The Collection of The End

——AD 166——

"Indeed, Mr. Cai, the student was previously attacked by a monster made of ink that looked like a dragon or a dragon."

Cao Cao replied seriously to Cai Yong who came to ask about the situation.

Although it is not known how the person who created the "ink dragon" did it, the servants and guards who came after hearing the news all insisted that they saw him spilling ink all over his body when he was fighting with Yuan Shao.

He and Yuan Shao were fighting?

Cao Cao forcibly broke the imaginary scene that was about to be generated and directly concluded that the "Dragon Controller" was very arrogant and treated them all as ordinary ten-year-old children without careful observation.

Not only did he underestimate him and Cai Wan, but he also looked down on Yuan Shao.

"Its appearance is exactly the same as what my daughter drew. If the father wants to see it, Zhenji can draw it again." Cai Wan was more convincing, after all, all the strings of the konghou in her hand were broken.

"No need," Cai Yong observed the scene by the pool and shook his head slowly: "After the 'disaster of party imprisonment', the name of 'unparalleled' warrior has been known to most officials. Any strange and incomprehensible scene must be 'unparalleled' Caused by this, I thought that the Cao and Yuan families, who were not involved in the dispute between the eunuchs and their relatives, would not be affected, but unexpectedly...it seems that Cao Hou was still angered."

"My grandfather never fought for power in the palace, and what my father was in charge of was only the transfer of money, but unexpectedly-" Cao Cao was slightly surprised.

"Sometimes, being targeted is not because of what you 'did'..." "—It's more likely because of what you 'didn't do'." Cai Yong fell silent in the middle of the sentence, while the "substitute" directly completed the second half. sentence.

Just like this, Cao Cao thought for a moment and understood what he said. Whether he was victorious and planned to eliminate the dissident foreign relatives, or he was defeated and wanted to seek revenge, the eunuch forces would attack those "neutral" people who did not support either party. Watching with eager eyes, unless they show enough strength to maintain neutrality.

"When the student was... rescued, I heard her call the person 'Zuo Ci'." Cao Cao couldn't think of how to call the woman who looked like the bright moon in the sky, so he said vaguely.

"This name... I seem to have heard of it, but not in detail. If you want to know, you can ask Duke Cao. Although Da Sinong is only in charge of money, there may be relevant anecdotes attached when compiling accounts from various places." Cai Yong patted Cai Wan, who acted very well-behaved in front of him: "To avoid causing trouble, we will rush back to Luoyang as soon as possible today."

"...Yes." Although he was very curious about the result of the woman tracking Zuo Ci, Cao Cao knew that none of the people present were qualified to participate in such a fast-moving battle. If he had to say it, he would be reluctant to add a "substitute" feasible.

"Mr. Cai!" Unlike the master and disciple here who began to think about the political situation or military issues, Yuan Shao took two steps forward with a look of joy on his face: "Disciple has understood the 'unparalleled'!"

"..." Cao Cao tried hard to stop himself from rolling his eyes.

"Oh?" Cai Yong didn't have much doubt: "My teacher has heard of examples of people awakening to 'Wushuang' in critical situations. If you do the same, it can be called a blessing in disguise."

"Look!" Yuan Shao picked up the sheathed dagger at his waist and waved it towards the trees not far away.

Crack! A sharp sword mark appeared on the tree big enough to be surrounded by two people.

Haven't you had enough? Cao Cao glared with disapproval at the "substitute" who immediately ran over to draw his sword and chopped down the big tree after Yuan Shaoyou's move.

"Don't you think it's interesting?" The substitute showed his hands to Cao Cao: "And after this incident, I can influence the outside world without showing my appearance."

So this time he was the one who got a "blessing in disguise", Cao Cao thought. In the past, this "substitute" was only in a state where others could not see him and he could not touch other people, unless he appeared in his own image - he was Having tricked my uncle in this way, he can now directly attack the outside world, and his nature changes instantly.

While thinking,

Yuan Shao roared and slashed with two swords, but the "substitute" moved a little slower and only made a mark.

"Hmm, strange? Sometimes it works but sometimes it doesn't work?" Yuan Shao muttered to himself doubtfully, and then he struck several swords from a distance in other directions. The "substitute" only had time to catch up once or twice.

"Probably still need practice?" Yuan Shao concluded to himself, and then showed off to Cai Yong: "This 'unparalleled', the disciple named him 'Kong Zhan Sword'!"

Yes, my head is as empty as yours, Cao Cao thought helplessly as he looked at the "substitute" who came back with a weird smile on his face.

————

"[Is your Excellency using talismans to disturb Luoyang? I, Wang Yue, will learn a lesson today!]"

When the four masters and apprentices were rushing back to Luoyang in a car, they suddenly heard a deafening shout in the air, and a dazzling sword light flew straight towards the Black Dragon Pond. Although the sword light just passed by, The bright sword marks were like wounds in the sky, splitting all the clouds along the way, leaving a clear trace in the blue sky that lingered for a long time.

"He is worthy of being the 'Sword Master' who leveled the Helan Mountains alone with his sword." Cai Yong looked into the sky and sighed: "During the chaos of the Party, Wang Yue only protected the royal bloodline and did not participate in any battles. It is inevitable that people will speculate whether his strength is enough. Yes, but as soon as this sword comes out, no matter what thoughts those people have, they have to put it down."

"I heard that his sword can only kill barbarians. Now this?" Cai Wan was a little confused.

"In fact, after the number of 'unparalleled warriors' gradually increased and the border troops were able to resist the barbarian invasion on their own, Wang Yue almost stopped taking action and only concentrated on protecting the Han royal family. Therefore, no matter how fierce the struggle for power between his relatives and eunuchs was, the emperor would If he loses power, he himself will be safe and sound," Cai Yong said: "The reason for the sword attack this time is probably because Zuo Ci took action against the royal family."

"..." "So, if someone wants to depose the old Liu family and become emperor himself, he will also take action?"

Cao Cao's expression became a little serious, but the "substitute" said without any scruples.

"If the 'Sword Master' can kill the guy who attacked us, then it's okay -" Yuan Shao looked at the sky, mid-sentence, and then froze.

When the sword mark across the sky landed in the mountains near Black Dragon Pond in a graceful arc, a huge and bright golden light pillar rose into the sky, and then turned into a majestic tower of gold and silver. The huge tower suddenly emitted a circle of pink light around it - no, it was a huge garden that appeared due to that light, boundless and full of pink flowers.

After the giant tower and garden flickered slightly, they completely disappeared in a few blinks of an eye. Also disappearing was the sword mark stretching across the sky.

Unlike Cai Yong, who was confused, Cao Cao almost instantly thought of the white-haired woman with pink petals scattered all over her body, and blurted out: "He hit the wrong person!"

"Indeed," Cai Wan agreed: "This kind of 'unparalleled' is completely different from the black dragon that can be formed with the help of ink. I hope Mr. Sword Master can stop in time and not hurt that...sister."

No, Cao Cao thought with the confidence he didn't know where he came from. He hoped that the sword master was smart enough not to anger "her", otherwise he would die without a burial place.

————

After returning to Luoyang, Cai Yong returned home with his daughter. Yuan Shao also returned to Yuan's house to show off his "Wushuang" that would definitely fail, while Cao Cao went to ask his father about the "talisman", "Zuo Ci" and "Floating Flowers" around Luoyang. Information about the white-haired woman.

As a former Sili Lieutenant and now a Grand Secretary Nong, even if Cao Song was not as well-informed as the official in charge of intelligence, he certainly knew more than ordinary civilian officials, and he did not disappoint his son in this regard.

Cao Song led Cao Cao to a seemingly remote warehouse near his study. When he opened the door, there were bundles and shelves of books inside.

Facing his son's surprised and admiring eyes, Cao Song said proudly: "The captain of Sili is responsible for 'monitoring and reporting'. However, the current captain of Sili is a complete idiot. He only 'reports' and does not 'monitor'. It's strange to see However, things that were not worth reporting were forgotten instead of being recorded and archived like a father. When the superior officer asked, he did not know everything. With such nepotism, the death of General Dou Wu will not be far away."

"It turns out that my father supports the eunuch party." Since there were only two people present, Cao Cao did not show any panic at this speech and responded calmly.

"Your grandfather Cao Teng was a veteran of the Four Dynasties and had far-reaching influence. Even if my family supports the scholars, we can't lose the title of 'son of the eunuch'. So why not support the eunuch forces who have a good impression of us?" Cao Song said: " The most important thing is that the emperor can live without relatives, but he cannot live without eunuchs."

"My child will be taught." Cao Cao saluted.

"Go ahead. The content you are looking for is generally in the 'Strange People and Strange Things' entry. In addition, you can figure out for yourself if you can read the 'Imperial Rumors' and 'Crimes of Courtiers' entries." Cao Song said and turned around And go.

If you dare to collect it, of course I dare to read it... Cao Cao sneered. After all, he didn't go to explore the items that sounded very powerful at first glance, and went straight to the "Strange People and Strange Things" item area.

Thanks to the help of a "substitute", Cao Cao quickly found out some information about the spell that disturbed Luoyang and the Taoist Zuo Ci. This Taoist seemed to be keen on playing pranks on many descendants of the Liu family, but because they were all disturbed by him, they were It was basically not a side branch of the relationship with the Ling Emperor, so it was not taken seriously. It was judged to be an act of revenge by some reclusive people who were dissatisfied with the royal family.

"It seems that our father also made a mistake in his judgment," said the "substitute": "Three emperors in a row were childless, and distant relatives came to the throne. If this Taoist is not accumulating the merit of making decisions in advance, he is planning to eliminate the root cause first."

"Then why did he attack me, Yuan Shao and Zhenji?" Cao Cao frowned.

"Hmm...because you two will fight for Zhenji in the future, and the winner will become the emperor?" The "substitute" said nonsense.

"Huh..." Cao Cao glanced at a seemingly unimportant piece of information, and then said decisively: "That's impossible."

——On a certain day of a certain month, people around Luoyang saw a white-haired woman using talisman water to treat an injured "unparalleled warrior". The effect was far beyond ordinary. She called herself Mei Lin, sometimes also called Lin Hao, and she was suspected to be a high-ranking official of Taiping Road.