Chapter 6: Say Goodbye
It was still dark and the morning mist was thick when a cavalryman on horseback galloped hurriedly through the center of the street.

When he arrived at the governor's office in Zuocheng, he dismounted easily and threw the reins to the guard who was coming to meet him.

Because there was a triangular flag behind him, he was able to walk straight into the government office without anyone stopping him.

In the official residence, Zhu Hanbin, the governor of Caozhou, was awake in the middle of the night. He was wearing a wolf fur coat and sitting there taking a nap with his eyes closed.

The messenger rushed in and was a little confused when he saw this scene, and he didn't know what to do.

Fortunately, Zhu Hanbin opened his eyes after hearing the sound, and then stroked his short beard and said self-deprecatingly: "I am getting old. Back then, I led my men to travel through mountains and rivers for two days and nights without rest, and it was nothing. Now, I can't hold on for more than half a night..."

There was a sense of regret in his tone, but the staff beside him did not dare to continue his words, but flattered: "It is really because the current trivial matters in the city are not worth the Marshal's attention. The Marshal is in the prime of his life, how can he be said to be old?"

The former was indeed relieved, and then threw off his cloak and asked the messenger: "What's the situation?"

"Reporting to the commander, a small part of the Lin family pharmacy was burned down. A total of 21 corpses of the Xuanming Sect were found in the pharmacy and nearby neighborhoods. A secret passage was also found among them, but it has collapsed. For the time being, we cannot know what is inside."

Hearing that Xuanming Sect suffered heavy casualties, Zhu Hanbin did not take it seriously. Instead, he snorted coldly, "It is better for these people who cannot distinguish between ghosts and spirits to die... We don't need to worry about them, but we can find out where the other party is and find out which side they are from."

"The soldiers rushed over immediately, but they only caught a woman who failed to escape." The messenger was a little panicked. After a pause, he whispered, "During the escort, the woman took advantage of the situation and committed suicide by biting herself with poison..."

The staff member standing by frowned after hearing this, but just looked at Zhu Hanbin, waiting for his decision.

"Forget it, he's dead, but where are Lin Xiu's people?"

After hearing this, the messenger became even more terrified and said, "Lin Dalang is also missing. We only found this item in the pharmacy..."

The aide then walked over and took the scroll from the messenger.

A clerk brightened the candle a little, and Zhu Hanbin opened the scroll with his rough fingers, narrowing his eyes subconsciously.

The whole thing is earthy in color, but it feels very special, and it is hard to tell what it is made of. The two black shafts at the top and bottom also look quite old and have a very hard texture.

In the center of the shaft is an obscure pattern that forms a circle, and around it are graphics decorated with mountains and rivers.

On the other side, there are two characters written in ancient official script:
"Yanzhou".

The two words look very heavy, and at a glance, one is struck by a feeling of war and iron cavalry.

The staff looked eagerly, but were also confused.

Zhu Hanbin played with the scroll and frowned at the messenger, asking, "According to my military order, there should be a dozen soldiers at Lin Xiuzhi's disposal. Could it be that they don't know where the people have gone?"

"General, according to what Lin Dalang said, there are too many people in the pharmacy. I'm afraid it's not a good idea to let them fall into the trap."

"ridiculous."

Zhu Hanbin was delighted. He waved his hand and the messenger retreated quickly.

The staff beside him waited until his face looked a little better, and then said, "General, we have already captured a genuine former Tang rebel... If what Lin Dalang said is true, and if the deceased Xiao Shinan is really one of the thirty-six captains of the former dynasty, then the general has already made a contribution to His Majesty. Why should he continue to accompany the Xuanming Sect to make trouble? If there is another disaster at that time, wouldn't it cause trouble for the general..."

"You don't understand my thoughts. Now that we are alone, I will speak to you directly."

Zhu Hanbin put the scroll down and sighed softly, but if someone looked directly at his face at this moment, they would find that his eyes were very fierce.

"Since the death of Madam Wei two years ago, Your Majesty has been depressed. I am also an official in a foreign post, so I am inevitably worried that there will be villains in the central government, making Your Majesty doubt my loyalty. That is why I have to do my best to hunt down and kill the remnants of the former Tang Dynasty to prove my intentions. I know that what the Xuanming Sect is doing is nothing more than unifying the martial arts world, eliminating the rebels, and pursuing the illusory Li Tang treasure, but what I want is to please Your Majesty one day and be able to return to the central government."

He talked a lot, but his staff broke out in cold sweats.

The latter could certainly understand the main idea behind his commander's words.

Being a provincial governor means being far away from the center and not having military power. Without troops, he would be inferior to others, and if he was purged, it would only take a word from others.

What's more, the stories of Zhu Zhen and Shi Shuzong from previous years are still fresh in our minds.

The commander wants to return to the center and take control of the military power again...

Thinking of this, the staff member bowed and said, "I am short-sighted and cannot match the foresight of the commander-in-chief. In this case, I will order the shogunate to do its best for this matter."

Zhu Hanbin laughed, waved his hand modestly, and then handed the mysterious scroll to his aide.

"Let's give this item to the Xuanming Sect first... Who will come forward this time?"

"It's Jiang Yuanxin, the Yuansheng Yanjun of the Taishan branch. It is said that the other four Yanjuns are on their way to Caozhou."

"Oh, these things are worthy of being called a king?" The former showed a hint of mockery on his face, and said to his staff, "I don't want to show up, you give the things to them, and let them quickly find the fake son and find out the secret of this scroll. If they succeed, I can also suppress these Li Tang rebels earlier and report to Bianliang."

"The two battalions of troops transferred into the city are now..."

"Don't move." Zhu Hanbin frowned and said, "Hang the woman who committed suicide on the top of the city wall, and send another battalion into the city. Let each district count the heads according to the register. The city gates will be sealed for the next few days. I want to see where this person is missing!"

"As ordered, I will let the shogunate start..."

After the staff left, Zhu Hanbin smiled coldly.

He squinted his eyes, placed his palms in front of his eyes and slowly spread them out.

In the sight, his hand seemed to have covered the entire sky of Caozhou.

----

The sky was still a little dim, but some light had already peeked out from the clouds, dispelling some of the haze.

There were still snowflakes falling in the sky, but they were much smaller than at night. The light snow particles floated down, slowly landed on the girl's eyelashes, and then gradually turned into water droplets.

The long and thick eyelashes trembled slightly.

Ji Ruxue was awakened instantly by this.

Her first reaction was to look for her sword.

However, the scene before her made her suddenly stunned.

From the sight, this place is just a thatched house without a roof. Most of the wall that should have supported the door has collapsed, and the beams are nowhere to be found. The cold wind from all directions keeps blowing in with snow particles.

Similarly, beneath her was just a pile of half-wet dry grass.

Xiao Yan was squatting on the other side of the hut, boiling a bitter-tasting medicine in a broken pottery bowl.

She licked her lips and could also taste a bitter taste.

"You cured me of the poison?"

She struggled to stand up by supporting herself against the earth wall, and looked at Xiao Yan: "Why didn't the poison work on you?"

Only then did she see the skinny old man leaning against the wall opposite Xiao Yan, still unconscious.

"The poison in your body has been resolved."

Xiao Yan picked up the hot ceramic bowl with his hands, but did not answer Ji Ruxue's subsequent question. Instead, he said, "You saved my life before, and now I have saved your life too. We are even now."

"what for?"

The girl frowned as she looked at the bowl of medicine handed over, but she had no time to care about the other party's iron hand. She raised her eyebrows and said to him: "We agreed before that we would return to Zuiyin Tower after the matter was completed."

"Look at where this is."

Ji Ruxue was surprised when she heard that, then staggered to the broken wall and looked outside.

In the snow, several isolated houses have collapsed, leaving only a few piles of rubble, forming a mound of earth.

In the distance, the white fields stretch as far as the eye can see, hidden in the fog.

The cold wind blew snow towards her, causing all her scattered hair to fly back.

It also made her feel confused.

Behind him, Xiao Yan's voice came without much emotion.

"This bowl is for replenishing qi and blood."

"Drink it, and we'll be even, and we'll say goodbye."

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(End of this chapter)