The blue color of the court hurriedly withered, and the golden carmine pink appeared. When the sun sets, the golden leaves of the branches are pierced by countless beams of light, as if another grand sun is rising—but it will not last long, and it will be completely extinguished as the sunset sinks.

Soon it will be winter again.

Auspicious five years, October.

Gangnam, Gyeongju.

The young man walked through the rain with an umbrella, and the bitter cold and lonely night was endless, only the fire-like lights of the Qinlou Chu Pavilion were bright all night. The old bustard originally shook the handkerchief and greeted him diligently, but when he saw the clothes of the young Jianghu ronin, he took half a step back, and the smile on his face faded by two points.

"Guest, do you want to listen to music or stay overnight?" The bustard scrutinized him, expecting to pull two out of his pocket.

"Overnight," the young man pulled out a gold ingot from his waist and threw it into her hand, "I'll look for Xuanji." ”

The old bustard wanted to be reserved for a moment, but the young man intentionally or unintentionally revealed the broken sword hanging from his waist, and she couldn't help but shiver. These people in the rivers and lakes are licking blood on the tip of the knife, one day passes, the world has been chaotic recently, and the old bustard is not good to cause more trouble, so he immediately took someone to take him to see Xuanji.

Xuanji's boudoir is on the top floor, and when you open the window, you can see the vast night of Gyeongju City. When the boy pushed the door in, she was sitting on the embroidered bed, tucking the quilt for the sleeping little girl. The white cat smelled its owner's scent and ran over with its tail in tow.

"Young master." Xuanji restrained her lazy look and bowed slightly.

Shen Zhou did not tear off the human skin mask on his face, and the white cat was puzzled by the smell of his master appearing on a stranger, so he was so anxious that he wirled his tail in place.

"The nails in Gyeongju have been pulled out," Shen Zhou said lightly, placing a bloodstained golden skull on the table, "Send the news back to the main hall." ”

The Nine Shadows were originally honored with silver, and the silver Shura mask was used as a identification of identity. After the mountain ghost clan decided to annex the Luo clan, they honored the golden skull as a token of gold.

Xuanji has also killed people, and he also has a little bit of knowledge about the mountain ghost assassins lurking in Gyeongju City. These people are even more than the "seeds" of the Luo clan, and even compared to the "Ten Ghosts" that have been shattered, they are not left behind at all.

And this "young master" who never showed up in the same family actually killed all of them single-handedly, and Xuanji just had to help him watch the children and cats.

All the assassins of the Nine Shadows Division knew that the Luo clan had a "Gongzi Zhou", who did not call the surname Luo, but killed people for the Luo clan, and the assassination technique was superb, and there was no disadvantage. The people of the Mountain Oni clan were looking for him, wanting his loyalty or his life. But there is very little information about him, except that he has a "boat" in his name and a white cat by his side.

"Get out, I want to rest." Shen Zhou said.

Xuanji reluctantly retreated to the small couch outside, listening to the even breathing inside.

Shen Zhou was lying on the beauty couch by the window of the room, his posture was like a coffin, and his eyes were looking at the dark roof without blinking. The clear moonlight poured in through the window, like frost flowers on the ground.

It's been a long time since I've had a nightmare.

Occasionally, Shen Zhou saw in his dreams that his young self had killed all his companions in a cage, but he was not frightened, he just looked at the blood on his hands indifferently, and his heart was unwavering. Shen Zhou was no longer afraid of the evil spirits in his dreams, and he seemed to have gradually become one of them.

Shen Zhou felt a little cold.

The pale scar on his throat was obscured by paint, but it was like a glittering blade, tightening little by little, slicing his throat bone.

Something wet, warm suddenly licked his fingertips. Shen Zhou subconsciously curled up his fingers to grasp the hilt of the sword, but he held it down violently. He half-propped himself up, looking at the cat, which had withdrawn several steps after being frightened by his sudden movement.

"Brother."

Yuanniang, who woke up at some point, hugged the frightened white cat and looked at him worriedly, "Brother, what's wrong with you?" ”

"It's okay, go back to sleep." Shen Zhou said.

"Brother, your hands are so cold." Yuan Niang touched his hand and whispered.

"Go to sleep." Shen Zhou said strongly.

Yuan Niang wrinkled the tip of her nose and sniffed in the air, grabbed his sleeve, and asked softly, "Brother, have you gone to kill someone?" ”

Shen Zhou's body became stiff, he looked at Yuan Niang's raised little face, and said word by word: "Yes." Scared? ”

Yuan Niang shook her head, rubbed the quilt and the cat to Shen Zhou's side, patted his back comfortingly and said, "I'm not afraid, and my brother shouldn't be afraid." You've killed all the bad guys, all the bad guys like the people who killed my dad and my mother. God doesn't blame you. ”

Shen Zhou silently tugged at the corners of his mouth, smiling bitterly.

Yuan Niang's eyes were shining, "Yuan Niang sleeps with you, brother, don't be afraid." ”

"If only I would be afraid." Shen Zhou touched her hair and whispered.

It is normal to be afraid, to be unbearable, and to hesitate.

"Brother, are your family members gone? Why did they leave you alone outside? Yuan Niang asked in a low voice, her voice soft, as if she was afraid of poking him.

"My family...... I don't know if she's from my family. Maybe yes, she said that if she is dead, I am her surviving person. But she doesn't want me now, and when I leave, she told me never to go back. ”

"That's angry talk!" Yuan Niang said a little anxiously, "She must be looking for you and thinking about you." If she knew that you were suffering so much outside alone, she would be very sad. ”

Shen Zhou smiled quietly, this smile was sincere, like a corner of a cold and hard heart being pried open, revealing the warm and soft thing inside. Shen Zhou stretched out his hand and scratched her nose and said, "How do you know so much?" ”

"Because my aunt is like this!" Yuan Niang's eyes were gloomy and she said, "Every time she quarrels with my father, and my father slams the door and goes out, my mother will say, 'If you have the ability, you will never come back'." When it was time for dinner, Daddy picked flowers and came back, and Auntie was happy again. ”

"I'm sorry." Shen Zhou said.

Yuan Niang shook her head, held Shen Zhou's face and said, "Brother, you are a good person, you have to be happy." Yuanniang will be obedient and won't cause you trouble, so don't you be sad anymore, okay? ”

Shen Zhou was obediently touched by this little bean-like girl, and said in a heartfelt voice: "I just want to go home." ”

——

Imperial capital, Akiba Mountain Residence.

The desk in the study was piled with snowflakes of paper, the windows were not closed, and the wind blew and blew on the faces of the people who entered the door. Pei Zhang hurriedly closed the window and slapped an evil wind out of the window. Chu Zhixia took down a large handful of paper full of words from his face, dense, and the words were sharp and vicious.

"What is this?" Chu Zhixia closed the door with his backhand and asked.

"The excerpts copied from the cabinet, the history of the assassins in various places to express their feelings, the "Ten Songs of Military and Political Affairs" violates the ancestral teachings, and the people complain, begging Your Majesty not to insist on going his own way again, otherwise it will bring disaster to the country and the people." Pei Zhangyi summed up concisely, "I'm afraid that in a few days, Pei Cifu will not be able to resist impeachment and will be blamed in the wilderness." ”

"The people's grievances are boiling, and it should be investigated. But it's not a new deal. ”

Chu Zhixia and Pei Zhang glanced at each other, and they both saw a hint of playfulness in each other's eyes.

"I once sent people to the people to investigate, and the fish scale atlas is naturally untouchable, but there is one point worth noting." Pei Zhang tapped lightly on the table, "When many places remeasured the land, conflicts broke out between the government and the people. ”

The Fish Scale Atlas is a record used by the government to register houses, mountains, forests, land, and lakes, and the state tax is also based on the Fish Scale Atlas. In other words, it is the foundation of the country and the life of the people.

Chu Shixia tilted his head slightly, his hair swayed, "There have been too many land annexations, forced buying and selling in recent years, and in the eyes of the farmers, the government and the squire have a nest of snakes and rats - in fact, it may indeed be a nest of snakes and rats, so in their eyes, the new deal is to exploit their land in different ways, and it is natural for them to react violently." ”

Chu Zhixia slowly raised his eyelashes, his eyes sharp, "But there is another possibility." ”

"I want to hear about it." Pei Zhang's jaw said.

"Does Pei Gongzi know about the division of local power in the imperial dynasty?" Chu Zhixia said eloquently, "Prefectures, counties, counties, towns, townships, and villages, layer after layer, are like towers built up. The so-called upward and downward effect, in fact, the bottom does not collapse, and the top does not know what is happening at all. ”

"How long does it take for a person in a village to leave the village and go to the state to expose the evil deeds of the squire, and how many times does it take to hit the south wall? Pei Gongzi grew up in a deep-walled compound, I'm afraid it's hard to imagine. Emperor Taizu set up a Dengwen drum outside the noon gate, and those who were wronged could beat the drum to voice their grievances, but some people could not finish this road in their lifetime. ”

Pei Zhang frowned when he heard this.

"Although it is you and me who wrote the new policy, and the people who implement the new policy are Pei Cifu and His Majesty, what really implements the new policy is the countless petty officials and officials that we can't see. It would have been easy for them to have a hand in measuring the land. Chu Shixia shrugged his shoulders and smiled helplessly, "The embankment of a thousand miles collapsed in the anthill." But let Pei Gongzi have great powers, can you pinch every ant to death? ”

Pei Zhang was overwhelmed by these heavy words, and took a deep breath: "It's hard to return." The accumulation of corrupt officials and corrupt officials in the Great Zhou Dynasty for decades has come to this point. ”

Chu Zhixia acquiesced to his words and lowered his head to drink tea.

"Miss Chu, don't you have anything else to say?"

Chu Shixia smiled.

She is not a serious and rigid person, and she laughs in a variety of ways. The third prince has never dealt with her, and is often hooked by her smile. At this moment, her smile was bright and sharp, like the sun hanging high in the middle of the day, like a sword.

"When you are terminally ill, you will scrape your bones to cure the poison."

Chu Zhixia put the empty teacup on the table lightly, looked at Pei Zhang fixedly, and said, "There is no way to slaughter all the officials who are greedy for ink one by one, so they will kill chickens and make an example of monkeys." It is human nature for people to die for money and birds to die for food, but money is such a thing, and if you have a life to earn it, you have to have a life to spend it, right? ”

Pei Zhang quickly searched for a suitable target to "kill chickens and set an example for monkeys", but the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty was vast, and he had recently watched countless impeachment twists and turns, and it was difficult to sort it out for a while. Pei Zhang had a headache and pressed his temples and said, "Who do you want to operate on first?" ”

Chu Zhixia said mysteriously: "Wait a little longer." ”