"Although my Tang family is in Gusu, Gusu does not have the surname Tang, unlike the Cui family in Qinghe." In the carriage, Tang Buqi leaned on the little maid's arms and sipped the wine leisurely, and briefly introduced the situation in Gusu to Zhao Changhe: "My Tang family is not a top-notch family like the Cui family. It's hard to compare. I suggest you focus more on Cui Yuanyang. Ah, don't think about anything else."
Zhao Changhe leaned against the wall in silence, one leaning against the maid and the other leaning against the wall. He was already upset, and this made him even more upset: "Just introduce Gusu, why bring up the Cui family?"
Tang Buqi was quite relieved: "Isn't this convenient for you to make a direct comparison?"
"I know without you having to compare. Everyone has heard of Qinghe Cui, but has anyone heard of Gusu Tang? He seems so proud of himself."
"… The Tang family is at least a famous family in the current dynasty! They have the merit of following the emperor! How could others not have heard of it? Who are the Beimang bandits calling a loser?"
"I think if it weren't for Tang Wanzhuang, who was ranked top three at a young age and a top official in the imperial court, this family would not be able to support it... If everyone is like you... Tsk, it's not hard to imagine that the swallows in the Tang family hall will fly into the homes of bandits in the future..."
Tang Buqi glared at him: "Every family has people who focus on studying, it's not like they rely on martial arts to govern the country!"
"Really? Why was your aunt so eager to break through that she injured her lung meridian? I suggest that your family think about it carefully. Don't take advantage of others' desperate efforts and leisurely lean on the little maid to eat grapes. You are simply drinking her blood."
Tang Buqi was stunned for a moment, his anger gradually disappeared, and he stared at the wine in a trance without saying anything.
Zhao Changhe glanced at him for a long while, and finally stopped talking and turned to the main topic: "So there are still many big and small families in Gusu, right? The Tang family, with the position of the head of the Demon Suppression Division, should be considered the leader in the local area."
"… good."
"By the way, are there any Gusu Murongs? I think they are more famous than the Tang family."
"I haven't heard of it. Where did you hear these nonsense?"
"Do you have any clues about that place that seems to be filled with evil spirits? Is it the Tiger Hill Sword Pond?"
Tang Buqi was a little surprised: "Hey, how do you know about Gusu? Haven't you been in the north all your life?"
"Hmm, is that right?"
"What the hell! Huqiu Sword Pond is right behind my house!"
Zhao Changhe: “Fuck.”
"But then again, a long time ago, oh, or rather in the last era, there was indeed talk of the evil spirit problem at the Tiger Hill Sword Pond, and that there might be an evil sword hidden in it. But my family has already circled this place, and several generations have already explored it thoroughly, and there is nothing here, so what is said this time should have nothing to do with this."
Zhao Changhe stroked his chin and thought, maybe it is not unrelated. From the previous experience in Gujian Lake, there might be a copy, but a group of strong people in your family are hesitating, so the copy is closed.
"Is there any rumor about your family being haunted? Has anyone been attacked by evil spirits? Or maybe your aunt's illness is related to this?"
"I know what you're thinking... But unfortunately, no. My aunt got sick in the capital last year, not at home."
"..." Zhao Changhe still felt that the possibility existed. Based on current experience, the rumors related to the "last era" were beyond the comprehension of the current low-level martial artists, so it was normal for them to not understand it.
Of course, this is just a possibility and does not represent the fact. You still have to go to Gusu to explore the details.
"What about other rumors? How did Fa Yuan judge that the thing is more likely to be in Gusu?"
"How would I know what Fa Yuan based his judgment on? Then I didn't finish writing the reply."
During the discussion, the maid who had been feeding Tang Buqi wine and grapes spoke hesitantly, "There was a rumor before we left. Someone suddenly went crazy and hacked people in the south city market. He was killed on the spot by the passing young master of the Lu family. We thought it was an isolated incident, but later the young master of the Lu family also went crazy. People said he was possessed. We left the house afterwards and don't know what happened afterwards."
Tang Buqi was stunned: "Young Master Lu, could it be Lu Shaoxiong? This guy and I are friends, why haven't I heard of him?"
The maid glanced at him cautiously and said, "Young Master, you were drunk in Xunhua Lane for five days, and the young mistress was crying at home... When you came back, you were scolded by the master, so you were driven out to practice."
Tang Buqi's face turned red. Zhao Changhe turned his head and looked out the window.
There was no more conversation along the way, the chatting was killed.
Originally, it was just a case of a madman hacking people and a demonic possession, which were commonplace and did not mean anything. But since the two incidents were related and happened to be in the context of Maitreya's search for this evil place, it is worth exploring.
… …
Yangzhou is not far from Gusu, so the group sped up and arrived soon.
On the contrary, the closer I got to Gusu, the less eerie atmosphere of Maitreyaism there was. I never saw any scenes of worshipping Buddha or Maitreya, nor did I hear people talking about "Buddha" or "Bodhisattva" wherever I went.
There are temples, but they are also very deserted.
It seems that even if the Maitreya Sect spreads throughout the south of the Yangtze River, it dare not easily show up in Gusu, Tang Wanzhuang's base camp. Even if it does, it is developing and infiltrating secretly, which is much better than the situation in Yangzhou.
But Zhao Changhe still intuitively felt that Maitreya would not wait until everything was ready.
The Yangzhou Incident was definitely a huge blow to Maitreya. If the names and information found were followed, the Maitreya's development near Yangzhou over the years would soon be in vain. The leader Maitreya would most likely not sit idly by and watch this situation continue, and there was a great possibility that he would initiate the attack in advance.
During the Yangzhou Incident, Maitreya was in Nanjing looking for the evil treasure, and he didn't know what happened, but now he must know, and he has probably returned to the headquarters to prepare for the operation. The opportunity to launch the action may be the information connection after Chi Li returned. Once the Hu people go south, the Maitreya Sect in Jiangnan will definitely start an uprising.
This is the deduction that is on the surface.
During this process, Maitreya would surely not let go of Gusu, a piece of pure land surrounded by Jiangnan but not invaded by Maitreya, and would definitely take action. If no corresponding precautions were taken, the Tang family's tragedy might come suddenly.
Gusu at this moment may very well be experiencing its last tranquility.
I don’t know if Tang Wanzhuang would think about these things after receiving the report from Yangzhou. In any case, it seems that Tang Buqi hasn’t thought about them, and the Tang family hasn’t thought about them either.
When I arrived at the Tang family's house, I didn't see even a hint of the solemn atmosphere that might be about to come. Servants came and went. When I walked in, I could hear the sound of stringed instruments from the attic in the distance. A large group of people were surrounding Tang Buqi nearby, asking about his well-being:
"Master is back?"
"Master, you've been out for a long time... You've gotten tanned."
"I heard that the young master killed a barbarian, solved the assassination case of the prefect, and thwarted the Maitreya sect's conspiracy in Yangzhou!"
"Master really made us proud!"
If Zhao Changhe wasn't around, Tang Buqi would have held his head high and enjoyed the admiration. But feeling Zhao Changhe's sidelong glances at him with a half-smile on his face, Tang Buqi just wanted to cover his face: "Alright, alright, this is just a small thing, what's so great about it? I'll set up a guest house and take care of my guests."
The servants looked at Zhao Changhe. They knew that he was Qianlong Thirty-Eight, much more powerful than anyone else present, but there was a hint of invisible contempt in their eyes.
The young master is really good at hanging out with anyone. He once suspected that a certain old beggar was a master and even invited someone to his home to ask about his well-being. In the end, it was confirmed that it was the real old beggar, which made the young master very angry. This time he brought a gangster with him...
Of course, he didn't dare show this attitude in front of Tang Buqi, because the young master could beat people up when he got angry.
Then a housekeeper bowed and nodded: "Mr. Zhao, please follow me to the quiet guest house. I guarantee you will be satisfied."
Zhao Changhe took in everyone's expressions and smiled slightly.
Aristocratic family... The home maintained by Tang Wanzhuang.
He was too lazy to care about these things, and just said: "It's fine to stay anywhere. Please take care of my horse. Then someone can take me to the back mountain. I want to see the Tiger Hill Sword Pond first."
(End of this chapter)