Hello Chang’an

 …

In the eyes of the monks in Dayun Temple, over the years, whenever Meng Dongjia comes to Dayun Temple, he always talks about Buddhism with the abbot. Therefore, since Meng Lie has been staying in Dayun Temple for a long time, most of the monks just think that he is grateful for the death of the abbot and do not notice any difference.

After Wujue's "passing away", Meng Lie was in despair and tried to find an exit for himself.

He realized that drinking was useless, so he tried to come to Dayun Temple and stayed here in the name of cultivating his mind and nature.

During these days in the temple, he saw endless tomb towers being built, and saw that there was only one monk left guarding outside the Tiannv Tower, and there was no longer the solemnity and martial law of the past.

Wujue is gone, and the meaning of the existence of Tiannv Tower is also gone. All hope seems to have died with it and returned to the void.

When Meng Lie was numb and confused, he once heard the Zen-like voice of a monk in the temple. The monk told him that everything in this world is false.

He was trapped in this confusion. At night, he lay on the bamboo couch in the monastery to enjoy the coolness, staring at the stars at night with empty eyes, trying to understand what illusion was.

But he couldn't find the answer for a long time, so he could only let himself fall into the void, numbly closing his eyes, and for a time he couldn't tell what night it was.

He dreamed again, dreaming about the distant past.

It was also a summer night at that time, and because it was summer, the stench was even stronger. Someone was locked in a huge rusty and **** iron cage, huddled up with his knees in his arms, his hair was disheveled, his clothes were ragged, and his body was covered with old and new wounds. adhesions.

In the dream, he looked at it from the perspective of a bystander, and he couldn't tell it was a "person", but it looked like a real trapped animal.

He had been a trapped beast for many years. At first, there were many people like him, but gradually they all died, either from experimenting with medicine, from bleeding, or from going crazy.

They were imprisoned here by a Taoist who secretly refined the elixir for many local dignitaries. In a place where no one could see them, they were just the "medicinal materials" in the elixir.

Among the people who were captured in the same batch, he was the one who survived the longest. In the endless blood and fear, he only clung to one idea, and that was to survive.

But he will soon be unable to survive. Last time, he heard two Taoist priests discussing quietly that there is a strong wind outside, and to avoid the storm, no new people will be sent in a short period of time.

At that time, there were only two people left in this huge cage.

But just half an hour ago, only one of the two people was left, and the other was lying at his feet, no longer moving.

The man went crazy and rushed up to bite him while crying and laughing, so he could only kill him. In fact, the man had been imprisoned for less than a year. At first, the man secretly invited him to work together to find a way to escape. , he ignored it, and the other party thought that he had been frightened out of his wits.

But after being imprisoned for a long time, being severely beaten, having his blood taken, and watching the people around him die one after another... the last trace of reason on the other side was finally defeated today.

[Only you and me are left. They will come back tomorrow to take blood, and we won’t be able to hold on.]

[No, you can. Although you don’t speak... but you have lived the longest, you must have something to do, right? Please help me, please help me! 】

[No, you won't save me... you will kill me. If one person must die tomorrow, it will definitely be me! 】

[You won't save me...] The other party cried and repeated this sentence, his eyes became chaotic and crazy, and he rushed towards him, changing from uncontrollable slapping to crazy biting.

Without moving, he finally pressed the opponent into the cage and locked the opponent's throat until the opponent's heavy and chaotic breathing completely disappeared and the cage fell silent.

He can live long because he never does useless things, he will carefully observe everyone, he will try his best to swallow all the food he can, and he will never let himself be the one who looks the weakest, because It seems that there is no need to feed people who are weak and dying, and all their blood will be "prioritized" to be drained.

Not only that, he will also watch those people trying to escape and fight, and if necessary, he will even secretly encourage them, because those who make mistakes and are restless will also be dealt with "priority".

In this small iron cage world, he is the only one who can calmly figure out all the rules. He watched many people die here, and thus accumulated the most practical survival experience, but these are of no use. Now he is the only one left, and he is finally going to die.

But the "inevitability" in his eyes was suddenly rewritten that summer night because of the intrusion of a group of people.

The pedestrian walked in quickly holding a torch, and the torch came close to the cage. The visitor was startled by the horrible mess in the cage.

He heard the man say - [Your Highness, there are still people alive. 】

[Your Highness] Who is it?

He only shrank deeper into the cage.

Until the cage door was opened, through the disheveled hair in front of his eyes, he saw many people walking over. Those people quickly moved to the sides. A young man who looked fourteen or fifteen years old came over and bent slightly to take a look. Look at him.

The young man had a pair of extremely bright and quiet eyes, and his whole body was naturally noble, which was incompatible with the darkness, humidity, sultry heat and smell of this place.

【Come out. ] After looking at each other for a moment, the young man spoke in clear Guan Nei Mandarin.

After a while, he dragged the chains on his feet and climbed out carefully and defensively. After getting out of the cage, he was still kneeling on the ground, but did not dare to straighten up rashly, because in his survival awareness, that was provocative and dangerous.

He heard the young man ask: "What's your name?" Whose person? how old? How long have you been locked up here? 】

He answered in a hoarse voice: "Meng Lie, a sin slave from Ganzhou, is twenty years old. It has been eight years since he was brought here when he was twelve years old." 】

For a moment, he heard the young man say to the people around him: [Vice General Chang, he seems to be very powerful. 】

The man who was called Vice General Chang said "Hmm": [After being imprisoned for eight years, his mind can still be so clear. He is a tough-minded person. 】

Not long after, a soldier dragged the Taoist leader over. The Taoist struggled and begged for mercy, saying that he was just following orders.

[Kill him. 】

Hearing the young man's usual tone, he raised his eyes blankly and looked at the sword handed to him. Moving his eyes upward, he saw the young man turning his head to look at the corpse in the cage, and then talking to him. He said: [Avenge yourself and them. 】

At that moment, he was suddenly shocked. The words "Avenge them too" were like the same powerful words of forgiveness, which eliminated many of his evil deeds in order to survive.

He took the sword tremblingly, pulled it out clumsily, stepped forward with both hands clenched, and pierced the man's chest, and warm blood spurted out.

He knelt on the ground again, held the sword high with both hands, and returned it to its owner.

He followed the young man out of the darkroom with bare feet. It was dark outside, but there was a bright moon and stars, the sound of wind and the chirping of insects.

His tears suddenly surged silently. The vigilance and numbness that had been tight for eight years were removed at this moment. The tears washed away the old blood. He looked in front of him and looked at the young man in front of him. He jumped onto the horse's back lightly under the moon and grabbed the reins. At this time, he said to the person beside him: "After dawn, let the prefect of Ganzhou come to see me." ] Said and looked at him: [Take him with you. 】

After that, he became Meng Lie and became one of the personal guards behind the young man.

He quickly gave birth to new flesh and blood, and he desperately learned all new things. A few years later, he was able to move from darkness to light, running the predecessor of Deng Tai Tower for His Highness, responsible for collecting and delivering information.

Learning that His Highness was a woman was sudden and accidental, but it didn't matter to him. It didn't matter whether he was a man or a woman, whether he was right or wrong. Only His Highness himself was important.

Ever since that summer night in Ganzhou, after he escaped from the iron cage, following and being loyal to His Highness was the only thing he had to do in his life.

Therefore, when His Highness said that the Intelligence Building was to be disbanded, he could not obey the order, so His Highness left him half a token and asked him to wait in the capital.

He waited for three years for news of His Highness's death.

But he still doesn't think that's the end.

The eight years he was imprisoned made him familiar with some weird sorcery in the Western Regions, so he went to the Western Regions and stubbornly pursued the secret method.

The Tower of the Goddess was built, Chang Kuo brought His Highness's remains from Beidi, Governor Cui found the jade of the statue, Wujue started the formation... They pieced together, trying to pave a way home for His Highness.

But in the end it failed, Wujue died, and the formation was useless.

But this still won't be the end!

Meng Lie turned around from his dream, opened his eyes, and suddenly sat up from the couch, his eyes regained their determination.

He will go to the Western Regions again, no, not just the Western Regions, he will travel all over Dasheng to find new secrets!

The world is so big and full of wonders, God is above, and He should not hesitate to give His Highness a chance of life who protects all the people with his own body!

Meng Lie looked up at the night sky, as if praying for God's mercy, and as if he was determined not to be afraid of competing with God's will.

Early the next morning, he left Dayun Temple.

He sat in the carriage and opened the suitcase he was carrying. He lived in Dayun Temple for half a month, and it was indispensable to take his clothes and belongings with him. But at this moment, he opened the box that contained paper, pens and books, and there was an additional box inside that was not there when he arrived.

The box was covered with black cloth, and Meng Lie placed it properly again and again before closing it and locking it again.

He closed his eyes and rested in the car, ready to leave the capital today.

The experience that year made him forge extraordinary vigilance and tenacity, but it also made it difficult for him to trust others. He was extremely defensive and cold-blooded in his bones. Even if he treated Chang Kuo and others, he would not dare to do anything to him. letter. Because of this, he has been alone all these years.

A person is also good, free from worries, he can do what he wants to do, even if he dies on the way, it is his best destination.

Meng Lie returned to Dengtai Tower and asked his personal servant to pack his luggage.

Seeing that he was no longer as depressed and hopeless as before, the servant quietly breathed a sigh of relief and did not ask him where he was going. He only turned around and picked up the letters and other things that had been sent from various places.

While the servants were packing their luggage, Meng Lie picked through the letters. The first one was from Qiao Yang. In the letter, Qiao Yang told him about "A Wu", invited him to come and have a look, and promised him a promise. , if he sees that puppy, he will definitely believe in the theory of reincarnation.

"..." Meng Lie frowned, showing disgust, and threw the letter aside.

He also reviewed and processed the secret messages of various intelligence operations one by one. Over the years, he never neglected the true role of the Dengtai Tower.

Finally, Meng Lie saw another pear wood box. When he opened it, he saw a palm-sized square brocade box and a letter.

Perhaps because the handwriting of "Meng Lie's Personal Letter" written on the envelope was too familiar, he subconsciously opened the letter and read the signature first. When he saw that it was written by Chang Sui Ning, he felt lost for a moment, but then he saw it again. As expected.

He also knew that the girl from the Chang family was good at copying His Highness's handwriting.

After getting rid of the unspeakable feeling of loss, Meng Lie read the overly concise content in the letter. The letter said that he had something important to discuss with him, but he did not say it directly. Instead, he said that after he had read the token, he would reply. More details later.

Meng Lie was keenly aware that the purpose of this letter was to "explore the road."

What path is the Chang family girl exploring with him?

What is a token?

Meng Lie thoughtfully picked up the brocade box, and when he opened it and saw clearly what was inside, his expression suddenly froze.

He took out half of the token in disbelief. After a moment, he suddenly turned around and walked to the inner room, opened the indoor mechanism, and took out his half of the token with a slightly hurried movement -

Then, facing the hot sunlight outside the window, he slowly put the two halves of the token together until they complemented each other's imperfections... Sure enough, there was no difference at all!

This is the token that His Highness split with him in two!

His Highness said back then that if he was given any orders in the future, he would send someone to bring him the other half of the token...

There was a time when he thought that he would never have the chance to see the other half of the token appear again in his life!

But how could the things belonging to his old owner be in the hands of a girl from the Chang family?

Was it what His Highness left for her back then? Or is there something else going on?

Meng Lie hurriedly read the letter again, and when he saw the line [I will elaborate more after replying to the letter], he immediately said: "... Feng Xin, get the pen and ink!"

The servant just came in after hearing the sound, but then he heard Meng Lie say: "No need! Is your luggage ready?"

Seeing the servant nod, Meng Lie immediately walked out.

The reply was too slow, and the matter was extremely urgent. He wanted to go to Jiangdu, so he went to Jiangdu first!

It was noon when Meng Lie got on his carriage and left the capital.

Classes had just ended in the Imperial College, and Qiao Jijiu returned to his residence. As usual, he went to hug the puppy first.

When eating, he also prepared a separate seat for the puppy and poured goat's milk into the dog's bowl.

Qiao Yumian was in the medical hall, while Qiao Yubai was with his classmates. The brother and sister didn't come back to have dinner at noon. Now there were only Qiao Jijiu and his wife at the dinner table. Mrs. Wang had become accustomed to seeing her husband's outrageous behavior in taking care of the milk dog.

After pouring the goat's milk for the puppy, Qiao Jijiu poured himself a cup of wine, smelled the aroma of the wine, then looked at the puppy who was immersed in drinking milk, and sighed: "I told you to do your duty well." Monk, if you don’t listen...now you know you regret it?”

"Ah Wu" seemed not to have heard anything and concentrated on drinking milk.

But Wujue, who was thousands of miles away, sneezed solidly. (End of chapter)