NABC #758 - Brother, save me
#758 - Brother, save me
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“They clearly found nothing and were already planning to leave, so why did they still attack?”
Qingchen spoke towards the direction of the dormitory.
After a moment, the door of a room opened, and a middle-aged Daoist walked out.
If Lu Jing had his eyes open at this time, he would have recognized that this middle-aged Daoist was one of the four Daoists in the dormitory earlier, the patrolling guard in charge of the scripture hall.
“Senior Brother, they are from the Directorate of Celestials. The fact that they found this place means they have begun to suspect Qixia Temple. Letting them go now means that the inspectors from the Directorate of Celestials next door might come charging in here at any moment.”
“If you stop now and do nothing more, what can the Directorate of Celestials do even if they suspect you? Even if they send more people, they won’t be able to find any evidence,” Qingchen said coldly.
The middle-aged Daoist smiled wryly upon hearing this, “Senior Brother’s Dao is profound, and you have already comprehended the Dao of tranquility and inaction. I greatly admire you, but you know that I have been different from you since childhood. Asking me to do nothing is no different from killing me.”
“Hmph, perhaps I should have killed you in the first place, saving you from associating with those messy people and causing so much trouble.”
“Didn’t Master say when he divined our fates that you and I were destined to walk two completely different paths? That’s why he specifically instructed us to support each other before he passed away.”
The middle-aged Daoist said, “Besides, I have already been careful enough. When moving around outside, I have always used the identity of True Man Donghua. Here, I am just an ordinary Daoist. I don’t know how I was targeted by the Directorate of Celestials.”
“There is no airtight wall in this world,” Qingchen said. “If you don’t want people to know, don’t do it.”
The middle-aged Daoist sighed, “I know, but just thinking that after tonight, I will have to separate from Senior Brother, unable to play chess with you anymore, and not knowing when we will meet again, I can’t help but feel a little sentimental.”
“Stop being so long-winded. Leave if you want. It’s not like I can’t find someone else to play chess with me,” Qingchen said with a stern face.
“Alright.”
After the middle-aged Daoist finished speaking, he took out a sack from behind him and was about to stuff Xie Lili and Lu Jing into it, but Qingchen stopped him again.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking them away, of course.”
“What are you taking them away for?”
“Of course, to prepare more talismans for myself. In case I get cornered by the people from the Directorate of Celestials, having hostages in hand will at least give me something to negotiate with.”
“Xie Lili is the daughter of Xie Fu, the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. She has no connection to the Directorate of Celestials,” Qingchen said.
“I know. She came to our Qixia Temple before, ostensibly to play chess with you, Senior Brother, but in reality, she was subtly probing about the affairs of the Directorate of Celestials next door. She is indeed not a member of the Directorate of Celestials. But…”
The middle-aged Daoist paused and then continued, “I’m actually taking her away for your own good, Senior Brother. She clearly blames you for being drugged.
“If this trouble isn’t eliminated, not only the Directorate of Celestials but also the Court of Judicial Review will probably come looking for you, Senior Brother.”
“So you want to take her away, not to prepare any talisman for yourself, but to find a safe place to kill her after you’re safe?” Qingchen’s expression became very ugly.
Qingchen pointed at the middle-aged Daoist, seemingly wanting to curse loudly, but his face was flushed red, and he still couldn’t say a word.
“I’m leaving,” the middle-aged Daoist said gently.
However, Qingchen’s face turned even redder, and his hands began to tremble.
The middle-aged Daoist finally noticed something was wrong. As a result, as soon as he turned around, he saw Lu Jing, who was originally lying on the ground, had somehow stood up and was standing behind him.
The middle-aged Daoist was startled, and the expression on his face was as if he had seen a ghost, “You… why are you still awake after drinking my Dream-Entering Talisman Water?!”
“It’s rare to see an old friend, I certainly can’t sleep through it,” Lu Jing said, already grabbing the middle-aged Daoist’s arm with one hand, while the latter was secretly making a hand seal with the other hand.
Being pulled so hard, he immediately felt too much pain to continue.
“Old friend, but… but we don’t know each other, right?”
“It doesn’t matter. I couldn’t recognize you at first either. After all, the two of us look quite different from back then,” Lu Jing said.
Seeing that he had already been approached, the middle-aged Daoist knew that this was a life-or-death moment. He didn’t dare to hold back any longer and reached into his chest with his remaining hand.
But the next moment, he saw a flash of cold light before his eyes.
Something flew out from Lu Jing’s sleeve and pierced his wrist!
A stack of talismans spilled from the middle-aged Daoist’s hand. Before he could activate them, they fell to the ground.
A look of heartache flashed in the middle-aged Daoist’s eyes.
This was all the wealth he had accumulated little by little over the years. He didn’t expect it to be of no use at all.
Originally, with his caution and cultivation, he shouldn’t have been defeated so quickly and so thoroughly. As long as he could create enough distance, he would have a way to deal with Lu Jing’s offensive and even escape unscathed.
Just like the last time in the Imperial City.
Even when facing a group of Directorate of Celestial experts after the collapse of the calligraphy and painting, he was still able to escape.
But this time, he didn’t expect that Lu Jing would not only not fall asleep after drinking his talisman water but also be able to stand up from the ground. Before he could react, Lu Jing had already gotten close to him.
Not to mention him, even those great cultivators of the fourth and fifth palaces would find it difficult to complete their spells once a top expert got close.
Lu Jing sealed several acupoints on the middle-aged Daoist’s body in one breath. However, when he retracted his fingers and turned his head, he saw Qingchen bending down and picking up a talisman from the ground.
“Senior Brother, save me!” the middle-aged Daoist shouted.
Qingchen looked at Lu Jing, then at the middle-aged Daoist, and finally hesitated before raising the talisman in his hand, “Let him go.”
“Do you know that your junior brother is planning an attack against Lin’an Prefecture? He intends to use the lives of millions of commoners to make a deal with the Directorate of Celestials,” Lu Jing said indifferently.
Qingchen’s expression shook, and he asked the middle-aged Daoist, “Is what he said true?”
“It’s false. He’s only saying that to sow discord between us,” the middle-aged Daoist quickly said, “Senior Brother, you’re still in the capital. How could I possibly harm you too?”
“But you have indeed been in frequent contact with many suspicious fellows these days,” Qingchen said.
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