Houdu Town·Night·Li Mansion
The lights were bright, servants held lanterns, and a dozen people with weapons were searching the courtyard.
Hu Ban from the Holy Prison Gate rushed over and quickly found the groom who was knocked unconscious in the horse gallery. He counted the horses and found that one horse was missing. The door to the backyard was also opened. He searched and found the horse's footprints.
"This murderer killed a person, took the horse and escaped!" Hu Ban was furious and whipped the unconscious groom. The groom screamed, rolled over, covered his bloody left cheek, and shouted: "Come on. People, there are robbers robbing us!"
"Idiot!" Hu Ban was even more furious. He whipped away the whip, and the skin was torn apart. The groom was rolling on the ground in pain. After the beating, Hu Ban said coldly: "Why don't you tell me to go to Guanli?"
"Yes!" It was almost early morning, the dew had not yet dried, the sun had just risen, and there were servants running towards the Taoist temple.
This Li Mansion is very close to the Taoist temple, and we arrived in just a moment. There is a big locust tree planted in front of the Taoist temple, the road is paved with bluestone slabs, and some grass grows in the cracks.
The door of the Taoist temple was a red-painted door. There were two large lanterns at the door, and there was a golden plaque with the words "Golden Rooster Temple" written on it. The servants rushed up and knocked on the door with the copper ring.
The copper ring on the door acts as a doorbell. It is made of copper. When you knock it hard, the sound will be very sharp and can be heard from a long distance. As you knock on the door, a Taoist boy of twelve or thirteen years old comes to open the door, with sleepy eyes and hair. Somewhat messy, he yawned: "Who is it, knocking on the door so early?"
"No, I'm from the Li Mansion. The master was killed by a thief today."
"This is going to be reported to the government. Why are you here?" This little Taoist boy was just hired to serve people and didn't understand these things. However, he occasionally saw people coming from the Li family and knew that this family was rich and often had money to show their respect. But this It was strange to come to the temple instead of reporting something to the official when something happened at home, but I didn’t care about it and just informed him, so I went in again. The Taoist temple was very neat, with a Taoist king standing in the main hall and colorful paintings on the side walls. , under the canopy, treasure flags, and square flags, there are all immortal officials and immortal officials.
The Taoist boy entered Vipassana and knocked on the door. A male voice asked, "Why are you bothering me so early in the morning?"
The little Taoist boy said: "Master of the temple, it's like this. Something happened to the Li Mansion, a big family at the foot of the mountain. I heard that Mr. Li was killed at night. He came to the temple to ask the master to take charge of the matter. Now the servant is at the door. Do you want to let him go?" Is he coming in?"
"What? Master Li was killed?" The Taoist inside suddenly stood up.
The little Taoist boy thought for a while and found that there was no other Li family in this town, but only one. He heard that the owner of this family was called Li Wenjing and said, "Master, there should be no other big family in this town."
"Go and call your two senior brothers and tell them that I must rush to the Li Mansion immediately!" The temple master said to the little Taoist boy, and then heard a female voice: "Xu Lang, you go and pay attention to your safety."
It is said that Taoism was originally composed of Sun Temple and Jungle Temple. Zisun Temple is a Taoist temple whose property is privately owned and belongs to one family. However, Jungle Temple is inherited by Taoists who do not get married. This Taoist temple is Zisun Temple. Naturally, there is marriage. When the little Taoist boy heard this He knew the voice was from his master's wife. The master had given instructions just now, so he turned around and left. He didn't dare to hesitate and called his two senior brothers.
The temple owner looked at the dark sky with a gloomy face. This Taoist temple was a Taoist temple in the Holy Prison Gate. Li Wenjing was an outer disciple and did not live here. He had a house in the town.
In this state examination, although Zhang Jieyu felt that he had practiced Taoism and was unlikely to win the exam, but it was not completely eliminated, he was ready to give it a try, so he took a few people to the state capital. Later, when he had some free time, Li Wenjing returned The Li Mansion in the county town would be in danger of being killed if he came back just because he didn't want to.
This little Taoist boy was still young and his nature was undecided. He didn't know about the Holy Prison Gate, so the temple master didn't take it with him. He held the magic weapon and the long sword, and the three Taoists followed the servant.
Entering the Li Mansion, these Taoists entered the inner courtyard amidst the sounds of crying. Several young women looked dignified and beautiful, wearing white silk damask, crying, but their eyes still had charm.
This Taoist's heart became hot when he saw it. It was just a matter of great importance. There were restrictions in Li Wenjing's home. Li Wenjing also knew some Taoist techniques. As long as there was danger, he could send messages. He would not be easily killed. But he never thought that he would die so simply. .
When he stepped forward to ask, a young woman turned to the bed and pointed her finger. Looking on the bed, the Taoist came closer and looked down at this junior brother whom he had met for a laugh yesterday. He saw fear and anger between his eyebrows, and his lips were slightly pursed, as if he was about to die. It was indeed Li Wenjing who was still talking.
The body was covered with a quilt. The man had a sullen face. He lifted the quilt and took a look. He saw that it was a sword cut through the heart. After careful inspection, there were no other injuries.
"He was killed by a skilled warrior. He pierced the heart with one sword." The sword mark was about the same size, piercing deeply and cleanly. The master of the temple had a gloomy look in his eyes and said in a stern tone: "You guys, go check to see if there are any restrictions in the lower courtyard. It was destroyed, how is the situation?”
"Yes!" The three disciples responded. The Taoist's face was stern and frosty, and he asked his wife, "Madam, tell me the matter again."
The lady's face turned red, and she was talking about the matter carefully. As soon as she heard this, she knew something in her mind: "It turns out that the junior brother held an unobstructed meeting, evacuated the guards and servants to the outer courtyard, and was killed when they went out."
The Taoist was a little confused and asked: "Madam, where was my junior brother killed?"
The young woman got up and led the way, leading the Taoist to a corridor. All she saw was speckled blood stains. As she moved forward, there was a large pool of blood, which had condensed into scabs.
After checking the blood stains, he called his servants over and asked them one by one, but they all said they had not seen it. Only the groom saw a vague figure, so he called over to ask.
The groom's body was covered with whip marks, and he knelt on the ground in fear: "Master, the night was very late, I heard a sound coming out, and I saw only a blurry figure, who was knocked unconscious by something flying towards me, and the horse also One was taken away."
"He was knocked unconscious, but his life was not injured. It seems that he is not only a master, but also not a very evil person." The Taoist thought to himself. At this time, the people who were sent out to check the ban came back and reported: "Master, there is a ban in this courtyard." There was no damage, it seems that someone with proficiency in Taoist magic and swordsmanship sneaked in and harmed Master Uncle Li."
This man took a few steps back and forth, hesitating in his heart, or it was possible that he had an informant.
"Although Junior Brother Li is only an outer disciple, he has always made suggestions and presided over the secular affairs of this county. In fact, he is more important than many inner disciples."
"If he dies, everything in this county will be affected. It seems that we have to go to the underworld to check the location of Junior Brother Li's soul and ask who killed him?" The Taoist gritted his teeth and made a decision: "But Yin and Yang are separated, and there is a city god in charge here, so I have to pay some price."
I thought about entering the room and ordering everyone: "You all get out."
Seeing everyone exiting, he looked at Li Wenjing who was lying on the bed: "Junior Brother Li, you and I got into the door together, but I practice Taoism diligently, you are good at common affairs, and you are extremely intelligent. You assist Mr. Zhang, you have power, you are unfamiliar." Taoism has not opened the gate of heaven, so I will kill you with one sword here."
I can't help but sigh: "If you don't open the gate of heaven, you won't become a ghost or immortal, just a mortal soul."
After hearing this, the two disciples of this Taoist stood behind this Taoist and couldn't help but feel a little sad. The Taoist stopped for a moment with emotion and said: "You guys stay here to protect me. I will go to Hades next time and ask what happened." Who killed your Uncle Li?"
"Yes!" the two young Taoists replied, holding swords on the left and right to protect them.
The Taoist took out three sticks of incense and burned them, then inserted them into an incense burner. For a moment, smoke filled the air. The Taoist touched Li Wenjing's body and then he sat down with his eyes closed.
For a moment, a little light appeared above the man, and then disappeared as soon as it appeared.
"Master has left his body." The two young Taoists looked envious. They were ghosts and immortals.
world
It looked completely gray, with countless gray and black sinking into it. At this moment, a little light appeared in it. The clear light protected the Taoist, and the hazy smoke surrounded the surroundings.
"The evil wind is coming." As soon as he arrived here, the evil wind blew on the clear light of this man. There was Yinshan Mountain in the distance, and some humanoid skeletons were walking. From time to time, some monsters appeared, biting and eating these skeletons, but these monsters did not He dared to get close to the Taoist, but looked at him from a distance, seeming to be afraid and yet eager.
On this land, you can see some spiritual lights coming down from time to time. It seems that they are all little bits of white light. When they fall on the ground, they change.
"The incense dropped, forming a very small blessed place. These must be the ancestral halls transformed into the underworld."
It's just that these are not places to go. There is only a trace of fragrance leading in front. It is the Xunshen Incense that was lit just now, leading this person to the front.
Walking straight ahead, he saw a city, with a faint white light rising up, and government officials patrolling. The Taoist stopped and said, "Alas, the souls of ordinary people are scattered in the underworld, and maybe no one cares about them. We cultivators are Received special attention, it seems that Junior Brother Li's soul has followed the ghost messenger into the city and is under the jurisdiction of this city god."
Most people think that people go to the underworld after death. In fact, this is not the case. First, they are bound by the land of various places and sent to the city god. Then the city god will judge them and decide whether to stay or punish them. They may be sent to hell, return to their hometown to receive incense in the ancestral hall, or be arranged in the city. in life.
This place is close to the county town. If you look for the sacred incense and point it to the city, you must be here. You should have been escorted into the city. Immediately, a spiritual light came to you. Someone shouted in front of the city: "Bold Taoist, this is the place under the jurisdiction of the city god. Don't do it tampering." Break in!"
Standing in front of the Taoist was a man wearing official uniform, followed by two soldiers.
The man bowed slightly and threw out a decree. The official took it and looked at it: "So you have a token to enter the city. Please come in!"
This man entered the city.
"Any Taoist gate has a relationship with the underworld, and our Holy Prison Gate naturally has one too." The Taoist didn't even look at the red land in the city. It wasn't out of contempt, but on the contrary, he was in awe.
In this world, the king of the county and the king of the county are no small matter.
After entering a house, it was gray and black, but quite spacious. There was a ghost fire at the door, which was creepy. At this time, a man in official uniform came out and smiled: "It turns out to be a fellow Taoist from the Holy Prison Gate. Please come in." , I love delicious food and like what’s in my cup. Fellow Taoist, when you come here, you might as well drink a few more cups!”
The official smiled, with a faint white light on his body, and led him in. There was a coffee table in the hall. At this time, he waved his hand and the wine glass came to the front.
(End of chapter)