In the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River, the official road was covered with mist. The rain curtain that fell vertically from the sky suddenly collided and shot away, and the war horses stepped on the puddles and mud.
"drive-"
The whip crackled in the air. On the heaving horseback, Yuwen Chengdu lowered his head and looked at the county magistrate hanging under his armpit. "How far is it?"
The county magistrate felt pain all over his body. He endured the rain hitting his face, turned his head and blinked hard to see the scenery clearly in the mist around him.
Then, he pointed in a direction: "General, there is one over there."
boom-
The dull autumn thunder passed across the gloomy sky. In the lead-blue rain curtain, lightning flashed through the clouds, dancing like wild snakes and falling on the willow trees by the river in the distance, instantly igniting a fire.
Hehehe~~
The horses neighed loudly, and dozens of knights galloping in the rain reined in their horses and stopped. The horses shook their manes anxiously, but still refused to move forward despite being whipped.
The yellow horse that Yuwen Chengdu was riding was a rare and extremely smart horse. At this moment, he did not dare to move forward. He just stamped his hooves on the spot, shook his head, and breathed heavily, as if there was something extremely dangerous ahead.
"General, this general cannot go."
The county magistrate, who was being held under the armpit, had a sad face. The thunder just now frightened him greatly. "There is a golden lake here. It is said that there lives an old dragon at the bottom of the lake. The Dragon King Temple here was built by local people. It is very effective. I guess the general just demolished the temple of Wutong God and alarmed him, so he sent down thunder and lightning to warn us."
Raindrops fell down his bamboo hat and streaked across his eyes. Yuwen Chengdu rarely said anything but scolded. He pursed his lips tightly and stared at the lake in the distance in silence. After a moment, he opened his lips slightly and squeezed out a voice: "Let's go back for now. Come back when the sky is clear and the sun is shining!"
After the order was given, dozens of riders turned their horses around and returned to the post house in the city in the direction they came from. The county magistrate and the county magistrate did not dare to neglect them and treated them to good wine and meat and joined them at the banquet.
After settling his subordinates down, Yuwen Chengdu took off his shiny chain mail, changed into a tight-sleeved military uniform, sat down at his seat, drank a glass of wine to drive away the coldness around him, and glanced at the three people who were sitting with him.
"How many temples are there in Huailing County?"
"Reporting to the general." The county magistrate in charge of the people's livelihood of the county bowed and said, "There are seven temples on the list, and sixteen wild temples that are not on the list. Among them, not all are Jinhu Dragon King Temple and Wutong Temple. There are also land gods, city gods, mountain gods, etc...."
Bang!
Yuwen Chengdu put down the wine glass heavily, and the table top and the lampstand shook due to the pressure.
"I will only ask what the Imperial Master told me. How many of the Dragon King Temple and Wutong Temple are left?!"
The county magistrate, county assistant, and county lieutenant looked at each other and hesitated for a moment. Then the county magistrate slowly raised his hand and counted.
"There are four Dragon King Temples and two Wutong God Temples. Most of the wild temples are also dedicated to Wutong God..."
The room fell silent. As the candlelight flickered, Yuwen Chengdu took the wine jug and poured some wine into it. Without even looking at the three people, he took a sip and spoke.
“Tear them all down!”
My father is the Junior Minister of the Imperial Household, and I am also the Left Commander of the Inner Guard. Now I am working for the Imperial Preceptor of the current dynasty. How can I not do my best? Even if I offend someone, I still have my father and the Imperial Preceptor. What is there to be afraid of
He forced the county magistrate and the other two to discuss the matter of the ruined temple after the weather cleared up, and asked about some other situations in the city. Then he sent them away and asked the clerk of the post station to find a prostitute in the city for fun.
Wow~~
The sound of rain followed the beaded curtain of the eaves. The sky darkened. As the night rain washed the rockery and bronze tripod in the courtyard, a cold wind suddenly blew, and the grass and trees in the courtyard swayed wildly with raindrops.
In the lighted room, the curtains were shaking, and some panting and groaning could be heard. The next moment, the sound stopped. Yuwen Chengdu lifted the curtain, frowned and looked at the window frame. The branches in the yard reflected the light of the lanterns under the eaves, which swayed back and forth on the paper window, accompanied by the howling sound of the wind outside, like a ghost passing by the long eaves.
"General, please continue. You are only halfway through. Why are you getting up..."
The woman in the curtain spoke in a charming voice, and her slender white arms wrapped around the man sitting on the edge of the bed. Yuwen Chengdu pushed her away and stood on the ground in his undergarment and pants and shoes.
"Don't talk."
Hearing the man change his tone and become serious, the prostitute was stunned for a moment with a sweet smile on her face. She hugged the quilt and looked at the other party in confusion as he took the sword on the bedside table. With the sound of wind and rain outside and the swaying branches on the window frame, it looked weird.
It was also the first time that Yuwen Chengdu encountered this. As a warrior, he instinctively knew that there must be something outside. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, told the naked woman not to speak, and walked towards the door in slow steps.
Squeak~~
The wooden door made a low hum, and then it opened. The lanterns outside swayed, and the rain was blown crooked by the wind. In the silence, Yuwen Chengdu drew out his sword with a clang, and suddenly shouted: "Where did you come from, demons and monsters? Come out!"
The sound shook the entire courtyard, but none of the subordinates living in the rooms on the other three sides came out.
Hehehe… Hehehe…
A few sharp laughs suddenly echoed in the courtyard, "Haha... What a great official power! This afternoon, you just demolished our temple, how come you have forgotten it so quickly?"
Sharp words seemed to be coming from all directions. The wind blew over the eaves, and the lanterns under the eaves went out one by one along the way. Only the one on Yuwen Chengdu's side was still lit. The rest of the eaves were pitch black. Soon, a light swayed towards this side.
Now, even though Yuwen Chengdu was a brave warrior, he was still frightened when he saw this strange scene. He quickly retreated back into the house and closed the door. However, the next second, the only lantern outside that was still lit went out with the lights in the house.
The room was plunged into darkness in an instant.
"Ah~~" the prostitute in the quilt screamed and pointed to a window opposite: "There is...someone..."
Before he could finish his words, his eyes rolled back and he fainted from fright.
Yuwen Chengdu turned his eyes away, with cold sweat on his face. Outside the window, which reflected the dark blue sky, there was a figure standing there. Thinking he was dazzled, he raised his hand to wipe it, and when he looked again, the figure had split into two. He immediately held his breath and swallowed his saliva.
"Demon... Demon..."
In terms of force alone, Yuwen Chengdu was not afraid of anyone, but the ones in front of him were demons and monsters. It was said that ordinary swords and knives could not hurt them at all, and he would even have to sacrifice his life.
Beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks. As he was thinking about how to respond, the figure outside the window slowly turned into smoke and seeped in through the window gap. Yuwen Chengdu gritted his teeth and rushed forward suddenly. He swung his sword through the smoke, and the broken black smoke closed again on its own, falling to the ground and gradually condensing into a human shape... Then, the dark figure suddenly opened his mouth to the extreme, whistled, and instantly approached.
Bang!
Yuwen Chengdu flew backwards and hit the wall, causing the long weapon he was leaning against to fall over, and the weapon scratched his cheek, leaving a wound that oozed blood.
The black air swirled, and two black shadows came in through the window, and a sharp and sinister voice echoed back.
“… It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten a man’s flesh and blood.”
"Hehe, first I'll avenge the destruction of the temple, then I'll dig out his heart... Hey, why is there a magical aura..."
In the darkness, among the shadowy figures, a doubtful voice swept across the room, and when it looked at the bed, it suddenly screamed: "Go!!"
At the head of the bed over there, a light suddenly became brighter, driving away the darkness and illuminating the entire room. Four figures raised their arms to cover their faces, and a hissing sound came out from the black air around their bodies, and then they slammed into the window and escaped outside.
Yuwen Chengdu, who was illuminated by the light, felt his chest tightness become much smoother. Looking at the light, he knew that it was the imperial edict of the national teacher. He was immediately delighted. He grabbed the long weapon beside him, and his courage came up. He roared "Ah--", kicked open the door, and swung his arm towards several figures flying across the yard. He threw the long weapon over, and with a puff, it penetrated one of the figures and nailed it to the wall.
The other three figures were so frightened that they climbed up the courtyard wall and flew away with the evil wind.
At this time, the wind in the yard stopped, and the other three rooms heard the noise. Dozens of knights and guards of the inn came with lanterns and shone the lights in the direction Yuwen Chengdu pointed. They saw a fat pig pierced by a weapon and stuck in the wall.
There was a noise of fear among the crowd.
"It's really a demon..."
"General, what should we do? Should we move to another place?"
Under the eaves, Yuwen Chengdu sat on the doorstep, breathing heavily, and looked back at the imperial edict whose light had faded. He suddenly felt reassured that the imperial teacher was truly capable.
“Hehehe…” He grinned twice and stared at the wild boar nailed to the wall, “Let’s gut it, roast it and share the food. Tomorrow we will demolish all the Wutong Temples!”
He stood up, grabbed the long weapon, pulled it out, and threw it to the ground with a bang.
"We have the imperial edict to protect us, who are we afraid of—"