Xia Houlin: "..." I'll call you uncle!
He pushed him reluctantly and urged: "Come on, do you know that you are very heavy and your chest will be crushed by you."
Shen Jue was unrelenting and said, "My brother."
This guy is addicted to pretending to be brother Qi! Xia Houlin felt a big head. called brother? Why didn't he let him call him Dad
Xia Houlin was as stubborn as an old cow, and he was determined not to open his mouth, but Shen Jue kept pressing him. The two fell into a stalemate, face to face, nose to nose, breathing intertwined in the dark. Every inch of skin that Shen Jue touched seemed to be on fire, unbearably hot.
Xia Houlin finally couldn't hold it any longer, and begged for mercy: "Can I ask your ancestors to do it? Ancestor, please go down."
No matter how charming the atmosphere was, it was also destroyed by this long-toned "ancestor", and Shen Jue felt powerless. Xiahou Rin was probably the strongest opponent he had ever encountered in his life. Shen Jue let him go, got out of the bottom of the table, and turned into the bright room.
A huge lotus-held Guanyin is enshrined on the god's case, and the eyes on the golden face are lowered, as if it contains the infinite compassion of the truth, and it seems that there is only unattainable indifference.
Xiahou Rin followed, frowning at the Shen's case and said, "They are doing this kind of thing under the eyes of the Bodhisattva, and they are not afraid of thunder and lightning? Why did you stop me just now? Wouldn't it be just right to kill the two together?"
Shen Jue shook his head and said, "The empress dowager and Wan Bohai died here for no apparent reason. The first suspect is me. If I want to sit for a long time, the most important thing is to have a good relationship with the emperor. After all, the empress dowager is the emperor's relative. Mother, when the emperor grows up and has a heart, even if the investigation can't find anything, he will have a quarrel with me, and it is not worth it."
He turned his eyes and looked at Xia Houlin, "The so-called Admiral of Dongchang means that he looks good on the face, but in the final analysis, he is actually the emperor's slave. If the emperor wants me to die, I must die. But as long as the emperor shuts down I don't care about the government. I don't have anything to be afraid of when the power falls in my hands. A huge country has to be managed by someone. If the emperor doesn't want to control it, he can only rely on me. The emperor can't do without me, my status It's naturally stable."
Xia Houlin felt aggrieved, but he couldn't say anything. There is no free pie in the world, everything has a price, everyone is the same. Xia Houlin sighed, no longer bothered about these things, and asked: "Then what should we do now? We have the empress dowager and Wan Bohai's handle, so we must take good care of him, right?"
Shen Jue walked to the side of the god's case and plucked the soot from the incense burner. The smoke rose up, and his face was hazy in the smoke. He pondered for a while and said, "Wan Bohai can't die, we have to keep him. Does he rest in the temple or the camp at the foot of the mountain?"
"Of course it's in the temple," Xiahou Rin said. "The queen mother is his concubine. How could he sleep in a tent with the soldiers? He rests in the palace courtyard."
"I just walked all the way here. Have you ever seen the guards in the temple?"
Xia Houlin used incense sticks to light some furnace ashes, and drew a rough map of Guangling Temple on the table, "The temple is divided into three roads, the east road is the meditation room where monks live, the middle road is the Buddhist hall, and the west road is where the concubine stays. Wan Bohai rests in the palace courtyard, and most of the guards are there. I took a look and counted the number of people stationed in the Buddhist hall during the day. There should be about 50. But the specific arrangement in the courtyard is to guard against me. I don't know."
Based on memory, Shen Jue refined Xia Houlin's map. The incense of Guangling Temple comes every year, and he has to follow it every time, and he has long been familiar with the terrain. "The checkpoint of the Palace Courtyard is nothing more than an east gate. There should be several guards here, there is also a Liubei Pavilion, and then there is the Palace Gate, with several guards each. Finally, patrolling guards will be set up all the way from Millennium Park to the hall. In this way, if you want to enter the palace unimpeded, and then bring Wan Bohai out, there will be enough people to solve the problem."
"If there are four people guarding the gates and eight people patrolling, there will be about twenty people." Xiahou Lian said with arms crossed, "Using the method of assassination, quietly and silently solve them one by one, it can be done."
Shen Jue finalized the plan, "The forbidden army will be off at Hai, and we will act at Hai."
The two walked out of the Guanyin Hall according to the original road. It was already dark outside, and the dim stars flickered in the sky, slowly becoming brighter, and gradually connecting together. They ate at An Le Tang, waiting for Hai Shi to come, and the Imperial Army went to sleep. The shadow wall suddenly turned into a group of people. It was a group of forbidden troops holding a group of Dongchang fans. There were more than 50 fans. The fans were covered in blood. . Zhu Shunzi was actually inside, limping, with his head and head down.
About the time when he was returning from the original road, he happened to encounter the forbidden army closing the mountain. He walked up the mountain and was caught by the forbidden army again.
Xia Houlin and Shen Jue looked at each other and followed from a distance, watching them being escorted to the two rooms at the end of An Le Tang, locking them and placing two guards.
Shen Jue's eyes became gloomy, and he walked to the stone pier under the ginkgo tree and sat down, frowning in thought.
"Why don't we split up, you go to save them, and I go to catch Wan Bohai." Xia Houlin said.
"No." Shen Jue refused irritably. How could he let Xiahou Lin go to the palace alone? But Fanzi couldn't help it. One or two is enough. There are more than fifty prisoners here, and he brought a total of two hundred people here. If they were killed by artillery following the forbidden army for no apparent reason, and it was rumored that he disregarded the reputation of his subordinates, the people below would be chilled. In the future, I am afraid that no one is willing to follow him stubbornly, and it will be difficult to cultivate winged cronies.
A bunch of trash, Shen Jue secretly hated. What if he went to catch Wan Bohai first, and then came back to save people? It is also not feasible. The palace is too far from the mountain gate. It takes more than half an hour to go back and forth, and they only have one hour. Shen Jue had a splitting headache and pressed her temples.
There are not many guards in An Letang, and most of them are wounded soldiers, so it is not difficult to save people. Shen Jue said: "You go to save people, I'll take Wan Bohai out. Guangling Temple can be bombed, but monks can't. Situ only bombed Zhonglu and Xilu. The monk's meditation room is safe. How about meeting in the tree courtyard?"
Xia Houlin disagreed, "I'll go to the palace, you go save people."
"Xiahou Rin, I admit that my swordsmanship is not bad, not inferior to you."
"That won't work either," Xia Houluo crouched at Shen Jue's feet and looked up at him, "Speaking of this, I've always wanted to ask you, what kind of swordsmanship do you use, isn't the kalan sword I teach you? Why doesn't it look alike."
"You didn't teach me my knife." Shen Jue knocked on his forehead.
"Why not, I even sharpened a wooden knife for you, I remember it clearly." This kid actually wanted to deny it, and Xia Houli raised his eyebrows high.
"My knife was taught by your mother." Shen Jue raised his eyes, his eyes became distant, the autumn wind was blowing, and the memories from many years ago reappeared in front of him.
Xia Houlin was stunned for a moment, "Huh?"
"At that time, you were lazy and refused to give me tricks, so I had to practice alone. But every night, your mother would definitely come to fight against me. She dressed up as a high concubine, she was crazy, and her moves were completely out of order, but she could She beat me to the ground. Later, when I thought about it, her rules only seemed to be messy, but in fact, her moves were a variant of the Jialan knife." Shen Jue said, "The essence of the knife skills is nothing but the words 'fast' and 'change'. Fast is not broken, only change is unpredictable, your mother is both, so she is a master of swordsmanship, and no one in the world can surpass it. Unfortunately, after all, I have so many chores, I can't concentrate on practicing the sword, and the speed of swordsmanship is still poor. A little bit, it's not as good as your boy skills, you can only put more effort into 'change'."
Xia Houluo thought for a while and said, "In that case, you are my junior brother."
"It's Senior Brother." Shen Jue corrected.
"However, I can really only go to the palace." Xia Houlin stood up and stretched his waist, "Assassination is a craft, and it is not enough to know the swordsmanship. Assassination is about surprise, you can walk silently. Is it?" Xia Houlin took a few steps in front of Shen Jue, his posture was quite strange, and he landed quietly, "This is the civet cat walk, I learned it after practicing for a month when I was a child, do you know how?"
Shen Jue pursed her lips in silence.
"You're not as good as me when you climb a tree," Xia Houlin added.
Shen Jue saw his physical skills in his eyes, walking on the beams was like walking on the ground, and it was difficult to do without practice from a young age. Shen Jue sighed and said, "We will meet at Lishuyuan in three quarters of Haizheng. Remember, if the signs are not right, retreat immediately, don't delay."
Xiahou Rong smiled at him, with thick eyebrows and bright eyes in the shadow of the moon, with a charming smile, "Okay, Haizheng three quarters, see you in Lishuyuan."
———
The moon hides thousands of mountains, and the night is thick. Outside the palace courtyard surrounded by bamboo trees, the corridors are linked together, the eaves and teeth are raised and the feet are intriguing. The red lanterns cast a blushing light, the patrolling guards walked in the corridor, the dark light flowed on the chainmail, and the crimson red and embroidered river cliffs and seawater were faintly floating in the shadow of the lights.
Eight Imperial Guards, two in a row, lined up in four columns, meticulously followed the route to the palace. The moment the eight of them turned around together, an icy light flashed across the back of the helmet, and a black shadow emerged from the darkness. Both hands went around the necks of the last two imperial guards at the same time, and the daggers under their wrists cut their throats.
The four people in front heard the sound and turned around suspiciously, only to see the two companions behind them standing with their heads bowed, a little strange. Under the shadow of the gallery, it looks upright, like a ghost's upper body, looking at people.
"What's wrong with you two?" Someone asked, shuddering.
As soon as the voice fell, two cold beams shot out from the sides of their necks and submerged into the mouths of the two in front of them, and the two fell to the ground with their eyes wide open. In the end, the two of them drew their swords and were about to shout when a black shadowy tiger strode forward, and a cold light flashed across the darkness, like an electric light across the pitch-black sky. The two were horrified to find that they could not speak, and their chests were dripping with damp heat. They touched their throats with hindsight, and blood was gurgling from their throats.
Xia Houlin held the heads of the two of them, slowly put them on the ground, and dragged the eight corpses into the depths of the tree shadows.
Xia Houlin touched the position ten paces away from the east gate, and there were two soldiers standing at the door. He hid behind the big red pillar and threw a stone on the ground. When a soldier heard the sound, he walked over and asked alertly, "Who?"
The moment he passed by Xia Houlin, Xia Houlin suddenly stretched out his hand to cover his mouth, and the dagger popped out from under his wrist, cutting his throat. The soldier suddenly softened, and Xiahou Rin dragged him into the shadows, adjusted his clothes, and walked out.
The shadow from the helmet covered his head and face, and another soldier guarding the gate could not see his face, thinking he was a companion, and asked, "What is there?"
Xiahou Lin didn't answer, he walked straight to him, covered his mouth with his left hand, and inserted the dagger into his stomach with his right hand.
In the dark night, assassins walk in the shadows like ghosts, killing people.
Blood flowers appeared and disappeared in the darkness, like gorgeous fireworks. The Imperial Guards quietly decreased one by one, and the last soldier died under the white marble fence outside the gate of the palace, covering his body with weeds. Xiahou Rin carried the blood-stained goose ling knife, stepped up the stone steps, bowed his waist against the Zhumen, listened to the sound inside for a while, looked up at the moon, the moon flew over the second cornice, and it was Haizheng. He inserted the knife into the crack of the door and slowly opened the latch.
There was silence in the hall, Xiahou Lin got into the room and gently closed the door. He got used to the darkness for a while and felt inside. The large carved bed was covered by darkness, and the cover of the bedside faintly revealed the fine streamer of eight treasures. The apricot-colored tents fit tightly together, and Xiahou Lian touched his waist all the way and gently opened the tents.
The bed was empty!
Wan Bohai's voice suddenly sounded behind him: "Who are you!"
Xiahou Lin was startled, turned his head, and saw Wan Bohai standing barefoot on the Luohan couch, picking up the Yanling knife from the knife stand next to him, shaking off the scabbard, and the chilling light of the knife splashed like snow in the shadows.
This guy actually slept on the couch!
He walked down from the couch, lit a candle, and the hall suddenly lit up a little, and Xiahou Lin appeared in the darkness.
"I didn't think there would be thieves under my tent! Which camp are you from? When did you become Shen's running dog?" "
"Lord Wan, you can't defeat me, you might as well capture it." Xia Houlin pressed down with his long sword and slowly drew it out of its sheath.
"Arrogant!" Wan Bohai smiled coldly, "I know who you are, you are a nameless ghost. Shen Yan is so capable, he can actually drive Jialan's strongest assassin. Nameless ghost, Shen Yan can give you , the official can also. You might as well take refuge in the official, money, women, fame, power, whatever you want. "
Xia Houlin smiled lightly, looked up at the window, the moon had passed the third eaves, and it was just a moment.
"Sorry, I just want to be the overseer's dog," he knelt down on one knee, the blade tucked behind his elbow, "Sir Wan, please."
Under the shadow of the whirling trees, the window screen is like a stage set up by a shadow puppet show. The shadows of the two on the plain gauze are the shadow puppets on the stage, like two beasts biting each other in the yellow candle shadow.
Xia Houlin slashed his knife downward, and the blade pierced the air and erupted into a shrill scream. Wan Bohai slashed back at Xia Houlin's Yanling knife, but at the moment when the blades collided, his palm shook violently, and the tiger's mouth suddenly burst, and blood oozing out. Xia Houlin didn't stop, and quickly launched the next blow, which was also a slash as sharp as electricity. The moment Wan Bohai took the move, it seemed like thunder.
Both knives beeped violently, as if dying. Wan Bohai saw that Xia Houlin's hand was also cracked, and blood soaked the rope wrapped around the handle of the knife. But he doesn't stop! One slash after another, like a torrential rain, Wan Bohai retreated step by step, and fear finally arose in his heart.
This is a lunatic. They're right, it's a lunatic!
His swordsmanship may be able to compete with this assassin, but a person who survives must be better than a person who is not afraid of death!
Wan Bohai stopped fighting and turned to flee, but Xiahou Lin went to the door ahead of him and bolted the bolt.
"My lord, our battle is not over yet."
The assassin raised his face in the darkness, his eyes were fierce and his fangs appeared.
The moon passed over the fourth cornice, Haizheng two quarters! The two of them wrestled again, their figures seemed to be vacant, and Xia Houlin's sword stance was twice as fast. Wan Bohai seemed to be pressed by a stone, unable to breathe. He couldn't stop it, Xia Houlin's knife was too fast, he blocked one blow, and the next blow caught up immediately, making a wound on his body. He didn't wear armor, and soon there were small wounds on his waist, hands, and thighs, and the whole person became a bloody man.
Xiahou Rin clearly had the opportunity to kill him, but he did not kill him!
Wan Bohai suddenly understood that he wanted to capture him alive!
Xia Houlin's goose ling knife stretched out from the slanting thorn and cut his wrist. His wrist hurt, and his knife fell to the ground. He is desperate, this is the Garan Assassin, walking in the dark night, chasing his soul, he has no power to fight!
Suddenly, the earth shook. There seemed to be a thunderstorm outside the house, and a loud bang pierced the sky and the earth, and the world went blank for a moment. The house rustled and fell to ashes, and a roaring flame ignited outside, illuminating the entire hall.
The Hongyi Cannon bombed the camp in advance!
Neither of them could stand firm in the earthquake and fell to the ground. Xia Houlin's goose ling knife also let go. He quickly picked up the knife and Wan Bohai rushed over and slammed Xia Houlin on the flat-headed table. The collision caused the table case to collapse, and the back hit the edge of the table, which was extremely painful. Xia Houlin gritted his teeth and got up, Wan Bohai came over with a fist, facing him in the face. Xia Houlin ducked and swept his legs at the same time. Wan Bohai was swept to the ground, but grabbed Xia Houlin's legs and brought him to the ground.
The artillery fire continued to fall, and the ground shook violently. The two were rolling in the crumbling hall, Xia Houlin was punched several times in the face, the corners of his mouth were cracked, and he tasted the sweetness of blood. There was another huge earthquake, Wan Bohai was hit by the falling lamp socket, Xiahou Rin grabbed the gap and knelt up, and locked Wan Bohai's wrist with his arm, Wan Bohai struggled hard, the two were wrestling with each other, no weapons, Only bloody fists remained. In the firelight, the eyes of the two were fierce as tigers.
Xia Houlin suddenly raised his head with a headbutt, and the steel forehead smashed on Wan Bohai's head, dripping with blood. This blow Xia Houlin used five points of strength, Wan Bohai was suddenly dizzy, his eyes were spinning, and his hands were loosened. Xia Houlin pulled out the dagger from his waist and hit Wan Bohai's neck with the wooden handle. Wan Bohai finally fainted.
Xia Houlin carried Wan Bohai up and withdrew from the palace. Surrounded by a raging sea of fire, the flames shot straight into the sky, and the night was lit up in a corner, like a red glow in the night. Xiahou staggered out. The thousand-year-old cypress had fallen, and the dense branches and leaves were burning in the fire. Xia Houlin climbed over the charred tree trunk, struggling to identify the direction. Guangling Temple was devastated, and the Buddhist hall collapsed.
There was another fire in the sky, Xia Houlin and Wan Bohai quickly lay on the edge of the tree trunk, the cannonball landed a few steps away from them, the earth-shattering sound pierced through Xia Houlin's mind, and the shrill sound continued in his ears. Xia Houlin could hardly hear him, he gritted his teeth, pulled Wan Bohai up and carried it on his shoulders, and stubbornly walked towards the Lishuyuan.
There were constantly fleeing soldiers on the road, but fortunately no one cared about him. The tinnitus gradually stopped, and amid the continuous fire and the roar of artillery fire, he suddenly heard someone calling his name.
"Xiahou!" Zhu Shunzi and a few fans ran over, out of breath, "Xiahou! I've found you!"
"Why are you here!" Xia Houlin yelled.
"You didn't show up on time, we came in with the overseer to find you!"
"Where's the overseer!"
A fan said: "I don't know! Just now a cannon fell, and we were separated from the governor! Xiahou, you go first, we will find the governor!"
Xia Houlin put Wan Bohai on top of them and said, "Take him to Situ! It must be delivered! I will go to the governor!"
The artillery fire finally ceased, and the blazing flames formed a brilliance. All the Buddhist temples collapsed, and the golden Buddha statues showed their gray heads in the ruins. Xiahou Rin ran to the palace courtyard like a madman. On the way, he passed the ruins by the linden tree and heard someone weakly calling for help.
Worried that it was Shen Jue, he stopped to dig the ground. He recognized that this was the ruins of the Daxiong Palace. The Daxiong Palace had collapsed in half due to the shock, but the linden tree in front was still in good condition. Many red sandalwood plaques that were originally hanging on the tree have also fallen off a lot. They are used by good men and women to make wishes. I heard that Guangling Temple is very spiritual. The cassia tree in front of the Mahavira Hall has lived for hundreds of years. It was descended from heaven. God tree. Many people traveled thousands of miles to Beijing to make a wish, just to hang a wooden sign on the cassia tree.
He dragged people out of the rubble, but it wasn't Shen Jue, he was a soldier of the Imperial Army. He was so anxious that he got up and wanted to go. His eyes inadvertently swept across the wooden plaque covered by the dust on the ground.
"I pray that Xiahou Lin will be safe and secure, and return soon."
Xiahou Lin was taken aback and picked up the wooden sign. Half of the wooden sign was scorched, and the peace knot and red tassel at the bottom were dirty and covered with dust. There are still many wooden signs on the ground, and Xia Houlin turned them over one by one. There are others, but more have his name written on them.
"Please be safe, Xiahou returns south."
"Sincerely pray for blessings, Xiahoulin will be safe every year, and Changle will be worry-free."
Xiahoulin, Xiahoulin, Xiahoulin... Stroke stroke by stroke, every inch of ink is deeply immersed in the texture of sandalwood, as if the voice is calling from afar, going around in circles, traveling through ten years of time and space, and finally reaching his ears .
He suddenly remembered that in the drizzle that day, Shen Jue said: "I believed in a period of time, I opened the light, I also asked for a lottery, and I also asked for a tablet of longevity. Those miscellaneous names in the temple have been done one by one. But what's the use, God can't hear your prayers, and gods and Buddhas can't see your kowtows, what you can't ask for, still can't ask for."
It turns out that the lottery was requested for him, the tablet of longevity was requested for him, and the Xingyue Bodhi was also worn for him. Everything is for him.
That idiot! What an idiot! He was aching and bitter. Why do this for him, where is he worth, where is he worth! It is not enough to search for ten years, but also asking God to worship Buddha, asking God to worship Buddha is not enough, but also rushing into the fire. idiot! idiot! As he ran wildly, he shouted: "Master! Shen Jue! Shen Jue!"
The dust filled the air, the broken walls blocked his sight, and the firelight flushed his face. Dirty arms stretched out from the corners of the ruins, he dug like crazy, trying his best to see every face, not Shen Jue, not at all.
"Shen Jue!" He shouted, looking around, "Thank you Jinglan! Jinglan! Answer me!"
"Xiahou Rin!" A hoarse voice sounded behind him, he turned his head suddenly, the man was standing at the end of the ruins, walking towards him with a deep foot and a shallow foot. A person who is so particular on weekdays will get angry if his clothes are slightly soiled. Now his uniform is torn, his hair bun is loose, his head is covered with gray, and he looks like a lost beggar. He ran over, used his hands and feet to climb up the broken bricks and tiles, stumbled, walked to the top, and grabbed Shen Jue's arm.
"Your mother's brain is flooded! It's good to meet at the Pear Tree Courtyard, are you running in to find death!" He yelled at Shen Jue for the first time, his eyes were red, and he almost burst into tears.
Shen Jue also roared: "It's been three minutes since Hai Zheng, you'll be late! You won't be left behind when the cannons go off! I'm afraid you'll die!"
Shen Jue wiped his face, tears mixed with blood and dust, his face looked terrifying. Shen Jue said with red eyes, "If you say it's dangerous, you will retreat. Why did you make yourself like this again!"
He didn't answer, and looked down at Shen Jue's hands and feet, "How are you, are you injured?"
"I'm fine."
Shen Jue clenched his wrist wearily, and the two of them were shaking like two fallen leaves in the bleak wind, clinging to each other pitifully.
At this moment, everything seemed to be settled, Xia Houlin laughed, but it was more ugly than crying, he took a step forward and hugged Shen Jue into his arms. The surrounding voices suddenly fell silent, the crowds running, the collapse of the Buddhist temple... Everything seemed to be away from them in an instant. Shen Jue stayed for a moment, even in the most ambiguous time, he did not dare to hug Xia Houlin. But now, Xia Houlin hugged him suddenly, very tight, as if he had exhausted all his strength to press him into the blood.
There was a hot and humid feeling on the side of his neck, and Shen Jue suddenly realized that this guy was actually crying. This man who is as strong as pig iron has only shed tears for the famous assassin in his life. At this moment, he cried, silently and silently, for himself.
Shen Jue slowly hugged Xia Houlin back, put his hands on Xia Houlin's trembling back, and stroked gently.
Shen Jue clearly remembered every hug. The first time was in the small courtyard of Xie's house. At that time, he had just started apprenticeship and learned that Xie Bingfeng didn't remember his appearance at all. The second time was in Xieyang Narrow Alley. The first time they parted, he watched Xia Houlin ride on a cart and ox cart and disappear into the corner full of sunlight. The third time was at the Fourth Ganxi Institute. He was bullied by the eunuch. Xia Houlin wiped his arms and face for him. He still remembered the fragrance of osmanthus in the air, and the bitter taste of tears in his mouth.
He suddenly felt that the time was reversed. He was not the Admiral of Dongchang, and Xia Houlin was not a Galan assassin. They were still two helpless teenagers from many years ago, hugging each other in the dark. The mountain wind blew the flames, the flames lingered on them, and the ruins stretched out under their feet. They were like two tiny shadows in a barren world.
"It's alright. It's alright, Alan, you found me, and I found you too."
He patted Xia Houlin's back lightly, and said these words slowly, like a comfort, like a promise.