At night, the snow fell again.

Kou Yi returned to the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion in the northwest corner of Anxi City, and without stopping a single step, he went straight back to the study in the inner courtyard.

After shaking off the wind and snow and sending his subordinates away, he made tea by himself in the tea hall.

A moment later, the candle flame flickered slightly, and across from him sat a man in a black nightwear and a cloak.

Kou Yi took a deep breath and said expressionlessly: "I have done what you explained." ”

The man remained motionless, and said in a loud voice, "I know." ”

Kou Yi's hand crushing the tea cake paused slightly, then continued the action just now, then poured the boiling water from the charcoal stove into it, and then gently stirred it with the tea whisk, and finally ordered a cup of light and good tea.

The man took the teacup, looked at the shape of a plum blossom lit out of the cup, and did not rush to sip, but teased unintentionally:

"The dignified 'human slaughter', I didn't expect to be proficient in the craft of ordering tea. ”

Kou Yi smiled, didn't answer, and asked instead, "I've already done the thing, you can tell where you came from, right?"

The man put down his teacup and said with a smile:

"Generalissimo Kou, don't worry, it doesn't matter who I am. The important thing is the whereabouts of Tong Dahai and his party from the Security Bureau, isn't it?"

Kou Yi, who had always been cold, heard this, his face turned different, and he couldn't help asking, "Do you know their whereabouts?"

The "black cloak" was noncommittal, and asked rhetorically, not without a joke:

"What I'm curious about is that they were hunted down by the Dahuan Bronze Mirror Division this time at the expense of blood, how much do you know the inside story?"

When Kou Yi heard this, he could no longer care about the other party's unfathomable cultivation, and said with a cold face:

"In a few moments, if there is no movement in my room, two guards will come in and ask for it. ”

The implication is to urge the other party to speak directly and stop going around in circles.

"Black Cloak" seemed to have heard a big joke, and said disapprerovitically:

"You don't seem to have figured out the situation yet, I've never had a problem with you, the real question is, what are you going to do with the hands of the security guard?"

Kou Yi is accustomed to seeing life and death, and is no stranger to this kind of half-soft and half-hard, half-tentative and half-threatening words, and also asked rhetorically:

"Do you care about the security guards? Are you worried about someone's safety - let me guess, because of the little Taoist?"

As soon as the words fell, the originally warm room suddenly rose with a chill, and Kou Yi was like falling into an ice cave in an instant, as if someone had lifted the heavenly spirit cover and poured a bucket of ice water from top to bottom, and the coolness was from top to bottom, penetrating the bone marrow.

At this moment, his first reaction was, am I going to die here tonight?

However, the next moment, he felt a sudden loosening of his body, as if he had woken up from the wind and snow, and coughed violently.

The "black cloak" retracted its momentum, took a sip of tea as usual, and said lightly:

"Just now you are a light punishment for disrespecting 'human immortals', and you have one more chance to pay attention to your words. ”

Kou Yi, who almost coughed up the bile, after finally relieving it, thought about the word "human immortal", sat up straight with a complicated mood, and said slowly:

"The Security Bureau went to Boulder City this time, and after some activities in the city, they accidentally found an important item, which may involve the holy weapon of the Dahuan State Religion - the Sawu Sect, and there is also a theory that this item is an important inheritance of a certain monastic sect in Dahuan. No matter which one it is, it is inextricably linked to the royal family of today's Dahuan Kingdom. ”

"Do you know what it is?"

"The sea was worried about leaking secrets, so he did not disclose the details, only saying that this thing is very important. If nothing else, it may even affect the next peace talks between the two countries. ”

The "black cloak" was silent for a moment, and then suddenly asked:

"The Great Sui Dynasty gradually divided into the two factions of Kong and Lu, which has become a trend of party contention. Who do you support?"

Kou Yi almost didn't directly shake off a roll of his eyes, but when he thought of the chill that had just penetrated into the depths of his soul, he couldn't help but tremble a little, thought about it, and said solemnly:

"My duty is to lead the troops to fight, defend the territory and open up the territory, and the Beijing-China-DPRK Bureau is not something that I can do as a border general. ”

"Black Cloak" scoffed:

"The turbulent general situation, how can you do it if you want to protect yourself? Otherwise, Kong Deren can install his protégé Li Zimu on Anxi Road? According to the current emperor's habit of balancing, the next transfer envoy must be Lu An's people. You are in the imperial court, and you know better than me, an outsider, that those people in Confucianism are best at talking about leading wars, not succeeding enough, failing to get up, and dismantling the stage, all of them are experts - when the people from these two sides arrive one after another, your slap-heavy Anxi Road will sooner or later become a pond for raising Wang Ba. ”

Kou Yi, who was still full of vigilance and melancholy just now, heard this analysis, especially the evaluation of the Confucian scholars at the end, which was simply three points, which made him laugh and feel a little relieved.

According to this person's understanding of the court situation, could it be that he is actually a member of today's official family?

Kou Yi's mind turned sharply, and he came up with one possibility after another, and finally pondered for a moment and said:

"What the immortal master said is extremely true. It's just that I'm a border general with a heavy army, if I get involved in the party struggle in the political hall, the first one who won't let me go is the official family. ”

The Black Cloak smiled, "I'll just ask you." Where is the root of the contradiction between Kong and Lu?"

Kou Yi frowned and said:

"After Kong Deren and even the Holy Master, the current representative of Confucianism adhered to the tradition of 'silent strange power and confusion', and opposed the Confucian scholars' cultivation and seeking immortality, believing that this move was not a proper business.

"Lu An is also a great Confucian in the world, and his knowledge is even hesitant compared to Confucius. However, perhaps because of his humble birth, he is more flexible in dealing with things, believing that since the times are changing, Confucian students in the world should be given the freedom to study, and as long as they do not leave the Confucian wall, they should not be strongly restricted from their cultivation heart. ”

The "black cloak" nodded slightly, and asked with a smile: "Putting aside everything outside the body, only starting from the heart, which do you think is more reasonable?"

Kou Yi said as a matter of course: "Naturally, Lu An's proposition is more in line with people's hearts and human nature. ”

At this time, the man in the black cloak threw another question:

"If Lu An's proposition is implemented, how should the military attachés and soldiers of your military family deal with themselves?"

Kou Yi had obviously thought deeply about this issue and replied directly:

"Even if you allow the generals to cultivate, you should set a limit. First of all, the increase in the number of cultivators is a great burden on the imperial court, and the old men of the three divisions and the household department are estimated to be scolding their mothers; secondly, if the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty are busy cultivating immortals and discussing the Tao, it is very easy to develop a style of emptiness and exaggeration, and it will become more and more detached from the people of the world, which is extremely unfavorable to the government and state affairs. The third point, which is also very important, is that once the number of monks in the army increases, it is easy to become a big trend, and the empire will inevitably fall into a crisis of separating the feudal towns......"

Hearing that Kou Yi said twelve thoughts in one breath, the man smiled and said:

"Generalissimo Kou is embarrassed to say that he just wants to protect himself?"

Kou Yi said calmly: "Not mixing doesn't mean that you don't have to think about it at all, otherwise the battle for so many years won't be in vain?"

As if reading through his thoughts, the "black cloak" said:

"Everybody has selfish motives. From your standpoint, you must hope that the imperial court will lift the ban on cultivation, after all, for ordinary soldiers, it is really difficult to reach the standard of being enshrined as a mountain and water by the imperial court by accumulating military merits, and take the path of immortality in the line of the divine path. And if you can take the path of cultivation and achieve the goal of prolonging life through cultivation, it will definitely be a better path to longevity for ordinary people. ”

Kou Yi had no intention of hiding his true thoughts, and nodded naturally.

"Well, I suggest you get ready. Because the final result of the party struggle between the two factions of Kong and Lu is likely to be that the imperial court will relax the ban on cultivation to a limited extent. ”

At this point, Kou Yi somewhat understood the other party's true intentions, which made him feel a lot more at ease. So he asked:

"What does the Immortal Master mean is to cooperate with the sect of the cultivation world?"

The man laughed:

"It is worthy of being a soldier who is familiar with military books and is well versed in the art of power and strategy. I think you are also very clear that today's officials have long had the intention of relaxing the restrictions on cultivation, but the biggest obstacle to this move is not actually Kong Deren's faction, but the cultivation world. However, if the officials of the DPRK and China have a tacit understanding to contact each of the cultivation sects and form an alliance of interests, they will have a chance to divide and disintegrate. ”

Kou Yi's heart was like thunder, and he suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

"The immortal master has hills and valleys in his chest, the sun and the moon in his heart, and he has benefited a lot from listening to your words. ”

Only then did the man remove his broad cloak and reveal a young face.

This person fell into Kou Yi's eyes, his face looked like he was in his forties, his face was like a knife and axe, his contours were clear, his eyebrows and eyes were not brilliant, but he was full of heroism.

Considering that his person is already a Jindan stage great cultivator known as a 'human immortal', his real age may be much higher. Kou Yi took advantage of the situation and hugged his fists:

"I've seen the immortal master seniors. ”

The man smiled: "I'm not necessarily older than you, you can call me Liu Zai." ”

Kou Yi is the only one.

Liu Zai changed the conversation and said openly and fairly:

"I looked for you this time, and I guess you guessed that it was the item obtained for Tong Dahai and his party from the Security Bureau. I know a little bit about it, but I can't give in more information, but I can assure you that it will be shared with you once I get it. ”

Kou Yi was pleasantly surprised: "Is what Immortal Master Liu said true?"

Liu Zai said with a smile: "I spent so much money to gain your trust, is it because I am full of food, just to deceive you for fun?"

Kou Yi laughed dryly, feeling that this person had not only removed the cloak, but also a disguise of his own nature.

"But how do you track this thing?"

Liu Zai waved his hand and said, "Mountain people have their own tricks. And you only need to send an elite cavalry overnight to meet in the Qingchuan River Valley. Superfluous things, you don't want to get involved too deeply. ”

Kou Yi immediately took out the courage of a top general, responded directly, and then went out to arrange it resolutely.

Liu Zai calmed down, drank the tea that was still warm, put back his cloak, and muttered to himself:

"The helpers are still a little insufficient, should you go to the Martial Arts Division to ask for someone, or just bring that little guy with you?"

After a moment of hesitation, he finally made up his mind and disappeared in front of the tea table in the blink of an eye.