Kaifeng Monster

Chapter 121: Heaven and Earth (1)
world.

Seven months later, Yunzhou City, rainy night.

Zhan Zhao slightly opened the window of the inn room by a line, his sharp eyes rested for a long time on the strange man in the bamboo hat under the opposite eaves, a sneer appeared on the corner of his lips, and then he closed the window calmly.When they turned around, the Ke mother and daughter were sitting on the bed, huddled together in a ball, with fear and anxiety in their eyes.

"Madam, don't panic. With Zhan here, the thieves don't dare to mess around."

Ke Shi trembled and didn't respond, but Ke Ziqin, Ke Ziqin's daughter, asked: "Master Zhan, can we really reach Kaifeng Mansion safely, and complain to Master Bao?"

"Miss, don't worry, Zhan will bear it with all his strength." After a short pause, he continued, "It's late at night, Madam and Miss should rest early, in order to avoid rampant thieves, Zhan Zhao is here to guard, I hope Madam and Miss don't mind .”

Ke Shi muttered, "Master Zhan is too serious."

There was no words for a moment, Ke Shi reached out and lowered the curtain on the bed.Not long after, there was the rustling sound of undressing from inside the curtain, although he couldn't see it, Zhan Zhao still didn't turn his face away.

The rain outside the window can't stop, and the coolness invades the clothes. Unknowingly, it's another year of autumn wind.

After an unknown amount of time, the even long breathing of Ke's mother and daughter came from inside the curtain.Zhan Zhaoduan sat on the chair with a giant que across his lap, eyes slightly closed, as if he had fallen asleep.

Only he himself knows that the long night is extremely difficult.

Not long after the sound of Yinshi's clapper, the rain stopped, and the rain accumulated on the eaves, but it was still unhurried, hitting the steps bit by bit.

In such silence, Zhan Zhao's ears keenly caught a light click.

He opened his eyes suddenly, the eyes sparkled with light, the corners of his mouth were slightly pursed, and his face was covered with frost. He was like a cheetah ready to go, flying and smashing through the window sash.At the same time, a cold light suddenly appeared in the dark night, and the giant que had already been unsheathed.

When the Ke's mother and daughter heard the movement, they hurriedly grabbed their clothes and rushed to the window, the short fight on the street had died down.Zhan Zhao's face was stern, and he stretched out the long sword, the edge lightly touching the neck of the man in the bamboo hat.The man's chest heaved violently, his panting became a little bit louder, and there was a bloodstain on his neck immediately.

Zhan Zhao's sword was held firmly.

"Ke Wanqing sent you here?"

The man was also stubborn: "Yes!"

Zhan Zhao smiled lightly: "I hope that in the court, you can be so stubborn."

Before he finished speaking, he put the sword back into its sheath with a bang.The man breathed a sigh of relief, Zhan Zhao's scabbard hit like lightning, before he could react, the two big acupoints Ermen and Baihui were already hit.

The man felt his ears ringing like bees, his head was dizzy, and he collapsed on the ground limply.

There was a sound of the door leaf, but it was the mother and daughter of the Ke family who called the innkeeper to open the door.The shopkeeper, with a short stature, was so panicked that he pulled on the wrong shoes on his left and right feet, and looked at the scene in front of him in horror.

"Trouble shopkeeper, send a buddy to report to the officer to mention him." Zhan Zhao's voice was calm, and he couldn't hear any likes or dislikes.Although the shopkeeper didn't know Zhan Zhao's identity, he thought he had a background, so he left in a hurry.

Only then did Zhan Zhao turn to look at Ke's mother and daughter: "Madam, in order to avoid long nights and dreams, let's start at night. I hope this trip will be faster and we can get rid of the assassins sent by Ke Wanqing."

How can Ke Shi know half a word?Since her mother and daughter were rescued by Zhan Zhao from the thief's sword the day before yesterday, their lives were entrusted to Zhan Zhao.I hate the thief Ke Wanqing, who relied on his fame and fame to kill his brother and sister-in-law, and robbed his husband's family of wealth.She endured the humiliation, and finally saw an opening, and fled with her daughter.Ke Wanqing was afraid that the matter would be leaked, and bought the murderer to silence her. If it hadn't been for Mr. Zhan to save her... Thinking of the hatred, Ke's grief came from it, and she couldn't cry, and she didn't care to tidy up the luggage spread in front of her.

"Mother, you are sad again." Ke Ziqin observed his words and expressions, and came over to help Ke Shi fold the clothes thoughtfully, "When you arrive in Kaifeng Mansion, report the case to Lord Bao, and Lord Bao will definitely give us justice. Ke Wanqing, that dog thief , There will be a day to repay him."

Keshi wiped her tears with her sleeves, nodded slightly, and then said after a pause: "Thinking about it now, my mother and daughter are not unlucky. The day before yesterday, they almost became ghosts under the sword. Ziqin, Mr. Zhan is our benefactor." , this kindness, don't forget."

"Who said we should forget?" Ke Ziqin smiled mischievously, "I remember it all in my heart. However, he is a high-ranking official, and we are ordinary people. We want to repay the favor, and he is not special."

Ke Shi laughed, and poked her forehead with his finger: "Damn girl, you are so talkative. If it wasn't for the fact that I couldn't bear it, I really wanted to send you to Mr. Zhan, and serve tea and water for the rest of my life..."

"Mother..." Ke Ziqin scolded, "Who would arrange for his own daughter like this?"

Ke Shi smiled, lowered her head to tie the knot of the burden, thought for a while, and still couldn't help teasing her daughter: "Why, serving tea and water for Mr. Zhan, you treat you poorly? Let me tell you, Mr. Zhan It must be someone who is kind and gentle, and being a maidservant for Mr. Zhan might be better than marrying into an ordinary family..."

"Mother is getting more and more boundless..." Ke Ziqin pursed her lips and laughed, "Yes, yes, Mr. Zhan is a great benefactor and the best person in the world, but..."

She paused suddenly.

"Just what?" Ke Shi wondered.

"It's just that Mr. Zhan doesn't smile much." Ke Ziqin sighed, "Mother, it would be great if Mr. Zhan smiled more."

Another two-day trip, when we approached Kaifeng, it started to rain.It was early in the morning, and the mist spread, and a layer of water stains accumulated on the bluestone road. After walking for a long time, the edges of shoes and the hem of clothes were all wet.

Zhan Zhao held a tung oil umbrella in front, and Ke's mother and daughter shared an umbrella behind.Ke's family has a lot of worries and never shows her face in public. Because of family changes, she actually has to travel thousands of miles to Kaifeng. What will happen when she meets Mr. Bao? Is he really the impartial "Bao Qingtian" who is said to be impartial?

Compared with Ke Shi, Ke Ziqin is much more relaxed.After all, the daughter's family is young, and her head has been unsealed. Seeing everything is novel, she can't help but ask the guest: "Mother, where is this? It's only in the morning, why is the piece still open?" Lighting up the lanterns, so lively?"

"Talking too much." Seeing Zhan Zhao in front of him stop, Ke couldn't help but blame Ke Ziqin for being troublesome, "This is where the emperor stays, so it's naturally different."

Ke Ziqin pouted, the boss was not happy.

Zhan Zhao knew that the Ke family's mother and daughter had suffered a lot when they were imprisoned by Ke Wanqing, so when he talked to them, he was naturally amiable: "Miss Ke, this is a night market, and every night there are hundreds of performances. At night, it’s even more lively.”

"Night market?" Ke Ziqin became interested, "Is it a busy market at night? Mr. Zhan, in our Yunzhou, there are not many people at night. Those small merchants have gone home early to rest."

Zhan Zhao spoke softly: "Kaifeng will be much more lively. If you have time, you can go to the night market at night. The hundred operas here are very famous, including juggling, vat-topping, fireworks shows, puppet shows..."

He was suddenly silent.

Ke Ziqin was listening with gusto: "Master Zhan, what else?"

"Lord Bao may have returned from court, so let's hurry up."

Hearing his answer to the question, Ke Ziqin gave him a surprised look, and wanted to ask him something, but the words came to his lips, and finally swallowed them back.

Back to Kaifeng Mansion, it was very busy again.After handing over the Hakka mother and daughter to Zhang Long, he went to report the case to Mr. Bao. Bao Zheng frowned upon hearing this, and he has been an official for many years. , still couldn't help but set fire to the atrium.

Looking back and thinking about it, this is also good, it is better than being indifferent and indifferent like ice.

"When my subordinate was lodging in Yunzhou, he captured the assassin sent by Ke Wanqing. The order of Yunzhou has been secretly ordered to bring the prisoner to Kaifeng, and he will arrive soon."

"Now that there are all the witnesses and material evidence, it is expected that there is no way for that guest Wanqing to deny it." Gongsun Ce said happily, "My lord, you can send Chao Dynasty and Ma Han to Yunzhou to cooperate with the Yunzhou order to get people."

Bao Zheng nodded slightly: "Guard Zhan, thank you for this trip."

"My lord's words are serious about the duties of the subordinates."

Get out of the study and go back to the room along the corridor. Compared with just now, the rain is heavier.As the wind blew, the rain slapped me obliquely on my upper body, and the outer half of my body was completely wet.

"Master Zhan!"

With a cheerful voice, Zhan Zhao raised his head in surprise, and saw Ke Ziqin walking quickly.

"Miss guest?" Zhan Zhao was slightly surprised, "Didn't you send Captain Zhang to take you to rest... here... it's not easy to wander around."

"I see." Ke Ziqin stuck out her tongue playfully, "I'll go back right away."

After turning around and taking two steps, he turned around again: "Master Zhan, mother said, I want to offer you a longevity tablet, thank you for your great kindness."

"What's the matter of duty, what kind of kindness are you talking about, let your mother not bother with these things."

"How can I do that?" Ke Ziqin was unconvinced, "Master Zhan, maybe in your opinion, saving our lives is just a small effort, but to me and my mother, it is a great kindness that will never be forgotten in our lifetime. Not only me Mother, I will burn incense and pray for you from time to time, and ask God to protect the good people."

She spoke solemnly, and without waiting for Zhan Zhao's answer, she turned around and left again.

"Guest girl..."

Ke Ziqin stopped, raised her eyebrows slightly, "Huh?"

"Can you please help me with something?"

"Okay." Ke Ziqin was overjoyed, "Master Zhan, if I can help you, that would be the best, just tell me."

"You just said that you would burn incense and pray for me from time to time..." Zhan Zhao hesitated, "It's not necessary for me, can you help me pray for a friend?"

"Friend?" Ke Ziqin was confused, "Why not for yourself, but for a friend? That... what kind of friend?"

Zhan Zhao's voice was very soft: "It's a girl."

"Girl?" Ke Ziqin's mind turned quickly, "Master Zhan, could it be your... sweetheart?"

Zhan Zhao didn't answer, but the clever Ke Ziqin caught a touch of tenderness that he had never seen before from between his brows.

Ke Ziqin became excited: "Isn't she in Kaifeng? Can I see her? Mr. Zhan, you are so kind, that girl must be a good person..."

She suddenly remembered something and stuttered: "You just said... praying for blessings? Is she sick? Is she injured? Serious or not, she..."

"She's gone."

Ke Ziqin was stunned for a moment.

"Miss guest!" Zhang Long, who was passing by, rushed up from behind anxiously and annoyed when he heard this answer, "The back is the adult's study, you can't walk around!"

Ke Ziqin didn't pay attention to Zhang Long's words, she suddenly realized that she might have made a mistake, and looked at Zhan Zhao nervously.

Zhan Zhao didn't look at her anymore, turned around, and slowly disappeared from Ke Ziqin's sight.

Ke Ziqin withdrew his gaze, and stared blankly at Zhang Long who was both helpless and annoyed: "The girl Mr. Zhan likes is gone?"

In the wing room, Zhang Long told Ke Ziqin what happened briefly and to the point as much as possible, and then watched her cry helplessly.

"Ziqin, are you noisy?" In the wing room, Ke Shi, who was about to fall asleep, reprimanded her in a daze.

Ke Ziqin immediately lowered her voice, but still couldn't help sobbing.

"Then what?" She choked up, "The girl can't be found?"

"We searched and searched, but couldn't find it. Mr. Gongsun ran all over the flower markets in Kaifeng... Everyone was afraid that Brother Zhan would ask when he came back." Zhang Long recalled the past, and his eyes turned red, "Later, Brother Zhan Come back, we push each other and push you, I don’t know who to send to tell him, but Big Brother Zhan smiled and said that Miss Duanmu is no longer here.”

"What do you mean not here, dead?" Ke Ziqin bit her lip, "Didn't you ask?"

"Who dares to ask?" Zhang Long glared at her, "You didn't see Brother Zhan's appearance at that time. Mr. Gongsun said that something big might happen in Xixia, and Brother Zhan didn't want to talk about it, so let him do it."

"Then Lord Zhan asked me to pray for Miss Duanmu?" Ke Ziqin wiped his tears with the back of his hand, "How do I pray?"

"This is just a wish." Zhang Long sighed, "Brother Zhan is a good man, he has helped many people. In the past, when he helped others, he would refuse to thank him, but after that, he will ask others , can you do me a favor..."

"Do you want to pray for Miss Duanmu?" Ke Ziqin cried again.

"You girl, why are you like a bucket, crying whenever you want?" Zhang Long nodded helplessly.

"If you pray for blessings, don't you just keep it in your heart?" Ke Ziqin was somewhat puzzled, "Why are you looking for so many people? Maybe they have never seen Miss Duanmu before."

"I asked the same question." Zhang Long sighed, "Brother Zhan said that his own blessing is too thin, and he wants to get more blessings from others."

"Master Zhan is such a good person, how can his blessings be too low?" Ke Ziqin felt that he was not up to date, and his tears couldn't be stopped, "What blessings do you want to pray for, Mr. Zhan? Let Miss Duanmu come back? Bringing the dead back to life? Can we stay together forever and ever?"

After all, the young girl can't do without the tune of a happy ending in her mind.

Zhang Long stared blankly at her, then shook his head: "Brother Zhan said, just wish my sister Duanmu is safe, it's better than anything else."

Before going to bed, Gongsun Ce boiled a big bowl of calming soup for Zhan Zhao, a thick brown soup with a pungent medicinal smell.

Zhan Zhao smiled helplessly: "Mr. Gongsun, I'm much better now."

"You have to drink that too." Gongsun Ce glared at him. "At that time, I couldn't sleep all night long. I was so tired during the day, but at night I was still energetic like a night owl. My eyes were so bright that I could light a lamp for adults."

"Mr. Gongsun!" Zhan Zhao didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "After drinking Mr. Gongsun's medicine, wouldn't you be fine?"

"That doesn't work either. You have to drink for a while and reduce the dose slowly."

Zhan Zhao couldn't help but gulped down a bowl of calming soup in front of his husband.

"That's good." Gongsun Ce smiled with satisfaction, "Have a good night's sleep, I've worked hard for you the past two days."

He watched Zhan Zhao close his eyes, and heard his breathing slowly become even. Then he turned off the lamp, stepped back lightly, and gently closed the door.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhan Zhao slowly opened his eyes in the darkness.

There was a wry smile on the corner of his lips.How can I tell Mr. Gongsun that his decoction, no matter how much the dose is, won't work?
At the beginning, he really couldn't fall asleep, but later, he was very afraid of falling asleep.Because every time he fell asleep, he would have the same dream.

In his dream, he would always return to Xixia, that cold cave in Guling Mountain.

He remembered that before waking up in that cave, he had a very long dream, dreaming that he was seriously injured, dreaming that Duanmucui came to him, hugged him and cried sadly, and talked to him a lot .

He also dreamed that she was dead, and the snow at the entrance of the cave was stained red with blood.

After waking up, he was so grateful for this nightmare, he thought happily, fortunately it was just a dream.

He was badly hurt, but not fatal.He roughly bandaged the wound, and struggled to walk out while holding on to the cave wall.

Then, he saw a scene that he would never forget in his life.

He saw blood spread on the snow at the entrance of the cave, which was exactly the same as in the dream.

He also saw a vague human figure on the snow, as if someone had been lying there before and was taken away.

He stared at the figure, and he felt that the figure and the name were so familiar that they were about to come out.

He said to himself over and over again: definitely not, this must not be Duanmu.

After descending the mountain, Zhan Zhao was surprised to find that half of the top of Guling Mountain had been cut off.

He heard from the local people that just the day before, for unknown reasons, a landslide occurred in Guling Mountain, and a strange light shone in the sky, and half of the mountain was cut off.At that time, many Xixia soldiers were searching the mountain, but they couldn't escape in time. After the last count, a dozen or so people were buried in it.

Then someone changed the name of Guling Mountain to Banling Mountain, because only half of it remained.

Entering Songtang was razed to the ground, and there was no one who was acquainted with him before.

For Zhan Zhao, this is no longer the most important thing.He left Xingzhou secretly, ignoring the injuries on his body, he rushed back to Kaifeng mansion in the starry night.

Before returning home, he went to Duanmucui's house and stayed there for three days.

Little Qinghua is obsessed with playing flower cards, and it gathers Dayin and Xiaoyi to play in a circle, having a great time.Out of the corner of its eye, when Zhan Zhao came in, it casually mentioned: "My master hasn't come back for several days."

"Yeah." After mentioning this, Xiaoyi was also a little surprised, "Where did the fairy go, why didn't she come back for so long?"

"Play the cards, play the cards, I'm going to win!" Xiao Qinghua's eyes sparkled, beaming with excitement.

(End of this chapter)