The sky had been gloomy for two days in a row. The rolling hills in the distance were glowing with the golden color of autumn. On the road to the south, the number of travelers and vendors from the mountains and peaks gradually decreased. At the northern end of the road, smoke and dust were everywhere. A figure was running wildly, and copper bells were jingling and clanging. After a long time, it slowly stopped.
Under the gloomy sky, the old donkey shook the mane on its neck and finally walked to the roadside to eat some yellowed wild grass. Lu Liang got off the donkey's back and looked at a thatched pavilion on the roadside ahead. He patted a red rope tied to the donkey's tail and said, "Let's rest here for a while."
A handful of raised soil spread out from below, and as the scholar spoke, it splashed in all directions. Sun Yingxian rushed out of the ground, wiped the mud off her face, took a long breath, untied the rope on her wrist, and put it back into her sleeve.
"I almost hit my head on a rock."
Over there, the scholar picked up the still sleepy master from the bookshelf, walked to the thatched pavilion, swept the dust off the stone bench with his wide sleeves, sat down, took out a few pieces of cake, broke them into pieces and spread them on the palm of his hand. A warm feeling rose up, heating up the rice cakes and softening them a lot.
"Master, it's time to eat."
"Uh..." The toad lying between the hems of Lu Liangsheng's stretched robe woke up dazedly, rubbing his eyes, his expression still a little dull, "Just dinner? Liangsheng, where are we now?"
Lu Liangsheng chewed a rice cake, spread out the map paper, and followed the official road he came from all the way south with his fingertips, estimating the place names in the Suliu area marked on it.
"There is still a long way to go."
The Taoist priest came into the pavilion, jumped to the stone bench, took a rice cake from the scholar, took a bite, and looked at the confused Taoist priest Toad: "Old Toad, it's not winter yet, and I didn't hear you say a word all the way."
The Toad Taoist was holding a piece of rice cake and didn't bother to look at him. He simply said, "That's her mother."
"you!"
Just as Sun Yingxian was about to curse back, the scholar sitting next to him raised his head and interrupted him: "Did the old dragon tell me his name?"
In fact, at this close distance, if I knew the name, I could use the Yuelong Sword to follow the name and feel the other party's aura to test his strength. If the old dragon is very skilled, I could also make other preparations.
The Taoist thought for a moment while holding the rice cake in his mouth, then shook his head.
"It seems that I haven't reported it. As soon as I came, I just stirred up trouble and didn't give me a chance to speak."
"Hmm." Lu Liangsheng looked at the map. There are many lakes in the south, famous and unknown, everywhere. "This dragon is very advanced. As you said, he is protecting the Five Gods. He must know about the evil deeds of these five evil spirits, but he can still last for a long time. He must have turned a blind eye."
As the national teacher, as long as a temple is established, Lu Liangsheng has the right to interfere and thoroughly investigate the other party's crimes.
"He enjoys the incense of the people while protecting evil spirits. Even if he doesn't know, he is guilty of negligence."
The Taoist was stunned by the scholar's words and swallowed his saliva: "Is it so serious? If so, then the old dragon will fight us to the death? Then the people you sent out are just delivering food to people."
"Not necessarily. Have you forgotten the seal that our national master has put on you? As long as we build a temple in this Kyushu, we will be three points weaker when we see the seal!"
Lu Liangsheng patted the crumbs on his hands, stood up, walked to the edge of the pavilion, looked at the dark rain clouds in the sky, his eyes calm and indifferent, "It's more than half a month, if we hurry, Yuwen Chengdu should be there."
After resting for a while, the two of them and the donkey set out again. When Lu Liangsheng saw the Toad Taoist sitting on the donkey's head with his eyes bulging, he couldn't help but say, "Master, why don't you sleep a little longer? I'll call you when we get there."
The toad hugged its webbed feet, shook its head vigorously, and held on tightly with its bean-sized eyes.
"Master, I won't sleep anymore. Sleeping several times a day is too harmful to your health."
"Then Master, please be careful."
Lu Liangsheng gave some instructions, then took the reins and headed southeast with the Taoist priest, entering the area of two states with many lakes and hills.
Soon, the continuous autumn rain fell.
Far away in the southeast of Suliu, mist filled the fields and foothills, creating a hazy scene. The autumn rain had been falling for three days, and the ground was slippery and muddy. A horse team stepped on the muddy water, splashing water as they entered the county town called Jinhu County.
"Get out of the way in front!"
"We are the imperial envoys. Please retreat and hide!"
On the long street, the vendors wearing straw raincoats heard the sound of horse hooves and hurriedly dodged. The horse team entering the city waved whips and galloped past, following the wet low eaves on both sides and went straight to the government office. The gatekeeper saw the horse team of dozens of people stopped, and under the straw raincoats and hats, there was a set of armor that he had never seen before. He rushed forward with a panicked look on his face and raised his hands: "This is the county government office. I wonder if you all..."
"What's so big?"
The leading man stepped onto the stone steps with a steamy body, waved his arm nonchalantly to push the yamen runner aside, and strode in: "I know this is the county government office, and I have come to look for your master. Quickly let him come out of bed to receive the order!"
Feeling the ferocity coming from the other party, the yamen runner didn't dare to say much. He carried the water and fire stick and ran to the yamen in a hurry in the rain. Not long after, a hunchbacked county magistrate in official robes followed the yamen runner, and there were two people beside him. Judging from the official robes, it could be guessed that they were the county magistrate and county lieutenant.
As the three men came over, the man standing at the gate of the county government took off his bamboo hat, took out a talisman, turned over the bottom and showed it to the three men.
"I am the Left Commander of the Imperial City Internal Guard, and I am here to inspect Suliu by order of His Majesty and the Imperial Master."
Ouch!
The county magistrate, county assistant and county lieutenant at the door were all shocked. As for high-ranking officials, they had seen the local governors before, and even higher-ranking officials such as the chief secretary, Sima and Gongcao of the governor's office had only been seen once from afar. But the one who was coming now was an official from the capital and belonged to the imperial city. He was the one walking in front of His Majesty.
The three of them held their breath and bent down, not daring to stand up straight.
"Please give your orders, General. The three of us have worked diligently in this county for many years and will definitely get it done."
Yuwen Chengdu glanced at the three people, took the imperial edict from his subordinates, and unfolded it under the plaque of the county government.
"Your Majesty has issued an edict, and the Imperial Master has issued an order. I have heard that in the counties of Suzhou and Liuzhou, there are many evil temples. Among them, there is a temple dedicated to the God of Five Elements. It is spreading evil and causing harm to the people. Now, the Imperial Master has issued an order, ordering all counties to thoroughly investigate all temples. Those related to the God of Five Elements will be destroyed, and the land of the temples will be returned to the farmers!"
The soldiers read the imperial edict with a murderous spirit, which had a unique momentum. Yuwen Chengdu took the imperial edict, held it in his hand, and added a sentence.
"Is there a Dragon King Temple here?"
Across from them, the county magistrate, one of the three, managed to squeeze out a voice and nodded, "Yes."
"The Imperial Master has issued an order to push forward the Dragon King Temple!"
"This, this..." Not only the county magistrate was anxious, but the county magistrates and county lieutenants on his left and right were also a little hesitant. They raised their hands and said, "General, the Dragon King Temple has been built for a long time. It is right next to the Golden Lake. It blesses the fishermen around the lake. It cannot be destroyed."
"Can't be destroyed?"
Yuwen Chengdu narrowed his eyes. He had always been arrogant in Chang'an. He finally got the job of the imperial teacher, so how could he just give up? He grabbed the county magistrate by the collar and lifted him up in the air. He strode out of the rain curtain, supported himself with one hand, jumped onto the horse, and tucked the thin county magistrate under his armpit.
"lead the way!"
He shouted loudly, "Gee!" and rode his horse through the puddles on the ground, galloping out of the city. Dozens of cavalrymen holding weapons followed him on horseback, following the direction pointed out by the county magistrate. They went out of the west gate and galloped north for several miles. In the lead-blue rain curtain, they saw a temple with pilgrims coming in and out from afar.
Yuwen Chengdu stopped his horse and sat on the horse's back, about 25 feet away. When he saw the words on the plaque at the temple gate - Wutong Temple, he immediately grinned.
"Tear down one of his first!"
With a wave of his hand, dozens of cavalrymen went over and dispersed the pilgrims inside and outside. They took out the rope wrapped around the horse's buttocks and tied it to the eaves and beams. Yuwen Chengdu strode into the temple holding the phoenix-wing gilded drill in his hand. He kicked the incense burner in the middle to the ground with a bang. The ashes fell and sparks flew. Under his thick eyebrows, his eyes swept across the five statues of different appearances on the altar in front of him.
"General, General... You can't do that. The villagers have long worshipped the Five Gods..."
The county magistrate chased in, and was then thrown out by two cavalrymen holding their arms. Yuwen Chengdu had never ignored the pleas from outside, his eyes became fierce, and he suddenly shouted "Ah--", and swept away angrily with the long weapon in his hand.
Bang!
The statue exploded, mud flew everywhere, and the clay sculpture that was split open tilted to the side. With the huge force of the smash and the inertia of the fall, it hit another statue next to it. After several collisions, the five statues tilted and fell one by one.
"Fuck God!"
Yuwen Chengdu put away his weapons, turned around and went back outside to mount his horse. He looked at the pilgrims standing in the rain and looking over from afar, and raised his voice: "The Imperial Master orders that the evil statue is not worthy of incense!"
He pulled the reins, picked up the county magistrate and ran towards the official road. Dozens of riders behind him cracked their whips in all directions. The war horses neighed excitedly and galloped away in unison. The ropes in the knights' hands suddenly tightened as they ran. There was a loud bang on the temple standing in the rain. The eaves of the house collapsed in an instant, and the beams were pulled out of the mud walls. The towering green-tiled roof sank in an instant, and there was the sound of tiles shattering.
Continuous drizzle fell, washing away the five collapsed clay sculptures exposed outside, making them no longer as magical as before.