The next day, Xu Zhi followed Uncle Wu's suggestion, found a local person as a guide, led everyone along the Fen River, out of the south gate, and walked nearly ten miles according to the map. Sure enough, as Uncle Wu expected, everyone saw several sections of abandoned small rivers, which were covered with withered yellow thatch and reeds, and there were a few broken red brick walls hidden in the depths of the grass on the other side of the river, and the eyes were full of basil and grass.

The guide introduced: "A few guest officers, this is what you are looking for, the ghost place in the south of the city where birds do not lay eggs and everyone is afraid of them!"

Xu Zhiqi said: "Uncle, how do you say this?"

The old man pretended to be mysterious and said: "You are outsiders, you may not know that this place is evil? I heard my grandfather say that this courtyard was originally the private garden of a relative of the emperor in Taiyuan City, and it was magnificent, and it could even be compared with the court where the emperor lived! But for some reason, within a hundred years, this family died out!"

Xue Atan interjected: "Uncle, this is too strange, such a big family, such a big style, there are thousands of people in the mansion, how can they all die?"

He Mengjiao asked, "Uncle, this family can't be in the midst of a plague, right?"

Seeing that Xue Atan and the others were interested, the old man smiled and said: "This is very possible, but this is not the most evil place, and then this place was deserted, grass grew everywhere, thieves often came to patronize and rest, people often came here to graze cattle and sheep, and even the government buried the condemned criminals here." But later, I don't know who found that this courtyard was very gloomy, and at night there were pale green ghost fires floating everywhere, and there would be terrible strange screams, and no one dared to come here again. We, the people of Jinyang, go to the Jin Ancestral Hall in the south of the city to make incense, and we often bypass this cemetery! When we reach the next generation, no one will remember that there is such a place in Jinyang!"

After listening to the story, everyone understood why the people of Jinyang rarely mentioned this Daming Palace hundreds of years ago. Zhou Yuanzhi asked the old man to lead everyone into the broken wall to have a look.

The old man waved his hand again and again, refusing: "There are tombs and ravines everywhere in the depths of this grass, and I don't know the path of them, so please go and explore them yourself!" After speaking, no matter how many people persuaded him, he was unwilling to go.

Xu Zhi was not reluctant, so he had to give him some silver taels and send him back.

Xu Zhi, Zhou Yuanzhi, He Mengjiao and others jumped from the broken palace wall into the knee-deep grass in turn. Xu Zhi walked in front, he saw that this abandoned Daming Palace was the size of a city, and he couldn't see the end at a glance, there were graves overgrown with barren grass everywhere, and there were a few sparse and sparse pillars that had not collapsed. Everyone stepped forward to identify, only to see the three big characters "Hanyuan Palace" written on the broken plaque on the ground.

He Mengjiao sighed: "Brother Xu, Sister Zhou, if it is really here, the style here is too different from what I originally imagined?"

Zhou Yuanzhi also sighed and said: "Sister He, what's so strange about this, since ancient times, ten thousand bones have withered, back then, this Taiyuan was the land of Gaozu's dragon prosperity, the dignified capital, and the Daming Palace was naturally magnificent; now that the court is corrupt and the warlords are fighting, who still remembers this barren prosperity? Maybe after we die, it will also be so miserable?"

Xu Zhi saw that Zhou Yuanzhi said miserably, and hurriedly stopped her and said: "Yuanzhi, since ancient times, there have been children and grandchildren to worry about the afterlife, why should we bother ourselves?

Li Cunxiao, Xue Atan, Anger, and Idiocy all agreed to say "yes", and they were going to look in front of the broken palace walls. At this time, a familiar voice came from outside the palace wall, shouting: "Xu Zhi, don't come to harm!", the man jumped in after speaking, and walked straight to Xu Zhi and the others.

Xu Zhi turned around and saw that the person was Zhou Chen beside Li Xiuyun, who led the Zhizhou of Jinju and dozens of armed native soldiers, and immediately surrounded himself.

He Mengjiao was extremely angry when she saw the enemy, and scolded: "The surname Zhou, we are really enemies, the road is narrow, there is a road in heaven that you don't go, and there is no door in hell for you to break in, today we will settle the previous grievances!"

When Xu Zhi saw it, he stopped her and persuaded: "Miss He, don't be excited, we might as well hear what the purpose of Zhou Chen's trip is first, and revenge can't be rushed!"

Zhou Chen laughed and said: "Xu Zhi, the old man has followed you all the way from Chang'an to here, the last time you sneaked into the state government late at night to steal the map, the old man deliberately let you go, the old man just wants to track you to find the secret of "Tui Bei Tu", and now the Daming Palace, which is a collection of books, has also been found by you, it really takes no effort to come, and the old man has to thank you very much!"

Zhou Yuanzhi scolded: "The surname Zhou, I didn't expect you to spend so much effort in order to get the "Tui Bei Tu!" But it is useless for you to find the Daming Palace, you don't have the map of the Daming Palace, you are like us, you are also looking for a needle in a haystack!"

Zhou Chen sneered: "Miss Zhou, you also underestimate the old man's ability, you ask Xu Zhi beside you, did he leave something behind when he was in Dengfeng?"

Xue Atan scratched his head and said, "Brother Xu, Brother An, we don't seem to have anything left in Dengfeng!"

Li Cunxiao thought for a while and said with a smile: "The surname is Zhou, didn't we just lose a few packages and a few pieces of clothes that we carried with us? If you like it, we will give them to your government!"

Seeing that Li and Xue were indifferent, Zhou Chen took out a map from his arms, and said to Xu Zhi with a smile: "Xu Daxia, this is the treasure map found in your package back then, you won't admit it, right?"

Not to mention Li and Xue, even He Mengjiao looked at Xu Zhi in surprise, and Xu Zhi replied: "Yes, this picture was left by Aunt Gongsun." Zhou Chen, even if you can find the strange book with this map, can you escape from the seven of us?"

Zhou Chen said with a smile: "Xu Zhi, why do you have to say it so ugly, you can make money with harmony! Why do you have to fight and kill? We might as well make a deal, we will cooperate to find the strange book, and we will share the secrets together, how about it?"

He persuaded angrily: "Brother Xu, we have the advantage, we must not listen to him! Besides, he is Sister He's enemy, how can we share the secret with the enemy?"

He Mengjiao also said: "Brother Xu, my revenge is small, this strange book is related to the safety of the world, how can you let the gangsters know, it is not a mistake for the people of the world!"

Xu Zhi listened to everyone's discussions, and replied: "Zhou Chen, you also heard it, this strange book is related to the society, and only when it is handed over intact to the master who thinks about the people, can the world be peaceful." In the name of the imperial court, you killed innocents in Caizhou, blamed Xu Zhihuifeng, poisoned Chang'an, and turned the blame to us again, you have done all the bad things, how can the secret of this strange book be shared with a cunning and vicious person like you?"

Zhou Chen shouted: "Xu Zhi, since you are so stubborn, then don't blame the old man for not being emotional, come on, let the old man learn your magic skills first!", after speaking, he drew his sword and stabbed at Xu Zhiping, and other local soldiers also rushed forward.

Xu Zhi took out the Fengming sword, swung the sword and greeted it, Xu Zhi once competed with Zhou Chen, and the two of them were also half a catty, but the two had never competed in swordsmanship. Xu Zhi saw that although Zhou Chen's sword moves were unremarkable, every move and style contained deep strength, and the long sword swept into a large area, and the sword light was shining, like a white tiger flying. Although Xu Zhi learned some qigong in Shaolin, but the foundation must not be strong, he saw Zhou Chen's sword qi exposed, he did not dare to entangle with him closely, for fear of being entangled by him, and exhausting his internal strength, so he had to circle along the Taiji circle, and once he fought, he retreated and bounced away. Zhou Chen saw that Xu Zhi had used the Taiji Sword to the extreme, and he was also impressed by him, and the two fought for three hundred rounds, regardless of victory or defeat.

At this time, Zhou Yuanzhi, He Mengjiao and others also killed dozens of native soldiers led by Jinzhou Zhizhou, Zhou Chen was afraid of being besieged by many people, and the enemy was attacked on his back, so he shook his sword and withdrew from the formation, shouting: "Xu Zhi, the old man asks you again, are you willing to cooperate with the old man?"

Xu Zhi replied: "Although Xu is not talented, he is never willing to cooperate with dark and cunning people!"

Zhou Chen sighed: "Xu Zhi, can't you make a little concession for Princess Xiuyun?"

Xu Zhi asked rhetorically: "Zhou Chen, what does the matter between us have to do with the princess?

Zhou Chen sighed: "The princess has a true affection for you, but you are unwilling to save her from the sea of suffering for the sake of a broken book, even if the princess is blind, alas, Xu Zhi, don't force the old man anymore!"

Xu Zhi sighed: "Xu Zhi also persuaded Princess Xiuyun not to give birth to the idea of becoming a monk in vain, but the matter has come to this point, and it is useless to say more! Besides, the reappearance of this book will not save the princess! Why should you deceive yourself?"

Zhou Chen took a few dozen steps back and sneered: "Okay, since that's the case, don't blame you for being unsympathetic and releasing arrows!", at this time, the officers and soldiers who had already been ambushed in the surrounding grass stood up one after another, raised their bows and arrows, and shot at Xu Zhi and the seven people.

Suddenly the arrows rained down, and they were angry and stupid, but they never expected that Zhou Chen would hide the archer behind him, and the two of them didn't have time to take precautions, and they were hit by arrows in their legs and feet, and fell to the ground.

Xu Zhi hurriedly swung his sword to protect Zhou Yuanzhi's side, resisting the rain of arrows around her for her. Li Cunxiao and He Mengjiao could only swing their swords to protect themselves, but Xue Atan was hit by several arrows, and some of them couldn't support it, so they sat paralyzed in the grass.

Zhou Chen saw that Xu Zhi and the others were a little unsupportive, and said with a smile: "Come on, light the thyme incense, let them taste the taste of pain!"

The soldiers lit a few haystacks, and in the light of the fire there was a faint scent of flowers, like jasmine and sandalwood, which made people dream. At this time, Li Cunxiao and Xue Atan, who were closer to Zhou Chen, gradually couldn't support it, shook their bodies a few times, and fell to the ground unconscious.

Xu Zhi, Zhou Yuanzhi, and He Mengjiao are far away, so they can support them for the time being. Xu Zhi suddenly remembered that in the black jujube forest in Caizhou, he and Huifeng were also infected with such a strange poison, and their limbs were sore, numb, and weak, and they rested for a month before recovering. He whispered to Zhou Yuanzhi and He Mengjiao to roll over and fall to the ground with him, wet his cuffs with saliva, cover his mouth and nose, and hold his breath, lurking motionless in the grass.

Zhou Chen waited for a while, and saw that Xu Zhi and the others had fallen to the ground unconscious, and said with a smile: "Lord Zhizhou, you ask a few soldiers to check if they are unconscious first, and then dig out the treasure map as soon as possible according to the map." Let these people who don't know what to do lie down in the mass graves, feed the wild wolves and wild dogs, and destroy themselves!", after a while, several soldiers came back and said: "Your Excellency, your subordinates have taken a closer look, these traitors have lost their breath and fallen into a coma, we can dig up the treasure!"

Xu Zhi and the three pretended to be unconscious, eavesdropping on the conversation of Zhou Chen and others, only heard the sound of clicking, it turned out that Zhou Chen and others had found the location of the imperial study of the Daming Palace according to the map, he ordered the soldiers to continue to dig deeper, and after a while, everyone carried out a few large boxes of Nanmu from the ground, Zhou Chen ordered the boxes to be opened one by one, and saw that all the fine paintings and calligraphy of the past dynasties were hidden inside, the only book, and some of them were written by Gaozu to Taizong and others, private letters. Zhou Chen was not interested in these precious paintings and calligraphy, but he checked all the bookcases, and he could not find the actual record of the conversation between Taizong and Li Chunfeng.

At this time, there were several sounds of laughter around, and it turned out that Yun Feiyang had brought Jiang Chengfeng, Jiang Chao, Ou Yangguang and others to follow. Xu Zhi was shocked in his heart: Didn't Li Xiuyun let Yun Feiyang take the imperial gold medal and go to Jiangnan?

Zhou Chen suddenly knelt on the ground, raised his head and sighed: "God doesn't bless me Datang, is this the will of heaven?"

Yun Feiyang sneered: "General Zhou, I don't understand what you say, is it true that if you are loyal to the Tang Dynasty, we are not the subjects of the Tang Dynasty?

Zhou Chen sneered: "Yun Feiyang, the matter has come to this, we don't have to hide it, are you loyal to the princess? You are just taking advantage of the princess's trust in you and preparing to dominate one side!"

Yun Feiyang also sneered: "Am I hypocritical? Aren't you Zhou Chen hypocritical? You have been in front of General Ben for so many years, respectful, it turns out that you are all pretending, you are just a dog that Li Xiuyun has planted beside me! In fact, I have already been aware of it, but I just don't want to break it!"

Zhou Chen scolded: "I'm pretending, I'm hypocritical, at least I didn't betray the princess and the Tang Dynasty, but what about you? You went to Jiangnan several times, obviously to do things for the court and the princess, but secretly contacted Jiangnan Baidao and the underworld to pave the way for you to dominate Jiangnan!"

Yun Feiyang laughed and said: "What is this? I am just a 'cunning rabbit three holes', leaving a way back for myself! In fact, Huang Chao was able to sweep the south of the Yangtze River and go north smoothly, and it was also deliberately done by this general, I just let Yang Xingmi and Gao Jixing in the south of the Yangtze River hold their troops and preserve their strength!"

Zhou Chen sighed: "Yun Feiyang, you actually ruined the encirclement and suppression plan carefully prepared by the imperial court for your personal gain, Princess Xiuyun is really blind to you, and she still trusts you so much!"

Yun Feiyang laughed again: "Will the princess trust me? General Zhou, you are joking! If she trusts me, she will not install you to be an undercover agent by my side; she will not let me know that there is our secret post in the Shaolin Temple, and she will not let me know why she is besieging the Shaolin Temple and not attacking, she is a princess, her mind is not on state affairs, but she likes an unruly wild boy Xu Zhi, and she is also to blame for her fate!"

Zhou Chen scolded: "The princess likes Xu Zhi, that's her own business, I think Xu Zhi is much more upright than you, you compete with Xu Zhi in Ziyun Gorge for selfishness, lose face and resent the princess; you compete with Xu Zhi in Orangutan Gorge for selfishness, causing the princess to be held hostage by Xu Zhi and humiliated; for selfish revenge on Xu Zhi, you led a heavy army to wash Shaolin in blood, causing the Huangchao rebels to take advantage of the situation and seize Luoyang! What else are you worthy of the princess? As long as there is an old man today, you don't want to get this strange book!"

Yun Feiyang sneered: "Then let's compete! Let's see who has the last laugh and can get the strange book and the country!", after speaking, he took out the Nine Dragons Whip and swept it towards Zhou Chen's door.

Zhou Chen was not to be outdone, and also took out the sword, the two of them went back and forth, fighting for nearly two hundred rounds without winning or losing, at this time, Jiang Chengfeng, Jiang Chao, Ou Yangguang and others under Yun Feiyang had killed Jinzhou Zhizhou and dozens of native soldiers one by one.

At this time, the long sword in Zhou Chen's hand was also cut off by Jiang Chao with the Baihong Sword, but he was still fearless, fighting with the four of them empty-handed, but gradually lost his strength, and was hit in the back of the head by Yun Feiyang with a Nine Dragon Whip. Jiang Chengfeng took advantage of the momentum and kicked his right leg again, Jiang Chao was just about to raise his sword and end Zhou Chen's life. Yun Feiyang hurriedly stopped: "Jiang Shaoxia, move slowly, let's ask him about the whereabouts of Qishu first, and then it's not too late to kill him!"

Zhou Chen scolded: "I, Zhou Chen, am a dignified Tang court guard, a general given by the imperial court, how can I betray the princess and the imperial court?

Yun Feiyang saw Zhou Chen spit a mouthful of blood on his face, he was furious, hit Zhou Chen's heart with a palm, and kicked him out of the way with one leg.

Zhou Chen groaned, and he lost his breath.

He Mengjiao saw that Zhou Chen died like this, although she had revenge, she still felt a little sorry in her heart.