In the fifth year of Taihe, the afternoon of October, the beginning of the child.

Chang'an, Chang'an County, Chongye Fang, Xuandu Temple.

Chongye Fang is located in the south of the city, at the time of the third watch, the night has been dusk, the workshop has fallen into silence, leaving Jin Wuwei to patrol the night in the workshop.

Zhang Yijun, dressed as a servant with brown lapels, leaned back against the inside of the fang wall and took out a small roll of bamboo paper from his arms, which clearly depicted the canals, streets and alleys in Chongye Fang, as well as the courtyard wall of the Xuandu Temple.

There was a sound of footsteps across a row of shops, Zhang Yijun hurriedly put away the bamboo paper, he listened carefully, and there seemed to be a rhythmic sound of wooden squeezes in the alley.

It was a watchman, Zhang Yijun said secretly, he looked up at the night sky, the clouds were thin, the moon was about to open, he estimated that the hour was approaching, so he straightened his head and moved to Beiqu Street.

As soon as Zhang Yijun turned the corner, he saw a bright paper lantern lantern swaying in the middle of the street, heading straight for Beiqu.

His heart sank, Jin Wuwei?

How unfortunate this is...... Zhang Yijun thought in his heart, so he had to go down the street hard, and was naturally stopped by Jin Wuwei.

These two Jinwu guards were all wearing Mingguang armor, as if they were Jingzhao Wannianren, and they spoke in a Jingzhao accent, and their words were slightly swallowed, even if Zhang Yijun had taken out the sixteen house seal ribbons, Jin Wuwei still refused to let them go.

When the drums sounded, Zhang Yijun understood what the two soldiers had in mind, and saw the two soldiers look at each other and look at Zhang Yijun with an evil smile.

The slightly shorter Jin Wu guard has a big waist and a round waist, and his cheeks are full of black beards, and he said in a rather stern tone: "Although there is a seal ribbon under the foot, but the third watch has arrived, even if the seal ribbon of the sixteenth house is no longer useful, do you know the foot?" ”

The other slender guard's mouth was slightly crooked, and after listening to his companion's words, he echoed it one after another, and at the same time deliberately took out the "Tang Law" and said, "...... This is not that the two pawns are embarrassed, it is really the strict Tang law, we dare not disobey it, the Jingshi violates the ban, and the cane must be punished fifty. ”

Zhang Yijun was just about to say something, but the short and stout soldier clubbed his colleague in disgust, and then smiled at Zhang Yijun and said to himself, "But...... Who wants to suffer from flesh and skin? The words also probed Zhang Yijun slightly, and lowered his voice a little.

“…… For the sake of holding the seal of the sixteen houses under his feet, he must have dealings with the palace, and his pockets must be very bulging, so why not spend his wealth and avoid disasters, and become friends with a certain two, how about it? ”

The two looked at Zhang Yijun silently, waiting for Zhang Yijun's response, Zhang Yijun only felt that the eyes of these two people seemed to be staring at a bag of money.

Looking at these two Jin Wuwei, Zhang Yijun felt that these two people were suitable for Haiyou, who were rehearsals. And these two people are estimated to have done this kind of extortion of goods, and I am afraid that they have not been less successful, thinking that it is calculated that Zhang Yijun is a servant who can't help them, so his words are also unceremonious, and he is determined to win.

"Two military masters," Zhang Yijun had to shake his sleeves, spread his hands, and said in the tone of the short and strong soldier: "I have no money in my subordinates, and I have no ...... money."

Xu's response was beyond their expectations, and the smiles on the faces of the two Jin Wuwei first froze, and then turned to a slightly gloomy expression.

“…… It's better to say that even if you have money, you won't give it to the two military masters......"

As soon as Zhang Yijun's voice fell, the atmosphere in front of Chongye Fang suddenly became solemn and tense, and the short soldier pressed his left hand on the buckle around his waist, Zhang Yijun knew that this was a small action of holding a weapon.

In the land of Taoism and Zen Buddhism in Chongyefang, blood light is strictly prohibited, and Zhang Yijun knows that these two Jin Wuwei do not dare to do it easily. But he didn't bother to talk about it anymore, so he flicked the hem of his robe inward, revealing the vassal king's token tied to the inner belt.

Zhang Yijun carefully looked at the changes in the expressions on the faces of the two Jinwu guards, which confirmed his previous judgment: these two people are really suitable to be Haiyou servants rather than guards.

Many people who have to enter and leave the palace can hold the seal ribbon of the sixteen houses, even including dyers in the dyeing workshop, companions in the incense shop, and carpenters, which is why these two Jin Wuwei dared to make Zhang Yijun so difficult. The vassal tokens are completely different, as can be seen from the aggressiveness of these two people to the current kneeling and prostration.

"The sin of a lowly pawn deserves death, please forgive your sin!"

Zhang Yijun glanced at the two of them coldly, then hurriedly walked into the inner square and walked along the main street towards the middle curve.

Although the two Jinwu guards were still lying on the ground and had not gotten up for a long time, the short and stout guards turned their heads to look back intentionally or unintentionally, as if looking at Zhang Yijun's figure.

Zizheng.

In order to avoid the recurrence of the previous situation and delay time, Zhang Yijun shuttled through the alleys as much as possible along the way, avoiding the main street, and spent half an hour rushing to the house on the opposite side of the wall of the south courtyard of Xuandu Guan.

The surroundings of Xuanduguan were quiet, only a few barking dogs came from somewhere in the distance. The Taoist temple has also changed the excitement of yesterday morning, and it sounds like the Taoist priests inside have already gone back to the side hall to rest.

Zhang Yijun crouched at the corner of a street and found that the porter at the south entrance of the Taoist Temple was dozing, and it seemed that he had already fallen asleep.

Zhang Yi decided to climb over the wall to take insurance, and he quickly crossed the main street with pressed steps and walked to the front of a section of the courtyard wall on the west side of the Xuandu Temple.

Although the courtyard wall here is higher than other places, it is not a brick wall, but a rammed earth wall painted with white paint, and it has been a long time, and many wall skins have already peeled off, revealing potholes and rammed earth grooves, which can be used as a foothold, so that it is better to climb.

Zhang Yijun rolled up his robe, and then jumped onto the wall, and the west side hall just covered his vision of looking inward.

Zhang Yijun glanced at the square again, and after confirming that no one was watching, he jumped to the top of the west side of the temple, because this hall was the resting place of some Taoist priests, Zhang Yijun tiptoed down as much as possible, and walked along the ridge.

The evening breeze is slightly cool, and the sky is clear and cloudy.

The inner hall of the Xuandu Temple is connected, Zhang Yijun soon came to the innermost Sanqing Hall where he and Li Shangyin worshiped the day before yesterday, with the clear moonlight and the sporadic lighting lanterns in the temple, looking down from the top of the temple, perhaps because of the bustle on weekdays, Zhang Yijun never felt that the huge square between the Lingguan Hall and the Sanqing Hall in the distance was so magnificent.

To the east of the Sanqing Hall is the high platform where the elder brother preached in the temple and the side hall in the east that stands behind it. Zhang Yijun carefully looked around the hall, and there seemed to be no one.

Without further ado.

Zhang Yijun said in his heart, took out a wisteria rope sleeve from his arms, tied it at the eaves on the east side of the Sanqing Palace, and then skillfully grasped the rattan rope and steadily pulled it down, and made a slight effort to the outside, and the wisteria rope fell off from the eaves.

If he remembered correctly, the man in the black shirt who lost his right earlobe disappeared into the Guan Gong Temple behind the side hall in the east interior.

There was no candle or lantern illumination behind the side hall, it was very dim, Zhang Yijun had to use the moonlight to move forward, step into the sunken platform, and move forward along the messy stone road.

Zhang Yijun felt that there was actually a gambling element in coming here, and the courtyard wall around this sunken platform was twice as high as the rammed earth wall on the west side, and it was all made of green bricks, newly painted with varnish, and there was nowhere to put his feet. If there is nothing strange about the Guan Gong Temple, or if Zhang Yi can't find the culvert hidden in it, or if there is too much movement for people to discover, any mistake in any link will put him in an extremely dangerous situation......

Zhang Yijun took a deep breath and tried to calm down the slightly chaotic mind.

Trust your instincts......

Although the connection between the man in the dark shirt and the suspected culvert in the view and the "ghost soldier" case pursued by Zhang Yijun is still unclear, because Zhang Yijun has no clues in Chang'an except for this, he cannot let go of any suspicion.

But...... If there is a culvert here, this is Chongye Fang, which lives in the south of the city, what is the significance of digging a culvert here?

Zhang Yijun thought about it, besides, even if this place is remote and uninhabited on weekdays, but it is also close to the Sanqing Palace, how can the Xuandu Temple be unaware of the thieves digging a culvert to the temple? The man in the Xuandu shirt did not deliberately avoid people's eyes and ears the day before yesterday, why did the Taoist priest in the Xuandu Temple seem to ignore him? If the Qingfeng Dao Chief could clearly see Zhang Yijun passing by the side of the hall the day before yesterday, why couldn't he see the man? Is it a coincidence?

Could it be ......

Zhang Yijun was shocked in his heart, and his pace slowed down, could it be that the Taoist priests in the temple are all insiders?

Zhang Yijun looked up and found himself standing in front of the Guan Gong Temple, silent and dark inside. He looked back in the direction he had come, and there was no one behind him, only a crescent moon in the sky.

Zhang Yijun stined in front of the temple for a long time, took out a prepared fire fold from his arms, but hesitated a little and put the fire fold back.

It didn't seem to be pitch black inside, as if there was a faint candle light casting.

Zhang Yijun walked in slowly, and when he saw a pair of shining eyes in the dimness, he was startled.

After a moment of staring, Zhang Yijun found that it was originally a life-size bronze statue of Guan Gong, holding a green dragon glaive knife, under which several plates of melons, fruits and meat were enshrined, and there was an unburned residual candle on each side.

A false alarm......

Zhang Yijun looked around at the slightly cramped Guan Gong Temple, and compared it carefully with his footsteps. This Guan Gong Temple is ten steps wide, and the depth is doubled. If the façade of this place is very incompatible in the magnificent Xuandu Temple, the decoration and width of it make it even more difficult to associate this place with the Xuandu Temple, but it is more appropriate to say that it is an unknown mountain temple.

Will there be a culvert in this small place?

Zhang Yijun carefully leaned his ears on the surrounding walls again, and tapped lightly with his knuckles everywhere, which sounded nothing strange, and it seemed that this place was at least different from the mechanism culvert in Du Huangshang's other industry, and it was perhaps more hidden.

There seemed to be a wind outside the temple, and a gust of wind blew through the hall, and at the same time blew out the two swaying candles in front of the statue of Guan Gong, and then two puffs of white smoke rose from the wick of the candle, and the temple of Guan Gong escaped into darkness in an instant.

Wait a minute......

Wear the hall?

If it is a trap culvert, it will inevitably be tightly interlocked with the surrounding walls or ground on weekdays, leaving no gaps, let alone penetrating the hall.

Zhang Yijun lit a fire and once again set his eyes in front of the life-size statue of Guan Gong, which was carved to life and had a bronze pedestal about a foot high.

Could it be ...... No mechanism?

While the wind through the hall was still not weakened, Zhang Yijun hurriedly put the fire fold close to the position of the two residual candles in Fangcai, the flames moved with the wind, and the beating flames pointed in one direction......

Zhang Yijun read in his mouth: "Sin and sin ......" and then took off the enshrined plates of melons and fruits from the statue of Guan Gong, jumped to the platform, put his hands against the two strands of the bronze statue, bent down and pushed hard.

To Zhang Yijun's surprise, there seemed to be some kind of bearing under the pedestal, and after pushing through a card slot, the bronze statue slid backwards by inertia.

Seeing this, Zhang Yijun hurriedly got up, almost failing to maintain his balance.

A hole appeared in the original place of the pedestal, and a wooden ladder was nailed to one side, leading to the abyss-like underground......