Don't be clouded

Chapter 40

The monk even brought a horse, which was tied to a tree trunk behind him.

Dai Fengmao came up and whispered in Ji Bieyun's ear, "Who is this? It looks familiar."

Ji Bieyun hesitated to speak.How can he tell Dai Fengmao and more than 100 brothers that this is none other than the closed disciple of the abbot of Xuanqing Temple, and he probably did not come here to repair the temple, but to follow your leader to Chongzhou to investigate the case.

He cleared his throat, "My friend, the Dharma name is Chenguan."

Master Guanchen, whose name had been changed, didn't mind, turned around gracefully, took off the reins, and got on his horse.

Several brothers nearby laughed, and Deputy Captain Dai nudged him on the back with his elbow, "You haven't woken up yet, people call it Guan Chen, not Chen Guan."

This strong man was so strong that he didn't know it. Ji Bieyun was knocked forward and leaned forward.

He originally wanted to hide his identity for Guan Chen, after all, he is a member of Guosi, and hanging out with a degraded person like him would damage his reputation.However, Master Guanchen is famous all over the capital, and he can't hide it now, he said angrily: "I gave him a new nickname, can't I?"

Dai Fengmao kindly reminded him but was stabbed back. He couldn't figure out why Ji Bieyun had been doing well in front of them these few days, why he suddenly lost his temper.

His eyes moved to the monk, and then back to Ji Bieyun.Although he hadn't figured it out yet, he still dutifully asked in a soft voice: "Can the monk keep up with us? You'll be pampered at a glance. Don't slow down our pace."

Ji Bieyun replied lightly: "Then you and him share a horse?"

Lieutenant Dai's expression changed suddenly, his face was horrified, and he was speechless for a while.

"Why can't I help being funny?" Ji Bieyun sighed, turned to look at Guan Chen, and asked, "We are traveling very fast, are you physically able to take it?"

Guan Chen stroked the horse's mane compassionately, "Being an ascetic monk is not a bad idea."

"You left Xuanqing Temple just to follow..." He paused, then changed his words, "Just to go to Chongzhou to repair the temple, do Zen Master Jueming and the entire Xuanqing Temple have any objections?"

The monk answered without leaking: "Everything has been arranged, and everything the poor monk has done has been carefully thought out. Donor Ji doesn't have to worry."

Guan Chen was so persistent that it was useless for Ji Bieyun to worry, so he whipped his horse and rushed out.

Dai Fengmao chased after him and shouted: "Boss, if Xuanqing Temple knew about it, wouldn't it be said that we abducted his monk?"

He looked back and saw that the monk was galloping on his horse, his clothes fluttering, he didn't look like he was being abducted, it was clear that he had traveled thousands of miles to save the people of Chongzhou.

"If you keep paying attention to that monk, move to his horse for me," Ji Bieyun also shouted, "Hurry up your way!"

Dai Fengmao finally calmed down, and the group got farther and farther away from Chenjing until the majestic city completely disappeared.

**

The original eight-day journey was rushed by them, and they arrived at the outskirts of Chongzhou on the evening of the fifth day.

A group of people are busy, but they have no time to rest.Ji Bieyun was afraid that the news of their arrival in Chongzhou would soon spread into the city, so he hurriedly left ten people to garrison the outskirts of the city, and led the rest to Chongzhou City.

Guan Chen seemed determined to follow him, and followed him into Chongzhou City without saying a word.

When they entered the city gate, they realized something was wrong.

The city of Chongzhou was filled with terror, and the doors were closed tightly, as if everyone was in danger.There were hardly any people to be seen on the road, and the occasional passers-by walked in a hurry, staring at the road under their feet with their heads down.

It has been more than ten days since the extermination case, and it is very strange that people's livelihood has not been restored here.

Could it be that the officials here guessed that he would come?

They walked slowly along the main street for a long time.The people they met avoided them, turning their heads and running away as if they had seen the king of Hades.

When they had reached the gate of the government office, they finally saw a few people rushing out to greet them.

The leader was wearing an official uniform, followed by four yamen servants, trotted out from the door, and walked down the steps to the front of the team in two or three steps.

The man in official uniform stopped in front of Jibie Yunma, and saluted overly eagerly, "I don't know if the general is coming, but I'm far away to welcome you. Tang Xing, who is a low-ranking prefect, has seen the general."

Ji Bieyun sneered: "How do you know if I'm a general?"

Tang Xing's body shook, and he raised his head from the ground, with a cautious and funny expression, he tentatively replied: "I don't know about the lowly position, but the general's clothes make people know that he is a military general at first sight, and the general has an extraordinary bearing, so he definitely isn't. The busy people..."

"That's enough, get up." Ji Bieyun had no choice but to interrupt, otherwise this person's flattery would be endless.

Tang Sipan got up from the ground, and asked with a flattering smile, "I don't know why the general came to Chongzhou?"

Ji Bieyun got off his horse, and stroked the horse's hair, only touching dust with his hands.He turned his head and looked at Tang Xing, "According to the decree of the sage, the gate of Chongzhou City will be closed immediately. You can only enter, but not exit. In addition, you have to ask Tang Sipan to lead the way to the posthouse. We have been driving for several days. A place to stay and rest."

Tang Xing's expression became a little ugly, but he had no choice but to let the people brought by Ji Bieyun rush to various city gates.

The sound of horseshoes scattered in all directions, and the entry and exit of the entire Chongzhou City was out of control. Tang Xing had no choice but to accept his fate and lead the way.

Chongzhou is not a rich place, the scale of the city is much smaller than that of Chenjing, and they arrived at the post house within a few streets.

Ji Bieyun looked at the preoccupied Tang Xing, and said intentionally: "It's getting late, we won't go to the private houses of the governor and Changshi today. But we have to ask Tang Siping to help keep an eye on them. If something unexpected happens, It is also to be written into the memorial and presented to the imperial court."

When Tang Xing heard the last sentence, his expression became a little more serious, and he nodded to bid them farewell.

But before taking two steps, he came back and said hesitantly: "The governor and the chief minister have governed Chongzhou for more than ten years, but they have only been in office for half a year. Many things are not clear. .No matter what the general orders, I will fully cooperate with you.”

This is a statement of position.

The position of magistrate is under the governor and chief historian, and it is dispensable, so Ji Bieyun also believed Tang Xing's previous part.The latter sentence... If there is no other force behind Tang Xing, then in this case, it must be safer to rely on the emperor.

Ji Bieyun still wanted to give this person a try, and deliberately asked: "Then Tang Siping knows, why is there such a panic in Chongzhou City?"

Tang Xing was no longer as tense as before, and answered smoothly: "Perhaps it's because of the panic caused by the extermination case, and..."

Seeing that the man started to hesitate again, he asked, "What else?"

Tang Xing glanced at him, and said very quickly: "The city is haunted by ghosts, general, you must not go out at night, let alone go to the south, it is close to the Yuan River, and it is dangerous to flood at night..."

Ji Bieyun turned his head and looked at Guan Chen.

The man muttered incoherently, as if he wanted them to go to the south of the city at night.

He went through it in his heart, and only said "I understand" on his face, and then sent the person away.

Ji Bieyun didn't relax until the gate of the post house was closed.

Dai Fengmao went to arrange shifts at the city gate, so Ji Bieyun took Guanchen up to the second floor, opened the window and looked.

In the twilight, the south side doesn't look like anything special, a big river flows through the city, and a stone bridge across it can be seen from a distance.There are different areas on both sides of the embankment. There should be a market on the side of the river, but it is deserted today. There are residential houses on the other side of the river, so I can't see it clearly.

"Master Guanchen," Ji Bieyun said casually, "exorcising ghosts is your specialty, you can go to the south with me tonight to have a look."

Guan Chen's tone was not in favor: "The poor monk does not know how to exorcise ghosts."

He turned his head, looked at the monk whose clothes were stained with dust but was still dusty, and forced himself to pull out a smirk.

"How do you know if you don't try?"

**

That night.

The moonlight was clear, but it added a touch of eerieness to the deserted streets.

Ji Bieyun and Guan Chen walked side by side, each carrying a lantern.

You Xiaowei's brother traveled for five days and slept in the open air. It was time for him to rest for the night.So Ji Bieyun only invited Guan Chen, although he felt a little bit offended by his conscience, but the monk didn't seem to feel tired, so it would be a pity not to be invited.

In fact, Ji Bieyun himself was a bit overwhelmed, his back ached from riding a horse, and although the old injuries on his body had healed, his bones were still sore.

He yawned, stretched again, and shook his head trying to get rid of the drowsiness.

"Tired?" Guan Chen's voice suddenly sounded.

Ji Bieyun turned his head abruptly, the monk was looking at him, and even lifted the lantern to shine on his face.

"It turned out that I was sleepy, and I almost couldn't open my eyes."

He dodged back, thinking that the monk seemed to speak differently now, but he didn't know what was different.I just feel that under the moonlight, the sense of alienation on Guan Chen's body seems to be a little lighter.

Ji Bieyun didn't want to think too much, and said in a low voice, "If I'm scared by a ghost, maybe I won't be sleepy."

Guan Chen moved the lantern away, turned his gaze to the front, "We're almost at the river."

Along the way, Chongzhou is like an empty city, no one speaks, only a dead silence.Besides the moonlight and the two candlelights in front of them, the world was also gloomy and gloomy.

They walked downstream along the river bank for a while, and finally saw something different among the same buildings.

It was a small three-story building, dilapidated and decayed, even half of the door was broken, as if it would collapse at any time.

Ji Bieyun raised the lantern, looked at the glowing light on the third floor, and sighed, "Why does it look like a grave?"