Three thousand crows kill

Chapter 18 The Prince's Invitation

The lamb was not roasted, but Fu Jiuyun bought some beef, cut it into palm-sized slices, put it on the wire mesh and roasted it carefully, sprinkled with some salt and fat, the aroma was overflowing, Qin Chuan almost bit off his tongue, Didn't even bother to praise the food.Can't tell, he actually knows how to cook, and his skills are excellent.

The two were arguing about where the last piece of meat should go, when they suddenly heard the sound of chaotic footsteps outside the bamboo forest, as if many people were about to break in.Fu Jiuyun listened carefully for a while, nodded and smiled, "I was underestimated, the emperor actually only sent 200 people to encircle and suppress."

Qin Chuan realized it in an instant. It is estimated that Emperor Tianyuan felt that his face was lost, and became angry from embarrassment, so he simply sent troops to encircle him.It is estimated that this movement is also intended to test, to see how tall this legendary tall man is.Taking advantage of Fu Jiuyun's attentive ear, she hurriedly snatched the last piece of beef and stuffed it into her mouth, saying vaguely, "You brought it on, you solve it yourself."

Fu Jiuyun twisted her face: "I'll settle the score with you later."

He casually grabbed a handful of pebbles and threw them out. As soon as they hit the ground, they turned into glittering heavenly soldiers and generals. Each of them was two or three people tall. They stood outside the bamboo forest, scaring the soldiers outside to retreat.After a while, a snow-white dove slowly flew out of the bamboo grove, circled twice in front of the leading soldier, landed on his palm, but turned into a piece of white paper with only two words written on it: Please come back.

The morale of the 200 men lost instantly, and they left without a fight.

As the saying goes, if there is one, there will be two, and if there is two, there will be three. Qin Chuan thought that the former emperor would send more people to encircle and suppress that day, but who knew that the first wait was ten days. The blue envelope was nailed to a piece of green bamboo with thin iron arrows.

She took it off and saw the seal on it made her eyebrows twitch - it was the prince of Tianyuan Kingdom.

Opening the letter paper, the first two words made her heart sink - "Emperor Ji Ji, are you all right? On the fifteenth day of the lunar month, Haotian Tower, Panqing is in the mood to enjoy the moon and drink together." No mention was made. When mentioning Fu Jiuyun, the other party came here for her, and knew that she and Fu Jiuyun were mixed together.

Perhaps she had known that this day would come. He failed to kill the prince that time, and he only needed to investigate carefully to find out her true identity.But what made her even more astonished and panicked was not that her identity was found out, but something else attached to the envelope.

It was a piece of palm-sized satin, purple, embroidered with dense cloud patterns with dark blue and black threads.

Among the people I knew, only Zuo Zichen would wear clothes of this color, only him, and no one else.

Qin Chuan tore the letter paper into pieces, his heart tightened and loosened in his chest, and his body seemed to be slowly sinking in thick water.Almost instinctively, she immediately turned her head to look at the tiled house behind the bamboo forest, but the front of the tiled house was empty.She was stunned for a long time, remembering that Fu Jiuyun should be cooking in the kitchen, and now it's his turn to cook.

She thought for a long time in front of the bamboo forest, until the muscles in her neck began to ache.

The strong wind blew through the bamboo forest, and the leaves fell one after another. Qin Chuan suddenly moved, as if awakened, stuffed the rag into his arms, turned and walked back.

On August [-]th, the moon is bright and the wind is clear, and the night breeze carries the sweet fragrance of osmanthus.This is a good day for family reunion and drinking wine to enjoy the moon.Qin Chuan burned some yellow paper outside the bamboo forest, and there were small moon cakes and wine utensils made of tin foil in the Zhuangzi, and they threw them in a basin and burned them.

The flames jumped, and she showed a rare sadness on her face, and even the fierce tiger that had always been entangled with Fu Jiuyun lay silently at her feet, and stopped making noise.

"Maybe I won't see you again." She said in a low voice, reaching out her hand to touch the cowhide Qiankun bag, the soul lamp that had already been ignited by a strand of essence was extremely heavy, "It's very dangerous to go here, but no matter what, I will take it The soul lamp is really lit."

The wind passed by quietly, and no one answered her.Looking back, the lights in Fu Jiuyun's room were on, and he should be painting.It's time to go.Qin Chuan touched Tiger's head and smiled: "You go and stay with him, don't follow me anymore."

The tiger growled unwillingly. Although it was temporarily bought by Fu Jiuyun, it was still a spirit beast with a strong character and would never abandon its real master.

"Okay, go!" Qin Chuan pushed it, "Maybe he won't notice anything if you keep it, don't get in my way."

The tiger covered his face in grievance, watched her really leave through the cracks in his paws, tears were about to flow, ran back whimpering and squatted under Fu Jiuyun's window, crying so much that Fu Jiuyun had to open the window, and sighed: " Spring is over early, so is it possible that tigers are in heat in summer?"

There was only a tiger squatting under the window with tears and snot dripping down his nose. He was startled: "Where is your master?"

Of course tigers can't speak, Fu Jiuyun suddenly felt a little startled, looking around, the bamboo forest was deep and dark, with the night wind blowing against his face, the figure who was supposed to be burning paper in the forest had long since disappeared.

Haotianlou is located in the east of the city. Unlike Qingfenglou, which is good at making all kinds of delicacies, it is a pure tavern, a place where alcoholics love to come.On August [-]th, most restaurants and restaurants in the city closed early, but this one alone was brightly lit and bustling.

Qin Chuan walked into the Haotian Building in a white shirt, and immediately attracted many eyes to follow.

The crown prince was right in front of him. It had been several months since the last attempt to assassinate him, and he hadn't changed at all, except his face turned blue, like a dead man.This time he was accompanied by a young man, with sculpted eyebrows and handsome eyes, with a smile on his face, even a shy smile, and he would have a good impression of wanting to get close at a glance.

"Emperor Ji really is a person who values ​​friendship." The strange young man said with a smile, "It's a great honor for me to drink wine and watch the moon with Emperor Ji of Great Yan, who has the reputation of Allure, in Tingyuan, the second prince of Tianyuan."

Qin Chuan said coldly, "I'm afraid it's not just as simple as drinking wine and admiring the moon, right?"

Too lazy to play lip service with them, she simply went straight to the point.

Ting Yuan smiled but said nothing, poured a glass of wine and pushed it in front of her, raised his glass to himself: "Let me offer a cup to Emperor Ji, Di Ji's skillful methods, quick decisions, and amazing courage, really make us admire."

Taking a look at the contents of the cup, the color is purple like blood, but it is full of fragrance. It should be fine wine made from grapes.Qin Chuan covered the cup with his hand, and refused: "Sorry, I'm not good at drinking, so I have to live up to the kindness of the second prince."

The prince sat opposite him like a wooden man, motionless.It's really strange, didn't he call himself out?Why only let the second prince chirp quack to speak?

Ting Yuan followed her gaze and glanced at the prince, and with a little shyness, said softly: "Now that I think about it, the strategy of the national teacher gathering ghosts to fill the prince's head and trying to lure the snake out of the hole is really boring. Di Ji You must be confident in doing things, how can you be fooled by these ghost tricks. I guess, if you hadn’t attached the clothes of God Ji’s old friend in the letter, you would not have come today, right? Now that you’re here, Ting Yuan has only one question to ask. Where are you and your soul now? I beg Diji to let me know."

The wine glass under the sleeve suddenly turned over, and the liquid splashed on her white dress, like a pool of freshly stained blood.Qin Chuan slowly raised his head, staring at the prince with a strange expression, his heart was repeatedly hit by the stormy waves.

Is it true?The prince had his head cut off without her knowing, and even his soul was taken away?
What a shocking fact!She planned everything, but it was in vain. She planned to sit still and settle down for a while, but who knows that things are impermanent, and the enemy who should have died under her hands was completely killed by others.Should she be happy now, or should she regret it?

Seeing her frowning and saying nothing, Ting Yuan said again: "The national teacher and I have the same meaning, as long as the emperor is willing to hand over the prince's soul, your old friend will return it to you. We don't want to make things difficult for you."

Qin Chuan moved slightly, pointed at the prince, and said in a low voice, "Is he really dead?"

Ting Yuan didn't answer, he raised his hand and patted the prince's back lightly, the big head resting on his shoulders immediately rolled on the table, smashing the wine utensils into pieces.When she rolled to Qin Chuan's hand, she realized that it was just a hollow head carved from wood, and many ghosts were sealed with charms in the wood, so that the prince's body could move and speak.

The restaurant suddenly became extremely quiet, and after an unknown period of time, someone suddenly screamed heart-piercingly: "The head is off!" Then everyone woke up like a dream, crying and screaming, rolling and crawling towards the door .

Ting Yuan sighed and smiled, complaining a bit: "Look at you, you're in big trouble this time."

He took out a piece of talisman paper folded into the shape of Fang Sheng from his pocket, and lightly threw it on the candle flame. The talisman paper turned and circled on the tiny flame without falling off.The next moment, ignorance and darkness enveloped the head, and the darkness passed by in an instant, but in the blink of an eye, the vision disappeared, and the originally noisy restaurant suddenly became extremely quiet, extremely quiet.

Flowing things hovered in the Haotian building, and Qin Chuan was covered in cold sweat behind him. He subconsciously looked out, and saw that everyone maintained a running posture and was fixed in place like a statue.Her throat couldn't help tightening up, it seemed that she not only underestimated Tianyuan Guoshi, but also underestimated this unpredictable Second Prince.

Ting Yuan grabbed the wooden head, put it back on the prince's shoulder, and said softly: "I hate these weird things the most, but I can't help it. Nail them for a while, and it will be fine when the national teacher comes to deal with it." gone."

Qin Chuan rubbed her palms on the clothes without any traces, and it was full of sweat. She found that she had encountered the most severe test in her life.Before she came here, she still had a sense of luck. Zuo Zichen was a person who cultivated immortals since childhood, so he would not be held hostage so easily, but now it seems that it was really a fluke.

For a moment, she thought of Fu Jiuyun's betting with Mr. Meishan and won the origin of the national teacher. This move seemed abrupt at the time, but now she thought about it, but it made her feel thrilling.Did he do the prince's death?Cutting off the head and taking the soul is too extreme. Apart from lighting the soul lamp, the human soul is of no use at all.And only Fu Jiuyun knew about the soul lamp on her body.

He killed the prince, maybe he thought about dealing with the national teacher, but he found that the other party was not easy to deal with, so he asked Meishan Jun for the origin of the national teacher?The origin of the national teacher must not be simple, so he gave up the assassination in the dark and tried to get close to the Tianyuan royal family by Ming Lu?
He is... Is he really trying to avenge her?

Her wrist was trembling slightly, she tried her best to keep her composure, and her voice was calm: "Before that, I have to see that old friend first."

Ting Yuan stood up with a smile: "Please follow me."

There is a secret underground palace [-] feet below Haotian Building. Along the slender and curved stone steps, the deep and unknown darkness in front of you is scary.

Ting Yuan handed the candlestick in his hand to Qin Chuan, and said, "Mr. Qi, the world-renowned young master, suddenly came to Gaodu. Could it be because of you, Emperor Ji? The emperor sent 200 people to encircle and suppress first, but found nothing. This man is really powerful. Very. Let me boldly guess, is Mr. Qi, the young master, helping you in the matter of the prince?"

Qin Chuan said indifferently: "Who knows? The second prince can think of as many possibilities as possible. Anyway, this road is empty and very boring."

Ting Yuan smiled, and didn't take it seriously: "That old friend of Di Ji was captured by accident when he assassinated the national teacher. Although he was a little reckless, he was really courageous and had an extremely stubborn temper. I didn't expect that , the royal family of Great Yan Kingdom are all very strong, which is admirable."

Qin Chuan's hand holding the candlestick tightened suddenly.If that person is really Zuo Zichen, do you want to save him?How to save?There is an unpredictable national teacher, and an extremely intelligent prince, either of which is several times stronger than her.All she can do is to delay as long as possible, hoping to find their weakness in an instant.

Ting Yuan suddenly stopped in the middle of the steps, she didn't know, so she looked back at him, but saw him smiling a little strangely, looking her up and down carefully.Qin Chuan's heart was trembling, but he still had a calm look on his face, and asked him, "Does the second prince have anything to say?"

He lowered his head, and said calmly: "No, I was just thinking, Di Ji had a very thorough plan, but she was not strong enough to kill the national teacher, what a pity."

……What does it mean?
Qin Chuan only felt his heart beating hard, and deliberately smiled and said, "Maybe not necessarily, aren't you afraid that I won't keep my promise?"

He also smiled: "Who knows what will happen in the future?"

No one spoke anymore, and at the end of the steps, there was the gate of the underground palace.In front of the door, there was a group of ferocious monsters covered in flames sleeping on their stomachs. Seeing the two of them coming, they got up staggeringly and raised their heads resolutely, not paying attention to them.

Ting Yuan arched his hands: "Emperor Ji, please come in. The old man and the national teacher are waiting inside the gate."

She walked around the monster, and just as her fingertips touched the stone door, it opened silently, which surprised her.Ting Yuan frowned and smiled: "That's why I'm the most impatient with these weird things. Diji take care of herself."

The underground palace is brightly lit, and stone beds and chairs are all available, but there is a gloomy and cold air in the luxurious style.Qin Chuan watched and walked, and subconsciously squeezed a cowhide Qiankun bag, and the soul lamp was inside. This might be her only chance of winning.She wanted to provoke him. People are most likely to expose their weaknesses when they are angry. As long as the national teacher can show his weakness, then she still has hope to light the soul lamp with him.

A heart-piercing scream suddenly sounded not far away, and echoed in the empty underground palace. Qin Chuan's heart seemed to be squeezed tightly by something, and his face instantly turned pale.

A rough and hoarse voice said coldly: "Where is the prince's soul? Tell me?"

The screaming gradually weakened, and finally turned into sobbing. It didn't sound like a man's voice, but a woman's voice.Qin Chuan ran away, and opened the layers of icy gauze curtains, and saw a human-shaped stone platform in the middle of the hall, on which a woman in purple was tied.On the opposite side of the stone platform sat a silver-haired man, holding a ball of bright red beating hearts in his hands, which sometimes tightened and sometimes loosened.The woman's scream also fluctuated with his movements, as if she was about to die.

Xu Shi heard someone coming, he turned around slowly, and met Qin Chuan's eyes.His long hair is as white as snow, and his face is unexpectedly young, with ordinary features, but the brows are full of gloom and indifference, which makes people shudder.

He looked up and down, and the hoarse voice sounded again: "Dayan Emperor Ji?"

This person must be the national teacher of Tianyuan. Before Qin Chuan could speak, the man in purple who was bound on the stone platform trembled when he heard the word "Diji". Nan: "The person who came...how could it be you?"

Qin Chuan's heart suddenly relaxed, followed by another mention, and he felt dizzy for a moment.How could it be Xuanzhu?How could it be Xuanzhu? !Thousands of calculations, even if you break your guts, you can't figure out that the person locked here will be Xuanzhu!
"Please sit down." The national teacher stood up slowly, and gave her a seat calmly and politely, "It's unexpected that Emperor Ji of Great Yan is so young, but she acts ruthlessly at such a young age, which is admirable."

Qin Chuan glanced at Xuan Zhu, said nothing, and sat silently on the stone chair.Seeing that the national teacher was holding the beating heart in his hand, and the sleeves were stained with blood, this scene was extremely strange, she felt her chest was blocked by something, and it was difficult to breathe.

The national teacher sat opposite her, with a calm expression: "I have been thinking recently, maybe I should change my view of the Dayan royal family a little bit. Your father, Emperor Bao'an, was cowardly and selfish, but unexpectedly he gave birth to several sons and daughters with integrity. Even the princesses of the vassal kingdoms They are all so hard-headed, and they can still be hard-spoken for so many days after being hit by my heart-cutting technique. The Dayan royal family is worthy of the title of 'Iron Blood Ruiyan'."

Qin Chuan couldn't say anything.The person sitting opposite her was Tianyuan Guoshi, a man completely different from what she had imagined.He had heard of Tianyuan Guoshi's prestige a long time ago. He is proficient in all kinds of different arts.She once thought that this person should be an old man with a vicissitudes of life, but who knows that although his head is full of white hair, his appearance is extremely young. Looking at it, he can only feel that he is unpredictable, and he can't see happiness or anger, which is really frightening.

The national teacher didn't mind her silence at all, and continued: "Tianyuan destroyed the Great Yan, and the unification of the Central Plains is the general trend. It is common sense that the emperor can't let go of the hatred of the country and the family. I see that you are young, and I can't bear it. As long as you hand over The soul of the prince, I will let you live, and I will not pursue it again."

Qin Chuan took a deep breath and said in a low voice after a while: "You put her down first, she doesn't know anything."

The national teacher raised his hand and threw the heart, and it sank into Xuanzhu's chest in an instant.Probably because of the excessive pain, Xuan Zhu passed out after gasping for a few times.The iron rings holding her limbs on the stone platform were retracted with a few ding dings, and her body fell limply to the ground, in extreme embarrassment.

Qin Chuan straightened his clothes, thought for a moment, and said, "Before I came to Tianyuan, I had already made preparations to die. I never thought of leaving alive. You just believe that I will be willing to hand over the prince's soul for a way out ?"

The national teacher took a deep look at her, and suddenly said: "Emperor Ji, even if you kill the prime minister, the crown prince, me, and the emperor, the situation in the Central Plains will not change in any way. The royal family of the country has the blood of ancient demons and is destined to rule the world and create a more powerful Central Plains land. The left minister of your Dayan is a person who understands current affairs. He understands the corruption of Dayan and the strength of Tianyuan. He is just doing He made the most correct choice, and he was not even greedy for fame and fortune. What position do you have to kill him to vent your anger for personal vendetta?"

Qin Chuan smiled, and said in a low voice: "I don't need to explain to you, just like you don't need to explain to me why you regard demons as respected. What position do you have to blame me?"

"There is no mutual suspicion or mutual calculation among demons." The national teacher took out a piece of silk and wiped the blood on his hand carefully, "The prince is in your way because of his simplicity and trust in others. Now the general trend is over." If you do, even if Tianyuan's royal family is killed by you, the world will still belong to Tianyuan. What you do is just adding to the pain of yourself and others, and it has no meaning."

She nodded, and said indifferently: "That's right. I hope that you, Tianyuan, will realize your great wish as soon as possible. From then on, demons will wreak havoc and there will never be a peaceful day."

The national teacher's eyes flashed slightly, as if he was angry.

"You look up," his rough and hoarse voice was like sandpaper rubbing on the ground, which made your teeth sour, "you look up and look at me."

She raised her head angrily without fear, and as soon as she met his cold and strange eyes, she felt a slight chill in her heart, as if a knife made of the thinnest and sharpest ice had been gently inserted in.There was no pain, and before she had time to feel the pain, she only felt that her chest seemed empty, and something very important was missing.

And that thing is being held alive by the national teacher at this moment—her heart, a heart that is beating violently and dripping with blood.He scratched lightly on it with his nails, and Qin Chuan felt a sharp pain in his heart, almost fainting, and cold sweat dripped down his forehead.

"Di Ji, I don't like arguing with children. Now, tell me honestly, where is the prince's soul?" He breathed on the heart, but to her it was like a cold blow The blade was stuck in the chest.I have never experienced such unheard-of pain in my life, but I still can't faint, the more pain, the more conscious.

Qin Chuan clutched the corner of his clothes tightly, his nails cracked one by one, and tried his best to resist the terrible pain. He suddenly sneered and said in a trembling voice: "Okay! There is a prince of a country who will be buried with me. It’s not a loss anymore!”

The national teacher was silent for a while, then suddenly raised his hand and threw the heart back into her chest, with a hint of admiration in his cold eyes.There are really not many people who can carry it under the heart-cutting technique and can still speak.Even fewer women.

"I know you know Mr. Qi and know that he is very capable, so you are not afraid of anything, and you are sure that he will come to rescue." He smiled hoarsely, "Why don't we make a bet that if he can break into my underground palace Before saving you, I will first ask you about the whereabouts of the prince's soul."

Qin Chuan slowly licked the blood on her lips, which was bitten by herself just now.She smiled weakly: "Then, I will win."

The national teacher left, the stone gate of the underground palace was sealed with a special seal, and everything returned to dead silence.Qin Chuan slumped on the stone chair exhausted, turned his neck stiffly to look around, it was fine, there were no windows, no doors, no water, no food, it was as quiet as a tomb.Ordinary people are locked up here for three days without any torture, even eight generations of their own ancestors will be recruited.

Fortunately, she has a precious cowhide Qiankun bag.

Qin Chuan took out two quilts from his Qiankun bag, one on the stone bed and the other on his body.Then take out the pastry water bag, eat a little bit to suppress the shock, and think carefully about what to do in the future.After Xuanzhu woke up from the coma, what she saw was her half lying on the stone bed with pastries stuffed into her mouth.

Seeing that her eyes were extremely fierce and resentful, especially when he was drinking water, Qin Chuan kindly handed her a water bag: "Do you want to drink?"

Xuan Zhu snatched the water bag without saying a word, raised her head and drank most of it in one gulp, coughing so much that her hair and clothes were soaked, and she was even more embarrassed than before.When she gradually stopped coughing, Qin Chuan said, "Okay, Xuanzhu. Tell me why you are here."

The corner of the clothes attached to the letter made her think it was Zuo Zichen, because he was the only one who would wear purple clothes. Who knew that this elder sister, Ai Wu Ji Wu, even wore a purple dress on her body.If... If she knew it was her, she might not have to suffer this crime. It would be better to let her fend for herself.

Xuanzhu said coldly: "Then why are you here?"

"I heard that you went to assassinate the national teacher. Could it be that you suddenly have the consciousness of national hatred and family hatred, so you want to take revenge?" Qin Chuan ignored her, and said a reason that he also thought was ridiculous.

"What country and family hate!" Xuan Zhu sneered, "I don't have any country or family! I am no better than when you were a child, loved by thousands of people, my family was destroyed, and my parents died, so I want to applaud! "

Qin Chuan said seriously: "Then let me guess. It must be because of Zuo Zichen. He killed the prince? Then he wanted to kill the national teacher? So you also stepped in and failed on purpose, just to let him accompany you to play a hero Save the beauty?"

"No! Shut up!" Xuan Zhu suddenly raised her head, her eyes were bloodshot, looking haggard and cold.She looked at Qin Chuan firmly, even with resentment, but turned away after a while.

"I know what he is thinking in his heart. He is depressed all day long, and often writes the names of the national teacher and the prince on paper. I also know that he always feels that he owes you in his heart. He has not been able to catch up with killing the prince, but he has been killed If you kill someone, then at least kill the national teacher. In fact, he doesn't have to pay the debt at all, he doesn't owe you anything at all! Let me fulfill his wish for him, he will always know who is the best for him What's more, Tianyuan destroyed Dayan, and I killed the national teacher more justifiably than him. What do you know, it's not your turn to speak nonsense!"

Qin Chuan looked at her silently, his eyes lingering from her stubborn and straight shoulders to the corner of her blood-stained purple clothes.The purple dress on her body was exactly the same as Zuo Zichen's, except that a women's waist was added.As if sensing her gaze, Xuanzhu flinched: "What are you looking at? You haven't said why you are the one who came!"

Qin Chuan suddenly laughed, and said in a low voice: "Okay, Xuanzhu, you will always work harder than I imagined. If I were Zuo Zichen, it would be unreasonable for you if things go wrong."

"You don't need to comfort me!" Xuan Zhu turned her back fiercely, but the next moment tears were pouring down like rain.She waited for three days and was tortured to death for three whole days. She kept calling Zuo Zichen in her heart every moment, hoping that he would come to save her.But the door opened, and the person who came in was the woman she least wanted to see.

She had never been so completely hopeless and helpless as now.Keep fighting, keep grabbing, self-deceiving Zuo Zichen that she should have some place in his heart.This kind of self-deception was almost exhausted in three days, and was completely crushed the moment he saw Qin Chuan.

In the bottom of his heart, there was not even a hair of her left.

After an unknown amount of time, Xuan Zhu's legs became numb from sitting, so she stood up and took a few steps.Seeing that Qin Chuan looked calm and not flustered, he couldn't help asking, "Why did you come here?"

Qin Chuan smiled slightly, with a gloomy brow: "I'm here to die. As for you, you can die with me."

Xuanzhu's feet went limp, and she fell to the ground again.

(End of this chapter)