The lightning illuminated the window paper, shining the dark room with snow, and in a moment Tang fell into pitch black again.

The sound of the rain was like the bursting of the embankment of the Tianhe River, and the heavy rain had been going on for an hour.

Summer thunderstorms come quickly, with heavy rainfall, but they also go quickly, and it is rare for them to last more than half an hour. It is half an hour of heavy rain, but it is not uncommon in this place. Zhang Yingchen knew that this was mostly affected by the abnormal climate during the Xiaoice period.

"It's a pity that this heavy rain and thunder!" Zhang Yingchen couldn't help but sigh secretly, otherwise he could show his "divine power" on such a thunderstorm night, and make a big drama of bathing in thunder and magic medicine. But so far, this thunder has never fallen on the cage, and the ridges and trees around here are higher than this iron cage, and it is really difficult to hit the cage if it is really thunder. It is difficult to "practice" in a cage for a while, and it seems that there is no lightning rod to attract lightning, and it is difficult to attract lightning with an iron cage alone.

Although he had already thought of another way: to make a wooden pole with an iron tip on top and to lead it down with a thin iron chain, the blacksmith replied that there had been too much work to make the chains lately, and that he would have to wait days to complete it. The banker's servants went to several blacksmith shops in and out of the city, and they all answered with one sè.

"It's really a strange thing, what are all the people doing making iron chains for no reason?" Zhang Daochang never came up with a name.

Strange is strange, since he can't play the law, he has to continue his job: lobbying activities for bookmakers.

Through his activities these days, he knows a lot about the bookmakers. Originally, he thought that this family was just an ordinary country gentleman, but he didn't expect that it was still very shili in the local area.

Dadian Zhuang moved from Linhai, Jiangsu in the early Ming Dynasty, and the current Zhuang Qianzhuang master is the fifth grandson of Dadian Zhuang. Originally, Zhuang's family was just a poor family in Dadianzhuang, the family was very poor, Zhuang Qian sold baked cakes when he was a child, and later benefited from the appreciation of Mr. Wang Kai of the local school, and put away it for free as a student, and since then he has the opportunity to enroll in school. He was a Jinshi in the forty-seventh year of Wanli and served as the governor of Runing Mansion, and was later promoted to the imperial history of Zhejiang Province and the imperial history of Shaanxi Province. Two years after Chongzhen, Jin entered the customs, and Zhuang Qian led his troops north to pass King Qin. The next year, he returned to his hometown.

said that he was returning to his hometown, but in fact, Zhuang Qian's age was not too old. But my health is not very good. Zhang Yingchen taught many ways to recuperate the body according to the situation, and prescribed various recuperation drugs. Under his careful care, Master Zhuang's body has become a little sè, and the Zhuang family has become more and more respectful to him as a Taoist priest.

In addition to this Zhuang master, who can write and martial arts, Zhuang Qian also has a cousin who is Wu Zhensheng, who was awarded the Luokou garrison for military merits during the Apocalypse, and is a military attaché. Zhuang Qian's second brother Zhuang Sheng is Sui Gong, the third brother Zhuang Ben and his cousin Zhuang Ding are both Sui Sheng, Zhuang Qian's eldest son Zhuang Yao Ling is also Sui Gong, and the second son Zhuang Heling is a Qi Sheng.

In general, the dealer is a standard scholar and a large family. It is a powerful gentleman in Dadianzhuang and even in the entire Yizhou area.

If this family can be loyal to the Senate, it will be a great help in the Lunan area. At least in Yizhou, it has the ability to call the wind and rain.

He has sent a letter to the center, asking the big library to immediately inquire about the detailed materials of the Yizhou Dadian Zhuang. Send the materials to Linqing as soon as possible and forward them to him.

If he can master some more specific materials of the bookmaker, his work here will be targeted. Just as he was thinking about it, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door, and it was a servant of the dealer who came in, "Is the Taoist chief ready for dinner?" ”

"Alright, you can take it." Zhang Yingchen waved his hand, and suddenly asked, "Why didn't Lao Zhao come today?" ”

Lao Zhao is the person assigned by the dealer to serve him, and he delivers food and pours water on weekdays, and he undertakes all the rough work.

"Yes, Lao Zhao has something to do at home, so I'm going home." The servant replied as he cleaned up, "Is the Taoist good for dinner?" ”

"Okay." Zhang Yingchen nodded and let him retreat.

Zhang Yingchen carefully studied a stack of pulse cases under the candle, thinking about how to continue to recuperate for Master Zhuang. Suddenly there was a flash of lightning and thunder outside, the candles dimmed, and the light of the fire flickered. He hurriedly protected the light, and the light grew brighter.

Originally, the brightness of such candles was extremely limited, and the clay wax made of animal and vegetable oils and fats not only had low brightness, but also had to cut the lamps all the time to maintain the brightness.

Zhang Yingchen picked up the scissors and trimmed the candles, but the light became more and more dim.

"Strange!" He put down the scissors, and suddenly a faint fragrance appeared on the tip of his nose.

In a small courtyard dedicated to stacking sundries, dozens of believers in the village's servants have gathered under the corridor, and one by one the believers in the village's servants have solemn expressions and incense heads to pass down the words, today the messenger of the apologet will personally come here to carry out the law, and use the heavenly thunder to kill the "demon" in the village.

In the middle of the courtyard, there is a small black sè iron ding, because it has accumulated a small half of water in the rain.

As for who the "demon" in the house is, Xiangtou did not say. People with a little smarter brains know that most of them are Zhang Daochang, who lives in the West Cross Courtyard over the warehouse.

It is said that Zhang Daochang is a demon, and there are some muttering among the believers, because Zhang Daochang practiced medicine in the house and even in the city, and treated many people. No matter how you look at it, he's a good person.

But they did not dare to disobey the "will" of "above". Xiangtou has already said that this is a matter that the altar master personally took care of, and when it comes to the altar master, many of them ordinary believers have never seen it, but everyone said that his mana is extremely high, and if he hadn't secretly cast a spell in the great water of this tribulation, I don't know how many people would have to respond to the catastrophe.

"I heard that there is also an apologetic envoy sent by the Jinan General Altar to come," whispered in the crowd.

Dozens of believers, men and women, young and old. However, they all reverently held incense and candles, waiting for the arrival of the apologetic messenger, and for them, the arrival of the apologetic envoy was tantamount to the arrival of the gods.

Thunder rumbled, and lightning pierced the sky from time to time, illuminating the dark courtyard.

Xiangtou, who had been looking at Tian Sè, suddenly screamed: "The time has come!" Burn incense and welcome the messenger! ”

A large bunch of lit incense sticks was thrown into the small iron tripod in the courtyard, and the water accumulated in the iron trip, but the incense sticks fell but did not extinguish, but burned more and more violently. The flames intersected with the rain, the green smoke filled the air, and the courtyard was suddenly filled with a strange aroma.

The incense head took the lead in reciting the scriptures. In the murmuring of mantras, the disciples shook their bodies one by one and fell into a state of intoxication.

In the recitation, the incense on the stove was a little strange, and the green smoke slowly spread, and the smoke became heavier and heavier, gradually filling the entire courtyard into a blur, and countless tongues of fire began to jump in the slight explosion, such as electric light, like flowing fire, hidden in the haze and fog kept jumping. In the míméng, it seemed that a red-clothed figure could be seen descending from the sky, and suddenly there was a thunderclap, and a ball of fire rose into the air, and everyone stood as if they had just woken up from a dream. The flames in the furnace have burned out, and even the embers are gone, and there is still only half a tripod of clear water, as if nothing has happened.

However, in the courtyard under the eaves, there was already a girl in red standing. Wearing a garnet red long skirt, covered with a yellow sè gauze robe, combing a pair of maidens, and a seven-star sword hanging from her waist, she looked both elegant and weird. The swastika and lotus flower embroidered on the robe flickered and moved, changing and changing.

The rain was pouring in the yard, but the girls in the courtyard were not wet or wet. As if coming back to his senses, the incense lord shouted: "Welcome the messenger of the apologists!" ”

All the believers were already fascinated, and they all immediately knelt down and chanted together, as if they were fascinated.

Under the cover of the dark and rainy night, Min Zhanlian and his men infiltrated the big shop.

It was very smooth along the way. Under the response of the believers in the village, they quickly crossed the gap in the fence, and then successfully sneaked into the village through the corner gate in the backyard under the response of the believers in the banker's servants.

The Guardian Messenger had already entered the village a few steps ahead of him, and according to the jihua agreed upon by both parties, she should be "practicing the Fa" in the Zhuang Mansion at this moment, preparing to let the believers once again see the power of the "Righteousness/Dao/Greatness/Dharma" and deepen their impression, so that it is not only the Taoist who strives to preach in the Zhuang Mansion and value Zhuang Qian's clan. Although the members of the folk religion of the late Ming Dynasty were overwhelmingly from the lower strata of society: peasants, craftsmen, soldiers, sailors, and petty traders, there were very few intellectuals and gentlemen. But that doesn't mean that the upper echelons of these sects are closed to the social elite.

In fact, at the beginning of Zhuang Qian's illness, the sect had already lobbied the inner family of the Zhuang family through the believers in the Zhuang Mansion to let the "mage" in the sect cure the disease, but they were all rejected Lu Nan because of the relationship with the White Lotus Sect, and the gentry family maintained great vigilance against such a folk sect.

Min Zhanlian wiped the rain from his face, waited for the door in the mezzanine to open, walked to the bottom of the mezzanine, and opened a door, which was the courtyard where Daoist Zhang lived.

He tapped three times on the door as agreed, and it immediately opened, and two men dressed as servants flashed inside, and they silently let them in.

He was stunned, and a group of people had quietly arrived in the corridor, all dressed in black, wearing hats, silently squatting in the shadow of yīn in the corner. The sound of rain, thunder, and dense rain obscured his senses, and if it weren't for a flash of lightning, he would have almost missed it.

"It is a man of his own religion, and he comes with the messenger." The servant whispered, "Your stuff is behind that door." The door on the opposite side is the courtyard where the Taoist chief lives."

Min Zhanlian nodded: The kites and chains had been quietly transported into the mansion by the disciples a few days earlier, and now they just need to assemble them on the spot.