Chapter 682: The Patriarch of Changle, the Holy Monk Xuanzang
The next scene is extremely cruel.
After hearing the words of the immortal in white, Liu Banxian seemed to have received some kind of enlightenment. A hint of fanaticism appeared in his eyes, and a dagger appeared in his hand without him noticing.
The chest was cut open, the heart was taken out, and blood splattered everywhere.
Not only was there no trace of pain on Liu Banxian's face, but instead he was extremely excited, as if he was possessed, as if he had already seen himself becoming an immortal.
"Hey, hey, here you go, all for you!"
The smile on his face gradually became crazy. He knelt on the ground, holding the beating heart in his hands, and presented it to the immortal in white with great piety.
Perhaps it was because he had drunk the immortal wine, his heart was still beating strong even though he was over seventy years old.
The immortal in white nodded and smiled, then with a wave of his long sleeves he hid the heart, leaving his Taoist robe completely free of blood.
He turned and left, fleeing to the north, never looking at it again, as if it was just a piece of abandoned garbage.
Plop!
Liu Banxian fell to the ground, his body twitching slightly, blood constantly flowing out and soaking the ground, but he showed a strange smile.
It seems like I feel endless pleasure.
…
Time passed like a bubble, moonlight shone in from the window, the house was empty and peaceful.
The Buddha's light that was blooming around Li Daoxuan slowly dissipated, and that kind of vast and compassionate temperament also disappeared, replaced by a carefree and calm demeanor, as well as an ethereal and otherworldly demeanor.
There was just a hint of embarrassment in his eyes.
The investigation has led to your own involvement?
Originally he said that he was the murderer just to scare Di Renjie, but he didn't expect that the murderer was actually 'Li Daoxuan'!
Di Renjie looked at him, hesitant to speak.
Just as he was about to speak, Li Daoxuan took the lead and said, "Huaiying, what do you think?"
Di Renjie was slightly stunned.
There is always a sense of disharmony...
After thinking about it, he directly stated a conclusion.
"The murderer is definitely not the Imperial Master!"
Li Daoxuan looked at him in surprise and said, "Because you met him when you were young?"
Di Renjie shook his head and said, "Of course not. Although the Imperial Master has done me a favor, when solving a case, one must put aside personal feelings and dare to doubt everything."
After a pause, he explained: "The reason why I say this is because of that whisk. I don't know if you noticed, Brother Kong, that there is something very interesting on that whisk."
Li Daoxuan was stunned for a moment.
whisk?
A big story?
He coughed and nodded, "Yeah, that's right, there is a problem."
Di Renjie felt like he had met a close friend and was about to ask something.
"Huaiying, what do you think? I want to hear your opinion first."
Di Renjie: “…”
"Brother Kong, I know a little about the Imperial Master. That whisk should be the Qilin Jade Whisk bestowed by Emperor Taizong Wen. The Imperial Master used this whisk to subdue the water ghost in Xuzhou, and then rode across the river on a white horse, leaving behind a legend."
Di Renjie smiled confidently and said, "Although the whisk we used just now is very similar in style, according to records, the imperial teacher's Qilin jade whisk is made of crane hair, and its color is as bright as silk. However, the whisk this person used is made of a mixture of animal hair, hemp, and horsehair, and its luster is duller."
Li Daoxuan appeared calm on the surface, but he actually admired him secretly in his heart.
He is so knowledgeable and meticulous!
Li Daoxuan seldom used the Kirin Jade Whisk after he became famous in Xuzhou. This was because his strength increased too quickly and the enemies he encountered were too strong. Although the whisk could transform into a Kirin, it had form but no spirit, and it had great momentum but insufficient power.
Now it is sealed in his Three Realms Gourd, which holds greater commemorative significance.
To be honest, even Li Daoxuan himself didn't know what his Qilin Jade Whisk was made of, but Di Renjie explained it clearly and eloquently.
It feels like he is an old fan.
"Also, this person just hit the deceased's head with his whisk. I'm sure Brother Kong also noticed that he used his left hand, which means that this person is left-handed."
"But the national teacher has never been left-handed."
Li Daoxuan remained calm and nodded, "Yes, I noticed that too."
Thinking back, hiss, it really is the left hand!
Di Renjie paced back and forth, calm and composed, his eyes bright and focused. When he talked about the case, his whole temperament changed drastically, he became high-spirited and had a kind of captivating charm.
"There are also issues with his clothing. I have visited many places and even visited His Royal Highness Prince Chen, intending to compile a book called 'The Biography of the Imperial Master'. His Royal Highness once said that the Imperial Master was an immortal who had been banished to the mortal world. His Taoist robe was made from heaven, without any seams, and was perfectly natural. However, I found three traces of stitches on the body of the man just now."
It’s confirmed. He is not only an old fan, but also a fan leader.
"It seems that you are quite knowledgeable about the Imperial Master."
Li Daoxuan suddenly felt a little lacking in confidence.
"Of course, the Imperial Master and I have been friends for a long time. Anyone who wants to pretend to be the Imperial Master will not be able to escape my eyes!"
After a pause, he sneered.
"A mere demon Taoist wants to pretend to be the national teacher. It's laughable to think about it."
Li Daoxuan took a step back silently.
Waving his hand, Di Renjie continued, "In fact, it is very rare to have only three stitches, which shows the high skill of the embroiderer. As far as I know, there are only two places that can have such skills, one is Suzhou and the other is Chang'an."
"And he finally fled to the north, which was the direction of Chang'an."
After a thorough reasoning, it was clear that everything was connected and well-reasoned. Just by watching it once, I was able to not only see through the murderer's disguise, but also analyze where he might have gone.
Li Daoxuan couldn't help but sigh, he was worthy of being Di Renjie!
"Brother Kong, I am stupid and can only see this much. Do you have any other opinions?"
Looking at Di Renjie's expectant eyes, Li Daoxuan was silent for a moment, and finally uttered only four words.
"Me too."
Di Renjie was somewhat disappointed and said with emotion: "If the Imperial Master were here, he would have a keen eye and be able to see through everything, leaving the murderer nowhere to hide."
"I really brought shame to him!"
…
Smoke rose from the county magistrate's mansion.
Di Renjie put on casual clothes, rolled up his sleeves, and cooked a sumptuous meal himself.
Roasted lamb, steamed chicken with vinegar, pork meatballs, sea bass soup...
No one could have imagined that this former prime minister, now a seventh-rank county magistrate, had such great cooking skills.
The two of them toasted each other and quickly became familiar with each other after what had just happened.
Li Daoxuan was not bound by etiquette, sat casually, laughed, scolded, and spoke freely , just like a madman of the Wei and Jin dynasties, unrestrained and romantic.
Although Di Renjie was well-read in Confucian classics, he was not rigid or pedantic. Instead, he admired Li Daoxuan's straightforwardness and unrestrained style. The two of them soon got along well and laughed constantly.
Gradually, Li Daoxuan learned about the current Tang Dynasty from his conversations with Di Renjie.
It was the second year of Tianshou at this time. Li Zhi was sixty-three years old and Wu Zetian was sixty-seven years old.
According to the original historical trajectory, Li Zhi should have died of illness eight years ago. After six years of preparation, Wu Zetian finally ascended the throne as an emperor as a woman and changed the country's name to Wu Zhou.
However, although Li Zhi was still in poor health and only attended court once every seven days, he was like a wooden boat swaying in the wind and rain, seemingly dangerous, but not capsizing.
Therefore, there are still two saints ruling the country now, Li Zhi proclaims himself the emperor and Wu Zetian the empress, and they jointly manage the government.
It's a pity that Emperor Li Zhi's health was getting worse and worse, and it was the Empress Dowager who took care of everything. Although she was a woman, she was tough enough. She used cruel officials, promoted scholars from the North Gate, eliminated dissidents, and placed members of the Wu family in important positions in the court.
In today's court, almost all decisions are made by her alone, and she is the sole decision-maker.
They are said to be two saints, one is in declining health, while the other is at his peak, with his prestige growing higher and higher. Naturally, all officials know which side they should take.
Even Crown Prince Li Xian was trembling with fear and treading on thin ice in front of the Queen Mother.
How could he not be afraid? His two elder brothers, Li Hong and Li Xian, died, one while the other was disabled, because they both felt they had grown strong enough and wanted to compete with the Queen Mother.
Hearing this, Li Daoxuan secretly sighed in his heart that Wu Zetian had indeed returned to her old path.
He had only met her once. Wu Zetian was the reincarnation of the spirit of the Queen Mother of the West, but she and her senior sister were two completely independent individuals. They had different appearances, personalities, and temperaments.
Wu Zetian inherited the fortune of the Queen Mother of the West, so she had a domineering personality, great ambition, and was decisive in killing people, even her own flesh and blood.
The gushing desire for power and ambition is like a blazing volcano that will never dry up.
Back then, Li Daoxuan displayed his supernatural powers and gave her two choices: one was to cultivate immortality, and the other was to return to the human world.
Wu Zetian, whose family fell into poverty, chose to return to the human world without hesitation.
Although she said that she did it for her mother, Li Daoxuan could see a hint of unwillingness in her eyes. She was unwilling to live under someone else's roof forever, unwilling to give up the colorful world, and unwilling to let her flower-like life end in a temple deep in the mountains.
She would rather bloom in the world.
Li Daoxuan did not like this kind of personality. He admired his senior sister's free and easy, straightforward and indifferent to fame and fortune.
Not good or bad, just personal preference.
Therefore, although Wu Zetian was a famous empress in history, Li Daoxuan lost interest in her and no longer paid attention to her after meeting her once.
Of course, although Wu Zetian was now in a position of absolute power, she was facing a high wall.
That is Princess Li Lizhi, the eldest princess of the Tang Dynasty, the only true disciple of the national teacher Li Daoxuan, the second-generation leader of the Zhelong Sect, the head of the Xuanmen Sect, and the elder of Longhu.
This series of titles is enough to illustrate his prestige and achievements.
The Prince of Chen, now seventy years old, is even more charismatic than before, and his cultivation is extremely profound. It is said that he has already stepped half a foot into the realm of immortality, and he has been in seclusion in Chang'an for many years.
After the imperial preceptor disappeared, Princess Changle took up the responsibility and was ranked as the best in the world together with the holy monk Xuanzang. She was known as the Chief of the Northern Dao and the Holy Monk of the Southern Dao.
With Changle, the strong support of the Li Tang royal family, Wu Zetian did not dare to usurp the throne, let alone massacre the Li Tang royal family as recorded in history.
The two women, one in charge of government affairs and the other commanding ghosts and gods, formed a wonderful balance, just like Li Shimin and Li Daoxuan in the past.
Li Daoxuan shook his head and laughed. He didn't expect that Changle, that girl, would actually reach the age when people would call her ancestor. Thinking of her cute and lovely appearance, it was really a bit incongruous.
He was filled with emotion. Time passed quickly. In a blink of an eye, he was already eighty-three years old, almost a hundred years old.
Di Renjie drank the fine wine that Li Daoxuan got, seemed a little tipsy, and completely relaxed, talking loudly.
"The Queen Mother appointed the Wu family members to important military posts, but they suffered a series of defeats against the Tibetan army. Wu Sizong, the general commander of the Divine Soldiers, heard that thousands of Tibetan cavalry were coming before the battle even started, so he turned around and ran away, leaving his weapons all over the ground."
"But such a person not only did not get punished after returning, but was even promoted to a higher position!"
"Thanks to the great cavalry general Xue Rengui who turned the tide, he was able to stop the 100,000-man army of the famous Tibetan general Qin Ling with his old body!"
"But do you know how the Queen does it?"
This state elder, Di Gong, who was later trusted by Wu Zetian, was finally filled with righteous indignation under the stimulation of alcohol and expressed his resentment in his heart.
"The Queen Mother sent the defeated general Wu Sizong to comfort the people north of the Yellow River who were ravaged by the war. As a result, when Wu Sizong arrived, he blamed all his defeat on the people, believing that it was because they defected to the foreign race and betrayed the Tang Dynasty that he was defeated."
"Wu Sizong started a massacre, cutting open the local people's stomachs to take out their livers. For a time, blood flowed like a river. He was even more brutal than the Tibetans!"
When you see the enemy, they flee; when you see your own people, you strike back hard.
Di Renjie, the then governor of Weizhou, could not bear to watch it any longer, so he stepped forward to repel the massacre by the soldiers and stepped forward to protect the local people, risking his own life and property, and finally saved the city of Weizhou from destruction.
But this also made him hated by Wu Sizong, and the cruel official Lai Junchen became friends with Wu Sizong.
Later, Di Renjie was appointed prime minister for his contribution in pacifying the people. However, after only four months in office, he was thrown into jail on a charge of treason fabricated by Lai Junchen, leading to his current exile in Pengze County.
Di Renjie, who truly appeased and protected the people, was demoted to a seventh-rank county magistrate, while Wu Sizong, the defeated general who massacred the people, was promoted to the rank of General of the Left Yulin Army and became increasingly powerful.
Li Daoxuan's expression became more and more solemn, and the wine gourd in his hand did not move.
"You just said, the Northern Daoist Leader and the Southern Saint Monk, don't these two greatest people in the world care about this matter?"
Neither Changle nor Xuanzang were people who could remain indifferent to this matter.
Why didn't the two of them intervene when Wu Zetian allowed the Wu family to harm the Tang Dynasty?
Di Renjie sighed when he heard this, "Brother Kong, you don't know that the Prince of Chen has been in seclusion these years, trying to overcome the tribulation and become an immortal. He hasn't appeared for a long time."
"The holy monk Xuanzang has been translating Buddhist scriptures in the Da Ci'en Temple for a full sixteen years without leaving the temple. Tubo has also received help from many extraordinary people from the Western Regions, as well as the famous general Qin Ling, so they are ready to make a move."
In fact, the main reason is that the Tang Dynasty itself was not up to the expectations.
The Tang Dynasty had been at peace for too long, so its military preparedness was relaxed.
The Black Armor Army that followed Emperor Taizong and the military god Li Jing to conquer the world has now been abandoned. Wu Zetian once held an archery competition, but many of the warriors in the army missed the target, not even hitting the bull's eye.
Every time, the first place was won by a general from a foreign race, so much so that they could not stand it anymore and advised Wu Zetian not to hold such competitions, otherwise it would damage the military prestige of the Tang Dynasty if it got out.
"Don't talk about this, it's too much of a letdown."
Di Renjie patted Li Daoxuan on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Although I have been demoted to a county magistrate, it is a blessing to come here and meet a strange man like you, Brother Kong - no, a strange monster!"
He sighed, "With cruel officials running rampant and treacherous officials in power, being able to serve as a magistrate in a remote county and benefit the people there is not bad at all."
Let honor, disgrace, gain and loss go with the wind.
Li Daoxuan shook his head and sighed, "The tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop. Brother Di, you want to live a quiet life, but I'm afraid some people don't want it."
Just as he finished speaking, a voice sounded faintly outside the door, carrying a murderous intent.
"You are discussing state affairs and slandering the Queen of Heaven. You should be executed!"
