Chapter 24: The Church I
Zhang Yuelu did not go out of the city alone, in fact, there was also a guard, who was the second-grade spirit official transferred by Cihang Zhenren, surnamed Xu, who was responsible for Zhang Yuelu's safety.
Previously, Xu Lingguan had already returned to Yujing as a flying boat, but with the official establishment of a seven-person investigation team by Jinque, Xu Lingguan came to Jinling Mansion by flying boat with other Taoist priests, and was still responsible for Zhang Yuelu's safety.
However, as long as he is in the old city area, Xu Lingguan generally does not come forward, not to mention that Zhang Yuelu is only one line away from the heavens, and he also has the strength to fight when he encounters the heavens, even if it is Bai Xiaojin, he was not taken away in the prosperous old city, so until Zhang Yuelu decided to go out of the city, Xu Lingguan did not follow him.
When you go out of the city, there is no wind and waves.
This is also reasonable, Zhang Yuelu and Xu Lingguan, let alone three celestials to win, but the five celestials are fighting, and their momentum is so great that as long as they are not blind and deaf, they can detect it, not to mention Lei Xiaohuan and Pei Xiaolou and his wife, Jiangnan Provincial Government cannot turn a blind eye.
In this way, things are completely upset. Donghua Zhenren and Cihang Zhenren are worried that there is no entry point, or that the current entry point is not big enough, with such a truth, it is in the hands of the two consulting real people, which the other party never wants to see.
But when I came back, I encountered a little accident.
It's not that someone wants to do anything to Zhang Yuelu, but when Zhang Yuelu passed through the Qinhuai River, he accidentally saw a person.
Marshal Wind.
On that day in Jiangling Mansion, Marshal Lei was in charge of Yuan Yuan and Yuan Chongzong, and Marshal Feng was in charge of Yuan Shangdao, so Zhang Yuelu had never seen Marshal Lei, but he had seen Marshal Feng.
At that time, Marshal Feng was drinking in a painting boat in the middle of the river, and two coolly dressed beauties sat beside him.
Celestial beings are not saints, even if the realm cultivation is higher, they can't eradicate human desires, and there are always some habits.
The two elders of Fenglei are so famous, his two brothers have been retreating and advancing together since they were young, and they have no wives and children, so they can be said to depend on each other.
It's just that he has never married a wife and had children, it doesn't mean that he doesn't like women, although Marshal Feng is old, but he is lustful, and there are countless women from good families who have been destroyed in his life, especially when he was in Nanyang, although he had no wife, but there were a group of concubines, which could be described as having no women and no joy. This time I came to Jinling Mansion and let him live the life of a monk, where can he stand it? What's more, Jinling Mansion's ten-mile Qinhuai is famous all over the world, and he has nothing to do, so he spends a lot of money to charter a painting boat, which is very good, and he happened to be seen by Zhang Yuelu.
It seems ridiculous, but when you think about it, it's not ridiculous.
Celestial beings are not dead soldiers who have been cultivated since childhood, nor are they slaves who are called and drunk, or even spiritual officials who have cultivated themselves to be tied to the hands of others. Placed in the Daomen, it is a second-grade Taiyi Taoist. In the secret association, they are also high-level figures. They can do what they are told, but they don't wronged themselves. What conceals whereabouts, acts carefully, and hibernates, that is all required of the people below, Marshal Feng, as one of the principals, where will these rules be followed? It's already good not to deceive the superiors and subordinates, and to fill their pockets, and even women are not allowed to touch it, so it is too lenient.
This is like the rules of a large family, which only slaves and maids have to follow, and when have you heard that the master should obey them, because the master is the one who makes the rules.
In fact, since ancient times, this kind of situation has never been less, whether it is the Daomen court or the secret association, you can't force too much, just don't make mistakes.
There's no way, celestials are not ordinary people, if they really want to be in a hurry, it will be the opposite. In this regard, there have been many precedents for the Daomen, such as the Eight Divisions, who defected from the Daomen because they were dissatisfied with the various decisions of the Daomen in the creation project.
After all, the internal atmosphere of the Daomen is not good, how good can these secret associations be? We are all the same human nature, who is nobler than whom?
After Zhang Yuelu found out about Marshal Feng, he didn't say a word, and while summoning the message to Zhenwuguan, he and Xu Lingguan swept the painting boat together to prevent Marshal Feng from escaping.
Marshal Feng couldn't help but be shocked when he saw the two of them attacking, Xu Lingguan was wearing the armor of a spirit official, and he could identify his identity at a glance, and the second-grade spirit official could not be faked, which was equivalent to a celestial. He also recognized Zhang Yuelu, although he was not a celestial, but he was only one step away from the celestials, and he really wanted to fight against the celestials, even if he was not an opponent, he also had the power to fight.
At this time, he is against two people, and he must be defeated or invincible.
So Marshal Feng didn't want to think about it, he didn't fight with the two at all, and swept straight out.
But he didn't dare to rush into the air, after all, this is Jinling Mansion, one of the veritable important towns in the world, the celestials in the city have less to say that there are two hands, as soon as he rises into the air, it is equivalent to falling into the sight of all the celestials, and it will be difficult to get out. But if you don't rise into the air and continue to hide in the city, with all kinds of buildings, houses, streets, and rivers as cover, it will be difficult to be discovered.
Marshal Feng fled extremely fast, almost without touching the ground, flying close to the ground, Zhang Yuelu did not become a celestial after all, knowing that he would probably not be able to catch up with Marshal Feng, he said to Xu Lingguan: "Don't care about me, catch up, don't let him escape." ”
Xu Lingguan did not hesitate and chased closely behind Marshal Feng.
Zhang Yuelu could only follow far behind according to the spirit pendant on his body.
The so-called Lingpei, similar to the jade pendant, has a very simple function, which is to determine the location, and its principle is quite similar to the child-mother charm. After all, Xu Lingguan is in charge of Zhang Yuelu's safety, and he always knows where Zhang Yuelu is, if he doesn't even know where Zhang Yuelu is, how can he talk about protection. Therefore, the two of them each carried a piece of Lingpei to determine their respective positions.
The three of them chased and fled all the way, although Jinling Mansion has completely abolished the fang market system, but the old city still has some traces and planning of the fang market, so the three of them chased and escaped several squares, and finally went all the way out of the old city, came to the outer city, passed the Shence Gate, and came to the vicinity of Shangyuan Gate.
With a population of nearly 2 million, Jinling Mansion is the largest and most populous town in the south of the Yangtze River, and it is also a commercial and trade center, so there are many merchants, missionaries, and adventurers from overseas countries in Jinling Prefecture, most of whom live in the Shangyuanmen area.
When Zhang Yuelu arrived here, he saw Xu Lingguan standing outside a church, hesitating.
The so-called church, similar to the Taoist temple of the Taoist Gate, is a place where believers in the Holy See in the West pray for blessings and worship God.
The architecture of this church is very different from that of the Central Plains, with high spires and vaulted domes, as well as stained glass windows, as if inlaid with pictures throughout the windows. In front of the church is a wide square, paved with white stones, with a fountain in the center, and two statues, with high noses and deep eyes, and wings on their backs.
The whole church was filled with a faint smell of light, like a layer of light mist.
It can be seen that many blonde and blue-eyed believers are entering and leaving the church, and there are almost no Central Plains people.
Zhang Yuelu couldn't help frowning.
At least on the surface, the Daomen and the Holy See maintained a relatively peaceful relationship, and the Daomen allowed the Holy See to set up churches in several important prefectures, but the Daomen did not allow the Holy See to preach, and these churches were only for Western believers, so almost all the people gathered here were Semu people.
The Holy See also allowed the Daomen to set up Taoist temples overseas, which was a similar rule. In fact, the Holy Court is strictly guarding against this kind of thing, and the reason why the Daomen is an exception is that in addition to the great power of the Daomen, the key is that the people in the Daomen have always been lacking in missionary interests, and the general attitude is to believe it or not. In this regard, it is not even as good as Buddhism and Confucianism, and Buddhism is needless to say, it is called Western religion, which was introduced to the Central Plains, not native. Confucianism has always liked to educate barbarians and make them admire kings.
Therefore, this place is a bit sensitive, if it is not necessary, it is really not good for people in the Dao Gate to enter it rashly, and it is easy to cause disputes.
At this time, many believers looked at Xu Lingguan in armor with a shocked face.
Xu Lingguan said softly: "Deputy Hall Master Zhang, that person has entered the church. ”
"Is the Holy Court involved?" Zhang Yuelu took a deep breath and strode forward.
A patriarch in a white robe took the initiative to greet him, speaking fluent Central Plains Mandarin, and even with a Jinling accent: "This is the Holy See Chapel, if you are not a believer, you must not enter it." ”
Zhang Yuelu took out his "Chuzhen Sutra": "I am the Taoist priest of the Daomen Four Grades of Sacrifice Wine, and the deputy hall of Tiangang Hall advocates Yuelu, please see the local archbishop, and please go to Tongyu." ”
The archbishop's face changed slightly, but he had nothing to say.
According to the principle of reciprocity between the Holy Court and the Daomen, the chief bishop is equivalent to a five-grade Taoist priest, and the archbishop is equivalent to a four-grade sacrificial wine Taoist, so Zhang Yuelu's request is reasonable, and he can't refuse.
7017k