Chapter 84 New Harvest

Chapter 84 New Harvest

Chapter 84 New Harvest
Late at night, Guo Zhuang came to Xu Qing's study.

"Sir, it's done."

Xu Qing nodded. He hadn't fallen asleep yet because he was waiting for news from Guo Zhuang.

Because this time in the Lotus Sect, besides Elder Tang, there is another hall master who knows Su Lianqing's other identity - Yin Sanniang.

Therefore, this person cannot stay.

He was not killed on the spot, but was seriously injured and temporarily fell into a coma.

Xu Qing was present before and did not make the final move. In addition, with the presence of a martial arts master like Zuo Qianhu, it would be easy for Zuo Qianhu to see through him if he used the Yaksha King to deal with the opponent.

After returning, he simply ordered Xu Fu to find Guo Zhuang and settle the matter.

The solution is simple.

There were only a few doctors in the yamen who could treat the prisoners' injuries, and they had long been bribed and controlled by Guo Zhuang so that they could be used to do the dirty work.

Xu Qing also had his own people in the government office, whom Guo Zhuang had instructed to develop.

It is very easy to deal with a seriously injured and unconscious traitor.

As for Su Lianqing's identity as Xu Qing's hidden agent in the Lotus Sect, Xu Qing had already said it in the government office. It was mainly because Yin Sanniang's identity was not exposed, which was also for Lao He's good.

Guo Zhuang had no idea of ​​Xu Qing's intention to silence him, but he just carried out what the young master said.

People who know too much often don't live long.

Xu Qing told Guo Zhuang some other things, and then Guo Zhuang left.

Su Lianqing walked out from behind the screen in the study and said, "I didn't expect that you had already laid out such a deep plan in Jiangning Prefecture. If you didn't have a bright future in the imperial examination, I would have thought that you also wanted to rebel."

She is in a very complicated mood now.

The main thing is that no one in the rebellion business can compare to Xu Qing's frustration. The key is that this person is not a professional rebel.

Xu Qing: "All my plans are just for the sake of people, they are nothing. When Prefect He leaves one day, I don't know if the new prefect will deal with me and treat me as a local tyrant and attack me."

There are two attitudes of local officials towards powerful gentry: one is a cooperative attitude, and the other is a combative attitude.

It mainly depends on what the court thinks.

If the imperial court wanted to strike down a local power, it would use tough officials to deal with the powerful gentry. However, this kind of thing would become less and less common as the dynasty entered its final years.

Xu Qing simply did what all the gentry and powerful people in the world would do, which was to undermine the foundation of the imperial court.

If he doesn't dig, someone else will, so it's better for him to do it himself.

Su Lianqing: "With your ability, you will not fail to think of these. Actually, there is something I want to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

A bold idea suddenly occurred to her.

Xu Qing: "Go ahead."

Su Lianqing: "In fact, we in Luo Sect don't care who rebels and becomes the emperor. You have practiced the Five Great Demon Gods Visualization Method, even if it is not complete. From a legal point of view, you are indeed the Holy Son of the Lotus Sect. If you have the support of the head sect, you can completely control the Lotus Sect in secret. Moreover, with the resources of the Lotus Sect, whether it is practicing martial arts or practicing spiritual arts, it will be of great benefit..."

Although this idea is bold, it is very feasible.

Moreover, with Xu Qing as the leader of the Lotus Sect, Su Lianqing no longer has to worry about becoming a double agent. It can even be said that he has made great contributions to the Luo Sect.

The goal of Luo Jiao sending Su Lianqing to control the Lotus Sect is to reintegrate the now fragmented Lotus Sect and continue to devote themselves to the rebellion, instead of the current situation where everyone is fighting each other, no one is willing to submit to anyone else, and the power of the rebellion is wasted.

The key point is that she can see that although Xu Qing is a scholar, he is not a traditional scholar. Such a person will not be trapped in the framework of the righteousness between the monarch and his subjects.

Xu Qing glanced at Su Lianqing, his eyes reflected by the light of the pine oil lamp, deep and mysterious. He slowly said: "What I did was just to protect myself."

Su Lianqing: "You don't really think you can secretly control Jiangning Prefecture, do you? If you continue like this, the court will find out sooner or later. The surveillance power of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Inner Factory in the local area is more terrible than you think. Even what you are doing now may not be completely hidden from them. It's just that there are too many such things in the world, and you have a background, so there are no problems. But once your backers in the court fall, these old accounts will be evidence for those people to attack you and your backers..."

When she reached this point, she suddenly stopped talking, and her face was full of fear.

She felt the undisguised murderous intent coming from Xu Qing.

Beads of sweat rolled down her face and onto her neck...

Her back was already wet and her whole body was shaking uncontrollably.

Suddenly, Xu Qing smiled.

Just like ice and snow melting.

Su Lianqing felt fortunate to have survived the calamity.

Just now, she was at the gates of hell and it was no different.

"You are afraid of death."

Su Lianqing: "Thank you."

She knew that Xu Qing had spared her life, but there would definitely not be a next time.

"I'm afraid of death too." Xu Qing replied indifferently.

He patted Su Lianqing on the shoulder and said, "Live well. You should understand now that nothing is more precious than being alive. No matter how great your ambitions are, or how great your fame is, it is not as good as being alive."

The four words "immortality" have harmed countless emperors, generals, and wise people.

The reason why it can harm these outstanding figures in history is that it is really valuable.

Xu Qing opened the window, put his hands behind his back and looked at the bright moon outside the window: "Life is like a fleeting moment. Compared with the sun and the moon, our birth is really a very accidental thing. We must learn to cherish every moment of living in this world."

Then, Xu Qing turned around, and looked at Su Lianqing quietly with deep eyes, "Of course, what you said is not without reason."

Su Lianqing was struck by lightning when he heard this.

She really couldn't figure him out.

Xu Qing continued: "But you can't be my master, do you understand?"

"I understand... I understand." Su Lianqing finally realized what a fatal mistake she had made.

She overstepped her bounds.

Xu Qing told her clearly what the rules were.

Xu Qing was also an ordinary person in his previous life. He yearned for freedom and equality. He was angry and sad about the strange cycle in history where those who wanted to be slaves or wanted to be slaves but couldn't, did not fight for it.

But when he really experienced all of this, he discovered that power and strength are simply monsters that devour a person's ego and influence his or her behavior.

As long as he is unwilling to give up these, he will naturally abide by and maintain this set of rules.

There is no difference between him and Su Lianqing.

Su Lianqing is his slave, and he is currently just a slave to power and strength.

The most terrifying thing about this kind of thing is that you can't change it just because you realize it.

Could Xu Qing talk about equality for all with Su Lianqing, Guo Zhuang and others?
Because they are living people, they have their own power and strength, and they have their own slaves, and they also want to ride on the heads of others.

Otherwise, why would these people follow Xu Qing?
Everyone follows you just to get promoted, make money, play with women, and satisfy their own desires...

So Xu Qing controlled and enslaved these people by satisfying their desires.

If Xu Qing cannot satisfy their desires, they will choose to betray in a blink of an eye.

"The bronze mirror's evaluation of me as an 'extraterritorial demon' now seems to be too correct." After Xu Qing figured this out, he had a very strange feeling.

He did not feel angry or frustrated because of this. Instead, he gained a different kind of insight from the breeze and bright moon outside.

There is nothing wrong with satisfying the instinctive desires of life.

The sun rises and sets, the moon waxes and wanes, and all things in the world are in a cycle, endless. These laws are like the instinct of life, and there is no need for human will to impose them to make them operate more correctly.

From this perspective, the pursuit of "correctness" itself is just one's own wishful thinking.

"I want to live. I want to live well with people who are good to me. I also want to live well... I have these desires, and I satisfy them. There is nothing good or bad about them. I just want to live this way."

Xu Qing understood that the reason why he was prone to these feelings was nothing more than the thoughts that naturally arose after his soul became stronger. Chasing the essence of life and the essence of the Great Dao were also the desires of the "soul".

It is also a desire of “me”.

Persistence is not the Tao, but persistence itself is also a part of the Tao.

He wants to satisfy his own desires, which is "unity of knowledge and action"; he wants "people who are good to him to live well", which is "conscience".

The difference between good and evil lies in what moves his heart.

In the bronze mirror inside the body, the content in the column of holiness suddenly had a hint of holiness.

Xu Qing was delighted by this.

He transformed this ray of holy energy into the luck column, eliminating the future bad luck. His life span increased accordingly:
"Four and a half years."

This is the cumulative result of the use of the holy energy at the Wuding Marquis Mansion last time.

The aura of saintly virtue dissolves the bad luck. The added life span is not quantitative, but the added life span becomes less as time goes by.

Obviously, the bad luck he tried to dispel with his holy spirit could not be eradicated, but only delayed.

Xu Qing did not panic.

The longer the time goes, the stronger he becomes, and the less afraid he is of this so-called calamity of life.

It is like after a monkey learned the art of immortality and learned seventy-two transformations, the underworld still sentenced it to death and sent the Black and White Impermanence to capture it and take away its soul.

The results of it?
Making trouble in the underworld!

What does this mean?
When you are weak, you are afraid that the Black and White Impermanence will take away your soul; when you are strong, the Black and White Impermanence will be afraid of you.

Work hard!
...

...

"Student greets you, Master."

"Gongming, an important figure among the Lotus Sect's rebels was seriously injured and died last night." Prefect He looked at Xu Qing meaningfully.

Xu Qing was surprised at first, then he asked solemnly: "Will this affect the outcome of the interrogation?"

Prefect He: "There are still two hall masters of the Lotus Sect alive, and you killed the other party's elder on the spot. This incident is enough to report to the court for merit, so it will not affect the overall situation. But I suspect that the cause of death of the hall master who died of serious injuries is suspicious."

Xu Qing: "Does the Lord intend to investigate?"

He Zhifu: "Forget it, a trivial matter can easily lead to a big thing. Let me teach you one more thing. Whether you are an official or a person, it is better to be a little confused. I am the parent official. There is a saying among the people, "If you are not deaf or dumb, you are not qualified to be the father of the family." If your children do something wrong, parents do not need to be perfect and harsh. Gongming, you know that I treat you like my own son or nephew."

Xu Qing bowed and said, "I will never forget your kindness to me."

Prefect He laughed and said, "Gongming is such a sensible child, I believe he will not commit any major mistakes. Let's go see Captain Zuo. You killed Elder Tang yesterday, and he had a lot of important things on him. You killed him, so these things should be given to you. But some things have to be handed over to the higher-ups, so Captain Zuo plans to compensate you. He has always been thinking about you, the Jiangning Tiger."

Xu Qing: "Master Qianhu really flatters me too much."

Prefect He: "How can it be flattering? Do you think that Lord Wu is wrong to say that you are a rising star of the times, or that Lord Zhou's words 'one day you will be a scholar of the world' are just nonsense?"

Xu Qing couldn't help but smile awkwardly.

Today, Lao He has been saying something with hidden meaning.

Hey, old fox, I guess he knows something. At this point he...

Pretend to be ignorant when you know the truth.

Xu Qing couldn't tell the truth.

Prefect He pretended to be confused in order to make Xu Qing "understand" in his heart.

If he really reveals the truth, he would be truly "confused".

From this, it can be seen that Lao He’s control over the government office is far greater than Xu Qing thought.

Fortunately, the two were in the same boat.

As long as there is no mistake in principle, Lao He will naturally not target Xu Qing.

...

...

"Mr. Xu, these are the things left behind by the old woman surnamed Tang. I will hand over the rest of the things. I believe Lord He has already told you about it. I wonder what other compensation you want?" Captain Zuo was a military man and had a good impression of Xu Qing, so he spoke quickly.

Xu Qing bowed and thanked him, saying that it was a favor for others to give you the gift, and it was their duty not to give you the gift.

To be honest, Xu Qing was surprised that Captain Zuo did this.

In this day and age, there are still such honest officials, and they are the captain of the inner factory.

Who is the scholar after all?

This made Xu Qing wonder if he was being too immoral.

Zuo Qianhu was quick to speak, and Xu Qing did not hesitate to say, "Tianxiangyuan has a fragrance called 'Fox-Attracting Incense'. I want some."

Zuo Qianhu: "Fox-attracting incense? This thing is indeed a rare item, but you have the shares given to you by Lord He, so it's nothing to ask for these things. But have you thought about it, do you really want this as a reward?"

"Your Excellency has misunderstood. I intend to buy it at the market price. As for other rewards, I don't want them either."

"You're still going to pay?"

"Public is public, private is private, otherwise it will be hard to settle accounts."

Zuo Qianhu heard this and realized that this was indeed the truth. Although he could be the master of Tianxiangyuan, it would be difficult to settle the account if Xu Qing took the Yinhuxiang directly.

The captain of the left army said, "Mr. Xu is really thoughtful. But I am wronging you. How about this? I saw that your sword skills were too casual that day. If you don't mind, I will teach you a set of sword skills. What do you think?"

Xu Qing couldn't help but be a little surprised.

It's not that he doesn't want to learn weapons, but he really can't find any advanced sword, knife or gun techniques to learn systematically.

He knew that although the martial arts academy of Shangqing Palace in Laoshan was not as profound as that of Dachan Temple, it was not necessarily weaker in terms of martial arts skills.

The swordsmanship taught by Zuo Qianhu is definitely not an ordinary one.

"Thank you, sir." Xu Qing hurriedly thanked him.

Zuo Qianhu smiled and said, "My sword technique is not passed down from Laoshan. You won't have any trouble after learning it, and it is not inferior to the sword techniques collected by our sect. I see that you have a solid foundation and are capable of learning it. I hope that after you learn it, you can carry it forward."

"I will do my best."

Captain Zuo smiled and looked at Prefect He: "Sir He, can I borrow your martial arts arena?"

Prefect He smiled and said, "I regard Gongming as my son or nephew. It is really too polite for Lord Zuo to say that."

"Slip of the tongue."

So Captain Zuo took Xu Qing to the martial arts arena in the government office.

Xu Qing had come here more than once and was already familiar with the place. He directly took out a commonly used sword from the weapon rack. The style was similar to the one Zuo Qianhu had.

Captain Zuo drew his sword from its sheath, and immediately there was an air of majestic and lofty bearing.

Xu Qing had seen the pressure from King Lin and the aura from Eunuch Zhao, but these two, the top masters he had ever seen in his life, did not have the aura of Zuo Qianhu.

"Knife intention?"

If it comes to the strength of qi and blood, I'm afraid Zuo Qianhu can't compare to Lin Tianwang.

But this kind of style is definitely not something that King Lin can possess.

Captain Zuo said slowly, "That year, I was walking in a mountain stream and saw five tigers fighting each other. I figured out this sword technique and drove the five tigers across the stream. To commemorate this event, I named the sword technique 'Five Tigers Breaking the Gate Sword'. Mr. Xu, please take a closer look."

(End of this chapter)