Tang riddles

Kaiyuan 18th year, April [-]th, Liangzhou, Guzang County.

Although spring has already arrived, for the land of Hexi, the world has not yet completely thawed.The wind was blowing, and there was still snow on the yellow sand road.Guzang County is only one day away from Liangzhou Fucheng.To the east and north is the Great Wall built by the Qin Dynasty to resist the northern nomads, and to the west is the Hexi Corridor that stretches from east to west, connecting the four towns of Anxi and the hinterland of the Tang Dynasty.

The name Guzang comes from the names of the Yuezhi and Xiongnu tribes in the pre-Qin period.Guzang Mountain, majestic and majestic, looks like a blooming lotus in the distance, so it gets a common name - Lotus Mountain.And on Guzang Mountain, there is still the Lianhuashan Temple built in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which is the grandest and most famous temple in Hexi.Integrating the essence of Tubo's teaching, cutting teaching and Theravada Buddhism, it has formed a unique religious culture.

Since the former Sui Dynasty, Taoism has been prevalent, and the temples on Lianhua Mountain have been expanded several times, and now a magnificent Buddhist temple and Taoist complex has been formed.Most of the people who travel to and from Hexi will go up the mountain to pay homage, in order to be safe and healthy.

The terrain here is quite high, and the climbing road is not easy to walk.But fortunately, after several expansions, the mountain road has also been widened, and the horse-drawn carriage can go up slowly, and finally reach the top of the temple.It's just that the temperature is extremely low, it's freezing cold, and there are snow-capped mountains as far as the eye can see.

When Shen Sui got off the carriage, a biting cold wind made her cheeks turn pale, and her breath turned into ice.She trembled her shoulders unconsciously, wrapped the black fox-collared cloak around her body tightly, turned around, and reached out to help Zhang Ruohan who had just got out of the carriage.

"Lotus maid, be careful, the ground is wet and slippery." She nervously supported Zhang Ruohan, watched her step by step, step on the car stool steadily, and finally stood on the ground, and then she was relieved.But he didn't dare to let go of his arms, and kept holding her half tightly in his arms, for fear that she might make a mistake.

Zhang Ruohan was nine months pregnant, her belly was high and she had difficulty walking.Her complexion was rosy, and her body was plump again, which added a bit of softness to her.Just dressed in white, still spotless, cool and beautiful.She put the hand warmer into her sleeve, smiled and raised her hand to cover Shen Sui's cold cheeks, and said:

"Look at you again, how many times have I told you that I'm getting stronger, and you're always so nervous."

"Nonsense, no pregnant woman claims to be tough. The child is so old, I'm afraid that you will make a mistake. Don't scare me like you did last time, my soul is gone." Shen Sui held her hand angrily. The hands she covered her cheeks were wrapped in her palms.

The so-called "last time" refers to a month ago, when they were in Shuofang, Lingzhou, Zhang Ruohan stood on the edge of the mighty Yellow River beach, admiring the magnificent scene of the frozen river thousands of miles away.But one accidentally slipped and almost fell.If it wasn't for Wu Ya's quick eyesight and hands to support her, I don't know what would have happened.That time really frightened Shen Sui out of his wits, from now on she would never be allowed to walk alone, and he would personally support her whenever he went out.

Zhang Ruohan leaned halfway in her arms, looking at the white-capped Baitou Mountains in the distance, the smog was like a fairyland, and he couldn't help sighing:

"gorgeous."

"Yes." Shen Sui replied.

"This journey has really opened my eyes. Looking back on the past, I feel like a frog at the bottom of a well, but now I am a fish in the sea."

"Isn't your wish to travel all over the world and pay homage to all Buddhist temples? We must enter every temple we have traveled this way. Now that you have come to this steep Lotus Mountain, don't be dissatisfied." After paying homage to the Lotus Mountain Temple, we will go to Liangzhou Prefecture." Shen Sui said.

Zhang Ruohan glared at her, and said, "It's good for you now, don't you want to worry about me if you dislike me?"

"How can there be..." Shen Sui quickly denied.But Zhang Ruohan's pregnancy is like changing her personality. Although she is basically the same, she will always be willful and unexpected, which catches her off guard.On the way west from Hebei Road, she dared not relax.If you are not careful, you will be tricked by her.Things like adding a lot of mustard greens to her food, or drawing pictures on her face with ink just made her dumbfounded.This is nothing, the most terrifying thing is that she has become very playful, and whenever she encounters the scenery along the way, she always lingers.Sometimes she would neglect safety and forget that she was pregnant, which made Shen Sui very worried.

But, she still has a sense of proportion.Qianhe is still in a coma, and he can't relax for a day if he can't find the antidote in the cult's main altar.The reason why the itinerary was so slow was not Zhang Ruohan's delay, but Shen Sui's deliberate arrangement.From Youzhou Mansion on Hebei Road to Liangzhou Mansion on Longyou Road, they walked more than three times their normal speed in order to wait for a news.

As early as last year when investigating the case of Zhu Yuanmao in Jiangling, Shen Sui sent a letter to her master Sima Chengzhen, hoping that the Taoist sect could help the Qianyu sect to find out the movements of the beggar gang.Now a year has passed, and the results are finally here.The prestige of the Daoist sect is really extraordinary. The top leaders of the Beggar Clan already knew that a large number of cult members had mixed into their organization, but due to lack of strength, they never dared to eliminate them.Fortunately, the Taoist sect came to help with a large number of sects attached to the Taoist sect, and the top leaders of the beggar gang immediately began to shave suspicious figures in the sect.A long list has already been drawn up, and now, the large-scale encirclement and suppression by the cultists has begun for more than three months.Up to now, a total of more than [-]% of the cult members have been completely shaved off, most of the rest are at large, and a small number have been instigated and confessed.

The gang of beggars is indeed the main information transmission network of the cult, and the penetration of the gang of beggars by the cult is beyond imagination.In addition, there are some members of the cult in each town. These people are extremely difficult to identify, and most of them are not core members. The number is not large.Qian Yumen assigned a small group of people to eliminate such people.Although these people can't become a big climate, they can't be left alone.Cults are like tenacious weeds that can never be burned by wild fire, and will regenerate when the spring breeze blows. Only by digging three feet into the ground and destroying their roots can they be completely wiped out.

Prioritizing the attack on the cult's information transmission network is Shen Sui's top priority in eradicating the cult.The war between Qianyumen and the cult has already sounded the horn, and both sides will use whatever means they can, and the first thing to start is undoubtedly the information war.Shen Sui's secret move of burying the Daoist sect to encircle and suppress the beggar gang has now become the key to turning the tables.Although the cult counterattacked, it failed because it lost the opportunity.However, Qianyumen was not without losses. In the past few months, considerable gang fights broke out in major cities and towns, and a large number of Qianyumen's disciples were injured or even died.Many other sects and gangs have also been implicated.

When the rivers and lakes were full of blood and rain, good news came from Sima Chengzhen. Regarding the heart poison of Qianhe, Sima Chengzhen had a way to delay the poison.Although it is impossible to completely remove the toxin, it can suppress the spread and penetration of the toxin in Qianzuru's body.Coupled with the fact that Tiaoniang performs acupuncture for Qianhe every day, the interval between her seizures is getting longer and longer.Although the five-month dose of medicine has been exhausted, Xiongniang has made a new medicine according to the prescription copied by Sima Chengzhen, which can have the same effect as the cult pill.

However, most of the meridians of Qianhe's body were sealed, especially her head, so that she was in a coma most of the time.Occasionally, when I woke up, I was talking nonsense, and I couldn't recognize who was around me, and I didn't care where I was.For such a Qianhe, everyone was anxious from the very beginning, and gradually became accustomed to it. Taking care of her daily life became Wu Ya and Xiongniang's business, while Shen Jin stayed by her side almost all the time, occasionally He would hold her hand, as if in this way, Chizuru would be able to sense her and talk to her.

Along the way, for nine months, they stopped and stopped, and finally got a long-awaited news recently.

At the beginning, Shen Sui ordered people to follow those who hadn't gone to get the coupons. After a hard investigation, the scope was narrowed down as early as eight months ago, and it was locked on a shabby and ordinary man who haunted Weizhou County. .After following him for two months, the vanguard lost his track near Liangzhoufu.After that, Qianyumen concentrated its strength and searched around.It's just that there has been no progress.

The search area was expanded again and again, until six months later, when everyone felt that hope was getting slimmer, news finally came back from the front.Someone in a camel caravan departing from Jiuquan City in Suzhou saw the man.The camel caravan headed west, preparing to enter the territory of Gaochang State.Right now, the people from Qianyumen have followed.

The six months that the man disappeared near Liangzhou City made Shen Sui feel very strange.Where is he hiding?For half a year, what was he doing?What is the reason for leaving for Gaochang now?She had to figure out these three questions.

The prefectural city of Liangzhou is the residence of the Lanling Xiao family.Although Shen Sui had expected that he would not be able to avoid this huge family on his way west, he still did not expect that this family would be related to cult members.Of course, her idea was somewhat arbitrary. Although the man disappeared near the Liangzhou mansion for half a year, it cannot be said that he must have something to do with the Lanling Xiao family.

It's just that Shen Sui thinks that it takes half a year for a person to disappear silently under the watchful eye.Except for Lanling Xiao's secret assistance, other possibilities are indeed not great.

Until finding out that the Lanling Xiao family might also be involved, Shen Sui finally smelled a strange smell.Starting from the Wang family in Taiyuan, the Cui family in Qinghe, the Li family in Fanyang, and now the Xiao family in Lanling have also been involved. Why are so many influential families in Shandong related to cults?This obviously shouldn't be a coincidence.

In fact, if you really want to count them all, the Wu Xing Shen family and Yanling Shen family related to Shen Sui, the Wenshui Wu family related to Concubine Wu Hui, the Hongnong Yang family in Luoyang, and the Hedong Xue family are also among them.

Thinking about it so carefully, it really made her hair stand on end.Looking at the current situation, it is quite different from Kaiyuan 16 years ago.The Wenshui Wu family and the Hongnong Yang family had their own gains and losses; the Taiyuan Wang family and the Hedong Xue family were almost wiped out; the Qinghe Cui family suffered a huge blow and could not recover in a short time.The Li family of Fanyang took huge profits from the Youzhou area, and even got involved with Mao Mao's family of in-laws; although the Shen family of Wu Xing hadn't made any moves, it was also clouded by the theft of the Huzhou archives.

Now, she wants to enter the Liangzhou prefecture as soon as possible to find out what happened to the Lanling Xiao family.Only then can she decide what preparations she needs to make before rushing to Gaochang.She doesn't want to fight unprepared, especially when she is getting closer and closer to the head of the cult, she can't miss anything.

"Lotus maid, it's cold outside, let's go in quickly." Seeing that Hutuo had almost tied up the carriage, Shen Sui said to Zhang Ruohan.Zhang Ruohan nodded, and followed her slowly to the temple.The magnificent temple buildings spread out in front of them made them amazed.Even the Da Ci'en Temple in Chang'an does not have such a scale.After all, it is the first holy place in Hexi, with extraordinary momentum.

Wu Ya and Hu Tuo followed closely from behind, and a group of four climbed up the stairs.This time when they went to Guzang Mountain, Shen Jin and Ying Niang didn't follow, Qianhe was in a coma and couldn't move, so they needed to stay and take care of them.As for the rest of the Qianyu Sect, most of them were in Guzang County at the foot of the mountain to inquire about the news about the Lanling Xiao Clan.Congyun and Congyu followed, but they did not follow up the mountain, but waited at the foot of the mountain.Ever since Congyu entered Hexi, he has not adapted to the climate here, and has been very weak. It is not bad down the mountain, but it is difficult to breathe when he reaches the mountain.Congyun had no choice but to stay and take care of his sister.

Zhang Ruohan's insistence on going up the mountain was not because she was greedy for fun. She knew that the anti-altitude medicines on Lianhua Mountain were very effective, especially for those who are sensitive to high altitudes, so she wanted to ask for some.In addition, she also hoped to ask for some peace talismans for Qianhe and the relatives around her.The closer she got to the cult's main altar, the more disturbed she felt in her heart. She only hoped that the gods would bless them all so that they could turn the crisis into safety, and enjoy peace and happiness from now on.

And when they were about to step into the gate of the Lotus Mountain Temple, a middle-aged Taoist priest suddenly walked out from a Taoist temple called Bailu Temple on the east side of the main square.He is of medium build, has no beard, and has rough and even vicious features.On the naked/exposed neck, nirvana patterns can be vaguely seen, which is very terrifying.But when Shen Sui saw him, he suddenly called out joyfully:

"Senior Brother Chen!"

Zhang Ruohan looked over after hearing the reputation, with some doubts in his eyes.

The Taoist obviously saw Shen Sui and his party, so he shook his head in the distance, laughed loudly, and strode forward.While walking, he smiled and called:

"Bo Zhao! Master is really a fortune teller. He said you would come today, but you actually came."

"Master is here?"

"Of course, he's been here waiting for you for a long time."

Zhang Ruohan tugged at Shen Sui's sleeve slightly at this moment, Shen Sui understood, lowered his head, and whispered in her ear:

"This is Senior Brother Chen who tattooed me, the eldest disciple of my master Sima Chengzhen."

Zhang Ruohan suddenly realized that this person was the famous "Jiulong Nirvana" in the world.But when she changed her mind, her expression became strange.

This person... has tattooed Akashi...

The author has something to say: At the beginning of this chapter, enter the Longxi Ghost Road·Damo Chapter (Part [-]).Someone asked, will there be Mao Mao and Yuhuan's scenes? Yes, there will be, but from the beginning of this volume to the end of the next volume, there are very few scenes between Mao Mao and Yuhuan, and most of them are just mentioned in passing.

Nearly a year has passed, and the maidservant's belly has also grown, and she is about to give birth.

And from this chapter, it can be seen that Shen Sui obviously changed his team again. 【doge】