangling was not in danger. Bayeli followed Qin Ning's instructions and hid Bai Tangling to guard against any more assassins infiltrating into the mountains.
In the next two days, Qining, accompanied by Eve personally, wandered around Black Rock Ridge for two days.
Qi Ning knew that the most important thing at the moment was to solve the Heiyan Cave incident first. As long as Wei Shutong arrived at Heiyan Ridge and personally brought Bai Tangling out, the matter would be solved.
After waiting for another day, there was still no news from down the mountain. Qining was thinking about whether he should go down the mountain when he suddenly saw someone coming over in a hurry and saluted: "Master Hou, the cave master invites Master Hou to go there. He has something to report." "
Qining arrived at Bayeli's house and saw Bayeli and Eve waiting. Bai Yali was also present. Seeing Qining coming, the three of them saluted. Bayeli said with a solemn expression: "Master Marquis, there is someone at the bottom of the mountain to see you off." There is a box here, saying it is a gift for us from Black Rock Cave, but we have not opened it yet, so please invite the Marquis to come over and discuss it."
"Box?" Qi Ning was startled. At this time, he discovered that there was a small, square wooden box on the table with exquisite workmanship. It was locked with a lock. He wondered: "Who sent it?"
Bayeli said: "The other party said that the Crown Prince of Shu sent someone to deliver it."
"The Crown Prince of Shu?" Qi Ning immediately remembered Li Yuan, the Crown Prince of Shu who had had a conflict with him in the capital. He vaguely felt that something was wrong and asked, "Can he tell you why he sent someone to deliver this box?"
Bayali explained: "They sent a person to deliver this wooden box to the foot of the mountain, and then told us that it was a gift from the Crown Prince of Shu, and did not say anything else."
Qi Ning nodded slightly and said, "Open it and see what it is."
Bayeli did not hesitate. The box was locked, but there was no key. He could only pry it open with a knife. After breaking the iron lock, Bayeli opened the wooden box. Everyone saw that the inside was covered with yellow silk, but the box was opened. In an instant, a stench spread, and the stench rushed into his nose. Qining almost vomited, and several people present covered their noses.
Bayeli covered his nose with one hand, obviously wary, and used the tip of the knife to open the yellow silk. The moment the yellow silk was removed, Eve exclaimed "Ah", and several other people also changed their colors. Inside the wooden box, there was actually a head. The head was bloody and bloody, and had ulcers in several places, but the general shape could still be seen clearly.
"Yagan...!" Bayali exclaimed: "Yes... it's Yagan...!"
Qi Ning also vaguely recognized it at this time. The head inside suddenly turned out to be the Miao Yagan whom Yuye had seen. Yagan and several Miao people followed Eve to break through the siege, and were chased all the way. Yuye was killed by Bai The two medicine corpses under Monkey's men chased and killed them, and the group dispersed.
Although Qining was separated from Qi Feng and others, Eve was also separated from Yagan and others.
But he never expected that the wooden box delivered would actually contain Ya Gan's head.
Bayeli was both frightened and angry, and Eve could see it at the same time. Her delicate body trembled, her silver teeth clenched, and she suddenly turned around to leave. Qining immediately stepped forward to stop her, and Eve said angrily: "You're hiding." open!"
"Where are you going?" Qining looked grim.
"I want to kill Li Yuan." Eve's face turned pale, and the fire of hatred burst out from her beautiful eyes: "I want to cut Li Yuan into pieces with a thousand swords, so that he will die without a burial place."
Qi Ning said in a deep voice: "Then you know, this is exactly what the other party wants you to do. At this time, why would Li Yuan send someone to deliver Ya Gan's head?"
"I don't care." Eve's eyes were red: "If we don't kill him, Yagan will not be able to live in peace even if he dies."
Qi Ning said: "Eve, I can understand your mood, but listen to me, Li Yuan sent someone to send someone to send his head in order to make Heiyandong lose his mind and make you lose your sense of proportion because of your anger." He put his hands on the Looking over Eve's shoulder, he stared at Eve and said, "Do you believe me?"
"I...!" Eve's tears rolled down her face, her silver teeth clenched, and she finally nodded when she saw Qining staring at her.
Qi Ning said: "Well, if you believe me, everything will be at my disposal. I promise you, I will help you get Li Yuan's life back, and he will definitely reap the consequences."
"But… !"
"Take a deep breath and calm down." Qi Ning said solemnly: "We can't let all the previous efforts in the Black Rock Cave go to waste because of temporary anger. Ya Gan's death will not be the end, but only the beginning. I promise you If I can repay this debt from Li Yuan, I will definitely not break my promise."
Eve stamped her feet, turned around and sat on the chair, crying bitterly at her desk.
Qining sighed, looked at Bayeli, whose muscles on his face were twisted because of anger, and said in a deep voice: "Cave Master, you are the cave master of the Black Rock Cave, with thousands of lives hanging under your hands, what should you do? Even if I don’t say it, you understand.”
Bayeli nodded slightly: "Don't worry, Lord Marquis, I know not to be impulsive, but we will never forget this blood debt." He punched the table suddenly, with a loud bang, and the wooden table was almost hit by him. Cracked.
Yagan died tragically, and Bayeli and Eve were naturally grieved. Fortunately, Qining comforted them and held back their impulse.
Bayali ordered people to clean Yagan's head. In order to prevent the people in the village from falling into chaos, he ordered people to bury the head secretly.
At dusk the next day, Qining finally received the arrow book sent from the mountain.
The officers and soldiers at the foot of the mountain fired arrows and shot a letter up the mountain. Bayeli got the letter and immediately handed it over to Qining. Qining opened the letter and found out that Wei Shutong had rushed to the foot of Heiyan Ridge day and night.
Qin Ning ordered Bayeli to prepare overnight. Early the next morning, Qin Ning led a group of people to the narrow mountain road that had gone up the mountain. They walked out of the mountain and saw a group of people waiting at the foot of the mountain from a distance. In order to ensure Everything was safe, and regardless of Bayeli and Eve's persuasion, he went down the mountain alone.
The banners were fluttering, and from a distance, they saw Captain Yue Qianliang, whom they had met last time, waiting at the front. Seeing Qi Ning, Yue Qianliang turned around and entered the crowd. Soon, Qin Ning saw an official wearing official robes snatching something from the crowd. He came out and without stopping, surrounded by several guards such as Yue Qianliang, he quickly came towards Qining.
There were still seven or eight steps away, and both sides stopped. Qining looked at the official. He was in his early fifties and had a handsome appearance, but he looked a little tired. He must have traveled day and night from Chengdu, so he was too tired. After working hard, he smiled faintly and asked: "Are you Wei Shutong, the governor of Xichuan?" He raised his hand and showed the gold medal given by the emperor, and said: "By the decree of the Holy One, I came here to investigate the Black Rock Cave incident!"
When the official saw the gold medal, he immediately took two steps forward, knelt on the ground, and said respectfully: "I am the governor of Xichuan, Wei Shutong, and I pay my respects to the Marquis!"
Qi Ning raised his hand and said: "Master Wei, please get up!"
Wei Shutong got up, and Qi Ning took two steps forward and said with a smile: "Master Wei has been traveling day and night. It has been a hard journey, and it went faster than I thought."
Wei Shutong bowed and said, "I don't know that the Lord Marquis is here, but I can't greet you from far away. I still ask the Lord to punish me!"
"It is not a crime to be ignorant. When I came to Xichuan, I never thought of making a big fuss." Qining put away the token and said straight to the point: "Master Wei, I heard that the reason why you mobilized troops to besiege Heiyan Ridge was because of Heiyan Ridge. Ling killed officials and resisted Fu, I don’t know whether it is true or not?”
"Reporting to the Marquis, Heiyan Cave killed Danba County Magistrate Bai Tangling and his servants, which was tantamount to conspiracy. The lower official sent someone to summon him to come and state his crime, but this man refused to obey. The lower official had no choice but to He can mobilize troops to quell the chaos." Wei Shutong said respectfully: "It is a dereliction of duty for a low-ranking official to have Lao Hou go to Xichuan in person to alert the imperial court!"
Qi Ning said: "But the master of the Black Rock Cave sent you a letter, telling you that Bai Tangling is not dead. Don't you know?"
Wei Shutong's body trembled, he raised his head and frowned: "Master Hou, is Bai Tangling really not dead?"