The bustle on the streets of Yanzhou City outside has gradually subsided, but this room in the government jail is still cold and gloomy.

The surroundings were already covered with guards, and the prison was blocked tightly. Li Jiuzhou came to the door and found that all the yamen runners seemed a little nervous for no reason.

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It was probably the first time they were guarding such an important prisoner. In such a tense atmosphere, Li Jiuzhou couldn't help but frown, remembered the old monk in the prison, and walked in quickly.

The old monk stood in a dark corner, his chest slightly undulating, and the room was very cold. He could feel that the coldness was rapidly eroding the few remaining lives.

The heavy iron door was slowly opened, making a creaking sound.

Li Jiuzhou lowered his head slightly, and the sound of the iron chain was a little harsh.

He raised his head and looked at the big iron gate with a calm face. The sunlight gently passed through the tall trees outside the prison and sprinkled towards the iron gate.

The mottled light marks were left on the door, and they were also lightly printed on the old face. The sound of the iron chains mopping the floor suddenly stopped, and an old sigh sounded.

After sighing in the old monk's dry lips, he said with a slight : "You don't have to worry about it anymore, I can't say anything."

Li Jiuzhou seemed to have no feeling, slowly looked up at him, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "I have time to find out the truth."

The old monk slowly closed his eyes, took a few strong breaths, calmed his mind, and smiled slightly.

"I'll check that small temple." Li Jiuzhou said lightly.

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"What did you find?" The old monk still closed his eyes.

Li Jiuzhou had no expression on his face: "No."

The old monk was a little surprised and shook his head slightly and said, "This matter was done by me alone, you can't find anything."

Li Jiuzhou also shook his head and walked out slowly.

Flowers and butterflies danced beside the road, and low branches hung in the sky. Old man Zhang from Li Jiuzhou's feet went to the small temple again.

I think there are no people in the temple, and there will be no clues left.

Li Jiuzhou's footsteps stopped in front of a farmhouse yard.

"When did the monk come from this small temple on the mountain?" Li Jiuzhou politely asked the farmer.

The farmer had already heard from his clothes and his accent from other places that he must have been a noble man from the capital. He did not dare to be negligent at all, and bowed and replied: "There were no monks in the temple on the mountain, and these monks came only last year."

"Can we know where it comes from?"

"I heard it was a monk from Penglai."

Penglai, from the sea.

Li Jiuzhou closed his eyes and thought.

"What are you thinking?" Old Man Zhang asked softly when he saw him frowning.

"I have read the certificates in the government office, but there is no one from that old monk."

The sacrificial certificate is issued by the Ministry of Temples. It is a system established by the ancient feudal government to control the number of monks and nuns in Buddhist temples. That is, the government has identified or passed the examination and issued a certificate that allows monks to be ordained as monks and nuns. Monks and nuns also use this certificate as identity certificate and can be exempted from corvee service.

The old monk did not have a certificate of vassal, which means he did not have official certification.

"What can this mean?" Old Man Zhang asked in confusion.

"There are problems with the origin of these monks, and they must be found out." Li Jiuzhou turned to look at Old Man Zhang, "When you go to Penglai, how long will it take to rush back?"

Old Man Zhang already knew that he wanted to go to Penglai to find out the origin of the old monk. He narrowed his eyes and thought, "If you prepare a good horse, you can come back in one day."

Chapter 196                                                                                                                             

"Just ride my horse, then go back and set off. I will go to the mountain to take a look." Li Jiuzhou said.

Old Man Zhang didn't say much, turned around and left.

Li Jiuzhou did not go to that small temple, but to another temple.

There are many temples here.

Mount Tai is close to it, and there is a small hill that is not high but beautiful and vivid. The locals call it Wohu Mountain.

Legend has it that when Zhao Gongming, who became the God of Wealth, climbed to heaven and performed his duties, he deliberately left his mount, Black Tiger, to take care of his place of peace and cultivation. The Black Tiger often lies here. After thousands of years, it turned into a huge rock, which is the origin of Crouching Tiger Mountain.

But the one on the mountain is not a temple, but a Taoist temple.

An old Taoist priest sat outside the mist, silently sitting, falling to the ground and taking root.

There are endless pilgrims, and the endless incense that stretches through the year is blended into the mist, setting off the ever-increasing wonderland on earth.

Following the main road, Li Jiuzhou came to the old Taoist priest.

The old Taoist priest sat peacefully, but the corners of his eyes moved slightly.

"I want to inquire about the monks in the temple on the mountain." Li Jiuzhou pointed to the small hill bag in the distance.

After half a day, the old Taoist priest spoke and said softly: "Your Excellency is Li Jiuzhou, right?"

Li Jiuzhou was not surprised and smiled and said, "The master had expected me to come?"

The old Taoist priest nodded, looked up at the distance, and said, "Wouhu Mountain is closest to where, if you want to inquire about the news, you will naturally find this."

Li Jiuzhou said calmly: "As the master said, the monk in the temple assassinated the saint, and I came here to find out some news."

The old Taoist priest chuckled softly and said, "I don't know much."

Li Jiuzhou shook his head and said, "You are neighbors, and you will always know something."

The old Taoist priest didn't seem to want to hide anything, so he withdrew his gaze and said slowly: "I only know that those monks came here from Penglai last year."

These words had been learned from the farmer before, and Li Jiuzhou asked further: "What's the matter?"

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The old Taoist priest's words were as plain as ever, "I don't know anything else."

Li Jiuzhou frowned. Judging from his own experience, the old Taoist priest should have known something, deliberately concealed it, and wrote a compilation: "It is of great importance, I hope the master will inform you."

The old Taoist priest seemed to be ignorant of the world and said, "It is your business to investigate the case, why do you have to involve me?"

Li Jiuzhou laughed silently, "I'm just asking casually."

Seeing that he refused to tell him, Li Jiuzhou moved his steps.

As soon as he took a few steps, he suddenly heard the old Taoist priest behind him stopping him: "It's time to eat. Since you are here, why don't you need some vegetarian food before leaving?"

Li Jiuzhou laughed heartily, it is better to obey his orders than to be respectful.wΑpkanshuwu

There are many pilgrims in the Taoist temple, who come to burn incense and seek wealth. They are not good people who truly believe in the Taoist gods and immortals. Li Jiuzhou is too lazy to watch more. As the old Taoist priest entered the house, the old Taoist priest ordered people to make a bowl of plain noodles, sit opposite Li Jiuzhou, and watch him have a meal.

Li Jiuzhou sucked a strong noodles into his mouth and asked vaguely: "I wonder why the master kept me?"

The old Taoist priest sighed: "People outside the world are most afraid of killing. They can't help you kill. It's okay to invite you to have a bowl of noodles."

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Li Jiuzhou looked up and gave him a blank look: "You are still a practitioner of Taoism, so why can't you even tell the difference between right and wrong? If the monk assassinated the emperor, if he succeeded, I don't know how many people in the world would involve the lives of you.

Chapter 196: Regaining the means [2/3: In order to save his life, he ignored the lives of the people in the world. This is not a great way."

The old Taoist carefully handed over a yellowed book and smiled and said, "You are indeed willing to support the world. I'll give this book to you."

Li Jiuzhou took it and said in surprise: "Isn't this the old monk's certificate? How could it be with you?"

The old Taoist priest showed a leisurely and contented expression and said, "He asked me to keep it for him."

Seeing him keeping him in hiding, Li Jiuzhou smiled and said, "Why didn't you say it earlier?"

The old Taoist priest narrowed his eyes and said, "It's not too late to say it now."

Li Jiuzhou hurriedly opened the certificate and started reading it.

The certificate of vassal is roughly similar to the imperial edicts and proclamations of the court. The certificate contains the origin, common name, age, temple, and official offices of the monks, nuns and Taoists. The format starts with the official title of the issuer, the second is the name of the person who issued the payment, the intention to give the payment, the reason for agreeing to give the payment, the last is the year, month, day and the signature or seal of the person who issued the certificate of vassal.kΑnshuwuξa

After reading the certificate of the sacrificial certificate, Li Jiuzhou was slightly surprised that the old monk turned out to be a Japanese man.

The old Taoist priest had given what he should give and said earnestly to Li Jiuzhou: "Life is like a cup of shaking turbid water. After leaving it alone, you will see dirt at the bottom of the cup."

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Li Jiuzhou thought for a moment and nodded, "Thank you for your guidance."

After getting up and thanking the old Taoist, Li Jiuzhou hurried back to the camp along the mountain road.

Since the old monk is a Japanese man, why did he assassinate the emperor? Is it good for the emperor to die?

When Li Jiuzhou thought of this, he felt that this matter was not that simple. The old monk didn't speak up because he seemed to want to hide something.

Could it be that Japan, a mere vassal state, dares to have the idea of ​​the Tang Dynasty?

It is not a solution to think randomly at the moment. It is best if Old Man Zhang can find out what he will come back.

Old Man Zhang's movements were also extremely fast, and he had returned the next day, with a look of joy on his face.

"But what did you find out?" Li Jiuzhou couldn't wait to ask him.

"That old monk came from Japan."
To be continued...