Chapter 29: Silencing

In the 41st year of Taiping, Xuansheng issued a decree at the Jinque meeting to "ban all associations not approved by Taoism", and Li Donghuang, the then Taiping Daoist Great Immortal, was responsible for implementing this matter.

Confucianism and Buddhism also responded.

Since then, the three religions headed by Taoism have begun to ban, disband, suppress, and eliminate all kinds of associations not approved by Taoism. Many associations have thus gone underground and become various illegal secret associations.

Qingping Society is a giant among secret societies, and so is "Inn".

The reasons why the two were able to survive and grow under the suppression of Taoism are different. In general, Qingping Society has a close connection with Taoism itself, which can be seen from the fact that Qingping Society can help Qi Xuansu operate the Taoist grade. The "inn" has a deeper connection with the court, which is also the fundamental reason why the "inn" will not easily accept the business related to the court. Therefore, the "inn" dares to ambush a fourth-rank Taoist priest, but is unwilling to rescue a seventh-rank county magistrate from the hands of the Qingluan Guard.

Because of this, if you want to make the "inn" speak, a fourth-rank priest is not enough, but a Qingluan Guard captain can. This has nothing to do with the status of the two, but only depends on the closeness of the relationship.

At dawn, a team of people galloped towards Fengtai County.

The leader was wearing a special blue official uniform embroidered with bears.

Daxuan custom-made, each official has a pattern. Dukes, marquises, sons-in-law, and earls wear embroidered Bai Ze, which is not included in the number of civil and military officials. Civil and military officials from the first to the ninth rank all have patterns to wear.

Civil officials embroidered birds to show civilization: first-rank cranes, second-rank golden pheasants, third-rank peacocks, fourth-rank cloud geese, fifth-rank white pheasants, sixth-rank herons, seventh-rank egrets, eighth-rank orioles, and ninth-rank quails.

Military officials embroidered animals to show power: first-rank unicorns, second-rank suanni, third-rank leopards, fourth-rank tigers, fifth-rank bears, sixth-rank leopards, seventh-rank and eighth-rank rhinoceroses, and ninth-rank seahorses.

In addition, there are pythons and bullfighting, which belong to the category of bestowed clothing.

Because of this, there is the saying of "beasts in human clothing".

The Great Xuan court originated in the north and advocated water virtue. Official uniforms were mainly black. Military officials from the first to the ninth rank, and then ordinary soldiers, all wore black uniforms, so they were called "men in black", with only one type of military officer being an exception, and that was the Qingluan Guard.

As the emperor's close minister, the Qingluan Guard was originally the "Qingyi Division" of the previous Wei Dynasty, which was responsible for the emperor's guards. Later, it merged with the "Yiluan Division" in charge of the emperor's ceremonial guards and was renamed the "Qingluan Guard", so they wore blue clothes.

The Emperor Gaozu of this dynasty abolished the Five Military Governor's Office and the local guards, abolished the military household system, and only left the Qingluan Guard.

Then the identity of this group of people is very clear. It is the notorious Qingluan Guard, and the leader is a Qingluan Guard Qianhu of the fifth rank.

The fifth rank is not high, but it is powerful.

Today's Qingluan Guard has one commander of the third rank, two commanders of the third rank, two commanders of the fourth rank, two pacification envoys of the fourth rank, and twenty Qianhu of the fifth rank. There are 27 people in total, and this person is one of the 27 people. Looking at the entire Qingluan Guard, including those masters who do not have specific official positions, they are also powerful figures that cannot be underestimated.

Such a person, who is in charge of a thousand households and is stationed in the capital of a state, came to Fengtai County today, and naturally he had important things to do.

When they came to a fork in the road, the thousand households reined in their horses and stopped, and the Qingluan guards behind them also stopped their horses. Li Sanxin was one head behind and said softly: "Sir, the road to the county town is to the right, and the road to the 'inn' is to the left."

The thousand households looked like they were about fifty years old, with gray hair on their temples, and they were weathered. They had very strong military traces on their bodies, indicating that he was once a member of the black-clothed men.

This is not surprising. The Qingluan guards have always had a close relationship with the black-clothed men, just as the court and the Taoist sect have a close relationship.

The thousand households were silent for a moment and rode to the left.

The death of a county magistrate and a trial hundred households was not a big deal within his and Jiang Bieyun's plan. The key was that the subsequent development of the matter had changed, which forced him to come to Fengtai County in person.

As a veteran Qingluan Guard, his first reaction was to determine that the "inn" was the key. This person had appeared in the "inn", so he must have left some clues in the "inn".

Soon, the Qingluan Guards came to the gate of the charity cemetery, where it was quiet and dead silent.

Qianhu turned over and dismounted, and walked straight to the charity cemetery.

Li Sanxin and some Qingluan Guards followed Qianhu closely, while the rest of the Qingluan Guards dispersed and surrounded the charity cemetery.

Passing through the long corridor, we came to the lobby of the "inn" located underground. Before entering the door, we could smell the strong smell of blood.

As Qingluan Guards, they were not unfamiliar with this smell, and everyone's face became solemn.

Qianhu's face had no expression, and he could not see any joy or anger. He walked into the lobby of the "inn" in silence.

At this time, the "inn" had become a Shura field. Everyone sat in their seats, maintaining the last posture before death, without any signs of resistance or fighting, as if these people had no idea of ​​the impending death.

The shopkeeper was still standing behind the counter, leaning forward with his head slightly lowered.

A Taiping coin was embedded in the center of his brow, leaving only half a circle exposed, just enough to see the word "Taiping".

The captain came to the shopkeeper's body, stared at the Taiping coin, and whispered, "Master."

Li Sanxin, who was following the captain, trembled slightly in his heart.

You must know that this Master Qianhu has reached the end of his innate life ten years ago. He is in the same league as his master uncle Jiang Bieyun. Qianhu would praise him as a master, so what kind of murderer must he be? Cultivation?

Is he an innate person in the stage of returning to his true nature? Or is it a celestial being who sees the beginning but not the end of the dragon?

Qianhu looked away from the shopkeeper's body and looked at the ground in front of the counter.

Li Sanxin also looked at it.

There were two clearly visible footprints there, and even the lines on the soles were clear. The most eye-catching thing was that there was a pattern similar to a square-hole copper coin in the middle of the sole.

Judging from the size, it should be a woman.

Qingluan Wei, who was responsible for inspecting the corpses, reported: "Sir, these people all died from some kind of sharp and thin wire."

Even if you don't use the alchemist to trace back the earth's energy, you can still restore the scene well at that time.

The "Inn" is still the same as usual, with a black lacquered counter and a silver peace coin spinning on the counter.

The shopkeeper standing behind the counter, tapping his chin with his right hand, stared at the spinning Taiping Money in a daze.

At this moment, a woman came to the counter and left two footprints.

Just when the shopkeeper wanted to reach out and clap the spinning Taiping money under his palm.

The woman tapped her finger on the counter, and the rotating Taiping money jumped up and fell into the shopkeeper's eyebrows.

Almost at the same time, the many "guests" behind the woman, these killers and thieves who made a living by killing people, were all killed by thin lines that appeared out of thin air and crisscrossed each other.

These thin lines are like spider webs spread throughout every corner of the lobby, leaving these old Jianghu people who have been walking in the world for a long time without the slightest ability to fight back, and they don't even know how they died.

This is a massacre.

But there was no ripple in Qianhu's heart.

There are no good people who can come to the "inn". The so-called hiring murderers, "fierce" refers to these people, and they are all people who deserve to die.

If you die, you will die.

The murderer will always be killed, and it is no big deal.

However, considering the secret relationship between the "inn" and Qingluan Guard, the death of the shopkeeper was over the line, which Qingluan Guard could not tolerate.

Qianhu asked: "How many relevant documents are left in the 'inn'?"

A member of the Qingluan Guards reported back: "Master Qi, all documents have been destroyed and all official tickets have been taken away."

Qianhu said softly: "One person does the work, and another person takes care of the aftermath. This is not a one-man gang in the world, but a secret association with a strict system, or... it is simply someone from the Taoist sect who took action."

"Is it... Donghua Zhenren?" Li Sanxin wiped the sweat on his forehead.

There is no clear distinction between the thirty-six real people in terms of status, but their realms and cultivation levels are uneven. Donghua Zhenren is the best among the thirty-six real people.

Qianhu's tone was a little more solemn and he said: "Master Jiang has already spoken to me using the Zimu Talisman. If it is Zhenren Donghua, then this matter involves the internal fighting of the Quanzhen Tao."

Li Sanxin was a Taiping Dao disciple and knew very well about these situations. He said: "Xuan Sheng originally ordered Quanzhen Dao to be responsible for many 'creation' projects. From this, two major factions were derived. The struggle to give in is still a problem that cannot be completely solved to this day.”

Qianhu obviously also knew about this koan, and whispered to himself: "Xuansheng let Taiping Dao be in charge of the affairs of the world, Zhengyi Dao was in charge of ghosts and gods, and Quanzhen Dao was in charge of creation. Therefore, Taiping Dao is closest to humanity, and Taiping Da Zhen Da Zhen is known as the "National Master"; Zheng Yi Da Zhen is closest to Shinto, Zheng Yi Da Zhen is known as "Heavenly Master"; Quanzhen Da Zhen is closest to Netherworld, Quanzhen Da Zhen Da Zhen is known as "Earth Master" "These three divisions are much higher than the three divisions of the imperial court. If it was done by Donghua Zhenren, the Earth Division was involved. I wonder what the Imperial Master would think?"

Li Sanxin did not dare to comment.

He is a disciple of Taiping Dao, Xuansheng was born in Taiping Dao, and Xuansheng's wife is the eldest daughter of Emperor Daxuan Gaozu and the eldest sister of Emperor Taizong. Li Donghuang, the great master of Quanzhen Taoism who issued the edict of "Associating a Society", is Xuansheng's junior disciple and one of the founders of the Li sect of Taiping Taoism.

Therefore

Taiping Dao is the closest to humanity and has an inextricable relationship with the imperial court. It serves as the link between the Taoist sect and the imperial court. The great master of Taiping Dao is called the "National Master", which is true.

Qianhu walked out and ordered: "Prepare some kerosene and burn it cleanly without leaving any traces."

Li Sanxin followed closely behind.

Another one tried Baihu to accept the order respectfully.