across the Quartet

Broken Chapter Seven

After that secret meeting in the forest, everyone in Quicksand was kindly invited to move into the other hall of the young master.The annex is naturally much more spacious than Nilu, and all kinds of furniture are also exquisite, comparable to the Hanwang Palace back then.Not only that, Young Master Lu Chu often sent people to visit "Hengyang Jun" for his illness, and each time they brought a lot of medicinal materials, spices, cloth and exquisite playthings, which showed the master's kindness.

The only regret is that the Hengyang Lord that Young Master Xiangchu saw was actually Wei Zhuangling's subordinates pretending to be.Although the man is only three points similar to the real Korean son, he has been trained so that his gestures will not be inappropriate; in addition, his sister, Princess Honglian, and the commander of the guards, Wei Zhuang, are around, saying that he is Lord Hengyang, and there are Who can refute it?

According to Wei Zhuang, Prince Cheng of Hengyang Jun is hiding in Yangdi at the moment. If he makes a sudden move and escapes into the state of Chu, it will easily attract the attention of the people of Qin; I'm afraid it's not enough to win the other party's trust.In a dilemma, he had no choice but to make a bad move.Only when the situation is safer can we send someone to pick up Lord Hengyang.However, Gai Nie seems to have grasped the deeper meaning behind this reason—if the real Korean son signed an alliance with the Chu prince, Lord Hengyang might not have relayed every word of his private conversation with Lu Chu Wei Zhuang may not be able to give birth to his own thoughts; with Wei Zhuang's temperament, it is better to change to a subordinate who can control everything with one hand, so that he can feel at ease.

In addition to the envoy, there is also the "Yidun Gong" who often goes in and out of the other halls.He and Wei Zhuang call each other brothers, they are very friendly, and they often send expensive gifts.However, he also has a special hobby, that is, every time he gives a gift, he will talk face-to-face about how precious it is and how much it is worth in the market.This action displeased Chi Lian very much, he felt that this person was full of copper stink and vulgar.Wei Zhuang also said that the only thing that Jia people value is profit. At that time, Lu Buwei thought that Ying Yi was a "rare commodity to live in", so he treated each other with affection; in the eyes of this Duke Yidun, we must be as rare as pearls and jade. Goods.

On this day, Yidun got the consent of the young master, and borrowed an old palace where Ying Chen was in the capital to hold a banquet. He invited many high-ranking officials and dignitaries, and also invited Hengyang Lord, Wei Zhuang and others to the banquet. , presumably to use this to narrow the distance between these people who will "work together" in the future.

Bai Feng stands on the tip of the slightly raised vertical ridge, holding his hands high, and countless birds fly up and down above his head, as if dancing in line with the rhythm.

He slowly lowered his hand, and the birds immediately scattered.There was only one blue bird perched on his wrist, singing like a whisper; Baifeng also solemnly nodded along with the bird's voice.

"How?" Wei Zhuang asked, standing under the eaves with folded arms.

"...He went to Beishi before and stayed for two hours. Then he left the city. After returning, he went to the palace."

"Xiao Zhuang, are you monitoring the actions of Young Master Lu?" Gai Nie asked. Recently, the scope of his allowed activities has been extended to the courtyard.

"Yes, so what?" Wei Zhuang replied, "As the senior brother said, we, as outsiders, deliberately intervene in the family affairs of the king of Chu, which will definitely arouse suspicion from many parties. How much trust does Lu Chu have in us? It is very suspicious to act as promised. This move is like walking on the abyss with a rope, as long as you take a wrong step, you will be smashed to pieces."

"Although I don't know how you and the young master made an agreement, I still feel a little strange-as the young master of Chu, there must be many cronies around him who have followed him since the beginning; why doesn't he rely on these people around such a secret and dangerous matter? , instead of spending money, food, and silk to form an alliance with you?"

"First, as I said before, for this kind of blood-stained incident, it is more convenient to use an outsider than a close friend if you want to separate yourself from the incident afterwards; second, there is no one around the young master who is worthy of great use. Just like Prince Guang of Wu, he had long been ambitious to replace King Wu, why did he wait until Wu Zixu entered Wu before he made up his mind?"

"Zhuan Chu, it's rare to leave after all." Ge Nie nodded.

"However, your concerns are not unreasonable," Wei Zhuang changed the subject, and said, "Among the confidantes around you, Young Master Chengchu, there are indeed many people who don't like outsiders like us."

"Are you worried that they will harm you?" Gai Nie thought for a moment, then raised his head and sighed to the birds circling in the sky: "The creation of the heavens and the earth, everything has animism, it's amazing. However, after all, birds are different from humans. They are How do you spot the person you're looking for in the bustling streets?"

Baifeng waved his hand, allowing the bird to swoop down to the eaves, spin around and fly high again. "This kind of bird is called spy wings. They don't recognize people, but this kind of bird feather talisman." He threw down another piece of soft and light white feathers, "As long as anyone has this on their body, even if they escape to the ends of the earth, they will be killed." Can't hide from Spywing's eyes."

"I see. However, if you just hide this kind of bird feather talisman on that person or on the carriage, once he finds it, or accidentally loses it while walking, wouldn't it be a waste of all your previous efforts? Xiao Zhuang, based on your thoughts , there must be a more secure way—"

"Senior brother seems to mean something?"

"The more secure method is naturally that there is someone around Young Master Chengchu who has been acting with him all the time. This person deliberately hides a piece of bird feather talisman to ensure that it will not be discarded." Gai Nie turned his head to look at Wei Zhuang. All I saw was an ambiguous smile.

"Brother, tonight's banquet may not be a good one. I hope you can go with me."

That night, Chi Lian combed her hair in a complicated bun, wore a thin red silk shirt, and sat in the honored guest's seat with her "brother".The two descendants of the Guigu faction, one in black clothes and a large cloak, sat in her second seat, and the other was dressed as a servant, kneeling straight behind her; although they were a little uncomfortable, even if someone ambushed five hundred people behind the screen With a knife and an axe, she can also be free from worries.

The hall where the banquet is held is very spacious, and roughly calculated, it can accommodate hundreds of people.There were not many guests invited by Yi Dun, but many servants were rushing back and forth, musicians played the qin and drums, and dancers swayed, filling the room to the brim.In addition, the master had a sudden ingenuity and prepared a three-legged copper tripod filled with boiling oil in the house. The maid cut the raw beef leg into thin slices, cooked them in the pot, and then took them out with a copper spoon and distributed them to Guests; for a while, the room was filled with the fragrance of the raves, and everyone was full of praise.

Chi Lian absent-mindedly ate something, and suddenly heard Wei Zhuang explaining through the method of sound transmission: "The guests here tonight are actually very particular. Those who came were not people on the bright side, but some juniors who would not attract attention. For example, the Xiang family, Xiang Yan would never show up. The one who attended was an inconspicuous family member, who seemed to be called... Xiang The same is true of Qu and Jing."

Chi Lian nodded his head calmly, and asked in a low voice, "Who is that weird guy over there?"

As soon as Wei Zhuang heard her say "weird", he knew who she was referring to.There is only one strangest and most conspicuous figure in the whole room: he painted his forehead and bridge of nose with chalk, and painted strange patterns with cinnabar on his cheeks; a heavy copper chain hung from his chest, decorated with pearls, shells and black feathers.The most intriguing thing is that he stands in the closest position to Lu Chu, but he is out of tune with the other entourage.

"That man is a sorcerer from the Luoyue people. His name is Kanbo. I heard that he is good at witchcraft. He came from the Southwestern Yi to seek refuge with Luchu a few years ago. Because Chu people are superstitious about ghosts and gods, he does have some tricks. , so it is extremely favored. There are rumors that the king of Chu has no heirs so far, which is the result of his secret curse."

Chi Lian said disapprovingly, "If his spells are so effective, why not just take the life of the King of Chu?"

Wei Zhuang just smiled and said nothing.Chi Lian looked carefully again, and asked: "The ones hanging around his neck, could it be—— Zhen Yu?"

"That's right. But don't worry. In fact, the poisonous bird's feathers are not very poisonous; the poisonous wine used to kill people is made from the toxins refined from many poisonous feathers; the witch who specially prepared these toxins Shi, also known as "Zhen Zhe". I read a record in an ancient book, and it is rumored that the most powerful poison in the world is the "Qian Yu Qian Ye" concocted by a Zhen Zhe a hundred years ago. After a thousand nights of refining, there is no light to be seen during the period; however, once it is refined, its toxicity is extremely violent, and it is known as 'when the sun is right, the city will be slaughtered'."

"'When the sun is right, the city will be slaughtered'..." Chi Lian murmured, a different kind of emotion rose in his heart.

Wei Zhuang turned his head and said, "Brother, who are you staring at?"

Ge Nie quickly lowered his head, his eyes flickering. "Xiaozhuang, besides the current king of Chu, does the young master have any other brothers?"

"There are also two concubine brothers who were born when King Kaolie was a hostage in Xianyang, and then stayed in Qin. But since King Huai, for the people of Chu, staying in Qin as a hostage is tantamount to death. It’s no different.” Wei Zhuang glanced at the young master of Chu who was sitting at the head. "Why, do you look familiar to him?"

"The State of Qin...could it be Lord Changping and Lord Changwen who quelled the rebellion of Marquis Changxin?"

"It should be these two people." Wei Zhuang's eyes flashed brightly, "Senior brother, you have dealt with Qin people a lot, maybe you have seen—"

Before Ge Nie could answer, the host Yi suddenly clapped his hands, and after the dancers saluted, they filed out, leaving only one singer who covered his face with a light veil.The melody tuned by the musicians also changed from lively and brisk to dark and long.

The singer saluted deeply and sang:

"The seedlings of Emperor Gaoyang are here, and the emperor called him Boyong.

She mentioned Zhen in Meng Zouxi, but Geng Yinwu came down.

Huanglan Kuiyu came to Xi for the first time, and Zhaoxi Yu was praised:

The sun and the moon are not flooded suddenly, and the preface of spring and autumn.

But if the vegetation is scattered, I am afraid of the beauty's twilight. "

As soon as this song came out, the atmosphere in the house suddenly changed.The guests put down their wine and meat one after another and sat upright; Chi Lian couldn't help straightening his waist and sighed in his heart: "Although these people have their own thoughts, the people of Chu miss Dr. Qu from the bottom of their hearts. Looking at it, it turns out that the state of Chu has lost a virtuous official, and the state of Qin has lost an enemy—how will this help Guozuo?"

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but look up at Wei Zhuang.He looked solemn and seemed to be in deep thought.

At the end of the song, the young master toasted and said: "It has been forty-eight years since the doctor Sanlu left. You are all loyal and talented in our country. Here, I commemorate the Zhaolie of the ancestors and feel the gratitude of the sages." Righteous indignation, sincerity is precious. May we work together in the future to revive our Great Chu." After saying that, he drank it down.

Everyone also responded in succession.

The singer paused for a while, then played the palace tune again, and sang a melodious and sad "Shejiang".When the song reached the emotional point, many visitors covered their faces and wept.At the end of the song, the young master Xiangchu left first in the name of being too drunk.

Not long after the young master left, the host, Yi Dun, also excused himself to change clothes and withdrew.The atmosphere of the banquet gradually warmed up. The melody played by the musicians was light and pleasant to the ear.

Gai Nie still stayed there and meditated: "The descendant of Emperor Gaoyang, my emperor called Boyong... the descendant of Emperor Gaoyang..."

"Brother, what's the matter with you?" Seeing his strange expression, Wei Zhuang asked with squinting eyes.

Rather than answering, Ge Nie seemed to be talking to himself. "Chu people claim to be the descendants of Zhuanxu Emperor Gaoyang; and Xia's ancestor Yu is the fifth grandson of Zhuanxu Emperor; if he is really the person I imagined...then his scheming in Zhao State is so deep and his involvement is so wide that Far beyond my previous speculation."

"...What the hell are you talking about?" Wei Zhuang became a little irritable, and was about to ask, when suddenly a gust of draft swept through the hall, and several lampstands in the room were blown out one after another.The hall immediately went dark.

There was a faint fishy smell in the wind.However, raw meat was cooked here before, and most people didn't pay much attention to it.

Just then, there was a loud crash from the direction of the front door.

Amidst the flying dust and coughing, people could vaguely see a huge black shadow blocking the place where the door used to be.The two door panels behind it were smashed to pieces, revealing a dark gap, darker and darker than the shadow, like a monster crawling out of a cave.

The servants in the house hastily relit the lamp wax.The black shadow became clear under the flickering firelight: it was more than two feet high, its whole body was a light iron-blue color, its limbs were knotted with muscles, and its shoulders and back were as thick as raised iron blocks—not so much like a human being. , rather like a bipedal bull.However, the weirdest thing is that this monster has hands and feet, but it has no head.

The monster held a thick and long copper rod in its hand.When it smashed open the door just now, a maid just passed by the door, and was hit by the heavy swing against the wall.The force of this blow was so great that her body was almost embedded in the wall, and the place where she was directly hit by the copper rod became flat like a piece of skin.A large amount of thick blood and water slowly flowed down from behind her, like a crimson waterfall.

The room suddenly became extremely silent due to excessive horror.

Moments later, the room suddenly boiled up: everyone screamed and cried, and flocked like ants to the back door at the other end of the hall; but because they were too scared, they crowded and trampled on each other, and couldn't escape for a while.Only a few competent attendants and guards jumped out with drawn swords, looking for an opportunity to attack the monster so as to cover its master's escape.

Among these people, there are many people with superb swordsmanship and outstanding lightness kungfu. They shook off the strong wind brought by the monster swinging the copper stick again, and used their swords to chop and stab its burly body-but the best long sword was not rolled. The blade is directly broken - the monster's body is actually harder than real copper and iron! !

The guards backed away in shock, and those who escaped slower were immediately struck by the copper rod and killed with one blow.The monster went berserk because of the attack, and the speed of swinging the copper stick was several times faster than before, making a terrible whistling sound.It slammed into the ground a few times in the air, smashing countless potholes and cracks on the ground paved with blue bricks; but when it didn't slam, it splashed countless blood and added a few dead souls.

Such a tragedy in the world, even Chi Lian, who had seen many storms and waves, was stunned, unable to make a sound as if his throat had been cut.That monster is not only powerful, but also invulnerable, which is not something that should exist in the world!Even Master Wei Zhuang--

In a blink of an eye, a familiar red light rushed straight out, but stopped abruptly on the monster's body, splashing out a few sparks.Wei Zhuang tossed his body and changed his moves several times. The shark-tooth blade hit the monster's armpits, crotch, and knees, and there were only a few bang bang bangs, like a bell.The monster only took half a step back, and danced its arms even more vigorously.

Seeing that the Resentful Soul Blood Sword didn't work, Wei Zhuang didn't want to fight, so his body retreated sharply, and the monster didn't chase after it, and just stood there ignorantly swinging its stick.

"It's strange, no matter what kind of armor you wear, or if you practice some kind of sorcery that hardens the flesh, there must be gaps where the joints are connected; this person is contrary to common sense, it's just..." he said to himself.

"This thing is not a human at all, it's a demon!" the disguised Hengyang Jun shouted.

Ge Niezao drew his sword to guard the surroundings, "It doesn't matter whether it is a human or a demon, since it appears here, it seems that someone is manipulating it behind it."

Hearing the word "manipulation", Chi Lian suddenly thought of something, and looked around the room—when did that sorcerer, Kanbo, disappear?Did you leave with Young Master Lu Chu?

"I once heard that some warlocks in southern Xinjiang have the ability to drive away evil. The caster can hide thousands of miles away, and the opponent can't find him. Only by defeating the evil can the spell backfire and hurt yourself .”

"Hmph, it is somewhat similar to the current situation." Wei Zhuang said, "But as long as it is a living thing, it must have weaknesses. I will try again."

Chi Lian said nervously: "Lord Wei Zhuang——"

"It's okay, just borrow your chain sword."

Wei Zhuang took the chain sword and flew towards the monster again.Chi Lian's eyes were firmly glued to him, Ge Nie whispered an offending sentence, grabbed her arm and rushed towards the back door.Chi Lian really wanted to get rid of him, but at this moment he heard another loud noise.

She turned her head to look, and saw that the back door was also broken, and a black shadow that was the same as the monster in front was stepping in.

The guests and servants who thought they were about to flee from the house were all frightened out of their wits. Many of them didn't even have the strength to shout, and simply collapsed on the ground and began to cry.

The second monster looked almost the same as the first one. It had limbs but no head. Its whole body was covered with a layer of foul-smelling turbid air. The weapon it swung in its hand was a heavy iron axe.A richly dressed nobleman had already run to the door, but was stopped by the iron axe, so he had to scramble back.He desperately grabbed what was at hand—whether it was a long sword, a jade pendant, a food tripod, or a wine cup, and threw it desperately at the second monster.However, those things didn't bounce back with a bang like the previous monster, but slowly sank into the monster's body as if thrown into a swamp.

This is trickier than invulnerability.The monster slashed wildly with the axe, and the crowd could only huddle in the middle of the room, crying for their father and mother, and anyone who fought back with weapons was sucked into its body.It didn't take long for the monster's torso to become bigger, and its obese body was like a thick layer of flowing mud, with countless sundries wrapped inside.

However, the two monsters gambled to the exit one after the other, but they did not move to the middle, as if they were just trying to trap everyone here.Ge Nie thoughtfully picked up a food tripod, and threw it at the monster at the back door—but what he aimed at was not the body, but the weapon in its hand.

He poured [-]% of his internal force into the copper tripod, and it hit the side of the iron axe. The huge vibration made the thing tremble, as if it was about to shake off a layer of mud.

It turned slowly, so that its body was facing the position where the food cauldron flew, and slammed down with an axe.Of course it was a blank.

Gai Nie changed the direction and threw another bronze wine glass.The monster turned in his direction again and took half a step with one foot.

"...So that's how it is." He said loudly, "This thing doesn't have eyes to see and ears to hear; the only way it can sense movement around it is through the vibrations it transmits."

"So what if you know?" Wei Zhuang replied at the other end of the hall as he flashed a blow with a copper stick across mountains and seas, "As long as you approach it and attack it, it will inevitably cause fluctuations in the air flow, and it is impossible not to notice it."

"I just want it to find out." Ge Nie said, at the same time, his hands kept moving, and he continued to throw several things, hitting the iron ax one by one.The monster's feet moved a few more steps.

Behind it, the dark doorway is gradually exposed.

"Look for an opportunity, let's go." Ge Nie whispered, but everyone around him could hear it clearly.A guard wielding a pair of halberds was the first to rush up, bypassing the mud-like monster obliquely above, and heading straight for the door behind it.

There was another cry.This person was bounced back by a wave of darkness, his whole body was covered in blood, and his breath had been cut off.

Behind the door stood a third monster!

This monster is similar in appearance to the previous two, but it is quite different.Its speed was extremely fast, as swift as a frightened horse, rampaging through the hall; it had no weapons in its hands, but on the route it passed, many people were knocked and flew out, either dead or injured.Fortunately, it can only run wildly in a straight line, and every time it hits a wall or a column, it will pause for a while, and only those with agility can escape it.

However, if it continues like this, sooner or later it will fall into a desperate situation.

The survivors were scattered in the hall in twos and threes. Some struggled to climb onto the pillars, and some lay on the ground, covering their bodies with tables;

The only glimmer of hope is the figure fighting the two monsters blocking the door, one behind the other.

Wei Zhuang jumped up high, skillfully deflected the impact of the copper rod with his sword, and shook the chain sword with his left hand.He tried several times, and finally found an excellent opportunity, the chain sword rotated in the right direction to bind the monster's hands.However, the strength of the steel and iron-framed monster was too unusual, and he could be blown away with a stretch of his arm.However, at this moment, it couldn't free its hands for a while, Wei Zhuang took advantage of the opportunity to spin around at an arm's length away from it, and the back of the shark's tooth sword hit the copper stick one after another - what he used was the Ghost Valley School One of the quintessence of swordsmanship is "Sword Shaking", which uses the body of the sword to transmit the Yin and cold inner strength. If the opponent is a living person, the true energy forced into the body by this move can destroy half of his body.But this monster didn't realize the pain, it just shook its palm, and the copper rod slipped out of its hand.

The monster lost its weapon, its hands were restrained, and it stomped on the ground with its feet.Wei Zhuang had a plan long ago, just now when he shook his sword, he shot golden pills to the ground, and the pellets landed exactly where the monster had landed.The monster stepped on it vigorously, and suddenly its body tilted and lost its balance——Wei Zhuang slammed his knee from behind again, knocking him down.

Many people let out an exclamation at that moment.However, even though the thing fell down for a while, Wei Zhuang couldn't hurt it at all.When he was in trouble, there was another crackling sound from behind—it turned out that Ge Nie was splitting open the table with his bare hands, and was throwing the mud-like monster with the broken wood and other things he got.

"This is useless!"

Chi Lian couldn't help shouting at him.Ge Nie turned a deaf ear to it, and while avoiding the impact of the third monster, he hit the body of the mud-like monster with large and small planks, sticks, and blocks.Of course, these things were all sucked into its body, and its body became bigger and bigger, just like a moving firewood pile.

"What the hell is he planning?" Chi Lian was secretly annoyed, and turned his admiring eyes to Wei Zhuang who was standing on the body of the fallen monster—why is it that they are also disciples of the Guigu Sect, and their wisdom is so different? so much?

Ge Nie finally stopped breaking wood.He strode over to an incense burner, lifted the lid, and grabbed a piece of incense wood—the skin on the back of his hand was slightly red.No one saw what he did, only a little spark on the incense wood suddenly blazed up, and when he flicked it with his inner strength, a small ball of flame shot straight at the monster like an arrow!

"Could it be that he wants to light that thing?!" Chi Lian exclaimed.It's a pity that the moment the flame touched the "mud" body, it gradually shrank and extinguished, and finally turned into a loose cloud of smoke.

Gai Nie took a deep breath, and once again threw himself at another incense burner not far away, but suddenly a familiar angry shout came from his ear: "Get out of the way!"

He jumped up, and saw a huge three-legged bronze tripod being kicked by his junior from the direction of the front door—the speed was not fast, but the wind was strong, because the big tripod was very heavy, and it was still full of water. Oil—exactly what was used to cook the meat earlier.Gai Nie understood, and kicked the tripod's ear while turning his body in the air, knocking it over.A cauldron of hot oil immediately poured half of it on the monster.

Gai Nie held a small piece of fragrant wood for the second time—this time, the Martian servant ignited into raging flames as soon as it touched the oil and water, together with the broken wood that was inhaled by the monster, it immediately crackled and became a huge Fireball!

Ge Nie's body was rushed outward by the sudden burst of flames.He didn't stop at all, he took advantage of the opportunity to grab the huge copper tripod that had fallen to the ground, and pushed it back forcefully.The copper tripod rolled and slid on the ground, and the remaining fat in the tripod dripped all the way.

Wei Zhuang intercepted You Ding in front of the door and kicked it away.At this moment, the monster lying on the ground formed a line with the burning monster, and the green bricks in the middle were covered with oil stains.He took care of the shark's tooth, put it away and inserted it into his waist, instead he picked up the copper stick on the ground, and swung it at the monster's struggling back with all his strength.

The monster jumped forward a few feet, but unfortunately its body was really heavy, so it stopped halfway.Fortunately, Gai Nie descended from the sky at this moment, flew to avoid the colliding monster, and landed beside Wei Zhuang in a few steps.

"With palm?"

"Together."

The two of them released their palms at the same time in an instant, rushing towards the monster like a tide, and when they hit its back, there was a loud "boom", which sounded like muffled thunder.And the thing slid along the road of the oil shop to the burning fireball, and finally hugged into a cluster and burned.

"Walk."

Seeing that the trick had worked, Wei Zhuang immediately turned around and rushed to the hiding place of Chi Lian and "Hengyang Lord". He wrapped his arms around Chi Lian's waist, and Gai Nie grabbed "Hengyang Lord" by the collar, and rushed out together to the back door .

Chi Lian felt her heart beating wildly, but unfortunately tonight was extremely dangerous and she couldn't allow her to think about it; as soon as the four of them arrived in the courtyard, Wei Zhuang let her down.She was still in shock, and hurriedly said: "Wait, there is still a monster inside! There are many people—"

"The way out has been opened, and whether they can escape depends on their own abilities." Wei Zhuang said, "There is no time to take care of these now. We must find the culprit who manipulated these monsters."

Ge Nie also nodded in agreement.Suddenly he frowned and said, "What's that in front?!"

I saw a huge circle drawn with dark brown blood on the open space behind the palace, and there were many strange characters written in it.And there are three dead bodies in the circle.

The three human corpses were arranged in a Y-shape, with their heads facing inward and their hands tied behind their backs, in a kneeling posture.What is horrifying is that the heads of these three corpses have all been beheaded, and the heads of cows, sheep, and pigs were placed where the heads were originally.

TBC