Chapter 444 Chapter 10: Fish in Empty Silk

"Ding!" After clinking glasses, the two drank the spirits in one gulp, and immediately turned to the rich dishes on the table to heal their almost starving stomachs. This is a restaurant in Taolin City on the south bank of the Great River outside the Guan. After arriving, I realized that tonight was actually the tenth night of the Lunar New Year. Calculating the time, the two of them practiced kung fu for at least three days and three nights in the snow. I can't believe it. In any case, the three-day delay prevented them from being hunted by the enemy, and everyone mistakenly thought that they had escaped from Guanzhong.

The two then attached themselves to the bottom of a warship going out of the customs by virtue of their unique skills of holding their breath in the water, and escaped without any danger. Taolin nominally surrendered to the Tang family, but was still controlled by the local gang, and had no defenses. As long as he was willing to pay the money for the road to and from the city, the merchants could not help it. Kou Zhong poured wine for Xu Ziling, and said with a smile, "After leaving tonight, I wonder if my two brothers will see each other again." Xu Ziling's heart tightened when he heard this, and he frowned and said, "Why are you so lacking in confidence this time, it's very different from the past."

Apart from them, there were only two tables of guests in the restaurant, which was quite deserted. Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said: "You are a bystander, you should understand better than me. When I was still thinking about the trivial matter of getting treasures and escaping treasures, Li Xiaozi was already planning in secret, making overall combat arrangements involving the rise and fall of the world. Compared with him Come on, it’s really the difference between a small river and a vast ocean.” Xu Ziling said, "You are rarely so humble." Kou Zhong's eyes sparkled brightly, he put down the jug, stared at the rippling spirits in the cup, and said in a deep voice, "This is called self-knowledge. Starting today, if I want to confront Li Xiaozi head-on, I must make a correct assessment of him."

Looking at Xu Ziling, he said, "How many days do you think it will take Li Xiaozi to launch the East Invasion?" Xu Ziling said: "Let's not make unnecessary guesses about this for the time being. Have you neglected the Turkic people? Zhao Deyan is definitely not interested in Yang Wengan's restoration, but he is still willing to participate, of course for the benefit of the Turkic people." Kou Zhong was stunned and said, "Do you mean Jieli will go south in a big way?" Xu Ziling shook his head and said: "Unless Jieli has no other choice, he will not go on an expedition and go deep into the Central Plains. He has so many minions, the best way is to use a knife to kill people. First encourage us Han people to kill each other. Take advantage of the fisherman."

Kou Zhong nodded and said: "That's right, smart people speak out, but stupid people take action. These stupid people should be Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang. If Li Yuan and Li Xiaozi are killed, Jieli will take advantage of troubled waters." Xu Ziling said: "Li Shimin saw through this situation, so he ordered Li Shiji to go out immediately and deploy." Kou Zhong frowned and said, "Could it be that Li Shimin's mobilization was not aimed at Luoyang?" Xu Ziling said with a smile: "If you call it caring, you will be chaotic. Li Shimin's goal is still Luoyang. But the Li family has become the target of public criticism. Any action that affects the whole body will arouse the attention and attacks of Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong. Only these three forces can have the power to fight in the Kanto. In the south, because our father surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, Xiao Xian, Li Zitong, etc. were oppressed. Under this favorable situation, Li Shimin did not flex his muscles. when?"

Kou Zhong smiled wryly, "You seem to be more suitable and competent than me to be the young marshal." Xu Ziling said: "Stop talking nonsense. I want to remind you that Wang Shichong will never become a great weapon. Do you still want to help him defend Luoyang?" Kou Zhong sighed: "If I had other choices, I wouldn't be willing to talk to that old fox." The only other option is to give up fighting for the world. Xu Ziling raised his wine glass and said with a smile, "It's all about human effort. Li Shimin's Eastern Expedition is quite risky. Brother! I'll meet you for a drink in Luoyang later."

Kou Zhong was full of arrogance, he raised his glass to meet him with a big laugh, watched Xu Ziling drink up the wine, and said happily: "Suddenly I am full of fighting spirit again, the real man is shrouded in horse leather, as long as he can pursue his ideals to the heart's content , what a pity to die!" Raise your glass and finish it in one gulp. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong broke up outside Taolin City and went their separate ways. He rushed towards Hongnong overnight. Hongnong was the place where he made an appointment with Gao Zhandao. Due to the relationship with Lei Jiuzhi, Chen Shi, the leader of the Hongnong Gang, became his own. It is of course very convenient to have such a big Kanto gang to take care of him.

They planned carefully, the treasures were hidden outside the city, and they would not bring them into the city. After Gao Zhandao contacted Chen Shi to see if he was willing to help, they decided on the next set of arrangements. As soon as he entered Taolin, Xu Ziling immediately felt that he was being followed. With the speed of his feet, unless he was a master of the same level as Houhou and Yang Xuyan, he would throw everyone off him. But at this moment, he felt that the person watching was at the commanding height of the hill, not someone chasing after him. This situation clearly shows that on their way to Taolin, the enemy noticed the distance between them, so they set up a net, as long as they grasped his route, they would lay a siege to him somewhere and put him to death.

He immediately affirmed that the other party was from the Tiance Mansion. The reason was very simple, because no one would have guessed that he and Kou Zhong would part ways outside Taolin City. Their skill at this time was certainly enough to deal with the people of the Li Clan, but if they were divided into two , is another matter. The side that replaced Li Yuanji would definitely choose Kou Zhong instead of Xu Ziling, only Tiance Mansion would choose him to deal with. Because they knew that the "loose man" Ning Daoqi would personally serve Kou Zhong. He almost wanted to turn around and go back to chase Kou Zhong, but Xuan gave up this idea again. With Kou Zhong's footsteps, he was running at full speed. It was impossible to catch up with him. Martial arts advanced rapidly, avoiding this calamity.

Xu Ziling suddenly avoided the official road and rushed into the dense forest beside the road. This action must have caused chaos for the enemy and showed his signs. Kou Zhong galloped along the river, galloping at full speed, his heart filled with pride. It is really a joy in life to be able to compete in the Central Plains with Li Shimin, the most outstanding figure among the powerful Li family. Since leaving Yangzhou, he and Xu Ziling have been living on the run, growing up amidst challenges and trials. But in front of him is the most severe situation since his debut. Will Li Shimin, who has never really been defeated, suffer a big loss in attacking Luoyang, an important city in the world?

The crescent moon hangs high in the sky, and the tiger and tiger wind blows from the other side of the river in gusts, blowing him like he wants to ride the wind and go away. According to the current speed, it is impossible to reach Luoyang in three or four days. The most convenient way is of course to travel by boat. I only hate the vast river, but there are no boats coming and going. It should be affected by Li Shimin's army gathering outside the pass, which cut off the traffic to Luoyang waterway. After turning a corner, Kou Zhong came to a high cliff. Under the light of the moon, the majestic and mighty river rolled in from the west and meandered back to the east. Kou Zhong couldn't help but stop, the forests on both sides of the bank meet the hills, and the mountains meet infinitely expanding in all directions, the land is vast. Throughout the ages, many heroes have fought bloody battles for this beautiful land to decide who is the emperor. Today he, Kou Zhong, will join the ranks, only in this way can he live up to this life. Kou Zhong looked around, his ambition was surging. Suddenly, he found a small fishing boat moored on the far downstream bank. He was overjoyed and rushed to the target. Xu Ziling hid in the high place of the forest, closed his pores, and waited for the enemy to show up. If he had been the other party, he would have been at a loss for what to do with his weird and sudden move. The enemy is already very careful, and only keeps watch on the commanding heights. How could he know that he has an extraordinary spiritual sense and can respond to long-distance surveillance. Now the sentry will notify the person in charge in a special way, and the person in charge will decide the next step. In this barren mountain, Xu Ziling is an expert in escaping, and everyone knows that he has lost someone. Sure enough, in less than a cup of tea, the wind suddenly blew, and more than a dozen people came along the official road from the direction of Taolin. Xu Ziling didn't dare to look around, since the other party was sure to deal with him, of course it was not an ordinary person, any action would only arouse the other party's reaction. All the enemies stopped at the place where he entered the forest just now, only three feet away from his hiding place. Someone said: "Xu Ziling entered the forest from here." Chai Shao snorted coldly: "My boy, you actually know we're tracking him, but it's more beneficial for us to separate them, and save a lot of effort." Duan Zhixuan's familiar voice said: "If you can go, you can't go to the temple. He will rush to join the people from the Tongxing Club. As long as we go there on fast horses, we can catch them all in one go." Xu Ziling was shocked in his heart, knowing that what he expected was right, at least one group of brothers in the Tongxing Club could not escape their surveillance, the only consolation was that he had already taken precautions and was not completely defeated. Now that we have figured this out, maybe we can use our tricks to lead the enemy astray. Pang Yu said coldly: "These two people often act unexpectedly. We must wake up the twelve spirits, otherwise it will be difficult to explain to the King of Qin. Kou Zhong is destined to end badly. As long as Xu Ziling is dealt with, the young commander will It will be a headless dragon, which will be of great benefit to our attack on Luoyang." A soft voice said: "Young Commander's Army is only in its infancy. Even if it is led by Kou Zhong, what's the point? Today they failed in the treasure hunt, which shows that my Tang Dynasty's fortune is like a rainbow. If it's not the turn of these jumping clowns, I will rely on Pang General's proposal, immediately rush to Hongnong at full speed, with the head of Chen on our side, even if Xu Ziling and the rest of the party cannot be captured." Xu Ziling almost fell from the tree when he heard it, because he never dreamed that Lei Jiuzhi's sworn brothers would betray them for profit. At first he felt the speaker's voice was very familiar, but he couldn't recognize who it was. After listening to his elegant tone, he recognized the voice of "Forgetting the Shape Fan" Pei Ji. Pei Ji was one of Li Yuan's closest ministers, and his deep relationship with Li Yuan was comparable only to Liu Wenjing, Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda and Feng Deyi were all a little behind. This time, he and Pang Yu and other Tiance Mansion troops sent out an army to deal with the two of them. It can be inferred that Li Shimin has Li Yuan's full support. Back in the day, the two of them were still fledgling boys, having breakfast with Li Shimin, Pei Ji, Li Xiuning and others on the boat after stealing the roster of the Dongming School. Chai Shao and Pei Ji didn't take them seriously. Now he has become an incompatible enemy, is there no emotion. Then another familiar voice said: "It's not too late, let's get on the road right away." It was the voice of Li Shentong, the top expert of the Li Clan. Xu Ziling took a deep breath, only relying on the five masters Li Shentong, Pei Ji, Pang Yu, Duan Zhixuan, and Chai Shao was enough to deal with him and Kou Zhong, not to mention the other accompanying masters. Suddenly he understood that this group of people was only targeting him, and they wanted him not to support Kou Zhong. Now his only hope is that Kou Zhong can escape from Ning Daoqi's fingers, otherwise nothing will be mentioned, and he doesn't even know whether he should avenge this revenge. A light boat, lying about five feet away from the bank of the turbulent river, swayed with the waves, but was not carried downstream by the current. An old man with a long beard and five strands of beard sat on the boat. , with an elegant and simple face, wearing a generous brocade robe, it seems that his taller body than ordinary people is even more majestic. Kou Zhong frowned and cried in his heart, he suddenly shrugged and landed on the other side of the light boat, and smiled at the expert sitting on the bow: "Boy Kou Zhong, I'm here to say hello to your old man." Ning Daoqi, who is known as the first person in the Central Plains, had a smile on his lips. He was still staring intently at the silk in his hand, and suddenly his face showed joy, and he shouted like a child who got a treasure: "Go fishing!" Lifting the fishing rod, the fish caught must have weighed tens of catties. The whole fishing rod could not bear the tension and bent. Kou Zhong was dumbfounded when he saw it, and thought it would be such a coincidence. Before you sit still, big fish will be caught. The fish basket beside Ning Daoqi's feet was still empty. This was obviously the first and last big fish caught by Ning Daoqi, but if the fish was indeed as heavy as the fishing rod showed, it was guaranteed not to be stuffed into the small fish basket. The fishing line slowly left the water, and it turned out to be empty without a hook. Kou Zhong stared in amazement at the still bent fishing rod, his whole body was numb and his back felt cold. There is such a profound art in the world. The fish shreds were swinging back and forth in mid-air, and Ning Daoqi was grabbing it as if he had caught a big fish. His hands also showed the big fish struggling and about to be unhooked. , so true that Kou Zhong doubted whether there was indeed an invisible fish hooked on an invisible hook. After a while, Ning Daoqi finally untied the invisible fish, and the fishing rod returned to its original shape. Ning Daoqi skillfully put the "fish" into the basket, sealed the basket lid, and looked at Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong had never seen such a pair of eyes. The other party is a pair of eyes that are indifferent to the world. Looking at them, it is like seeing another world that has nothing to do with this world. It seems that they can be permanently maintained in a certain mysterious level, and there is a kind of With immense and unparalleled power, his calm and elegant gaze reveals frankness and sincerity, even a little childlike innocence.With his quaint and slender face, there is a kind of charm beyond the ordinary world. He suddenly patted the bamboo pole beside his feet, showing a satisfied smile of catching fish, looking up at the sky, and said softly: "Look! The starry sky is so beautiful, it will become possible in the whole set of stars that is impossible in the world." Kou Zhong followed him to look up at the magnificent night sky, sat down in a small boat and followed the waves on the mighty river, nodded and said: "The starry sky tonight is indeed unusually moving." I thought to myself that if Xu Ziling was the one watching, he would be able to point out the name of each bright star, or where the star belongs to. Ning Daoqi was still staring at the starry sky, and said calmly: "Have you ever heard the story of 'Young Marshal, if you want to be wet, you will be in love with each other, it's like forgetting each other in the rivers and lakes'?" Kou Zhong knew that he wanted to enlighten himself, and said with a wry smile: "Please forgive my ignorance, I have never heard such a fable." Although he has a hostile attitude everywhere, he still has admiration from the bottom of his heart for this most outstanding grand master in the past hundred years, so he asked humbly. Ning Daoqi looked back at him again, smiled gently and said, "A small spring has dried up, and the fish are all trapped on the dry pond, so they can only blow moisture on each other and moisten each other with saliva. , but how can they travel freely and freely in the vast lake?" Kou Zhong was startled, Jiang is old and hot, let alone this Taoist master with the highest wisdom and profound wisdom. And these words are the most brilliant portrayal of Kou Zhong's current situation. Although he is not trapped in the dry spring, he is not far away. Under the threat of the Tang army, he can only live with Wang Shichong and others. Lack of truth. His eyes fell on the fish reel beside Ning Daoqi's feet, and he said in a deep voice: "Senior, fishing is the joy of catching fish, but there is no fish in the basket, but the fun of fishing is still there. You know that getting fish and losing fish all depends on the heart." Since this is the case, why care about the gains and losses of drought and wetness?" Ning Daoqi asked in surprise, "Where are the fish?" Kou Zhong's quick thinking, eloquence, and eloquence make him at a loss for words, but Ning Daoqi's sentence "Where are the fish" is full of wisdom and thought-provoking. Kou Zhong felt that his fighting spirit was greatly weakened. Ning Daoqi showed a charming smile full of childlike innocence, and said in a gentle and seductive voice: "In the past, there were three gods in the world. The south was the Emperor of the South, and the north was the Lord of the North. The god in the center was named Hun Huan. Emperor Beijun gathered together to discuss the method of repaying kindness, and figured out that everyone has seven orifices for seeing, hearing, eating and breathing, so he dug a hole for Hun Dun every day, and after seven days, Hun Dun died after opening the seven orifices. Can the young commander What did you learn from this?" Kou Zhong sighed: "The boy understands that the senior wants to enlighten me, and wants the boy to act according to nature, but everyone has his own ambitions, and the senior feels that things are natural, but the boy has a different opinion, so what's the matter." Ning Daoqi let out a long laugh, shook his head and sighed: "Looking at you is like looking at yourself when you were young, never willing to succumb to authority, never willing to stick to established laws, whether the young commander has the patience to listen to the old man's last sentence story?" Kou Zhong straightened his shoulders, his eyes sparkled, his attitude was still so humble and respectful, he nodded and said: "Senior, please give me some pointers." Ning Daoqi said leisurely: "In ancient times, there were two gentlemen, A and B, who herded the sheep together, but lost the sheep. Ask A why he lost the sheep, and A replied that he was busy studying; asked B why he lost the sheep, so he went to gamble. What they did Very different, but no difference in the end, both lose their flock." Kou Zhong met Ning Daoqi's eyes full of wisdom, and his heart was filled with huge waves. Ning Daoqi's story really hit his heart. He has always felt that his motivation to fight for the world is different from others, and this is also the driving force behind his progress towards this ideal. However, Ning Daoqi used this story to vividly describe the judgment of a behavior, which can only be judged from the result. See, and imply that his actions could have disastrous consequences for the world. The two looked at each other, Ning Daoqi was still in that uncontested, pure and innocent fairy posture, while Kou Zhong's gaze became as clear and sharp as a blade. Ning Daoqi has said all the good things, if Kou Zhong refuses to turn his back on it, it is bound to be a situation where he will see the truth. The hull trembled slightly, and began to sail eastward with the current. Kou Zhong smiled slightly and said, "Senior, why did you want to tell the boy these words?" Ning Daoqi returned with a smile, and said indifferently: "Young Commander is destined to learn from the "Secret of Longevity", and the old man regards you as a fellow, so I will not tire of talking." Kou Zhong said in a deep voice: "The way of nature is nothing more than the way of the weak and the strong. Now only because Li Shimin is powerful and has the support of Shi Feixuan, I, Kou Zhong, will become a bereaved dog who screams for both Buddhism and Taoism. The boy in the future is fortunate to become the most qualified overlord of the Central Plains, so both Buddhism and Taoism still have to support Li Shimin?" Ning Daoqi smiled and said: "Good question, we are adapting to the situation and pre-planning the consequences, so we hope that the young commander can think about the people of the world and stop in time." Kou Zhong laughed and said, "If Senior's words stop here, please forgive me for not having time to accompany you." One turned over and fled to the river behind the boat. This is the only way he can escape the cactus, and it is the only way he can gain the initiative and the upper hand. Ning Daoqi's martial arts were truly terrifying.