Chapter 455: Looking Back Every Step

October 27th is an unlucky day. Disasters are directed to the south, so it is not advisable to travel far.

Outside Guangyuan City in Youzhou, standing on the top of a mountain overlooking Yunlu, the setting sun is as golden as gold, shining on the huge green tripod in front of the Taoist temple, with white smoke curling up.

A blood-red figure was busy going back and forth. The lingering incense and white smoke had not yet burned out, but Shan Ji had already packed his bag. Finally, he instructed Huo Luyu, who was standing at the door in a Taoist robe with an extremely worried expression,

"Remember this: when I'm away, no one is allowed to open the door. If anyone dares to climb over the wall, they will be immediately killed by the arrows I have installed along the wall.

I've prepared rice, noodles, fruits, vegetables, herbs, cloth, and other things in the cellar. You don't have to go shopping for at least six months. I'm telling you again, you're not allowed to go out alone, do you understand? "

Huo Luyu nodded, and watched with concern as Shan Ji quickly tied hidden arrows and concealed weapons to his body:

"Are you going to be gone long?"

"I don't know. I ride my horse day and night. I can reach Kyoto as early as the first of November. It depends on the situation afterwards. I will come back as long as I kill the dog emperor!" Shan Jiqi stopped and read the letter sent by the Wuyi Blood Guard spy again.

The more he looked at it, the angrier he got. He couldn't help but throw the letter to the ground, crushing it to pieces, and cursing:

"You bastard emperor! You shouldn't have just threatened her, you should have killed her outright! She wouldn't have the right to humiliate Chen'er like this now! Damn it!"

Although Shan Ji lived in this Taoist temple with Huo Luyu, he had always arranged spies from the Wuyi Blood Guard to report on Yun Chen's recent situation every now and then without disturbing Yun Chen.

The palace coup in Kyoto happened too suddenly. When the spy of Wuyi Blood Guard learned the news, Yun Chen had already handed over the military power. When he sent an urgent letter to Shan Ji, Yun Chen had already been taken into Yan Mansion.

From the letter, Shan Ji roughly understood what had happened.

When he heard that Yun Chen was going to be forced to marry Yan Shijiu, just imagining Yun Chen's aggrieved and suffering look made Shan Ji's forehead bulge with veins, and he wished he could stab a knife into Nan Lijun's throat right now.

Huo Luyu had also read the letter, and his heart was as worried as Shan Ji's.

But in order not to cause trouble to Shan Ji and delay his quick journey, and also in order not to give Nan Lijun a new weakness to restrain Huo Gannian, Huo Luyu chose to stay in the Taoist temple and wait for Shan Ji to come back.

She thought for a moment, frowned and advised:

"Is there any way to do it without assassination? The emperor is in the deep palace, guarded by many imperial guards and the imperial army. It is really difficult to succeed. I am afraid..."

I'm afraid you're too dangerous, Shan Ji.

Huo Luyu didn't say this out loud, but Shan Ji understood. While he was putting the dagger into his boots, he took the time to look up and smiled at Huo Luyu with his white teeth bared. Then his brows darkened again and he cursed:

"That dog emperor must be killed! She was able to force Chen'er to surrender this time, and she must have used her family, friends...everyone Chen'er cares about to threaten her. This despicable nature will never change. Don't expect that dog emperor to have a change of heart and change for the better. Only by killing her can we put an end to it once and for all!"

After saying this, he saw Huo Luyu's brows were tightly knitted together, his face wrinkled nervously, and he kept biting his lips unconsciously, making them red and slightly swollen. Shan Ji couldn't help but feel moved. He boldly stretched out his index finger and gently hooked Huo Luyu's fair face, then patted his shoulder and said with a smile:

"Hey, Taoist Priest Lu Yu, do you think I'm just some mediocre junior with some mediocre skills? I'm the leader of the Wuyi Blood Guards. There's no one in this world who can fight me on equal terms, understand? Don't you agree, Qing Yuan—"

Shan Ji said this while looking at the young man who was fiddling with the mechanism by the wall.

Qingyuan is the name Shan Ji gave to the young man.

Although it sounds a bit feminine, it sounds quite unique and young people say they like it.

Shan Ji also particularly liked this new guy. More than a year ago, on the day when the Lion and Tiger Army left Youzhou, he rescued a young man who was beaten to death from a group of slave traders.

When Shan Ji learned that the young man was willing to sell himself as a slave in order to buy a coffin and a grave for his deceased mother, he bought the young man without saying a word.

In Shan Ji's opinion, a child who is filial to his mother cannot be that bad, so he gave the young man the name "Qing Yuan" and kept him by his side to teach him every day.

Although Qing Yuan had never learned kung fu before, he had a very high level of comprehension and learned things very quickly. He was careful and hardworking and never sloppy. He also took care of all the miscellaneous work inside and outside the Taoist temple, and was willing to be summoned by Shan Jichengtian and be ordered around to run errands and do odd jobs.

Although the Qingyuan people are diligent and studious, they are also aloof and have a bit of a temper. Even towards Shan Ji, they often look at him with a sour face.

This actually suited Shan Ji's taste even more. He felt that Qing Yuan, this kid, with his rebellious spirit, was really too much like himself back then.

"Hey, kid, after I leave, you have to keep the Taoist temple safe and take good care of your master's wife, do you hear me?" Shan Ji shouted.

The word "Master's wife" made Huo Luyu blush and pinched Shan Ji.

Qing Yuan didn't even raise her head, and said impatiently:

"Ang ang ang! I've said it a hundred and eighty times, and you still say it! When people get old, they talk too much."

"Hey, I'm going to..." Shan Ji wanted to grab a stone and throw it at Qing Yuan, but he found that the yard inside and out had been cleaned by Qing Yuan.

There was such a large yard and so many crabapple trees, but not a single fallen flower. Even Huo Luyu's favorite gentian flowers had their roots trimmed neatly and were placed on the altar.

Shan Ji could only walk over, grab Qing Yuan's neck from behind, and scolded with a smile:

"Who are you calling old? You're talking to the Sect Leader like that. Do you want to die? Do you still want to learn Qi cultivation from me?"

"Cough cough..." Qing Yuan was strangled and coughed non-stop. She wanted to struggle, but she couldn't get free. Soon her face turned red, but she refused to beg for mercy. She only said:

"You're not the Sect Master, cough cough... You're my Master! Cough cough cough... How can a Master bully his disciple like this?!"

Seeing Qing Yuan's clumsy resistance and his inability to resist, Shan Ji couldn't help but laugh out loud. He loosened his hand and deliberately ruffled his hair. Then, under Qing Yuan's disdainful eyes, he picked up the bag and walked out, straightening his face:

"I'm leaving now, to kill the dog emperor!"

After walking two meters, Shan Ji turned back to look at Huo Luyu, patted the package on his shoulder, and asked her:

"Did you put the things you wanted me to bring to Chen'er in my package?"

"I'm pretending," Huo Luyu said. She didn't have much to bring Yun Chen, just a large vase of brightly colored dried crabapple flowers that she had stored away last year.

The mountain was silent. I continued walking out, took two steps, and then turned back:

"Where's the hairpin I gave you? It has a hidden blade. At critical moments, if you press the gem on the hairpin, the blade will pop out. It can be used for self-defense. Do you have it with you?"

Huo Luyu took off his silk scarf, tilted his head slightly, and showed Shan Ji his shiny black hair, "I've got it, don't worry."

"Oh." Shan Ji responded and continued walking out.

When he reached the gate, he stopped again.

This time, before Shan Ji could turn around and say anything, Qing Yuan, who had been watching him impatiently, pushed him out the door and muttered to himself, "What are you doing?"

"This guy keeps looking back every few steps. When will he stop? I'm responsible for everything in the temple, including eating, drinking, defecating and urinating. I'm here, and the Master's wife is here too. What's there to worry about? Just leave now, you're so nagging!"

Shan Ji was pushed out of the temple gate and cursed angrily: "You are getting more and more daring. How dare you push me?" But before he could finish his words, Qing Yuan hit him on the nose with a door panel.

Qing Yuan fastened the bolt, clapped her hands, breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and said to Huo Luyu, "The autumn wind is too cold, please go inside." However, Huo Luyu did not move, still looking at the gate quietly, as if waiting for a scene that was bound to appear.

Sure enough, the next moment, a figure in red, as red as fire, jumped onto the high wall, carefully avoided the location of the mechanism, and stood next to the most prosperous crabapple tree.

Shan Ji tightened the bag on his shoulders, his unruly eyebrows and eyes were coated with gentleness, and the arrogance around him was completely restrained, leaving only his fair and handsome profile hidden in the brilliant light of the setting sun.

He pointed to the half-opened bud on the crabapple tree beside him and waved at Huo Luyu:

"I'll be back when the flowers are in full bloom, I promise."

After saying that, he jumped off the wall in a dashing manner, and his figure disappeared into the vast dusk accompanied by the sound of horse hooves gradually fading away.

Huo Luyu stood still for a moment, then smiled unconsciously, then turned around and went back to the house.