Chapter 182 In person
Not to mention that along the Gaoliang River along the Youzhou line, a war is about to break out, not to mention the war in Hebei, which seems to be finally coming to an end.

In the south, in the far suburbs of Yingzhou, a temple that is sometimes visited by visitors suddenly appeared recently.

Or perhaps, this temple already existed, but it had been dormant for decades, and now it has finally become popular.

The temple is not big, but it still faces south and is divided into three courtyards. It has the mountain gate, the Heavenly King Hall, the Great Hall, and the Sutra Library. There are east and west attics and corridors on both sides of the main hall. The style is double-eaved and has overlapping layers of brackets. If it were not a little shabby, it would be one of the largest temples in the area a hundred miles ago.

However, although this is a temple, it is named "Datang Temple". Although it is still dilapidated, it has been cleaned up inside and out, and the vines on the high walls of the temple have been pulled out one by one. If the ginkgo trees in the courtyard had not dried up long ago, the so-called "Heavenly King Hall" and "Main Hero Hall" would seem a little out of place with some statues of Taoism's founder and medicine king Sun Simiao hastily placed due to time constraints. Overall, it is still generally convincing.

Therefore, people from villages and towns in the suburbs often come here to worship gods and pray for blessings just after the first month of the lunar year.

The most special thing about the Datang Temple is that it has half monks and half Taoists, and there is no particular way of worshipping gods, not even requiring incense and candles. Even beggars on the street can enter the temple to worship. Through word of mouth, the number of pilgrims has increased dramatically during this period, and among the poor villagers who come and go, there are even some wealthy families.

From the beginning to the end, those people in the Taoist temple who were guarding the statue just ignored the pilgrims and did not care how they worshipped the gods. Occasionally, there were people who bought incense and candles, but they just took them by themselves without checking whether the pilgrims had paid enough money.

As for any donation box, there was none. It looked just like a temple that was founded on a whim.

However, what is particularly surprising is that such a temple or Taoist temple, which is full of strangeness and does not conform to the rules in any way, has never had anyone from the government come to investigate. Apart from not providing free vegetarian meals, it is a truly quiet place.

As February approached, the cold snow that had blocked the entire winter finally stopped a little, but heavy rain began to fall from the sky, and the rain and snow made the temperature even colder.

The temple was unusually quiet. A young Taoist priest guarding the entrance held a peach wood sword as usual, performing his ordinary sword skills in the rain. It seemed as if he had no opponent in the rain. He was extremely cautious in every move and muttered something at the same time.

"The art of fighting is to achieve special effects when striking. You must know the location of the human organs and the key points of the human body. When facing the enemy, you can use your skills to achieve the right target and accurately injure and kill.

Tai Chi of both ears, the nucleus of the neck and throat, the central fossa of the abdomen, the hidden sac in the crotch... one strike will hit the target, and whoever is hit will be killed..."

Under the corridor in front of the main hall of the temple, an old Taoist with gray hair sat upright, holding a copy of the Tao Te Ching in his hands. His back was straight, but his eyes were narrowed into a line. If you got closer, you could hear a faint snoring sound.

There was snow in front of the courtyard that had not yet begun to melt, and raindrops were blowing down the eaves. The man on the small path in front of the temple was just practicing swordsmanship, and no one dared to disturb the old Taoist priest.

I don't know how long it took, but I heard the faint sound of wheels rolling on the ground, as if some pilgrims were coming to worship the gods in the rain.

Xiaodao had no distractions and was focused on exploring the killing techniques.

However, although he did not look at the pilgrims, he still stopped the drizzle sound from his mouth, and his movements became slower, making it look like an ordinary swordsmanship.

However, when he took a quick glance, he was stunned.

However, a two-horse carriage was seen driving out steadily in the layers of rain and fog. What was particularly strange was that this carriage had no driver, yet it was able to slowly and accurately drive towards this place.

Although it was called slow, its speed seemed very fast. It was clearly more than ten feet away from him in the previous breath, but it seemed to be approaching him in the next breath.

Xiaodao frowned, swung the peach wood sword in his hand into a sword flower, then put one hand behind his back and stared at the carriage, already a little alert in his heart.

But seeing that the carriage was still coming regardless, he finally strode forward and shouted loudly: "Is there anyone in the carriage? If not, I will take the initiative to use force!"

After he shouted, the carriage just kept getting closer, as if there was really no one in the carriage.

Something weird?
Xiaodao narrowed his eyes slightly, without hesitation, he strode forward, and then broke into a fast run. His body was as nimble as a rabbit, and with a touch of his toes on the ground, he rushed straight towards the curtain of the carriage, which was almost unaffected by the wind and rain, with his sword in hand.

Suddenly, the two horses pulling the carriage neighed loudly, stopped, raised their hooves upward, and then the curtain of the carriage was seen moving slightly.

Then at the same time, Xiaodao's face changed in shock.

But at this moment, two fingers wearing leather gloves slowly stretched out from behind the curtain, and then gently clamped the peach wood sword that was about to touch the curtain.

However, how can it be possible to be neither slow nor slow in this fast movement which only takes the time between breaths?
It can only be said that the owner of this finger is so fast that everything around him seems to have stopped. Even if Xiaodao used his most vigilant and swift move, it was as slow as a turtle at this speed.

hum-

The next moment, there seemed to be a trembling force coming from the wooden sword, which shocked Xiaodao so much that he had to let go of the hilt of the sword while his face changed color. Then he turned over and staggered back dozens of steps in embarrassment. Finally, he sat down on the ground and managed to steady himself.

Xiao Dao was horrified, and hurriedly waved his hand, turning his head and yelling.

"Master, there is..."

"I'm already out."

Behind him, the old Taoist holding the Tao Te Ching had stood in front of the mountain gate without him noticing when, his wrinkled face now full of energy.

He stretched himself and said cheerfully, "I haven't stretched my shoulders for a long time. I'll leave the task of guarding the old house to me. It's better for them to go to the north. It's boring, boring."

After saying that, he sniffed his nose and was delighted again: "Master?"

"Silly boy, watch carefully. I will only teach you this once what it means to truly use your skills in front of the enemy and kill him with one strike!"

Xiao Dao looked nervous, "Should we go call our uncle and the others?"

"No need, I'll just yell if I can't beat you."

The old Taoist casually put the Tao Te Ching into his arms, then flicked his hand, causing his Taoist robe to sway, and he pulled out a short Tang-made sword about three feet long from behind his waist.

"When facing an enemy, never act rashly."

As he gave instructions, he casually walked around the carriage with a sword in one hand, and pointed at the carriage with one hand, narrowing his eyes, "Especially for a master like this, you can't fight head-on."

Not far away, Xiaodao's heart was in his throat, his wrist was still numb, and he didn't know who was stronger, the mysterious man in the carriage or his master.

Just at this moment, the old Taoist suddenly moved sideways, turned his feet, and jumped into the front room of the carriage.

Then, in the look of astonishment in Xiaodao's eyes, he put on a grim smile, slapped the carriage with one palm, and at the same time slashed straight up with a knife from bottom to top.

wow——

However, under the huge force of this palm, the entire carriage suddenly trembled, and kept shaking backwards with a creaking sound. The barrier knife in the old Taoist's hand directly split the entire curtain, and then violently split half of the roof without any resistance, causing the carriage to suddenly explode to both sides, and most of the interior was exposed to the air.

However, as the noise suddenly occurred, the two horses pulling the cart became calm instead, without even a neighing sound.

"Master is using words to distract the people in the car, and then attacking them from the front!"

Seeing this scene, the Taoist priest was so excited that he almost shouted, "Master, what a great trick you have."

But the next moment, he was suddenly stunned.

In Gai Yin's sight, the old Taoist who was originally so arrogant and seemed to be ready to beat up all the enemies, was now just holding a barrier knife, but did not move forward even a single step. Instead, he stood there stupidly, his whole body stagnant, and the blade he raised with his backhand stayed in the air motionless, trembling slightly.

Xiaodao's heart tightened. He couldn't see clearly what was on the old Taoist's front. He just thought that his master had suffered some kind of injury. He rushed forward and shouted: "Masters, a strong enemy is coming!"

Boom!
As the shout ended, the old Taoist suddenly knelt heavily in the front room of the carriage, and his knees made a dull sound as they hit the wooden board.

Xiaodao stopped in a daze, looking stunned.

As the Taoist priest unexpectedly knelt down, he finally saw clearly who the so-called enemy in the carriage was.

A conical hat, a blue shirt, and a copper-black face mask.

And that figure who was sitting quietly but still looked majestic.

The hem of his robe swayed in the wind, and his two hands, which were covered with leather gloves, were now used to hold the scroll with one hand and turn the pages with the other.

At the side of his feet was the peach wood sword that Xiaodao had just held, lying there without any threat yet full of threat.

At this moment, he was just sitting astride the golden horse with a big sword, flipping through the book indifferently as if no one was around. If you look closely, you can see the three words "Fa Xiang Zhi" on the cover of the book.

At this time, the old Taoist who had just said "one strike will kill" was stunned for a long time, and finally bowed with the knife in his hand, embarrassed and excited.

"Your subordinate, I pay my respects to the Marshal. Long live the Marshal. I will obey your wishes!"

At this moment, the figures who had just climbed out from the wall of the Datang Temple did not stop at all. No matter if they sprained their ankles due to surprise or almost stumbled and fell, they all knelt on one knee and looked at each other, all of them just a little bit unbelievable.

Xiaodao was surprised and happy, happy and surprised, surprised with fear, and fear with joy, but he immediately knelt down with his fists clasped.

Marshal?

The immortal commander who has been worshipped as a god by the Yingzhou branch for three hundred years!
He plucked up the courage to look up, but saw that the figure in the carriage was still just quietly flipping through the "Dharma Records" before casually closing it, picking up the hat beside him and putting it on his head.

So majestic!
Seeing him finally stand up, Xiaodao was shocked again and lowered his head quickly.

In the carriage, Yuan Tiangang glanced at everyone before walking past the embarrassed old Taoist.

"Remember to feed the horse." The old Taoist trembled all over and shouted hoarsely.

"I will do my best to serve you!"

Yuan Tiangang walked leisurely with his hands behind his back past a group of kneeling figures, without saying a word from beginning to end.

However, just these few steps made all the old men over 50 years old excited.

You read it right. You really read it right.

The Marshal really was walking towards the Datang Temple!

Without mentioning how excited they were, Yuan Tiangang walked to the entrance of the temple with his hands behind his back, paused for a moment, glanced at the three words "Datang Temple" on the plaque under his bamboo hat, then silently withdrew his gaze and waved his fingers behind his back.

Inside the carriage, the peach wood sword swayed slightly, and then fell in front of the young Taoist priest who was kneeling beside it.

"Only when your internal strength is strong can you defeat the enemy with one move."

Xiao Dao was startled, and quickly bowed his head, stammering, "Subordinate, subordinate obeys the order."

Yuan Tiangang said no more and walked into the temple.

The remaining old men kneeling on the ground looked at each other, then quickly stood up and followed.

The old Taoist also hurriedly jumped off the carriage and picked up Xiaodao, who still had a dazed look on his face.

"I'm going to feed the horses, you go buy a carriage quickly, the best one with soft backing!"

Xiao Dao just reacted and said happily: "Master, the Marshal just said..."

"I heard you! Teach you! I'll teach you everything. I'll give you all my wealth! Go buy a carriage!"

……

Soon, the temple was closed and no longer accepted pilgrims that day.

Inside the nave.

A group of bad guys from the Yingzhou branch followed in, but saw Yuan Tiangang just standing in front of the commander's seat with his hands behind his back, not saying a word.

Everyone was naturally embarrassed.

Three hundred years ago, the seat at the head of the hall was a soft gilded seat large enough for lying down. Three hundred years later, it was just an extremely simple armchair.

"cough……"

A bad guy coughed dryly, stepped forward and said in a hoarse voice: "General, ever since that rebel sat on the commander's seat, the chair has been burned by our ancestors. You have never..."

Everyone looked at each other, and the hall was filled with an awkward atmosphere.

Fortunately, Yuan Tiangang didn't seem to care. He flicked his clothes, turned around and sat on the commander's seat, glanced at the central hall that looked both old and new, and then looked at the Yingzhou bad guys who only had a dozen people left.

"Yingzhou, just you guys?"

"Reporting to the commander, 90% of the veterans have gone north to search for... for Tian Anxing." A bad guy wanted to say something but stopped. Finally, seeing that Yuan Tiangang had no reaction, he finally responded carefully.

“It can be found.”

"According to the news from Lutai, a person whose life or death is unknown has escaped by chance... At that time, there was a strong wind at sea, and all the people who went out to sea to search were blown back, but they are still chasing."

"No need to chase."

The bad guy who reported the news did not hesitate at all and clasped his fists heavily: "As you command."

As he strode away, someone in the hall said solemnly, "Marshal, you have come to Yingzhou in person, but what is your mission? Marshal, rest assured, your subordinates only respect you. Even if you want the head of Tian'anxing, your subordinates will immediately inform everyone! There is no need for you to come in person..."

Yuan Tiangang slowly stroked the armrest and interrupted, "How is the war in Youzhou?"

The man was stunned for a moment, then clasped his fists and said, "It should be finishing."

"Can we win big?"

"I don't know."

Yuan Tiangang sneered and said casually: "Send someone to tell him that since he encountered a strong wind when he went out to sea, he still has a life to live. Tell him that if the chess piece does not fall on the chessboard, it means that his chess skills are not good enough."

"Run, run a trip?" The man was stunned at first, and then he immediately realized: "I will go to Youzhou to see Tian Anxing immediately."

He left in a hurry, and the rest of the people were once again stunned, some unsure of the Marshal's thoughts, but out of inertia, they did not think too much about it, but just asked carefully: "Marshal, what about us?"

"I came to Hebei just as a spectator."

"Follow the order."

……

Everyone respectfully left the central hall, and Yuan Tiangang was the only one left in the empty hall.

After a moment, a white-haired man walked out of the shadows out of nowhere, smiled and asked, "Bet?"

"Ah."

"You are not allowed to interfere, so just bet on whether your subordinate will help him."

"Since you are my subordinate, why can't I interfere?"

The white-haired man came closer, raised his eyebrows and chuckled: "Perhaps the Marshal also wants to see if your subordinate will change his mood because of this person."

"Pointless."

"How is it meaningless?" The white-haired man laughed and said, "Doesn't the Marshal always believe that every move has its meaning?"

"ridiculous."

Yuan Tiangang showed almost no emotion, just sitting there ignoring the front.

In the huge hall, darkness was everywhere, covering it layer by layer.

But only that commander's seat still stood under the dim light, just like the last ray of light that broke through the infinite darkness. Or perhaps, it was because of this ray of light that endless darkness was born.

"This commander will not change his state of mind."

------

In Bianliang, a cold wind blows.

Xuanming Sect.

"Meng Po, someone from Anle Pavilion wants to see you."

In the underground palace, Meng Po narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Anle Pavilion?"

"Exactly."

"Why?"

"It is said that he was delivering a letter for someone else."

"Deliver a message?"

The next moment, Meng Po took two steps back and forth, thinking for a while with some doubt, feeling a little confused.

"Go and get the letter. The man is driven away."

"Here."

(End of this chapter)