Urban Night Returner

Sure enough, Luo Jing wiped out the bandits on the Yongyu border within three months.No one knows about the unknown money except the four of them.Luo Jing summoned 48 local rich families and asked them to pledge anonymously.It is pitiful to say that 48 families have pledged less than 500 silver in total, not even enough to feed the victims porridge.Luo Jing secretly hated his teeth, but on the surface he had to be polite, and then added the more than one hundred thousand taels of silver to it. In the end, everyone didn't know who donated the silver.Luo Jing set aside 40 silver as military pay.He selected only 40 people from the Yongzhou garrison, each with 5000 taels of silver.The monthly salary of ordinary sergeants is only three liang of silver, and if the 5000 liang of silver is dropped, how can anyone be spared?Another 10 taels was offered as a reward. As long as someone provided information about the bandits, he would be rewarded with ten taels.There is a saying that money can make ghosts turn the grindstone, and for a while the bandit really became a rat on the street.Half of the remaining [-] taels will be used to open porridge sheds to relieve victims, and half will distribute seeds to stabilize food prices.With such a three-pronged approach, in less than three months, the bandit gang with only dozens of people left was blocked in the Qili Mountain, and all of them were captured alive. More than forty prison cars escorted the prisoners back to the city, and they lined up for more than a mile. Watch, see the light.Suppressing bandits is nothing, but it is rare to be able to capture all the bandits alive, especially a group of bandits that have not been governed by the two provinces for several years. Luo Jing's reputation this time is actually much better than his effort.And he did it impeccably. Although Yongzhou Mu was unhappy, he couldn't help but admit that he had contributed to the annihilation of the bandit leader, and he couldn't even be charged with disturbing the people.

Bi Yan beamed with joy, busy buying meat and vegetable dishes, and set up a table in the station to celebrate.Therefore, Shen Mobai is a great hero this time, and he is much kinder to him.Seeing her busy appearance, Luo Jing couldn't help laughing and said, "What are you busy with? There's not enough food here? Come and sit down."

Bi Yan gave him some vegetables and said with a smile: "Master, even the emperor summoned you to Beijing this time, presumably you will be promoted again?"

Luo Jing smiled lightly: "What kind of official promotion? This bandit suppression is just a false name, a group of mobs, it is only Yongzhou Mu's intentional indulgence that caused today's troubles, and the victory is not military. What's more, the suppression of bandits is different from military merit. Although it is a great honor for me to enter Beijing, it is nothing more than that. It would be ridiculous to say that I was promoted to suppress these gangsters."

Biquan said: "My master can go to Beijing to meet the emperor, that's it. They say that Beijing officials are easy to get promoted, and foreign officials are easy to do. If you enter Beijing, the goal of the commander-in-chief will be half achieved."

Luo Jing nodded thoughtfully, glanced at Shen Mobai, raised his glass and said, "Thanks to your contribution this time, come, let me toast you."

Shen Mobai was thinking about something with his head down, when suddenly Luo Jing called his name, he was taken aback, he quickly raised his cup, took a sip, and suddenly coughed due to choking.Luo Jing laughed loudly, and reached out to pat him on the back.His hand was strong, and when he slapped it down, Shen Mobai almost fell on the table, and hurriedly hid, covered his mouth to calm his breath, and said: "General, how to deal with those forty or so famous bandits?"

Luo Jing saw two little blobs of redness on his cheeks from the wine, like rouge rubbed on nephrite jade, he couldn't help but move again, and said with a casual smile: "All the heads are shown to the public, so as to imitate others."

He said it lightly, and Shen Mobai said in surprise: "All, all beheaded?"

Luo Jing squinted at him: "Why, what do you want to say that God has the virtue of good life? Or should we recite the mantra of rebirth to them? These are bandit leaders. They have been thieves for many years. They can't become good citizens. If they don't kill them, they will cause trouble in the future. What's more, they ran and robbed, and the common people suffered greatly, so what's wrong with killing them?"

Shen Mobai looked at him, there was nothing to refute, then he lowered his head again.After a while, he murmured: "Since the general is going to Beijing, can you take me back to Changzhou?" From Yong to Beijing, he passed Changzhou after a short turn.

Luo Jing frowned, and slapped the wine glass on the table: "I'm just thinking about your Changzhou. Don't worry, I'll take you back this time. Are you afraid that I won't succeed if I eat you? Disappointing!"

Bi Yan glared at Shen Mobai, and quickly raised his glass to persuade him to drink: "Master, don't be angry, this wine tastes pretty good, my brother and I will drink a few more glasses with you."

Shen Mobai quietly put down the cup, and slipped back into his room.He never said much, for some reason he would offend Luo Jing if he said a few words.He didn't know what fear was before, but now he was a little afraid of Luo Jing.It wasn't just when he was downcast, sometimes the way Luo Jing looked at him made him even more nervous.Life under the mountain is much more interesting than that on the mountain, but it is also more energy-intensive.He sighed softly, leaned on the table, and looked out the window in some confusion...

Luo Jing's return to Changzhou this time is light and simple, silent.Ever since he took away his mother's bones, Changzhou seemed to have nothing to do with him, and naturally there was no need to return home.He didn't even want to enter Changzhou City, so he went directly to Zhongshan.

Bi Yan was very reluctant.Because Luo Jing didn't want to enter Changzhou City, in order not to miss Sutou, the group had to stay overnight in Leshan Temple.Biyan had heard from Biquan that it was a dilapidated temple, and when she saw Leshan Temple, she was even more annoyed: "Master, this, this temple is too dilapidated." The temple gate may have been painted red at first, but Now only a few traces can be found in the cracked lines, and one of them is still crumbling.I don't know how many places the top of the gable wall collapsed, like a dog chewing on it.There are four or five rooms in the temple, only the scripture hall is still intact, but the glaze on the Buddha statue has long since peeled off, and the silk curtains on both sides are full of insect eyes, almost faded to grayish white.There is not even a little incense ash in the censer in front of the Buddha, which shows that there has been no incense for worship for an unknown period of time.The other rooms were also empty, only two low couches were found, Bi Yan stomped her feet and said, "Hey, how can you sleep here!"

Shen Mobai didn't pay attention to what Bi Yan said, just looked around in the room.Luo Jing looked at him and asked, "What's wrong?"

Shen Mobai said in a daze, "Someone lives here..." Although he had been away for more than three months, the sutra hall was clean, and it could be seen that someone cleaned it, "No one has ever lived here except me and Master."

Luo Jing caught a glimpse of a bundle in a room just now, and thought it was a monk in the temple. After hearing Shen Mobai's words, he realized that there is usually no one living here, and couldn't help but said: "Then after your master dies, you Live here by yourself?"

Shen Mobai nodded sadly: "Master's grave is behind the temple, I have to go and see it."

He didn't miss it much when he was away, but now that he arrived at his old residence, he suddenly felt anxious, turned around and was about to go out, when he just walked to the door, he bumped into a person who came in from the outside, and almost fell on his back.Luo Jing grabbed him and looked up, but it was a Taoist who came in, dressed in gray with two patches on his elbows, when he looked up and saw Luo Jing and the others, he raised his palm to ask: "How many times?" I don’t know where the benefactors came from, and it’s so late, how did they get to the small temple?”

Hearing what he said, Shen Mobai seemed to be the abbot of this temple, and he couldn't help but wondered: "Where did the Taoist priest come from? Your servant, he originally lived here."

The Taoist was startled, and stared at him suddenly: "You? You lived in this temple? Then Shiyin..."

Shen Mobai said, "That's my master."

The Taoist grabbed his hand: "Are you Shen Mobai?"

Shen Mobai felt that his hand was extremely strong, he pulled it and failed to pull it out, but it hurt so much, he frowned and said: "Exactly. The Taoist priest is..."

The Taoist's expression changed, and he asked instead: "I have been in this temple for more than ten days, why have I not seen you? Where have you been?"

Shen Mobai endured the pain and said: "I just came back from Yongzhou today—" Before he finished speaking, the Taoist suddenly raised his voice: "What? You left the mountain!"

Shen Mobai was startled by his sudden sound, and murmured: "How do you know that Master forbids me to leave the mountain?"

The Taoist's face became more severe: "You know you can't leave the mountain? Then why do you still disobey the teacher's order?"

Luo Jing couldn't stand it anymore, stepped forward and turned the Taoist's wrist, and pulled Shen Mobai out: "This Taoist priest, who are you? He can't leave the mountain, what does it have to do with you?"

The Taoist just looked at him, looked at him carefully for a moment, and his face changed slightly: "Who is the benefactor?"

Luo Jing sneered: "Who I am has nothing to do with the Taoist priest, but why should the Taoist priest question him?"

The Taoist also sneered and said, "Does the benefactor know who he is? And who do you know?"

Luo Jing's curiosity was aroused by him: "I want to ask, how does the priest know who he is? How does he know who I am?"

The Taoist looked him up and down carefully, and said in a deep voice, "Does the benefactor know that his life is fierce and bloody? If my guess is right, the benefactor must be a member of the army."

Luo Jing grinned, the two rows of teeth were sharp and white: "What if I say that I am Jiang Yang who committed countless crimes?"

The Taoist was also taken aback by him, and then said decisively: "Don't be joking, benefactor. Do you know what kind of person Shen Mobai is? The benefactor's life is bloody, if he is with him, the blood will continue in this life, harming others and himself."

Shen Mobai's face was pale, and he murmured: "You, what did you say?"

The Taoist looked at him sternly: "Don't you know? Didn't your master tell you?"

Shen Mobai shook his head and said: "The master only said that I was not allowed to leave Zhongshan, but he didn't say anything else..."

The Taoist was stunned for a moment, then sighed and said, "So that's the case, I guess the senior brother is afraid of embarrassing you, so he doesn't tell the truth."

Shen Mobai repeated in a daze: "Brother? The truth?"

The Taoist sighed: "Shi Yin is my brother from the same school. It's just that we two followed the Buddha and the Tao, and we had a disagreement. That's why we traveled separately. We haven't seen each other for 30 years. I didn't get a letter from my brother until half a year ago." , said that he met a dying couple somewhere 20 years ago, carrying a baby by his side. He regarded this child as possessing demonic energy, who could not only cast shadows, but also gather ghosts. It was extremely strange to predict his fate ... This child is like the source of the Yellow Spring. Wherever it goes, it is like a suspended embankment to store water. If the embankment breaks accidentally, the water will flow out, and the people will die wherever it passes. The brother took him to live in seclusion in this barren mountain ancient temple For 20 years, I was afraid that this son would be harmed by entering the world. Half a year ago, he knew that he was going to die, so he specially sent a letter to me, asking me to come and replace him. Because I had something to do, I was delayed for several months. Entering the world... This benefactor is destined to be evil, and you are like adding fuel to the fire when you are with him, and it is even more catastrophic! You... Sigh!"

Shen Mobai stood there in a daze, his heart was at a loss, and subconsciously said: "But, but I have never seen this kind of fate in the book..."

The Taoist's eyes flashed, and he stretched out his hand to tug at him again: "Book? What book?"

Shen Mobai hid back and murmured: "It's the one in the Library Pavilion..."

The Taoist's complexion changed even more: "Brother actually allows you—"

Shen Mobai felt that he might have said something wrong again, so he hurriedly said: "The master forbade me to read it, it was me..." After saying half a sentence, he felt it was even more wrong, and swallowed the second half of the sentence again.

The Taoist was shocked and said: "You can actually open the Void Spirit Pavilion? Demonic barriers, really demonic barriers! Could it be that there should be such a catastrophe?"

Shen Mobai argued: "But, but I have been away from the mountain for several years, and there is nothing..."

The Taoist sneered and said, "Nothing? Of course you have nothing! The ones who were robbed were the people around you! If you think about it carefully, is there really nothing?"

Shen Mobai was shocked by the secret he threw out, and his heart was confused.The master who had raised him for many years took him to live in seclusion in this deep mountain, so that he could be imprisoned here.He didn't know his parents since he was a child, and his master was the only family member, but this family member, did he want to detain him here?He can't believe it.But he knew that he could see those things all the time, and seemed to be particularly attracted to them. Only after wearing the bodhi beads, they dared not approach him.Moreover, the master told him not to go down the mountain at the end of his life, but he didn't tell him the reason. He also had doubts in his heart, but he never thought that it was this reason.He has read a lot of books in the Library Pavilion, but he has never seen this kind of fate, and he asked himself that everything he did after he went down the mountain was to be kind to others, and he never did a single evil thing: "I, I have never done evil..."

The Taoist sighed slightly: "Don't you understand? You have no intention of doing evil, and you can already cause disaster. This is your life..."

Shen Mobai took a step back: "No—" But one thing had already flashed through his mind: He wanted to fulfill Luo Jing's biological mother's wish, but revealed the secret of Luo Zheng's life experience, ruining Luo's family; The poor people control the water, but the Yijiang Shui tribe is suppressed by the water column, and they will never be free...

The Taoist saw that his complexion was gradually turning pale, and sneered, "Remember? What did you do after you went down the mountain? Demon barrier, really demon barrier!"

Shen Mobai finally lost his composure and yelled out: "I'm not a demon!" His master taught him to recite scriptures and cultivate Buddhism since he was a child, and he was dedicated to goodness. How could he be a demon?

A trace of pity flashed in the Taoist's eyes, but he still said resolutely: "You are destined to be like this, and you can't influence it intentionally or unintentionally. Unless you live in seclusion all your life and don't interact with others."

Luo Jing has been listening for a long time.Since he was a child, he was regarded as a monstrous monster by the physiognomy master because he was determined to suppress the family and destroy the family. It was not until Shen Mobai saw the scars on his hands that he knew that all these were caused by his father. Seeing that Shen Mobai has suffered like this, he couldn't help but sneer and said: "What fate! Where did you come from the demon way, don't talk nonsense here!" Pulling Shen Mobai, "Go, don't listen He's talking nonsense!"

Shen Mobai was distracted and dragged away by him in a daze.The Taoist was in a hurry, and took a step forward to grab Shen Mobai: "You—" He only took a step forward, and with a choking sound, Luo Jing's sword was out of its sheath, pointing at his throat: "Get out of the way!"

The Taoist stared coldly: "Pure Jun sword?"

Luo Jing sneered: "It seems that you know what to do."

The Taoist said in a deep voice: "Almsgiver, you have evil spirits yourself. If you walk with this son, you will surely suffer disaster. This son is close to demons by nature. My senior brother has used Buddha's power to kill him for 20 years, but it still hasn't worked. Donor, please step aside, poor man." Dao must not allow him to go down the mountain and harm the world."

Luo Jing turned around to look at Shen Mobai's pale face, he really couldn't see where he was close to demons: "Joke, with his appearance, it doesn't look like he is naturally close to demons."

The Taoist frowned and said: "The benefactor can't see it with his naked eyes. Please let the benefactor get out of the way, the poor Taoist will definitely subdue this child. God has the virtue of good life, as long as he lives in this barren mountain all his life, the poor Taoist will not hurt him." he."

Luo Jing turned around and said, "He wants you to live in this barren mountain for the rest of your life, are you willing?"

Shen Mobai shook his head instinctively.Luo Jing turned his head and looked proudly at the Taoist: "Did you see it?"

The Taoist's face was gloomy, and suddenly he pulled out a mahogany sword from under his clothes with his backhand: "Nie Yi! If you refuse to be taught, the poor Taoist will have to use force."

Luo Jing laughed loudly: "I want to see how you use strong methods!"

The Taoist squeezed a tactic with his left hand, recited it in a low voice, and pointed forward with the sword in his hand, Luo Jing felt a gust of cold wind blowing towards his face, and instinctively raised his sword to block it, obviously there was nothing in front of him, but sparks suddenly appeared on the sword in his hand There was a splash, and there was a faint crisp sound.The Taoist was startled suddenly: "Dragon's blood!"

Luo Jing was slightly taken aback, and Shen Mobai had already blurted out: "You can't use the piercing formula, it will hurt him!"

Luo Jing raised his eyebrows: "Piercing Soul Art?" Before he finished speaking, Shen Mobai had already dragged him behind with one hand, but stood in front of him instead: "Piercing Soul Art can damage living beings, how can you use it at will?" With a sullen look, standing in front of Luo Jing seemed to protect him.Luo Jing saw that his face was slightly flushed with anger, he felt it was funny, leaned into his ear and chuckled softly, "You can beat him?"

Seeing their closeness, the Taoist showed disgust on his face: "Evil, you killed your master and you still don't know how to repent, and you still do this unethical thing. It really is a natural demon, and you must get rid of it!" He was originally jealous. The man, with the death of his senior brother, already hated Shen Mobai before he met him, and now seeing him as good as breaking his sleeve, his heart became more and more disdainful, and the Taomu sword was about to strike again.

Shen Mobai heard his words like a thunderbolt hitting the top of his head, his eyes were straight: "Nonsense! How could I kill Master?"

The Taoist sneered and said, "My senior brother has practiced for many years. Although he can't reach the realm of heaven and man, he can live for at least a hundred years. If you didn't use your own energy to eliminate your demonic obstacles, how could you die at the age of 50?"

Shen Mobai's face was bloodless, and he murmured: "No, it's impossible, I didn't, I didn't—" His voice gradually became sharper, and the sky outside the temple gradually darkened in his voice.

The Taoist Tao Mujian pointed at him, and said coldly: "You are naturally close to demons and summon ghosts, I am afraid that your parents will also be killed by you. Senior brother forbids you to leave the mountain, just because you are afraid that you will die in the world, you—"

Shen Mobai interrupted him sternly: "You nonsense!" Following his yell, there was a sudden thunder explosion in the sky, which shocked everyone to look outside the temple, only to see that the sky was covered with overcast clouds in an instant, and there were faint clouds in the thick clouds. There was thunder rolling.The Taoist's complexion changed greatly: "You evil!"

Shen Mobai's eyes were red, and he shouted: "I'm not!" As if in response to his call, a series of thunders exploded from the sky, heading straight for the temple.It was already dark and hard to see the five fingers, only the electric light flickered, illuminating the faces of everyone with different expressions.Shen Mobai raised his head and looked outside the temple in a daze.He didn't know his parents since he was a child, but his master was his parents, and he was very loving to him. The two lived together for 20 years. When his master died, he felt at a loss, and his life was unbearably lonely, so he finally couldn't help going down the mountain.Now this Taoist keeps saying that his master was the one who killed him, he feels wronged inexplicably, he just feels a breath stuck in his chest, he can't vomit.The clouds above the head are even more depressing.He stayed for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and shouted loudly to the sky: "Master—" It was just this shout that was completely submerged in a series of thunder explosions in the sky.

The Taoist's face became extremely ugly, and he sighed: "Injustice, injustice!" The mahogany sword shook, and said sharply, "Monster, die!" Suddenly a flame shot out from the tip of the sword.Shen Mobai formed seals with his hands, and made a futile fight. The fire light rushed into the circle of his hands, and there was a crisp sound in the air, and the two of them fell out at the same time.Luo Jing stood behind Shen Mobai and caught him. Seeing that his face was like gold paper, he had already passed out, so he hugged him with one hand, raised his sword at the Taoist with the other, and said coldly: "People like you, don't What are you if you kill people indiscriminately and call others evildoers?"

The Taoist was also so shocked that his blood surged, and just as he got up, there was a flash of lightning outside the temple, and a big tree snapped in two, and the remaining flames on the tree danced like poisonous snakes.The Taoist looked out and saw lightning bolts, which seemed to be woven into a big net, covering the ground, and several places above Zhongshan had already caught fire.The Taoist looked at it for a moment, then paused: "Sure enough, it's calamity!" Looking back at Shen Mobai, he sighed, "Almsgiver, what the poor Taoist said is by no means empty words, this child has a deep demonic nature, and the Buddha's power is hard to dispel, which is rare in the world. The benefactor itself is the fate of evil spirits. If he is with him, he will not only harm others, but also himself. This time he went down the mountain without authorization, and it was also because of the late arrival of the poor Taoist. Eliminate this calamity, this son--Poverty Dao is ashamed and has no ability to exterminate, but the benefactor should not get close to him again, so it will save some calamities."

Luo Jing didn't believe him, and was about to refute, the thunder above his head exploded more urgently, the Taoist stopped talking, turned around and rushed out of the temple gate with his sword.Luo Jing chased him to the door, and saw him running like flying, heading straight for the top of the mountain.After an unknown amount of time, there was a sudden explosion of thunder, which caused several people to quickly cover their ears. Even the temple seemed to be shaking slightly. A golden lightning bolt struck down from the clouds, and it was hitting the top of Zhongshan Mountain, making people unable to open their eyes. open your eyes.When everyone's eyes gradually cleared up, the clouds had dissipated, and the sky returned to clear. If it wasn't for the blackened trees outside the temple, the rolling thunder and lightning just now would have seemed like a dream...