At midnight after dark, there is silence in Suian City. Bang, bang, bang... several sounds of wooden sticks hitting bamboo tubes, crisp and hollow, coming from the tune of "The firewood warehouse is shallow, the water tank is full, be careful of the candle", and the watchman beats the bangs as he goes around the alley.
"Is it time yet?"
He Ping pretended to be He Jin, sitting in the sedan with lowered eyebrows. The people outside the sedan responsible for carrying the sedan were a few servants from He Jin's other courtyard. They yawned and couldn't understand why their old lady had to go out in the middle of the night.
The middle-aged man in Tsing Yi is named "He Zhongyang", he is He Ping's accountant and his confidant.
He Zhongyang felt uneasy about the current situation. He could serve as He Jin's confidant and think tank, and he was also a quick-witted person. It was a pity that as soon as He Jin died, he lost his backbone, his mind was a mess, and his eyes were filled with confusion.
At this moment, He Ping opened the sedan curtain and gave him an order.
"There are soldiers and horses from the government office coming ahead. They are probably the ones who patrol the night to ask questions. Please be smart."
He Zhongyang seemed to wake up with a start and responded quickly.
"Go for it!"
He Ping ordered in a low voice and lowered the sedan curtain.
He Zhongyang turned around and heard the sound of horse hooves. He raised his head and was slightly surprised, because the people who came were not from the government office of the city, but Inspection Bureau's soldiers and horses were led by a military attaché, riding a long-legged bay-red horse, followed by a group of infantry with long spears.
"Who are you?"
The military attaché on the horse pointed at the crowd with his whip, and He Zhongyang quickly came over. Before he could get closer, several long spears were pointed at him. When the red-tasseled spear pointed at him with a cold light, He Zhongyang was immediately frightened to death.
"Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding!"
At this moment, a government official ran over from behind the Inspection Bureau's team. He grabbed He Zhongyang with his hand and said in a deep voice, "What's going on? How come you are facing off against the Inspection Bureau's people."
"Master, my eldest master has something important to do and wants to see Master Prefect Sheng Sheng."
He Zhongyang reacted upon seeing this and quickly slipped a piece of silver from his sleeve to him.
"Please forgive me, this matter is urgent. If the magistrate's affairs are delayed, He Family cannot bear it..."
"I know, leave it to me!"
The officer of this government office was familiar with He Zhongyang, and he smiled after receiving the money. He quickly ran to the military attaché of the Inspection Bureau, and talked for a while with a smile on his face. The latter did not embarrass everyone, and waved his hand to allow the sedan to pass.
"Are the people from the Inspection Bureau here too?"
He Ping in the sedan also noticed this scene and knew that Four Peaks Mountain's incident had aroused Sheng Qingzhi's vigilance.
"This old guy's response speed is not slow at all. With the Inspection Bureau's troops, it can be said to be more than enough to deal with ordinary banditry, civil unrest, and riots..."
He smiled inwardly.
It's a pity that when encountering Law Technique's advanced monks, this approach will not be effective.
Thinking of this place, he also calmed down, and Inspection Bureau troops patrolled the streets in the city, which proved that Sheng Qingzhi also felt the pressure.
Moreover, this also proves one thing, that is, Sheng Qingzhi does not have many trump cards. Originally, this person has a close relationship with the Chongyang Palace. Even if he does not know the Daoist method, he can still find Chongyang Palace's masters to help him. Now it seems that the Daoist priest named Zhen is really not in Shengfu, so there is no need to worry too much about tonight's trip.
The official of the government office accepted the benefits and led the people on a fast journey. No one was blocking the sedan along the way, and it arrived at the magistrate's mansion in less than a stick of incense.
The front door of this mansion is extremely grand. Under the stone steps of the red lacquer door, there are two stone lions standing on the left and right. Several government officials, as well as Inspection Bureau soldiers and horses, surround the mansion on all sides, and the defense is tight.
The official was also familiar with the house, so he discussed it with the gatekeepers, then the gate opened, and the people from the He Mansion's other courtyard walked in.
With a human skin mask on his face, he got off the sedan disguised as "He Jin" and entered the gate of Sheng Mansion with the support of He Zhongyang beside him.
After entering the door, a butler wearing silk blue clothes walked in. This man also saluted "He Jin" and said a few polite words.
"I already know the purpose of Mr. He's visit. However, the prefect has already gone to bed and has allowed me to go to the inner courtyard to report. Mr. He might as well go to the living room to take a rest... If you wake up, you will summon Mr. He."
The old butler in silk blue clothes was polite and polite, and spoke very politely. He was obviously used to working in a wealthy family, so he was tactful and thorough in everything he did.
"This is natural."
"He Jin" nodded, and he pointed at a few servants behind him.
"I brought that thing here just to show it to Mr. Sheng with his own eyes. This guy was missing in Four Peaks Mountain for many days. I found it today and immediately ordered my men to deliver it in person."
"Can the box be opened? Let me check it."
The old housekeeper asked.
"This?"
"He Jin" showed a troubled expression and looked around.
"There are so many people here, I'm afraid it might be a bit troublesome. Can you wait until you see Lord Sheng before opening this box?"
The old butler looked at him deeply, and "He Jin" responded with a slight smile. The former couldn't help but chuckle.
"If Mr. He said so, then... but if you want to enter the living room, it will be inconvenient for the people around Mr. He to go in together."
As soon as he finished speaking, several guards from the Sheng Mansion approached. These people were all dressed in ocher clothes and had strong waists and strong backs. They were very capable. As soon as they appeared on the scene, they looked like Sha Qi in the army.
As soon as the old housekeeper gave the order, these guards took the box directly from the He Mansion servant.
"Master He can just go into the waiting room alone. As for the servants, just stay outside."
The old housekeeper was thoughtful and gave instructions, and several more guards with knives at their waists escorted everyone in the Sheng Family's other courtyard to another courtyard.
(People from the Sheng Mansion are quite vigilant... It's just a pity that these are of no use to me. As long as I am allowed to step through the gate of this Sheng Family mansion, it is like a lion has entered the flock of sheep. Let the sheep come up with all kinds of tricks. It is not in vain. It is a futile move. If you follow the plan, you will be buried in the lion's mouth...)
Hidden in the box is an exquisite puppet left in the coffin when Wu Yousheng faked his death.
After getting this puppet He Ping, he transformed it into his own stand-in, and his appearance changed into that of He Ping.
He sent this puppet just to wait for Sheng Qingzhi to open the box, use this puppet to hold Sheng Qingzhi hostage, and then wait for an opportunity to find out the whereabouts of Bone Longevity Bowl.
If this plan was discovered midway, or if any part of it went awry, he would simply detonate the "Spirit-Exploding Witch Puppet" hidden in the puppet's belly. On the one hand, it would create chaos in the Sheng Mansion, and on the other hand, he would use this as a signal to notify Chixinzi, who was lurking in the dark, to carry out the second part of the plan.
"The worst situation is that we didn't even get through the gate of Sheng Mansion. We were blocked by the Inspection Bureau's troops on the way. They all entered Sheng Mansion. There's nothing to worry about..."
He Ping entered the living room of Sheng Mansion and sat on a rosewood chair. The box was also placed in the corner of the living room. There were several guards guarding the box. Looking at the appearance of these people, rather than guarding the box, they were looking after themselves.
"Miscalculation."
Half the time for the incense stick had passed, and the tea that was delivered had turned cold. He Ping, who was sitting on the rosewood chair, realized that something was wrong.
Sheng Qingzhi After such a long time, no news came through. Also, the old butler in silk blue clothes ordered him to wait here. After leaving the nine-curved corridor on the right side of the living room, he disappeared. This was at least a quarter of an hour. What were these people doing?
He Ping silently counted the time, realized that the time was approaching, and made a decision in his heart.
"No matter what tricks Sheng Qingzhi is playing, there is no need for me to wait any longer. I am not just going to have tea in Sheng Mansion!"
He moved his fingertips, and the wooden box not far away shook slightly. The guards of the Sheng Mansion in ocher clothes were startled. They looked at each other, took out the knives in their hands, and took a step closer to the box.
With a "collapse" sound, the lid of the box opened, and a figure rushed out of the box, without touching the ground, tumbling and spinning in the air. With a flash of sword, the throats of these men in ocher clothes were cut through, and they fell to the ground without even making a sound.
He Ping didn't waste any time, immediately took the puppet, turned around, walked into the nine-curved corridor, and walked quickly towards the inner courtyard.
After passing through the corridor, we entered the inner courtyard, which was very elegantly built and surrounded by trees and thatched grass, implying Yili. Feng Shui was cleverly used. The trees in the courtyard were lush and green, covering almost everything. Even the perception of the soul was affected to some extent and became far less sensitive than usual.
He Ping As soon as he entered the inner courtyard, he keenly smelled the smell of blood. He glanced at a big tree next to him and found a corpse lying at the foot of the tree.
"Huh?"
His voice was slightly startled. The corpse was wearing a silk blue gown. It was none other than the old housekeeper.
"Senior brother, did you take action so quickly?"
He Ping took a step closer and frowned. A large piece of flesh and blood was bitten off the neck of the old housekeeper's corpse. The blue shirt was also soaked red with a large amount of blood. In addition, an arm was missing.
"The wound on the neck looks like it was bitten by a wild animal, and there are clear tooth marks... Strange, this is probably not caused by Chixinzi. Could it be that 'Coir Tiger Envoy' Tu Du has arrived!"
When he was wondering, he saw a ball of fire light up. It was several torches lighting up somewhere in the inner courtyard. Then a voice shouted, "Who are you? Why are you hiding in the dark? You... what kind of monster are you?"
The last sound was close to a vibrato, which showed that this person must have seen something extremely terrifying.
He Ping's heart moved, and he flew towards the direction of the voice. Then, he hid behind a rockery with the puppet. When he looked around, he saw a half-man, half-wolf monster, grabbing an arm and chewing it until it was dripping with juice.
On the other side, under the eaves of the building in the inner courtyard, stood a group of the Sheng Family guards, uniformly dressed in dark colored clothing, each holding a steel sword, all looking at the half-human, half-wolf monster.
"Eat, eat people... This guy is eating people, are those human hands?!"
Some of the guards were stunned and subconsciously took a step back.
"What kind of monster are you...?"
Surrounded by all the guards, there was an old man in rich clothes. At this time, facing the old man's scolding, the half-man, half-wolf monster laughed miserably and threw away his hand bones.
"Lord Sheng, what a coincidence. I didn't expect to meet you like this... I am Yang Yunjiao of the Evil-Slaying Bureau. I made you laugh."
The body of the half-human, half-wolf flexed slightly, and his muscular figure seemed to be shrinking, his bristles also faded layer by layer, and his dark blue skin became pale.
In the blink of an eye, the monster's body outline shrank again, the canine teeth in its mouth retracted, the demon dog-like head returned to normal, and its appearance and facial features changed back to those of the Evil-Slaying Bureau Baihu Yang Yunjiao.