Chapter 2 second quarter

This dangerous errand started ten days ago, which was the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month in the first year of Jingyun. "What's the matter, Your Majesty?" At any time, Chang Baixing would be very angry with anyone who followed him, even if this person was his own father, but this person stepped on his heels and followed into the guest room. The person who came was a short and fat old man in his sixties, with a calm expression and decent clothes.He closed the door of the guest house casually, lest the passers-by in front of the door peep into the room. Then, he politely nodded to Chang Baixing, as if he was a guest invited to the door, took off his boots and sat down. He sat on the short side of the table, and sat on the top without any politeness.

Situations like this are not uncommon in Chang Baixing's life. The person who came was either a reckless customer who was impatient and didn't know the rules; Then came to extort property.In any case, it was either a blessing or a curse, but there was no major danger, and his heart settled down instead. He sat down on the short bench with the visitor, but he didn't take off his boots, put his hands together in the sleeves, and pinched the golden soft rope in the sleeves with his fingers. In the blink of an eye, he can put a noose around a man's fleshy neck.Chang Baixing was very confident in his kung fu. He could suffocate the opponent to death, but he would never kill him.As a thief who prided himself on his craft, he could not kill under any circumstances.This was another important creed passed on to him by his old man.

Chang Baixing didn't say a word, and sat there peacefully staring at the other party, as if he was admiring the Persian illusion in the West City. Although it was exciting, it was not dangerous. Suddenly, the old man took a deep look at Chang Baixing, his eyes were cold and sharp, which made Chang Baixing's self-confidence shaken a little.Chang Baixing had never seen the majesty and aura in this old man's gaze. This gaze contained life and death, something that only a person with great power would have.Chang Baixing didn't know what this thing was, but he knew that his back was already a little chilly.

The old man withdrew his gaze, but did not speak. He just stretched out his right hand and picked up the thick pottery cylindrical tea bowl on the low table. He poured a few drops of the cold tea in the bowl on the low table, and then dipped his finger in the tea and wrote: With the word "Xing", attention was focused on Chang Baixing's face again. Chang Baixing didn't say anything, but carefully took a deep breath through his nose to calm down his shaky mind. At the same time, he keenly smelled the smell of money, and of course he also smelled the smell of danger. Because he discovered an important secret of the visitor.

He was really surprised by the string of Buddhist beads on the old man's right wrist. This is a string of precious Ganan incense beads. The Buddha head of the beads is a green pearl the size of a longan.With Chang Baixing's extensive knowledge of treasures, he knows that there is only one string of this style of beads in the world, but his noble master has come to his apartment, so it is difficult to guess why. "Your Majesty's business in Luoyang was handled beautifully." The old man's tone was soft, and his eyes became clear. "I came here to ask your honor to do one more thing."

"Are you the client of the incident in Luoyang?" "Yes. But this matter is bigger and more difficult to do. This time it is a powerful woman to get rid of." As he spoke, the old man lifted a small package from his side and placed it between the two of them. superior. "The fee is five times higher than last time, 10,000 coins. This is a deposit, 1,000 coins." "Why don't you find me through a middleman?" "This matter is no small matter. Anyone who knows will die." When the old man said this, his expression was very natural, as if human life was like a candle in a strong wind, which would be blown out at any time.

"You must also know that all the contacts who deal with me directly will also die." Chang Baixing's expression at this time was completely comparable to the calmness of the old man. "Why are you taking risks?" "Because you have already recognized who I am, you won't kill me again." After speaking, the old man put on his boots, stood up, and said, "I will inform you about the details." "How do you think I will promise you?" "If a person can be a high-ranking official with a high salary and honor his ancestors, he will never be a killer, and vice versa. After the matter is successful, the world will be peaceful and the people will live and work in peace and contentment, so you don't have to do this job anymore."

"At that time, if I go back to my old job, what will happen?" Chang Baixing was extremely unwilling to be overwhelmed by the other party's aggressive momentum, and deliberately retaliated. "How can there be officers and soldiers in the world who don't kill robbers? You are a smart person, you should understand." "If," Chang Baixing was confident that he was the number one person in his profession, and he was a caring person who cared about current affairs. His proud personality did not allow him to be pushed around like this, even if the person who came was the current prime minister. "I mean, if another Zhang Jianzhi comes out and the day changes, will I be an official or a bandit?"

Chang Baixing said that Zhang Jianzhi launched a coup five years ago, emptied the then Empress Wu Zetian, supported Zhongzong to ascend the throne, and restored the great heroes of the Li and Tang Dynasties.In that coup, almost all the ministers of Wu's party and Zhang Yizhi's brother who had defected to Wu Zetian were killed. "If there are loyal ministers like Zhang Jianzhi in this world, I will be one of them." Hearing Chang Baixing's words, the old man became a little excited. "I came to invite you today not only because of gold, but mainly because of a word of righteousness-the righteousness of life. To be loyal to the emperor is the greatest righteous deed in life. As for high-ranking officials and generous salaries, beautiful horses and light furs, that's just The rewards for heroes are just that, not lures with benefits."

"There is one thing I haven't figured out yet. If I betray you tomorrow, wouldn't it be easier for you to be high-ranking officials and rich people? I've heard that that powerful woman is very generous." Hearing this, the old man laughed, and said, "If Xiaoxing betrays his customers, who else in this world can trust his promise?" Chang Baixing got up and gave the old man a deep salute with his arms crossed.The man is the most important thing. Well, it seems that the other party really regards himself as a famous knight-errant.What kind of trust and respect is this that the two of them are about to bring about earth-shaking changes in the Tang Dynasty's politics in a few words!All this made Chang Baixing's blood boil.

After seeing off the old man, Chang Baixing only felt a little nervous when facing the bag of horseshoe gold on the low table.The old man just now is Zhongshuling of the current dynasty, the third rank of Tong Zhongshu's sect, that is, Yao Chongyao Yuanzhi, the prime minister of the current dynasty.The string of number beads in his hand was a tribute from the South China Sea given by Empress Wu Zetian back then. Such a huge blue pearl is the only one in the world.Therefore, when Chang Baixing saw this bracelet, he understood the identity of the person who came. What was difficult was that Chang Baixing was not the person Yao Yuanzhi was looking for.He got it all wrong. Half a month ago, a major case occurred in Luoyang, the eastern capital. The chief steward of the powerful and powerful Princess Taiping was killed, and the assassin was the well-known Xiaoxing.No one knows Xiaoxing's real name, and few people have seen him in person.He has a very ferocious habit, he will kill all those who come to him directly without going through an intermediary, and of course, he will also live up to the entrustment and do well what the deceased person entrusts.At the same time, he also has the habit of arrogantly contemptuous of the government, that is, every time he kills a person, the officials will find a small piece of cloth with the word "Xing" written on or near that person. However, Xiaoxing is extremely cautious, and he never works for the same employer twice.Obviously, Yao Yuanzhi didn't understand Xiaoxing's eccentricity. Chang Baixing was also present on the night Xiaoxing assassinated Princess Taiping's chief executive.He was entrusted by a Persian businessman who specialized in buying stolen goods to steal the rare treasure of Princess Taiping—the pearl dress.After getting the pearl skirt, he tripped over the corpse of the chief executive, and got a lot of bad luck on his body (the thief and his party didn't want to see blood, so they called blood bad luck.). Maybe it was because when he hurriedly fled Luoyang's Princess Taiping Mansion, he was watched by Yao Yuanzhi's informant, thinking that he was Xiaoxing, and that's why today's drama happened. Ten thousand coins is ten thousand coins, which is a lot of wealth.The Wan Guan family wealth that people often say refers to such a fortune.With such a sum of money, even in the city of Chang'an where everything is expensive, he can be regarded as a first-class rich man.He was a little tempted. In every sense of the word, thieves are cowards.According to the old legend, before every master of stealing children imparts skills to his apprentices, one of the major precepts that his apprentices must keep in mind is abstaining from killing people.That is to say, the rules of their profession are: when theft is missed, they can only complain about their lack of skills or bad luck, and they must not violently hurt others, and they can only run away with the camera.If a thief hurts someone, he becomes a thief. At that time, no one is willing to buy even the stolen goods, and naturally he has no way out in his profession. As for climbing over walls and over ridges, and entering rooms, those are skills in this trade. It is no different from Persian merchants walking through the Western Market, buying and selling all kinds of goods. What is needed is caution born of timidity.Arrogant boldness is like a deadly poison to them, and they need to be cautious. Chang Baixing made his debut in his teens, and has traveled all over the world for more than ten years without ever missing a hand or hurting anyone.However, facing such a huge temptation, he is now considering whether he should change his career. He knew in his heart that it would be very convenient for the thief to change his career to be an assassin.What the thief has to do is to take away the objects he wants to take without disturbing anyone, and most of the time, the treasures he wants to take are stored by the owner's side or in the bedroom.If he didn't carefully turn the lock to open the box as before, but directly stabbed the sleeping master to death, it would probably be easier than taking the belongings without disturbing him. Of course, Chang Baixing understood that things might not be so simple, but as long as there is a period of careful planning, nothing will go wrong.