Longevity begins with slaying demons and eliminating demons

Chapter 296 Rescue
After Gu Xu finished writing the letter, he handed it over to the yamen servant beside him, and planned to send it to Shen Qiu through the channel of the Exorcist Department.

Afterwards, he left the intelligence department, turned around and walked towards the exorcist's warehouse.

Now he has thousands of merits in his name, which is enough to exchange for one "Empty Breaking Orb", allowing him to tear through the void and rush to Lin'an City in the first time.

But as soon as he went out, Shangguan Jin stopped him.

"Do you need me to take you there?" She smiled slightly, and the slender and sharp "Tian Yue Sword" appeared in her hand out of nowhere, with a light blue cold light shining, "It can help you save some merit."

"Thank you," Gu Xu said politely, "but I don't want to bother you. I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time today."

Shangguan Jin seemed a little dissatisfied with his attitude.

"We are all colleagues under the same roof, why do you say such a strange thing?" She glanced at him, frowned slightly, and pretended to blame, "And I think that you will definitely need me when you go to Lin'an this time." place to help."

As she spoke, she took out a document from her sleeve and handed it to Gu Xu.

"This is the investigation document of the Exorcism Division," she introduced, "Gu Daoyou, you should know that during the mission process, the monks of the Exorcism Division sometimes need to enter private residences, sectarian gates, or other government offices. These places are usually off-limits to outsiders.

"However, if you hold this document in your hand, you are equivalent to representing the imperial court and conducting case investigations in the name of the Exorcism Department. Anyone who blocks you from the door is against the imperial court."

Of course Gu Xu could hear what she meant.

He went to Lin'an He's mansion to find someone. If he didn't have a legitimate reason, then there was a high probability that he would be turned away by the other party.

Shangguan Jin's investigation document can obviously give him an official name.

"You are really thoughtful." Gu Xu thanked him sincerely.

"Thank you for the compliment." Shangguan Jin imitated his previous tone, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and said.

At this time, Gu Xu also noticed that this document not only had the official seal of the Exorcist Division, but also the autograph of Chief Luo.

"Has the chief minister also paid attention to this matter?" He asked.

"Actually, this is my signature," Shangguan Jin smiled, and seeing Gu Xu's expression changed slightly, she added, "To be precise, the signatures on all investigation documents in the Exorcist Division are I wrote it. Mr. Chief is worried about state affairs and manages a lot of things every day. We will do it for him for such small things."

"Nobody recognizes it?"

"As long as Chief Luo doesn't raise any objections, others will recognize him, so what?"

Gu Xu nodded.

Since Chief Luo seldom shows up in public and expresses his views, a close follower like Shangguan Jin is often regarded as the spokesperson of Chief Luo.People often speculate on Luo Sishou's thoughts through her every move.

"But I still plan to go to the warehouse to exchange for an 'Empty Breaking Orb'," he said, "There are thousands of miles between Lin'an City and Luojing. Compared with flying with Yujian, using the 'Empty Breaking Orb' can at least save a few dollars." An hour's time--this time is crucial to rescue a tortured and unconscious mortal.

"Friend Shangguan, you have given me a lot of help today, and I am very grateful. I will do the rest by myself."

After finishing speaking, he took the investigation document Shangguan Jin gave him and hurriedly walked towards the end of the corridor.

Shangguan Jin stood where he was, silently watching his leaving back.

After a while, she chuckled and shook her head, and took out a few transparent beads from her pocket.

It's the "Empty Breaking Orb".

She hesitated for a while, considering whether to crush a bead and go to Lin'an City together - Shen Qiu's mother is a mortal, if she is seriously injured and her life is in danger, as a skilled doctor, she should be able to save her life with a high probability .

But thinking that Gu Xu was always rejecting her, she still gave up on this plan and took back all the "Hole Breaking Orbs".

She told herself that after all, this was a private matter between Gu Xu and his disciples, and with his ability, he should be able to handle it easily.

Shangguan Jin has always regarded himself as an egoist.

For a long time, she may have given others some help, but she often weighed the pros and cons, and would never do things without asking for anything in return.

Today can be said to be an accident.

"Maybe I should ask him for some reward." She thought silently.

So, she took out the "Shenji Token", and with a thought, sent a message to Gu Xu:
[Linghu: Fellow Daoist Gu, if you encounter trouble in Lin'an that you can't solve, you must send me a message and I will send you a rescuer. 】

After a while, she received a reply from Gu Xu:

[Suzaku: Thank you, I will. 】

"This man is really polite."

As she commented, she continued to send messages:

[Linghu: By the way, if it's convenient for you, can you bring me a box of rouge from Lin'an Dianzhuangfang when you come back?I heard from others that the quality of the rouge in that store is particularly good, and it is very popular with Jiangnan women. 】

Recalling this, Xu responded very frankly:
[Suzaku: Good. 】

His answer was very succinct.

Shangguan Jin could feel a sense of relief from it.

"It seems that he is also a person who doesn't like to owe favors to others!" She smiled and commented silently in her heart.

…………

It was February, and spring had already begun to appear in the city of Lin'an.

Gu Xu traveled through the void and came to the door of the He family's mansion. He saw lush green trees in the yard, and even through the high walls, he could still smell the fragrance of the grass and trees.

Since the doors of these aristocratic mansions are only open to extremely distinguished guests, Gu Xu came to the relatively low side door and showed the investigation documents given to him by Shangguan Jin in front of the guards outside the door.

"Gu Xu, the head of the Department of Exorcism," he introduced himself, "recently received news that there are suspected signs of ghost activities in your mansion. For the safety of your mansion, this officer must enter the mansion to investigate , I hope you can actively cooperate.”

"Ghost?"

Hearing Gu Xu's words, all the guards of the He family mansion showed strange expressions.They are all mortals, and they usually stand guard outside the gate of He Mansion, mostly for appearance.To them, ghosts are undoubtedly a very terrifying existence.

But at the same time, they also felt something different—there were ghosts in the mansion, but why didn't the practitioners of the He family notice it?

It's just that Gu Xu has the documents in hand, both the seal of the Exorcist Department and the signature of the head of Luo Department, they dare not believe it.

"I'm going to report to the Patriarch right away." A guard said nervously, then turned around and hurried into the courtyard.

A moment later, an old man with gray hair and slightly fat body, accompanied by several servants, came in front of Gu Xu.

This person is He Zhaosong, the patriarch of the He family.

He is wearing a Kesi coat, a mink fur coat, and suede boots. The various accessories on his body are magic weapons exuding the aura of real energy. He looks graceful and noble, unabashedly showing his wealth .

"As expected of the upstart who has risen recently in the Jiangnan area." Gu Xu commented silently in his heart.

Since Mrs. Shen, He Ru, and everyone around her think that the secrecy work is very complete, it is impossible for others to know that the maid named Ningxiu was quietly brought to He's mansion, and it is also unexpected that Gu Xu would come from Luojing because of a mortal maid. They rushed to Lin'an City not far away.

Therefore, no one at the scene doubted Gu Xu's motive for visiting, and they all thought that he was here to do the task of the Exorcist Division.

After some polite greetings, Gu Xu took out a copper coin from his pocket and started to do divination.

He silently recited the names of "Taishang Haotian" and "Emperor Ziwei", asked about the traces of the ghosts on his lips, and asked about the location of Ningxiu in his heart.

It can be described as "different minds".

Afterwards, he lightly tossed the copper coin.

When it landed on the ground with a bang, the character "天" in "Tianxing Tongbao" pointed to the northwest.

"The ghost is over there." He stretched out his hand and pointed to the northwest.

He Zhaosong raised his eyebrows, his face slightly surprised.

He is nearly seventy years old, and he has seen other monks search for ghosts in various ways - some form formations, some use magic weapons, close their eyes and chant mantras to sense the direction of Yin Qi...

But like Gu Xu, it was the first time he had seen the location of the ghost so confidently just by tossing a coin.

"No wonder I often hear people say that this young man named 'Gu Xu' is very popular in Luojing City, and many famous talents are not his opponents." He Zhaosong thought to himself, "He really has some real skills."

Next, under the guidance of He Zhaosong, Gu Xu walked through large and small courtyards and winding corridors, and walked all the way to the northwest of the He family mansion.

On the way, he occasionally stopped, or sensed the surrounding atmosphere with the power of spiritual consciousness far surpassing that of a monk in the same realm, or tossed the old copper coin again to confirm the direction.

Soon, he came to the northernmost courtyard of the He family mansion.

The yard was small and empty, except for a few trees with sparse branches rustling in the wind, making it look particularly deserted.

Gu Xu walked in first.

He Zhaosong stood behind, looked at his back, and frowned, feeling that Gu Xu might have discovered something.

But he thought about it, and felt that Luo Jing Tianjiao like Gu Xu, how could he care about a small mortal maid—just like a person walking on the road, how could he care about the ants at his feet.

So He Zhaosong drove his doubts out of his mind again, and stopped thinking about this issue.

However, at this moment, Gu Xu suddenly pointed to a dry well in the courtyard, and said, "I think there may be something wrong with that well."

This well is a dry well.

It is located next to a dead tree, and the mouth of the well is covered by planks.

He Zhaosong's heart tightened when he heard this, and he said without hesitation, "Master Gu, are you sure where it is? What if the ghost has a way to deceive perception?"

Gu Xu chuckled, and responded: "If you see it with your own eyes, can't you know?"

While talking, he had a thought, cast his true essence, and removed the wooden board covering the mouth of the well out of thin air—he noticed that there were a few small holes on the wooden board, which seemed to be used for ventilation.

Then he walked to the well, looked down, and saw a figure.

Due to the dim light in the well, he couldn't see the man's face clearly.

But with his spiritual perception ability, he could feel that the man's breath of life was extremely weak.

"There is indeed something strange inside." He said in a playful tone.

Before He Zhaosong and his servants could react, Gu Xu performed the "Meteor Walking the Moon" movement technique, and jumped into the dry well like a ghost.

And in the palm of his hand, a bright flame sprang up, making the dark bottom of the well bright.

Then he saw an elderly woman in ragged clothes, lying unconscious on a pile of dry thatch.Her body was riddled with bruises and blood.And beside her, there is a bucket of wine grains that are usually used to feed pigs.

This is undoubtedly a shocking picture.

Gu Xu couldn't help narrowing his eyes.

He couldn't imagine how cruel that Mrs. Shen was to imprison a mortal woman in a dry well and do such a cruel thing.

And the He family also condoned her to do such a thing, and even helped the evildoer.

"Perhaps in the eyes of this group of people with both power and cultivation, a mortal servant like Ningxiu is like an animal." Gu Xu thought silently.

In this world, monks and dignitaries undoubtedly have the power of life and death to mortals.Although the laws of Daqi have restricted it, it is still impossible to fundamentally eliminate brutality.

He sighed softly, and with a thought, he took out a few talismans from "Xianyunju" to heal Ningxiu's injuries.

For medical skills, Gu Xu only has a general understanding, but is not proficient.

These talismans of his only have the effect of simply stopping bleeding and restoring energy, but they cannot completely help Ningxiu heal her injuries.

At the same time, he did not forget to shout out to the outside of the well: "He Zhaosong, you are so brave, you dare to hide the imperial court's prisoners in your own courtyard! You know, you are blatantly despising the Daqi court majesty!"

Ningxiu's crime of theft was itself fabricated.

But now, Gu Xu is accusing He Zhaosong of this matter, which is undoubtedly very ironic.

He Zhaosong was silent for a few seconds, then frowned and responded, "Master Gu, didn't you come here to search for traces of ghosts? Shouldn't this matter be under the control of your exorcist?"

Gu Xu smiled, and made up nonsense: "This woman has something to do with a case I'm investigating. I planned to ask for her from the government office, but I didn't expect her to be abducted by you and imprisoned at the bottom of this well." .”

He Zhaosong said indifferently: "How should I believe what you say?"

Gu Xu picked up the investigation document given to him by Shangguan Jin again, waved it in front of He Zhaosong, and said, "The Exorcist Division has given me full responsibility for investigating this case. I have no obligation to explain to irrelevant people like you."

He Zhaosong sighed and stopped talking for a while.

He knew that he could no longer hide what he had indulged his daughter in.

At this time, Ningxiu beside Gu Xu suddenly woke up.

She slowly opened her eyes, and at a glance she saw the shining wellhead and an extremely handsome young man beside her.

"Are you..." she asked in a weak voice.

"My name is Gu Xu, and I'm Shen Qiu's friend." Gu Xu said softly with a smile.

Hearing the son of "Shen Qiu", Ningxiu seemed to gain strength suddenly.Regardless of the pain in the wound, she got up suddenly, sat up straight on the thatch pile, stared at Gu Xu with her eyes and said, "Where is Shen Qiu? Is he alright?"

"He is safe. If there are no accidents, you should meet soon," he said, taking out a spare robe from "Xianyun Residence" and handing it to Ningxiu, "It's very cold. These are my clothes, they may be too big, you can use them later.”

Ningxiu stared at the robe that appeared out of nowhere in Gu Xu's hands, and was taken aback for a moment, her expression a little apprehensive: "You...you are also a master cultivator?"

"I'm a cultivator just like Shen Qiu," Gu Xu said with a kind smile, "It's just that I'm not good at learning, and my current cultivation level is still a level lower than his."

Gu Xu's words obviously narrowed the distance between the two of them, and made Ningxiu less nervous.

Afterwards, Gu Xu took out another "Fashion Talisman" and handed it to Ningxiu.

"You stick this piece of paper on your body," he said, "I'll take you out of this well and go find Shen Qiu."

"But...but will they agree?" Ningxiu pointed to the mouth of the well.The "they" she mentioned obviously refers to Mrs. Shen and the He family who imprisoned her in the dry well and caused a deep psychological shadow on her.

"I don't need their consent." Gu Xu chuckled, his eyes full of confidence.

Ningxiu stopped talking.

According to Xu Xu's instructions, she put on her robe and stuck the "Feng Xing Talisman" on her body.

Then Gu Xu supported her with one arm and used his body skills, and the two of them flew into the air as lightly as swallows, flew out of the mouth of the well, and then landed firmly on the ground outside.

At this time, He Zhaosong's face was very gloomy, obviously extremely unhappy.

But after all, this matter was at the He family's fault, and Gu Xu was backed by the Exorcist Division, so he couldn't do anything, he could only silently watch as Gu Xu supported Ningxiu, and walked step by step towards the gate of the He family.

I don't know how much time has passed, He Zhaosong took a deep breath, and slowly said: "The proud son of heaven, who is the focus of everyone's attention in Luojing City, is willing to personally help a dirty and humble maid. This is really an unbelievable thing. "

A servant hesitated for a moment, then respectfully said: "My lord, as far as I know, Mr. Gu was born as a commoner, and his parents have neither cultivation nor official position."

"No wonder." He Zhaosong smiled.

At this time, his mood was very complicated. He knew that after today's incident, the He family and this great Qi Tianjiao were on opposite sides, and it was almost impossible to have a chance to win over in the future.

"Go and deliver a message to my daughter," he ordered the servant beside him, "I have something to talk to her about."

…………

Outside the He family mansion, Gu Xu saw Shen Qiu.

After receiving the letter from Gu Xu through the channel of the Exorcism Department, Shen Qiu immediately drove the natal object and rushed from Jinling to Laian City.

He was extremely worried about his mother's safety.

He really wanted to enter the He family mansion and find where his mother was.

But the guards of the He family stopped him outside the door, no matter what he said, he was not allowed to enter.

Just as Shen Qiu took out a few talismans from his pocket, and was about to break into the He family mansion by force, the figures of Gu Xu and Ning Xiu suddenly appeared in his vision.

"Mom!" He looked at his mother's staggering steps, her blood-stained face, and the blue robe that obviously didn't fit, and couldn't help shouting.

Hot tears instantly filled his eyes.

When Gu Xu and Ningxiu crossed the threshold and walked out of the gate, he immediately rushed forward in two steps in three steps, and knelt down in front of his mother with a "plop".

"Mother, it's because the child is unfilial and didn't take good care of you..." His voice was filled with tears.All the emotions pent up in his chest were released at this moment.

Shen Qiu thought that it was obviously because of himself that his mother suffered such torture.

So he felt guilty.

His head hit the ground again and again, but he didn't feel any pain.

"Ah Zhuang, mother is fine, mother is very good, don't do this..." Ningxiu looked at her son, a little dazed and distressed.

It has only been a few months since the two last met.But at this moment, they felt as if they were separated from each other.

As for "A Zhuang", it was Ningxiu's baby name for her son.

Perhaps because Ningxiu was often beaten, scolded and punished during her pregnancy, Shen Qiu has been weak and sick since birth.She hoped that her son would become strong and not die prematurely.

Shen Qiu did not die young, but he did not become strong either.

It's just that in the indifference of the world, a strong heart gradually grew.

"This time, thanks to your friend, Mr. Gu." At this moment, Ningxiu pointed to Gu Xu next to him, "it was he who rescued your mother from that dry well. Keep this kindness in your heart firmly, and if you have the opportunity in the future, you must repay him."

Hearing this, Shen Qiu felt guilty again, because he was so excited to see his mother that he ignored the narrator's benefactor for a while.

He knew that Gu Xu not only told his mother's news today, but also rushed thousands of miles from Luojing to Lin'an City to rescue his mother from the He family mansion.

In this world, I am afraid that there are very few other employers who can help their followers to such an extent.

If it weren't for Gu Xu, I'm afraid Shen Qiu would still think that his mother was sent to the northern frontier with the corvee team, and then, under anxiety, he would look for it all over the country like a headless chicken - by then, his mother would probably have been sent to Hebei. In the dry well at home, she was tortured beyond human form.

So he kowtowed to the ground again, and said from the bottom of his heart: "Sir Gu's kindness today, Shen Qiu will never forget it, from now on, I hope that Mr. Gu will follow suit. If Mr. Gu gives orders, Shen Qiu will go through fire and water, and will not hesitate to do so."

If it is said that before that, the reason why Shen Qiu chose to defect to Gu Xu's house was because he had a speculative mentality. He felt that Gu Xu was outstandingly talented and was appreciated by the saints. Good to enjoy the cool.

So now, he is convinced of Gu Xu, respects his character, and feels that he is a person who is truly worthy of his service.

"Brother Shen, you don't need to be like this." Gu Xu immediately stretched out his hand to help him up, "You and I are not only guests and hosts, but also friends. As friends, we should share blessings and difficulties together. What you did in Shouchangfang before , I haven't had time to thank you properly yet."

"That's different," Shen Qiu said stubbornly, "Those things in Shouchangfang are my duty, and I use money to do things. But what you did today is out of love. It's just that I leave the family now , I have nothing but my abilities, I really have nothing to repay your kindness—”

"—When I came to An'an, I didn't think about asking you for anything in return."

"So that's what I admire about you."

Gu Xu coughed dryly, feeling a little embarrassed by his praise.

Then he glanced at Ningxiu beside him, and felt that the most urgent thing was to help her heal her injury as soon as possible.

"Brother Shen, do you know that there are good doctors in Lin'an City?" He asked.

Gu Xu came in a hurry and wanted to save meritorious deeds, so he only exchanged for one empty orb and used it up on the way here.

And with Ningxiu's current physical condition, it is obviously unrealistic to send her to the capital by flying with a sword.

So they could only find a doctor on the spot to heal her.

"In my impression, there seems to be a doctor surnamed Qin near Xiling Lake who opened a relatively famous clinic..." Shen Qiu scratched his head and said uncertainly.

At this time, Gu Xu suddenly heard a familiar voice: "I heard that you are looking for a doctor?"

Gu Xu followed the voice and turned his head to look, and found that Shangguan Jin had appeared under the shade of a tree next to him at some point, looking at him with a smile on his face.

"Fellow Shangguan, why are you here?"

"Don't you welcome me? Then I'll go back."

"Of course not," Gu Xu paused, and explained, "You sent a message in the 'Shenji Token', asking me to bring you a box of rouge from Dianzhuangfang, I thought you would not come here in person .”

"I'm afraid you won't be able to tell the type of rouge, and you'll buy the wrong rouge." Shangguan Jin covered his face and chuckled, "Pomeliujiao, Dahongchun, Xiaohongchun, Wanjinhong, Tiangongqiao, Luoeryun...can you How many can you recognize?"

"I can't recognize any of them." Gu Xu said frankly.

In his previous life on Earth, he was a straight man who couldn't tell the lipstick color at all; in this life, although he has read a lot, he still doesn't know anything about women's cosmetics.

Seeing his honest appearance, Shangguan Jin found it interesting.

At the same time, Shangguan Jin noticed that Gu Xu and Shen Qiu were supporting a trembling elderly woman—even though her face was covered with scars, and her body was covered with dust and blood, she looked like a woman who had been on the road all year round. The beggar who was begging for food; but Gu Xu didn't dislike him at all. Instead, he took the initiative to let the woman lean on him, and paid attention to her physical condition with a solemn expression.

"Let's go back to Luojing first!" Shangguan Jin took out a few "Empty Breaking Orbs" from his sleeves and said, "As the best doctor in the headquarters of the Exorcist Division, I will do my part in this matter."

"Aren't you here to buy rouge?" Gu Xu gave her a surprised look.

"I don't want to buy it," she said. "I still have a lot in my house. It would be a waste to buy it back and pile it up now. Why don't you buy it again in June, and you can also go to Xiling Lake to see lotus flowers by the way."

Gu Xu shook his head lightly, only feeling that the woman's mind is really confusing and unpredictable.

PS: A chapter of [-] words.

(End of this chapter)