After Princess Xuanxue came down from the mountain, the whole capital was in chaos.

Chapter 180 Rescue
This place was originally a school. The Master was a failed scholar in Taoyuan Village who enlightened the children of Taoyuan Village.

When the plague broke out, the school halfway up the mountain was not spared, and the master also fell ill and died.

For some reason, Yuan Qi searched everywhere but found nothing, but the sound of children reading loudly rang in his ears.

It's really sad that things are different and people are different.

Yuan Qi followed the direction of the sound, and sure enough, he saw rows of school buildings with lights on. As he got closer, he heard clearly that what came out was not the sound of children reading aloud, but the sound of everyone writing poems and joking. sound.

Bai Youhui, Xing Shuo and Qian Wenbing also noticed the movement and came over from different directions.

It turned out that there was no house here, but a clearing in the middle of the woods, where some scholars and a few people dressed in weird clothes were chatting and laughing.

If you look closely, everyone's hair will stand on end.

The person sitting at the top is an elderly man. The top of his head is not hair, but branches and leaves. The old man is wearing a gray robe, very wide, and the exposed hand is almost the same color as the bark of the tree.

"It's a tree demon again! Is this still the peach tree demon, Taoist Master?"

Yuan Qi shook his head: "No, it's a few others."

Xing Shuo and others looked very puzzled. When they saw the tree demons, they felt chills and were very frightened. Why weren't those scholars afraid?
But Yuan Qi didn't tell them to take action, so they just waited quietly.

There are two other dryads, one is probably a locust tree spirit, because the branches and leaves on its head look like a locust tree, and the other is a pear tree spirit. Both of them are middle-aged men.

The three tree demons were chatting and laughing with a group of scholars, occasionally composing poems, or discussing current imperial documents and expressing their opinions.

He didn't say anything horrifying, nor did he do anything like a spirit absorbing people's energy.

Yuan Qi could tell that these scholars were indeed not under coercion here, and they even enjoyed it.

Dawn broke in the east and the roosters sang loudly. The scholars seemed to be sleepy and fell asleep leaning on each other.

The three tree demons quietly left and disappeared into the trees.

The wooden tables, teapots, cups and other items placed on the ground were also turned into a pile of rotten stones.

Looking around, the old school buildings were in dilapidated condition and were in a precarious state.

Xing Shuo and his policemen went forward to wake up the scholars one by one.

"Everyone wake up."

"It's dawn, wake up!"

Yuan Qi stood in front of a pine tree and looked at his background: "If you have never harmed anyone, I will not deal with you, but in the future, you can no longer set up a maze to confuse the scholars who come here."

The wind blew a sigh, and then an old man's voice came: "Okay, we will obey the orders of the Heavenly Master. We listen to the teacher here's lectures every day, and over time, we have a little knowledge, and we just want to communicate. There’s really no harm in it.”

Xing Shuo woke up the scholars and counted the number of people. There were sixty-seven people in total, including two county police officers who were also studying here, and two of his colleagues who were also studying here happily. After asking, I found out that after they came here, they forgot what they were going to do. They were preoccupied with reading and talking and forgot to go home.

Fortunately, everyone here is fine. Except for the fact that they are in a trance and can't believe that the environment they are in these days is a barren mountain, there is nothing wrong with them.

Yuan Qi also specially checked their bodies, and there was nothing strange about them. There was neither evil spirit nor evil spirit on their bodies.

"Taoist Master, this is the person who has stayed here the longest. His name is Qi Pin. He is from Qijia Village fifty miles away. Do you have anything to ask?"

Yuan Qi looked at the scholar, who was in his mid-twenties, with a ruddy complexion and high energy: "I know that the gentlemen who teach us on weekdays are three tree spirits, but they have been studying here for many years and have listened to many gentlemen teaching books. He is knowledgeable and humble, and he is not a monk. He provides us with accommodation and food. You see, we live there..."

Qi Pin led Yuan Qi and others to walk not far away, crossing a stream flowing from the mountain, and arrived at a student dormitory. However, those wooden houses had long been dilapidated after years of wind and rain, and the roofs had collapsed. More than half of it.

He was very surprised: "This, this, how is it possible... The house we live in is very good, with all daily necessities available."

Yuan Qi said: "What you see is an illusion, an illusion created by the tree demons using their magic power. This is how it is here."

Qi Pin and the few scholars who came with him could not accept that they had been living in such a shabby house for so many days.

Qi Pindao: "I have benefited a lot from being here for several years. If I go to high school in the future, I will definitely come back to repair and rebuild this place."

Yuan Qi didn't care what others wanted to do, he only said: "You won't go back after you come. Do you know that your family is worried? Your family also came here to look for you, but they couldn't find you at all. How did you get in? ?”

Qi Pindao: "I just walked in. As soon as I entered the village, someone told me that there was a great scholar on the mountain giving free lectures, so I came here."

He couldn't believe anything he said. He looked at the village at the foot of the mountain. It was desolate and deserted, and he shook his head: "When I came, it was peaceful here. The people lived and worked in peace and contentment. Children were chasing and playing in the streets. What's going on? ah?"

"Maybe the peach tree spirit knew that you were a scholar, so he created an illusion to let you in. What you saw was what he wanted you to see. When your family came to you, what they saw was a desolate and ruined village. "

On the way back, Yuan Qi discovered that there were not actually that many trees, weeds, and vines. What she saw when she came here was also an illusion. Tao Ran was quite capable, and he had even deceived her. If Tu Shanli were to follow him, he would definitely see through it at a glance.

However, people's houses are indeed dilapidated, and there are a lot of weeds growing on the roofs, yards, and roads.

Back outside the village, Mr. Qian, Zhang Jing and the Taoyuan County Magistrate were all waiting impatiently.

Zhang Jing said: "Taoist Master, if you don't come out, I'm going to take someone in to look for you."

Behind them stood many people who had heard the news. They all came to look for their families. When they saw the people Xing Shuo brought out, many of them cried, scolding and feeling distressed at the men.

Someone specially registered those people, and Zhang Jing and the Taoyuan County Magistrate were very grateful.

The two local officials pulled Yuan Qi aside and asked in a low voice: "Taoist Priest, I don't know how much money we need to give you for the sesame oil."

"It doesn't take much effort, no money for sesame oil." Yuan Qi gained a lot of merit last night when the ghosts of the villagers were taken away by evil spirits, which is even more rare than free money.

Even at this moment, Yuan Qi has gained a lot of merit.

Bai Youhui squeezed over and said to the two of them: "Of course you need some money for the sesame oil, ten thousand taels, that's about right, Seventh Sister? Why are you so embarrassed to ask for the money for the sesame oil? We worked so hard last night, how can we not give up the money?" "