In the sixth year of the Tianqi era, the Tang Empire and the Yan Kingdom went to war. General Xiahou led the Right Army and did not arrive on time and was severely reprimanded by the imperial court. General Xiahou reported that they encountered the Yan Kingdom's ambush at the Yellow Wind Ridge and the Right Army killed them before chasing after them.
The people in Chang 'an did not know that the Yan cavalry that Xia Hou led on the right side of the army and killed were actually the border residents of the Yellow Wind Ridge. Several villages were slaughtered by the right side of the army and Xia Hou used the heads of the strong men of the villagers to pretend to be the leader of the cavalry. After that, he pushed the responsibility of the villages to the Yan Kingdom.
The massacre of an entire village was a big deal anywhere, especially in the Tang Empire. Therefore, the imperial court did not believe Xiahou's explanation and sent competent officials to investigate. However, those villages had already been massacred and there was no witness. The investigating officials also had some problems. Therefore, the imperial court later concluded that Xiahou was telling the truth.
Because of the massacre, the Yan Kingdom sacrificed a large piece of fertile land in the west of the river and sent the Crown Prince as a hostage to barely appease the Tang Empire's anger. However, not many people knew that the villagers who had their heads chopped off and burned were crying in the underworld. No one knew that a dark and thin teenager had escaped from the village.
That dark and thin teenager was Zhuo Er.
He met Ning Que by the Min Mountain and was taken away by a cultivator. Until today.
"Hey, what state are you in now? No Doubts State or Seethrough State? "
"Yo, a cultivation idiot like you actually knows about states?"
"Of course. Cultivation is such a simple thing. It's very stupid."
Ning Que was actually just showing off the knowledge he had just learned in front of a friend whom he had not met for a long time.
"Seethrough State my ass. My poor but respectable master had just stepped into the No Doubts State on the day he died. As for the poor and sad me … I'm still struggling in the Initial State. Otherwise, I wouldn't need to be a f * cking spy!"
Ning Que looked at him mockingly and said, "I really don't know what that old man saw in you back then. I begged him to go with me, but he didn't want me. Instead, he saw you as a silly charcoal head."
Surprisingly, Zhuo Er didn't refute. After a long silence, he said, "Little Ning, in fact, I've been thinking that I didn't learn anything from my master. You're so smart. If you followed my master at that time, would it have been better? At least, you wouldn't be like me now. I've been in the army for so many years, but I still haven't been able to get close to Xiahou. I can't get any news from the upper echelons no matter how hard I ask."
Ning Que looked at him quietly and suddenly laughed. He said, "Who said you didn't find out anything? At least now we know how many times Xia Hou goes to the bathroom a day, don't we?"
"These things won't help in killing him."
"It's helpful." Ning Que looked into his eyes seriously and said, "On the way here, I killed a group of Xiahou's assassins. It's all thanks to the information you've given me all these years."
Zhuo Er was very clear about the strength of the assassins under Xiahou's command. He looked at the lad in front of him in shock. He couldn't understand what kind of adventure this lad had encountered in the seven years that he hadn't seen him. How could he be able to do such a thing? However, he didn't voice out the doubts in his heart. He just smiled and asked, "How does it feel to kill Xiahou's men for the first time?"
"It feels good." Ning Que recalled the feeling when he slashed out three times and said slowly. Suddenly, he frowned and stared at Zhuo Er's dark face. He said, "It won't be good if people find out about our relationship."
"Chang 'an is very big. Don't think that you can see enemies all the time. Moreover, you should understand one thing. To those bigwigs, the people of the General's Mansion are all dead, and our village has also been slaughtered. Therefore, you and I are people who don't exist. Naturally, no one will be wary of us. "
"Speaking of which, you're the official handyman of General Xiahou's bodyguard team. How did you suddenly become the golden hatchet man of the Goldfish Gang?"
"I followed my boss back to the capital to report on my work. I didn't expect the military to ask me to be a spy. Besides, our gang isn't called the Goldfish Gang. It's called the Fish-dragon Gang. My boss asked me to keep an eye on our gang leader because some people suspect that he has something to do with the Yuelun Kingdom. You know, many businesses of the nobles in the imperial court, even the transportation of military supplies, sometimes rely on these gangs to maintain order. If they collude with the enemy country, there will be serious problems. "
"Our gang leader?" Ning Que frowned and looked at him. He said, "There's something wrong with these four words. It means that you respect this gang leader very much. You've even treated yourself as a popular hatchet man in the gang. Darkie, you have to wake up. Although I've never been an undercover, I've seen a lot. I know that you can't get emotional when you're an undercover. Once you get emotional, you'll end up in a miserable state."
"Our gang leader is a good man." Zhuo Er lowered his head and kept silent for a long time. Then he raised his head and looked at Ning Que seriously. He said, "Actually … he should have seen through my identity, but he didn't do anything to me."
Ning Que wanted to persuade him further, but Zhuo Er raised his right hand and firmly refused. He said, "He's my big brother, a big brother whom I respect very much. You don't have to persuade him anymore. On the contrary, I have something to ask of you. If anything happens to me in the future, I hope that you can repay my big brother's kindness when it's convenient for you."
Ning Que was silent and looked at him quietly. He didn't know what had happened in the biggest gang in Chang 'an, but he could tell that Zhuo Er was serious. He couldn't help but be curious about his big brother. What kind of Jianghu bigshot was that Zhuo Er was so convinced that he couldn't repay his big brother's kindness even after his death?
At the end of their first conversation after seven years, the two of them briefly talked about the recent situation.
After hearing about the assassination on Northern Mountain Road, Zhuo Er was shocked and asked, "It's such a good opportunity. Why don't you get in touch with the princess? Even if her social class is too far apart from ours, as long as you bring out the same stubbornness that you used to pester my master, who in this world can refuse you? "
Ning Que shook his head and said firmly, "No. The princess seems to be wise and thoughtful, but she's actually a naive, stupid, and idiotic idiot. If I follow her, I might lose my life at any time."
They parted at the small restaurant. Ning Que and Sangsang left first and began to ask for directions again and again. When they were about to reach the market where the inn was located, it began to rain.
With a bang, the big black umbrella bloomed over their heads like a black lotus, shielding them from the rain. Sangsang held the umbrella handle tightly with both hands, raised her little face, and asked in confusion, "Why do you always say that the princess is an idiot? In fact, she's really a good person. "
"Really a good person …" Ning Que looked at the road in the rain and shook his head slowly.
The Vermilion Bird Avenue, which led directly to the Imperial Palace in the north, was originally gray, but became black after being soaked by the rain. Ning Que and Sangsang stood on the side of the road and looked at it. They only felt like a black, long, and straight ribbon, which was worn on the chest of the magnificent Chang 'an City. It was elegant, solemn, and frightening, especially the Vermilion Bird carved in the middle of the avenue. Its two eyes stared at them without anger, as if it was about to fly up from among the stones and pounce on them.
Under the black umbrella, the master and the handmaiden felt the ancient murderous intent at the same time. Fear surged out from the deepest part of their bodies. Their hands that were holding each other instantly became extremely cold, and they were so stiff that they couldn't move.
Holding the big black umbrella, they struggled to stand on the side of the road for a long time. They didn't come to their senses until the wind and rain finally stopped. The sun shone on the long street again, and the pedestrians walked around them.
Looking at it, the Vermilion Bird deeply engraved on the imperial road did not change at all.
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