"Li Jinglong, you and your subordinates will stay in the palace for the time being." Li Longji said, "Yuren, you can leave. It's getting late. Guozhong, tomorrow you and Changqing will go to the examination hall together. "
Everyone bowed and left. Li Longji and Yang Yuhuan turned and entered the back hall of Xingqing Palace. Li Jinglong knew that today's events were too shocking for the Emperor to think clearly. He needed to give him some time. He pulled out his sword and looked at the burnt corpse of the fox demon.
"You should be nicer to your sword." Qiu Yongsi said, "It's not like it's a fire stick."
Li Jinglong glared at Qiu Yongsi. Mo Rigen laughed and said, "We don't need to pay for Da Ming Palace, right?"
Atay smiled and said, "That's great!"
Hongjun sighed. Li Jinglong asked, "What's wrong? We've already given you a way out. Why are you still so unhappy? "
Hongjun thought about what Li Jinglong said that night. He didn't know if what the little fox said was true or false. He didn't know if it had killed anyone. He suddenly felt that Li Jinglong was right. He couldn't help but feel depressed.
"Thank you." Hongjun said, "But I still feel like I've been cheated. You said that Du Hanqing … "
"In life, it's rare to be confused." Li Jinglong waved his hand and said, "Don't be too serious about everything. Forget about it. Let's give it some Soul-leaving Pollen some other day and set it free. This matter will be over."
"Don't be stubborn." Mo Rigen laughed.
"Alright." Hongjun also laughed.
At that moment, a eunuch came and asked Li Jinglong to wait in the side hall. His Majesty would reward him with food. When the cleaning staff arrived, everyone followed the eunuchs. They passed through the Imperial Garden of Xingqing Palace and waited for the meal in the side hall.
Li Longji gave her a meal, so the treatment was naturally incomparable. Yang Yuhuan even specially had people prepare the "people's fat and cream" and sent it over. Hongjun ate it happily. Li Jinglong seemed to have something on his mind.
"The case is closed, right?" Qiu Yongsi reminded.
"Yes." Li Jinglong was reminded and immediately smiled. "Brothers, you've worked hard."
When they were having tea after the meal, Li Longji summoned them again. Everybody washed their hands, wiped their faces, and came to an elegant palace hall called 'Jin Hua Luo'.
"Summon Tegra for an audience," the eunuch said.
Li Longji first summoned Atay, which was unexpected. Li Jinglong nodded at Atay and smiled encouragingly. Atay let out a long sigh, took off his boots, and stepped into the palace hall. Yang Guifei then issued an order for the rest of the people to admire the flowers, drink tea, and wait outside the Jin Hua Luo.
The autumn night was bleak. No one knew what flowers to admire. Li Jinglong had nothing to do anyway, so he leaned outside the palace and slept. These days, he was very tired. His head would occasionally tilt towards Hongjun. In the end, his upper body was in Hongjun's arms. Hongjun could only hold him and whisper to Mo Rigen and Qiu Yongsi.
After two hours, Atay came out. Li Longji summoned Qiu Yongsi and Mo Rigen.
Li Jinglong woke up. He wiped the saliva on his face and asked blankly, "Did he summon us?"
"Not yet." Hongjun also felt that it was strange. Why did he summon them one by one? However, this time, Mo Rigen and Qiu Yongsi went in and only said a few words before coming out.
"He told us to go back first. There's nothing else for us to do," Mo Rigen said.
"Go," Li Jinglong said, "Zhao Zilong is still waiting in the Exorcism Department."
The remaining three people left. Li Jinglong slept in a daze and kept rubbing his face. After a while, he was summoned to go in with Hongjun.
There was a clear pool in the Jin Hua Luo. There was a couch beside the pool. Behind the couch was a screen surrounded by cranes. The lights flickered, and the sound of music could be heard from afar. There was a ginkgo tree that was nearly a hundred years old in the pool. Along with the sound of the zither strings, the golden leaves slowly floated down. It was like a vast expanse of golden flowers, magnificent and magnificent.
Li Jinglong wiped his face. He saw Li Longji sitting on the couch and Yang Yuhuan concocting pills at the side. When he was about to bow, Li Longji said, "You're excused. Have a seat."
The imperial attendants moved the couch. Li Jinglong and Hongjun sat down and tea was served. Li Longji said, "Jinglong has made a great contribution this time. How do you want me to reward you? Just say it."
Li Jinglong hurriedly said, "I'm working for the country. I don't dare to accept a reward. It's my duty. Your Majesty has exempted me from the disaster I caused in Da Ming Palace. I'm already grateful. "
Although these words were humble, when they came from Li Jinglong's mouth, there was a sense of being neither servile nor overbearing. Yang Yuhuan's brows were tightly knitted, but she smiled slightly and said, "See, I guessed correctly."
Li Longji laughed, and the solemn atmosphere lightened up quite a bit.
Li Jinglong continued, "But we must eliminate all evil. In a few days, I still have to take them to Ping Kang to avoid any demons that slip through the net."
Li Longji made a sound of agreement and said, "Carry out official duties. If you have to go, go."
Li Jinglong said again, "But I'm afraid you'll Chang 'an commoner again …"
"Should I issue an imperial edict to you?" Li Longji asked.
Everyone laughed again. Li Jinglong replied, "I'm afraid."
Hongjun scratched his neck and said, "Your Majesty, we still owe the seller of soul leaving pollen six thousand four hundred taels of silver. Can you help us pay?"
Li Jinglong, "…"
"What's that?" Yang Yuhuan asked, "Why is there so much silver?"
Hongjun began to explain to Yang Yuhuan. Yang Yuhuan was very surprised and said, "There's such a thing in the world?"
Li Longji said, "Gratitude, resentment, love and hatred can all be forgotten. This kind of magical medicine is probably rare in the world. It can also relieve people's pain. It's really wonderful."
Yang Yuhuan smiled and said, "But happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy, no matter how annoying it is, it's still one's own. Isn't life only interesting because of these? If you want me to smell it, I won't. "
Li Longji said happily, "That's true. If you want me to smell it one day, I also won't smell it. I'm just afraid that there are some things that I can't forget even if I smell it."
Yang Yuhuan said angrily, "Who knows?"
Hongjun and Li Jinglong didn't understand the Emperor and Imperial Consort Gui's words. It must be related to the matter of throwing a tantrum. Hongjun said, "Then I'll buy some next time. I'll get some for you guys too."
"Just ask Guozhong to get a note." Li Longji said without thinking. "Since my beloved consort said so, I'll pass."
Hongjun nodded and wanted to ask for more food. Li Jinglong immediately elbowed him, meaning to stop while he was ahead and not ask for more food.
"Today, I've really proven my fate since I was young." Yang Yuhuan said softly, "You exorcists are used to dealing with these strange things. I wonder if there's anything new that you can tell me?"
Although Li Jinglong had some understanding of exorcism, he was still a mortal after all. Unlike other exorcists who had dealt with these things since they were young, he said to Hongjun, "Can you tell Imperial Consort Gui?"
Hongjun quite liked Yang Yuhuan. He felt that every time he met her, it could be described as "like a spring breeze". She was a girl who could make people feel at ease and was considerate. No wonder the Emperor liked her so much. Thus, he picked some things about demons and monsters to tell the two of them. Yang Yuhuan listened with interest and kept asking. Hongjun began to talk about heaven and earth, from the veins of the sky to the veins of the earth, and then to Laozi's "mysteries within mysteries, the door to all wonders". Heaven and earth were born from chaos.
Even Li Jinglong didn't know that Hongjun knew so much. Among the people in the Exorcism Division, only Hongjun didn't have any intention of showing off, nor did he rely on his identity. He usually nodded or said "Oh". When he talked about the mysteries of heaven and earth, he actually talked endlessly.
"You're a Taoist?" Li Longji asked.
"Uh …" Hongjun also didn't know which school he was from. If he had to say, Qing Xiong talked about Buddhism more than Taoism to him. "I guess I'm a Buddhist?" Hongjun thought about it and said, "Qiu Yongsi is like a Taoist."
"What about your Shiwei colleagues?" Yang Yuhuan asked.
"He's a shaman, right?" Hongjun hesitated.
"Tegra is the holy son of Zoroastrianism." Li Longji smiled and said, "If they fight on normal days, don't they invite their own gods? It's strange. "
Hongjun answered, "All the methods in heaven and earth lead to the same destination. My father said that there's no need to be rigid, as long as one's heart is bright."
Everyone nodded slowly.
Li Jinglong thought that the Emperor asked because he felt that there was something strange about the case and wanted to ask about his next plan. He didn't expect that the Emperor didn't ask about the case in the middle of the night, but talked about ghosts and gods for a long time. In the end, it was to ask for immortality?!
It was a waste of time. He might as well go home and sleep.
Yang Yuhuan asked again, "Then, Hongjun, I have something to ask."
"Go ahead." Hongjun didn't care about etiquette. He held a teacup in one hand and put one foot on Li Jinglong's knee. He treated Xingqing Palace as his own home.
"Between heaven and earth, is there anything that is immortal?" Yang Yuhuan asked.
Hearing this, Li Jinglong couldn't help but be curious. He kicked Hongjun down and glanced at him.
Hongjun realized that he was too unruly. He quickly sat up straight, thought for a while, and answered, "No."
"No?" Yang Yuhuan asked.
"Yes, no." Hongjun said seriously, "If you insist on saying that there is, it's only the heaven and earth above your heads."
Hongjun gave the teacup to Yang Yuhuan and Li Longji to look up at the autumn night sky full of stars outside the hall. He explained with a smile, "'Heaven and earth can live for a long time. Because it doesn't exist on its own, it can live forever.' This sentence means that only those who don't exist for themselves can live forever. Everything that 'seeks immortality' is already for themselves. Therefore, between heaven and earth, there is nothing that can live forever. "
At that moment, Li Jinglong seemed to have an illusion. Hongjun, who was holding the teacup, faced the Emperor, faced the Imperial Concubine, and even faced the gods of heaven and earth without any fear. His expression was so clear that it made people's hearts beat faster.
Hongjun withdrew his gaze and looked directly at Yang Yuhuan and Li Longji. He said with a smile, "But I think that sometimes reincarnation is a kind of immortality; sometimes nirvana is also a kind of immortality. Those who leave in this life may meet again in the next life. Nothing in this world is eternal. It's fate."
"Then, what medicine can prolong people's life?" Yang Yuhuan asked softly.
Li Longji held Yang Yuhuan's hand. When Yang Yuhuan asked this, she couldn't help but look up at Li Longji.
Hongjun replied, "The simpler life, the closer to heaven and earth, the longer one will live."
Li Longji laughed and said, "Forget it, don't think about it. Hongjun, you are a child with intelligence."
Yang Yuhuan sighed and said, "If it can prolong Your Majesty's life by a thousand years, cultivate into a demon, and save your life, chenqie is also willing."
"Mortals who are born as humans are much better than muddle-headed, unintelligent demons." Hongjun replied, "Cranes live for a thousand years, tortoises live for ten thousand years. Everything in this world has its own fate. It can't be forced."
Li Jinglong continued, "Presumably, mortals wouldn't be willing to swap places with tortoises and spend their lives crawling around in the mud."
Yang Yuhuan and Li Longji both laughed. Li Longji said to himself, "That's true."
Hongjun suddenly thought of something and said, "There seems to be a way to prolong one's life."
"What?" The three of them were stunned at the same time.
"Become a Buddha." Hongjun said.
"Alright, alright." Li Jinglong said, "Don't get too excited."
Li Longji and Yang Guifei facepalmed. Hongjun said, "All living beings have Buddha nature. To save all living beings is to save oneself."
"You are a child with intelligence." Yang Guifei laughed and said, "Just now when you said 'become a Buddha', I suddenly thought of someone."
Hongjun laughed and said, "Who?"
Yang Guifei smiled and looked at Hongjun. Suddenly, her expression changed. Her brows furrowed slightly, as if she was trying hard to remember. She said, "I keep feeling like I've seen you before."
"We're fated, right?" Hongjun said.
"Mm … That was the first time I saw you." Yang Guifei rubbed her eyebrows and said, "Little Langjun, I just feel that your smile is very familiar. But I can't remember where I've seen it for a while."
"Alright." Li Longji said, "Let's leave everything to fate. We've had enough trouble today. Go back and rest early. Minister Li, when you have time, bring your little brother to talk about the mysteries of the world."
Li Jinglong knew that they were going to sleep, so he hurriedly got up and left with Hongjun. Yang Yuhuan waved again and said, "Hongjun, come here."
"Do you want to have another godson?" Li Longji laughed.
Yang Yuhuan smiled and handed a piece of snack to Hongjun. Hongjun thanked her, but Yang Yuhuan said, "This child is too beautiful. My brother has several children, but none of them are as smart as him."
At night, Li Jinglong and Hongjun left the palace and walked on the street. Li Jinglong carried the small cage containing the fox and walked slowly.
Hongjun plucked a leaf from the side of the road and turned back to ask, "Did I say something wrong today?"
"No." Li Jinglong's lips curled up slightly and said, "You did well. You're getting smarter and smarter."
He strongly felt that Hongjun was learning very quickly. Compared to his uneasy appearance when he first entered the Exorcism Department, he was now more or less able to adapt to the Chang 'an life.
"I'm just too stupid." Hongjun said embarrassedly, "I didn't know that there were hidden meanings in your words."
In fact, Hongjun followed the case in a daze. It was only in the end that he gradually understood the twists and turns of the case. Li Jinglong, Qiu Yongsi, Mo Rigen, and Atay seemed to have a tacit understanding. He was the only one who foolishly followed them all the way.
"They're all smart people." Li Jinglong replied with a smile, "It's normal that you can't figure it out."
Hongjun looked at Li Jinglong, and Li Jinglong immediately stopped smiling.
"Keep smiling." Hongjun said, "It's pretty. Smile for this young master, come!"
Li Jinglong's veins bulged on his forehead: "Where did you learn it!"
Hong Jun truly felt that Li Jinglong was quite good-looking when he smiled. He was usually rigid and serious, like a calm and collected general, but when he smiled, it made people feel a sense of familiarity.
"Let me test you. Guess where we're going now?" Li Jinglong said seriously.
Hongjun turned his head and saw that this was not the way back to the Exorcism Department. He scratched his head and said, "It's so late, where do you want to go?"
The two of them arrived at a back alley. Li Jinglong handed the cage to Hongjun, jumped over a back wall, and jumped in.
"Is there another case?" Hongjun asked in surprise.
There was no response from inside. Li Jinglong pushed open the back door and led out a horse.
"You stole someone's horse …"
"I'll borrow it. Let's go!"
That place was the back door of the Long Wu Army. Li Jinglong led out a horse and jumped on it. He reached out and pulled Hongjun up, letting him sit behind him. He spurred the horse, making a series of hoofbeats, through the long street, and out of the west gate. On the quiet street, the sound of hoofbeats was particularly clear. After exiting the city gate, they stopped at the top of a hill.
"Come." Li Jinglong handed the cage to Hongjun and took off the talisman on the cage.
"Just put it here?" Hongjun asked.
"What else?" Li Jinglong said, "Are we going to bring it back?"
Hongjun thought that this was pretty good, so he took the little fox out of the cage. Li Jinglong stretched out a few fingers and rubbed the little fox's chin back and forth.
The morning star appeared on the horizon, and the sky turned white. The divine continent turned from night to day. Hongjun raised his eyes and looked at the blue sky alternating between dawn and dusk. The sky veins emitted a magnificent color, intersecting with the earth veins, like a giant wheel that would never stop.
"Hey, wake up."
Li Jinglong's voice was much gentler at this moment, and he repeatedly rubbed the little fox's chin.
Hongjun laughed and said, "I didn't use much medicine the second time."
The little fox woke up with a cry and immediately looked at Li Jinglong with vigilance. Li Jinglong bent his finger and knocked on its head, reprimanding, "I haven't settled the debt of biting Hongjun yet."
Hongjun hurriedly said, "Forget it, forget it." The little fox immediately looked nervously at Hongjun, then looked at Li Jinglong. When it realized what had happened, Li Jinglong snapped his fingers in front of its nose.
Following that crisp snap, the Soul Leaving Pollen in Li Jinglong's hand burst open. The little fox suddenly sneezed, and its eyes were filled with confusion. Hongjun let go of his hand, and the little fox immediately fell to the ground and shot into the forest like an arrow.
"Don't come back to Chang 'an." Li Jinglong said, "If you're discovered again, I won't let you off."
The little fox hid in the bushes and looked out. Hongjun looked a little sad as he said goodbye to it, and came down from the hill with Li Jinglong.
The sun rose, and the eight hundred li Qin Creek woke up. Hundreds of birds chirped in the forest.
"Elder Shi." Hongjun said.
"En?" Li Jinglong was leading the horse in front, when Hongjun suddenly pounced on him and rode on his back.
"I like you too much!"
"Quickly get off … .what are you doing?"
"There's no one here."
Li Jinglong took Hongjun off his back and said, "Are you crazy?"
"You actually don't hate demons." Hongjun said proudly, "Isn't that right?"
"I don't hate demons that haven't done evil." Li Jinglong replied.
"Then you seem to like little foxes."
"They look cute, who doesn't like them?" Li Jinglong said, "But they rely on their cuteness to be unbridled and lawless, that's not good." As he said this, he used his finger to poke Hongjun's head, and flipped onto the horse, indicating for him to quickly get on.
Hongjun felt that he was being insinuated, but he did not understand. When he got on the horse, he asked, "Elder Shi, when will you bring me to Ping Kang Li to play?"
Li Jinglong, "… …"
The sound of the horse's hooves gradually faded away. Chang 'an's morning bell came from afar, and a horse rode on the road that was sprinkled with the morning sun.
The sun shone brightly, and in the early autumn morning, the Exorcist Division had not yet woken up, but Hongjun had already fallen asleep on the horse's back. Li Jinglong carried him in, and placed him on the bed. He sighed and said, "Sleep!"
Then he went out to return the horse. Just as he returned to the Exorcist Division, the reward came again. Li Jinglong bowed to receive the decree, and did not wake up his subordinates. This time, it was a salary and a reward of ninety taels of silver. There was also a note from the national treasury, which could be given to the soul-separating flower powder merchant to exchange for silver.
After everything was over, Li Jinglong finally fell asleep, and slept until dusk.
"Yi Si Ai's descendant, a Shiwei person, the heir of the Qiu family, and a mortal without any magic power … …"
"I feel that the youth's identity is the most mysterious, and also very strange."
"I don't care who he is! You actually watched all of this happen right under your nose! "
"So? What do you want me to do? "
The man in the green robe slightly spread his hands and answered, "Your fox children and grandchildren fell into a trap, and since you agreed to bet, you must accept your loss, right?"
The upper-class woman could not stop gasping for breath, and her eyes emitted a red light, almost overflowing with blood. She gasped and said, "I want to avenge them … …"
The man and the upper-class woman stood in the shadows of the depths of Xingqing Palace. Under the setting sun, the two people's long shadows were like ferocious monsters baring their fangs and brandishing their claws.
"It's easy to get rid of him." The man whispered in the upper-class woman's ear, "But the human emperor is already vigilant, if you expose Tianma early … …"
"It won't take more than a few years." The upper-class woman looked at the man's face attentively, and said word by word in his ear, "His fate, the fate of the Tang Dynasty is about to come to an end."
"But you still can't do anything to him." The man said coldly, "You'd better think clearly, don't make any more changes. Tianma's reincarnation, no matter how strong this group of exorcists is, they can't resist it. If you want to mess up the big plan because of a little impatience, don't blame me for not reminding you. "
The upper-class woman suddenly trembled, and her voice carried a hint of ruthlessness, "Did you already know?"
The man smiled and said, "You're too suspicious."
The upper-class woman said in a trembling voice, "You already knew their plan, and in order not to be involved, you actually … … abandoned all my children and grandchildren!"
The man did not say anything more, and turned to leave. The upper-class woman shouted herself hoarse behind him, "Otherwise, why didn't you go to the test?! You'd better remember today! "