Chapter 537: The Evil God Formation, Giant Wild Willow God
Governor's Mansion.
Li Daoxuan sat in the main hall wearing the Green Emperor's mask, tapping lightly on the chair with his slender fingers. All the housekeepers and servants in the mansion, as well as Xia Qingfeng's wife and concubines were silent and trembling with fear.
Under the mask, the third eye quietly opened and looked at these people.
Then Li Daoxuan showed a strange look, because in his Heavenly Eyes, Xia Qingfeng's wife and concubine were both full of Yin, without any Yang at all.
In other words, they are still virgins.
No wonder Xia Qingfeng disappeared, they didn’t seem particularly worried.
After a moment.
"Go down."
Li Daoxuan's voice sounded slowly.
As soon as the words fell, everyone felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief. They had never seen such a powerful person before. Just by him sitting there, they couldn't even breathe.
It's even scarier than the master.
But he called us here, why didn't he ask anything?
But they didn't remember that they had just fallen asleep for a while and then told everything, even the affair between a housekeeper and a maid, and even described the postures very clearly.
After everyone left, Li Daoxuan did not say anything. He just took off his mask, picked up the teacup and took a sip quietly.
Lou Ling glanced at the Green Emperor's mask. She didn't know why the Imperial Master wore this mask after entering the city, but the Imperial Master has always been unfathomable, so this move must have a deep meaning.
"Master, it seems that Xia Qingfeng sensed the danger and fled first!"
Lou Ling analyzed: "He has a wife and concubines, but he doesn't even have any offspring. He has never even slept with his wives and concubines. This is because he doesn't want to leave any offspring, so he doesn't have to worry about the future!"
Li Daoxuan didn't say anything and continued drinking tea.
The best Tieguanyin has a long aftertaste.
At this time, Lu Chunliang ran over excitedly and shouted loudly: "Found it, found it!"
He held a black box in his hand, which was covered with mud. Xiaotian shouted excitedly, because he had dug this thing out himself.
The special scent of the locust is hidden in this box!
Lou Ling pulled out the dagger from his waist, cut the shackles, and then carefully opened the box.
Buzz!
A dozen locusts flew out from it, and once exposed to the sunlight, they turned into ashes and dissipated into the air, which looked very strange.
There are three things in the box.
It was also human skin, with strange symbols and words painted on it, faintly forming the shape of a dark brown locust, which exuded an extremely ominous aura.
The second thing was a few bright red candles, only half of which were left and smelled of blood.
Finally, there are some stone-like bones with traces of polishing, which are shiny and glossy.
Lu Chunliang let out a light exclamation, as if he remembered something, and recalled the classics he had read in Maoshan.
After a moment, he slapped his thigh and said excitedly: "I figured it out, this is the evil formation that summons the Locust God!"
"The skin of a person who died unjustly, a candle made of human blood, and a round bone polished from a monk's brow bone. These are the three things you must have to summon the evil god. You can't go wrong with them!"
Summon the Locust God!
Lou Ling sneered, "In this case, there is sufficient evidence that Xia Qingfeng colluded with the demons to create political achievements for himself. After being discovered by the Lightning Mother, she took the opportunity to harm him!"
"But he knew that the imperial court would definitely investigate Zhelong's disappearance, so he buried the evidence and fled in a hurry!"
Everything seems to fit.
But Li Daoxuan asked a question.
"If it were you, would you choose your own home when hiding evidence of a crime?"
Lou Ling paused.
Yes, when normal people bury evidence of a crime, they often choose places where there are few people, and home is usually not the first choice.
"Maybe... you want to play a trick?"
"After all, he is the governor of Dengzhou, a third-rank official. If we hadn't come, even ordinary bad guys wouldn't be qualified to search his mansion!"
Li Daoxuan nodded and said, "This possibility cannot be ruled out."
"There is another possibility!"
Lu Chunliang asked, "What if Xia Qingfeng had a problem when he summoned the Locust God?"
Lou Ling's eyes lit up. This was indeed an idea.
"Xia Qingfeng is colluding with demons. Perhaps he was the one who caused the floods and droughts in the past, so he could predict the future. This locust plague is no exception. He first beat the locust god tattoo with a stick to gain fame. When the locusts really come, he will raise his arms and lead everyone to resist the locusts!"
"It's a pity that one who walks by the river often gets his feet wet. Something went wrong with the spell this time. The Locust God is not so easy to talk to. Add to that the investigation by the Sleeping Dragon, Xia Qingfeng knew that things were not going well, so he fled in a hurry!"
As the saying goes, if there are no political achievements, create them; if there are no difficulties, create them.
When one reaches Xia Qingfeng's level, if one wants to move up further, it is not enough to have small achievements, but big achievements are required.
Resisting the locust plague and preserving the grain in Dengzhou was a great achievement, and Li Shimin particularly appreciated this kind of official who was not afraid of ghosts and gods and stood up for the people.
Lu Chunliang nodded. With that said, everything made sense.
But he still felt a little regretful in his heart. In fact, he had originally had a good impression of Xia Qingfeng because he also liked trees, especially willow trees.
Willow buds in early spring are the freshest and most tender. After being blanched in water, mixed with noodles and steamed, they are fragrant and tender.
Meat roasted with willow branches also has a special aroma.
There are a hundred thousand willow branches fluttering in Qi County. How many meals can we eat with that?
It's a pity that a governor who likes to plant willow trees so much ends up colluding with demons...
Li Daoxuan neither agreed nor refuted their statement. He had already drunk half of the tea and seemed to be waiting for something.
Just then, a servant came to report that Jia Huo, the chief officer of Dengzhou, came to pay a visit to the Zhelong Qingdi.
“You came so quickly!”
Lou Ling sneered, "We have only been here for less than half an hour, and this Dengzhou Chief has already rushed over, just like a dog that smelled a bone."
Xiaotian tilted his head, confused.
It was as if I had suffered an inexplicable humiliation.
Li Daoxuan smiled slightly, finally put down the teacup in his hand, put on the Qing Emperor mask, and said: "You all go and ask the nearby mountain gods and land gods for the whereabouts of Dianmu and Xia Qingfeng."
"Remember, if he's alive, I want to see him. If he's dead, I want to see his body."
"promise!"
The two men took the order and left.
Soon, a man in a scarlet official robe came over. He was tall, slightly fat, and well-built. Although he was in his forties or fifties, he still walked with great vigor.
He doesn't look like a civil servant, but more like a military general.
There were burn marks on the left side of his face, and his eyes were very sharp, like an eagle.
"Jia Huo, the Chief Clerk of Dengzhou, pays respect to Lord Qingdi!"
Li Daoxuan smiled faintly and said, "Master Jia arrived very quickly and is so well-informed. No wonder the people of Dengzhou call you the Eagle in Fire."
The experience of Jia Huo, the chief historian of Dengzhou, is also very legendary.
He joined the army in his early years and even became a captain of the Black Armor Army. Later, he gave up military service to focus on literature. Although he didn't know anything else, he was very good at detecting Turkic spies and his observation skills were amazing.
In the third year of Zhenguan, he was retaliated by the Turks and his house was burned down. His parents, wife and children were all burned to death. He was the only one who escaped alive, with an indelible burn on his left face.
From then on, he worked even harder to capture the Turkic spies who had infiltrated the Tang Dynasty, fearless of life and death, so he was called the Fire Eagle.
The files collected by the Qing Emperor showed that Jia Huo and Xia Qingfeng were not on good terms. The two had competed for the position of governor of Dengzhou. Jia Huo had the upper hand for a time, but unfortunately it was taken away by Xia Qingfeng's accidental merit.
"I dare not. That is just a compliment from everyone. Actually, it was my nephew who informed me. He had some conflicts with Lord Qingdi before, so he was very terrified and came to me to apologize."
Li Daoxuan raised his eyebrows and said, "That young man in brocade clothes who let the dog bite the people is your nephew?"
Jia Huo said awkwardly, "Zhongyuan is indeed a bit naughty. It's all because I, as his uncle, doted on him too much. After the fire that year, he is my only relative. I hope that Lord Qingdi will forgive me. I will definitely punish him severely!"
Li Daoxuan said calmly: "I hope you can take good care of your nephew in the future. If something like this happens again, I may not be able to take back my sword."
Jia Huo's heart trembled, and he bowed and said, "Yes!"
"Okay, Master Jia, is this the reason you came to see me?"
Jia Huo stepped forward and said, "Of course it's for official business. I know that Lord Qingdi is here because of the disappearance of Lady Dianmu. I have some clues that I want to tell you."
"Tell me about it."
"Yes, Lady Dianmu came to Qi County a few days ago. At that time, I went with Governor Xia to welcome her. After that, Juye County was hit by a locust plague. Lady Dianmu went to investigate. When she came back, she asked me to send someone to secretly keep an eye on Governor Xia and report his whereabouts at any time."
Li Daoxuan said calmly: "It seems that Dianmu discovered something in Juye County, and it is related to Xia Qingfeng."
"Lord Qingdi, your opinion is great!"
Jia Huo continued, "I followed your instructions and sent people to keep an eye on Governor Xia day and night, and I actually discovered something strange!"
"What is it?"
"One of my subordinates saw that Governor Xia was wearing a witch's robe two nights ago, with his hair loose and barefoot. He was standing on a piece of human skin and muttering something. There were red candles lit around him. It was very creepy!"
"After that, Governor Xia's expression suddenly changed, and the stone beads in his hand fell to the ground. He hastily buried those things, and then quickly packed up the gold and silver and left at night."
Li Daoxuan's heart moved. This was consistent with the speculation of Lu Chunliang and Lou Ling just now.
"Did your men keep up?"
Jia Huo shook his head and said, "They followed, but they didn't walk long before they ran into a wall of ghosts and almost didn't come back."
"I knew this was strange, so I thought about informing Lady Dianmu immediately. But I found out that Lady Dianmu had disappeared and has never appeared since!"
Li Daoxuan tapped the table with his fingers for a long time, then asked, "Lord Jia is known as the Eagle in the Fire, and is also an expert in solving cases in Dengzhou. What do you think of this matter?"
Jia Huo thought for a moment and said, "As the chief secretary, I must not doubt my superiors. Besides, this case is full of twists and turns, and I really can't figure it out."
Li Daoxuan glanced at him and said with a half-smile, "It's really hard to figure it out."
It seems like he is saying nothing, but he is saying everything.
Jia Huo wanted to say something, but Li Daoxuan sighed and said, "I'm tired. You go down first."
"Lord Qingdi, I have prepared the best banquet in Zuixianlou and invited the most beautiful dancers to apologize to you. Please see..."
Li Daoxuan slowly drank the tea in the cup, his voice very calm.
"Tell your nephew that all the money from Zuixianlou's wine today should be given to the child who was bitten by the dog. If you are one ounce less, I will cut off one of his fingers."
Jia Huo was stunned. He never expected that the other party would be so disrespectful to him. A hint of anger flashed in his eyes.
But his many years of experience as an official made him endure it.
With his official position, he is not afraid of ordinary bad guys, but he is still not good enough to deal with Zhelong.
I heard that although Qingdi was not one of the four pillars guarding the country, he had the closest relationship with the national master Li Daoxuan. He was recruited by the national master himself and was neither a member of the bad guys nor the military or the Taoist sect.
His identity is extremely mysterious.
"promise!"
…
Only after leaving the governor's mansion did Jia Huo breathe a sigh of relief.
He suddenly realized that he had a layer of cold sweat on his back, and he only noticed it when the wind blew.
What a terrifying momentum!
He considered himself to be well experienced, having seen life and death dangers, storms and waves, but in front of this Green Emperor, he still had the illusion of being on the edge of an abyss.
It was an invisible aura that was revealed inadvertently, as if he was holding the universe in his palms and deciding life and death in a single thought. He, the chief historian of the upper reaches, actually felt as insignificant as an ant.
"This person is unfathomable, much more powerful than the Lightning Mother!"
"It seems that the so-called Four Pillars of the Nation are just a cover. The most powerful among the Dormant Dragons is the Green Emperor who was personally recruited by the National Master!"
…
Li Daoxuan was not in a hurry, as if he had already made a decision in his mind.
Another half an hour passed, as noon was approaching, Lou Ling and Lu Chunliang came hurriedly, accompanied by a white-bearded old man with a Shinto aura.
Interestingly, his white beard was a little short, as if half of it was missing.
Li Daoxuan smiled slightly. Lou Ling was indeed smart and capable, and he got the result so quickly.
"Qi County's landowner Qiao Jingsheng pays respect to the Immortal Zhelong!"
Lou Ling held a sword and stood quietly behind the God of Land.
Lu Chunliang said excitedly: "Sir, he knows the whereabouts of the Lightning Mother. The old man wanted to conceal it, but thanks to Lou Ling, he cut off half of his beard with a sword, and he was willing to tell the truth."
The two of them were one cold and one hot, but in fact they were both relieved.
During these five years of living together, everyone in the Zhelong group is like a brother or sister. Dianmu has a lively and cheerful personality and a tender voice. She calls everyone she meets sweetly "brother or sister".
Everyone treats her like a younger sister.
She was missing, and everyone was very anxious. Even the most mysterious Qing Emperor worked all night to collect all the information related to Dian Mu and compiled a thick stack.
Now we finally have a clue. As long as she hasn't died, with the Imperial Master's skills, she will be safe!
"Tell me, where is the Lightning Mother?"
The God of Land hesitated and said, "I told you, you have to protect me from being harmed by that monster!"
Li Daoxuan glanced at Lou Ling.
clang!
The long sword was unsheathed and fell on the neck of the Earth God. The demon-subduing talisman specially made by the Imperial Observatory was faintly visible, and there was a trace of dragon energy flowing on the sword.
Kill the evil ghosts below and the evil gods above!
The God of Land shuddered and said, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you, two days ago, the governor of Xia left the city in a hurry at night, and I saw Lady Lightning secretly following him. Later, she left my territory, and I don't know what happened to her anymore."
"You just said that you wanted me to protect you from monsters. What monsters are they?"
Li Daoxuan asked aloud.
"It's a willow monster, a very powerful one. Governor Xia has a very good relationship with that monster. Every year he goes back to his hometown, Juye County, to see that monster. Every time he comes back, he can perform great deeds by chance!"
"As the land master, since you know there is a demon, why don't you report it to the bad guys?"
The land god said with a bitter face: "You don't know, Immortal, that willow monster has great magical powers and calls himself the Willow God. We are no match for it. Once the God of Wufeng Mountain wanted to report it, he disappeared the next day and died..."
Lou Ling sneered.
"No wonder Xia Qingfeng planted many willow trees as soon as he took office. It turns out he did it to please the monster!"
"Willow God..."
Li Daoxuan didn't know what he was thinking about, he shook his head and smiled.
"Let's go to Juye County and meet the Willow God."
