When the sun rose, the deserted village that had been in chaos for a night finally calmed down.

Most people have a simple idea that evil spirits can only scream at night, and the sun will be extinguished when the sun comes out.

So when I saw the sun, my panicked heart settled down.

After this concentration, everyone realized that those evil ghosts had already run away in the middle of the night.

Zhu Wei screamed in pain, he ran his foot last night, and his feet, which were originally like pig's hooves, are now swollen like rhinoceros hooves.

There are also many scholars who fall like Zhu Wei and have blue noses and swollen faces, there are so many people in the village, and this group of scholars who read and raise their spirits are the most frightened.

When the number of people was counted and it was found that no one had died, everyone was finally relieved.

There is no problem on the team's side, but there is something wrong on the Taurus side.

Cao Tian is missing.

What made Zuo Wanli's face even more ugly was that he watched Cao Tian disappear with his own eyes.

At that time, he was about to chase and kill the evil ghost, but found that he couldn't hurt the other party at all, and turned his head to see Cao Tian running like crazy, so he was ready to catch up.

Who would have thought that after Cao Tian saw Zuo Wanli, he seemed to be even more frightened, and rushed all the way to a dry well, and jumped directly into it.

What Zuo Wanli couldn't accept was that Cao Tian shouted a sentence in his mouth before jumping into the well: "I didn't mean to harm you, it was the national teacher, and the national teacher forced me!" ”

Because of these words, Zuo Wanli hesitated for a moment and failed to stop Cao Tian.

When Cao Tian fell into the dry well, Zuo Wanli wanted to chase it, but it was too late. Because there are secret passages extending in all directions under this well, Zuo Wanli only chased dozens of zhang away and saw several forks in the road, and almost lost himself in it.

In desperation, Zuo Wanli could only return along the road.

came back to take an inventory, except for Cao Tian, the other Taurus guards were still alive, and Yang Ye was also lying on the bed in a dignified manner, but it seemed that his breath was a little not very good, and his breathing was a little unstable.

Zuo Wanli didn't think there was anything wrong, even he couldn't bear it on this journey, not to mention Yang Ye, who had been locked up in the prison car with a hundred catties of shackles and swaying, being able to live until now shows that his martial arts are good.

"Lord Zuo, how are you doing?" Daoran asked.

"Thank you Master for your concern, although I have been busy all night, I am finally safe, but one of my subordinates, Cao Tian, is missing." Zuo Wanli told Dao Ran how Cao Tian behaved when he was in a panic, hoping that he could solve his doubts.

Although the time spent together is very short, in Zuo Wanli's view, Dao Ran is a monk full of wisdom and compassion, and it is normal for him to be a mortal and ask the master to solve his doubts when he encounters incomprehension.

Dao Ran listened to it, and was a little surprised.

He asked Mu Zhixuan to protect everyone with his natural powers, so that they could not kill each other, and by the way, with the help of this harassment, the real Yang Ye was out.

As a result, this man can still fall into the well by himself?

However, listening to Zuo Wanli's description, Dao Ran felt that things were not so simple.

"Lord Zuo, you said that before he jumped into the well, he said that he was forced by the national teacher?" Daoran asked.

"That's true, but Cao Tian is also a colleague who went with us to capture Yang Ye, he fought bravely at that time, and fought a bloody road with me."

This is what Zuo Wanli doesn't understand the most, Cao Tian hasn't done anything bad along the way, what did the national teacher force him to do?

"Lord Zuo, have you forgotten the Gu worms in your body? The little monk had said before that it was not so easy to get under the Gu. Daoran reminded.

Hearing Daoran mention this, Zuo Wanli's face suddenly changed.

"This Gu was given by Cao Tian?"

"Lord Zuo, can you recall, along the way, have you ever eaten anything like pills, or your daily diet, was it prepared by this Cao Shizhu?" Daoran asked.

Zuo Wanli was silent, he remembered that when he had just come out of the siege from Yunzhou, everyone was tired, and Cao Tian took out a bottle of pills for everyone to take.

After eating, everyone felt much more comfortable, and even most of their energy was restored.

But since taking Cao Tian's medicine, strange deaths have appeared in Taurus Wei one after another. At the time, they thought they were entangled in something unclean.

Daoran saw that Zuo Wanli didn't speak, and knew that he had guessed correctly.

But Daoran also fell into deep thought.

Originally, Dao Ran thought that this Gu worm was plotted by the national teacher when they kidnapped Yang Ye in Yunzhou, so that all the people were caught in the Gu, but the result was that there was an internal ghost inside the Taurus Guard.

Since Cao Tian is a person of the national teacher, the national teacher should have known that Pang Taishi was going to do something to Yang Ye, why would he stand by and watch?

How much Yang Ye suffered on this road, if he hadn't come to the rescue, he might not have been able to survive to the capital.

In this way, wouldn't the things that the national teacher had sent to the Yunzhou border army before all be in vain?

If the national teacher wanted to kill Yang Ye for some special reason, why did he give Gu to this group of golden bull guards, and when Yang Ye was sent to the capital, Taishi Pang would naturally find a way to press the trumped-up charges on Yang Ye's body, and there was no need for the national teacher to do it himself.

Dao Ran felt that there must be a key point in this, which could explain all the anomalies, maybe it was related to Nie Zhengyan being driven out of the capital and being chased and killed by the national teacher.

It's just that this kind of real secret can't be found in your own imagination alone.

Maybe we all have to wait until we go to Beijing to understand what earth-shattering conspiracy this national teacher is preparing.

Dao Ran let Mu Zhixuan go down the dry well and walk around, the secret passage below is really complex and huge, it is much larger than the village on the ground, and it is extended in all directions, if you want to find out a person, it is not something that can be done in a day or two.

Although Cao Tian could not be found, Mu Zhixuan did not find nothing, and found some dead bodies from the underground passage, as well as a yellowed village chronicle.

The scale of the deserted village is not small, there are thousands of people, and it is not surprising that a few literate people can be produced. The village chronicle is a book that records the events of the village, and if the village has the same surname, there will be something like a genealogy.

Dao Ran flipped through the old book with dark red blood stains, most of which were soaked in blood, and many pages were glued together, and there was no way to separate them. According to the surviving records, the village was a later migrator, having settled here less than 50 years ago.

The underground passage was occasionally discovered by them, and according to the guesses of the people in the village, it should be an ancient underground palace left over from the pre-Qin era. It's just that the more detailed content is not recorded in the village chronicle.

The people of this village discovered the existence of the tunnel, and it was only used as a cellar. Because the dungeon is too long, there is a danger of lack of oxygen if they go farther, so they have not been able to complete the exploration of the entire dungeon for decades, but they have been safe for decades.

It wasn't until five years ago that there was a plague and the villagers began to die in large numbers, and they had to report to the government, and later the imperial court sent a few doctors, and the plague was quickly cured.

Then the village was destroyed, and all the people in the village died in the cellar.

As for why it was destroyed, the content was completely unclear, and the last thing that could be seen clearly was the incomplete sentence: "Their corpses can't be burned at all......"

There must be something weird and terrifying hidden under this tunnel.

It is precisely because of the existence of this ancient underground palace that Dao Ran will have a feeling of restlessness when he enters the village.

It's just that I didn't expect that I still couldn't solve the secrets of this village.

Because of Cao Tian's disappearance, and because the group of scholars in the convoy were scared half to death, everyone rarely stayed in this village for an extra day and a half.

Of course, because Dao Ran played the Bodhi Qingxin Song for everyone for a long time, it not only cures the disease and heals the wounds, but also has the effect of soothing the mind.

This time, there were no more evil ghosts, everyone thought that it was Dao Ran, a virtuous monk, who suppressed the evil ghosts, but that Cao Tian never appeared again.

After seeing the strange insiders in the village chronicles, Zuo Wanli could only think that Cao Tian died in the tunnel, so he took Yang Ye and continued on the road.

As he left, Dao Ran took a deep look at the village, and one day, he would come back again. However, we will wait until he becomes an immortal.

A journey without waves is always boring, and after leaving the deserted village, everyone seems to have had good luck, and there are no more accidents along the way.

Not only that, after re-entering the official road, Zhu Wei changed his previous attitude of not wanting trouble, and took the initiative to use the name of the Suzhou prefect to dot around, plus Zuo Wanli's identity as a golden bull guard thousand, so that everyone could experience the benefits of an official post.

As soon as you arrive at the post station, there are naturally people who help lead the horses to feed the grass, and some people prepare hot water for bathing, and you can have a good meal after taking a bath.

The taste may not be good, but the portion is definitely enough to ensure that you can sleep comfortably after eating, and you will not wake up hungry in the middle of the night.

And when everyone went to sleep, there were small officials at the post station who rode horses and galloped to the next station in advance. By the time the convoy arrived at the next station the next day, there were enough rooms and meals to serve.

With this arrangement, the journey is much more comfortable.

In addition, if you encounter a little illness or pain along the way, you don't even need to look at the doctor, just listen to the sound of Daoran's piano.

As a result, the convoy traveled extremely fast, and the original one-month journey reached the finish line in 25 days.

The soldiers who rushed to take the exam got out of the car and were about to report to Guozijian, and Zuo Wanli took the "unconscious" Yang Ye to resume his life.

Daoran took Shenxiu and Xiaoqing and walked on the streets of the capital.

Daoran is the first time to go far away, and naturally it is also the first time to come to the capital.

Xiaoqing looked back and forth curiously, and then said with a little disappointment: "Why is this capital not as lively as Hangzhou?" ”

Dao Ran smiled and explained, "Because there are ten times more officials in the capital than in Hangzhou. ”

In fact, the population of the capital is not less than that of Hangzhou, and it should be a more prosperous place. It's just that at the feet of the Son of Heaven, it can be said that if you throw a stone casually, you will be an official, or a relative of the emperor.

In this case, how can ordinary people be lively?

In addition, in the past few years, the Great Zhou Dynasty has gradually shown signs of collapse, the bureaucrats of the imperial court have become even more disgraceful, and the common people have become more sad, and the pedestrians on the road naturally feel a little depressed.

Although it is not very serious, the comparison with Hangzhou is quite obvious.

"Master, since we have arrived in the capital, should we find a temple to place an order?" Shenxiu asked.

"Try it, but I'm afraid it's not as easy as that." Daoran said.

Monks go out without money and want to eat a full meal, either to turn into a fate, or to find a temple to place an order.

The former is unstable, and it is very likely that he will be hungry for nine meals in three days. The latter depends on the background, and if you want to place an order in the temple in the capital, ordinary monks can't do it.

Jinshan Temple is a very famous temple, and Fahai is known to everyone in the world.

It stands to reason that it should be very easy for Daoran to place a pending order.

But in fact, Daoran's worries are not unnecessary.

Shenxiu walked to several temples in a row, what Guoen Temple, Guoci Temple, Baoguo Temple...... As soon as he heard that it was a Taoist monk of Jinshan Temple, he immediately said that it was inconvenient for the monk to place an order recently.

As for the reasons, there are also varied, saying that there are too many people who have been full, saying that the temple has been closed recently, and there are more direct saying that there is not enough incense recently to raise idlers.

In a teahouse somewhere, after listening to Shenxiu's report, Daoran put down the teacup and said, "It seems that the national teacher has already made a move." ”

When Shi Chan Daoist died, the national teacher attached himself to his body and threatened Daoran, obviously knowing the existence of Daoran.

After such a long time, it is strange to say that the national teacher has not done anything.

Now it seems that it is just that the temple refused to place an order for Dao Ran, and did not directly send troops to arrest Dao Ran into prison, which is already good.

Could it be that you are going to find Master Pang now?

Dao Ran has Nie Zhengyan's handwritten letter, Master Pang is Nie Zhengyan's mentor, with this relationship, it is not difficult for Dao Ran to survive in the capital.

But what Dao Ran wanted to do was to attract the attention of the Great Zhou Emperor, and only by getting the opportunity to face the saint could he try to pull the national teacher down from the altar.

Once Dao Ran directly surrenders to Master Pang, then everything that follows will be subject to Master Pang's arrangement.

Judging from the kidnapping incident of Yang Ye, Pang Taishi is not a good official who is dedicated to serving the people, but his position is different from that of the national teacher, so he will confront the national teacher.

At that time, how will Master Pang control Dao Ran, the chess piece sent to the door, it really depends on his mood.

Maybe Pang Taishi's methods and results are not what Dao Ran wants.

If you start, of course, it is best to meet the emperor by your own ability.

Before Dao Ran could think of any way to solve the problem, the teahouse suddenly fell silent, and several people wearing golden red robes appeared at the gate.

"Which one is the Dao Ran Master of Jinshan Temple?" A young Taoist priest asked.

There was no need for Dao Ran to answer, this Taoist priest had already seen him.

The young Taoist priest showed a surprised expression, then walked up to Dao Ran and said, "With such a look, it seems that the rumors are indeed true, and Master Dao Ran is a beautiful man who is rare in the world." ”

"Amitabha, I don't know what this Taoist chief is talking about when he is looking for a little monk?" Daoran asked.

"On the order of the family teacher's seven love real people, I invite Master Daoran to gather at the Dragon Head Painting Boat of the Thousand Lights River, and also invite the Master to appreciate the face."

The young Taoist priest just talked about it, but he didn't even have an invitation.

Dao Ran had no choice but to ask: "When the little monk first arrived in the capital, he didn't know the real people of Qiqing, why did he invite me?" ”

"I don't know this path, the path is just doing what I am told. Tonight, Master will be waiting for you on the painting boat. You'd better arrive half an hour early, Master doesn't like people to be late. The young Taoist priest left such a sentence and left with the others.

Such an attitude is obviously a feast.

But it's also normal, because this Seven Emotions True Man is the eldest disciple of the national teacher. Before going to Beijing, Daoran had already investigated the important people of the National Teacher Department.

The eldest apprentice has seven feelings, the second apprentice Xuanji, the third apprentice Shi Chan, and the fourth apprentice Li Feng, except for these four relatives, the others are all registered disciples.

Among them, Li Feng and Shi Chan both died indirectly at the hands of Dao Ran, and Xuan Jizi also defected to Dao Ran's side, leaving this seven-love real person, obviously ready to share the worries of the national teacher and solve the scourge of Dao Ran.

Shenxiu also understood the power of it, and said to Daoran: "Master, the other party must have an ambush, this is definitely a Hongmen banquet." ”

"The Hongmen Banquet is for sure, but what is this Thousand Lights River Dragon Head Painting Boat? It doesn't sound like a place of practice like Chongyang Concept. Daoran asked strangely.

At this time, someone next to him interjected and said: "That is the most famous place in the capital to find flowers and ask willows." ”

------Off topic------

This chapter is more than 4,000 words, and in order to support the evenness, the two chapters are combined into one chapter