Chapter 684: Blood Stains the Vermilion Steps

"Who goes there?!"

The soldiers guarding outside the Prince's mansion raised their spears abruptly.

At this moment, night had fallen, and the large lanterns of the mansion hung overhead, illuminating the surrounding area, which also made the distance even darker.

They heard the footsteps were wrong and just gave an instinctive shout.

After all, the Prince of Ying's mansion held a revered status in the capital, and they were all fierce and brave soldiers who had retired from the military.

For so many years, they had never heard of any petty thieves daring to come and harass them.

But it was this slight relaxation that caused them to suffer a great loss.

Just as they looked forward, the experts from the Commandant's Office, who had long since circled the wall, suddenly darted out.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Following several muffled sounds, the soldiers guarding the gate were knocked unconscious to the ground.

Afterward, the sound of armor plates surging sounded from the darkness ahead.

One saw teams of elite soldiers wearing black fish-scale armor, holding standard goose-feather sabers, surrounding the mansion.

Within the military formation, some held heavy crossbows, and there were also many musketeers.

These were gunmen transferred from the Divine Machine Battalion.

The precious Divine Fire Muskets found elsewhere were all standard configuration for them.

This was also Luo Faqing's confidence.

The people sent to him by the Emperor did not include those Grandmaster-level experts, but with so many sharpshooters, plus the experts from the Commandant's Office and the Law Enforcement Hall, even if they encountered a Grandmaster, they had the courage to face them directly without needing to retreat.

Dark shadows flickered, leaping and bounding.

Soon, the outer defenses of the mansion were all cleared.

Even the hidden sentries in the trees were dragged out by Commandant's Office experts using chains around their necks.

However, they were in no hurry to enter.

One saw twelve Daoists in yellow caps walk out of the military formation.

They were agile, in groups of three, quickly occupying the four positions of Kan, Li, Zhen, and Dui outside the mansion.

The leading old Daoist was expressionless. After picking up a compass and taking a look, he said: "The Prince of Ying's mansion construction register is not like this. They privately tampered with it. The nine suppression objects secretly match the nine stars of the Big Dipper, and the gilded copper crane in the mansion's middle courtyard is the eye of the formation, stealing the dragon vein energy of the capital to protect the wealth and status of their descendants."

"What great audacity!"

"Act!"

These Daoists were clearly very familiar with breaking Feng Shui formations.

They each held peach wood stakes and iron charm nails, stepped in the Yu steps, pinched the "Earth Suppression Seal" with their hands, and chanted:

"Heaven is clear and Earth is peaceful, the dragon energy is suppressed and stopped; I obey the imperial decree, nail the veins and seal the spirits!"

This was the "Supreme Chapter of Breaking the Dragon," a method of the Mystic Sects for breaking Feng Shui dragon veins.

In this world, there was the circulation of innate Gang and Sha Qi, and three great dragon veins ran through the Shenzhou. Therefore, throughout the dynasties, there were always Mystic Sect Feng Shui masters who tried every means to destroy the Feng Shui patterns of their opponents. This was not only for the luck of the dynasty, but sometimes it was also frequently used on the battlefield.

For example, the Duke of Zhou suppressed the Nine-Headed Phoenix vein, making it always difficult for the Chu region to take the final step.

For example, during the Five Barbarians' chaos, the northern region's pattern was made into a complete mess.

The most recent one was the Battle of the Northern Frontier many years ago, where the Shenzhou Mystic Sects set up a formation and broke the final luck of the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom...

Precisely because of this, the Taixuan Orthodox Sect also summarized a complete system of arts.

There were corresponding methods for every dragon vein, so breaking the house-suppressing Feng Shui formation of a Prince's mansion was naturally easy.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As the Daoists hammered the peach wood stakes soaked in black dog blood into the nodes of the mansion's earth veins, three muffled sounds appeared out of thin air.

The mansion ground trembled slightly, and cracks appeared on the walls one after another.

Looking closely, the ground exposed by those cracks could vaguely be seen to have Mount Tai stones and copper coins.

However, they were all dim and lusterless now.

However, all of this was not over yet.

The Daoists stepped in the Gang steps again. One of them took down a large ox-horn bow from his back, nocked a wolf-tooth sharp arrow as thick as a thumb, and with an explosion of hidden strength, pulled it open with a creak. The remaining two hung black blood charms on the arrowheads and pinched the seals to draw the charms.

At the same time, they chanted: "The Yang essence has dispersed, the Yin baleful energy generates itself; the foul energy rushes to the sky, the precious artifact is covered in dust!"

This was the second step: defile the suppression objects and break the spiritual pivot.

Like this kind of large house Feng Shui formation, there was basically a pivot.

The Prince of Ying's mansion was the gilded copper crane incense burner in the middle courtyard, which was smoked with incense every day, and in times of crisis, it could shroud the mansion in dense fog.

These Daoists were very experienced, knowing that if they didn't break the formation first, the people in the Prince of Ying's mansion would likely use the dense fog to escape through tunnels, and even worse, the experts raised in the mansion could ambush them in the fog, causing them casualties.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The four charm-swords from the four directions whistled out simultaneously, shooting toward the middle courtyard.

"What great dog guts!"

Just at this moment, several angry shouts came from within the mansion.

One saw an old man in a gray robe leaping and flying along the eaves, soaring into the air, his arms stretching out like an ape's, and he threw a punch.

Bang!

The wolf-tooth iron arrow as thick as a thumb was bent instantly and fell heavily to the ground.

A company commander of the Commandant's Office beside Luo Faqing said coldly: "It's Chen Tieshou, he really is hiding in the Prince's mansion!"

"He is a Tongbei expert from Cangzhou, who ran rampant in the north in his early years, known as 'fists like thunder, palms like collapsing mountains.' Because of his fiery temper, he killed people on the street several times and was wanted by the Commandant's Office. Rumor has it he was hiding in the Prince's mansion to guard the house..."

It wasn't just one person who acted.

On the west side of the mansion, a bearded man also jumped onto the roof, sinking his waist and sitting on his horse, his palms flying like millstones.

With a flick of his palm wind, the incoming arrows were drawn by his sticky strength and flung back at the Commandant's Office formation, with even more force than when they came!

Luo Faqing exerted force under his feet, stepped forward, and used the same technique to catch the arrow, frowning: "Daoist disciple?"

This was Taiji kung fu, and it was a secret training method of the Daoist family.

"It's Zhang Yunhe of Wudang."

The company commander of the Commandant's Office beside him hurriedly introduced: "This person was long ago expelled from the sect and has raped and killed several women."

"Hmph!"

Luo Faqing's expression was ugly. "Truly a place that hides filth."

After saying that, he flung it back, throwing the arrow to those Daoists.

And from behind the mansion corridor pillars, a thin, tall man leaped out, his figure weaving like a ghost, using the Bagua Palm "Wandering Soul Step." With a kite-turning flip in the air, he grabbed the arrow in his hand, also preparing to fling it back.

But he clearly didn't notice the killing intent in the eyes of the company commander of the Commandant's Office.

Following the company commander's wave, two gunmen behind him immediately pulled the triggers.

Boom, boom!

Two roars, and smoke rose everywhere.

The Bagua Palm expert in the air, whose name they didn't even know, was instantly splattered with blood and flesh, leaving no bones behind.

"Firearms?!"

The remaining Prince's mansion retainers' expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly found places to hide.

They were doing things for money, but they didn't intend to truly sell their lives.

At the same time, the remaining two arrows fell into the middle courtyard, inserting directly into the gilded copper crane incense burner.

Visible to the naked eye, where the arrows were inserted, traces of frost spread outward, and the gilded surface peeled off piece by piece.

Such a big movement naturally had long since attracted the attention of everyone in the courtyard.

The actors of Qing'an Hall on the opera stage were all stunned, and the woman playing Magu had the flat peach in her hand roll to the ground.

"What are you still stunned for, hurry and hide!"

Manager Liu Sanhuai gave a roar, taking everyone to hide.

Fortunately, the opera troupe members had all practiced kung fu; although not high, their movements were very agile, and they all found places to hide.

Liu Sanhuai looked left and right in panic, but found that Li Yan had long since disappeared.

"Living ancestor..."

How could he not know that this sudden attack was related to Li Yan.

They had agreed to enter the mansion to investigate, why did he stir up this trouble.

Attacking the Prince of Ying's mansion, he was afraid he would be in big trouble afterward...

This manager's thoughts were running wild, not knowing that today was the doomsday of the mansion.

In the great hall where guests were entertained, the sound of silk and bamboo instruments also stopped abruptly.

The guests' drunken eyes immediately became clear, each one terrified and puzzled.

Only Zou Yanli, the Libationer of the Imperial Academy, laughed out loud while holding a wine cup.

Sha Lifei was somewhat speechless, "Old gentleman, we are leaving, you should hide first." "Hide? No need to hide, you go, even if I die today, it's worth it!"

Zou Yanli waved his hand directly, pushing them away.

Sha Lifei shook his head slightly, taking Lu San and Long Yan'er out.

He knew from the Commandant's Office that many years ago, the current Prince of Ying was a playboy who drank and beat a scholar of the Imperial Academy to death, but in reality, it was the only grandson of this old Libationer, only he had hidden his identity and didn't want to be too high-profile.

Zou Yanli had endured for many years and finally waited for the opportunity, which was why he brought them into the mansion.

The three of them rushed out of the great hall, while behind them, Zou Yanli poured the wine in his cup into his mouth, while shouting: "Vermilion gates reek of wine and meat, tonight blood stains the steps. Eagles and dogs all bow their heads, the royal flag is cut in one night. Bullying the good and kind in the past, crying on the high platform today. A hearty drink, laughing to see the way of Heaven arrive!"

The wine stained his white beard, and his turbid old eyes were full of tears.

"Assassins!"

The Prince's mansion guard commander roared sternly, having already taken the Prince of Ying and Xiao Jingyan to run outside.

"Not assassins, it's the Commandant's Office!"

Chen Tieshou, the Tongbei expert from Cangzhou who had acted earlier, ran over.

The Prince of Ying's face was livid, roaring: "Has the Commandant's Office rebelled?!"

"Hahaha..."

Chen Tieshou laughed, no longer having his former respect, mocking: "Prince, that is the Commandant's Office, this is the capital, what rebellion could there be? It's the old Emperor who wants to act against the Prince's mansion. We will take a step first, you take care of yourself!"

After saying that, he took several retainers and turned to leave.

"You... you!"

The Prince of Ying was so angry that his eyes were spitting fire, but the guards beside him couldn't stop these experts.

He had been a playboy since childhood, thinking he could gather people's hearts with money and power, but he didn't know that those gathered by profit would inevitably disperse by profit.

At the critical moment, these martial arts experts couldn't be relied upon at all.

"Big Brother, let's go quickly!"

Beside him, Xiao Jingyan's face was pale, trembling: "Fortunately, we were prepared, let's leave through the secret passage first, and then make plans."

"But Mother..."

"How can we care about that old thing!"

Seeing Xiao Jingyan urging repeatedly, the Prince of Ying, Xiao Jingyuan, finally gritted his teeth and prepared to run to the backyard.

"The two of you, where are you in such a hurry to go?"

Sha Lifei, taking Lu San and Long Yan'er, happened to come out and blocked their path.

"Seeking death!"

The Prince's mansion guard commander was still loyal, taking his men to charge up with swords.

Bang, bang!

Sha Lifei suddenly raised his hands, and the flintlock muskets in both hands fired simultaneously.

Two loud bangs, and the guard commander's chest had a large hole, while another guard lost his head.

The imperial court's control over firearms was far stricter in the capital than elsewhere.

The Prince of Ying's mansion was afraid of causing trouble, so they only prepared a few, and they were all hidden under the Prince's bedroom.

They also didn't expect their mother to secretly join the "Flat Peach Banquet," causing Luo Faqing to kill his way to the door directly, catching them off guard, and no plans could be implemented in time.

As soon as Sha Lifei's gunshots fell, Lu San waved his hand.

Hum!

A black cloud fell in the air; it was the swarm of poisonous bees from the demon gourd.

The Prince's mansion Feng Shui formation was broken, and the poisonous bees could enter without interference.

Screams arose, and a group of guards were stung and howled like ghosts.

As for Long Yan'er, she guarded beside the two, and seeing the retainers hired by the mansion running over, she directly used Gu arts to confuse them.

With their cultivation and cooperation, ordinary forces simply couldn't stop them.

The Prince of Ying was also stung by a poisonous bee, rolling to the ground in agony, trembling as he took a wolf-bone whistle from his bosom, blowing it desperately in his mouth, then screaming: "Master Wu, protect me and let me escape today, and the debts of the past will be written off!"

Boom!

As soon as the words fell, the stone slab ground in front of the mansion's ancestral hall exploded.

Amidst the mud and falling stones, a black mist surged out, vaguely forming a giant wolf shape in the air, flying up and down, while a hoarse voice came from within, "Hmph, all idiots, I told you to keep a low profile earlier..."

Although he said so, he still pounced toward Sha Lifei and the others.

At this moment, the mansion gate had been broken, and Luo Faqing and the others swarmed in.

"Yin soul traveling?!"

Seeing the wolf-shaped black mist, the old Daoist who broke the formation was terrified.

Yin spirit traveling was a capability only possessed by those at the fourth or fifth level of the building.

This technique could control artifacts and charms to attack, assassinate enemies a hundred miles away, and also possess and seize bodies.

More importantly, this Yin soul traveling already had a form, like substance; he was afraid he had the cultivation of the sixth level.

One step further, and he would be a figure like an Earth Immortal gathering Yang spirits.

How could the mansion still be hiding such a monster?

"Don't worry."

Luo Faqing beside him looked indifferent, shaking his head: "I was waiting for him."

As soon as the words fell, a majestic voice came from the pavilion in the distance:

"Heaven has discipline, Earth has order, the Yin Division detains souls, Yang people avoid!"

"Living Yin messenger?!"

The wolf-shaped black mist that was originally pouncing toward Sha Lifei and the others let out a scream, whistling as it fled outward.

And above the pavilion, a large area of darkness appeared, spreading and chasing at a faster speed.

"Coward!"

Sha Lifei glanced at it with disdain, directly going up to kick the Prince of Ying over.

Just as he was about to use a rope to bind him, Li Yan's voice came from the pavilion:

"Yu Wenhai is also there, don't let him run!"

Lu San waved his hand immediately, releasing the falcon to circle above the mansion.

Sha Lifei also quickly filled the magazine, his expression solemn, looking left and right.

Suddenly, the falcon in the sky let out a cry.

Lu San said in a deep voice: "He went into the tunnel with those female relatives."

Before he finished speaking, he carried his mace and rushed to the backyard.

Sha Lifei and Long Yan'er followed closely behind.

Behind them, the Prince of Ying, Xiao Jingyuan, was trembling all over. Just as he stood up, he was pressed to the ground by the fierce Commandant's Office.

As for Luo Faqing and the others, they had already taken their men to kick open the side hall where the Old Princess entertained guests.

One saw that inside, the members of the "Flat Peach Banquet" were all there.

Vice Minister of Revenue Zhou Mingyuan was holding a large opium pipe, his eyes confused, a foolish smile on his mouth.

The others were all the same.

They used the "Fortune and Longevity Paste" to relieve the poison of the flat peaches, already floating like immortals, completely forgetting themselves.

"Catch them all!"

Luo Faqing was full of disgust, ordering in a deep voice.

But just at this moment, a sound of a bamboo flute came from the night sky.

The flute sound was melodious, the aura ancient, as if having a sense of detachment from the world.

"Ah!"

Vice Minister of Revenue Zhou Mingyuan, who was full of foolish smiles, suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen, screaming and wailing.

He looked down in horror, and his official robe was rapidly distending and tearing.

A tumor bulged under his skin, and a child's face appeared, wriggling constantly in the flesh and blood...

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 685 =====