Not seen for several days, the Fox Immortal Temple still stands on the original hillside, but it is more dilapidated. It looks like a pile of ruins in the night, and the river flows into a wide water area behind the mountain.
There is no wind or rain tonight, the moonlight is bright, the lake shore is rocky and rocky, the lake water is sinking without waves, and there is an indescribable gloomy coldness. Yan Xiaohan dismounted and stood by the lake for a long time, staring at the deep blue water of the lake for a long time before finally remembering how strange this place was.
It was pouring rain that night, so they didn’t get close to the lake to take a closer look. King Qi and Yan Xiaohan were all northerners, and they were not familiar with the southern scenery, so they didn’t even realize that something was wrong: this lake appeared in the mountains, and it was still in the middle of nowhere. There is living water injected, but no grass grows along the water. There are neither reeds, water plants, nor water birds. There are even few fish and shrimp. The whole lake is like a pool of stagnant water, without the slightest vitality.
Thinking of what the villagers did tonight, Yan Xiaohan suddenly came up with a terrible guess.
It didn't take long for the sound of water to come from the river, Yan Xiaohan looked closely, and there was indeed a white shadow floating up and down in the heart of the river.
The villagers of Xishan live near the water, and the water is very good. Maybe it was because his wife rushed up to stop him halfway. The stone on the man was not tied tightly, but it loosened a little after entering the water, so that he has not sunk to the bottom until now. Supported by one breath, drifted to the lake with the water.
Yan Xiaohan took off his jacket, put it in the water lightly, and swam to the middle of the river with all his might, using a silver tip on his fingertips to cut several strands of hemp rope, and let the big rock drag the rope to the bottom of the river. The man who was struggling randomly grabbed him to the surface and swam towards the shore.
He rescued him in time. Although the man choked on the water, he still had a breath. Yan Xiaohan threw him to the shore. Seeing that he could only spit water for a while and had no strength to escape, he turned around and sank back into the water. Swim past the lake.
It was already dark outside, and the lake water was even darker. Yan Xiaohan could only see a foot or so of his body. He held his breath and dived, feeling the rhythm of the river flowing into the lake, and continued to explore the depths of the lake.
Swimming and swimming, he felt as if he had hit something. At first he thought it was a fish, but then the thing kept poking back and forth behind him, and he grabbed it with his hand impatiently. Look, Bai Shengsheng is like a tender lotus root with a fork at the end—
It's a human hand.
As soon as he arrived, he held hands with the residents at the bottom of the lake. Mr. Yan almost didn't push him on the spot. He almost thought he was addicted to drugs and had hallucinations again. He spit out a bunch of bubbles, feeling that he had just been shocked, and the breath in his mouth was not enough to support him to meet the next wave of shocks, so he gave up decisively, kicked his legs in the water, and swam up.
After a while, a big splash appeared on the lake, Yan Xiaohan broke through the water, and as soon as he let out a long breath, he heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the shore.
Fu Shen didn't have time to wait for it to stop, he jumped off the horse, and walked towards the lake quickly: "Dream return!"
Yan Xiaohan waved at him, indicating that it was all right, then he swam back into the river from the lake and rinsed repeatedly in the clear water. He doesn't have a habit of cleanliness, but anyone who has been fluttering in the corpse water for so long will inevitably feel disgusted in his heart. Fu Shen followed him from the lake to the river, stretched out his hand and pulled out the wet Yan Xiaohan, grabbed his outer robe and put his head over him, wondering, "What are you doing all this time?"
Yan Xiaohan grabbed his hand and refused to let go: "Don't tell you, or you will definitely not let me hold it."
Fu Shen sneered disapprovingly, "It's fine."
The wind was strong by the water, Yan Xiaohan was soaked all over, and when the wind blew, coupled with the scene at the bottom of the lake, he couldn't help but shiver. Seeing this, Fu Shen took off his robe and gave it to him, but Yan Xiaohan was still holding on to him.
"No," Yan Xiaohan said with a shivering, stubborn smile, "I'm so scared, I have to ask Lord Hou to hug her."
Fu Shen looked at the shivering "poor little" with inexhaustible words: "Why didn't you scare you to death?"
Having said that, he still raised his arms and wrapped his arms around Yan Xiaohan, using his body to shield him from the wind. The two of them left the lake shore like glue, and when they went to the bridle, there was a unconscious woman in plain clothes lying on the horse's back. people. Yan Xiaohan glanced at the man who was knocked unconscious by him, turned his face away, pretended not to notice the same rudeness, and suggested, "Move them to the Fox Immortal Temple?"
The two of them carried one person into the Fox Immortal Temple. Fu Shen found some broken wood from the backyard, built a fire, and pressed Yan Xiaohan to dry it in front of the bonfire. Yan Xiaohan briefly explained to him what he saw at the bottom of the lake, his original intention was to scare him, but Fu Shen was much stronger than him, so he just frowned, "According to the habits of the villagers, there may be more than one corpse at the bottom of the lake. One, how many people in the village are enough for them to throw it like this?"
Yan Xiaohan said, "It won't be too early. I guess it may be roughly the same as when Bai Lu San spread in Beijing."
Fu Shen: "Tell me more details."
Yan Xiaohan: "First, the Taoist Chunyang entered the capital and lived in Qingxuguan about three and a half years ago, that is, at the end of the 22nd year of Yuantai; secondly, the grain tax of Jingchu was reduced. This book It should have been settled last winter, but it has been delayed until this spring. If the production cut is due to the flooding of Qiu Yebai, then at least before the autumn of Yuantai 25 years, Qiu Yebai has appeared here.”
Fu Shen said, "What does the grain tax have to do with Qiu Yebai? The second rule is a bit arbitrary."
Yan Xiaohan explained to him: "Although Jingchu is not as rich as Liangjiang, it is also a rich land. Last year, there were neither droughts, floods, nor human disasters and wars, but the grain tax was reduced by 20% for no reason. This is unreasonable. You have also seen in Kuangfeng County that Qiu Yebai is prone to addiction, and the price is extremely high. The smokers often go bankrupt and suffer from diseases. Is this possibly causing some farmers to go bankrupt?"
"Furthermore, Qiu Yebai itself is a huge profit. If someone makes a profit from it, every household will follow suit and change to Qiu Yebai instead of growing food, which will also lead to today's situation. It is easy to verify this. We will go outside Jingzhou City another day. Come and see what is growing in the fields."
Fu Shen nodded, indicating that he understood, and continued.
"Thirdly, according to Yi Siming, the time when Bai Lusan appeared in the capital was about the autumn and winter of last year. It was after you were injured in Qingsha Pass and your Majesty gave you and me a marriage. The Taoist Chunyang was lurking in the capital for several times. In order to avenge you, Qiu Yebai's medicinal properties have been verified in the south, so I brought it into the capital."
He paused for a moment and concluded: "From the clues we have found so far, Qiu Yebai first spread in the south, and then was brought into the capital by the Taoist Chunyang. There should be no objection to this."
"I take it for granted again," Fu Shen said, "According to what you mean, Qiu Yebai has existed for a long time, but he was hidden and refused to take it out. Later, because of a certain opportunity, it became popular in Jingchu area, and it was also popularized by Chunyang. Daoists use it to harm others—since Qiu Yebai is so lucrative, why didn’t he take it out earlier to make a lot of money for him, he has to be so disciplined and wait until I’m injured before he’s willing to use it?”
"It's not for granted," Yan Xiaohan shook his head and reminded, "Jing Yuan, don't forget the identity of the person behind the scenes that we guessed at the beginning."
Holding the murder weapon in his hand but holding back, it may be awkward to put it on someone else, but what if the other party is the Beiyan Iron Cavalry
If it wasn't for the deep hatred and the unbearable, how could it turn the slaughtering knife facing foreign enemies and aim it at the world they guard with flesh and blood
Fu Shen might not be able to do a defection until he died, but it was indeed possible for the old Beiyan Iron Cavalry.
Yan Xiaohan guessed that he was definitely not feeling well, and put his arms around his shoulders. Fu Shen pondered for a moment and said, "I still have one thing that I don't understand: If Qiu Yebai appeared in the south earlier than in the north, then the opportunity wasn't my injury, but something before that."
Really asked by him, Yan Xiaohan frowned and muttered, "Last summer... what was the impact of going to the south?"
The two looked at each other, and an impressive scene flashed in their minds at the same time.
Yan Xiaohan: "Last June, we had an argument early in the morning and we were each fined half a year by Your Majesty."
Fu Shen replied, "It's because the DPRK and China are going to send military envoys to the borders of the four directions. Some people flattered and said that it's the most suitable job for you to fly to the Dragon Guard."
The past is like an eternity.
Who would have thought that a pair of enemies who quarreled in the courthouse and wished to blow each other's head with a wat board, now snuggled together in front of a bonfire in a ruined temple.
It can be seen that the world is indeed unpredictable. After living for a long time, you can see any miracles.
Yan Xiaohan said, "It's not been a day or two that the emperor has the idea of controlling the military power in the four directions. Even though the summer test was dismissed by you, it didn't happen, but since it was brought up to the early court, it would be tantamount to the same thing. Clearly declare to the world that the generals of the Quartet garrison should clamp their tails and behave well."
Fu Shen said dissatisfiedly, "Hey, what are you talking about, who is messing around?"
Yan Xiaohan's thoughts were interrupted by his interruption, and he couldn't help laughing and laughing: "I don't recognize it? You are being reasonable. The emperor originally intended to send military envoys from the central center to various places, but he just casually mentioned Feilongwei. You just hold on tight and start picking on my faults, isn't this called harassment?"
Thanks to Yan Xiaohan that day, things changed a little bit. At that time, he followed his intentions and led the topic to the topic of "How come these idiots like Feilongwei want to harm Zhongliang again?" . Who knew that Jingning Hou turned his face like flipping a book, and now he refuses to admit it!
Fu Shenchen pointed at him sternly: "It's not a thing for a tiger."
Yan Xiaohan replied sarcastically, "It's not as good as a beast to kill a donkey."
Seeing that the two of them were about to pinch again, there was a small murmur suddenly behind them. The two of them turned their heads in unison, and saw the woman who had been thrown at the corner like a broken sack by the two of them moved her fingers and slowly woke up.