"drive!"
Ta-da-da…
The horses' hooves churned as they galloped through the official street, all the way out of Jianchun Gate and heading east out of the city. The leading knight waved his whip and shouted:
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"
Xilulu-
The horses came galloping, and the common people and merchants who were waiting to be checked to enter the city dropped the things in their hands and dodged to the side. After the rumbling sound of horses' hooves, they climbed up from the ground in a panic, and cursed in a low voice at the fast horses that rushed out of the city gate.
"You're running so fast, are you in a hurry to reincarnate?" "You almost hit me, luckily I dodged quickly!"
"Aren't you afraid of killing someone? These public servants."
It was getting dark. The official road stretched for more than ten miles. The galloping horses caught the road in the nearby forest. A flock of birds were startled and circled. A few people passed through the forest and saw a round altar standing in the wilderness in the distance.
“Ouch!!”
On the leading horse, a man with a pale and thin face slightly raised his fine-scale iron gloves and asked his subordinates who were following behind to dismount.
"Please do not make any noise, so as not to disturb the Master's practice!"
After getting off the horse, Qingbailian looked around. There were weeds everywhere and fog was spreading. The sunlight on his body did not feel much warmth.
"It's really strange. It's so hot here, why is it so cold here?"
Walking past the white stone steps engraved with big red characters of "Pudu Cihang", the pale-faced man knocked on the lacquered red door. The long altar courtyard wall was painted snow-white. As it was completed only last year, there was not a speck of dust on it.
Just as he looked around, the door suddenly cracked open with a creaking sound. The man with the pale face asked his men to follow and walked in carefully.
"Master!"
Entering inside, there is a circular viewing platform with seats around it rising like stone steps. There is a long-burning lamp at each position.
"Commander, this is so weird."
A person following behind Qingbaimian spoke fearfully. Qingbaimian, who was walking in front, turned his head slightly and lowered his voice: "This is a Dharma altar. Do you think it's an ordinary temple? Don't talk nonsense. Be careful not to bump into the Dharma master."
"yes."
The man agreed hastily. The moment he walked to the center of the altar, a black shadow suddenly flashed past the entrance in front of him, and a woman with a black veil and a high bun, holding a magic staff, walked out expressionlessly.
He bowed to the five people.
"Good, good, the five of you have murderous intent in your bodies, so you cannot enter to see the Dharma Master."
Seeing that it was the maidservant beside Master Fa, Qing Baimian heaved a sigh of relief and hurriedly saluted and said:
"We are here on the orders of the Emperor. His Majesty wishes to invite the Master to live in the palace."
The maid lowered her head and did not move. After a long while, she said softly, "Wait a moment." She turned around and walked inside with a seal. The wind was whistling and it was pitch black all around, with only a few big red lanterns hanging nearby.
In the range of swaying red lights, a gauze curtain fluttered, and a thin figure sitting cross-legged could be vaguely seen. Perhaps footsteps were heard, and the closed eyelids slightly opened, and the lips trembled softly.
"What's going on outside?"
The maid came over and kowtowed, "Your Majesty has sent someone to invite the Dharma Master to live in the palace."
Inside the curtain, Pu Du Ci Hang did not respond. His slightly closed eyes closed again. His alchemy cauldron was only one step away from its mysterious energy.
It was dark all around, and there was a rustling noise. Figures walked into the range of the lanterns, and silently lifted up the crane-head lotus sedan chair, forming a "long dragon".
Five people stood outside respectfully, and when they saw the team walking out, they quickly lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at them. Only when the sedan stopped in front of them did they hear a cold female voice.
"Your Majesty is wise and enlightened, and is a blessing to all the people. You will also be rewarded with great blessings if you live near him."
Qingbai's face was filled with joy, and he bowed with his hands clasped. The four people behind him also quickly followed suit and spoke one after another:
"Thank you for the blessing, Master."
Inside the curtain, Pu Du Ci Hang raised his seal and nodded, and the Dharma sedan chair set off again. The golden cymbals, chimes, and wooden fish struck out Buddhist music, and it passed the altar and went straight out of the gate. The five people who stayed at the altar congratulated each other.
"That's good. We are valued by the Master. We will definitely be promoted!" "Let's go back and report to His Majesty first."
"Come out and play tonight?"
"Haha, this is as it should be. Let's congratulate the commander!"
The pale-faced man put one hand behind his back and listened to the congratulations from his four subordinates with squinted eyes. A slight smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Just as he was about to let them leave, he suddenly stopped and his ears twitched.
hiss~~
The sound of insects could be heard faintly, and the four people who had walked a few steps ahead turned around with smiles on their faces.
"Commander, why don't you leave?"
The next second, the loose soil broke open and several black shadows emerged from the soil. In the sight of Qingbai's face, the black shadows' jaws opened and closed like pincers, and instantly bit the back of the four people's necks. The four people were pulled into the ground before they could even say a word.
Watching the blood plasma seeping out of the soil and surging out, the pale-faced man stepped back a few steps. Behind his head, he heard a sound of breaking air. He roared "Ah--", clenched his boxing gloves, turned around and punched.
Bang!
The fist hit the hard shell and sparks flew. The pale-faced man then saw clearly that the opponent was a long insect as thick as a human waist. It waved its tentacles and failed to hit the target. It twisted its long body, raised a fishy wind, and burrowed into the ground in the blink of an eye.
"What kind of monsters are these!"
Even though he was a skilled martial artist, Qingbailian was still frightened. Thinking that this was the altar, this matter must be related to the Dharma Master. Even though he had done things for the Dharma Master in the past, it seemed that the other party wanted to kill him now.
"Oh no, the master is going to enter the palace..."
The thought flashed through his mind, and the pale-faced man took a step forward and ran towards the gate. Just after he took two steps, there was a bang, the ground collapsed, and he felt a sharp pain in his ankle. The pincer-like mouth bit there and dragged him down, and half of his body sank.
“Monster!” The pale-faced man with blood at the corner of his mouth swung his fist and smashed hard.
At this moment, the soil on the other side broke open, and a black shadow meandered over and silently bit the back of the struggling person.
puff!
Blood mist filled the air, and a pool of blood splashed onto the nearby viewing platform. In the flickering torchlight, a series of internal organs were pulled out from the back of a figure half submerged in the mud...
Bang.
The hollowed-out corpse was thrown far up and landed on the viewing platform. A woman in a cassock came over, straightened the corpse and made it sit cross-legged behind an eternal lamp. Her face was peaceful, as if she was in a trance with her eyes closed.
…
In the Tianzhi Palace, late at night, the emperor stood outside the Chengyun Hall, pacing back and forth. He stood on the side of the stone eaves column, stretching his neck from time to time to look towards the distant palace road. Seeing that no one was coming, he clenched his fists and pounded them in his palms.
"Why hasn't the master come yet?"
None of the eunuchs or maids around dared to answer. Suddenly, a young eunuch raised his head, his eyes lit up, and trotted behind the emperor.
He bowed his head, his tone quite excited.
"Your Majesty, the Dharma Master is here!"
Chen Shubao turned around and saw a team coming towards the palace road. Amid the sound of Buddhist music, the emperor quickly walked down the stone steps to greet them.
"Master!"
The slowly advancing team stopped, and a crane-headed lotus chariot descended to the ground in the middle. The curtain was opened, and a skinny old monk in a golden cassock and a long-eared monk's hat came over stepping on the petals.
He put his hands together and bowed: "Your Majesty."
"No need to be so polite, Master. Follow me to the palace to talk."
Chen Shubao waved to the eunuchs and maids around him, made a gesture of invitation, and walked into Chengyun Hall with Pudu Cihang. After letting the attendants leave, he began to explain the matter.
"I sent 30,000 soldiers but they returned without success. That Lu Liangsheng has profound magic skills and has commanded all kinds of ferocious monsters to guard the main roads of Qixia Mountain. He is threatening to destroy my kingdom. Master Fa must help me this time no matter what."
The lights in the hall were on brightly. The old monk sitting on one side listened expressionlessly. After the emperor finished speaking, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at Chen Shubao, who did not have a trace of dragon spirit, with no interest.
"Father!"
At this time, a child's voice was heard outside the palace gate. Chen Jing walked into the door with the help of the eunuch. When he saw an old monk, his little face was stunned for a moment, and he bowed respectfully.
"Meet the Master."
Pu Du Ci Hang, who had closed his eyes and entered into meditation, opened his eyes again, looked at the young man at the door for a while, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Why is Jing'er here?"
"Mother said to let Jing'er come over to greet father so that you can rest early."
"Well, you go back first. I have something to discuss with the Master."
After the father and son finished talking, the door of the hall was closed again. A skinny figure stood up from the seat in front of the hall pillar. Amid the flickering firelight, a cold female voice came from Pu Du Ci Hang's mouth.
"Your Majesty, I will stay in the palace and ensure that Your Majesty is safe."
"Very good!"
The emperor on the imperial steps excitedly slammed the dragon table and immediately ordered people to clean the palace.