In the afternoon of the same day, it was raining. It was a little chilly. The four of them sat under the eaves, looking at the rain in a daze.
"My grandfather told me to go to Chang 'an to collect demons." Qiu Yongsi had a harmless baby face and said, "It can train my courage. Brothers, my skills are not good enough. When you're subduing demons, you have to take care of this little brother."
Hongjun said, "I'm not much better. Those two … uh."
"What's your weapon?" Mo Rigen asked Atay. "You have a fan. You should be good at it."
"I haven't shown my best weapon yet." Atay smiled. "There's no harm in telling you, my dear friends. It's this zither."
With that, Atay picked up the Barbat zither on his back. Hongjun had been fond of treasures since he was young. At first, he had just met Atay, so he didn't ask for details. Now that they were more familiar, he touched the zither and asked, "This zither?"
"Yes." Atay nodded and smiled. "This zither was passed down to me by my late father. When demons appear, as long as I take out this zither and point this end at the enemy …"
Hongjun said, "Then what song do I play?"
"No." Atay shook his head. "Swing it up and smash their heads with it."
Hongjun: "…"
Atay said sincerely, "This zither is as light as a feather in my hand. But when I smash it, it's as heavy as Mount Tai. Even if it's a dragon, I can smash it to death."
"Don't say anymore …" Hongjun held his forehead and pushed Atay's head away.
"Beautiful brother." Atay came over and looked into Hongjun's eyes. Atay's eyes were as blue as the ocean. Coupled with his smile, it was simply irresistible.
"What's on your mind? What's sad?" Atay said with concern. "Why are you always frowning? Such a beautiful life, how about I play a song for you? "
Mo Rigen couldn't take it anymore. He put an arm around Hongjun's shoulder and blocked Atay with his arm. "Don't bully him. He doesn't know anything."
Hongjun was indeed very vexed. Even though he had made a few new friends, his Mind Lamp was gone, and the whereabouts of his flying dagger were unknown. He had no way of explaining the mess that he had caused. He had originally planned to start collecting demons in the Exorcism Division and slowly think of a way to search for them, but he did not expect the future to be so foggy.
Hongjun said, "It's indeed a little … troublesome."
"What kind of trouble?" Mo Rigen asked. "Tell us and we'll help you. Is it a monster? "
"Monster?!" Qiu Yongsi sat up straight and said, "Really? Are there monsters in Chang 'an? "
Ah Tai said, "It's my greatest honor to be of service to you."
Qiu Yongsi was a little scared. He said, "As long as you don't get too close, I can still help. Anyway, I need to train my courage … Tell us, what monster? "
"I'll think of another way." Hongjun was touched. He said, "If there's really no other way, I'll tell you."
"That's true." Mo Rigen smiled. "It's better to rely on yourself than on the heavens or the earth. You can do it." He patted Hongjun's shoulder.
The rain gradually stopped. Atay said, "Good times shouldn't be wasted. Why don't we sing a song?"
"Everyone, let's clean up first and clear out a few rooms." Mo Rigen patted his knee and stood up. "After all, we'll probably have to sleep here tonight."
"We'll sleep in the Chang 'an Inn." Atay said. "Let's go. My treat?"
"I'll sleep here." Hongjun said. "Zhao Zilong will sleep in the inn. The fishy smell is too strong. I'm afraid it'll scare people."
He didn't know why, but he liked this place a little. He drifted all the way here. When he saw the tall sycamore tree in the courtyard, he more or less felt a little familiar. Mo Rigen wasn't picky. He agreed to stay with Hongjun. Qiu Yongsi thought about it and followed the two. Atay had to change his mind and decided to stay in this shabby Exorcism Department.
In the evening, the red clouds filled the sky in Chang 'an. It had rained for three days. Guanzhong had officially entered autumn.
Feng Changqing walked out of the Long Wu Army's encampment step by step, with a cane in his left hand and Li Longji's imperial edict in his right. Li Jinglong was tall and strong. He carried a bundle of bedding under his right arm. He wanted to let the servants at home send it back, but Feng Changqing insisted and made him walk all the way home from the Long Wu Army's entrance. He received the attention of the Chang 'an people on the streets.
After Li Jinglong received the transfer order, he packed up his bedding and wanted to go home. He was simply humiliated. The people on the streets couldn't help but laugh when they saw him. This wastrel was chased out by the Long Wu Army again.
"Hey, transferred to the Tang Dynasty's Exorcism Department." Feng Changqing held the imperial edict and limped in front. It wasn't clear if he was mocking Li Jinglong or himself. He said, "It's really a good job. The Right Prime Minister is personally in charge. He rose two ranks in one night!"
Li Jinglong said in a low voice, "I'm not leaving."
The people on the streets pointed at him, making him feel uneasy. Feng Changqing turned around and hit him with his crutch. He said angrily, "When you ran out of Pingkang, weren't you afraid of being paraded through the streets?"
Li Jinglong just wanted to throw his bedding to the ground and leave. However, filial piety was the foundation of a person. Li Jinglong's parents died early. Although Feng Changqing was his cousin, he always supported him these years. If he disobeyed his elder brother on the streets, he would never be able to raise his head again in this lifetime. He could only endure it.
"Parading through the streets? Whose face is it that's embarrassing?" Feng Changqing lamented. "It's my old face that's embarrassing!"
Li Jinglong followed behind Feng Changqing and said in a low voice, "Envoy Xiang died at that time. Who knows if he's real or fake? Sooner or later, the truth will be revealed. Since you don't believe me, why did you summon everyone here today and carefully interrogate them? You already know that I've never lied! "
Feng Changqing said, "Why don't you let His Majesty see? Where's the demon you're talking about?! Why don't you find that person and bring him to the imperial court to argue?! Why don't you find him for me to see?! "
Li Jinglong was so angry that his whole body was trembling. He said in a low voice at the entrance of the alley, "One day, you'll see."
Feng Changqing didn't say anything. The two of them walked through less than half of Chang 'an. Feng Changqing even took him through Xi' an and arrived at an alley. Li Jinglong held his bedding in one hand and turned to walk into the alley. Feng Changqing straightened up and asked, "Where are you going?"
Li Jinglong didn't answer. He only walked quickly into the alley. He didn't want to go back to Feng Changqing's house. They quarreled all day long. Feng Changqing used his crutch and staggered to catch up. Li Jinglong didn't say anything and walked forward in the alley.
Crisp music came from the depths of the alley. There were even people singing loudly. The setting sun dyed the stone bricks in the alley red, dragging Li Jinglong's figure on the ground. The autumn wind blew, revealing the bleakness.
"Where are you going?!" Feng Changqing asked.
Li Jinglong's face was ashen as he walked forward. He walked to the end of the alley and pushed the broken door. The door on the left suddenly fell down in an earth-shattering manner.
"Bang!"
The fallen door made a loud noise, revealing the scene in the courtyard.
The music in the courtyard suddenly stopped. Everyone kept clapping and stared at Li Jinglong.
In the Exorcism Department, Atay was playing the Barbat. Hongjun was holding a small chipped bowl with chopsticks. Qiu Yongsi was hitting the stone with two bamboo pipes. Mo Rigen was following the rhythm of the bowstring.
Everyone was gathered in a circle. In the center, there was a wooden basin half filled with water.
In the wooden basin stood a carp with two hands and two legs. It raised one leg and put it on the edge of the basin. It waved its hands and was dancing.
When the door fell down, the four men and the fish stopped their movements at the same time. They stared at Li Jinglong and Feng Changqing in confusion.
Li Jinglong, "…"
Everything was caused by fate and was not controlled by humans.
Li Jinglong still did not know how many strange forces had been pushing him in this life. It was as if everything he had experienced in the past twenty years had been for this day, allowing him to push open the door in front of him by a strange coincidence.
In a hurry, fate came and went until he met the handsome young man's eyes. In his eyes, everything in the world was far away, leaving only the face that he would never forget.
If life was like the first time you met, you would only think it was ordinary.
Countless emotions gathered in his heart into a stormy sea. Carrying the power of the sky, in an instant, he brazenly broke the dam of his reason. Thousands of words, all turned into four words:
"Return my innocence — —!"
Li Jinglong roared and pulled out his sword. His body turned into a shadow and shot towards Hongjun!
In the blink of an eye, Hongjun saw him pull out his sword and immediately took a step back. His body stopped in mid-air for a moment, and the rest of the people reacted …
"Have mercy!" Mo Rigen shouted.
"Friend! Don't make a fuss! "Atay shouted.
Qiu Yongsi shouted, "Don't be afraid!"
However, Li Jinglong's target was not the Carp Demon, but Hongjun with his sword! In a flash, the three people suddenly felt a murderous aura. In order to protect Hongjun, Atay shook his fan and Mo Rigen moved to block. Qiu Yongsi suddenly pulled out his sword. The three people wanted to stop Li Jinglong at the same time, but Li Jinglong had already crossed the front yard and rushed in front of Hongjun!
"He's a mortal!" Hongjun shouted, "Don't be too heavy on him!"
Hongjun was quite afraid of the sword in his hand. That night, it was because he let his guard down that the five-colored divine light was broken by Pang Ji. In the past few days, he had already practiced countless times in his heart. Naturally, he would not make the same mistake again. Immediately, he held a throwing knife in each hand. While in the air, he held the knives in both hands and hit the black sword.
The moment the throwing knives hit the rusty iron sword, the collision of the heavenly weapons caused a burst of spiritual energy resonance. Li Jinglong's pupils suddenly contracted. Just as he was about to change his move, Hongjun used a throwing knife that was less than seven inches long to block the sword's edge and rotated it!
At that moment, he twisted the iron sword and rotated it. Li Jinglong's hand was hot, and the sword flew out of his hand!
Mo Rigen, Atay, and Qiu Yongsi shouted at the same time and attacked together. Hongjun turned over and fell to the ground. Before he could see the situation clearly, Li Jinglong's shoulders were pressed down by the three people at the same time and he flew straight out.
In the end, they couldn't stop in time and still used a heavy hand … Li Jinglong crashed into the front hall and then hit the window. With a crash, he crashed out of the courtyard and fell solidly on the courtyard floor. He fainted.
Hongjun frowned. His fingers were cut by the blade and his hands were full of blood. The others hurried forward to check. Mo Rigen frowned and said, "Are you hurt? What kind of deep hatred does this person have for you? "
The Carp Demon looked left and right and its eyes were fixed on Feng Changqing outside the door. Feng Changqing opened his mouth and didn't come back to his senses for a long time. He kept retreating. The Carp Demon shouted, "There's one more, don't let him escape!"
Atay and Qiu Yongsi immediately turned around. Qiu Yongsi rushed forward with his sword in his right hand. Feng Changqing shouted, "Demon, demon … demon!"
Qiu Yongsi stepped on Feng Changqing's chest and pointed his sword at his throat. Atay threw out two ropes that flew towards Feng Changqing and tied his hands and feet firmly.
After the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Hongjun's hands were bandaged. Li Jinglong and Feng Changqing were thrown into the corner of the main hall, unconscious.
"His name is Li Jinglong. He's a mortal guard. That day, I was chasing a demon outside of Chang 'an city …"
Hongjun explained everything to the three people in the courtyard. When he talked about the Mind's Lantern, the Carp Demon coughed. Hongjun knew that he probably shouldn't say too much, so he paused and skipped this part. After he finished, everyone was surprised.
"It was a misunderstanding," Mo Rigen said, "This person thought you were a demon and hit you so hard. Fortunately, you weren't seriously injured."
Mo Rigen was about to go forward and untie him when the Carp Demon held something and knocked on Hongjun's knee.
"What is this?" Hongjun was confused.
The Carp Demon said, "They dropped it outside the door."
Qiu Yongsi took it and opened it to find that it was an imperial edict. He read, "Disciples, today, the Holy Son of Heaven is on the throne. Auspicious signs have appeared. Di Gong is still in the Tang Dynasty under the orders of the Divine Emperor. Today, the Long Wu Army's Captain Li Jinglong is appointed as the Exorcist … Exorcist Division Chief Chang Chang, Chief Shi …"
Everyone around the imperial edict raised their heads at the same time and glanced at the unconscious Li Jinglong in the hall. Then, they lowered their heads at the same time and glanced at the imperial edict. Qiu Yongsi's hands trembled as he held the imperial edict. The corners of his mouth twitched.