Four consecutive shifts...... I'm afraid of this speed......

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In the seventeenth year of Emperor Dazhong, the fifth day of the fourth month, Yuan Zhou, Wu Ming

Two days after leaving Hongmen, the group of four finally arrived at Wuming. After settling in, Carmen was sent to the bazaar to prepare supplies and intelligence for the next stage of the trip. The three brothers sat together and discussed the following arrangements.

The night before yesterday, Carmen suddenly made a move to convince the Zoroastrian people, which was the biggest surprise of the three brothers, and afterwards, Zhang Yuanhe directly suggested that the contract be terminated to prevent changes. It was still at Zhang Yuankong's insistence that the contract, which had just been signed for less than three hours at that time, was not invalidated.

"First of all, I didn't make a move...... Absolutely not, so she wouldn't be aware of our other identity. ”

In addition, when the three of them first appeared, Zhang Yuankong remembered Carmen's words very clearly, no matter how he thought, "crazy" did not seem to be the praise that a high-level cultist should have.

Of course, just like this, it was not enough for the three of them to let down their vigilance, so on the way after, Zhang Yuanjin was in charge and pretended to be stupid and made another test of Carmen: If Carmen can't make the three of them trust, then ...... It's not about breaking the contract, it's about whether there will be more headless bodies in the isthmus.

But Carmen obviously did not know the seriousness of the matter, and when she answered, she was still as cheerful and cheerful as ever.

"What are you kidding? How can the big sister be Zoroastrian, those guys have to wipe their bodies with cow urine every time they pray big, and they are disgusting to death! ”

“…… Vomit. ”

With a disgusting expression—not a fake but a sincere one—Zhang Yuanjin sorted out his mood, changed his angle again, and began to ask why Carmen was able to scare those few sentences.

"Hmph, this, it's a long story!"

With a sad look on her face, Carmen introduced that she was originally an only child and lived with her father on the happy plains.

"At that time, the most powerful religion in our area was the Nestorianan religion, and everyone had to worship once every few days, and when they worshipped, they had to eat the holy eggs that God had blessed, and then when they broke the holy eggs, they had to start from the beginning."

But one day a man came forward and said, "No, you used to worship God in the wrong way!" Holy eggs should be beaten first from the big head!

"In this way, the New Nestorianism was established."

…… Then came the war.

People who believe in the old and new Nestorianism attack each other, and although most of the time this is limited to cursing at each other, sometimes, it can also turn into a night of long knives in the long street.

"Back then...... Life in my family is really comfortable. ”

After the start of the Wars of Religion, Carmen's father found a way to improve the family's life, and every day after breakfast, he would go out with the only bow in the family, lie down under a tree on the side of the avenue, and when he saw a single pedestrian approaching, he would jump out and ask the other party to make his faith clear.

"If the other party hits the head first, Dad will use eloquence to make him realize the correctness of the New Nestorian Religion, make him repent, and voluntarily give all the money on his body to atone for his sins."

And if the other person turned out to be a new Christian, Carmen's father would feel that he had been instantly enlightened, that the glory of God would fill his heart, that he would feel the importance of defending God and the Holy Egg, and that he would angrily rebuke the Protestant and force him to repent and buy indulgences.

"And then, one day...... Dad went to a tavern for a drink, and unfortunately, he met both a Protestant and an Old Christian, both of whom had heard his sermons. ”

In the end, the old and new believers came to a rare agreement and hanged Carmen's father on the first tree outside the tavern, and the young Carmen was displaced, and finally came to a port, got on the first boat she saw, and came to Great Xia.

As for why she became proficient in Zoroastrian prayers, it was because her father, Ka Xiaotian, was a long-term and ambitious gentleman, and he was not prepared to limit his salvation to Nestorian Christianity for the rest of his life, but hoped that one day he would be able to go out and help more religions other than Nestorian Christianity, such as Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, and other religions to correct their faith.

"Oh, it's a really touching story, but ......"

Suspiciously put forward his opinion, Zhang Yuanjin felt that if he remembered correctly...... Carmen seems to have said that she had two older sisters above her, and that she left her homeland because she offended a eunuch with a surname?

"Ah, what, did the big sister say that...... Just kidding, that must be a joke! ”

Laughing and patting Zhang Yuanjin on the shoulder, Carmen said that men who can joke are very likable.

"But big sister isn't so tempting, right? Little brother, you have to work harder! ”

…… In short, after a messy exchange, the three brothers reluctantly gave Carmen their trust and continued their employment contract.

Soon after Carmen left the house, the three brothers also went out separately, and they had carefully studied the trip long before leaving Longhu Mountain, and although they were not prepared to stay in Wuming for too long, there were several things that had to be done.

First, they went to see an official who had already been sent to the office.

This person's name is Yuan Tianyan, who has been an official in many states and counties below Yuanzhou, not only familiar with geography and human feelings, but also a rare Yijiao expert in the court, who has a deep understanding of the three Yijiao, and once took the lead in citing the reverse traces of Baiyuncai, so he was able to increase the second grade to Shishi, which is also a rare grace.

But after meeting, the three brothers were quite disappointed, this person's understanding was not even enough to replace the information that the three brothers saw along the way, and many of the so-called "details" of personal experience, compared with some of the small stories that Carmen casually told in the past two days, were simply curious without any intelligence value.

"If you want to know something about Yijiao, then it's the right thing to ask the old man."

Tapping the table proudly, Yuan Tianyan introduced that the Sanyi Sect is actually nothing more than the way of being born in a saint, and it is still the path of loyalty and filial piety after all. "For example, Jingjiao, you have probably also been to Jingsi to see it, is it dedicated to a middle-aged man who died on a wooden shelf?"

told the three Zhang brothers that they had made a special evaluation on this, which is actually the truth of Jingjiao's "old and old".

"That middle-aged man, in fact, is equivalent to my ancestral tablet of Great Xia. Back then, it was not easy for the ancestors to open up, so they burned incense at four o'clock to pray for peace. ”

"Oh...... I see! ”

(This is the Yijiao expert who is now trusted by the imperial court?) ）

In the eyes of each other, they all saw the suspicion in the eyes of others, so the conversation that had been left for a long time ended hastily, and politely expressed the respect of the "old-timer boss", the three of them left the Yuan Mansion with a stomach full of contempt, and discussed on the way, feeling that in the huge Yuan Mansion, although it is also rich and noble, but except for the martial artist on Yuan Tianyan's side, there is no second person to speak of.

"That guy, that's the traitor Ma Daokong, right?"

When talking at the right time, Yuan Tianyan only introduced, "This is the leader of the horse association." "This is the local military system, 1,500 people in a school, 500 people in a brigade, 100 people in an association, if the assistant leader has a real position, there are also more than 100 men under his command, and in the alley society, it is enough to be a hegemon. But this person was low-key and tight, never spoke, just sat with a smile on the side, and occasionally when there was some tea, he also tended to look forward and backward, very familiar, and did not show awkwardness at all, Yuan Tianyan also took it for granted, as if he didn't think there was anything wrong with driving a military attache like this.

"If that's the guy, it's not weird. You see that he is a co-leader, but when he goes out, even the team below may not be in his eyes. ”

The name Ma Daokong, at the level of the government, is quite a few people who know it. After all, the rebellion of Lu Da and Lu Guangfu in the "Taiping Three Chaos" that upended Yuanzhou in recent years ended in his hands.

The so-called "Taiping Three Chaos" is actually slightly untrue: the first chaos of Zhang Zhizai and Chen Seventy's rebellion is simply Bai Yuncai's forced rebellion by the officials, and when Chen Seventy echoed the Taiping Dao uprising, Bai Yuncai's upper echelons even showed great distrust - in them, they always hope to be able to express their feelings to the imperial capital and get a chance to be recruited. It was not until the initial chaos subsided, tens of thousands of heads fell to the ground, and the head of the sect was locked and taken to Beijing, after a thousand knives, the remnants of the sect really let go of their illusions and fully integrated with the Taiping Dao, and then, under the leadership of the Lu brothers, they rose up in Xianyou and Tong'an, and when the momentum was the largest, they surrounded Wurong and shook the southeast. In particular, the slogans they played were so attractive to the lower classes of the people that even the defending army was swayed.

It was at this time that Yisi Ba Xijun officially stepped onto the stage.

Originally, it was only a very small team funded and maintained by some Yi merchants through the form of the Chamber of Commerce, and its strength was also strictly limited to the level of law and order, but in the face of the siege of the Taoist army, the Wurong Shouguan had no choice but to accept the suggestion to allow this army to expand its establishment, replace the armor soldiers, and give it the semi-official status of "township battalion".

Subsequently, this mercenary army, composed entirely of colored people, showed a ferocious destructive power, they were not afraid of life and death, without scruples, after breaking the morale and organization of the peasant army with a completely desperate war of attrition, these strangers with blue eyes and blond hair, or brown eyes and black hair, like a school of sharks sniffing blood, were entangled and pursued frantically. Their butcher's knives were not only directed at the already collapsed peasant army, but also the local families of Yuanzhou around Wurong, such as the Wang and Liu families, and even the Tiannan Lin family, all of whom had their homes destroyed by them, and under the enragment, it almost turned into a war between the local clan private soldiers and the mercenaries of various colors.

But when the matter became bigger, Yisi Ba Xijun received unexpectedly strong support from the imperial capital, and the emperor's faction gave protection and support without reservation, while other factions that had the ability to confront the emperor were also silent.

“…… In the final analysis, the Yi people will destroy the gold silk of their children at most, but it is impossible to tear the soil, and it is impossible for the world to be an official. ”

Smiling sarcastically, Dijing's intentions were not incomprehensible to the three Zhang brothers. To the imperial court, the local families who were entrenched in the local area and disobeyed the local government were perhaps not more hateful than the peasants and small craftsmen who killed officials and rebelled and called for peace, but at least they were almost odious. And the people who are completely foreign, have no foundation, and are basically impossible to lay a foundation, have become a good knife.

After the anger, the great families quickly figured out this truth, so they died down, and the great merchants led by the Pu family also knew their duty, deliberately repaired the relationship, and also minimized the position of the direct children of each family in the army. Subsequently, the Yisi Ba Xi army was tacitly regarded as another imperial army in the Wurong area, and received the official establishment, military salary, and defense area.

When the private soldiers of the family and the mercenaries gradually ran into a new balance under the manipulation of the imperial court, the Lu brothers were still on the run, making full use of the contradictions between the pursuers and the local forts. This also angered Wu Rong, and many forces offered additional rewards in addition to the reward of the official government, and wanted to see the heads of the Lu family brothers as soon as possible.

…… Soon the human head was brought.

"The little one has already repented, and he doesn't dare to ask for gold and silver from the officials, he only wants to survive this cheap life."

Ma Kong, the former general of the Baiyun Cai Army, joined the camp of the Lu brothers after the defeat of Wukong and Zhang Zhizai, and then moved to the Quartet, with a lot of credit, but when the road ahead became more and more exhausted, his faith finally collapsed, and he waved a knife at his former comrades-in-arms and leaders.

When he knelt on the ground, the gaze on the back of his neck was nine out of ten ill-intentioned. But in the end, in order to demonstrate the tolerance and justice of the imperial court, and for the pursuit and fighting that had not subsided at that time, he was pardoned, and although the reward was greatly discounted, he was appointed as a junior military attaché, and since then he has become a member of the camp of the Great Xia order. After that, knowing that he had no way out, he spent all his savings and threw himself into Yuan Tianyan's door to seek protection, and changed his name to "Ma Daokong", which means that what Baiyun Dao Taiping Road is, after all, it is empty. Instead, he became a good and loyal dog. After Yuan Tianyan became a minister, he also tried his best to transfer Wu Ming to an official - and whether he was too careful or not, at least for the past two years, he has always been safe.

"But it seems to be a good skill...... It's a pity. ”

When he was in the chaotic army, Ma Daokong already had a sixth-level strength, and in the past two years, he had to prevent his colleagues in the court from turning his face and liquidating, and he also had to prevent the revenge of his old comrades. When the three of them were sent out, Zhang Yuanjin had itchy hands for a while, and secretly tried it: although it was still stopped at the middle of the sixth level, there was a faint intention to break through. At this moment, the three of them also have a little admiration.

"Next, let's go...... Hey? ”

When Zhang Yuanhe's eyes flashed, Zhang Yuankong and Zhang Yuanjin had also seen it clearly, and they all wondered: At this time, they had already left the Yuan Mansion dozens of steps away, and when they were discussing, they saw a luxuriously decorated carriage coming to the gate of the Yuan Mansion.

"What's going on?"

With an ugly face and a mutter, Zhang Yuankong seemed to want to walk over and ask, but was gently pulled by Zhang Yuanhe and said, "Serious business, let's go to the next place first." He said to Zhang Yuanjin again: "I'll sneak in, and you accompany the senior brother to do things first." Zhang Yuanjin agreed with a smile, and saw Zhang Yuanhe pick up his hand, pacing back like an idler, unable to walk a few steps, and disappeared.

Among the three of them, Zhang Yuanhe learned the most complicated, and it is even more rare to be active in his thinking, and he can often make unprecedented combinations, so that the opponent's cultivation is better than him, and he may not be able to see it after all, not to mention that there is no master in Yuan's mansion, this time, there should be no accidents, but Zhang Yuankong is unhappy in the end, always worried, Zhang Yuanjin tried to talk to him at first, but later, simply stopped talking.

According to the original plan, the three brothers would obtain a batch of material support here, and what was more valuable was the insight and knowledge that these Taoist priests who had been rooted here for many years could provide.

Seeing that they were about to enter the door, the faces of the two changed at the same time.

…… It smells of blood!

Although it is subtle as if there is nothing, the smell in the noses of the two is enough to confirm it...... Zhang Yuankong could even be sure that it was human blood that flowed out for at most half an hour!

Zhang Yuankong blessed himself with several Gang techniques with extremely fast techniques--- all of which were the kind of mana with very little fluctuation, and when he used it in his hands, the movement was even closer to --- take a deep breath, suddenly accelerated, slammed open the door, and forcibly broke in!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"These people...... It's too aggressive! ”

With a blue face, Zhang Yuankong and Zhang Yuanjin kept their hands and feet, helping the Lord of the True Martial Arts Temple to bandage and stop the bleeding, and at the same time, he was also issuing orders, commanding the little Taoist priests who had just recovered from the panic,

It was this morning that Li Na and his party broke into the temple, with an arrogant demeanor, first asking for food and drinking water in the temple, and then asking Xue Yin about the recent movements of Wuming and Wurong, with an arrogant demeanor, as if treating his subordinates.

If it was just like this, the snow would have been endured, but when Xu Suifeng, one of the seven, said to Li Na with a smile on his face: "Senior brother, you see, this place is also suitable, if it is demolished as a Shenxiao Courtyard, it can echo the main courtyard in the east of the city." Finally couldn't bear it anymore and opened his mouth to accuse, but how could he be a seven-person opponent, only a few hands, he was knocked to the ground by Xie Baihu, and Xu Suifeng took the opportunity to make up a sword and cut off his left wrist.

"My brother took this account."

After saying it lightly, Zhang Yuankong never mentioned it, and as for the thanks expressed by Xue Drink, he only smiled faintly and never responded.

After cleaning up for a while, the snow drink finally recovered, and the three of them found a quiet room to sit down and began to communicate.

"Oh...... They, sure enough, also went to Wurong. ”

As early as when they met in Hongmen, Zhang Yuankong had some suspicions, and after getting confirmation from Xueyin's mouth at this time, he nodded slightly, and said: "The matter of the immortal tree doctor mentioned earlier ......"

Xue Yin smiled bitterly and said, "This, but it is entrusted by the negative Heavenly Master." ”

Long before the three of them set off, Zhang Dian had already sent a message to Xue Yin, asking Xue Yin to secretly visit, and it was best to control one or two patients who had been cured by the immortal tree.

"Most of these people are local people in Wurong, and they would not have left, but after many inquiries, they knew the identities of several of them, one of whom was called Bao Chun, and he should have passed by three days ago."

At that time, Xue Drink was already ready, to try to invite that person to stay here for a few days, who thought that people are not as good as the sky, a few days ago a heavy fog, covering the sky and the ground, several convoys that rushed at night were all broken bones, including that Bao Chun.

Hearing this, Zhang Yuankong could only smile bitterly, and then remembered Du Jixiang who happened to meet on the road, he could only cry out in vain, and said in his heart: "It is really difficult to have a trick in this world." ”

After discussing again, the two got up and said goodbye--- leaving two doses of good wound medicine, but did not repeat the matter of "revenge".

Seeing the two of them go away, one of Xue Yin's most trusted disciples stepped forward, and while taking the wound medicine and keeping it secretly, he was still saying: "Master, what these two people said was a loud mouth, and now that the matter is inquired about and the things have been taken, I will not mention the matter of avenging you!" But he was immediately slapped on the head by the snow drink, and said: "Nonsense! ”

Looking at the backs of the two of them in the distance, Xue Yin sighed: "These two people are responsible...... How can you put it on your lips! ”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the inn, Zhang Yuanhe had returned, and Carmen had never returned.

“…… Admire. ”

Asked about what he saw and heard in the afternoon, Zhang Yuanhe was silent for a long time before he let out such a long sigh.

"This woman is really the number one person!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the afternoon, Zhang Yuanhe easily slipped into Yuan's mansion and watched all of Carmen's performances.

"Gong Yuan, the money you owe this Shaluzhi should also be repaid, right?"

Dressed beautifully and with noble manners, Carmen looked like she was completely from a wealthy family, but the first sentence after sitting down suddenly leaked the bottom.

"Original...... Is that so? ”

Carefully looking at the other person who came with Carmen, Yuan Tianyan recognized the other party at the same time, his demeanor also changed rapidly, originally the upper body was sitting slightly forward, but now arrogantly leaned back on the back of the chair, and slowly picked up the teacup at hand and took a sip.

“…… A few people, no more. ”

Seeing the other party like this, Na Shaluzhi suddenly became nervous, and couldn't help but look at Carmen, then at Yuan Tianyan, and at the door at the other, really fidgeting.

Carmen was very calm, and said with a smile: "Yuan Gong is afraid that he will be wrong...... I'm waiting to come today, it's really for Yuan Gong. Saying that, he actually stood up, turned around and walked out, and said, "If I wait to leave like this, Yuan Gong...... I'm afraid it's so inconvenient! ”

“…… Oh? ”

Squinting his eyes slightly, the chill shimmered, and Yuan Tianyan said, "Are you threatening the old man?" As he spoke, Ma Daokong suddenly stood up - he didn't make a move, he just stood diagonally with his hands behind his back, and there were a few more killing intent in the room in an instant!

"Threat?"

As if hearing the funniest thing to say, Carmen laughed.

"How can this be called a threat...... Yuan Gong, you are so good at telling jokes! ”

Smiling and turning back, Carmen sat back in her chair, her eyes widening wonderfully, looking at each other fixedly.

"I didn't intend to threaten you, I came today to talk to you."

"You see, I said what I meant at the beginning, and I didn't say anything superfluous, how can this be called a threat? Where is such a threat? ”

"What is a threat? If I don't come to see you now, but go to Wuming Academy, say hello to the old man Gou who is guarding the door, and say that I want to find Mr. Zhu, and then walk in through the gate, walk straight for thirty-five steps, then turn right and walk twenty steps, push open the door with a piece of yellow paper on the window paper, and ask Mr. Zhu, "Have you touched the food you brought to Young Master Yuan yesterday?" After our young master came home at night, how could he have a sudden illness and die of rotten stomach?! ”

"Look...... That's called a threat. ”

"Or, if I don't come to see you now, but go to Jin Ruixiang, say hello to Jin San's shopkeeper on the right hand side of the door, ask him to invite Tang Erniang out, and then ask Tang Erniang, what did you put on the clothes? Why did our lady wear your new clothes yesterday, and she had a rash all over her body that night, and she didn't even get past it! ”

"Look...... It's also called a threat. ”

"Or ......"

“…… You shut up! ”

With a gloomy face, Yuan Tianyan looked at Carmen a few times, looked at Ma Daokong, then moved his gaze back to Carmen, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "What do you want?" ”

"Huh?"

Eyes wide in surprise, Carmen said, "I don't want anything!" ”

Stretching out her hand, she pointed at Sharuzhi and said, "As soon as I came in, I told me what I was here for." ”

“…… Yuan Gong, the money you owe this Shaluzhi should also be repaid, right? ”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“…… Tut. ”

After listening to Zhang Yuanhe's narration, the room fell silent for a while, and after a long time, Zhang Yuankong broke the silence.

"Really, really......"

hesitated again and again, and it seemed that he couldn't choose a satisfactory wording, and in the end, Zhang Yuanjin took it for him.

"This woman is really the number one person!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After about half an hour, Carmen finally returned, bringing back all the tasks assigned to her by the three brothers. Looking at Carmen, who was waving hello with a charming smile, Zhang Yuankong hesitated, and finally replied with a smile.

After discussion, the three brothers decided to continue the employment contract, and Carmen was obviously the individual with a story, but ...... So what?

"She's capable enough for our requirements, and even more. And her behavior today can also make us confirm that she will not be a secret stake sent by others. ”

Zhang Yuanhe's summary was unanimously agreed by the three of them, and after inspecting the materials purchased by Carmen, the three brothers blew out the oil lamps and went to bed. There are several things that must be done tomorrow in the plan. If everything goes well, the morning after tomorrow, they can set off for Wurong.

Then, just over an hour later, the three brothers were awakened by the sound of slamming doors and shrill shouting. When Zhang Yuankong opened the door, he saw at a glance a few torches, a few steel knives, and ...... Ma Daokong?!

"What do you say...... Yuan Tianyan, dead?! ”