Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Man in the Iron Mask
Bai Lingshen was afraid that Duan Yao would run into the Shadow Knife Sect again, if this was the case, it would not end well, thinking of this, he scolded in his heart, "This woman has no other skills, she is really good at causing trouble, Lao Tzu really wants to leave it alone, let her die alone." But thinking about it, Bai Ling still walked the streets and alleys on Chonghu Pass, making light efforts to look everywhere.
It was late at night, and there was no one on the street except for the occasional watchman passing by. Bai Ling ran around and didn't see Duan Yao's figure for a long time, his heart was anxious, he jumped on the eaves, and walked all the way to find it. Occasionally, I met Zeng Ge and other Qianjimen people who were also looking for each other, and they all said to each other that they had not found anyone. Everyone didn't dare to give up, and continued to scatter and run.
Bai Ling jumped up and down looking for nothing, his strength gradually felt exhausted, and he rested in a corner of the roof, at this time, his thoughts were surging, "Where will these stinky girls go?"
Soon arrived at the place, it was the Lu Mansion that the two had been to during the day. Bai Ling faintly felt that Duan Yao would come here. I saw that the entire Lu Mansion compound was brightly lit at night, and there were some patrolling soldiers coming and going, and the degree of vigilance was higher than during the day. Bai Ling stepped on the high wall of the inner courtyard and probed all the way deeper, but saw that there was no one around a house in the depths of the inner courtyard, which was very different from the heavily guarded situation outside. When I got closer, I saw a dark shadow on the roof of the house, looking into the house through a crack. Bai Ling stared at it, it was Duan Yao.
It turned out that Duan Yao was counted down by his senior brother, and Bai Ling didn't speak for him, so he grabbed the door in a fit of anger, and walked aimlessly for a long time before he slowly calmed down, thinking that he must not be looked down upon by his father, senior brother, Bai Ling and others, and he must think of ways to prove that he is not just a person who drags his feet. Thinking about it, Duan Yao thought that the Lu family had bad intentions, and there were still many mysteries that had not yet been revealed, so he might as well come to the Lu Mansion at night, and maybe he could get some valuable information. Thinking of this, Duan Yao went straight to the Lu Mansion, although there were many soldiers in the Lu Mansion to guard, but Duan Yao had light skills, and he was not found all the way, and finally heard someone talking in the house on a roof beam. Duan Yao opened a corner of the bricks and tiles, and saw that this room was a small hall for hospitality, and there were three people standing in it, two of them were the Lu family father and son, and a tall man turned his back to them, and he couldn't see his face clearly for the time being. Listening to the Lu family, the father and son just kept reporting on the military situation in Chonghu Pass. Duan Yao couldn't see why, and thought to himself, probably this man with a back hand was an official who was even higher than General Lu.
Duan Yao was eavesdropping, when suddenly someone gently patted her shoulder, and was about to exclaim, covering her mouth with one hand. Duan Yao looked at it, but the person who came was Bai Ling, and he made a silent gesture with a smile. Duan Yao angrily punched him in the shoulder, seeing him grinning and pretending, he was very angry, if it wasn't for the surrounding environment, he would definitely beat him up to relieve the hatred in his heart.
Bai Ling didn't mess with Duan Yao, stretched out his hand and pointed to the house, signaling to continue eavesdropping, and Duan Yao put the account aside first.
I only listened to Lu Daoming's words, "There are a total of 8,000 soldiers in Chonghu Pass, 15,000 horsemen and cavalry battalions stationed ten miles northeast of the pass, and more than 1,000 people such as the security department and the government officials. The total strength of the entire Chonghu Pass is nearly 25,000 men and horses. ”
The man with the back hand couldn't see what the expression was, but nodded slightly and said, "Is there a detailed map of the station?" Lu Dekun hurriedly raised his hand to present a picture, and then the man turned around and stretched out his hand to take it and watch. I saw that this man was nine feet tall, his hair was shining with silver and blue, his face was covered by an iron mask, and his outstretched arms were bruised, and he knew that he was carrying martial arts at a glance, and his voice did not know whether it was deliberately restrained or covered by a mask, and his voice was like a metal grinding, hoarse and difficult to distinguish.
The man in the iron mask looked at it for a while and asked Lu Daoming, "How many troops are directly under you now?" Lu Daoming replied cautiously, "The small one is currently in charge of about 6,000 people in the Guanfang, and the remaining about 3,000 people in the garrison and the city are still in the hands of Chonghu Taishou Guan Biao, while the horse cavalry battalion outside the gate is under the orders of Tang Xiaozhong, the guard of Luyang County." When the man in the iron mask heard this, he scolded angrily, "What are you talking about! Forget about the horse riding battalion, how can the military power of the garrison in the pass not all be in your hands, if you remember correctly, I have helped you with a lot of joints in the dark operation, what have you done all these years." ”
Lu Daoming's father and son were so frightened that they quickly knelt down, trembling like chaff, and kept kowtowing to forgive their sins. The man in the iron mask said, "Big things are coming, and there is no room for sloppiness." I've spread the net, but I don't want a loophole in you when I close it. Lu Daoming apologized again and again, saying yes.
The iron-masked man changed his words and asked, "Then what is the situation of the military merchant association this time, you can report it." Lu Dekun hurriedly said, "The small one has been connected to the Zeng family, the previous president, and a martial arts person, and the father of the president this time will definitely be caught." The man in the iron mask snorted heavily, "I hope so, because I have something important to leave the customs soon, and I don't have time to watch you here, and I hope you won't let me down again in three days." Lu Dekun said that the ending was satisfying.
The man in the iron mask looked around the living room, pointed to Lu Dekun and said, "Anyway, today is your big day, I came overnight, but unfortunately disturbed your Spring Festival." However, the military and business associations are imminent, but you still have this leisure and elegance to talk about marriage, are you really confident?" Lu Dekun was sincerely frightened, knelt down and kowtowed again and again, and said, "The little one is dedicated to doing things for adults, and his mind is full of general affairs, so he doesn't dare to slack off in the slightest." Today's wedding banquet is a blindfold, it is to paralyze some thieves, this concubine is actually robbed by me, I can't do it, I hope the adults will see it. ”
The man in the iron mask laughed dryly twice and said, "Okay, I can trust you, but earlier, in order to ensure that someone was dispatched to help you, I saw that the thousand machine doors were quite eye-catching, and they should be removed." Lu Dekun remembered the few Qianjimen people who came up at today's wedding banquet, and he didn't dare to mention it, so he bowed his head and knelt. The man in the iron mask said to himself, "But I heard that there seem to be people from Qianjimen coming to congratulate you at today's wedding banquet, Lu Dekun, you have a big face." Lu Dekun hurriedly said, "Qianjimen came uninvited today, the little one really doesn't know, our Lu family has never had any contact with Qianjimen, I dare to guarantee my life!"
Bai Ling thought of the "adult" in Lu Dekun's mouth after hearing the flowers today, and he must have been this iron-masked man. It seems that there are people behind the Lu family's father and son, and their own people have been ambushed by the Shadow Knife Sect several times, which is also from the handiwork of this big man, I don't know what his identity is, is he the head of the Shadow Knife Sect? But why did he send Lu Daoming to check the defense in Guanzhong overnight? Bai Ling had no clue, glanced at Duan Yao, but saw her gritting her teeth and extremely angry, wondering if she was a little too excited after knowing the opponent's head.
The Man in the Iron Mask said, "I forgive you for not daring to do this. However, there are many talented people in Qianjimen, and it is not so simple to take them down, and I am limited by my identity, so it is not good to come forward directly, and second, I am pressed for time, and I am about to leave. This meeting is very important to you and me, please cheer me up. The Lu father and son only promised to say yes again and again.
After repeating a few words of advice, the man in the iron mask left the hall in a hurry. And the Lu father and son paced repeatedly in the house, sighing constantly. Bai Ling wanted to follow the iron-masked man to see where he was going, but he was pulled by Duan Yao and refused to let him go, Duan Yao's eyes were still looking down at the house with hatred. Bai Ling was helpless, so he had to follow Duan Yao to watch quietly on the roof, get closer, smell her girlish fragrance, feel very good, and get closer. Duan Yao felt Bai Ling's move, and his face flushed with shame, but he didn't dodge, and his heart was beating wildly.
After Bai Ling got used to Duan Yao's fragrance, he turned his head to observe the room again. But Duan Yao was in a disordered mind, her small mouth was closed one by one, she was a little confused, and her face was as hot as a fever.
"What's wrong with you, don't you look uncomfortable?" Bai Ling noticed her strange appearance and asked in a puzzled whisper. Duan Yao woke up suddenly, hurriedly turned his head, and said, "It's nothing, don't you stare at me." Bai Ling snorted, "What's the big deal, when you're beautiful, I'm not uncommon to see it." As soon as Duan Yao heard this, she just wanted to talk back, but she saw Lu Dekun withdraw from the living room and walk out, so she didn't have time to speak, so she pulled Bai Ling and followed.
Lu Dekun met with the big man, and arranged heavy guards to take care of him in the entire mansion, but he retreated left and right in the meeting hall to facilitate conversation. Today, the big man was in a displeased mood, which made him and his father tremble, and he wanted to find his newlywed concubine to have fun, so he went to the cave house.
Just after taking a few steps, suddenly two figures jumped in front of him, and one of the female voices said, "Lu Gongzi, do you still recognize me?" Although it was dark, Lu Dekun could vaguely distinguish it by the moonlight. The person who came was slender and beautiful, and it was the girl who congratulated her during the day, and beside her was a fellow boy who sang and accompanied.
Lu Dekun looked a little surprised, and said, "It turned out to be a knight from Qianjimen, and the wedding banquet had already ended, so why did you come here late at night." Duan Yao was angry, and went straight to the road, "Where is the bride, why don't you let people go soon!" Lu Dekun heard it inexplicably and said, "This girl, today is my big day, why talk about letting people go." Duan Yao saw that he was still pretending to be confused, and shouted, "Lu Dekun, this girl has no patience to entangle with you, since the bride was snatched by you, then please let people go, I don't want others to take it by force." Lu Dekun reacted, knowing that these two people had overheard his words just now, this little concubine was a small matter, but he didn't know how much the secret of talking to the adult had been heard. Lu Dekun calmed down and said with a smile, "The girl is beautiful and moving, a hundred times better than my wife, I don't think you can replace her and be my wife." Duan Yao became more and more embarrassed when he heard him speak, took out a dagger and put it straight at Lu Dekun's throat, and scolded, "Shut up! Beware of my nonsense, I cut your throat, take me to the bride!" Lu Dekun looked a little flustered, and hurriedly said, "Don't be angry, I was just joking, I'll take you now." After speaking, Lu Dekun took the two of them along the path and went deeper into the inner courtyard.
It is said that the Lu Mansion is very big, and Lu Dekun took the two of them around for a while, and finally stopped in front of a house. "Right here. Lu Dekun said and took the lead in pushing the door in, Duan Bai and the two of them entered, only to see that the lights were bright inside, although the decoration was luxurious, but the layout was not like a wedding room, and there was no bride.
As soon as Lu Dekun entered the door, he suddenly ran inside, and disappeared behind a wooden frame. Duan Bai and the others were still observing the house, and they let Lu Dekun run away carelessly.
Bai Ling actually didn't care about the bride he snatched, he wasn't too interested in Lu Dekun's private affairs, and he didn't have that much sense of justice, but Duan Yao was so strong and persistent about this matter, so he could only accompany her hard.
Seeing that Lu Dekun had run away, after Duan Yao ran to the wooden frame, it was already empty, and Lu Dekun seemed to have disappeared out of thin air, so angry that Duan Yao stomped his feet again and again. "This surnamed Lu must have borrowed some secret passage and ran away. Bai Zero analyzed, and began to look up and down the wooden frame as he spoke.
Bai Ling was looking through the room, but he heard Duan Yao's trembling voice ringing in his ears, "Bai Bai...... White zero, there's a ...... in the corner There is something. Bai Ling listened to Duan Yao's nervous voice, looked at the corner she was pointing, and saw a dark thing crawling there.
Bai Ling moved a few steps before he saw clearly that this was a huge mastiff, larger than an adult man, with shiny and thick hair, exposed fangs, saliva lying in his mouth, and looking at the two of them viciously.
This time it was Bai Ling's turn to panic, and he finally understood why Lu Dekun wanted to lure the two of them to this house. "It's just a dog, it looks like it's been in captivity for a long time, so it shouldn't bite. Bai Ling comforted Duan Yao, but his eyes never left the mastiff. And Duan Yao was so frightened that he slowly hid behind Bai Ling and grabbed his arm.
Bai Zeroer was still young after all, and he naturally felt a sense of fear when he saw the ferocious beast. The giant mastiff looked at the two of them and began to crawl forward, and a low roar began to appear in its mouth, with a large grin and white fangs intertwined. Bai Ling remembered the scene when he had encountered the wolves, and his hands began to tremble a little.
"Flash!" Bai Lingfa shouted, pulling Duan Yao and running towards the door of the house. Who knew that although the giant mastiff was large, it was extremely fast, and it caught up with it in three or two, and rushed towards the two of them with a roar.
Duan Yao pushed the door of the house without moving, and shouted urgently, "It's locked, it can't be opened!" There are no other doors and windows in this house, Bai Ling can't, and said loudly, "Sun and Moon Sword Formation!" As he spoke, he pulled out a short dagger and commanded Duan Yao to fight back. The Sun and Moon Sword Formation is the entry formation of the Thousand Machine Gate Sword Sect, this sword formation can be used by four people at the same time, each standing on one side, forming a corner momentum, greatly enhancing the martial arts power of the four people. The beginner disciples relied on the Sun and Moon Sword Formation to practice swordsmanship and mutual understanding. This formation requires a simple one, you only need to remember the position, Bai Ling saw many disciples of the Sword Sect have used it, and he learned it after a few glances.
At the moment, although there are only two people, Bai Ling and Duan Yao, and the formation improvement is limited, it is better than nothing. Duan Yao's long sword had been cut off by the Silver Moon Knife in the alley, and there was only one talisman dagger in his hand. And Bai Ling went through the dangers of the past few days, in order to prevent emergencies, he also asked Master Xia Yuanyuan to borrow a short dagger. Xia Yuanyuan mainly attacks hidden weapons, and the most sharp blade on her body is a dagger, although Bai Ling makes it uncomfortable, she can do it.
The two dodged to dodge the first pounce of the giant mastiff, and then unfurled their daggers and stabbed the giant mastiff from both sides. The giant mastiff reacted extremely quickly, and as soon as his body lifted, Bai Ling and Duan Yao's daggers pierced the giant mastiff's claws, and they couldn't make any progress. The giant mastiff swept its tail and swept it on the arms of the two men, and both of them almost lost their daggers.
Bai Ling felt a burning pain in his arm, this giant mastiff was not only huge and fierce, but also well-trained, obviously not an ignorant fool. The giant mastiff was also afraid of the two of them striking left and right, and did not dare to pounce on one of them with all his strength. Although Bai Ling's body method is fast, but his strength is limited, this giant mastiff has rough skin and thick flesh, and he not only can't hurt it when he is stabbed several times, but he is shocked so that the short dagger is a little unable to hold it. The giant mastiff fluttered and bitten, forcing the two to scramble.
After fighting for a while, Bai Zero found that although the giant mastiff was fierce, it was an animal after all, and the tricks went back and forth to pounce and sweep the three axes, which was powerful against ordinary people, but when it met a practitioner with martial arts skills, it was not enough. Bai Ling gave Duan Yao a look and asked him to feint on the side, while he pretended to make a mistake in his position, stepped on the wrong step, broke the sword formation, and at the same time exposed a flaw in his chest. The giant mastiff was really fooled, and pounced on Bai Ling's chest and opened his mouth to bite, Bai Ling waited for the giant mastiff's move to make him old, and used the flowing water to avoid the bite, and a slippery kneeling used a dagger to cut an extremely long hole on the soft belly of the giant mastiff. The mastiff tumbled to the ground, its intestines flowing, and it shuddered and swallowed.
Duan Bai and the others wiped the sweat on their heads and were glad to escape. Bai Ling knew that the danger had not been lifted, for fear that Lu Dekun would have some other tricks, so he hurriedly rushed to the wooden frame to fiddle with all kinds of things. "There it is!" Bai Ling happily turned a ceramic wine cup, only to see a dark passage appear on the wall behind the wooden frame, and the gap was just enough for one person to pass through, and the two hurriedly rushed in.
The dark passage was not long, and the two of them walked for a while before they got out of the outside, but they came out from behind a rockery. Bai Lingyi saw that this was the garden where Zeng Ke and Lu Dekun had eavesdropped on their plot during the day.
There was a bang, and the fire in front of the two of them was reflected, and Lu Dekun surrounded the two with hundreds of soldiers.
Lu Dekun smirked, "The two young heroes came out a little late, and Dekun has been waiting here for a long time." Bai Ling saw that the situation around him was unfavorable, and said, "Lu Gongzi is not in the cave room on his happy day, but Yaxing is here to enjoy the flowers." Just now, your pet hurt people, and it doesn't seem that Lu Gongzi knows how to be hospitable, I cleaned it up for you, don't you go and take a look?" Lu Dekun's face was gloomy, "It seems that my Snow Mountain Tibetan Mastiff failed to tear you to pieces, so I'll do it myself." ”
Lu Dekun was just about to call the soldiers to make a move, but Bai Ling roared and preemptively, holding a dagger and running straight to Lu Dekun, the momentum was flying, and the surrounding soldiers blocked in front of Lu Dekun, raised their knives and axes and greeted Bai Ling.