Tibet

At night, Li Chenghua got news at his house that Ma Xiaowu, the coachman of Xiao Yuexian Lefang, had been found.

Li Chenghua hurried back to the internal guard office and went directly to the interrogation room. He saw a tall and thin young man tied to an iron chair in the middle. His eyes were frightened and he was answering the interrogator's questions honestly.

When the interrogator saw the arrival of the capital commander, he quickly stepped forward and saluted, "Inform the capital commander that they will take a boat to Longyou in Chencang County instead."

Li Chenghua nodded. No wonder Wang Qian didn't find the other party's whereabouts. It turned out that the other party took a boat instead.

"Any other important information?"

"Report to the capital, this person knows the situation and address of the owner of the museum!"

Li Chenghua perked up and asked, "What's going on with the owner?"

"The owner is Kang Shibai, a priest from Daguang Temple in Kangguo. He came from Luoyang at the beginning of the year. He has developed many believers in Luoyang. This Ma Xiaowu is also his believer. He couldn't bear the fight, so he confessed."

Li Chenghua has special professional sensitivity. The other party is not a businessman, but a missionary. This case may not be that simple.

"Where does this museum owner live?"

"Live in Xinchangfang."

Li Chenghua immediately ordered: "Let the coachman lead the way and find the residence of the owner of the museum!"

Half an hour later, three hundred internal guards surrounded a house in Xinchangfang. The house was close to Qinglong Temple. It could be said that it was only separated by a wall. It occupied an area of ​​about one and a half acres. It was bought last year and renovated.

From the appearance, Li Chenghua immediately discovered that the house was different. This small house covering an area of ​​one and a half acres was actually one piece, and there were three small squatting beasts on the roof. They were different from those in the Tang Dynasty. They turned out to be three small houses. people.

Maybe this was Kang Guo's style, but Li Chenghua didn't go into details. She just felt that there was a lot of space in this house, with only one big room.

There seemed to be no one in the house. The soldiers opened the courtyard door and rushed in. After a moment, a school captain came out and reported, "To the commander-in-chief, there is no one inside!"

Li Chenghua walked into the yard and looked up at the door of the house. There was an iron cast hanging on the place where the plaque was hung, and three swords hung side by side on an iron ring. At first glance, they were Western swords, sharp and thin. This is the first time Li Chenghua has seen this sign. What does it mean?

Walking into the door, as she expected, there was a large hall inside, supported by pillars. The entire one-acre and a half house was basically the hall, with several cabins at the back.

"Du Tong, this seems to be a temple?" Huben Zhonglang, General Zhou Xiao said.

Li Chenghua nodded. This is indeed a temple, and it is a Zoroastrian temple. It worships fire.

At this time, Li Chenghua suddenly discovered that there were iron rings with three swords lined up above the enshrined flame sculpture. This was the second time he saw it tonight.

Soon, the soldiers searched and found only a few hundred copper coins and nothing else.

"Wait a minute!"

Li Chenghua felt a flash of golden light in the corner of her eyes. She finally discovered something was abnormal and ordered the soldiers: "Go up and take down the three swords in the iron ring!"

The iron ring was relatively high, so several soldiers took it down on a ladder. The soldier exclaimed: "It is actually made of gold!"

Li Chenghua took the iron ring. It was heavy, weighing at least thirty kilograms. It was coated with a layer of iron powder and looked like an iron ring. When he took it in hand and saw the side, it revealed a thick gold color.

The other party actually used thirty kilograms of gold to cast this logo. Li Chenghua was very interested in it. She said to Tiger General Zhou Xiao: "Tomorrow morning, take the pattern to the Sogdians to see what this three-sword iron ring is. mean?"

The next morning, Li Chenghua hurriedly came to see the emperor Li Ye.

On the table in the imperial study room were three swords forged with golden rings. The iron powder covering them had been brushed off, and the whole cast shone with golden light.

“The materials are very heavy!”

Li Ye touched this thirty kilogram gold cast, smiled and asked, "What does it mean?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the humble position has been confirmed. This is the logo of the Zoroastrian Saints!"

"Saints' Society?"

Li Ye was startled and asked in confusion: "I have seen the logo of the Saintess Association in Kangguo and Suiye. It is three women holding swords, not three swords like this."

Li Chenghua shook his head, "The three saints holding swords your majesty mentioned is an old logo. The statue on the roof of the house last night was the three saints holding swords, but it was changed ten years ago. It was changed to three swords with golden rings. Sogdiana People say that because there were men in the Saint Women's Association, the three Saint Women were removed, leaving only three swords. The golden ring represents the sun, symbolizing the fire god they believe in. "

Li Ye frowned and walked a few steps with his hands behind his hands: "If Kong Shibo is a member of the Saints' Society, then will the girls from the Tang Dynasty he sold flow into the Saints' Society?"

"Bi Shi believes that this is very possible. They will definitely select talented girls to stay and train them to become members of the Holy Women's Society. When these Tang Dynasty girls grow up, they will come to the Tang Dynasty to preach."

"What if the girl sold before has grown up?" Li Ye asked.

Li Chenghua bowed and said: "I understand, I will find these girls as soon as possible and catch this Kang Shibao. He must know about it!"

Li Ye stood in front of the window with his hands behind his hands, looking at the west. He actually remembered the charming young woman many years ago, the Princess Geluolu who gave him a taste of womanhood for the first time and made him unforgettable.

She should be the supreme ruler of the Saint Society now!

For a long time, Li Ye slowly said to Li Chenghua: "I need a detailed report on the development of the Holy Women's Society in the past ten years. The inner guards can ask the Sogdians, they can ask the Zoroastrian monastery, or they can catch Kong Shibo and ask. His confession is a relatively heavy task and I hope it can be completed within two months!”

"My humble duty must be completed as soon as possible!"

Li Ye shook his head, "Don't be too fast. The content must be detailed and profound. What I want is the content!"

"I understand the humble position!"

Li Chenghua bowed and hurried away.

In Guangwu County, Lanzhou, five heavily covered large vehicles drove into an inn. The innkeeper and two waiters immediately welcomed them out warmly. They met a big customer. The owner of these large vehicles offered them five times the price. Booked an inn for three days.

The shopkeeper and the waiter were overjoyed. Of course, the high price came with a condition, which was to shut up and pretend not to see anything no matter what they saw.

The gate of the yard was closed, and the doors of the five carts were opened. The shopkeeper and the two waiters were dumbfounded. Groups of little ladies, all about ten years old, came out. All of them were cute and cute. They were all shouting that they were hungry. In a ball.

Only then did the shopkeeper react and quickly asked his waiter to arrange food and accommodation.

There is also a dining hall in the inn. More than fifty young ladies filled the dining hall, all of them lowering their heads to eat. The shopkeeper felt distressed when he saw it. His youngest daughter was also ten years old, almost the same as them!

At this time, the owner of this team walked up to the shopkeeper. He was a Sogdian barbarian. He chuckled and said, "Let's rest for three days. The shopkeeper will treat you well! Remember not to talk too much. I will give you a reward when you leave." ,"

The shopkeeper quickly bowed and said: "Don't worry! Neither my friend nor I are talkative people!"

Soon, the group of young ladies were full. The barbarians clapped their hands and said with a smile: "Girls, when you're done eating, go upstairs to bed!"

A large group of young ladies ran upstairs cheering. The shopkeeper and two waiters cleared the table. One of the waiters whispered: "Shopkeeper, could they be the ones the county government told them about a few days ago?"

The shopkeeper glared at the waiter, "We're open for business and there are always customers, so don't talk too much!"

The two waiters didn't dare to say anything.

Night fell quietly, and the whole inn became quiet. The ladies were tired from the journey and fell asleep early.

The night was getting deeper, but the shopkeeper was tossing and turning and couldn't sleep. He was still thinking about what someone from the county government had told him a few days ago. If a large group of Han ladies were found staying overnight, they must report it to the county government immediately.

The shopkeeper has been running an inn for twenty years and has a lot of experience. How could he not see that this is a trafficker crossing the border? It’s just that these Sogdian traffickers are ruthless. If he reports it to the county government, he will definitely be retaliated by them, and his whole family will probably die. .

At this time, he suddenly heard a noise outside. He quickly got up, put on his clothes, and walked out of the door. He only heard a rustling sound coming from the kitchen.

He walked into the kitchen with an oil lamp and saw three young ladies looking through the cabinets.

The shopkeeper suddenly came in, and the three of them were so frightened that they hid in the corner, huddled together and shivered.

"Are you looking for something to eat?" the shopkeeper asked with a soft smile.

The three little ladies lowered their heads and said sheepishly: "We haven't eaten enough, we are very hungry!"

"There are some more steamed buns here!"

The shopkeeper found a few cold steamed buns from the big steamer, put them on a plate, and handed them to them, "Take them and eat them!"

The little lady picked up the steamed buns and ate them, but they didn't dare to take them upstairs. If the owner saw them, they would be beaten.

"Where are you from?" the shopkeeper asked with a smile.

The three young ladies raised their heads and said, "We come from Chang'an and go to Anxi to learn Hu Xuan Wu. After we learn it well, we can return to Chang'an and we can earn money to support ourselves."

The shopkeeper looked at their innocent eyes and suddenly thought of his young daughter. His conscience pricked him. He was not going to Anxi to learn Hu Xuan dance! It was clearly sold to the West.

"We've finished eating, thank you, uncle, the shopkeeper!"

The three young ladies bowed together, turned around and ran upstairs.

The shopkeeper looked at the weak backs of the three little ladies, and finally felt his heart change. Even if his inn was closed, he would never let these children fall into the fire pit.