A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 452 Weird and Strange Sayings
On the distant hilltop in the west, there was a sunset glow, as red as a wound.

Ge Hengtai's figure flickered in the dense forest where the light was dim.

In the dim light of the sky, his face was as gloomy as water. An hour had passed. He brought a large number of soldiers and had searched the dense forest nearby.

Such a huge gray rhino, but not even its shadow was seen.

"Could it be...!?"

A hint of hesitation appeared in Ge Hengtai's eyes, but he immediately dismissed the thought.

"I have lived for decades and have never heard of any monsters in Qingzhou. If there is no one behind such a bizarre and strange thing, then it would be like seeing a ghost."

Ge Hengtai's eyes flashed fiercely. He was sure of this. In fact, there was another reason. Just half a month ago, he just found out that Li Shensi had already joined their side before he took office as Shangshu Ling.

In fact, this information is extremely secret.

The reason why Ge Rusong and his team informed Ge Hengtai was that, firstly, he was their most capable person in the secular world. Secondly, as a counselor, Ge Hengtai had great power, and informing him was to let him cause less trouble for Li Shensi.

But unexpectedly, only half a month later, Li Shensi was killed in the Heavenly Sacrifice Ceremony. And in such a bizarre and strange way.

If he had not already known that Li Shensi had joined them, he would not have been so sure that someone was responsible for Li Shensi's death.

At that time, on the Temple of Heaven, even he was frightened at that moment.

When the huge gray rhino with red eyes looked at them with an indifferent and calm look, at that moment, he was almost certain that it was definitely not the look of a rhino.

At this time, Ge Hengtai was searching in the dense forest just to find evidence to prove that someone was responsible for Li Shensi's death, which would have a significant impact on public opinion.

In fact, he had already figured out his opponent's intentions shortly after the accident.

They want to use this bizarre and strange way to guide the people and eliminate some adverse influences in public opinion.

After all, two Shangshu Lings were murdered in succession. With public opinion fermenting, people’s words are scary. If it is not thoroughly investigated, it will obviously be detrimental to the sect’s rule over the secular world.

In this case, this matter is not only a case in the secular world, perhaps even the sect's judgment office will get involved. Once Yang Sixian gets involved in this matter, the people involved behind the scenes may be exposed.

If he wanted to break the bizarre and weird story, he had to find the gray rhino. Only by letting the people see the gray rhino could he break the other party's conspiracy and not let their people die in vain.

However, at this moment, seeing that the sun was about to set and they had searched quite deeply but still found nothing, Ge Hengtai almost realized that there was little hope of finding evidence.

In another part of the dense forest, a group of soldiers were searching.

Suddenly a timid voice called out: "Yangtou, Yangtou..."

Not far away, a middle-aged man wearing armor and a helmet turned around and cursed, "What are you going to fart about, kid?"

The thin soldier came closer and whispered, "Yangtou, it's getting darker and darker. Should we not search deeper?"

"Yo~" the middle-aged man in the helmet stretched out his voice, glanced at the thin soldier, and said, "Young man, your ideas are getting bigger and bigger. Lord Ge told us to search five miles in this direction, and we have only walked halfway. So? Should I listen to Lord Ge or you?"

The skinny soldier, who was called Xiaoshengzi, was ridiculed by his superior, but he still said calmly: "Boss! We brothers have all seen the Rhinoceros Immortal on the Temple of Heaven! If Lord Li Shensi had not bumped into the Rhinoceros Immortal, he would not have died so tragically!"

"Don't talk nonsense!" The middle-aged man in the helmet glared at the thin soldier.

"Boss, you haven't heard yet?"

"What did you hear?"

The thin soldier lowered his voice and said, "When Li Shensi was hunting, he encountered the Rhinoceros Immortal in the dense forest. When he drew his bow to shoot, the stirrup suddenly broke, and Lord Li fell off his horse and fainted. It was this encounter that collided with the Rhinoceros Immortal. When offering sacrifices to the sky, the Rhinoceros Immortal suddenly flew into the air, causing Lord Li to go crazy and jump off the cliff, turning into a pulp."

The middle-aged man wearing a helmet moved. He had seen the strange and terrifying gray rhino on the Temple of Heaven, but he had never heard that Lord Li Shensi had collided with it while hunting. "Lord Li encountered the rhino fairy while hunting and fell off his horse and fainted. Who told you that?"

"Sir, I have a childhood friend who was a soldier in the hunting team. He told me this himself. How could this be false?"

The middle-aged man wearing a helmet glanced at him suspiciously when he heard this.

At this time, another soldier who looked honest and strong also said: "Boss, it's true! I heard it too."

The middle-aged man wearing a helmet glanced at Liu Jieshi. This guy is always taciturn, but he never lies.

Seeing that someone was supporting him, the skinny soldier said boldly, "Boss, since Lord Li was the one who bumped into the Rhinoceros Immortal first, and was retaliated and killed, it can be considered as tit for tat. We can only consider ourselves unlucky. If we continue to search like this, it will get dark soon. What if we run into the Rhinoceros Immortal again in the dense forest..."

The thin soldier shuddered as he spoke.

The middle-aged man wearing a helmet also had a flash of fear in his eyes. After all, the strange and terrifying rhino had disappeared after jumping off the northern cliff. It might really be in this dense forest. "So what do you say we should do?"

"Boss, why don't we go back the same way we came. On the way back, find a secluded place to hide before it gets dark, and report back when the time is right. It's better for us brothers not to risk our lives for such a weird and evil thing. What do you think, boss?"

The middle-aged man in the helmet looked up and saw the soldiers nearby looking at him expectantly. Then his face darkened and he said, "Okay. Let's do it. But I'll make it clear. If anyone leaks the news, you'll have to be careful."

"Boss, don't worry. The brothers have followed you for many years and know the importance of this matter." Another voice said not far away.

The middle-aged man wearing a helmet nodded, then waved his hand and said, "Okay, brothers, let's go back the same way!"

At this time, Duan Rong was lying on the branch of a big tree on a hill, looking at the city gate not far away.

At dusk, there were a few people coming in and out of the city gate. Duan Rong was waiting for it to get dark before entering the city.

At this time, a fast horse was seen galloping on the official road, raising a trail of dust.

Duan Rong was not far from the official road. He suddenly released his spiritual sense and swept across the figure on the fast horse on the official road.

"It's Jiang Zhuoyun!"

Duan Rong was not surprised that Jiang Zhuoyun rode into the city first, as this was part of his plan.

After Jiang Zhuoyun entered the city, the last bit of dim light in the west was also swallowed up. The sky had completely darkened, and torches had been lit at the city gate.

Duan Rong moved in the darkness and soon arrived at a remote and deserted place on the city wall.

The walls of Shenyun Mansion are of course tall and thick, but with Duan Rong's Yuanqi realm lightness skills and body movements, such walls are nothing but a mere formality.

Duan Rong's spiritual sense penetrated the thick city wall and confirmed that there was nothing unusual inside or outside the wall. Then he moved his body like an eagle, rising from the ground. His toes only touched the middle of the city wall, and he had already crossed the wall and landed lightly.

Duan Rong landed lightly in the darkness, and after detecting with his divine sense, he chose a direction and flew out. In the dark night, he walked through the streets and alleys, and soon he found a large number of heavily armored cavalry being mobilized in the Shenyun Mansion. In the darkness, Duan Rong's eyes were motionless, and he had already guessed what Jiang Zhuoyun was going to do by returning to the city early.

Although there were a large number of heavily armored cavalry being mobilized in the Shenyun Palace, with Duan Rong's physical skills and the detection of his spiritual sense, how could these cavalrymen find him?
Not long after, Duan Rong returned to the villa in Zhu Zhengfu's mansion.

Duan Rong did not enter through the window this time. To be honest, he was not a thief, so there was no need for him to go in and out through the window all the time.

What's more, it was just getting dark and Ruyi hadn't gone to bed yet.

Duan Rong went straight in from the gate of the villa. Qiu Luan was half lying on a big rock drinking. Duan Rong suddenly flashed over like a ghost and stopped at the door.

The dim light from the lantern at the door shone on his face.

Qiu Luan jumped up in surprise and realized it was Duan Rong. Duan Rong was so fast that when Qiu Luan realized it, he had already reached the door.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Qiu Luan sat up suddenly, choked by the wine, and kept coughing.

He had been drinking for years and his lungs were originally in some discomfort. When he coughed, it seemed as if his lungs were affected. He coughed more and more violently, and a deep red turned on his face.

Duan Rong looked at Qiu Luan with a serious expression.

At this time he was standing beside Qiu Luan, and suddenly he reached out his hand and pressed several acupoints on Qiu Luan's body one by one.

Duan Rong moved extremely quickly, pressing several acupuncture points as if with a flick of the brush. Before Qiu Luan could react, Duan Rong had already withdrawn his hand and stood still.

Qiu Luan then realized that the urge to cough had faded away. He looked at Duan Rong with some astonishment.

Duan Rong can be said to have inherited the medical and poison treatment methods of Shen Ping and Shang Xiangyu. His attainments in this area are by no means comparable to those of ordinary mediocre doctors. He stood there, looking at Qiu Luan, and said calmly, "Drink less. No matter how healthy you are, you can't stand your drinking all the time."

Qiu Luan said: "Thank you for your concern, sir. I am just a remnant, and I will live one more day at a time." As Qiu Luan spoke, he grabbed the jar of wine and poured it down his throat.

Duan Rong shook his head, glanced at Qiu Luan, then turned and walked into the room.

When she walked into the room, Ruyi was sitting there, propping her head up with her hands, in a daze. When she saw a dark shadow flashing at the door, she looked up and saw that it was Duan Rong. She was immediately delighted and stood up abruptly, saying happily, "My lord, you're back!"

Duan Rong didn't say anything, he just walked over and picked up the teacup on the table.

"My lord, that one is cold. I'll change it for you."

Duan Rong shook his hand and poured the cold tea directly into his throat. He took a breath, put down the empty teacup, looked at Ruyi, and said, "Bring me something to eat. I'm a little hungry!"

"Yes! Please wait a moment, sir. I'll go right away!" Ruyi knelt down and bowed lightly, then hurried out with the food box.

Ruyi never mentioned where Duan Rong went last night or why he came back so late. These things were not her business.

However, she noticed that there were some grass debris on Duan Rong's hair and clothes, as if he had been to the wild.

Ruyi carried the food box out of the villa and went to the big kitchen in the mansion which was responsible for preparing the dishes.

Ruyi has been serving Duan Rong for the past few days and has to go out to get meals every day. The guards patrolling outside have already recognized her.

When Ruyi walked over, the guards couldn't help but look at her plump waist a few more times. Ruyi naturally noticed the guards' gazes, but she did not feel disgusted. Instead, she enjoyed the feeling of being stared at.

Ruyi came to the big kitchen and went straight to the largest room on the east side.

That was the place where meals were provided to Zhu Zhengfu's family. The chef was originally the head chef of Songhelou, and was later poached by Zhu Zhengfu.

As soon as Duan Rong entered the mansion, Zhu Zhengfu treated him like his grandfather, and his meals were naturally provided here.

Ruyi came in with a lunch box and saw a middle-aged fat man with a big waist who was cooking. Next to him was a thin and dark young man who was helping him.

Ruyi called out in a delicate voice: "Fatty Xu... is there anyone quicker? Prepare a few dishes first and heat up two steamed buns."

Ruyi's delicate and delicate fat Xu almost made that guy's bones go soft.

Fatty Xu shuddered, turned his head to look at Ruyi, and said with a smile: "Yes, there are ready-made steamed pork with rice flour and steamed bowls in the steamer, and I will heat up the steamed buns for you."

Fatty Xu said as he was cooking while looking at the skinny young man, "Xiao Guo, put two buns in the steamer and add some firewood."

Xiao Guo put down the vegetables he was cutting on the chopping board and went to the steamer. At this moment, Ruyi suddenly winked at Fatty Xu.

Fatty Xu was startled for a moment, then understood, and again instructed the skinny young man who was adding firewood to the stove, "Xiao Guo, go to Madam Qin and ask her what kind of soup she wanted to drink in the evening."

Xiao Guo was slightly stunned and said, "Didn't you say you wanted to drink snake soup? I've even peeled the snake skin..."

Fatty Xu's face darkened and he cursed, "I told you to ask again, what are you mumbling about!?"

Seeing Fatty Xu's expression change, Xiao Guo had no choice but to agree and left the room.

As soon as he walked out of the room, he stood there, spat behind him, and then went to the backyard cursing.

After Xiao Guo left, Ruyi stood at the door and looked around. At this time, Fatty Xu suddenly took out paper and pen, which were originally used to keep accounts for their grocery shopping.

Ruyi walked over calmly, picked up a pen and started writing something on the paper. His writing was very skillful and fast.

After Ruyi finished writing, she immediately tore off the paper, blew on it with her little mouth, and when the ink was slightly dry, she folded it and stuffed it into the lapel of Fatty Xu.

Meanwhile, Fatty Xu had just taken the dish he was cooking out of the pan.

At this time, Xiao Guo had already walked back and stood at the door. His face looked a little ugly. He had just gone over and was scolded by Madam Qin's maid. Now he looked sad and said, "I asked and they said it was snake soup."

Fatty Xu nodded, pointed at the dish that had just come out of the pot, and said, "Bring this dish over."

After Xiao Guo left, Fatty Xu prepared two cold dishes for Duan Rong, and put them into Ruyi's lunch box together with the steamed pork with rice flour and the steamed rice bowl. Ruyi then went back with the lunch box.

After Fatty Xu prepared dinner for each room, he told Xiao Guo to clean up and wash up in the kitchen. He then took off his apron and went back to his room to rest.

Fatty Xu took out the piece of paper that Ruyi had folded and stuffed into his lapel in the room, glanced at it in the light of the lamp, and then sat down at the table, spread out new paper, and carefully copied it in tiny calligraphy.

He took out a thin bamboo tube from the corner, put the copied paper into it, then closed the door, left the mansion, and disappeared into the dark night.

(End of this chapter)