Pawn Crossing the River

The thing Qi Xuansu is looking for is called "Xuanyu", which is a very special kind of jade. His contact person in the Qingping Society gave him a special compass. As long as he is close to the "Xuanyu", he will be able to sense it. It is directly used to search the general direction of "Xuanyu" within a certain range.

There was nothing abnormal about the compass in each room before. It was not until Qi Xuansu entered the study that the compass suddenly became sensitive and began to vibrate slightly.

Qi Xuansu took out the compass from his shoulder bag.

It is said that there is a treasure in the world that can hold Sumeru in mustard seeds. Depending on the appearance of the treasure, the size of the universe contained in it varies. However, in the Taoist sect, only third-grade Youyi Taoist priests can possess such treasures. Qi Xuansu, a mere seventh-grade Taoist priest, naturally does not have such treasures. He can only use a satchel commonly used by Jianghu people and wear it cross-body on his shoulder with a strap, so as not to hinder his movement. , the package fits right around your waist for easy access.

Qi Xuansu held the compass with one hand and saw the pointer in the center of the compass spinning rapidly at first, then getting slower and slower, and finally pointed at the paperweight on the desk.

A paperweight is not paper, but something used to press down paper when writing and painting. It is usually in the shape of a long bar, also called a weight.

Li Hongwen's paperweight can only be regarded as ordinary. It is not jade or wood, but made of stone. It is not worth a few dollars.

Qi Xuansu put away the compass, picked up the paperweight, and slowly exerted force with his palms, he saw many cracks appearing on the surface of the paperweight, and then fragments peeled off, gradually revealing a touch of green inside.

Jade hidden in stone.

Li Hongwen actually hid the "Xuan Jade" in the paperweight, and then placed the paperweight openly on the desk. Qingluan Guard believed that Li Hongwen had hidden the thing in a very hidden place, but ignored the small space in front of him. .

Qi Xuansu peeled off all the fragments, and the "Xuan Jade" hidden in it finally revealed its true appearance. It was somewhat similar to the sword coins in ancient times, and it also looked like a crescent moon. It was green and semi-transparent, with many fine details inside. Thin blood streaks.

Qi Xuansu took the "Xuan Jade" in his hand and played with it for a while, but found nothing unusual. It seemed to be no different from ordinary jade. It seemed that it was because of his lack of cultivation or lack of knowledge. Qi Xuansu did not go into details, put the "Xuanyu" in his bag and left the place directly.

…

The heavy rain was heavy, and a small black-topped boat drifted with the current on the river outside Fengtai County.

Sitting in the cabin was a middle-aged man, dressed in rich clothes, with three strands of chest-length beard, and a full head of black hair tied up with a jade hairpin.

On the small table in front of him, an incense burner was burning, and purple smoke was rising. The man stretched out his palm and watched the smoke swirl around his palm. He took a slight breath of the dragon's fragrance, and his crystal-clear jade skin actually lit up. It has a light luster and looks both magical and weird.

On the bow of the boat outside the awning, a miserable Li Sanxin knelt on one knee, letting the heavy rain soak him.

Li Sanxin has two identities. The first identity is naturally the member of the Qingluan Guard's Zhengliu Rankin Examining Hundred Households, and the second identity is a Taiping Dao disciple of the Taoist sect.

There are three major factions within Taoism, namely Zhengyi Tao, Quanzhen Tao, and Taiping Tao.

Zhengyiyi does not avoid meat and fish, does not avoid marriage, and uses his or her real name instead of using a nickname.

Quanzhen Taoists do not marry, and most of them abandon their real names and use Taoist nicknames, but some still retain their real names.

The Taiping Road has no taboos and is the closest to the secular world.

In addition to sharing the ancestral court, the three major factions also have their own "holy places", namely the Dazhen Mansion of Zhengyi Dao, the Wanshou Chongyang Palace of Quanzhen Dao, and the Zhenjing Bieyuan of Taiping Dao.

Zhenjing Villa is located on the Fairy Island in the East China Sea, so the "East China Sea" mentioned by Li Sanxin previously refers to Taiping Road.

However, no matter which sect they belong to, all Taoist disciples are called Taoists, which means Taoist monks. They are divided into nine grades. The ninth grade is the lowest, only slightly better than ordinary Taoists and Taoists. The first grade is the highest, second only to the Taoist master.

Li Sanxin is a seventh-grade Taoist priest in the Taoist sect, on par with Qi Xuansu.

As for the person in the cabin, he was one of Li Sanxin's commanders named Jiang Bieyun, a fourth-grade Taoist priest.

There is a threshold between the fifth-grade Taoist priests and the fourth-grade Taoist priests, just like the difference between officials and officials.

From the ninth-grade Taoist priests to the fifth-grade Taoist priests, they are all ordinary Taoist priests and are not qualified to accept disciples and teach the Dharma.

Fourth-grade Taoist priests are called Jijiu Taoist priests, and the world calls them "mage", which means they have the qualifications to accept disciples and teach the Dharma.

Some Taoist priests who offer wine can even be responsible for the incense of Taoist temples in a region, or hold important positions in the ancestral court of West Kunlun, and they have considerable power. Of course, being able to be promoted to a fourth-grade wine-offering Taoist priest also requires corresponding qualifications and realm cultivation. If you have no background and no merit, then you must at least reach the stage of returning to true nature to become a fourth-grade Taoist priest.

In other words, Jiang Bieyun is an innate person who has returned to the true stage. If he is a Qi Refiner, he is in the realm of God Refining.

At this time, Jiang Bieyun's face was gloomy and he narrowed his eyes.

According to what Li Sanxin said, it seems that another Taoist disciple went on a killing spree in the county government office. Not only did they kill Zhou Feilong, but they also broke Li Sanxin's flying sword, almost causing Li Sanxin to be killed there. .

Jiang Bieyun didn't care much about Li Sanxin's life and death. Although Li Sanxin was also a disciple of Taiping Dao, he was not an indispensable and important role. If he really died in Fengtai County, he could only blame him for his own incompetence and not blame others. .

What really caught Jiang Bieyun's mind was the mysterious Taoist disciple.

Ever since the Sixth Generation Grand Master ascended to the throne, the title of Grand Master has been vacant. On the surface, the three deputy leaders jointly hold the power of the Taoist sect, but in fact they have their own plans. If the person who takes action to defeat Li Sanxin is The disciples of the other two major factions need to be carefully considered.

The search for "Xuanyu" this time was a task personally assigned by a Taoist Taoist priest. As for the reason, Jiang Bieyun did not dare to speculate. He only vaguely knew that the matter was related to the "proof" of that Taoist priest. What a big show of publicity.

Because of this, he bribed thousands of households of Qingluan Guard and sent Li Sanxin to act in the name of Qingluan Guard.

Only the person behind the scenes, Jiang Bieyun, knew the twists and turns of the inside story, and even Li Sanxin was kept in the dark.

Li Sanxin thought that searching for "Xuanyu" was just a casual matter, and killing Li Hongwen was the official thing.

The fact is exactly the opposite of what Li Sanxin thought. The search for "Xuanyu" was not only a business matter, but also a major event. As for killing Li Hongwen, it was just a cover-up.

Previously, Li Sanxin regarded Zhou Feilong as a discarded son, but in Jiang Bieyun's eyes, Li Sanxin was also a chess piece that could be discarded at any time. The relationship between Li Sanxin and Zhou Feilong was just a matter of fifty steps and a hundred steps.

It's just that Jiang Bieyun didn't tell Li Sanxin clearly for some reason.

Now that "Xuan Jade" has fallen into the hands of other Taoist disciples, it is a bit difficult to deal with it.

With Jiang Bieyun behind Li Sanxin, the man behind the scenes, don't the disciples of the other two factions have no backers? Maybe they are still old acquaintances.

Thinking of this, Jiang Bieyun said to the outside of the cabin: "Come in."

Li Sanxin, who had been left in the rain by Jiang Bieyun, wiped the rain off his face, entered the cabin, and saluted Jiang Bieyun respectfully.

Jiang Bieyun put away his jade-white palm and asked Li Sanxin: "What else was discovered afterward?"

Li Sanxin replied softly: "Reporting to Uncle Master, according to the report of the brothers who went to the 'inn' to investigate the situation, this person once revealed his identity to our informant, saying that he was..."

Seeing the hesitation on Li Sanxin's face, Jiang Bieyun raised his eyelids and strengthened his voice: "What is it? But it doesn't matter."

Li Sanxin then continued: "It is said that Master Donghua is saying hello to the commander."

Jiang Bieyun's expression changed slightly and he said softly: "Master Donghua."

Li Sanxin said respectfully: "Exactly."

When it comes to a real person, even if it is Jiang Bieyun, a Taoist priest of the fourth grade of sacrificial wine, he does not dare to be careless in the slightest.

"Zhenren" is another name for the second-grade Taoist priest, also known as "Taiyi Taoist priest". There are thirty-six real people in the entire Taoist sect, with a transcendent status, and Donghua Zhenren is also among the best among the thirty-six real people.

If it really involves a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest, then this matter should not be made by him, a fourth-grade Taoist priest who offers sacrifices to wine. So Jiang Bieyun pondered for a while and then said to Li Sanxin: "I will pass it on in person later." Write a letter to Master Donghua, detailing the current situation, and ask him to make a decision. As for this person, don't scare the snake, and don't take action without permission. If this person is really a close associate or disciple of Master Donghua, kill him, let alone you or me. Even real people can have some trouble."

Li Sanxin respectfully agreed, exited the cabin slowly, and then jumped into the river, standing up without sinking. In the pouring rain, he walked towards the embankment on the rolling river water.

There is still a beautiful woman left in the cabin, with a complicated identity. She is not only Jiang Bieyun's personal disciple, but also a half-concubine and maid. The dirty things in her are not known to outsiders, and they are not known to outsiders.

The woman knelt down beside Jiang Bieyun with lowered eyebrows. She picked up a long-handled incense shovel and scraped a few taels of spices from the ambergris blocks in the incense burner.

Suddenly smoke curled up in the cabin again.

Jiang Bieyun sat cross-legged, with his palms placed on his knees. His face was hidden in the heavy smoke, making it difficult to see clearly. He took a sip of sandalwood to make the smoke lighter, and said with indifferent eyes: "Fengtai County happens to be our territory of Taiping Dao. Take my ultimatum and invitation card, go visit the local wine priest, and ask him to check Check to see if there are any recent records of Quanzhen Tao disciples."

The woman who was burning incense responded softly, her voice was delicate and soft, floating directly into people's hearts, making people feel itchy. Coupled with that attractive figure in the prime of youth, it really made people feel bones. It's going to be crispy. Normally, Jiang Bieyun would inevitably be aroused by some fascinating thoughts, but at this juncture, he had no distracting thoughts at all. All his thoughts were focused on Master Donghua.

A dignified second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest, placed in the ancestral court, can serve as a

The official position is placed in a local area and can lead the Taoist government of a state. How powerful is it? Who dares to provoke it rashly?

What's more, the errands belong to the public, and the people who offend belong to the family.

Jiang Bieyun thought about it again and again, but decided to stay put and wait for the situation to become clear.

As the saying goes, don't seek merit but seek no faults. No faults are merit.