Chapter 192 A superior move
Outside the gate of Xuanming Instructor's Office, across two long streets, there stood an inn which was deserted.

As an inn located in the capital of Daliang, one of the most luxurious metropolises in the Central Plains and even in the world, it should not have such a small number of customers. However, the biggest flaw of the inn is that it is too close to the government office of the Xuanming Sect.

Even though it was two streets away, the faint deathly aura seemed to be reflected here, not to mention that the ghosts from the Xuanming Sect rode past on horseback on weekdays. How could a normal person dare to stay here? Therefore, the business of the inn has always been quiet, and few people are brave enough to stay here.

However, there are many abnormal people in this world.

In the guest room on the second floor facing the street, a window was slightly opened. Lu Yan, with his thin cheeks and prominent cheekbones, stood by the window, looking out through the gap.

Of course, his main target was still the Xuanming Sect Yamen in the distance. At the same time, his eyes kept glancing around, scanning the street scenes and even corners outside, appearing to be extremely cautious.

After a long while, he leaned his body against the wall and took two steps back. Then he sat down with difficulty, panting and holding his waist.

On the table, there was a talisman and bottles and jars of various sizes scattered around. The latter contained some medicines for wounds, while the former were the talisman that Li Zhen had given him in Youzhou.

But Lu Yan was very cautious. He drifted on the sea for many days and was finally rescued by a fisherman who was fishing at sea. The fisherman first helped him to take care of his festering wounds and then took him home to see a doctor for treatment.

Of course, Lu Yan couldn't let more people know where he was. After his injuries got a little better and his strength recovered a little, he killed the fisherman's family and the doctor who treated him, and then robbed their family's property and sneaked carefully towards Bianliang.

Along the way, he hijacked horses, disguised himself as a beggar, and dragged his almost crippled body to Bianliang alone.

As for what Li Zhen had told him before, that he would give the token to local officials to prove his identity after getting ashore, he had never thought about it at all.

First, because Li Zhen's staff was not by his side, he was a Hebei native and did not know the inside story of Daliang. He would make more mistakes and fall into danger without knowing it. Second, he felt that the Marshal Xiao who was making great changes in Hebei might have considerable power in the Central Plains.

Since he could drive the entire Fanyang Lu family to work for him as a warlord, he might have connections in the Central Plains. Lu Yan did not think that Li Zhen's official status could protect him.

So along the way, he trusted no one but himself. No matter if they were passers-by or benefactors, as long as they were slightly familiar to him, he would kill them all.

Even now that he had finally arrived in Bianliang, he had only cautiously spent a lot of money to find a passerby to convey his message to the Xuanming Sect. However, he had been hiding in this inn, observing the situation of the Xuanming Sect. If there was anything wrong, he would escape immediately.

"hiss……"

Lu Yan carefully uncovered his outer robe and then his dirty gauze on his arms and abdomen, which was already yellow with pus, revealing the dark arrow wounds underneath. Gong Yangzuo and his men had used such great force that day that they almost took away half of his life. If it weren't for the fact that the arrow wounds didn't hit his vital parts, and he had such an extraordinary will, he wouldn't have survived until now.

Although he knew that if he was really targeted by the Xuanming Sect, his chances of escaping would be slim, but he almost lost his life along the way and escaped like a beast. How could he be willing to fall down at the moment before success?
There was a knock on the door.

Lu Yan subconsciously clenched the dagger hidden in his sleeve.

"Sir, the boiling hot water you requested is ready."

He heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that, but he still said cautiously, "Just leave it at the door."

Then he heard the waiter outside the door mutter something, bend down, put down the basin, and walk away.

Lu Yan then stood up with great pain, first carefully checked the movement outside at the side of the door, and then opened the door and brought in the hot water himself.

Then, while cleaning the wound and applying medicine, he stood by the window again and looked at the Xuanming Instructor's Office through the gap.

After a while, there was finally movement from the other side. Two ghost soldiers rode out on their horses and came along the street.

He looked around sharply, and when he saw no one else coming, his expression eased a little. Then, he coldly watched the two ghosts go to the fake address he gave, until he saw that the two did not draw their swords, nor did they do anything wrong, but instead cursed impatiently at the bewildered shopkeeper, and then he finally felt relieved.

In a moment, he quickly packed up, picked up the talisman, and ran out into the street while enduring the discomfort from his wound.

"Please wait for a moment, you two. I am Lu Yan from Youzhou."

The two ghost soldiers obviously realized that Lü Yan was on guard against them, so they couldn't help but yell, "Who do you think you are? How dare you spy on your Xuanming Sect master?"

Lu Yan's expression remained unchanged. He walked up quickly, hiding a few copper coins in his sleeves, and said in a deep voice, "Please forgive me, the things I carry are of great importance, so I have to be cautious. This is not a sign of respect. I will reward you handsomely after I meet the Underworld Emperor downstairs."

"You are quite sensible, so let's go."

The two ghosts weighed the copper coins in their hands, looked at them with a little contempt, and then put them into their arms very skillfully.

Lu Yan then climbed onto his horse without any courtesy, but he could no longer suppress the excitement in his heart. Thinking about how difficult it had been for him to come this far, he finally...

The two riders carried him straight to the side door of the Xuanming Instructor's Office.

However, when Lu Yan turned his head, he could see a man who looked like a waiter carrying a food box, looking at this side from a distance.

Faintly, he could hear a questioning voice.

"When will your Anle Pavilion launch new dishes..."

However, before Lu Yan could digest the three words "Anle Pavilion" that seemed familiar, two riders had already carried him away from the street.

In the distance, a waiter from Anle Pavilion, with a sweat towel draped over his shoulder, replied to the diners while picking up the food box and leaving. Then he squinted at the direction where the two riders left.

He ran out of the street at a brisk pace, but the pedestrians on both sides were already used to it. Because this outfit was the standard outfit for Anle Pavilion's deliverymen, a food box, a blue suit, a sweat towel, and he ran very fast, faster than a horse in the city, so what else could he be but a deliveryman?
The man ran across several long streets and entered the back hall of Anle Pavilion through the side door.

"Reporting to the Heavenly Speed ​​Star, the Lü Yan that the Captain mentioned has appeared."

"This guy is lucky and cautious. Did you see anything?"

"I have not seen it, but I guess that given this person's caution, he might not carry the thing with him."

"That's true." Duan Chengtian was holding a toothpick in his mouth and cutting tofu with his hands. He narrowed his eyes and said, "The people outside the city should not move. Send a few people to keep an eye on them. If the people the captain asked to do so don't take action, we will use all means, no matter how many people we lose, to prevent this guy from leaving Xuanming Sect alive."

"Follow the order."

The few people waiting nearby all looked serious and left in a hurry. Duan Chengtian continued to cut tofu calmly.

But after a moment, he stopped, hissed, frowned and asked himself.

"How did the captain know that Meng Po was Shi Yao from the Heavenly Blessing Star..."

Obviously, this problem seemed to have troubled him for a long time.

However, no matter if he could figure it out or not, he just kept this information to himself, and no one could say anything...

------

"Come in, Meng Po will meet you in person."

Inside the underground palace, two ghost soldiers pushed open the palace door. The eerie dark fires on both sides illuminated Lu Yan's slightly changed expression.

He subconsciously became cautious and asked calmly, "My lords, I wish to see the Underworld Emperor."

"You, want to see the Hades?"

A ghost soldier thought he had heard a big joke, and then he looked at Lu Yan and said with a sneer: "If you hadn't claimed to be from Hebei, how could you have come here? The Dark Emperor is still in seclusion, and you still want to see him?"

The other ghost sneered, "Stupid, for the sake of money, I'll give you a tip. When the Dark Emperor is in seclusion, Meng Po has always been in charge of the Xuanming Sect. Meng Po is the person the Dark Emperor trusts the most, and she is also the elder of our Xuanming Sect. If Meng Po is willing to meet you and listen to your bullshit secrets, it's a great honor for your ancestors."

After hearing this, Lu Yan finally felt relieved.

Although Li Zhen meant that only the Hades could be trusted, there couldn't be any problem with Meng Po, whose name was known to the whole world, right?

Moreover, Lü Yan had heard from Li Zhen that the father and son of Zhu Wen of Daliang were not on good terms, especially the Dark Emperor Zhu Yougui, who was often suppressed by Zhu Wen. Since Meng Po was trusted by the Dark Emperor and allowed to take power during his seclusion, it was obvious that she was someone he absolutely trusted.

The Xuanming Sect has been established for thirty years, and Meng Po's position in the sect is still as solid as a rock. There is no way there can be any problem.

And the most crucial point is that the situation is urgent, and he can only use Meng Po to awaken the Hades who is in seclusion. He has no choice, and if he replaces someone else, Lu Yan does not have the confidence to believe it.

Thinking of this, Lu Yan finally smiled with relief and bowed to the two ghost soldiers, "Thank you for your mission, Lu is very grateful and will reward you handsomely in the future."

After saying this, he clenched his fists and entered the hall cautiously amid the arrogant laughter of the two ghosts.

However, after he entered the hall, the two ghosts did not leave. After closing the door of the hall, they stood guard on the left and right, as if they were on guard against someone suddenly breaking in.

……

The hall in this underground palace was filled with only lamps of underworld fire, making it seem extremely dark and eerie. However, as a man who had survived nine deaths, Lu Yan would not be afraid of these things.

He quickly looked around the hall, only to find it was empty, with no one in sight.

But just as he frowned, an old woman with a crutch suddenly walked out from the high platform at the top.

The view was too dark, and Lü Yan could not see the specific appearance of the old woman, but after a moment of hesitation, he took the lead in bowing with his hands folded: "I am Lü Yan of Yichang Army, entrusted by Lord Li of Youzhou, and I am carrying the talisman and important items across the sea to the south to seek an audience with the Emperor of the Underworld." At the head of the palace, Meng Po finally spoke hoarsely: "Lord Li... Inspector of the Ministry of Rites Li Zhen?"

"That's right." Lü Yan took out the talisman from his bosom without being servile or arrogant, and said, "This is the talisman that Lord Li sent to patrol on behalf of the heaven. Please ask Meng Po to check it."

The next moment, a suction force suddenly arose and pulled the talisman in his hand to the head of the hall.

"It is indeed true."

After reading the talisman, Meng Po's tone seemed to be slightly softened, and she said, "Li Zhen and the Dark Emperor have always had the intention of cooperating privately, and this move was even kept secret from His Majesty and the court officials. Only I and a few others knew about it. Since Li Zhen asked you to come and find the Dark Emperor, it is clear that he trusts you. But I am surprised. Li Zhen has only been in Hebei for half a year. Since he has a secret to pass on to the Dark Emperor, why didn't he send someone familiar to me? Only you?"

After hearing this, Lu Yan felt relieved again, so he said without blushing, "To be honest with you, when I followed Lord Li's order to break out and head south, I did have a hundred people with me. However, the way out was very difficult. Fortunately, a group of warriors risked their lives to escort me, so that I and the two chiefs under Lord Li were lucky enough to board the ship.
However, the chief Li Gong was seriously injured before boarding the ship, and unfortunately died on the way due to a storm at sea. I did not dare to carry his body to avoid attracting attention, so I abandoned it at sea, so only I managed to survive..."

"Break out?" Meng Po frowned and said hoarsely, "From what you said, the Yan army is so powerful that it forced you to take the sea route?"

After hearing this, Lu Yan was finally overwhelmed with grief. He wanted to perform so hard that he burst into tears. He sobbed and vividly recounted all his experiences, such as how Xiao Yan plotted the chaos in Yan behind the scenes, how Li Zhen was forced into such a difficult situation, and how badly they were surrounded and suppressed when they broke out.

For example, how Xiao Yan infiltrated the former Tang Dynasty bad guys under his command into the Xuanming Sect, triggering the Luoyang Incident last year...

From beginning to end, Meng Po just listened quietly.

In the end, Lu Yan looked at the calm Meng Po and stopped talking in surprise. He became a little alert and said in surprise while wiping his tears: "Meng Po, why are you..."

"Don't worry, the Hades Emperor has long suspected these things." Meng Po paced back and forth, and said in a hoarse voice: "For people like Xiao Yan, the Hades Emperor has always regarded them as evil people who bring disaster to Daliang, but he has never had any evidence. After listening to your words today, I really remembered some clues... Hand over the things that Li Zhen entrusted to me."

Lu Yan felt relieved again, and then he crossed his hands and bowed: "To be honest with you, Meng Po, I was afraid that this thing might be lost, so I hid it outside the city before coming here. Please allow me to go down and get it."

"No problem, just tell me the location and I'll send someone to get it."

"This..." Lu Yan hesitated slightly.

Seeing this, Meng Po said in a hoarse voice: "To deal with Xiao Yan, you are the key witness. I can't guarantee whether you have been targeted by someone before you joined Xuanming Sect. From today on, you will stay in Xuanming Sect for the time being to ensure your safety."

After thinking it over again and again, Lu Yan faced Meng Po's vague gaze and finally gritted his teeth and told the truth.

After he finished speaking, he finally felt relieved and bowed with his hands folded: "I have handed over everything that Lord Li entrusted to Meng Poer."

"Okay, you go down and wait for a while. After I have seen the things, I will go and ask the Hades to come out of seclusion."

Lu Yan felt relieved, and then hurriedly said: "I thank Meng Po, but there is one more thing. My family was sent to Bianliang by Lord Li. I hope Meng Po can help me..."

"I will look into this matter."

Lu Yan finally felt relieved, but after his nerves relaxed, he felt the pain in his wound again.

However, compared to getting things done, this injury can be healed slowly in the future, and after meeting the Hades Emperor, he may ask the Hades Emperor to heal him. So for now, he just gritted his teeth and endured it, bowed again, and turned to leave.

But at this moment, a sound of breaking air suddenly came from behind him.

Immediately, a wooden stick pierced straight through Lu Yan's back and went straight through his entire waist and abdomen.

Under the tremendous force, he was thrown forward and rolled on the damp and bloody floor. He finally spat out a large mouthful of dirty blood and lay on the floor in disbelief. Then he held the wooden stick that was protruding from his abdomen in a daze, his face pale, and looked at the head of the palace.

"Meng, why is Meng Po..."

Amid this flustered and confused questioning, the old woman walked slowly through the darkness, hunched over, and came in front of him.

Blood kept oozing out of Lu Yan's abdomen, and even the corners of his mouth were filled with blood. His whole body was trembling, and his eyes were wide open, filled with astonishment, fear, panic, fear, and regret...

"Actually, I'm not interested in killing you."

Meng Po looked very funny with her back hunched and her hands behind her back, but her slow tone only made Lu Yan feel endless panic.

"I am not interested in how you and Li Zhen deal with Xiao Yan. Whether he lives or dies, wins or loses, it has no impact on me."

"Why did Meng Po ..."

Lu Yan was holding the wooden stick that pierced his abdomen, sweating profusely. He was already numb all over from the pain, but he just kept stretching out his hands, trying to hold on to that last bit of hope.

"I can pretend that I know nothing... I beg Meng Po to forgive me... I beg Meng Po to forgive me... I have finally..."

Amid the pleading, Meng Po squatted down, her old eyes were full of turbidity, but at a certain moment, they suddenly became a little clear.

"But, Xiao Yan seems to be right in one sentence -

If you don't die, the vitality of the Bad People may decline by ten years. My decades of planning may also be overturned in one day.

It may not be easy for you, but do you know what I have been doing for the past thirty years?"

Lu Yan's eyes widened again, almost to the limit. His mouth opened and closed, but he could hardly make a sound. Then a mouthful of blood gushed out, flowing all over his entire chest.

Until this moment, he finally realized the deathly intent looming over him, turned around and began to crawl out tremblingly.

Behind him, Meng Po showed no emotion at all. She just watched him slowly crawl forward, leaving a trail of blood.

She shook her head and said, "Forget it. Even if I tell you, you won't understand why I, a bad guy, have been lying dormant for decades."

Hearing this, Lu Yan's whole body trembled, his palms turned into claws, and he just crawled forward desperately.

"By the way, the boy said in the letter that he admires you very much. In my opinion, if he were in Bianliang, he might spare your life.

Unfortunately, I have never paid attention to that boy's opinions."

The next moment, before Lu Yan could say anything, his whole body suddenly stiffened. It turned out that the wooden stick stuck in his back had been caught by Meng Po in mid-air.

He continued to crawl forward in panic, but began to feel weak.

A light purple wave of light slowly emanated from the tip of the wooden stick and then spread across Lu Yan's entire body.

Meng Po had no expression on her face. She slowly gathered her hands together and said indifferently, "If you want to blame someone, blame Li Zhen for letting you get involved in the Xuanming Sect."

The latter just stretched out his hand with all his strength and reached forward, his mouth opening and closing with blood and choking hoarsely.

"I shouldn't have believed it..."

Suddenly, the hall became quiet.

A corpse turned into ashes in the rippling waves.

Meng Po took back the wooden stick and walked through the darkness calmly.

She didn't even bother to think about what Lu Yan meant by "shouldn't trust". Was it about whether he shouldn't trust her, shouldn't trust Li Zhen, or shouldn't trust the world...

To her, it was just a trivial matter of solving one of the countless threats to the Xuanming Sect's bad people over the past thirty years.

This Lu Yan might really be a rare talent, with a tough mind, a firm goal, a strong will, and strategies and even skills that others could not match. He paid an unimaginable price to survive all the way to the Central Plains.

But, he stood in front of the bad guys.

It was also hard for him to imagine what price the Bad People had paid over the past thirty or even a hundred years.

Meng Po slowly leaned on her wooden staff and called in the two ghosts outside.

"Go and retrieve what he has hidden. At the same time, send someone to find this man's family and tell them not to have anything to do with Li Zhen. You should know what to do."

The two men clasped their fists and hurried away.

Meng Po stayed alone in the underground palace hall, thinking for a while, but still couldn't understand.

Finally, the old woman's figure turned into a sigh and disappeared into the darkness.

----

"Tell the captain that the Central Plains chess piece has been put into the basket, so he should not worry."

(End of this chapter)