The carriages of Yaoying and Tanmaraga were mixed in the team and drove towards the gate of Star City that was open to the common people.
Star City was heavily guarded, and all the young and middle-aged men who walked alone were stopped and detained. In contrast, the pilgrimage team that bowed and worshipped in the direction of the Holy City did not attract the attention of the knights.
Yaoying and the two passed the Star City without a hitch.
Tan Mo Luojia motioned to Yaoying to stay in the city for one night, "Go to the holy city tomorrow."
Yao Ying was a little puzzled, she was so close, and the holy city was just around the corner, why did she have to delay for a day
Tanmaraga closed his eyes and adjusted his breath, not wanting to explain.
Yaoying reached out and shook her hand in front of him, making sure that his eyes were closed, and wrinkled his nose quietly at him.
They rested in the city for the night and continued their journey in the cold wind the next morning.
The river that is more than ten feet wide freezes into ice, and the deep valleys and rugged mountain roads are covered with a thin layer of snow. At first glance, the earth is white.
The pilgrimage team walked on the empty snow field. There were thousands of men, women and children, and the team could not see the tail at a glance. They came from different tribes, with different clothes, different eye colors and hair colors. The only thing that was the same was the face of each person. The expressions are very pious.
Everyone is already familiar with the road at the foot of the holy city, and they can avoid the snow-covered valley without being reminded by others, so as not to fall bruised.
The inspection of the holy city is obviously more stringent. Every two miles along the road outside the city, a team of knights from the four armies is guarding. A pair of gray-brown eyes swept through the crowd. From time to time, the knights rushed into the crowd and found a tall man .
Yaoying remembered that the first time she came to the Holy City, she took a different road. At that time, she climbed the dirt cliff for a long time. Now that shortcut must be guarded. You must enter the city from the main gate.
In the distance, the city gate straddles the river bank, the terrain is extremely high, tall and magnificent, long stone steps meander up, solid sentry towers and arrow towers are hidden between the cliffs and cliffs, and the armor and clothing of the janitorial guards are flickering with silver light. Even though it was covered with snow, it still couldn't hide the vague murderous aura.
It was still early, the foot of the city gate was bustling, and many people were waiting to enter the city. When the pilgrims saw this, they stopped to rest and sat by the road in twos and threes to eat dry food and drink salty milk tea to keep out the cold.
Yaoying also stopped, frowned slightly, and looked at the holy city in the distance.
Under the clear blue sky, the unique huge black soil cliff in the holy city stands majestically, like a taut arrow, straight into the sky, more than a thousand garans are scattered beside the highest rock in the northernmost tip, and the embossed stone pillars are shining with golden light, scattered among them. The Buddhist pagoda reveals a high spire, solemn and solemn.
While eating and drinking, the people who visited the shrine talked about the deeds of Tanmaraga, and praised his merits and virtues over the years. The chatter and laughter merged into a surging tide, one wave after another, reaching Yaoying's ears.
Suddenly, a red-haired middle-aged Hu man mentioned the princesses who had come from afar in the holy city and asked, "Does the Buddha really want to break the precept and marry a wife?"
Everyone looked displeased and talked a lot.
"The Buddha's son Gao Jie, how could he still marry a vulgar wife?"
"Yes, the Buddha will definitely drive away those princesses!"
Listening to their clamor, Yaoying was stabbed in the back like a thorn.
It seems that the matter of the princesses gathering in the holy city has been rumored. Although the lords of various countries are afraid of Tanmaraka and dare not openly use the banner of requesting marriage, the royal court merchants travel to and from various countries and are well informed. Now it is estimated that even a three-year-old child knows that there is a group of beautiful princesses who are looking forward to his exit.
She had to get things ready quickly.
Yaoying thought silently in her heart.
The avenues flowed endlessly, and the voices and laughter were endless. Tan Moraga suddenly opened his eyes, stretched out his hand to open the curtain, raised his eyes and glanced at the blue sky, and said, "It's still early in the morning, and we will enter the city in the afternoon."
"afternoon?"
Yaoying murmured and nodded in response.
The people who visited the temple were running all the way, dusty and ragged, and many people would stop to clean up their appearance before entering the city, and it was okay to wait a few hours.
Yaoying poured a cup of hot tea and took a nap against the wall of the car. Suddenly, she was woken up by a sharp noise. The horses neighed on the road, and the screams came one after another.
She quickly opened the curtain and looked out, only to hear the howls of ghosts and wolves not far away. Pedestrians on the road were all hugging their heads and squealing, screaming everywhere. Several Guardsmen in light armor galloped from north to south on horseback, with long whips in their hands. He slapped the crowd of worshippers fiercely, showing no mercy.
The person who was hit lay on the ground, his hands and feet twitched, and the blood flowed non-stop. It turned out that the whips were inlaid with thin iron pieces. Once they were hit, they would be bloody!
The soldiers beat the people all the way, and after a while, they turned their horses and turned their horses. It seemed that they were not enjoying themselves enough. They broke into the fleeing crowd and drove the people to a place to be whipped. The people had nowhere to hide.
The pilgrimage team walked together, and these days have already made some friendship. One of them, Hu Shang, couldn't stand it and spoke out to dissuade them. The soldiers did not stop and said angrily: "They are untouchables of the Wuliang tribe, and they are not qualified to enter the city to pay homage. Buddha!"
Hu Shang had no choice but to turn around in a hurry.
As the royal guards, why do they want to do this to the common people
Yaoying clenched her fists tightly, feeling the breath of the people beside her suddenly soaring, and her heart skipped a beat.
Tamara was also awakened, looking over her shoulders, watching the fierce guards, her blue eyes were deep.
Yaoying was afraid that he would reveal his identity, so she said softly, "General, I have a way to scare them off."
She gestured for Tanmaroga to put on her turban, and quickly found her blue-earth beast-patterned brocade bag. After flipping through it for a while, she found a folded piece of cloth, handed it to a servant of the caravan, and gave some instructions.
The servant held the cloth and quickly ran to the side of Hu Shang, who was righteous and speaking. Hu Shang saw the cloth and his eyes lit up.
After a while, a snow-white flag woven and painted with golden patterns of curly grass stretched out in the wind, making a sound of hunting.
In the turbulent times, the people were displaced and miserable. When they were in despair, the Buddha descended from the sky and rescued them. At that time, everyone saw a huge snow-white flag fluttering in the wind. Therefore, a thought deeply rooted in every one of them. People's heart: as long as they see the banner of the Buddha, they will be saved.
At this moment, seeing the familiar flag again, the eyes of the people became hot, and some people knelt down excitedly.
Hu Shang pointed to the flag and said loudly: "Buddha often says that all living beings are equal, no matter what your background, as long as you submit to the royal court, you are all the people of the royal court! We are all believers who come to pay homage to the Buddha. Believers, beware of the bad retribution in the future! When the Buddha is out of the customs, he will definitely uphold justice for us!"
The believers next to him cheered and shouted for help.
Those soldiers who were not of high rank, looked at each other when they saw the flag, didn't dare to make a big deal, sneered a few times, took back their whips and walked away.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and stepped forward to help the beating believers.
Hu Shang stood on the spot, seeing that the figure of the soldier was completely invisible, he let out a long sigh, turned around to thank the person who sent him the flag, and asked the people around him.
I don't know who sent the flag.
Hu Shang guessed that the good-hearted person who shot might not want to offend the Guards, smiled and put away the flag.
On the other side of the avenue, through the slits in the curtain, Hu Shang watched Hu Shang put away the flag, his eyes showing a bit of reluctance.
If she didn't want to be noticed, she would really ask for the flag back.
Tamaroga stared at the people who were kneeling on both sides of the avenue and asked softly, "Where did the princess get this banner from?"
Yaoying smiled, put down the curtain, and whispered: "I asked for it from Yuanjue that night when I went up the mountain, and I always took it with me. The fame of Buddha's son is far and wide. In case of a critical moment, this flag may be sent. Useful…”
The results really came in handy.
As she spoke, she found that Tanmaraka's eyes had been staying on her face, she couldn't help feeling anxious, she put away her smile and asked, "General, shouldn't I do this?"
There are almost all such banners in the royal court caravan, and it is not a taboo.
She raised her eyes, and her dark and bright eyes looked up at Tamaroka, reflecting his hideous face.
He was silent.
Although Yao Ying is wearing a veil, she can still see a faint red and swollen mark on her forehead. In order to integrate into the worshippers these days, she will also worship the holy city like them, and the mark is swollen.
She didn't mention a word, and if he hadn't noticed the bruises on her forehead and palm when he was awake, he might never have noticed.
"The princess did nothing wrong."
He said, his voice was soft, but his tone was firm.
Yaoying slowly exhaled, her brows slightly curved, and she smiled at him.
After the turmoil subsided, the people who visited the temple still had lingering fears and did not dare to delay any longer.
More and more people left, and it was getting late.
When there were only pedestrians left in twos and threes on the avenue, Yaoying worried that she would stay for too long and would lead to an investigation by the Guards, so she couldn't help but ask Tan Mo Luojia: "General, when will we enter the city?"
Tamara said calmly, "Wait a minute."
After waiting for another two hours, the sunset glow in the sky was burning, and the snow on the cliffs was dyed a gorgeous rouge color.
When the last rays of the sun disappeared, the sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from the south of the avenue.
Yaoying narrowed her eyes, lifted the curtain and looked at the sound.
The two swift horses galloped towards the holy city like a gust of wind.
The janitorial guards along the way heard the hoofs and stepped forward to say hello. The scouts who were on their horses shouted a few words. Everyone was dumbfounded and stood there. After a while, they came back to their senses. , galloping towards the city.
Wherever the scouts went, people turned their backs.
Yaoying turned back and looked at Tamaroka suspiciously.
He said: "Wait for another half an hour, you can enter the city."
There was a high-pitched neighing sound from the car window.
After half an hour, the two drove the carriage into the city's team.
I don't know what happened, the knights of the four armies all seemed to have withdrawn along the way, all the soldiers who were interrogating disappeared, the atmosphere was heavy and strange, they entered the city effortlessly, Yaoying had prepared the speech and bribed the guards The army's bags of silver coins are completely useless.
What happened
Yaoying was at a loss and was wondering. In the dark twilight, a few rumbling bells rang out in the direction of the city wall. She was startled and leaned towards Tan Moraga subconsciously.
Pedestrians on the road, like her, were also quite frightened and looked up.
The sound of the bell echoed in the streets and alleys for a long time. The scout who reported the news stood on the city wall and shouted in horror: "The regent is dead!"
Immediately, someone followed and repeated the news of the death of the regent, Sultan Gu.
A stone stirred up a thousand waves.
The soldiers quickly got into the streets, and the deliberately trembling shouts spread throughout every lifang: "The regent is dead at the hands of bandits!"
Yao Ying's body was stiff, subconsciously thinking that something had happened to Ashina Bisuo, and her eyes met Tan Mo Luojia's.
In the roar of "The Regent is dead", his expression was calm, and there was no trace of shock or worry on his face.
Yaoying was stunned for a moment, thinking about his calmness these days, she suddenly realized, a bright electric light flashed through her mind: Bi Su is not dead, all this is their plan, it will be better if the regent "die" by the killer's knife to paralyze the enemy in order to bring out the real mastermind.
The reason why he insisted on entering the city today is because he knows when the news of the death of the regent will be sent back. Once the wicked people are sure that the regent is dead, they will definitely relax their vigilance and withdraw their staff before they can enter the city swaggeringly. .
Yaoying stared blankly at the man beside her.
It turned out that even if he was seriously injured and left alone in the ice and snow, even if he might be attacked by the cultivation technique at any time, his consciousness was unclear and weak, he was still planning the layout for the royal court, and he never let up for a moment.
He has no personal guards by his side, but he can grasp all the information in time, direct Bi Suo's next action, arrange Yuanjue to convey instructions, and control the overall situation. He gave orders.
Now, the Guards deliberately preached the bad news of the death of the Regent, and he also expected it.
She has been taking care of him these days, persuading him to take care of his injuries, did he not listen to a word
Yaoying fell silent.
…
The news of Sultan Gushen's death spread quickly, causing chaos in the city and panic among people.
The carriage came to an inconspicuous corner, and Tan Mo Luojia took Yaoying out of the carriage, turned around and took her into a secluded yard, and took a look at her.
She hadn't spoken since just now.
Tamara lit the candle in the house and said, "The princess can't go back to the Buddhist temple, so I will wait here. Bi Su will come back to the city tonight, and he will come to pick up the princess to live in his mansion temporarily."
Yaoying came back to her senses and hummed.
Tamara was silent, and his eyes flicked across her face.
Yaoying smiled at him and said, "I understand that the general must rush back to the Wang Temple without knowing it, and report important things to the Buddha, and he cannot take me with him. The general does not need to care about me, and there is no need to wait for General Ashina to come back. Now you can go to the General's Mansion and wait for him."
The regent is "dead", and he can't reveal his identity even more. She is Akbayan now and can go to Bi Su's mansion by herself.
Tamara shook his head: "The princess is waiting here."
Yaoying nodded and didn't talk to him: "I wrote it down, then I will listen to the general, I will not go anywhere, just wait for General Ashina here."
With a humming sound, Tamara turned to leave.
Yaoying was worried about his injury, and subconsciously wanted to stop him, trying to persuade him to do as little as possible, but just raised her hand, she shrank back.
He wouldn't listen. She was always persuading him these days, and his ears must be getting calluses.
Yaoying applied the medicine every day, and the scar on the back of her hand had changed from cyan to pink. She timidly swayed in front of him, and when she took it back, she seemed to be a little aggrieved.
Tamaro Ka covered his turban, walked out of the courtyard without hesitation, and closed the courtyard door.
After walking a distance, there was a sudden scream in the silent dark alley.
Tamaroka stopped in her footsteps and turned around.
It was dark, and there were scolding voices from the alley, and several businessmen walked out with a woman. The bells and drums that had warned him just now sounded in unison, and the donkey the woman was riding was frightened and became angry with the donkey. Her hoof pouted, and the woman fell down. She made the scream.
This is the place where he and Bi Su agreed to meet. It is very close to Bi Su's mansion. Bi Su will rush over soon, and she is safe.
Tamara turned around and continued to walk forward.
…
Yaoying watched Tan Mo Luojia leave, packed the brocade bag, and waited for a while, when footsteps sounded outside the door.
Bi Su is here.
Yaoying rolled her eyes, hugged the brocade bag and hid in the corner, looking out through the crack of the door, a tall figure stepped on the stone steps and came over.
He opened the door, and his blue eyes looked directly at the place where Yao Ying was hiding.
Yaoying looked at him, her eyes widened in surprise.
"General Su?"
In the darkness of the night, Tan Moraga, who had turned back, stood in front of the door, his eyebrows were calm, and the moonlight poured down. His figure was extraordinarily tall. He nodded slightly at her, and said lightly, "Princess, follow me to the king's temple."
Yaoying was stunned, "What about General Ashina?"
Tamara swept his sleeves, extinguished the candle, turned around and walked out, "He knows what to do."
Yaoying was a little stunned, she stayed for a while, and followed him with her brocade bag.
After walking a few steps, Tamara stopped.
Yaoying also stopped.
Tamaroga lowered her eyes.
Yaoying looked up at him and met his eyes.
He said: "On the way to Wang Temple, I have to grieve the princess one or two."
Yaoying was stunned for a moment, then said with a smile, "You can do whatever you want."
He raised his hand and brushed his fingers from Yaoying's cheek.
A black cloth towel covered Yaoying's eyes, went around her hair, tied it behind her head, and tied it lightly, her eyes suddenly fell into darkness.
Yaoying couldn't see anything, but she didn't feel flustered when she knew that he was standing by her side, she slowly stretched out her hand and called him softly, "General?"
Her face was covered with a black cloth, and the corners of her mouth were still slightly raised, completely trusting.
Tamaroka leaned over.
The familiar breath suddenly approached, Yaoying felt that she was being hugged, her hands were groping around his neck, and she couldn't see anything. It took a long time to find the place.
Immediately afterwards, the wind whistled in his ears, and he took her up into the air and swept across the roof, the crunch of the roof tiles echoing in the night.
Yaoying's eyes were pitch black, and she didn't know how long it took. She felt that his speed had slowed down, his body was moving, and he seemed to be rising and falling in an uneven place. Not frozen yet? Could it be the sound of ice melting
she thought nonchalantly.
After a cup of tea, Tamara put down Yaoying, did not take off the black cloth on her eyes, and stuffed something into her palm, saying, "Follow me."
They seemed to be in a very empty space, his voice was very low, and there was still a faint echo.
Yaoying nodded and slammed her fingers, and found that what he had stuffed into her palm was a piece of soft fabric, she tried to tug, and the figure beside her swayed.
She fumbled up suspiciously, touching his strong arm.
It turned out that he stuffed her with his sleeve.
Yaoying's mouth curled slightly, listening to Tan Moraga's voice, clutching his sleeve in her hand and following him closely. After walking a flat road, followed by a gentle staircase, he walked in front of her, occasionally reminding her in a low voice that she was about to turn or climb the stone steps ahead.
The secret passage is narrow, and the two breathing sounds are gradually intertwined.
…
King Temple.
Under the northernmost cliff, among a row of large and small grottoes, only the innermost grotto is lit with an oil lamp, and the dim yellow lights flicker. The Buddha statues carved on the four walls are round and solemn.
In the silence, the wooden shelves stacked with books against the wall suddenly creaked.
The guard sitting cross-legged in the grotto immediately stood up, jumped three feet high, and waited respectfully in front of the bookshelf. After the Buddha left the holy city, he stayed in the grotto pretending to be a Buddha, almost forgetting what day it was.
After a while, the bookshelf was pushed away from the inside, and two figures slowly walked out, one tall and straight, one dressed in mysterious clothes, the other curly and graceful, a woman with a black cloth covering her eyes, followed closely behind the man, cautiously. into the grotto.
The guard was stunned, his eyes widened.
The Buddha went to Gaochang and actually brought a young girl back to the Buddhist temple from the secret way!