“Clackla…clackla…”
The old beggar twisted his neck and then his waist. The bloodstains on the ground were still there, but he could talk and walk as if nothing had happened.
"Ah..." "Huh..."
Seeing the old beggar taking a few steps towards him, several imperial guards with poor mental quality fell back. Even the palace guards with high martial arts skills felt their hearts pounding.
After the old beggar said this, he lowered his head and patted his knees as if he was dusting off the dust. He then looked around and found that most of the people who had come to watch the excitement had basically run away. However, there were a few who were hiding at the entrance of the alley in the distance and secretly took a few glances.
Of course, there were still some people who were still standing there watching calmly, including Ji Yuan and several Yuhuaishan monks.
The old beggar glanced at the imperial guards and the palace guards again, then bowed to Ji Yuan and walked towards him.
"Mr. Ji, I'm sorry to make you laugh. Would you like some tea?"
Ji Yuan smiled and bowed in return.
"I heard that if you are awarded the title of Heavenly Master, you will get 1,000 taels of gold. Mr. Lu is truly a wealthy man today. This tea money..."
"Uh... Mr. Ji still has to pay for the tea. We old beggars have been beheaded by the emperor, so there is no reward for our crimes..."
“Hahahaha… Let’s go, it’s my treat!”
A gentleman in a blue robe and a beggar in rags walked away while chatting and laughing. Although they were walking slowly, it seemed as if the scenery in their sight was getting farther away and disappeared from their sight in just a few breaths.
It was not until Ji Yuan and the old beggar had disappeared for a while that some of the imperial guards and palace guards recovered from the unreal feeling of fear.
Looking around again, there were a few people in long robes or feathered robes and small crowns who were standing still before, but now they have turned around and left. Some brave people have come over to see the situation again.
The pool of blood on the ground was the same as that of an ordinary beheaded person, but this time no one needed to clean up the body.
After the guards in front of the palace calmed down, they looked at each other.
"That, that is really an immortal!?"
"How...how do we report to His Majesty?"
"I can only tell the truth..."
The answers from the others were a little nervous. What had just happened was too unreal and unbelievable. Only a god or a fairy could explain why a person could come back to life after being beheaded.
But the guards in front of the palace didn't dare to think about what such a report would mean to the emperor, or what it would mean to them.
On the contrary, the imperial guards around here will most likely be fine, and it might even be a topic of conversation when they're drinking and chatting in private.
After the imperial guards and palace guards left Yongning Street with mixed feelings, more people came back to listen to some brave people talk about what had just happened.
From time to time, the crowd made sounds of disbelief or amazement...
. . .
In the palace, because of the previous episode, the atmosphere in the court fell into awkwardness for a while, until the reporting of the legal affairs began again, the atmosphere in the court slowly warmed up.
Apart from reporting some situations during the ceremony, the rest was to continue introducing a group of magicians to the emperor.
None of these dozen or so wizards said anything out of line. It was normal for them to introduce themselves and congratulate the emperor on his birthday.
Among this group of people, the old emperor and some ministers obviously have their own preferences. Mages with good appearance naturally attract more attention, such as the monk, and the old mage with a fairy-like appearance that Ji Yuan had brought the dragon son and daughter to see before.
At this moment, the monk happened to arrive, and an official from the Ministry of Rites, who was performing his duties on behalf of Yan Chang, stretched out his hand to lead the monk.
"Your Majesty, this is Master Huitong, not from our Dazhen. He comes from the north of Tingliang State. During his Dharma Assembly, he recited Buddhist scriptures, and the sound of Buddha echoed, filling the empty room with fragrance!"
"oh?"
Emperor Yuande showed a hint of excitement and looked at the monk.
"Master, do you have any mysterious magical powers or Buddhist teachings?"
The monk forced a smile, looked around, took a step forward, clasped his hands together and bowed to the old emperor in a Buddhist salute.
"Good, Great Ming King Buddha, I am just a vegetarian and a Buddhist. I don't have any extraordinary powers. I am only attending the Dharma Assembly to chant sutras and pray for blessings to eliminate disasters and solve problems!"
In fact, this monk was almost the only mage who did not want to come to pay homage to the emperor. What he did during the nine days and ten meetings was really the work of a normal water and land ceremony. It was just that he was too serious and thus appeared a little mysterious, so he was directly selected by the Ministry of Rites as the person to meet the emperor.
The monk spoke in a calm tone and his expression was calm. The old emperor narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a while, then snorted with a hint of disappointment before replying.
"Monk, when you say that, could it be that the ministers of the Ministry of Rites are deceiving me?"
Several officials from the Ministry of Rites gasped and their scalps felt numb.
The monk also looked up at the emperor with a little panic, then quickly clasped his hands together and bowed.
"Good, Great Ming King Buddha, your majesty is too serious. The so-called audience does not explicitly say that those who come to the court must have great supernatural powers. Those who sincerely pray for blessings and eliminate disasters at the Dharma Assembly and receive merits are the first. I think the officials of the Ministry of Rites also consider this!"
"So you think you have merit?"
The emperor asked again, then looked at the monk indifferently.
Monk Huitong clasped his hands together and bowed.
"I think so, there is still some."
The atmosphere became silent again. After a while, the emperor on the dragon throne waved his hand and asked the monk to leave. Many officials of the Ministry of Rites also breathed a sigh of relief.
When preparing for the audience with the emperor, many officials in charge of the ceremony, including Yan Chang, had a good impression of the monk. Although others seemed not very fond of the old beggar, Yan Chang respected him very much.
As a result, today it happened to be these two people, one caused Yan Chang to get into a huge disaster, and the other made everyone in the Ministry of Rites sweat.
Seeing the monk retreat back to the group of masters, the official from the Ministry of Rites perked up and was about to introduce the next person when a report came from outside the hall.
"The executioner guard reports back~~~~~"
The court officials and the emperor subconsciously looked outside the palace, and Emperor Yuande nodded to the old eunuch beside him.
"Xuan."
"yes!"
The old eunuch bowed and then took a deep breath and shouted.
"The emperor has ordered that the guards in front of the execution hall enter the hall~~~~"
A few breaths later, a total of four palace guards armed with swords re-entered the hall together, but the ministers who were closer could see that they did not look well.
The four of them came to the center of the hall together and knelt on one knee towards the dragon throne.
This gesture struck some quick-thinking ministers as being quite strange. Normally, envoys did not need to kneel when meeting the emperor.
"Your Majesty, we have already beheaded the old beggar in the middle of Yongning Street..."
"Well, back off!"
The emperor waved his hand disinterestedly.
However, none of the four guards in front of the palace stood up and continued kneeling there.
Emperor Yuande narrowed his eyes and looked at the four people. Could there be any other changes
"Why? What else?"
The four guards looked at each other, realizing that they couldn't avoid it, so the one in front on the right gritted his teeth and spoke anyway.
"Your Majesty, I personally beheaded the old beggar, and his head rolled down and the blood splattered for several feet, but..."
"Just what?"
The guard looked up at the emperor and felt a little hot on his back.
"Just a moment later, the old beggar, whose head and body were separated, stood up again. His head and body connected, and finally his body held his head back to its original place, and he came back to life!"
"What!?"
The old emperor shuddered and almost stood up while grabbing the golden handle of the dragon throne.
“Ah…” “Is there such a thing…”
"Is this guard talking nonsense?"
"Does he have the guts to do that..."
…
Not to mention the emperor was shocked, even the court officials who had remained quiet most of the time before could not help but talk about it. There were many who were skeptical, unbelievable, and even horrified.
Emperor Yuan De's hands, which were grasping the handles of the chair, trembled slightly. He stared at the four guards in front of the palace with wide eyes, and said angrily with a trembling voice:
"How dare you lie to me?"
"I dare not!" "How dare I commit the crime of deceiving the emperor!"
"Your Majesty, please understand!"
The four guards turned pale and kept bowing to the emperor.
The guard who had spoken earlier clasped his fists and said bitterly.
"Your Majesty, we would never dare to deceive you. The imperial guards were with us as witnesses. Moreover, there were many onlookers at the beheading on Yongning Street. The old beggar's head and body were separated and he came back to life, which frightened many people and made them flee in panic. Your Majesty only needs to send someone to Yongning Street to ask and you will know. Even now, the pool of blood from the beheading is still there! Please understand, Your Majesty!"
Sitting on the dragon throne, Emperor Yuande's breathing was a little rapid. He pointed at the four guards in front of the palace and wanted to say something, but no words came out after several attempts.
After a long time, he finally asked.
"Where is he? Where did he go? Why didn't he come back with you guys? "
The muscles of the guards in front of the palace were tense. No matter how uneasy they were, they had no choice but to continue speaking.
It was the leading guard who spoke.
"Your Majesty, after the old beggar stood up and stretched his body, he left with a man who looked like a scholar in a long blue robe..."
Emperor Yuande could not help but stood up and spoke angrily in a stern voice.
"You just let him go like this? Why didn't you stop him!?"
The guard in front of the palace looked up at the emperor with a horrified face, closed his eyes, and then continued.
"These two men are both gods. They disappeared in a few steps. We have no way to catch up with them... Before the old beggar left, he left a message..."
"explain… !"
The guard took a deep breath.
"The old beggar once looked at us and said that the fate of the dynasty cannot be easily affected. He also said... he also said that his relationship as a master and disciple with Your Majesty... is over!"
The old emperor stood there in a daze, his mouth open, his jaw trembling slightly. His heart was filled with complex and confused emotions, and it seemed as if there was a large void in it.
For some reason, when the guard in front of the palace said this, the old emperor seemed to have a strong feeling that "this is the fact" in his heart.
After a long time, the old emperor's body shook, his legs softened, and he fell back onto the dragon throne with a "click..."
"His Majesty!"
The eunuch next to him said this nervously and concernedly. When the old emperor turned his head to look at him, there was a sense of emptiness in his eyes.
The four guards in front of the palace knelt on the ground and bowed their heads. The court was silent and the entire hall fell into a brief silence.
"Huh...huh...huh..."
After a while, Emperor Yuande came back to his senses as if waking from a dream. He looked again at the four guards in front of the palace who dared not move. Then he turned to look at the old eunuch beside him and said in a slightly hurried voice.
"Announce the decree, announce the decree, let the commander of the infantry army, the capital government, the Imperial Observatory... all go, all go and find him, bring him back! Yan Chang, where is Yan Chang?"
The old emperor's condition was somewhat frightening, so the old eunuch answered with gritted teeth.
"Your Majesty, Lord Yan is now in the prison..."
"What? He's in the prison? Who can lock him up? Who dares to..."
The emperor paused when he said this, and suddenly remembered what happened before. He looked even more depressed and lost...