Pawn Crossing the River

Zhang Yuelu was stunned for a while.

She suddenly discovered that this guy Qi Xuansu liked to pretend to be low-key, but when he got serious, he was quite powerful.

Zhang Yuelu pursed his lips and turned his head away, neither looking at Qi Xuansu nor refuting.

On the one hand, it's because of Qi Xuansu's strength, and on the other hand, it's because she finds it inconvenient not to be able to speak. It's difficult to express her emotions with just words, and her writing is slow, which makes her seem a little weak.

Qi Xuansu fully understood the principle of going strong and then failing, and did not continue to be "tough".

Zhang Yuelu took out some common wound medicine from the Xumiwu, crushed it and applied it to his throat.

Regardless of the scar issue, given her physique and the use of zhenqi to dredge her meridians, she would be able to speak again in about two hours.

After Zhang Yuelu applied the medicine, he closed his eyes and rested his mind.

Two hours passed quickly. Zhang Yuelu touched his throat and cleared his throat again. Although his voice was still hoarse, he was able to speak.

Zhang Yuelu was about to talk to Qi Xuansu about what had just happened, but Qi Xuansu had already taken the initiative and said: "This group of people seems to be from the 'inn'."

"'Inn'..." Zhang Yuelu muttered, "Taomen divides various secret associations into four categories: A, B, C, and D. Lingshan Witch Sect, Zhiming Sect, Ziguang Society and other associations related to ancient immortals are the most dangerous. , the most harmful, are classified as Class A. Clandestine associations such as Tianting, Qingpinghui, and Babuzhong, which are powerful but slightly less dangerous than the former, are classified as Class B. Next are Qibaofang and 'Inn'. Category Clandestine Associations are mainly engaged in various illegal businesses and are relatively less harmful, and are classified as Class C. Many other unscrupulous secret societies are all classified into Class D. I am only familiar with Class A and Class B clandestine associations. , not very familiar with ‘inn’.”

Qi Xuansu said: "What a coincidence, I happen to be familiar with Qibaofang and the Inn. As Qingxiao said, these two are doing business, and both are illegal businesses. Qibaofang mainly sells various smuggled items. , ranging from tributes from the imperial court to various heavenly materials and earthly treasures from Huashengtang, or firearms from Shenjiying and Tianjitang, there is nothing they can’t get their hands on. The mountain market we passed earlier is Qibao Fang’s business.”

Zhang Yuelu raised her eyebrows slightly. She didn't know that Qibaofang was the boss behind black markets everywhere, but looking at Qi Xuansu, she seemed to have known about it for a long time. It seemed that this was not a secret in the world. It's probably not a secret in Daomen, it's just that she neglected to pay attention to this news.

Qi Xuansu continued: "As for the 'Inn', what they do is to sell human lives. They can hire assassins or bodyguards to protect them at the 'Inn'. However, most of the time, the people in the 'Inn' do not In person, 'Inn' only acts as a middleman, taking commissions between buyers and Jianghu people. It is not fabricated out of thin air that 'Inn' has a relationship with Qingluan Wei. The inn has rules and is related to the court's business. , you have to go to the head office to negotiate. As for how to go to the head office, it depends on everyone's ability. In other words, only the head office that can find the "inn" is qualified to negotiate this kind of business. "

Zhang Yuelu said: "As expected, I have been in the 'Inn', and I know so much in detail. So do you know why the 'Inn' is called an inn?"

Qi Xuansu shook his head and said, "I really don't know."

"Although I am not familiar with the 'Inn', I have heard a rumor that Xuansheng once established a secret organization in the name of the 'Taiping Inn' to be responsible for espionage matters. Many famous figures who later became famous have served in this organization. , such as Liu Jinyi in Xuan Sheng Pai. However, after Xuan Sheng took office as the Taoist leader, this organization disappeared, leaving only the Taiping Inn with branches everywhere, and the secret organization was not found in every Taoist sect. This kind of record is only passed down by word of mouth, so I don’t know whether it is true or false.” Zhang Yuelu did not tell the truth and told everything he knew.

Qi Xuansu was stunned for a while, then hesitantly said: "I seem to have seen what you mentioned somewhere. Could it be "The Legend of Taiping Inn"?"

Zhang Yuelu said in surprise: "Is this what "The Legend of Taiping Inn" is about?"

"You haven't seen "The Legend of Taiping Inn"?" Qi Xuansu was even more surprised.

Zhang Yuelu shook his head and said: "I have heard of the name "The Legend of Taiping Inn", but because the book is too old, I didn't read it."

The two looked at each other.

After a while, Qi Xuansu broke the silence and said: "Is it possible that the rumors you heard actually come from "The Legend of Taiping Inn"?"

Zhang Yuelu's face darkened slightly: "I haven't finished yet. In addition to this secret organization affiliated with Xuansheng, there was another secret organization. They were directly affiliated with Emperor Gaozu, who had not yet proclaimed himself emperor, and were mainly responsible for various assassinations. , called the 'Wandu Sect'. After Daxuan conquered the world, the Wandu Sect also disappeared. Many people thought that the Wandu Sect was included in the Qingluan Guard, but I also heard that there were Some members of the Wandu Sect were unwilling to enter the court and continued to stay in the arena, and established an 'Inn' together with some members of the 'Taiping Inn' who were unwilling to be forced to disband by Xuan Sheng."

This statement was something Qi Xuansu had never heard of before, and he couldn't help but ask: "Aren't you familiar with 'inn'? Where did you hear this from?"

Zhang Yuelu said: "I know how the current imperial court conquers the world, which does not mean that I know the inside story of various imperial court rules. The two things are irrelevant. In the same way, I know the rumors about the origin of the 'inn', no It means I understand the internal structure and way of doing things in an 'inn'."

Zhang Yuelu paused for a moment and then said: "As for where I heard these rumors from, I don't have to hide them from you. They all came from my master."

Speaking of this, Zhang Yuelu's face showed an extremely complicated look: "My master, how should I say, likes to tell some unfounded unfounded histories. The more bizarre they are, the more interesting they are. Then on the basis of these unfounded histories Yes, make a bold guess. Well...that’s why Tianshi often says that she is fabricating history.”

"According to her inference, after Xuansheng became the Grand Master, most of the senior officials in the 'Taiping Inn' also became great masters and real people. Therefore, Xuansheng should have disbanded the 'Taiping Inn' and dispersed most of its members. In Tiangang Hall and Beichen Hall, some members were unwilling to accept this result, so they left the Taoist sect and entered the world. "

"This is also reasonable. When Xuansheng established the 'Taiping Inn', he attracted a large number of people from the world. Some of these people are used to being free and undisciplined and do not want to be restrained."

When Qi Xuansu heard this, he almost understood, and then said: "The Wandumen side was also disbanded by Emperor Gaozu and replaced the Qingluan Guards of the previous dynasty as the new Qingluan Guards. However, some members were unwilling to accept this. As a result, they left the Wandu Sect and continued to stay in Jianghu. The two groups later merged and established today's "Inn". So it can be said that the "Inn" is inextricably related to Qingluan Wei. It makes sense because the two families have worked together and are basically one family.”

"But there is another question. Since many of the elders of the 'Inn' come from the Taoist sect, will the 'Inn' also have a relationship with the Taoist sect?"

Zhang Yuelu did not answer directly: "The Taoist sect is the most powerful force in the world, but these secret societies can continue to grow and develop under the suppression of the Taoist sect. This can only mean that there is a problem within the Taoist sect. Again, there is one among you. , with you in my midst, everything in the world will go bad right here.”

Qi Xuansu felt that these secret societies were more or less connected with Taoism. If Taoism was regarded as a person, then these secret societies were like tumors that grew after illness. There were many meridians connecting the two. If you cut it off hastily, the pain will be secondary and the bleeding will stop. But if you don't cut it, these meridians will continue to transfuse blood to the tumor, which will only make the tumor grow bigger and even spread to other places, so it still needs to be cut off. This is probably one of the reasons why Taoism also lists these secret associations closely related to Taoism as targets of suppression.

Qi Xuansu asked: "If these people accepted the reward from the 'inn', then who is the employer behind them?"

The two looked at each other and said in unison: "The big case in Jiangnan."

Qi Xuansu said: "It seems that this case is a double-edged sword. It not only made you famous, but also brought you a great enemy. You said that at that time, the ancestors executed a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest. It seems that the ancestors The court has determined that this person is the mastermind, so is the person who is seeking revenge now a subordinate disciple of this person? Or is there a real big shot behind this person? "

Zhang Yuelu glanced at him: "Don't you understand this very well?"

Qi Xuansu said modestly: "I understand a little, I understand a little."

Zhang Yuelu said: "I can't determine the specific identity of the employer yet, but what I care about is another point. I rarely leave Yujing alone. Since this opportunity is rare, why doesn't he hire some powerful people? For example, directly hire a person As a heavenly being, if you do this, you will definitely be dead, and I will definitely die."

Qi Xuansu thought for a while and said: "Actually, the reason is very simple. The first reason is the cost. No one's peace money comes from the strong wind. The price of hiring a heavenly being must be high. Your enemies may not be able to afford it." , or maybe he thinks it's not worthwhile, because the Jiangnan case has been solved, and if he kills you again, it's definitely not to kill someone, but more likely to vent his anger. Since it's not about his own life and death, he must consider whether it's worth it. 'this problem."

"The second possibility, which is just my speculation, is that the employer behind the scenes planned to silence the hired killer afterwards. If he hired a heavenly being, it would be difficult to silence him. So he hired a group of innate killers. Even if he can kill you, he will definitely suffer heavy losses. He just kills the person, leaves no trace, and can easily get his peace money back. "