Chapter 117 Code Word

Chapter 117 Code Word

Chapter 117 Code Word
Li Wuxiang immediately turned to look at Pan Muyun and Helian Ji and found that they were both slightly stunned. They probably did not expect the current situation.

At this time, the boat docked and four soldiers including Zeng Jianqiu jumped onto the dock.

Zeng Jianqiu turned his eyes away from them and spoke: "Stop making noise, tell us what you each brought, line up, and come forward one by one. If anyone makes trouble, go back immediately!"

The other three soldiers also shouted a few times, and the people in front immediately lined up obediently.

The three of them were at the end of the line. Li Wuxiang asked Pan Muyun in a low voice, "What's going on?"

Pan Muyun shook his head: "I don't know, he never said. How did he get into the garrison?"

Li Wuxiang knew about the garrison from his collection of worldly knowledge.

The diocese of the Five Mountains True Form Dao is actually equivalent to a huge country, with many towns similar to Guancheng. In each of these towns, there is a cultivator sitting in charge, called "Zu Shou".

This "garrison" was really just a garrison. The Six Mystical Sects gave this person the power to decide life and death, and could execute anyone in the city, but they strictly prohibited this practitioner from participating in the affairs of the city.

Li Wuxiang now thought about it and realized that although this approach was not wise, it was something they had to do. One person was particularly powerful and held the power to rule. Isn't this a replica of Donghuang Taiyi before he became a Taoist? Since they were afraid of the destiny of humanity, they would never allow a similar situation to occur in the diocese again.

Therefore, the people who actually manage the city affairs, at least in Guancheng, are actually two ordinary people with no cultivation.

One is the "Anminfu", which is in charge of people's livelihood, and the other is the "Zhenshoufu", which is in charge of the military force in the city.

According to the Shijie Collection, the soldiers in the "Zunshoufu" cannot practice. In the Xuanjiao, there is another set of skills similar to the one Zeng Jianqiu gave to Xue Baoping for them to practice. The soldiers trained in this way are enough to deal with ordinary people.

In the main temple of Xuanjiao, there will also be disciples who go out to various towns for training. In fact, they are very similar to the "itinerant officials" in his original world in ancient times - they are placed in Anmin Mansion and Zhenshou Mansion, supervising the secular affairs of the two mansions, and when necessary, dealing with possible independent cultivators in the diocese. After the training period is over, they have to return to the main temple.

Among this kind of experienced disciples, only the particularly outstanding ones will be called "walking" - only with this status can they go out of the parish to do work.

So how did Zeng Jianqiu get into the garrison and become a garrison soldier?
At this time, the vendors who had lined up began to show off their good stuff. During the previous chat, Li Wuxiang already knew that in a situation like this, not everyone could cross the river. But in general, since they came from all over the place and brought things to the parish, they must think that what they have is eye-catching enough. Among ten people, five or six can always get in.

However, this time, starting from the first one, almost no one could get on board - Zeng Jianqiu seemed to be the leader among the four soldiers, and he was the one inspecting the goods. The vendor took out something in a secretive and mysterious way, and he only took a glance, frowned, and shouted, "Next!"

By the time Pan Muyun arrived, there were only five people on the boat.

Pan Muyun stood in front of him and spread a copper nail covered with green rust in his palm: "This is a..."

But before he finished speaking, Zeng Jianqiu frowned again: "Next!"

Pan Muyun was stunned: "I..."

Zeng Jianqiu raised his hand and pushed him away roughly: "Go away!"

Pan Muyun staggered and stood there, glaring at him before whispering, "It looks like it's going to rain, I won't go even if you ask me to! Who knows if I can cross the river!"

Hearing this, Li Wuxiang immediately observed Zeng Jianqiu's expression carefully.

He was the one who said this to Pan Muyun - it was the code word they agreed with Zeng Jianqiu a few days ago. According to the situation on that day, he would just casually mention the weather. If Zeng Jianqiu agreed, it meant that the situation had changed and the clan might have to reconsider it.

However, Zeng Jianqiu did not react. He just smiled coldly and looked at Helian Ji again: "What did you bring?"

Helian Ji frowned and opened his hand. A dark black bead lay in his palm. Zeng Jian also glanced at it and shouted, "Next!"

Li Wuxiang walked up to him and exchanged glances with him briefly.

He had some experience with this kind of thing in his previous life. Looking at Zeng Jianqiu's behavior, it seemed that something had indeed happened in the city, and he wanted the three of them to stay away. But why didn't he speak in code?
He could only think of one possibility - Zeng Jianqiu was captured. But if he was captured and the True Form Cult's people used some method to force the secret code out of him, then when Pan Muyun spoke just now, even if Zeng Jianqiu didn't answer, the possible ambush should have been launched.

If the secret code had not been forced out, he should have given a response according to the previous agreement.

Or, he looks normal now, but something is wrong with his sanity?
The Five Mountains True Form Sect is not good at this kind of magic, but the Taiyin Sect among the Six Parts of the Mysterious Sect, according to the Collection of Worldly Explanations, is particularly adept at controlling people's minds... Did they borrow their methods, or was it done by a cultivator from the Taiyin Sect?

Li Wuxiang decided to do something a little risky.

If the worst happens and someone is lying in ambush nearby, then we must not follow the other side's rhythm. Only by attacking suddenly and disrupting the ambush can things turn around. Across the river is the parish. As Pan Muyun said, the parish is protected by the six Xuanjiao True Spirits. If we must take action, we must do it on the side of the river.

So he spread his hands and looked directly into Zeng Jianqiu's eyes: "My dear general, you didn't like the two before you, so you have to give me an explanation for this one? Guess where I got this thing?"

Zeng Jianqiu saw the tentacles in his palm and frowned.

But at this moment, Li Wuxiang noticed his eyes - there was something else mixed in his impatient expression. He recognized the tentacle and knew it was from his body.

Then his mind should be normal.

Zeng Jianqiu said before that he had bad intentions and knew his own style of doing things. Now he said "you have to give an explanation", he should understand that he is not like Pan Muyun and Helian Ji... who are emotionally stable and whose thoughts can be understood. If he continues to play dumb, things may not end well.

As expected, Zeng Jianqiu did not shout "next one" again. Instead, he took a closer look at the tentacles and sneered, "I don't care where you got it. Go back to where you came from before I peel off your skin. You savage, don't want to live a good life anymore? Are you looking for death here?"

Li Wuxiang's heart immediately relaxed - "strip off your skin" should refer to his identity. It's just a human-shaped skin.

And "you don't want to live a good life anymore, you come here to die"... It sounds like he is trying to dissuade me from taking risks. He doesn't want to ask the three of them to go to the parish? He wants to rescue Lou He himself?
Then why didn’t you mention it when you were sending the message to Pan Muyun and the others?

At this time, a tall soldier standing next to Zeng Jianqiu took a step forward, picked up a tentacle from Li Wuxiang's hand, stretched it carefully, and folded it. Then he smiled and said, "Brother Zeng, why are you arguing with them? I think the things in the hands of these three people are good. You have been in the mansion for a short time, and you don't know that there have been no new things in the city for a long time. These things don't appeal to you, but there are people in the city who like them."

He raised his face and pointed at Pan Muyun, Helian Ji and five other people: "You guys, get on the boat too!"

Li Wuxiang immediately went to see Zeng Jianqiu. If there was anything else wrong, he should have reacted at this time. But Zeng Jianqiu just stared at him for a few more times, snorted, and waved his hand: "Okay, go!"

Li Wuxiang realized that his idea might be right - there was nothing unexpected, no risk, but he just didn't want the three of them to cross the river.

When in Deyang, Pan Muyun said that Zeng Jinqiu had some intention of giving up on himself. Now it seemed that he really wanted to take on the task of rescuing Lou He. Thinking about it carefully, this willful idea was consistent with his temperament.

But, would the loss of youth and longevity really make people so discouraged?
Several people boarded the boat, and the boat started moving in the moat. The boat had a wide deck and no ship's tower. The merchants who boarded the boat gathered together, and the four soldiers talked on the side.

Li Wuxiang, Pan Muyun and Helian Ji had just gathered together when the tall garrison soldier who had asked them to get on the boat came over. When the merchants saw him, they immediately moved away, and they were the only ones left here.

The garrison soldier walked up to Li Wuxiang and looked him over again, then asked with a smile, "Is this your first time in Guancheng?"

Li Wuxiang nodded: "Yes."

"No wonder you are so brave." He smiled again, "Show me that thing again, it's quite interesting."

The four words "very interesting" gave Li Wuxiang a slight surprise - he had seen one or two colleagues like him in his previous life who liked to change their expressions and do things immediately after saying such words.

But at this moment, the soldier's face did not show any other expression. He looked young, about 23 or 24 years old, with a pair of thin and long eyebrows, a pair of large and slightly sunken eyes, and large pupils. He looked very kind and enthusiastic.

Li Wuxiang took out a few whiskers and handed them to him: "This is my gift to you, General. What is your name? Thank you for speaking to us just now."

The soldier smiled again, and it seemed to be from the bottom of his heart. He took the tentacle, stretched it in his hand to play with it, put it in his mouth to bite it, and cut it with the knife on his waist, and said casually: "I like this thing of yours too. It can be used for many purposes. I am in need of it. My name is Wu Hao. When you have something to do in Guancheng, just say my name. No one will embarrass you when you do business with others. Where did you get this thing?"

"I found it by chance on a snowy mountain outside. If you like it, I'll get more next time."

Wu Hao chuckled and was about to speak again when Zeng Jianqiu came over. He looked at the three people first, then at Wu Hao: "Isn't it forbidden to do this in the mansion?"

Wu Hao waved the whiskers in his hand: "They say it's not allowed, but who knows? As a human being, you have to make some mistakes to be like a human being."

Zeng Jianqiu frowned: "I know. You are violating taboos by doing this. There was no such thing in Guancheng more than ten years ago."

After a brief silence, he said, "Forget it. If you like it, just keep it. I'll just pretend I didn't see it this time. But you guys——"

He looked at Li Wuxiang and said, "This is your first time in Guancheng, right? Today I will tell you what you should and shouldn't do."

Wu Hao smiled again: "Okay, you tell me your story first."

He walked away a few steps, stepped aside and looked for a few other vendors, and asked them to give him the items they had one by one.

There were only four of them left. Pan Muyun glanced at Wu Hao who was not far away, and then looked at Zeng Jianqiu. Zeng Jianqiu sighed and said, "You should have left just now."

Pan Muyun frowned and looked at him in silence.

Zeng Jianqiu shook his head: "You didn't tell me that he would come. My lineage, my master... Senior Brother Lou is trapped in the city, I am also useless, and he is the only one left. You bring him here. If he is killed in the city with us, my lineage will be cut off. Pan Muyun——"

He raised his voice a little, then immediately lowered it again: "Old Pan, are you trying to trick me?"

Li Wuxiang sighed in his heart. He had guessed wrong just now. Was it because of this? Because of himself?

Pan Muyun also shook his head: "He is also a swordsman, and you are also a swordsman. We will not persuade you not to come to Guancheng, nor will we persuade him. But how did you become a garrison soldier?"

Zeng Jianqiu glared and was about to speak, but Wu Hao came over again.

At this time, the boat seemed to have encountered a rapid current and was shaking slightly. Wu Hao wrapped the whiskers around his fingertips, looking very pleased, and walked closer to the few people: "Brother Zeng, have you finished teaching them a lesson?"

Zeng Jianqiu remained silent with a cold face, so Wu Hao looked at Li Wuxiang with a smile: "How many do you have? I just tried it again, this thing is really useful, but these few are not enough. How about this, you sell all you have to me, and it will save you a lot of trouble."

Zeng Jianqiu took a deep breath, turned around and frowned: "What do you want this for?"

"Save it for refining sword thread later." Wu Hao shook the whiskers again. "I can't be a swordsman now, but I can use this thing to refine a sword thread, and then tie a flying sword to it, and practice swordsmanship in advance. This way, I will have less worries in the future, right?"

The four of them suddenly fell silent, and moved their right hands almost at the same time.

Wu Hao immediately smiled: "Hey, hey, hey, don't be anxious. Did I say you are swordsmen? Why are you so anxious?"

He put away his smile, widened his eyes, and lowered his voice: "Wait, I see, you really are! No wonder I felt that the smell on the boat was not right today, I just sniffed it carefully - oh, isn't it a smell of heroism!"

(End of this chapter)