In the fourth night watch period, in the Ancient Tong Temple on the side of Phoenix Mountain.
When the breeze blew, the sound of dogs barking could be vaguely heard in the darkness. Among the ancient city, the lights occasionally flickered.
The mountain that would become the Southern Song Imperial Palace in the future, or in another time and space, was now only in the suburbs of the city, not far from the city wall. It did not seem prosperous. The Ancient Tong Temple was not a big Taoist temple. When the army entered the city, it was plundered. The Taoists either ran away or died. Later on, it was occupied by the rebel army of all religions. In the process of dividing the power among the rebel army, the Ancient Tong Temple also had a new owner. Its function and appearance still looked like the original Taoist temple, but naturally, there were no more people who came to pay their respects.
The hillside where the Old Tong Temple was located was only separated by a small forest from the inhabited area. However, it was now a forbidden area that no one could get close to. It was often guarded by soldiers. Ever since a few of the people who accidentally approached were killed, no one else dared to come here. Those who were not connected to the outside world could roughly find out that a group of soldiers called the Quenching Camp was stationed here. The leader was a terrifying dark-skinned man with scars all over his face. Occasionally, some people would know that the man was called Lu Tuo, the Fierce Yama.
Even within Fang La's army, few people could find out who the ultimate backer of the Quenching Camp was. The Quenching Camp was a new establishment. In Fang La's army, which had complicated relationships, it was difficult for those who were not related to it to figure out who it belonged to. The Quenching Camp itself had a lot of connections. Usually, it did not take any high-profile actions except to maintain its territory. Therefore, not many people would be interested in it.
Occasionally, when the wind was strong, some sounds would be blown out along with the mountain wind. To the outside world, it sounded like sobs, ghost cries, or women's cries. Hangzhou had just experienced the baptism of war, during which countless people died. Many of them were still fresh. Since there were not many people living around, there were no rumors of haunting.
It was only the fourth night watch period. As the saying went, the first night watch period was for people, the second night watch period was for gongs, the third night watch period was for ghosts, the fourth night watch period was for thieves, and the fifth night watch period was for chickens. It was the darkest time before dawn. People were already tired. There were not many lights in the Ancient Tong Temple. There were only faint spots of light. It was quiet, as if it had already fallen asleep. In this small forest, a figure carefully avoided the various traps set by the guards and quietly sneaked into the Taoist temple on the other side.
Although the Old Tong Monastery was not as grand as those truly famous mountains, the area it governed was not considered very small compared to the average household. There were eight to nine courtyards in the front and back, and three to two storey buildings that were connected. At this time, there were not many people patrolling inside. The black-clothed infiltrator was not tall, but he was agile and nimble. He cleverly avoided the few patrols and finally entered the largest building in the center of the Taoist temple.
Perhaps it was because at this moment, not many people in Hangzhou City would have any ideas about this place. Although there were people patrolling the periphery of the Taoist temple, there were not many guards inside. A Jianghu man wearing a Taoist robe was sitting by the door, sleeping with his head lowered. The door was slightly open, and dim light seeped out from inside. The man in black thought for a moment, then quietly moved forward, pushed open the door, and snuck in. As soon as he entered, he was stunned.
The sound of women crying came like a tidal wave. The sound was not loud, but probably because there were many people crying, the sound of sobbing gathered together. This was in the middle of the night, who knew what would happen during the day. On this side of the door, the light was dim. This was originally a large hall, but at this time, both sides were made into partitions like prison cells. Some were houses, some were just fences.
The man in black walked along the corridor. The cells on both sides were covered with straw, and young women were locked inside. Their hands were chained. Some of them were dressed in rags and had disheveled hair. Some of them had blood on their bodies and heads. He did not know what kind of abuse they had suffered. Most of the women near the door were asleep. Some of them had their eyes open, but their gazes were dull. Even in late autumn, they were half-naked and moaning. Their bodies were in a mess. They were probably infected with illness and were on the verge of death. The air was rippling with the stench of blood and * *. At the end of the hall was the half-destroyed statue of the Three Pristine Ones. Behind the statue, there was the faint sound of men's laughter and women's cries of pain.
The man in black was actually only a thirteen or fourteen-year-old youth. He could roughly understand the meaning of these things, but he had never experienced it before. For a moment, he was at a loss. After a moment, he clenched his teeth and trembled slightly. He stopped walking forward and slowly started to retreat. After retreating a few steps, he stopped again. He looked at the locks on the cells, and was at a loss of what to do. At this time, the sound of the night wind pouring in from behind was a low whimper.
He was startled. The door was originally closed, which meant that … it was now open.
He turned his head back, and the sound of the wind suddenly rang in his head!
"Who is it?"
The body of the youth dressed in black flew out from the door. His mask was torn in the air, and blood was already spurting out from his mouth and nose.
At this time, there were a total of five people here, including the dozing guard outside the door. They were led by a small leader. Just now, they suddenly attacked, and the most powerful attack was a scabbard on the youth's head. Since victory was in his grasp, the small leader's "Who is it?" Did not shout out. The youth's body fell to the ground, unconscious. Someone pulled out a knife, and another said, "It's a child? Should we warn him? "
"Look …"
A black shadow descended from the sky!
The five people could all be considered Jianghu people. The moment the youth was beaten out, they had already followed him out. At this time, they were in the corridor outside the door. The black shadow suddenly landed in the middle of the five people. He swung his right fist like a raging tide, breaking through the wind and hitting the temple of the person in front of him. In an instant, the person's entire face began to contort. Wave-like lines of impact spread out from his head, along with broken skin and broken bones.
The black shadow's attack was like roaring thunder. He waved, strode, whirled, used the Great Tablet Breaking Hand, and waved his knife like a wild dragon. He stepped on one of the people's calves. The person's body was slightly shorter, and the extremely fierce Tablet Breaking Hand landed on his head. The person's head was directly broken from the cervical vertebrae, and his head dragged his body along the bluestone corridor like a ball. The person walking next to him had just pulled out his knife, but it was also snatched away by the black shadow. In the blink of an eye, he swung his knife four times. The extremely fierce knife power cut the face, the neck, and the chest. The small leader had just finished saying the two words "look", and before he could shout out, the black shadow was already in front of him, and a palm enlarged in front of his eyes.
There was a dull sound.
The outer wall of the hall was made of hard bluestone. The small leader was pushed back two steps by the huge force, and the back of his head hit the bluestone. His skull was probably broken. The palm twisted his mouth and nose, and his body was pushed off the ground. The last thing that became clear in the small leader's eyes was the young man's fierce and cold eyes, like those of a ferocious beast, and the figure that couldn't be considered burly. The young man's eyes were fixed on him until the last moment.
Chen Fan stabbed the knife into the small leader's stomach, and looked at the small leader's eyes slowly twist one hundred and eighty degrees, and then he let go of the small leader. At this time, under the eaves, two people were killed by his fists and palms, and the other two were chopped in half by the extremely fierce knife skills. He used all his strength, and one of them was hit in the head and neck, and the other was hit in the neck and chest. Their bones were already broken. Other than the sound of these people's bodies colliding with each other, there was almost no other sound. As soon as he let go of the body in his hand, he immediately turned around and carried the young man on his back. He took out a piece of cloth and tied it on his back, and then he looked back and strode outside.
The five of them did not manage to shout out, but the initial commotion had already alerted the people nearby. A figure suddenly rushed over and shouted, "Who is it?!" The steel whip in his hand smashed down on Chen Fan's head. This man was short and fat, like an iron tower, and also had great strength. However, Chen Fan only grabbed the steel whip with one hand, and his body was still moving forward. The fat man kept retreating, and from one hand to two hands, he wanted to take back the steel whip. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Chen Fan kicked him in the chest and swung the steel whip at his head.
Blood spurted out, and the fat man covered his head with his hand. He staggered backward and fell to the ground. Chen Fan walked over. Two silhouettes appeared from the side of the courtyard. He thought for a moment, then turned around and hit Fatty's head again and again. In front of the two people, Chen Fan hit the fat man until he couldn't move anymore, then turned around and left.
The defensive power of the Taoist temple had been completely awakened, but the Taoist temple itself was not big. Chen Fan went straight out, and it looked like he was walking, but in reality, he was moving faster than a galloping horse. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the main gate. Two soldiers with knives were guarding the gate, and Chen Fan did not slow down at all, rushing toward the somewhat broken gate of the temple.
On the side of the forest outside the Old Tong Temple, two figures, one big and one small, were looking at the commotion inside with some confusion. At this time, the two people who had rushed over were Ning Yi and Zhuo Xiaofeng, who had informed them. It turned out that the group of students who opposed Ning Yi in the academy were also fighting to do a few good deeds, to show that they were better than the children taught by Ning Yi. As the two sides competed, all kinds of inquiries and investigations were not restrained. At this time, there were all kinds of messy things in Hangzhou, but there were too many. This time, Zhuo Xiaofeng and the others accidentally found a name that they could not afford to offend, and there was a disagreement among them. Newborn calves were not afraid of tigers. One of them, Chen Teng, was skilled and bold. He ignored Zhuo Xiaofeng's advice and decided to go to the Old Tong Temple at night. Zhuo Xiaofeng thought about it and finally came to ask for help from Ning Yi, hoping that he could persuade the other party.
But Zhuo Xiaofeng came too late. When they arrived, they could not stop the other party, and then they found that the Taoist temple was in chaos. At this time, they naturally did not know that Chen Fan had been paying attention to the movements of the two groups of students from the academy. After a while, they saw the door of the Taoist temple suddenly burst open, and a figure carrying two guards rushed out of the broken wood. One of them had a steel knife run through his chest, and he rolled on the ground a few times. The other was not dead yet, and was dragged by the figure with one hand. He spun a few times, and then his neck was clamped under his armpit, and as he ran, he broke it like a chicken.
Smashing the door, running, killing, and casually throwing away the body. This person did not stop at all, as if he was carrying a person on his back. At this time, a bunch of fireworks rose into the sky.
An arrow pierced through the clouds, and thousands of soldiers and horses came to meet.
This was the warning signal of the people in the temple to their companions. The outline of the rushing figure could be vaguely seen in the light of the fire. The two sides were actually close. Ning Yi looked at it, and then pulled Zhuo Xiaofeng back, trying to escape down the mountain. About a hundred meters away, suddenly, someone came toward them in the dark. "Who are you? How dare you …"
"Watch my sword!"
This was probably a soldier who had just returned from the vicinity after seeing the fireworks. Zhuo Xiaofeng was already stunned into a daze. Ning Yi, on the other hand, let out a low growl and waved his hand. A blade light flashed in front of him, and with a poof, a bag of powdery substance covered the upper half of the man's body. The man waved his blade wildly. "Cough … cough … what …"
"Lime powder."
As soon as Ning Yi finished speaking, he was already close to the man, and with one slash, he fell into the weeds.
At this time, Chen Fan was not far from here, and he noticed the sound as soon as it came from this side. Chen Fan also recognized the sound when Ning Yi cut down the man. He only hesitated for a moment, and then made a few gestures in this direction. Ning Yi pointed in his direction, and Chen Fan nodded, leading the pursuers down the other side.
"Let's go."
He turned back and called out to Zhuo Xiaofeng, and Ning Yi continued to run along the original path. Zhuo Xiaofeng looked at the Academy's clean and efficient killing method, and was slightly stunned. No matter how dissatisfied they were with Ning Yi when he was on the run, Ning Yi's image in the Academy was still that of a scholar, and an extremely orthodox one at that. He was knowledgeable, weak, and worked with the government. Although people had mentioned things like "bloody butcher", they later thought it was a joke. Now they finally saw the bloody side of him, but they only hesitated for a moment before they finally reacted and hurriedly followed.
"But … it seems a bit despicable to carry a bag of lime with him to hit people. But Mr. Ning's casual attack just now seemed to be very open and aboveboard …" Zhuo Xiaofeng thought of some Jianghu sayings that he had come across, and a little confusion flashed through his mind. But in the end, it was more important to escape, and after a moment, this thought was thrown to the back of his mind …
The noise and fire gradually approached, and then gradually moved away. Then, on one side of the city, there was a small commotion. Dawn gradually came, stirring up a pool of spring water …
*****
At five o 'clock in the morning, the sun had already risen. Groups of soldiers gathered outside the Ancient Tong Temple, and at this time, there were some relatively formal Taoist priests and Taoist nuns inside the Taoist temple. The scene of the fight in the temple was still the same. A middle-aged Taoist dressed in a yellow Taoist robe, who looked somewhat like an immortal, was walking in as he examined the scene. His face was gentle, and there was a slight smile on his face. He did not seem to be very angry. Following behind him were a few Jianghu people with different appearances. Among them, the most eye-catching one was a big man on the left who looked like a black iron tower. His face and body were everywhere that could be seen, and this person was the Fierce Yama King Lu Tuo. He was originally entrusted to guard this place, but he was called out last night to attend a banquet and did not return.
Unexpectedly, this happened. "Ah … good, good … Snatching the whip, killing people … clean and neat all the way … good, good, good … Great Monument Breaking Hand, not bad … look, his knife technique is a little lacking … Except for his great strength, Chef's attacks are better than his … he has no way to use his strength …"
The middle-aged Taoist who was leading the group seemed to be commenting on the battle along the way. At times, he praised and at times, he ridiculed with great interest, until he finished looking at the five corpses under the eaves of the main hall. The Taoist turned his back to the crowd and took a few steps back. Looking at the half-closed door, he seemed to be thinking about something. He stretched out his hand and slapped the wooden pillar on the right, then retracted it. He clenched his fist and exhaled coldly.
Behind him, Lu Tuo had been holding back for a long time. At this time, he said, "Heavenly Teacher, do you know who came last night? I was the one who guarded this place, and I was not here last night. It was my fault. Tell me who he is, and I will go kill him!"
The Taoist turned around, waved his horsetail whisk, and still smiled. "As for who it is, I do not know. Words and actions, there must be evidence, and there must be rules. However …" He reached out and patted the other's shoulder, "… there will be a chance."
After saying this, he raised his head and stood under the eaves. He narrowed his eyes slightly, and no one knew what he was thinking. In his sage-like demeanor, there was some vicissitudes of life, and also some depression. After a while, he shook his head with a bitter smile.
If Ning Yi was here, he would also recognize his identity, because he had met him once at the Hundred Officials Banquet.
Nowadays, in Hangzhou, he was known to have the most money, the most people, and the most brothers. He did not reject anyone who came to him, and he gathered people from all walks of life. However, he was also the most uneven, and no one could ignore him.
He was the Celestial Master of the State, Bao Daoyi.
After a while, he frowned.
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