Tibet.

Chapter 1348 Guangwu Inn
At night, Li Chenghua received news in his mansion that Ma Xiaowu, the coachman of Xiaoyue Xianlefang, had been found.

Li Chenghua hurried back to the Internal Guard Office and went straight to the interrogation room, where he saw a tall and thin young man tied to an iron chair in the middle. He had a terrified look in his eyes and was answering the interrogator's questions honestly.

When the interrogator saw the commander-in-chief coming, he stepped forward and saluted, "Reporting to the commander-in-chief, they will take a boat to Longyou instead of Chencang County."

Li Chenghua nodded. No wonder Wang Qian didn’t notice the other party’s whereabouts. It turned out that the other party had changed to taking a boat.

"Any other important information?"

"Reporting to the governor, this person knows the owner's situation and address!"

Li Chenghua was excited and asked, "Master, what's going on?"

"The owner of the temple is called Kang Shibai, a priest of Kangguo Da Guangming Temple. He came here from Luoyang at the beginning of the year. He has developed many believers in Luoyang. This Ma Xiaowu is also one of his believers. He couldn't stand the beating, so he confessed."

Li Chenghua has a special professional sensitivity. The other party is not a businessman, but a missionary. This case may not be so simple.

"Where does this owner live?"

"I live in Xinchangfang."

Li Chenghua immediately ordered: "Let the driver lead the way and find the owner's residence!"

Half an hour later, three hundred internal security soldiers surrounded a house in Xinchangfang. The house was close to Qinglong Temple, separated by only a wall. It covered an area of ​​about one and a half acres. It was bought last year and renovated.

From the appearance, Li Chenghua immediately discovered the uniqueness of the house. This small house covering an area of ​​one and a half acres was actually integrated, and there were three small squatting beasts on the roof. Unlike those in the Tang Dynasty, they were actually three little men.

Perhaps this is the style of Kangguo. Li Chenghua did not delve into it. She just felt that the space inside the house was very large and there was only one big room.

There seemed to be no one in the house, so the soldiers broke open the gate and rushed in. After a moment, a lieutenant came out to report, "General, there is no one inside!"

Li Chenghua walked into the yard and looked up above the door of the house. There was an iron casting hanging where the plaque would be hung. Three swords were hung side by side on an iron ring. They were obviously Western swords, sharp and thin. It was the first time that Li Chenghua saw this symbol. He wondered what it meant.
As she walked through the gate, as she had expected, there was a large hall supported by pillars. The entire one and a half acre house was basically this hall, with a few small houses at the back.

"General, this seems to be a temple?" said Zhou Xiao, the General of the Tiger Guards.

Li Chenghua nodded. This was indeed a temple, and a Zoroastrian temple that worshipped fire.

At this moment, Li Chenghua suddenly discovered that there was also an iron ring with three swords lined up above the flame sculpture. This was the second time he saw it tonight.

Soon, the soldiers finished the search and found only a few hundred copper coins and nothing else.

"Wait a minute!"

Li Chenghua felt a flash of golden light in the corner of her eyes. She finally discovered something unusual and ordered the soldiers, "Go up and take down the three iron ring swords!"

The iron ring was quite high, so several soldiers used a ladder to take it down. The soldier exclaimed: "It's actually made of gold!"

Li Chenghua took the iron ring. It was heavy, at least thirty kilograms. There was a layer of iron powder on its surface, making it look like an iron ring. But when he took it in his hand and looked at the side, he saw its thick golden color.

The other party actually used thirty kilograms of gold to cast this symbol. Li Chenghua became very interested. She said to the Tiger Guard General Zhou Xiao: "Tomorrow morning, you take the pattern to the Sogdians to see what this three-sword iron ring means?"

The next morning, Li Chenghua hurried to see Emperor Li Ye.

On the table in the imperial study were three swords cast in gold rings. The iron powder covering them had been brushed off, and the entire casting was shining with golden light.

“The material is very heavy!”

Li Ye touched the 30-jin gold casting, smiled and asked, "What does it mean?"

"Your Majesty, I have confirmed that this is the symbol of the Zoroastrian Saints' Association!"

"Saints' Society?"

Li Ye was startled and asked in confusion: "I have seen the logo of the Saint Maiden Society in Kangguo and Suiye. It was three women holding swords, not three swords like this."

Li Chenghua shook his head. "The three holy maidens holding swords that your majesty mentioned are an old symbol. The statue on the roof of the house last night was the three holy maidens holding swords, but it was changed ten years ago to three swords with a golden ring. The Sogdians said that because there were men in the Holy Maiden Society, the three holy maidens were removed and only the three swords were left. The golden ring represents the sun, symbolizing the god of fire they believe in."

Li Ye frowned, walked a few steps with his hands behind his back and said, "If Kang Shibai is a member of the Saint Maiden Society, then will the Tang Dynasty girls he trafficked flow into the Saint Maiden Society?"

"I think this is very possible. They will definitely select talented girls to be trained as members of the Holy Maiden Society. When these Tang Dynasty girls grow up, they will come to the Tang Dynasty to preach."

"What if the girl who was sold before has grown up?" Li Ye asked back.

Li Chenghua bowed and said, "I understand. I will find these girls as soon as possible and catch this Kang Shibo. He must know about it!" Li Ye stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back, looking to the west. He actually thought of the charming young woman many years ago, the Gelulu princess Jin Shanling, who gave him the first taste of a woman and left a deep impression on him.

She should be the supreme ruler of the Holy Maiden Society now!

After a long while, Li Ye slowly said to Li Chenghua: "I need a detailed report on the development of the Holy Maiden Society in the past ten years. The internal guards can ask the Sogdians, ask the Zoroastrian temples, or capture Kang Shibo and ask for his confession. This task is quite heavy, and I hope it can be completed within two months!"

"I will finish it as soon as possible!"

Li Ye shook his head. "Don't be quick. The content must be detailed and profound. What I want is the content!"

"I understand the humble position!"

Li Chenghua bowed and left in a hurry.

In Guangwu County, Lanzhou, five heavily covered carts drove into an inn. The innkeeper and two waiters immediately came out to greet them warmly. They had met a big customer. The owners of these carts had booked the inn for three days at five times the price.

The shopkeeper and his employees were simply overjoyed. Of course, the high price came with a condition, which was that they had to shut up and pretend not to see anything no matter what they saw.

The gate of the yard was closed, and the doors of five large carts were opened, which made the shopkeeper and his two waiters stunned. Groups of young girls came out, all of them were about ten years old, all of them were well-behaved and cute, and they were all shouting that they were hungry and making a fuss.

The shopkeeper then reacted and quickly asked his waiter to arrange food and accommodation.

There is also a dining room in the inn. More than fifty young ladies fill the dining room, all of them eating with their heads down. The innkeeper feels distressed when he sees this. His little daughter is also ten years old, and is about the same age as them!

At this time, the leader of the team came to the shopkeeper, a Sogdian. He laughed and said, "We will rest for three days. Please treat us well! Remember not to talk too much. I will give you a reward when we leave."

The shopkeeper bowed quickly and said, "Don't worry! My clerk and I are not talkative people!"

Soon, the group of young ladies had eaten their fill, and the Hu people clapped their hands and said with a smile, "Girls, now that you're done, go upstairs and go to bed!"

A large group of young ladies rushed upstairs. The shopkeeper and two waiters were cleaning up the table. One of the waiters whispered, "Shopkeeper, could they be the one the county government told you about a few days ago?"

The shopkeeper glared at the waiter and said, "We are open for business, and everyone who comes is a customer. Don't be so nosy!"

The two guys didn't dare to say a word.
Night fell quietly and the entire inn became quiet. The ladies were tired from the journey and fell asleep early.

The night gradually deepened, but the shopkeeper tossed and turned and couldn't sleep. He was still thinking about what the person from the county government had told him a few days ago, that if he found a large number of young Han women staying at the hotel, he must report it to the county government immediately.

The shopkeeper had run the inn for twenty years and had a lot of experience. How could he not see that these were human traffickers passing through? However, these Sogdian traffickers were cruel and ruthless. If he reported it to the county government, he would definitely be retaliated by them, and it was very likely that his entire family would die.

At this moment, he suddenly heard some noise outside. He quickly got up, put on his clothes, and walked out of the room. He only heard some rustling sounds coming from the kitchen.

He walked into the kitchen holding an oil lamp and saw three young ladies rummaging through the cupboards.

The shopkeeper suddenly came in, and the three of them were so scared that they hid in the corner, huddled together and trembled.

"Are you looking for something to eat?" the shopkeeper asked with a soft smile.

The three young ladies lowered their heads and said embarrassedly: "We are not full, we are very hungry!"

"Here are some more buns!"

The shopkeeper found a few cold steamed buns from the big steamer, put them on a plate, and handed them to them, "Take it and eat it!"

The young ladies picked up the steamed buns and started eating. They didn't dare to bring them upstairs because they would be beaten if the owner of the restaurant saw them.

"Where are you from?" the shopkeeper asked with a smile.

The three young ladies looked up and said, "We came from Chang'an and went to Anxi to learn the Huxuan dance. After we learn it well, we will return to Chang'an and we can earn money to support ourselves."

The shopkeeper looked at their innocent eyes and suddenly thought of his young daughter. His conscience was pricked. How could they go to Anxi to learn Huxuan dance? They were clearly being sold to the West.

"We are done eating, thank you, shopkeeper uncle!"

The three young ladies bowed together, turned around and ran upstairs.

The shopkeeper looked at the fragile backs of the three young ladies and finally made up his mind that even if he had to close his inn, he would never let these children fall into the fire pit.

(End of this chapter)