Listening to the meaning of Du Guoshi's words, in addition to indicating the seriousness of the situation, there was also a feeling that if he missed this opportunity, he would not care about it. Xiao Du and Xiao Ling looked at each other in silence. As a son, Xiao Ling was very rare in his own The father saw a look of confusion and panic in his eyes.
Strictly speaking, compared to his father Xiao Du, Xiao Ling is the one who has truly seen demons and gods, and has experienced extraordinary means. He understands how fragile mortals are to these beings. Under the current situation, it is best to just One is one, two is two, don’t do unnecessary things.
"Dad, we have no choice!"
Xiao Ling's eyes were firm and he nodded towards Xiao Du. Then he stood up and bowed to Du Changsheng who was sitting on the chair.
"Thank you, Imperial Master, for your help. We will go to the Tongtian River, and we will immediately start preparing livestock and other items to offer sacrifices to Lao Gui and the River Goddess."
"Hey, as soon as possible, Du will accompany you."
Du Changsheng sighed, and he could only express it verbally. He had no idea what happened. He was still sighing. Xiao Du came back to his senses and leaned closer to ask in a low voice.
"The Imperial Master also met Empress Jiang Shen, and what about my son's health..."
Du Changsheng's hand holding the tea cup shook, and he almost forgot about it, so he quickly reminded Xiao Dudao with a serious face.
"If you can see Empress Jiang Shen by then, please don't mention this matter. Empress Jiang Shen slightly punished Mr. Xiao back then. It would have been no big deal if he cultivated himself for a while. Who would have thought that Mr. Xiao would change his mind in just two years? Marrying two more concubines, depleting Yuanyang energy like this when the vitality has not recovered, directly hurting the foundation. If you take good care of yourself for ten or eight years, you may be able to recover. If you mention this in front of Empress Jiang Shen, Things…”
Du Changsheng said with a sneer.
"Humph, originally, Empress Jiang Shen might not have the same knowledge as you mortals. At most, she thought that the love that Mr. Xiao said was stronger than Jin was just a mortal's lie. When you mention this matter, it will be self-defeating and offend Empress Ying. That is to avoid the old turtle. This calamity is for me to seek death, and I will allow Du to harm Empress Ying for nothing, but don’t try to harm me!”
Hearing Du Changsheng speak so solemnly, Xiao Du felt a little regretful, while Xiao Ling's face became dry. The father and son nodded repeatedly, knowing the seriousness of it, and did not dare to say anything in advance.
Du Changsheng breathed a sigh of relief again and thought to himself, National Master, I am really saving you. My words may not be entirely true, but the result will probably be quite the same.
Many servants of the Xiao family were mobilized. Because they had been preparing for Xiao Ling to marry a concubine, the family had sufficient reserves of sacrificial supplies. They also found some animals to kill. In the rush, they spent less than half of their time. Everything is ready, the sun is almost setting.
On this day, apart from eating something before going to the morning court, the Xiao family and his son hardly ate anything, and they didn't have much thought or appetite. Du Changsheng also didn't eat much dinner, and helped the Xiao family to sort out the sacrificial items. of objects.
In the Xiao family living room, Du Changsheng was drinking tea with some pastries when Xiao Ling hurriedly walked in from outside.
"National Master, everything is ready!"
Xiao Du also came up from behind and asked carefully.
"National Master, it's getting late and the sun has begun to set. Should we go again early tomorrow morning?"
Du Changsheng clapped his hands and stood up, flicking his sleeves and walking toward the hall door.
"Without further ado, let's set off immediately!"
At this moment, the Xiao family has regarded Du Changsheng as their backbone. Since Du Changsheng said to set off immediately, no matter how uneasy they felt, they could only bite the bullet and order the departure.
Du Changsheng walked all the way to the door of Xiao Mansion with his hands behind his back, and saw three apprentices appearing in front of the door.
"Master! We are here!"
"Huh? You haven't recovered yet, so what are you doing here? What happened today may not be safer than the previous Eight Trigrams Guiding Star Formation."
Du Changsheng added in his mind: At least the degree of shock must be exceeded.
"Master, aren't you also seriously injured and haven't recovered yet? It's our responsibility as practitioners to subjugate demons and eliminate demons. How can we be without a disciple!"
Du Changsheng grinned, this was not about slaying demons.
"If things go well, there is no need to go to war. It's okay to go together and see the world!"
As he spoke, Du Changsheng looked up at the corner across the street based on his feeling. An old eunuch was looking at Wei Wei, who was Li Jingchun, one of Hongwu Emperor Yang Hao's personal eunuchs.
Li Jingchun had seen Du Changsheng's methods with his own eyes and knew that he could not hide from the master's eyes, so he saluted him generously at the street corner. Anyway, he also knew that the master was a smart man and knew what he represented here. As expected, he saw Du Changsheng. Changsheng just nodded slightly, without returning the greeting or saying anything.
When he met Li Jingchun, Du Changsheng understood that the emperor knew that something was going on with the Xiao family, but he definitely didn't know what happened specifically, and he might still suspect that it was the work of a hostile faction.
'Humph, let the emperor take a look. This is the disaster of the Xiao family, but how can it have nothing to do with the Yang family. '
Of course, Du Changsheng had to admit that Xiao Jing, the ancestor of the Xiao family, was the one who died in the end. This had nothing to do with the Yang family and was not to blame.
One after another, the Xiao family's servants led the carriages to the front door. The Xiao family's father and son, who were wearing big cloaks and velvet cloaks, had also come out. They took a look at the servants who were loading the sacrificial items into the carriage, walked up to Du Changsheng, and pointedly looked towards them. Wang Xiao and the others bowed their hands.
"The three disciples of the Imperial Master have also arrived? Please get in the car, we will leave the city soon."
Du Changsheng did not look around the corner. After nodding, he took the three apprentices to get on the carriage. One of the Xiao family got on the carriage and the other got on the horse. After less than half a quarter of an hour, there were three carriages in the Xiao family's convoy, and the accompanying servants Including the carriage driver, there were only four old servants in total, and they all set off towards the east gate of Gyeonggi Prefecture.
The fewer people who know about this matter, the better, so the Xiao family did not bring too many people, and they also understand that this time it is not something that many people or powerful people can handle.
Each of the three carriages was pulled by two horses, and Xiao Ling rode alone in front. In the sunset, Gyeonggi Prefecture was full of people going home, but when they saw three carriages and one horse, they would still avoid it in advance, because the last carriage was carrying Carrying too many sacrificial supplies, the convoy was not very fast overall.
Xiao Ling looked sideways at the sky and murmured while riding her horse.
"I hope it will be over before dark. Fortunately, the weather is sunny today, so it won't be too dark even at night."
At this moment, on the remote bank of the Tongtian River, Ying Ruoli, who was sitting at the table, picked up a tea cup and lightly poured it into the sky. The water in the tea cup flew higher and higher into the sky, causing waves in the sky. Storms and clouds are gathering.
"Rumble..."
The thunder sounded, and within a short period of time, a large cumulonimbus cloud covered the setting sun in the sky. Whether it was in the city, on the road, or those who were still strolling along the river, they all quickly ran back to the boat or the dock to take shelter from the rain. .
Not long after, the heavy rain started to fall. Originally, the sky was still daytime in the afterglow of the setting sun. Because of the heavy rain, it suddenly seemed like it was night. The sky became gray and the visibility was getting lower and lower.
Xiao Mansion and his party had no choice, they had already reached this point, no matter how heavy the rain was, they had to move forward. Because they were afraid that the thunder would startle the horses, a few servants simply got out of the car and led the horses away.
Mud and cold, heavy rain and lightning, raging wind and waves hit the shore. After Xiao and his party left the city, they spent more than half an hour in the bad weather, and finally arrived at the relatively remote shore with Du Changsheng, who had already got out of the car to lead the way. On the side, the lights of the dock in the distance can still be seen in the violent storm, but it is very blurry.
"National Master, is this here?"
Xiao Ling approached Du Changsheng and yelled at the other end to ask questions. He couldn't hear clearly even without shouting.
"This is right!"
Du Changsheng glanced at the river and looked not far away. Ji Yuan was still playing chess at his desk, while Long Nu was holding her chin with the back of her hand. Looking at this side, the violent storm seemed to have nothing to do with the two of them. The lights were also bright, so Xiao and his party could not see them.
"Master, master, please be careful!"
Xiao Du was also about to get off the carriage, but just as he came out, before he could stand still, the cloak behind him was carried by the strong wind and threw Xiao Du into the river. The servant was so frightened that he quickly grabbed his master.
An old servant wanted to hold an umbrella for Xiao Du, but not long after the umbrella was opened, the ribs were broken. The plan to find the lantern was even more idiotic.
"Woo... Wu... Wu..."
The strong wind was howling, and the three carriages creaked and swayed with the wind. Huge waves surged in the Tongtian River, and from time to time they would hit this shore, causing endless splashes of water to fall towards Xiao and his party.
This kind of wind and rain, in the eyes of mortals, is already a monster wind and rain. The Xiao family feels that it is probably related to the giant turtle.
"Fellow Daoist Wu—Fellow Daoist Wu—Master Xiao is already here. I hope that Friend Wu will show up to see you!"
"Woo... Wu..."
The river was pitch black, and the only time you could see clearly was when lightning appeared.
"Rumble..."
Thunder rang out and lightning illuminated the Tongtian River. Xiao and his party discovered that a huge whirlpool appeared on the river just a few feet away, and a huge black shadow lay there in the lightning.
"Wow, wow..."
The river waves swirled with thunder and sparkled, and terrifying black shadows slowly rose from the whirlpool on the river surface.
"Hehehehe... Hahahahahaha... It has been two hundred years. Xiao Jing almost caused me to lose the foundation of my practice back then, but the descendants of the Xiao family are living a good life!"
"Rumble..."
The giant turtle was lying on the river bank, making a terrifying sound under the light of thunder, and black smoke-like substances rose from time to time, and its eyes were haunted by the evil light.
Du Changsheng was also a little frightened, but he reacted immediately. When he saw that the Xiao family and his party were so frightened that they could not move, he immediately spoke out to remind them.
"Fellow Daoist Wu, the Xiao family and his son are here. I hope you understand that future generations don't know the mistakes of their predecessors... Why don't you kowtow quickly? You can't miss one of the three hundred heads!"
Hearing this, the Xiao family father and son did not hesitate and knelt directly on the river bank in the rain, kowtowing to the muddy ground.
"The faults of our ancestors are unknown to future generations. Please forgive me, Master Gui!"
"Please, Mr. Turtle, be more generous!"
"Pa bang bang…"
The father and son knelt on the dirt floor, splashing mud and water. Although it was not very painful, they gradually became a little dizzy. The servants behind him did not dare to stand and kowtowed together.
During the whole process, Old Turtle looked down at the Xiao family without saying anything. Long Nu and even Du Changsheng also watched quietly, but Ji Yuan was still looking at the chessboard without any distractions.
I don’t know how much time had passed, but the Xiao family and the others had kowtowed to the point where they were dizzy and could no longer stand on their knees. The three hundred kowtows were only a few more. Xiao Du fell directly into the mud and was helped up by Du Changsheng.
"Ho... ho... Uncle Turtle, what else do you want?"
Xiao Ling spoke on behalf of his father and mustered up the courage to look at the terrifying giant turtle. Accountant Yuan also looked up at the old turtle.
From the corner of his eye, Old Turtle could see Ji Yuan raising his head. He knew that Mr. Ji might be looking at him at this moment, but he no longer felt uneasy in his heart and just said to Mrs. Xiao with a smile.
"Your ancestors of the Xiao family are human beings, but they have no moral principles. My old turtle, Wu Chong, is a monster, but I also know right from wrong. I have indeed been resentful towards the Xiao family for two hundred years. Now that I see you, I find it ridiculous and ridiculous. Hahahahaha...ahhahahahahaha..."
Old Turtle's laughter was louder than the thunder, the wind and rain, and spread far to the Tongtian River, spreading across both banks. It was like a strange roar in the distance, making everyone who heard it feel numb.
"Oh... Don't worry, I won't kill anyone today. I only need Mrs. Xiao to pay back what I owe. From now on, Mrs. Xiao will not be an official, and she will have to find all the lights of the Heshan House for me. Jiang Fang Deng!”
"No, you are not allowed to be an official..."
Xiao Du trembled and murmured, while Xiao Ling asked loudly.
"Hundreds of lights? Just a hundred lights?"
"Hehehe, yes, it's the same as two hundred years ago, as long as hundreds of lights are on! You can get out!"
Lao Gui knew that the Xiao family was destined to be extinct, and he did not want to commit more crimes. Now that the lights of hundreds of families had little effect on him, he thought that this was what he deserved.
"Boom..."
A huge wave hit, knocking Xiao Du, Xiao Ling and others backward. Looking again, there was no giant turtle on the river surface in the lightning.