Pawn Crossing the River

Human beings have human nature, and there are divinity and animality hidden in human nature.

This most primitive killing scene, with no end in sight, no mercy, no end in sight, and blood to enhance the atmosphere, is undoubtedly the best way to inspire the hidden animal nature in the human body.

The audience dropped their usual pretense and revealed their crazy side. The men, passionate and hoarse, seemed to have regained their youth. The women, with flushed faces, seemed to have reached the peak of bliss at this moment.

Zhang Yuelu's attention only stayed on the ring for a very short time, and soon turned to the surrounding audience, frowning slightly when he saw the somewhat distorted faces.

She didn't like this atmosphere very much.

She felt that this atmosphere was very abnormal. It was probably not just due to the arena, but maybe other external factors, but whether it was spells or drugs, she couldn't tell yet.

In the Taoist sect, the Taoist priests occupy an absolute leadership position, while the spiritual officers are in a subordinate position. It is somewhat similar to the previous dynasty's use of civil servants to control military affairs. Even the second and third grade military officers must be controlled by the fifth and sixth grade civil servants. Although the Taoist sect has not reached this level, the spiritual officials have long been accustomed to executing orders without making decisions. Therefore, Xu Lingguan said nothing at this time and did not make any comments. The sentence just now, "If the water is clear, there will be no fish" was his response to Zhang Yuelu's question. It came from other high-quality Taoist priests, not his own opinion.

As for Xu Kou, he just found it boring.

He has the nickname "Little Yama", which shows what kind of person he is. As the saying goes, there are only wrong names, not wrong nicknames. Xu Kou felt that he was not given the wrong name or nickname. He has seen a lot of this kind of thing, and he has also seen a lot of things that are bloodier than this, and he has even dealt with it himself. Only these pampered masters, young masters, wives, and ladies would make a fuss over such a small scene.

Of course, he has no interest in being compassionate, let alone listening to Deputy Hall Master Zhang's teachings. He is not Qi Xuansu, and he has no interest in boring and old-fashioned women like Deputy Hall Master Zhang. At most, he just did what Deputy Hall Master Zhang ordered.

But having said that, he missed Qi Xuansu a little. Although the two of them didn't have a close relationship and had some minor conflicts, they were essentially the same kind of people. If Qi Xuansu was here, he would probably be the same as him. Feel it.

pity.

Just when Xu Kou was lost in thought, the winner was decided on the ring.

A Jianghu man fell into the sea of ​​fire and was soon burned to a charred corpse.

Although his opponent was covered in blood, staggering, and obviously seriously injured, he still raised his hands and enjoyed the cheers of the audience.

Zhang Yuelu said: "It's almost done. I want to meet the master behind this place."

Xu Kou immediately came to his senses, responded, turned around and left the place.

Not long after, the housekeeper who was responsible for receiving their group followed Xu Kou and returned with a troubled look on his face: "Master Lu, this is not in line with the rules."

Zhang Yuelu turned around and said, "Rules are set by people."

Xu Kou took out a gold ticket with a face value of one hundred, but he exchanged it directly for Wuyou Money.

The butler's eyes fell on the golden ticket, and his Adam's apple moved slightly.

One hundred worry-free coins were immediately exchanged for one thousand Taiping coins, because gold was precious and silver was cheap. If it were placed on the black market, it could be even higher.

This is no small sum of money.

Xu Kou said: "Think about it, after passing this village, there won't be this store. There are not many good things in the world that can make so much money."

The butler swallowed hard and took the golden ticket: "Master Lu, wait a moment."

After the housekeeper left, Xu Kou sighed: "Money can make the world go round."

Zhang Yuelu said calmly: "Remember to take the money back. If there is any loss, you can make up for it with your own money."

Xu Kou said seriously: "Deputy Hall Master, please rest assured."

Of course, the money does not belong to Zhang Yuelu, nor does it belong to Xu Kou, but to Tiangang Hall. It is regarded as some necessary expenses. Even if Zhang Yuelu takes it as his own, no one will say anything, but Zhang Yuelu does not intend to do this.

Xu Kou didn't have to be careless about other things, but he dared not be careless about money.

Otherwise, he and Qi Xuansu are actually the same kind of people. Only when they were poor did they understand the importance of money.

About half an hour later, the housekeeper came back and invited Zhang Yuelu and others to meet the owner of this place, but there was one condition: they could not bring any followers.

Xu Kou heard this and said: "This is because you are unreasonable. What if something unexpected happens if you don't bring your entourage? It's not that I can't trust you, but there are other guests here. If there is a misunderstanding or some conflict between the guests, without the entourage, There’s not even a buffer. Besides, this is your territory, are you still afraid that we can do something to your master?”

The steward knew that Xu Kou was right, so he thought for a moment and said, "Let's take a step back and only bring one follower."

Xu Kou took a step back: "I won't go."

Xu Lingguan slowly said: "I will accompany the young master there."

The housekeeper glanced at Xu Lingguan, who had been silent all this time, and thought to himself that Mr. Lu's two followers had a strict division of labor. One was responsible for talking, and the other was probably responsible for doing things. He was indeed a young man from a big family, although he was strictly controlled by his family. Because of this, I haven’t seen much of the world, but in the end, the background is there.

The three of them returned to the ground. The housekeeper recruited a servant and asked him to lead Xu Kou to a side hall to rest. There were drinks there, as well as the young husband and the girl, but the quality was slightly lacking. It was a place specially used to entertain guests and their entourage. .

Zhang Yuelu and Xu Lingguan followed the housekeeper through the layers of defense and walked towards a three-story blue-black pavilion deep in the manor.

This pavilion was very big, so big that it was beyond Zhang Yuelu's expectation.

The depth is about five feet and the width is ninety feet, which together equals ninety-five. This is exactly the specification of the palace hall.

Although the Daxuan royal family did not pay much attention to these things because they were from a Taoist sect, they did not take it seriously. Even if the sky is high and the emperor is far away, the courage of these people to act like this still shows how courageous they are.

Anyone who can come to this building must be rich or noble. The first floor is a huge gambling house with all kinds of tricks. The second floor is divided into dozens of small halls. As for the third floor, it is the highlight. The entire third floor is directly connected, and because it is the top floor, the dome is obviously much higher than the first and second floors. Under the dome is a ring with two dragons playing with beads in the middle. There are nine lanterns decorated with tassels hanging above the relief. If you look closely, the style is somewhat similar to the sky lanterns above Taiqing City.

At this time, there were two corpses and wet blood stains on the ring. The blood was slowly flowing along the lines of the relief. Under the light of the lights, there was a thrilling beauty.

There is a circle of tables and chairs around the ring, and there are not many of them because there is a lot of space.

The main seat in the middle is particularly majestic. Under the light of the lights, the huge chair shines with golden light, comparable to a dragon chair.

Even people from the Taoist sect who didn't care much about the imperial family would sigh when they saw him, how bold he was.

Zhang Yuelu looked around, his eyes swept over the guests one by one, and finally landed on the young man sitting at the main seat.

The guests were all gentry and wealthy businessmen, and Zhang Yuelu had no doubt that there were official court officials or Taoist disciples among them.

The young man was a little displeased with Zhang Yuelu's direct gaze and frowned.

But before he could speak, Zhang Yuelu had already spoken: "Are you Du Longtan, the master behind this place? You are younger than I thought. It seems that the rumors that Lingshan Witch Cult can rejuvenate people are not groundless."

Du Longtan was drinking from a wine glass. After hearing this, he suddenly threw the wine glass in his hand, showing his anger.

In this world, except for elders and superiors, calling others by their names in person is equivalent to swearing. What's more, Zhang Yuelu also mentioned the Lingshan Witch Cult, which was Du Longtan's fatal weakness.

Without Du Longtan's orders, a guard had already walked out of the dimly lit place, ready to capture this daring young man.

Also without Zhang Yuelu speaking, Xu Lingguan, who was standing behind Zhang Yuelu, also took a step forward.

There was a ring between Zhang Yuelu and Du Longtan, and they appeared on the ring almost at the same time.

Then this master who was in the stage of returning to his true nature was grabbed by the throat by the second-grade spiritual officer and couldn't move even after meeting him.

After all, not every true master can be like Zhang Yuelu and have the ability to fight against heavenly beings.

Zhang Yuelu did not look at the two people on the ring, but looked up at the nine lanterns hanging high on the dome, feeling somewhat enlightened.

Why did these people turn their backs on Taoism? Because whether it is Taoism, Confucianism or Buddhism, even if it has various shortcomings, it still basically encourages people to be kind, temperate and love others. In addition to various precepts, morals and rules, it is also an invisible shackles and a restraint on desires. And these people, what they need is "freedom", no restraint, and the release of desires. Since Taoism cannot satisfy them, they abandon Taoism and turn to the embrace of a cult that can satisfy their desires.