Chapter 563 Hunting Operation

Chapter 563 Hunting Operation

Chapter 563 Hunting Operation (Seeking monthly tickets at the end of the month)
Lao Zhang knew I was coming? Yes, this guy is good at predicting... Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, looked at the priest deeply, and pretended to be low-key to maintain his own style:

"Okay. Lead the way."

Soon, he followed the gatekeeper priest and headed towards the deepest part of the Tianshi Mansion along the intricate roads inside.

Perhaps it was because it was late at night and even though the priests were still awake, most of them were in the buildings, so they did not meet anyone on the road.

"Please." The guiding priest stopped outside a small courtyard deep inside, turned around, made a "please" gesture, and left silently.

Zhao Duan took a deep breath and pushed open the half-open double wooden doors with both hands.

As you step in, the first thing that catches your eye is the mysterious giant banyan tree.

Different from the green of summer, the leaves on the thick branches of the banyan tree are fiery red, shining in the moonlight, and the reflected light spreads on the ground.

Zhang Yanyi was sitting leisurely in a bamboo chair under a tree. He looked at him with a smile and said jokingly:
"Why did Governor Zhao come to look for me instead of staying with Your Majesty so late at night?"

You seem to be hinting at me... Zhao Duan looked strange, and he highly suspected that Lao Zhang was teasing him, and there was something else behind his words, but a smart man would never expose his own scars. He took off his mask and bowed:

"I am here to pass on a message to the Heavenly Master on behalf of Priest Jin Jian."

Zhang Yan said "Oh?"
"What message does Jin Jian'er want you to convey?"

Zhao Duan said seriously:

"She misses you very much, Master, and is disappointed that she cannot be reunited with you during this Mid-Autumn Festival. So she asked me to convey her longing for you."

Well, of course Jin Jian, that idiot, didn’t say these words, but the general idea was there.

Zhao Duan took it upon himself to come and pay his respects on behalf of Jin Jian, but in reality he was looking for an excuse for his own visit.

Zhang Yan was startled for a moment, a hint of warmth flashed in his narrow eyes, and he nodded softly:
"Tell Jin Jian'er for me that she... has a heart."

No... She didn't ask me for help at all. With her EQ, she couldn't have thought of such a thorough plan... Zhao Duan smiled:

"I will definitely deliver the message."

Zhang Yan nodded slightly, pointed to the empty chair in front, and motioned him to sit down:
"I heard from my subordinates that you made a big splash in Dongshan today and even captured Zhao Shixiong?"

Zhao Duan didn't sit down, looking modest:
"It's just a little thing, not worth mentioning, just a little bit of fame."

I was muttering in my heart: Was it really reported by the subordinates, or did you sneak out and spy on me?
Based on his understanding of Lao Zhang's private character, Zhao Duan highly suspected that it was the latter.

Zhang Yan looked at him in surprise:
"It's not like you to be so modest. Tell me, what are you doing here tonight?"

Zhao Duan was extremely well-behaved, with a look of shame on his face:

"There is indeed something I would like to ask the Heavenly Master for his advice. Now that Zhao Shixiong has surrendered, the imperial court will use military force against Prince Mu. I do not want to miss this great opportunity and want to cut off Prince Mu's retreat in one fell swoop. Therefore, I want to gather a group of elite soldiers to capture Xu Jingtang...

However, Prince Mu’s Mansion has been operating for many years, and I am afraid there may be experts hiding, so… I want to borrow a few soldiers from the Heavenly Master.”

Borrow troops!

Zhao Duan thought about it and decided on the best way to deal with it if he didn't want to let the tiger go back to the mountains.

That is to take advantage of Zhao Shixiong and Yuan Feng to contain the Yunfu army on the front battlefield.

He led a group of experts to capture the thief and the leader.

Unfortunately, the experts in the imperial court are now scattered among various armies to suppress the rebellion, and it is unrealistic to mobilize them in a short period of time.

So, he set his sights on Lao Zhang.

"No!" Zhang Yan lazily refused, "The Tianshi Mansion does not interfere in the internal fighting of the royal family. This is the rule."

Zhao Duan was not surprised at all and explained:

“Senior, the Jade Sleeve Priest once fought against the evil cultivators of the White Robe Sect in Taicang, and later encountered the Shenlong Temple monk Fanlong while suppressing the rebellion… It can be seen that Xu Jingtang has secretly colluded with the remnants of the White Robe Sect and the Shenlong Temple.

The former is an evil cultivator, and as a prestigious and upright sect, it is only natural for the Tianshi Mansion to eradicate him.

As for the latter, if the Dragon Temple breaks the rules, it is reasonable for the Heavenly Master's Mansion to stop and persuade. Heavenly Master, please rest assured that I will never order the priests to intervene in other fights..."

Zhang Yan smiled and said:

"You are a very calculating kid. But why should I help you? You should know that this body of yours was lent to you by me, and you have not repaid this debt yet."

Lao Deng, I knew your substitute was not given for nothing... Zhao Duan appealed to his emotions:

"Senior, I will personally participate in the hunt for Xu Jingtang this time. If I die in this mission, I will never be able to repay the debt I owe you."

Zhang Yan's eyes widened and he sat up straight:
"Are you going to default on your debt?"

Zhao Duan smiled jokingly:
"As the saying goes, when a person dies, his debts are wiped out. When I die, you can take this substitute back."

Both of them understood that the debt of a mere puppet substitute was nothing.

But Zhao Duan also knew that Lao Zhang always had other thoughts about him.

Or you may realize that there are many causes and effects entangled in yourself, and that you are "different".

Zhang Yanyi has always been interested in him. If it weren't for the empress, he would have forced himself to become his disciple long ago.

So, he simply used this to "extort" some more aid.

Even though Zhao Duan was worried that the more debts he owed, the more he would have to repay in the future, he should still do his current work first.

At worst, I can wait until I am promoted to a celestial being and practice dual cultivation with Zhenbao... Bah, we are of one mind as husband and wife, so I will just refuse to pay.

I guess old man Lao Zhang wouldn’t dare to come and collect the debt!

The night is as cold as water.

The old and the young looked at each other in silence for a long time.

Zhang Yan sighed, defeated, and said unhappily: "How many people do you want to borrow?"

Zhao Duan was delighted and said:
"I dare not ask for anything extravagant. If I can get the help of Yuxiu and Jinjian, as well as the help of Priest Zhongpan, and some local Taoists in Huaishui, it will be enough."

He calculated very clearly that Zhang Yan nominally had six disciples, among whom the "third" and "fourth" were most likely traveling outside the State of Yu and could not be relied upon.

Although the two girls, Jade Sleeves and Golden Tablet, are strong, they still lack someone with enough weight to keep the situation under control.

It would be best if we could ask the "Little Heavenly Master" Zhong Pan for help. It just so happens that the Little Heavenly Master should also be within the country, and according to what he knows.

The carriage under Zhong Pan's seat has the ability to travel a thousand miles a day and can be summoned in time.

Zhang Yan thought for a moment and said:
"The three Zhong Pans can be transferred to you, but the Taoist sects in the Huaishui area cannot be transferred to you."

Seeing his curiosity, Zhang Yanyi patiently explained:

"Unlike the Shenlong Temple, which has temples everywhere. Although there are Taoist temples in various places within the territory of Yu State, they are not subordinate to the Tianshi Mansion. If you lend them troops privately, you should not mobilize them, and they may not respond.

Besides, the local sorcerers have limited abilities. If you need someone... the Tianshi Mansion in the capital can lend you some useful priests."

Zhao Duan shook his head and said:
"I will be in action soon, and there is no time to wait for the priests from the capital to rush to the Huai River. In this case, there is no need."

He had no intention of delaying.

Before returning to Beijing this time, he had already ordered Yongjia to prepare for military action. The next day or the day after tomorrow, the imperial army will march south.

Zhang Yanyi was not surprised and said with a smile:
"In that case, forget it. But if I only lend you three disciples, it would seem stingy of me. So, how about this..."

He seemed to think for a moment, then raised his hand.

The big golden banyan tree swayed, and a leaf fell off the branch, spinning and falling.

The old Taoist priest twisted the leaf with his fingers, and the leaf was surrounded by light. When the light faded away, it turned into a brocade bag.

"This is..." Zhao Duan was stunned. He subconsciously raised his hand to catch the brocade bag thrown to him and looked at it with doubt.

Zhang Yan smiled and explained:

"I'll give you a way to save your life. If you really encounter great danger during this trip, you can open the brocade bag. However, remember not to open it in advance, otherwise it will be invalid."

Zhao Duan's eyes lit up!
nice one!
He clenched it subconsciously. He was originally thinking about whether he should go find Zhenbao and search the palace armory to see if there was any life-saving magic weapon.

But he hesitated again. Considering how Zhao Shixiong almost killed him, he was worried that the empress would not allow him to take the risk after finding out.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Yan gave it to him instead.

However, as he accepted the treasure bag, his heart sank slightly.

Every gift has a price. The more generous Mr. Zhang is, the heavier the debt he will probably owe.

"Thank you, Master." Zhao Duan held the brocade bag tightly and hesitated again:

"But I can't take this back to the front."

His soul traveled between two places, but he couldn't carry anything!
The old man and the young man looked at each other awkwardly. Zhang Yanyi was silent for a moment, coughed lightly, raised his hand and grabbed it, and the sachet returned to his hand. He said lightly:
"I know, it's just a test to see if you are getting carried away. Go back, I will cast a spell and use a crane to deliver the treasure bag and the decree to mobilize Zhong Pan and others to the front line to find you. They will arrive in one day at most."

So amazing... Zhao Duan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled again:
"Thank you, Master Tian. There is one more thing. I wonder if you can use the way of heaven to deduce whether this trip of mine will be smooth?"

Zhang Yanyi lay back on the bamboo chair and said, "It is impossible to deduce." Is it because it involves King Mu and is difficult to predict, or does he not want to tell me? Zhao Duan glanced at the brocade bag and thought:
"I understand. There is one more thing..."

Are you annoying... Zhang Yan rolled his eyes: "Speak!"

"Junior would like to ask, Master, do you know if there are any troublesome people in the Baiyi Sect and the Shenlong Temple?" Zhao Duan shamelessly tried to take advantage of the situation.

Seeing that he was just asking for information, Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief and said unhappily:
"The White Robe Sect is a bunch of unlucky people. The most powerful one is the White Robe Sect leader, Shi Youlian. As for the Shenlong Temple... there are two people who are familiar with that Fanlong, their Dharma names are Guangyuan and Kongzhu. All right, get lost."

Corpse Curtain? It sounds like a woman's name... Could the White-Robed Sect Master be a woman?

Guangyuan, Kongzhu... There should be relevant information in the imperial court... Zhao Duan secretly took note of it and said goodbye and left.

Wait for someone to leave.

The big banyan tree rustled, and a vague human face appeared in the treetops with red and gold mixed in:
"Didn't you realize with the help of the Heavenly Book that the Huai River area would be in great danger? Or was it him? Why didn't you stop it?"

Zhang Yan raised his eyelids and sighed softly:
"The laws of nature are unpredictable, and destiny is hard to control. If you blindly seek good fortune and avoid disaster, you can only avoid the danger in front of you, but you may lose more."

The big banyan tree seemed to understand, and said:

"You said the crane would deliver the letter in one day. How come I didn't know it would be so fast?"

Zhang Yan blushed, stood up and went back to the house:

"I'm going to be out for a while soon. If anyone comes, just tell them I'm in seclusion."

……

……

After leaving the Tianshi Mansion, Zhao Duan took advantage of the night and did not return to the palace immediately, but went straight to the imperial yamen.

There are also people on duty in the imperial court at night.

He went straight to the archives in the government office and, with the authority of the "Ji Si", retrieved some information and wrote it down hastily.

Then, he thought about it and returned to Lihua Hall.

Zheng Laojiu is on duty tonight.

"Sir? Why are you back? You are not in the palace with His Majesty?" Zheng Laojiu, who was drinking tea and reading a newspaper in the duty room, asked in surprise.

No, why do all of you ask this... The remaining slippery touch in Zhao Duan's palm came back to his mind, making him feel uncomfortable. He said with a straight face:

"Don't talk too much. Let me ask you, what have you found out from the interrogation of the officials in the Imperial Prison who colluded with Prince Mu's Palace?"

Zheng Laojiu hurriedly took out a booklet:

"This is the latest development in the interrogation investigation."

Zhao Duan sat at the table, reviewing it by candlelight.

The booklet contains the compiled confessions. Most of these traitors are responsible for passing intelligence to Prince Mu's Palace. A small number of high-level traitors will try to influence some minor decisions in the court.

But these are not the main points that Zhao Duan is looking through.

What he looked carefully at was which officials came from the western part of the Huai River, or more precisely, from the aristocratic families in the "Jingchuan County".

"Jingchuan Town" is the area built together by the Huaishui gentry over hundreds of years to expand their gardens.

Radiating to the surrounding areas with a local county town as the center, it is an area that is as prosperous as the provincial capital.

The residence of Huai'an King Xuwen is there.

Xu Jingtang is also stationed there now, and the previous rescue operation of Zhao Ke'er took place in Jingchuan Town.

"Take me to see Peng Wenliang." Zhao Duan closed the booklet, stood up and said.

Peng Wenliang was the first shot in the purge of the Qingliu Party. He was the senior official he personally captured from the Censorate.

……

Not long after.

Under the leadership of Zheng Laojiu, Zhao Duan entered the imperial prison.

In a prison cell, Peng Wenliang was seen lying on the ground in prison clothes, covered with bruises.

"Wake him up." Zhao Duan said calmly.

The jailer immediately opened the cell door, picked up a bucket of salt water, and poured it in!
The sleeping Peng Wenliang felt a sharp pain in his wound and screamed like a pig being slaughtered.

When he was dragged out by the jailer like a dead pig, he was forced to raise his haggard face. Through his messy black hair, he saw a mask and couldn't help trembling:

"It's you!"

Zhao Duan smiled and said, “Long time no see, Lord Peng. I heard that you are not doing well here, and you are still very stubborn.”

Peng Wenliang stared at him with a vicious look in his eyes: "You can kill me or shave me, it's all up to you!"

Zhao Duan seemed to smile, then he suddenly raised his foot and kicked Peng Wenliang with a "bang", sending him flying and slamming heavily into the cell!

"You are a traitor, why are you so arrogant in front of me?"

Zhao Duan walked into the cell, stepped on Peng Wenliang's chest with his boots, and said:

"I'll give you a chance. Write a letter to the family, asking the Peng family to help the court. I can make you suffer less."

The Peng family is a fairly large family in Jingchuan County of the Huai River.

Zhao Duan wanted to destroy Xu Jingtang's lair in one fell swoop. Having an elite team of practitioners alone was not enough. It would be best if he could get assistance from local forces.

If this person is willing to cooperate, he can ask the old Taoist priest to send this person's handwriting to the front line.

Peng Wenliang's face turned pale, but he raised his head and laughed bitterly, saying angrily:
"You think I will believe your words... Don't even think about it!"

He knew very clearly that he would be put to death for treason and he absolutely could not bring trouble to his family.

Now that the family has taken refuge with Prince Mu's Mansion, they have no choice but to stick to this path.

Peng Wenliang sneered and said, "Prince Mu, you must attack the capital. Even if I die, my family will still be there..."

Zhao Duan sighed softly, knowing that his attempt to win over the Peng family had failed. He squatted down and gazed at Peng Wenliang with pity:
"You are in prison, so you may not know that Zhao Shixiong has already surrendered to the imperial court and will soon march south to capture and kill Xu Jingtang. By then, your Peng family will have sided with Xu Jingtang and will be exterminated."

Peng Wenliang was furious: "Don't try to trick me! I won't believe it! Bah!"

Zhao Duan raised his hand, wiped the saliva off the surface of the mask, shook his head, stood up, walked out of the prison, and said lightly:
"Next, serve Master Peng well every day, but don't kill him. Leave him alive. Wait until Xu Jingtang dies so that he will give up."

The jailers flattered respectfully: "As you command."

Zhao Duan walked out and heard Peng Wenliang cursing from deep in the dungeon corridor behind him, followed by wailing and screaming.

……

Walk out of the imperial prison.

Zhao Duan glanced and saw that it was already the late night and almost dawn.

"This puppet body also has its advantages. At least I don't feel tired..."

He sighed and headed straight for the palace.

After failing to win over the Peng family, he had to think of other ways, but the news of Zhao Shixiong's surrender had already been reported.

Next, he had to race against time to take the final step.

Soon, Zhao Duan returned to the Wugong Hall of the Imperial Palace, greeted Eunuch Hai, and stepped into the old building.

……

Linfeng Road, Taicang Prefecture Yamen.

The darkest time is before dawn.

Zhao Duan opened his eyes and saw the beams and window curtains.

He lay on the bed, covered with a quilt, feeling the real existence of his flesh and blood body, and the experience he had with the empress in the Tianzi Tower emerged in his mind.

After a long time.

Zhao Duan pushed open the bedroom door, walked out, stood outside a room in the backyard of the government office, and knocked on the door:

"Get up and follow me to Yongjia for a meeting."

"Squeak."

The door opened, and a Taoist priest hurriedly put on his robe, with the graceful figure of a Taoist nun faintly visible inside, walked out with a frown.
"Meeting?"

Zhao Duan saw the figure of the female Taoist nun and felt calm:
"Well, where did Jin Jian go? Find her and get ready to kill someone."

(End of this chapter)