In the middle of the night, everything was silent, except for the tense atmosphere of the confrontation in the dark long street.
Shanchao's monk clothes with Buddha beads on his back, looking directly at the gorgeous carriage in front of him, said in a deep voice: "In the eyes of monks, everything is equal in the world. I don't know your rank, but you are really kind to me, so I kindly ask you to get out of the carriage and see you. If you are guilty of this, the little monk is willing to accept the crime without complaint..."
These words were neither humble nor overbearing and very affectionate—but because they were too affectionate, if you smacked carefully, it was a bit like a man begging for a woman he liked, and everyone present felt ridiculous for a while.
Xie Yun in the carriage also seemed to find it interesting, and asked with a smile: "Is it fate to meet?"
Shan Chao said, "Yes."
"Good fate, bad fate?"
"..."
Shan Chao didn't expect him to ask such a question, and he asked it so quickly, he was stunned for a moment.
"It's fine if it's a good relationship, but if it's a bad relationship, it's not good to cause the monks to be punished." Xie Yun paused, then raised his voice: "I don't think it's better than this—you don't need to make trouble in the middle of the night. Goodbye. Ma Xin, drive!"
Ma Xin and the others didn't want to be entangled for a long time, and immediately responded when they heard the words, and ordered the coachman to drive the horse with a whip. However, just as the carriage was about to move forward, Shan Chao stepped forward in a hurry, and said in a deep voice: "Your Excellency, wait—"
The Long Yuan Sword on his back had been vibrating faintly, but now as he stepped forward and his back muscles tensed, the compression spring in the white shark's skin sheath was stressed, and the sword body suddenly popped out!
clang!
——The sound of dragon chant and sword continued for a long time, and everyone's expressions changed drastically under the cold light.
It's all right for a monk to stop the car in the middle of the night, but he dared to draw his sword in front of Xie Yun, the commander of the guards, did he want to die or did he want to die? Without even thinking about it, Ma Xin and other big inner guards rushed up and drew their swords out of their sheaths: "—Bold!" "Stop!" "Who wants to do it?!"
Shan Chao shouted: "Wait!" He turned his hand behind his shoulder to hold down the hilt of the sword.
He intended to put Longyuan back into the scabbard, but when the guards who were already tense saw him stretching out his hand, there was no time to see what he was trying to do? In the blink of an eye, Ma Xin escaped with a knife, the snow light was as fast as lightning, and the whole person fell from the sky like a big roc: "You are courting death for me—"
when!
The metal impact was so loud that everyone's ears went numb!
Ma Xin froze, and the long knife almost came out: "Tong... leader?"
The whistling sword intent dissipated, and the air flow in the long street was still, and there was an unknown figure between Ma Xin and Shan Chao—Xie Yun.
The hem of the robe sleeves fell slowly, Xie Yun stood in front of Ma Xin, looked straight at Shan Chao expressionlessly, raised his hand and used his wrist guard to block Long Yuan's sword sharply.
And the blade of that sword was so vigorous and fierce that it not only completely broke Xie Yun's internal strength, but also forcibly chopped off the black iron wrist guard, breaking it into several pieces and clanging to the ground!
Ma Xin's pupils constricted, and a chill rose from the hearts of several people around him at the same time: If Xie Yun didn't block such a sharp weapon with such a swift strike, Ma Xin's lightest result at this moment must be a sword Breaking people and hurting people—it doesn't matter if people get hurt, but what a shame it is for a monk to cut off his sword in the street? If it spreads out, everyone should be ashamed!
Ma Xin took half a step back and said hoarsely, "Commander..."
Xie Yun acted as if he hadn't heard of it, and didn't even look back.
He didn't look at anyone, his calm gaze behind the silver mask was only quietly locked on the young and stiff face of the monk.
And Shan Chao's eyes were full of surprise, he hesitated for a long time before putting his sword back into its sheath: "... I didn't mean it, my lord, please—"
Xie Yun didn't answer, and the hand blocking the sword stretched forward, resting on Shan Chao's shoulder. The latter's figure under the black cloth monk's clothes is far more powerful than him, but Xie Yun seems to have an extremely domineering internal force surging in his palm, which is cold, resolute, and unquestionable. Shengsheng fell to his knees!
thump.
The sound of touching the ground was extremely slight, but it seemed to be as heavy as a thousand weights, echoing in everyone's ears for a long time.
Xie Yun said slowly: "It seems that there should be a bad relationship between you and me."
The guard just woke up like a dream, and hurried forward to arrest people, but Xie Yun stopped them with a wave of his hand: "Stand back."
The guards didn't dare to say one more word, and after a brief exchange of eyes with each other, they carefully retreated to more than three feet away.
Shan Chao was seen kneeling upright in front of Xie Yun on the blue brick street, but the elongated figures of the two overlapped and overlapped under the pale moonlight, which was very strange. Shan Chao panted slightly, and looked up at Xie Yun's condescending face: "My little monk is bold... may I ask you if you have been to Mobei a few years ago? If you are really an old monk, can you please..."
"There are tens of millions of people in the world who don't want to show their true colors. How do you know that I look like you?"
Shan Chao hesitated to speak.
Xie Yun smiled. His face covered by the cold mask was a bit scary in the night, but this slow smile, and the reddish corners of his lips under the moonlight, made one feel an indescribable feeling in his heart.
"People say that after entering the Buddhist gate, the six sense organs must be pure. Monk, you are thinking about the old man in your heart. I am afraid that it is not very pure."
"..."
"Your old friend, shouldn't he be an old lover?"
No one would have thought that this high-ranking court official could speak frivolously so naturally. Shan Chao was also stunned for a moment, and then said in a deep voice: "Your Excellency, I am joking. It is true that the old man is very important to me. But it's definitely not what you said... If you have to ask, that person should be my master."
"That's all?"
"Indeed."
Xie Yun was like a hunter who had driven a cornered beast into a corner, and walked around Shan Chao with great interest, his eyes full of undisguised scrutiny. Shan Chao, on the other hand, knelt on the ground and stared ahead. Under the moonlight, it could be seen that his expression was calm and magnanimous, without any guilt or dodge at all.
"Then," Xie Yun stopped, and leaned over Shan Chao's ear from behind, the corners of his raised lips almost touching the side of his strong neck: "—Your master, why don't you want you anymore?"
The breath is warm and the meaning is sentimental, but the ending sound seems to carry cold mockery and ridicule.
If they hadn't gotten close enough, no one would have noticed that the monk's lean and straight body shook suddenly.
"Just kidding, little master don't care." Sensing that Shan Chao seemed to want to say something, Xie Yun interrupted him with a smile, stood up and looked at the guards: "It's cool at night, so let's not hang around anymore. Is there anyone in the car?" Hot water? Pour a cup of tea for the little master."
His subordinates moved quickly, and immediately went to the car to pick up the brass pot, poured a full cup of hot tea, and carefully delivered it over. Standing behind Shan Chao, Xie Yun took the tea with one hand, but with the other hand, his cuff moved slightly, and a snow-white flower bud slipped out.
His subordinates had sharp eyes and recognized the strange flower stolen from the secret room of the Liu family before, which was said to be able to cure all poisons. in hand.
He was still wondering, but he saw Xie Yun casually throwing the flower into the hot tea, with a barely audible pop, the flower dissolved in the water in a blink of an eye.
"...!"
His subordinates were shocked, but they didn't dare to say anything. They watched Xie Yun hand over the tea to Shan Chao: "Little master, please."
Shan Chao was a little hesitant, but Xie Yun, an official of the imperial court with a status of being soft-spoken, had no choice but to take it and drink it up.
Xie Yun asked, "How does it taste?"
For some reason, he seemed to have a lot of meaning when he said this, Shan Chao didn't know why, so he said cautiously: "There is a strange fragrance."
"Do you know why it smells good?"
Shan Chao frowned with thick sword eyebrows.
"Because this pot of tea was made for me when I came out of Yu Shilang's mansion, and his family specially invited the popular girl from Jinyan Tower to make it for me." Xie Yun asked with a smile: "Monk, what do you think of the fragrance of the famous oiran in Goulan Courtyard? , how does it taste?"
This person is really amazing, he keeps making frivolous remarks in front of the monks, and his attitude is as natural as it should be. It is hard to tell whether he is condescending and has no scruples, or if he is really indulgent because of his natural nature, so he is unscrupulous.
Shan Chao retorted in a deep voice: "The taste is fragrant and the aftertaste is long. She must be a peerless beauty. So what?"
Xie Yun raised his head and let out a long laugh.
Shan Chao didn't mean to stand up—he was the one he provoked first, and he was such an unpredictable master, so he didn't know what would happen if he forced himself up, so he just knelt straight on the bluestone slab, and Xie Yun raised his head The slender lines of Shi Shi's neck were particularly obvious under the moonlight. He was obviously a person who could not be liked at all, but he had an inexplicably slutty attraction.
"Monk," he asked with such a teasing smile, "Didn't your Buddhists say that form is emptiness and form? Why do you still say such things about sensual beauties?"
Shan Chao's sharp eyebrows moved slightly.
"You say that you are a monk, and you look like all beings are equal in the world, and you are self-conscious and ascetic, but you never forget all the charming fetters in this world of mortals. You taste excellent fragrance, you can name beauty, and you are obsessed with the old things, clearly My head is full of thoughts about the world, so what do you say about Buddhism?"
Shan Chao wanted to defend himself, but before he could speak, Xie Yun interrupted him mercilessly: "You dare to block a horse in the street to force me to get out of the car, and all you rely on are martial arts skills and magic weapons, but I am stronger than you." It’s just useless in front of you—monk, there is nothing so easy to get in this world, people born in this world want to find answers from the world, unless they have a higher status and greater power than people.”
"And if you can't do this, what else can you do besides being a pawn at the mercy of others?"
His lingering sounds gradually dissipated in the cold wind in the middle of the night, but the meaning in those words was like a nail, piercing Shan Chao's heart deeply: "No, Your Excellency misunderstood, I..."
But Xie Yun raised a slender index finger, made a silent movement, turned and left with a smile.
The sleeves of the white robe quietly drew an arc in the moonlight, Xie Yun's movements coincided with the scene in the dream, and Shan Chao's pupils constricted for a moment, without even thinking, he stood up and held his arm :"etc-"
Not far away, the already tense guard stepped forward: "What are you doing!" "Bold, let go!"
Xie Yun raised his hand to stop them, "Huh?"
Shan Chao breathed slightly heavily, but still stared directly at Xie Yun's eyes behind the mask, and said word by word: "...I have listened to your advice, and I am very grateful in my heart. I only have one question."
"Why do you not want to show your true colors?"
Xie Yun seemed to raise his eyebrows, but he couldn't see clearly through the mask, but there was a hint of amused expression on his face.
"It's immoral to spy on people's privacy, Monk." He said with a smile, "I was injured when I was young, and I only covered it up because of my horrible appearance, just because I didn't want to scare the world."
Immediately afterwards, he reached out to take off the mask, turned his head and nodded to Shan Chao so easily.
Even though Shan Chao's mind was calm, he subconsciously let go of the hand holding him at that moment.
—I saw that the upper half of Xie Yun's face seemed to have been scorched by fire, with criss-crossing scars, uneven skin, and looked like a ghost in the moonlit night. At first glance, it was enough to make the timid scream out!
"You don't feel like your old friend now, do you?"
Shan Chao was choked there alive.
Xie Yun didn't take it seriously, and blinked teasingly, then put on his mask, turned around and left with a long smile.
·
The frivolous court official under the moon in Chang'an was like an absurd dream. When Shan Chao woke up the next morning, he couldn't tell whether it was real or his own hallucination for a moment.
But the reality did not give the young monk a chance to think carefully—this day is the Hungry Ghost Festival, and as usual, the crown prince would descend to the Temple of Mercy to offer incense and pray for blessings. After morning class last night, the monks in the entire Ci'en Temple burned incense and waited quietly under the guidance of the eunuchs sent by the palace. It was not until noon that they heard the gate of the mountain opened, the ritual and music played, and the splendid royal guard of honor appeared in the long hall. end of street.
All the monks in the Ci'en Temple buried their heads in prostration, and Shanchao ranked first, calmly looking at the gold bricks under his feet that had been soaked in clear water three times in the morning. From the corner of his vision, he saw bright yellow horses passing by, and suddenly a horseshoe hit him in front of him. pause.
Immediately afterwards, a barely audible chuckle came from above his head.
—The voice was so fast that it seemed to be an illusion, but Shan Chao stopped breathing immediately.
Someone in the guard of honor reminded in a low voice: "Thank you Commander."
The horseshoe continued to move forward, as if nothing had happened, and no one noticed this little episode. Only Shan Chao stood where he was, with a little astonishment remaining in his eyes, but an indescribable feeling in his heart spread to his mind.
It turned out that it was not a dream.
... His surname is Xie.
·
After the prince offered incense and went through the lengthy etiquette, he changed into ordinary clothes and went to the quiet room to listen to Master Zhiyuan's lecture. This is the prince's new hobby in recent years. It is said that one night two years ago, he dreamed of a golden dragon falling into the Temple of Mercy, and he woke up with a sense of self-consciousness. Temple, but it has also become a hot spot among the Buddhist gates in the capital.
As for whether the dragon in the dream is real or the prince invented it himself, it doesn't matter. Anyway, since ancient times, there have been many things about dreaming about dragons, dreaming about phoenixes, and dreaming about the day in your arms. If you can create that momentum, who can explore the truth
A group of Buddhist disciples held their breath and waited quietly in the outer room. Suddenly, the wooden door was pushed open with a creak, and the little novice came out in a hurry, and saw Shan Chao's eyes lit up: "Senior Brother Xin Chao! I am looking for you. The master said that His Royal Highness I'm thirsty, so I want you to serve another bowl of the sour fruit soup I offered last time, hurry up!"
Although Shan Chao has neither background nor origin, he is still a Buddhist disciple who became a monk halfway, but by chance, he was accepted as a disciple by Master Zhiyuan himself, and he is not considered an unknown little monk in the Ci'en Temple.
Probably people have such a wonderful psychology, they always miss the people they have rescued, so although Master Zhiyuan is notoriously strict, he is not bad for Shan Chao, and he often supports him.
The crown prince always descends to the Ci'en Temple several times a year, and the food and tribute can be followed by the routine, and it is not troublesome. Shan Chao went to the small kitchen to prepare sour fruit soup, which was an iced drink made from fresh peaches, honeydew melons, kiwis, and spices. Sitting in fragrant clothes and shadows on the temples, on the left side of the head couch is the monk Zhiyuan with clear eyebrows, and on the right is Li Hong, the fourteen-year-old prince of the current dynasty.
On Li Hongxia's right hand is a middle-aged man in purple clothes with a round face. Although he doesn't know his official rank, he should be a trusted confidant of the prince based on his seating position. And the person at the bottom of the list is dressed in white brocade and light gold robes, and there seems to be a pleasing smile on the corner of his lips, but the silver mask covers most of his face—it's not that Commander Xie who was there last night. who is it!
Shan Chao's breathing was heavy, but he didn't show anything on his face, he just stepped forward and bowed to present the jade bowl: "Your Highness."
The prince is still young, so he asked casually: "Who is this master? I have been here several times, and I am surprised to see you."
Master Zhiyuan interjected: "Your Highness, don't blame him—this is Xinchao, the apprentice that the poor monk accepted two years ago. Because he was young and clumsy, he didn't dare to let him go up to the distinguished guest, so His Highness has never seen him before."
Hearing this, the prince looked at Shan Chao attentively for a moment, blinked his eyes on his fair face, and suddenly said with a smile: "This is so strange. Although the master said he was clumsy, I think he looks a bit like this king." Let's take a look, ladies and gentlemen?"
When Shan Chao entered the door, he lowered his head cautiously, and no one paid attention to what he looked like. When the prince said this, everyone's eyes fell on him instantly.
Shan Chao's eyebrows twitched slightly.
In fact, Shanchao's complexion is slightly dark, his features are straight and his figure is strong. Although he only wears a coarse cloth monk's robe, he has a silent, ascetic and resolute temperament, and his whole body feels completely different from that of the prince.
But if you just look at the eyebrows, the thick and slightly raised eyebrows and the straight nose are really similar to each other.
"—Huh? Your Highness doesn't say that the minister hasn't noticed yet, there is indeed some resemblance." The middle-aged man in purple clothes who was the prince's striker said strangely: "May I ask if this master Xinchao is from the capital? The ancestral home of his hometown is..."
The prince seemed completely unaware of the subtleties, and was still blinking curiously. However, at this moment, a stern voice suddenly sounded in the hall, interrupting the middle-aged man in purple mercilessly: "Old Liu Ge."
The man in purple had a meal.
Everyone looked back, only to see Xie Yun raised his hand to support his chin, each word was clear and cold: "You can take medicine indiscriminately, but you can't talk indiscriminately. When the prince is a thousand-year-old, you want to say where this monk's ancestral home is, so that he can do it." Looks like someone from the royal family?"
Liu Xujie from Dongtai She immediately froze, wanted to refute but couldn't answer, his face was ashen.
These words were so sharp that no one in the hall dared to make a sound, and it took a long time for the prince to say, "This... Commander Xie has said it, Mr. Liu Ge just followed the king's words to make a joke..."
Xie Yun said lightly: "It's best for you not to make such jokes."
Lang Jun is what the people in the palace call the prince of the current dynasty—unexpectedly, not only the elder Liu Ge, but even the prince is very afraid of this white-clothed and masked commander of the imperial guards, so he can only whisper: "Xie Qing's words are extremely serious. Yes, the king knows."
The atmosphere in the hall was tense beyond words, the prince looked embarrassed, Liu Xujie was green and red, and everyone else was staring at each other, pretending that they didn't exist.
Shan Chao didn't expect the situation to develop like this, and the hand holding the tray couldn't help but become slightly stiff, and it took a long time before Master Zhiyuan cleared his throat on it: "Ahem...His Highness, this sour fruit soup is It is iced with various seasonal fruits, and it will not be cold after a long time, should you try it, Your Highness?"
The prince managed to find a way to go down, and immediately, as if he had been pardoned, he hurriedly ordered his attendants to bring the jade bowl. On the contrary, Zhiyuan has experience in picking up the driver several times. After receiving the sugar water, he didn't hesitate to present it to the prince, but ordered someone to take another spoon, scooped out a spoonful and handed it to Shan Chao, saying: "Xin Chao, you Try it first."
This is what it means to test the poison first.
According to the rules of the royal family, all the food presented will be tested for poison, and the poison tester is not just anyone. In many cases, it is even an expression of trust and favor. Therefore, no one could raise any objections to this matter, Shan Chao answered yes succinctly, took the spoon and swallowed the sour fruit soup, feeling cold in the mouth, and there was nothing wrong with it.
The prince waited quietly for a while, seeing that Shan Chao behaved as usual, he took two sips from the jade bowl at ease, and said with a smile, "It's refreshing and refreshing, this syrup tastes really good!"
Zhiyuan said kindly: "It's the little temple's blessing to be appreciated by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Although the fourteen-year-old prince is not yet stable, he is quite kind. He greeted Zhiyuan with a smile, and asked questions about etiquette and Buddhism. Zhiyuan also patiently gave an answer. Chang'an Buddhist temples have been popular since Zhenguan, and today's saints and Empress Wu also respect Buddhism, so celebrities and dignitaries are also proud of listening to Zen sermons; everyone chatted and laughed for a long time, and the atmosphere in the hall was a little lively. Just now, because of Xie Yun's scolding The tension that had arisen gradually dissipated.
The prince happened to catch a glimpse of Shan Chao still standing under the hall, and felt in his heart that the young monk had actually suffered an innocent disaster, so he apologized a little: "Master, why are you still standing? If there are no outsiders here, there is no need to be formal. Come, give me a seat."
Zhi Yuan smiled and said: "Don't dare, Your Highness is too kind, the poor monk's apprentice..."
"It's okay, it's really because the king felt kind-hearted when he saw Master Xinchao." After speaking, the prince turned to Xinchao, and said with a smile: "Just now because of the king's mistake, you feel uncomfortable. The king is actually—"
Shan Chao looked up at the prince.
The prince's voice paused, and a subtle strangeness appeared on his expression.
The change came so quickly and silently, as if his whole body was suddenly emptied, his eyes were scattered in the air, and his lips moved twice.
Shan Chao's heart shuddered, and then he saw a line of black blood slowly flowing down the corner of the prince's mouth.
"... Your Highness!"
No one at the scene realized what happened, not even Zhiyuan who was sitting next to the prince. Suddenly, Shan Chao rushed forward, like a black lightning, and pressed the prince's shoulder !
"what are you doing!"
"Bold monk, why don't you step back soon?!"
All of a sudden, everyone in the hall was shocked, and Zhiyuan was so frightened that he stood up immediately, but Shan Chao turned a deaf ear to all the voices, and only skillfully opened the prince's eyelids to take a look—only in this short moment, the prince's whole body softened, his eyeballs were bloodshot, Black blood also slowly flowed from the nostrils.
Poisoned!
The current crown prince, the majestic East Palace, actually got poisoned after drinking the sugar water he presented? !
In the blink of an eye, countless thoughts flashed through Shan Chao's mind. He never knew that he could be so calm and think so quickly—then he didn't realize what he was doing, as if he had been taught to do so. I have also practiced that many times, holding the prince's throat with one hand, and pressing the other palm close to his heart veins, pouring out the thick and powerful Qi in an instant.
"Wow!"
The prince, who has never practiced martial arts, of course couldn't bear the terrifying pressure, and immediately spewed out a big mouthful of pitch-black poisonous blood!
If it were someone else, or if the action was a little slower, the prince would already be a dead man at this moment.
After the poisonous blood spewed out, the prince's sanity seemed to have recovered a bit, and he knew he was panting in a hurry. Shan Chao was about to make persistent efforts to clear away the remaining poison, when suddenly footsteps came from his side, followed by a cold and slender hand reaching out and grabbing his strong wrist.
"open."
Shan Chao turned his head in astonishment, only to see that Xie Yun's face was expressionless, and the corners of his pale red lips under the silver mask seemed to be covered with a layer of frost.
"...what do you want to do?" Shan Chao's hand was forcibly separated inch by inch. Although his muscles were tense and his veins were protruding, he couldn't resist Xie Yun's superior and unquestionable strength, "You... in the end..."
"The prince has been poisoned." Xie Yun didn't even look at him, just stared at the prince condescendingly, but he said to the people behind him: "Surround the Ci'en Temple, seal off the Buddhist hall, and send someone to fly to the imperial doctor, immediately! "
—However, even if the imperial doctor has wings, there is absolutely no possibility of arriving at this moment.
Not only Shan Chao knows this, Xie Yun knows it, the prince must also know it. At the moment when the hall was full of shock and noise, the prince was panting with difficulty, looking up at Xie Yun who was condescending in front of him, every word seemed to be dripping with blood from his throat: "... the empress mother... really can't help it? …”
Single ultra-pupil constriction.
Xie Yun didn't respond, there wasn't even a trace of superfluous emotion on that deep and beautiful side face.
He just pressed Shan Chao firmly with one hand, and pulled out the silver hairpin from his hair with the other. The long hair tied with a ribbon poured down, but he ignored it, and directly inserted the silver stick into the remaining sour fruit soup on the table.
Not for a moment, the Yinji was pitch black.
"... cast... poison..."
The elder Liu Xujie gasped, seemingly unbelievable, and then turned his head and shouted at the guards: "What are you still doing in a daze? Take all the monks! Let people rush to the secret room of my mansion to get the family heirloom snow lotus, hurry up!"
"—This flower can cure hundreds of poisons, and it will surely save the prince!"