Cross the river pawn

Qi Xuansu originally wanted to get close to his subordinates and enhance their relationship, but the situation was somewhat beyond his expectation.

After Zhang Yuelu came back from Master Zhangtang, he immediately summoned everyone and asked them to prepare and leave Yujing within three days.

According to the original plan, Zhang Yuelu had just organized his manpower, and it took him a month to get ready before he could carry out his official duties. However, he did not expect that another incident occurred in the Western Regions. The war in the Western Regions Taoist Mansion had reached a critical moment. The master and the three deputy masters of the Tiangang Hall were leading the main force of the Taoist sect to form a confrontation with the shamans on the border. This group of monsters took advantage of this opportunity to boldly attack a Taoist temple, killing ten eighth-grade Taoist priests and three The seventh-grade Taoist priest made the Taoist sect very angry and ordered them to eradicate this group of monsters within a time limit.

The master in charge called Zhang Yuelu just for this matter.

This was beyond Zhang Yuelu's expectation. According to her assumption, a month later, Xu Kou also came back. Although this man was a thorn in the side, he was also a good player. The fight between the two was not a life-and-death fight. They really had to risk their lives. Fighting, Zhang Yuelu would not win so easily. With the help of Xu Kou and Lingquanzi, Zhang Yuelu thought that it would not be too difficult to eliminate this evil.

But one month in advance, Zhang Yuelu couldn't break his promise, so Xu Kou couldn't participate.Although she was optimistic about Qi Xuansu, Qi Xuansu's cultivation level was still a bit low, so his manpower was a little tight.

However, Zhang Yuelu was not a person who liked to complain, so he did not refuse and agreed to leave Yujing in three days and head to the Western Regions.

Since it was the intention of the higher-ups of the Taoist sect, everyone did not dare to complain and could only quickly prepare various supplies.After August [-]th, it has entered late autumn. The Western Regions and grasslands are not as cold as Jiangnan and Lingnan. Snowflakes have even begun to fall in many places on the grasslands. Clothing to keep out the cold is essential, as well as shading. You should also prepare some items such as bright gauze or sunglasses, various elixirs, marching pills, etc., which can be reimbursed afterwards.

The so-called "March Pills" are pills made from various ingredients and medicinal materials through secret methods. As long as you take one pill, you can go without hunger for three days. It is especially suitable for marching and fighting, so it is named "March Pills".It's just that this thing is expensive, one piece costs one Taiping coin. In addition, it can only satisfy hunger, has a rough texture, is extremely unpalatable, and tastes like drinking soup. Therefore, people in Taoist sects usually only prepare some when traveling far away. .

The advantage of Tiangang Hall is that weapons are uniformly distributed, and each person has two swords, one iron and one wooden.

The iron sword is a top-notch mortal item, similar to Qingluan Guard's "Slim Tiger Sword". It is called "Execution" and is used to kill people.

The wooden sword is a low-grade spiritual object, far inferior to the flying sword "Green Snake", named "Ziwu", which is used to deal with ghosts and evil spirits.

In addition, with the development of firearms, Tiangangtang has also begun to issue additional handguns in recent decades, but they are not high-end items like the "Shenlong Handgun", but the second-class "Blue Bird Handgun".

The "Blue Bird Handgun" is not produced by Shenjiying, but was developed and produced by Tianjitang in 16. It has a bronze handle, the barrel is made of refined iron and plated with cyan, and the muzzle is as big as a bird's beak, hence the name "Bluebird" .Rear-loading reloading, firing pin mechanism, rifled, effective range of [-] steps, can break through the protective aura of an innate person within [-] steps, suitable for various "Dragon Eye" series projectiles, the black market price is about five One hundred taiping money.

The two swords and the blunderbuss are numbered. If someone sells them for money, they will naturally be severely punished.

Qi Xuansu went to Sun Yongfeng to get his own weapons. Including his dagger, there were four weapons in total. However, the Taoist priests of Tiangang Hall were not equipped with armor, only the spiritual officials were equipped with it.

Because Qi Xuansu did not have Xumi treasures, he could only carry two swords on his back, a dagger hanging on the left side of his waist and a handgun on the right side.

Zhang Yuelu obviously has a Sumeru weapon. She is not seen carrying any weapons, let alone the legendary semi-immortal.

Originally, Tiangangtang had prepared a flying boat that could fly directly to the Snowy Mountains where the Taoist government in the Western Regions is located and land in Yaochi.

Speaking of Daxue Mountain, it was originally a holy land of shamanism and one of the four palaces of the Golden Horde Khan. However, in the 11th year of Daxuan Taiping, it was conquered by the imperial court and Taoists, and Daxue Mountain Palace became what it is today. In order to regain the holy land of the Snowy Mountains where the Taoist government is located, the Shamans went to war with the Taoist government of the Western Regions several times.

However, Zhang Yuelu rejected Feizhou's arrangement and decided to go by land. Firstly, Kunlun itself was in the Western Region, and the journey was not far.Second, only by walking on the ground yourself can you truly understand the specific situation through what you see and hear along the way.

In the early morning of August 22th, a group of more than [-] people from Tiangangtang left Kunlun. On the evening of August [-]nd, they arrived at the last Taoist temple before leaving Kunlun.

After just two days of dining and sleeping in the open air, the difference was made. People like Qi Xuansu and Zhou Bai, who often walked around the rivers and lakes, all looked normal, while people like Mu Jin, who had been in Yujing for a long time, could not hide their fatigue.

The master of the Taoist temple had already come out. Qi Xuansu came forward with the documents of Tiangang Hall and explained the identities of everyone. He pointed at Zhang Yuelu who was surrounded by everyone and said: "This is the deputy master of Tiangang Hall. If there is a superior, Room, please lead Deputy Hall Master Zhang to come and freshen up."

Because everyone was in regular clothes, the temple leader here did not expect Zhang Yuelu, the youngest among them, to be the chief official, and thought that the older Lingquanzi was.

However, the temple owner had obviously heard of Zhang Yuelu's name and did not dare to neglect him. He hurriedly let Zhang Yuelu and his group into the temple, and entertained Zhang Yuelu according to the standards of a Taoist priest who offered three-grade wine.However, the rest of the people are not so lucky and can only enjoy the treatment corresponding to their grade, regardless of their position.Qi Xuansu, Mu Jin, Zhou Bai, Xu Zhen and others were all deacons, but their treatment was much worse because Qi Xuansu was only a seventh-grade Taoist priest.

This time he went to the Western Regions with Zhang Yuelu. Except for Sun Yongfeng and Tian Baobao who stayed behind while Xu Kou recovered from his injuries, everyone else was dispatched.

The Taoist temple here is similar to an inn, and the room is as warm as spring. Qi Xuansu had just taken off his robe and planned to rest for a while, when his subordinate Cao Liyou knocked on the door and said: "Deacon Qi, the deputy hall master sent someone to invite you to come over."

Qi Xuansu responded, had to put on his clothes again, and followed a Taoist from the Taoist temple to Zhang Yuelu's room.

Kunlun territory is vast and sparsely populated, so the Taoist temple occupies a large area. It is a long distance from Qi Xuansu's residence to Zhang Yuelu's residence. Qi Xuansu passed two long corridors and then came to a single-family courtyard.

The Taoist who was responsible for guiding the way stopped there. Qi Xuansu entered the courtyard, came to the outside of the study and gently knocked on the door.

Zhang Yuelu's voice came from inside: "Come in."

Qi Xuansu pushed the door open and walked in. It was warm inside. Two candles illuminated the entire study. There was a Western-style carpet on the floor. Zhang Yuelu, who had taken off his outer robe, was sitting behind the desk, flipping through the files he carried with him.

"Sit down." Zhang Yuelu said without raising his head.

Qi Xuansu sat opposite Zhang Yuelu and asked, "Miss Tantai, what do you want from me?"

Zhang Yuelu pushed a dossier in front of Qi Xuansu and said, "This is a summary of the demon troubles in the Western Regions. Take a look at it and be aware of it."

Qi Xuansu took the file and responded.

"The others have already taken their files back." Zhang Yuelu said again, "You are a seventh-grade Taoist priest. You only have one bedroom, not even a decent table, and the oil lamp is dim, so you should read it here. At least the candle is brighter."

Qi Xuansu did not refuse, but he still kindly reminded Zhang Yuelu: "It's getting late. If I stay for a long time, I'm afraid there will be some rumors and ruin the girl's reputation."

Zhang Yuelu smiled slightly: "Those who are pure will themselves be pure. I don't care. Do you still care?"

Now that Zhang Yuelu said this, Qi Xuansu had nothing to say. In addition, the Taoist sect did not pay as much attention to the defense of men and women as the Confucian sect. Qi Xuansu sat opposite Zhang Yuelu across the desk and began to flip through this not-thin book. 's files.

After reading the files, Qi Xuansu realized that this group of monsters actually came from the Western countries.From the appearance point of view, the high nose and deep eyes are the characteristics of the Semu people. They are often active at night, have supernatural powers similar to those derived from the flesh and blood of warriors, and can also use illusions. At present, it seems that they want to take root in the Western Region.

After Zhang Yuelu and Qi Xuansu read the dossier, they asked, "What do you think?"

Qi Xuansu replied: "Since the ten years of Taiping, the Western Region has not been a peaceful place. Taoism, Buddhism, Shamanism, Ancient Immortals, Rakshasa Kingdom and other forces have concentrated here. Even Taoism cannot cover the sky with one hand. The Western Region is also the gateway to the west. The trade routes of various countries are located where the population flows greatly. The composition of merchants traveling between various countries is complex. In addition, the vast territory is sparsely populated, which can be said to be a mixed bag of good and bad. If this foreign monster is allowed to gain a foothold in the Western Region, and then colludes with other forces, it will form With the power of the alliance, it will be difficult to eradicate them, so we must eliminate them as soon as possible while their foothold is not yet stable."

Zhang Yuelu nodded and said: "Tian Yuan's words are exactly the same as those of several praise paintings in the hall. The praise paintings believe that this group of monsters have spotted the opportunity when the Taoist government in the Western Regions has no time to pay attention to, and commit crimes wantonly. Firstly, they are short of money, and secondly It's because they also want to use this matter to establish their authority. But I always feel that the matter is not that simple. It is just to take root in the Western Region. It is not a wise move to directly provoke the Taoist sect. It is very likely to cause fire. I think this group of monsters has someone else. picture."

Qi Xuansu developed the habit of looking at the results without asking for details at the Qingping Society. He said directly: "Regardless of the motives of this group of monsters, there must be a conflict of interest between outsiders and local snakes. Can we start with local snakes and kill people with a borrowed knife?"

Zhang Yuelu said: "If this group of people hadn't killed those dozen Taoist disciples, this method would be feasible, but after they killed the Taoist disciples, the nature would be completely different. The Master's intention is that we must do it ourselves to clarify the canon." Punishment serves as a warning to others.”

Qi Xuansu nodded: "I understand."