Speed ​​Pass starts with choosing a hunter

Chapter 289 Connections
Lingyue Temple was named after the founder of the temple who felt that this Lingxiu Mountain had excellent feng shui.

So they built a temple in the mountain and named it Lingyue Temple.

Although this hill has nothing to do with the word "Yue".

At the beginning, there was only one Taoist temple on Lingxiu Mountain. Later, with the help of disciples and grandchildren, Lingyue Temple became bigger and bigger, and finally the entire mountain was filled with Taoist temples.

There is a small path at the foot of Lingxiu Mountain, leading directly to Lingyue Temple on the top of the mountain.

Bai Yuan and his companions came to the path.

This is a winding cobblestone road, and some places have become dirt roads due to severe damage.

I don’t know why Lingyue Temple, which is so wealthy, is unwilling to do some repairs.

Soon, the group saw the mountain gate of Lingyue Temple.

The Lingguan Hall behind the mountain gate is also clearly visible, and the eaves of the Sanqing Hall can be vaguely seen behind it.

When a few people were about to step through the mountain gate, a Taoist jumped out from nowhere.

"Everyone, what's the matter with you coming to Lingyue Temple?"

The man was wearing a simple and bright Taoist robe, which gave him the demeanor of a hermit.

They came to Lingyue Temple this time to ask for troops, so naturally they had to be polite.

Yan Lei: "I am Yan Lei from the Yan family of Chuzhou, and I am here to visit the old abbot on the orders of the ancestor."

The Taoist raised his brows slightly.

The Yan family of Chuzhou is famous throughout the south of the Yangtze River and everyone knows it.

"Everyone, I am waiting here on the orders of the abbot. Please."

The Taoist laughed and led everyone up the stairs.

Yan Lei felt relieved when he saw this. It was obvious that the visiting card from yesterday had worked.

He did not visit using the identity of Yan Shaoan's Taibao, but using the identity of the Yan family.

Because in Jiangnan, the Yan family is more powerful than the imperial court.

Even though Lingyue Temple has a special status in Fengzhou, it would never dare to easily offend a family like the Yan family, which is at the peak of its prosperity.

Soon, they arrived at the top of the mountain, where rows of elegant and simple buildings appeared in front of everyone, just like the legendary immortal caves. On a moss-covered rock that was one meter tall was inscribed the three characters "Lingyue Temple".

The Taoist led a few people into the Taoist temple.

With a Taoist taking the lead, everything will go smoothly.

Soon, everyone came to a beautiful courtyard.

About an incense stick of time passed, footsteps were heard outside the door.

The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and a middle-aged Taoist with an elegant and handsome face walked in.

"The abbot is in seclusion and cannot show up for the time being. He has ordered me to entertain you. I am calm and happy to meet you all."

"Master Qingding, I am honored."

Bai Yuan and his companions also returned the greeting.

It was expected that the abbot of Lingyue Temple did not show up in person, it was simply because it was embarrassing.

If Yan Shaoan came in person, the old abbot would naturally appear, but now only the younger generation of the Yan family came, so he naturally would not lower his status.

The so-called seclusion by Taoist Qing Ding was just an excuse.

Yan Lei, who was used to the ways of the world, didn't take it seriously. He got straight to the point: "Master Qingding, my grandfather ordered us to come here this time to ask your temple to send troops to the north to provide assistance."

Taoist Qingding seemed to have guessed the purpose of their visit long ago.

He looked embarrassed and said, "Friend Yan, it's not that Lingyue Temple is unwilling to help. The Taoism is based on pure self-cultivation. If you are involved in karma, your cultivation will definitely drop sharply. We are really powerless."

The smile on Yan Lei's face faded a little, and he sneered in his heart.

Hasn’t the Taoist sect caused enough killing in Xuanyang over the years?

These are all just excuses for not wanting to send troops.

The frequency of Taoism's involvement in the world is no less than that of Confucianism.

Afterwards, Yan Lei continued to lobby, but Taoist Qingding was like an incorruptible rock and remained unmoved.

Yan Lei almost wore out his lips from talking so much.

Seeing that Lingyue Temple had made up its mind, the few people could only go down the mountain in frustration.

After a setback at the first stop, everyone's morale was a little low.

Li Huan was very worried about the future: "Brother Yan, it seems that our trip will not be very smooth."

Yan Lei sighed softly.

How could he not know?

This time it is called conscription, but in fact it has no compulsory effect at all. It all depends on the face of the Yan family.

If the other party doesn't fall for the Yan family's tricks, they can do nothing about it.

After all, a big force like Lingyue Temple would certainly show respect to the Yan family on the surface, but when it comes to major interests, they would never agree easily.

Just like Taoist Qingding today.

After experiencing the setback just now, Yan Lei was also worried about his future itinerary.

If he couldn't even convince one family, he wouldn't be able to report to his grandfather.

He took a deep breath and said, "It's okay. There are many clans and families in Jiangnan. We can always find people who are willing to help."

Li Huan could only nod in agreement.

But deep down he was not optimistic about the prospects this time.

According to their previous expectations, Lingyue Temple should have been the most likely to send troops. After all, Fengzhou was the weakest, and Lingyue Temple was also the weakest of the forces they had chosen this time.

But I didn't expect that even the weakest Lingyue Temple would be defeated.

Although Yan Lei still looked confident on the surface, he was extremely anxious in his heart.

This time he volunteered to come to Jiangnan just to gain credit.

Although the Yan family has a long history of scholarly tradition, the competition within the family is no weaker than that among other families.

The Yan family is now at its peak, and there are many geniuses in the family. Even though he is gifted and has been placed with high hopes since childhood, the pressure is still not small.

He finally got the chance to follow his grandfather to the north, and he didn't want to leave an impression of incompetence the first time. Yan Lei glanced at Li Huan and Bai Yuan beside him and sighed again.

Although Li Huan was born into a noble family, the influence of the King of Qingzhou in Jiangnan was almost zero and he could not play any role at all.

As for Bai Yuan, he was only a fourth-rank official in Lingzhou, and could only be considered a fifth-rank official in Jiangnan, so he had no deterrent power at all.

Half an hour later.

Everyone returned to the Yan family's house.

After the failure of Lingyue Temple this time, the confidence of several people was greatly reduced.

Yan Lei didn't want to return empty-handed at the first stop, Fengzhou, so he discussed with Li Huan and Bai Yuan to find a weaker family to attack, so that they would have a better chance of success.

However, although there are many Fengzhou families, almost none of them can provide effective help to the war situation in the north.

This made Yan Lei even more embarrassed.

While everyone was discussing, a member of the Yan family ran in.

"Sir, there is someone at the door asking to see you, claiming to be from the Cao Gang."

Hearing this, Yan Lei frowned.

Cao Gang?

Yan Lei naturally knew that Cao Gang was the largest gang in Jiangnan.

The Yan family had many contacts with the Cao Gang, but the relationship between the two sides was average and mostly just focused on business.

The Cao Gang is in charge of the Wanli Grand Canal, so they naturally need the Yan family's assistance when passing through Chuzhou, because they send a lot of treasures to the Yan family every year.

The Yan family took the money and turned a blind eye to the affairs of the Cao Gang.

But as a first-class big family, the Yan family looked down on underworld gangs like the Cao Gang from the bottom of their hearts, so the two sides did not have much friendship.

"Why did the Cao Gang suddenly come to our door?"

Yan Lei was confused.

But after all, the other party is a powerful force in Xuanyang that spans several states, so they have to meet each other.

If we can win over the Cao Gang and get them to send troops north, it would be a great achievement.

The more Yan Lei thought about it, the warmer his heart became.

Although he looked down upon the Cao Gang's business, it did not mean that he dared to underestimate the Cao Gang's strength.

The Cao Gang was able to firmly grasp the Grand Canal because they had enough members and were good at fighting.

If the Cao Gang is willing to go north to provide assistance, Yan Shaoan will definitely be satisfied.

He couldn't wait to reach the gate of the courtyard, and saw a dozen strong men in blue shirts standing at the door.

Although most of the members of the Cao Gang came from underworld backgrounds, it was rumored that the leader of the Cao Gang was actually a scholar.

Because the top leaders of the Cao Gang like to imitate the gang leaders and wear green clothes.

The blue shirts that were supposed to be worn by scholars looked somewhat out of place on these martial arts heroes.

But the Cao Gang was strong enough, so not many people dared to make fun of this matter.

Yan Lei smiled and clasped his fists: "My fellow heroes, you are so righteous and upright. I have admired you for a long time."

The sturdy man in the lead saw Yan Lei and scratched his head.

"The boss said he was carrying a knife and looked ordinary. This guy looks like a woman, so he shouldn't be the one."

Hearing what the other party said, Yan Lei almost laughed out of anger.

He was a famous handsome man in Chuzhou, but in the other party's mouth, he became like a sissy.

However, when he thought about taking the opportunity to win over the Cao Gang, he forced himself to suppress the anger in his heart.

He was about to speak when he saw the burly man pointing behind him.

"He, it should be him!"

Yan Lei turned around in surprise and saw Li Huan and Bai Yuan approaching.

"Could it be that the Qingzhou Palace has a relationship with the Cao Gang?"

If you think about it carefully, it is not impossible.

After all, the King of Qingzhou is a man of great ability, and his Cao Gang connections are spread all over the world, so it is very likely that the two sides know each other.

The spark of hope rose again in Yan Lei's heart.

At this time, the burly man who led the group bowed to Bai Yuan with a flattering look on his face: "Mr. Bai, my deputy gang leader wants to see you."

Mr. Bai?!
When Yan Lei heard what the burly man said, he looked at Bai Yuan in surprise.

He didn't expect that the Cao Gang was looking for Bai Yuan!

This was completely beyond his expectation.

The Yan family had already figured out Bai Yuan's background. He was just a talented person from Lingzhou. His biggest relationship was to his master, the General Zhenbei.

I have heard that Bai Yuan once went to Dingzhou with the Cao Gang.
Bai Yuan was also a little surprised, and he took a few steps forward.

The Cao Gang sturdy man chuckled and said, "Mr. Bai, my Gang Leader Qiu heard that you were coming to Jiangnan, so he took a speedboat from Chuzhou to Fengzhou early in the morning just to have a drink with you."

Bai Yuan suddenly realized.

Sure enough, it was Qiu Yang.

He had saved Qiu Yang's life before when he was in Dingzhou.

Qiu Yang became sworn brothers with him at that time, but Bai Yuan never took it seriously.

After all, for a gangster like Qiu Yang, there are probably at least 80 or 100 sworn brothers with him, which is not uncommon.

Unexpectedly, Qiu Yang came to Fengzhou in person, which was a little beyond Bai Yuan's expectations.

In the shocked eyes of Yan Lei and Li Huan, Bai Yuan said: "I miss Brother Qiu very much, too."

Yan Lei blinked.

If he remembered correctly, the deputy gang leader Qiu should be over a hundred years old.

Bai Yuan actually called him Brother Qiu.
This is simply outrageous!

(End of this chapter)