Pawn Crossing the River

It was late in the first lunar month when Qi Xuansu arrived at Fenglinzhou, and it was already early in February. The dragon raised its head.

The cool spring breeze cannot blow away the gloom of Ise.

The city of Yoshida Castle is full of displaced people, their faces are numb, and they don’t know when this kind of life will end.

Passing by a rooftop, Ah Dang suddenly stopped motionless.

The so-called yatai is actually a type of street food restaurant that serves snacks as well as sake and shochu. The top is a shed with a curtain on the eaves, so you can just drag it away when you want to close the stall.

This girl has been out looking for someone since yesterday. She has exhausted a lot of energy and is already so hungry that her chest is touching her back.

Qi Xuansu had no choice but to sit down in front of the rooftop with her and ordered a bowl of ramen each.

In fact, Qi Xuansu was not hungry. Even if he wanted to eat, pasta was optional. It was better to eat meat. The martial artist's claim of eating a cow a day was not just talk.

Just do as the Romans do, so let's eat together.

On a cold spring day, eating a bowl of ramen like this can still warm you up. As for the taste, maybe Qi Xuansu's taste has been spoiled by his transition from frugality to luxury, and it is indeed not very good. But compared to Zhang Yuelu's craftsmanship, it's still pretty good.

After Qi Xuansu finished eating, he went to look at the shivering refugees with a calm face.

He is not a compassionate person, but he is not cold-blooded either. He can't help but think of the saying that everyone suffers when he rises or falls.

But then again, Daomen is already civilized and kind enough, and being kind again is not revenge.

In the final analysis, it is still an issue with the Zunban faction. For their own political demands, they say that the faults of the predecessors are not the faults of the current people, so the Taoist sect should not take revenge.

The most ridiculous thing in the world.

Since the faults of the predecessors are not the fault of the present people, then the land of the predecessors is not the land of the present people. It is reasonable for Daomen to occupy an ownerless land.

You cannot just inherit the land and wealth of your predecessors, but not the sins and debts of your predecessors.

If you want to inherit, then everyone inherits; if you don't, then neither inherits.

Keep the good and throw away the bad. How can there be such a beautiful thing?

While Qi Xuansu was thinking about these grand propositions, the street suddenly became noisy.

A dark shadow passed quickly down the street.

Then there were the sounds of chaotic footsteps, followed closely by samurai holding high swords and priests wearing high crowns.

Immediately afterwards, many warriors rushed out from the other end of the street, just blocking the black shadow in the middle.

It was only then that the black figure showed its true appearance. Although it was still barely humanoid, it was completely unrecognizable. It was as ferocious and twisted as an evil ghost. Blue veins popped out under the iron-blue skin. The skin in some places had been damaged, revealing the same iron-blue color. flesh. Looking at the costume of this evil ghost, although it is very dirty and broken, it can be vaguely seen that it is a priest.

Qi Xuansu then looked around.

He had known for a long time that the land of Fenglinzhou was very evil, full of monsters, and all kinds of unimaginable things happened one after another. He had just personally killed a flying-headed barbarian that possessed a living person. But he didn't expect that the priests of Tianmen would not be immune and turned into evil ghosts directly.

What's even more strange is that although the surrounding refugees showed a certain degree of fear, they didn't run around in panic. I don't know whether it was because they were accustomed to it, or just indifferent. It didn't matter at all.

Ah Dang also saw this scene, so he picked up his Kagura bell and prepared to go to help in the battle.

Qi Xuansu stood up first and drew a "nine-character cut".

An invisible restraint was imposed on the evil ghost. The warriors took the opportunity to swarm forward and slashed at the evil ghost's body with their swords. The sounds of gold and stone were heard.

Qi Xuansu stopped taking action and just said: "Isn't it safe in the city?"

Ah Dang was not surprised and said: "This is already the thirteenth time, but I didn't expect... this time it would be a priest."

Qi Xuansu couldn't help but glance at her.

Although this little girl is still childish, she is surprisingly strong and not sentimental in this environment. Even though she knows that this evil ghost may have been an acquaintance before his death, she does not show too much sadness, more of it. Helpless and numb.

How can we say that the environment is tempering? In this environment, a rich lady from a noble family can transform into a strong witch, and in a comfortable environment, a Taoist priest can also become a delicate flower in the flower garden.

While the two were talking, the warriors had already chopped off the evil ghost's limbs, and the priests cast spells on them, burning them in the street, and soon turned them into a pile of black ashes.

An old priest walked towards the three of them.

Ah Dang took the initiative to salute: "Master Palace Secretary."

Judging from his clothing, he was a high-ranking priest. The priest of Ordinary Township Shrine must have at least a high-ranking priest.

The old man nodded and looked at Qi Xuansu.

A Dang took the initiative to introduce: "Miyaji-sama, this is the Taoist priest of Harima Ryu. It was the Taoist priest who saved me yesterday and helped me rescue Sayo from those bandits."

Sayo is the merchant's woman.

Qi Xuansu also bowed.

"It turns out to be an Onmyoji from the Harima style." The palace secretary returned the gesture, "Onmyoji, thank you for your help. Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Qi Xuansu said: "Both the imperial court and the prime minister's office issued an order to eliminate demons, and the rewards were generous, so I came to Ise. However, I did not know in advance that the shrine had issued an order to use road guides, so I wanted to ask the palace secretary to I issued a road guide to allow me to enter and leave Ise freely."

The palace secretary pondered for a moment and said: "Onmyoji, you saved A Dang and Sayo, and helped us eradicate the evil spirits. Due to emotion and reason, I should agree to your request. But because of Tsuchimikado-ryu Onmyoji Regarding matters, the order issued by the shrine is very strict, and road guides cannot be issued at will. "

Qi Xuansu said: "Although the palace denounces Yin Yang Dao as a cult of obscene temples, I believe this is because of the struggle between the imperial court and the prime minister's office, rather than the palace's prejudice against Yin Yang Dao. And the palace minister must admit that it is difficult to deal with these monsters. , we are more skilled in onmyoji, and it is impossible for the shrine to ban all onmyoji from entering Ise."

The palace secretary was silent.

This is the truth.

After a great battle, the entire Ise was riddled with holes. Although Ise Shrine is the first of the three major shrines, its vitality has been severely damaged in order to resist the army of the prime minister. It also has to face the leading army of the Taoist sect. In a short period of time, it is unable to change the situation in Ise where monsters are everywhere and hundreds of ghosts are walking at night. , except for the major cities that were barely maintained, the rest of the places had basically fallen, but they did not fall into the hands of Daomen and Xiangfu, but fell into the hands of ghosts.

This is also the main reason why Suzuka Mountain can be independent. Although it seems that Suzuka Mountain is under the nose of Ise Jingu Shrine and dare not make any changes, the reality is that Ise Jingu Shrine has no time to take care of Suzuka Mountain and only wants Suzuka Mountain. Just keep Lushan neutral.

Then the Taoist sect's intention is also very clear. If Suzuka Mountain turns against the Taoist sect at this time and cooperates with the Taoist sect's army, then Ise Shrine will be attacked from both sides and defeated in an instant.

Even if Ise Shrine withstands Daomen's offensive, Ise is after all the foundation of Ise Shrine and the ancestral home of Tianmen. No one dares to give up easily. Those ghosts are a problem that must be solved and cannot be maintained forever. Leave it alone, otherwise the prestige of Tianmen will be greatly shaken. If it was in the past and Fenglinzhou locked the country, then that would be it. But if Tianmen has a competitor, Daomen, and the people no longer believe in Tianmen, but can still switch to Daomen, that will be a major event that affects the foundation of their ancestors.

In this case, Onmyoji is indeed a helper. Even if the shrine has just severed ties with Onmyodo and denounced it as a sect of obscenity, it still has to admit this.

The palace secretary suddenly asked: "Are Harima-ryu onmyojis also good at swordsmanship? As far as I know, these bandits have strong blood and the effect of onmyoji is quite limited."

Qi Xuansu smiled and said: "I am not proficient in swordsmanship. It can even be said that I know nothing about it. The reason why I can defeat those bandits is not relying on Onmyoji, but relying on this."

He pulled out the gun from behind his waist.

Gong Si's eyelids twitched slightly: "The man in black's firecracker?"

"Smuggled goods are very expensive." Qi Xuansu said, "Many feudal lords are doing this kind of business. I once worked for a Hatamoto. In return, he gave me this firecracker. I have to say, it's very good. use."

Ah Dang said again: "Master Palace Secretary, Master Taoist Master cannot be a bad person. He is fundamentally different from those Onmyojis from the Tuyu Sect."

The palace minister finally sighed: "That's fine. Onmyoji, please come with me."

Under the leadership of the palace secretary, Qi Xuansu came to the shrine in the city.

Generally speaking, shrines are located on the mountains outside the city, but under the current situation, who dares to leave the city rashly? There are many people in the city, and the gathering of human energy, yang energy, and blood energy can still prevent the erosion of yin energy and resentment. If you go outside the city, unless you have a special formation, you will be waiting to become a monster.

Not only shrines but also Buddhist temples were moved to the city.

Because it is a temporary shrine, it looks a bit crude. The palace secretary issued a road guide to Qi Xuansu, which was very similar to the road guide in the Central Plains. Qi Xuansu carefully put it away.

The palace secretary said: "Onmyoji, why do you have to go far away? Why don't you stay in our Yoshida City, you can also eliminate the demons."

Qi Xuansu had already thought about the answer, shook his head and said: "I have other companions, all onmyojis of the Harima style. We usually live in no fixed places and are scattered in various places, so this time we entered Ise from different directions. We agreed Meeting in Anon County. Mr. Gongji should know that it is too dangerous to be alone in Ise today."

Because Tsuchimikado Onmyoji was the first to alert the enemy, Qi Xuansu could not directly say that he was going to Suzuka County, where Suzuka Mountain was located, but could only say that he was going to Annan County, which is adjacent to Suzuka County.

The palace minister nodded, agreed, and said: "From Duoji County to Anun County, you have to pass through Iigao County and Yizhi County. There are many Taoist patriots in Yizhi County today, so this is also the focus of the Taoist attack. There are 'crane boats' around, so be careful."

Qi Xuansu expressed his gratitude.