Chang'an City is too big, so no matter how prosperous it is, there are still places that look dilapidated in the most hidden corners. There is an abandoned house at the end of Sixteenth Street in Dongcheng, which is said to have once been the residence of a noble family. Later, the family fell into disrepair in Chang'an City and could no longer survive, so they transferred the house to a wealthy businessman at a low price. It didn't take long for the wealthy businessman's family to be murdered, and the family was poisoned to death. Although it was later found out that the real culprit was his business competitor, the house was no longer lived in, and it had been abandoned for many years.
Because Chang'an City is too big, it would be too hard to give all the streets an elegant name, so to make a simple distinction, the streets running from east to west are called Tiao, and the streets running from north to south are called Jie. The shop that Fang Jie rented out is at East 23rd Street, which is still some distance away from the East 18th Street where this house is located, and it takes at least an hour to walk there.
A cloud covered half of the moon, and the fragmented moonlight shining into the house through the dilapidated window was even more fragmented. In this place during the day, there might be brave children jumping over the ruined walls to come in and play, but at night, when it is gloomy, some people will come in to scare themselves.
The snow has not completely melted, especially under the remnant wall, which is still almost as it was on the day of heavy snow.
An ownerless wild cat crouched on the top of the wall and curled up into a ball. It was so cold in the midwinter night in Chang'an City that it couldn't find warmth. I don't know if it's because I'm hungry or I don't want to move because of the cold. When the black shadow like a big bird flew into the yard, the wild cat didn't react. When I was in the house, I bumped into a piece of wood, and the wild cat let out a shrill cry and fled away.
The black shadow ignored the wild cat, shook the robe on his body, and slipped in through the half-closed door. The place was private enough that he seemed content.
The room is so dark that you can barely see your fingers. Except for the moonlight seeping in through the broken window, which still has a bit of humanity, the rest of the place feels like a hellish mansion no matter what.
Hei Ying didn't seem to dislike this kind of deep darkness at all. He slowly turned his head and glanced a few times. He chose a corner covered with some straw and walked over. When he was about to reach there, he suddenly stopped and looked at Those faint cold lights that suddenly appeared in the corner. It was a wild dog, and there were still a few pups lying in the kennel laid out with straw that hadn't opened their eyes yet. Those two cold lights were exactly the female dog's fierce and vigilant eyes.
The moment the bitch opened its mouth to show its sharp fangs and was about to growl, the man suddenly opened his eyes wide. The bitch guarding the cub was so frightened that she whined a few times, lying on the ground trembling.
The black shadow walked slowly to the bitch and squatted down, reaching out and stroking the bitch's dirty long hair.
The bitch was lying on the ground, as if she was paralyzed from fright.
The man's eyes gradually softened, and he stretched out his hand to grab the bitch's mouth. The bitch wanted to open her mouth but couldn't, and uttered a few pleading moans. His hand holding the dog's mouth suddenly shook, and the dog's head suddenly broke off. It was disconnected from the neck, but strangely, not a drop of blood flowed out.
Under a ray of moonlight, you can faintly see crystal clear ice on the broken part of the bitch's neck.
He threw the dog's head aside and kicked the dog's body away. The man squatting by the kennel had the moonlight shining on his face, and he could faintly see that he didn't seem to be very old. His face was dirty, with black stains all over his mouth, it looked as if he had just eaten a greasy pork leg, and there were still a lot of residue left on his face.
However, he didn't eat anything, he just didn't wash his face for a long time.
What remained on the corner of his mouth was not oil stains, but blood.
Sitting down in the straw kennel, he casually picked up a puppy that could only bark weakly, and held it in front of his eyes, staring at it for a full three minutes. Then he sighed faintly, put the puppy by his mouth, and bit its neck.
What was even more weird than breaking the bitch's neck was that the puppy was bitten to death, and the blood didn't freeze but didn't drop. The man greedily sucked all the slightly scalded dog blood into his mouth like a gulp of wine. In the darkness, his Adam's apple floated up and down, and a sound like gurgling water came out of his throat.
After about two minutes, the blood on the pup was sucked clean by him.
He seemed to be enjoying the food, sticking out his blood red tongue and licking his lips like aftertaste. Then he started eating meat. No matter how small a puppy is, it still has fur, but he, like a wolf, tore off the dog's fur and began to swallow the viscous viscera.
In the silent darkness, the sound of chewing was so clear and audible.
He ate very slowly and carefully, without wasting any flesh and blood.
After stuffing the entire pup into its stomach except for the skin, he took a still immature bone and wrote a word on the wall with the remaining blood. Then he stretched out his waist comfortably and shrank. Lie down in the kennel, seeming to enjoy the warmth left by the bitch.
Although the remaining two pups smelled blood, but because they were hungry and cold, they still squeezed slowly beside his head in search of warmth. Just like that, the two puppies snuggled up to a person who had just eaten the puppies, and fell into a deep sleep.
At some point, the wild cat returned to the wall. It fearfully glanced at the huddled figure in the dilapidated house, and fled away again after struggling for a long time. Maybe it saw the dog's head, maybe it saw the pup's skin.
…
…
At least one and a half hours before the sun rose, Fang Jie had already punched in the small garden of Sanjinhou Mansion. Sweat drenched his unlined clothes, and if you looked closely, you could see pale white steam escaping from his body. After his body warmed up, Fang Jie simply took off the single clothes on his upper body. The moon hung very low, and the moonlight reflected a faint brilliance on his strong body.
There was a fine layer of sweat beads on the sharp-edged chest muscles and abdominal muscles, which seemed to have a dark metallic luster.
Fang Jie pulled the broken knife from the ground, first with his right hand and then with his left. After half an hour of one-style knife practice, his breathing is still very smooth and even. After practicing the saber technique, he habitually sat down cross-legged and tried to feel the sea of energy in his dantian. Five minutes later, he opened his eyes and smiled, not disappointed.
It has become a habit, so there is no disappointment.
Still can't feel the sea of air.
He has asked many people that when he perceives the sea of qi, his inner strength will hover in the sea of qi, and there will be a warm feeling in his lower abdomen, which is a luxury for Fang Jie.
Picking up his clothes, Fang Jie walked slowly to the well, shook up a bucket of icy cold water, soaked the towel and wiped himself carefully. After everything was done, the sky became even darker. The darkness before dawn always seems to be deeper than midnight, and most people are sleeping soundly at this time.
Fang Jie went back to his room and changed into a clean uniform of the Academy of Martial Arts. He didn't wake up Big Dog and the others. He went out and found the coachman who was waiting at the door. The carriage was ready and the coachman patted the poor horse's ass. , the horse snorted and exhaled two puffs of white air, stepping on the last piece of moonlight and accelerating forward.
Many officials had already arrived outside the gate of Taiji Palace, and there was still some time before the palace gate opened. The adults got into the cars of their acquaintances and chatted together. Outside the palace gate, there were two rows of flying fish robes standing like nails at the inner guards' office, and the guards wearing big red cloaks and holding horizontal knives stood motionless like stone statues.
Fang Jie asked the coachman to find a place on the side to stop. He calculated the time and guessed that the palace gate was about to open, so he didn't let the coachman stay here with him in the cold, but let him go back first. The coachman thanked him and drove the carriage to the schedule. It's still early, and he can catch up on the return sleep after he goes back.
This was the first time that Fang Jie had a close look at the Tai Chi Palace under the night, and the guards on the walls of the palace patrolled back and forth holding torches. In the distance, the sound of clappers can be faintly heard.
Fang Xie was a little fascinated by the quiet and peaceful scene.
This kind of picture is vaguely familiar, and it only exists in the scenes of those costume TV dramas in my memory. Fang Xie couldn't help but look down at the hospital uniform on his body, wondering if he would become a character on TV in a few years? This feeling is boring but wonderful, and random thoughts can always pass the time.
After waiting for another twenty minutes, the adults got out of the car and stood outside the palace gate according to their grades. Fang Xie looked at them one by one warming their hands with the heat, and then looked at his unlined clothes, feeling a little complacent. After a person has reached a certain level of practice, he will not be afraid of cold and heat. Fang Jie cannot practice but his health is good enough, so he will not feel so cold like ordinary people in this midwinter season.
The palace door creaked and was pulled open from inside. The eunuch on duty came out and sang a few times as usual, and then led the adults in.
But Fang Jie waited for them all to go in before going in, and found that the little eunuch Mu San was already standing in the doorway waiting for him.
"Slave servant presents to Lord Xiaofang."
The little eunuch, whose face was flushed from the cold, looked enviously at Fang Xie's tall and straight figure, and thought to himself, isn't it cold that he is only wearing a single suit
"Why don't you be polite, father-in-law, please wait."
Fang Jie returned the gift with a smile, and when he walked up to him, he stuffed a package of things into Mu San's hands: "When we arrived, the Sunji hanging stove sesame seed cakes in Dongshishitiao were already cooked, and I brought you some by the way." , eat it while it’s hot, it’s very fragrant.”
The little eunuch Mu San weighed the small package and knew that it was definitely not just a few worthless pancakes. He didn't refuse, and stuffed his sleeves into his sleeves and walked out to lead the way: "Your Majesty hardly slept last night. General Yu Manlou of Zuowuwei, Zong Lianghu, Minister of the Ministry of War, and Pei Yan, Minister of the Huangmen, just came out of Dongnuan Pavilion not long ago. …”
It's like chatting at home, but the voice is very soft.
"Your Majesty seems to have lost his temper last night and dropped something... Mr. Zong Lianghu was holding a thick stack of official documents when he entered, but he didn't know what it was. General Yu Manlou came out to go to the toilet, and his face was not very good-looking. .But Mr. Pei has not talked much, and there is no different reaction."
"Um."
Fang Jie nodded, thinking about what attitude he should have in front of His Majesty.