This ghost town also has a name, it is called Laoyang Ghost Town. Naturally, the city cannot be as lively as the Laoyang Prefecture City. It is even many times more deserted than the Wuya Ghost Town that Ji Yuan had seen before.
Lannink walked through the streets and alleys of the ghost town, and it was difficult to find a ghost to ask for directions, because there were too few ghosts.
After walking for a long time based on his feeling and circling the south of the city several times, he finally couldn't help but go to the homes of the people in the city to ask ghosts.
However, the houses in the city were also very strange. Some houses were empty, and in some places even the ground was empty. After searching for a few places, I finally heard some laughing sounds in an alley.
Lannink hurried forward and knocked on the door in front of the yard.
"Knock, knock, knock... Is anyone, uh, home?"
After a while, the door creaked open. Lannink was slightly startled and saw a paper man with a strange expression.
To be honest, even though Lannink was a ghost, I was still a little scared.
After opening the door, the paper man did not speak and his expression did not change. He kept looking playful. Because the expression was painted on, his blush and eyes were extremely exaggerated and creepy.
Then Lannink saw the situation in the yard. There were eight people sitting together playing wooden cards, four men and four women, and each one was older than the other.
'All old people?'
Lan Ningke was stunned again, and then he realized where this place was. This was the ghost town of Laoyang Prefecture. Most people died of old age. They were all old people.
"Oh, you still have the appearance of a young man. You were quite young when you died."
"Oh, what a pity, he died so young!" "Yeah!"
Several old men saw Lannink's appearance and started to comment on him. Lannink tried to be as polite as possible and asked questions.
"Everyone, do you know where the Laoyang Dong family's grave is?"
The Dong family is a wealthy family in Laoyang Prefecture, and any local should have heard of them.
"The Dong family? The Dong family that practices martial arts?"
An old man asked.
"Yes, that's the Dong family!"
"If you're asking about the old tomb of the Dong family, it's been abandoned. But I heard a few years ago that the young master of the Dong family died young. It's a pity for young people like you to die. And the young master of the Dong family seemed to not be supposed to die, so his life span was particularly long. It should be deep in Yinmu Lane, surrounded by a forest."
Lannink understood. No wonder he had been wandering around for several times but couldn't find it. It turned out to be in the shady woods.
After saying thank you, Lannink left in a hurry.
Half a quarter of an hour later, they finally arrived at the edge of the Yinmu forest. This kind of tree is somewhat similar to the locust tree, but the wood body is pitch black and the leaves are dull. It seems that it can only be found in the underworld or places with heavy yin energy.
There shouldn't be such a large woodland in a normal city, but it is normal in this seemingly empty ghost town. After all, most people's life span is much shorter than their life span in the world, so ghosts in ghost towns are always sparse.
After walking about a hundred steps into the forest, Lannink could already see from afar a house that was obviously more luxurious. He could even see paper people holding brooms cleaning the already clean entrance to the house.
At this moment, Lannink had complicated emotions. He could be jealous or even resentful of the other nine heroes, but he did not have such emotions towards Dong Bicheng, because Dong Bicheng died many years earlier than him and was the most unlucky among the nine.
Before he even got close, Lanninck announced loudly.
"Brother Dong, Lanningke is here to visit. I wonder if Brother Dong can be at home?"
When Lan Ningke walked to the front of the house, a man in his thirties in a brocade robe hurried out. It was Dong Bicheng.
When Dong Bicheng saw Lan Ningke, his expression was a little surprised at first, and then he was a little excited. He took a closer look and confirmed that it was the real Lan Ningke. Although there were some differences from his memory, this was normal.
"Brother Lan, how could you die so young? And in my Laoyang Ghost Town, did you die in Laoyang Mansion? Was it an illness, an accident, or something in the underworld? Come on, come on, go in and have some tea, come in and have some tea!"
There were few visitors to the ghost town, let alone friends. Dong Bicheng was obviously very happy to see Lanningke, but thinking that the other party might have just died, he did not dare to show his happiness on his face. He just invited him in with a little excitement.
"Okay, come on, bother me!"
"Hey, Brother Lan, you still remember me. I am very grateful that you can come to see me. You are welcome. My parents will give me good tea every year. Come and taste the pre-rain tea of our Laoyang Prefecture this spring."
Looking at Dong Bicheng's concerned and enthusiastic expression, Lan Ningke felt a little ashamed for some reason, but he still did not forget Lu Shanjun's request.
The two ghosts sat down in the house, and a paper maid went to prepare tea and other things, and Lan Ningke also asked a question.
"Brother Dong, what kind of suffering did you go through before entering the ghost town? How long is your life span?"
This question is actually very sophisticated. As long as a ghost who enters a ghost town knows these two points, he can basically know what kind of person he was before he died.
"Perhaps it's because my Dong family's ancestors have accumulated good deeds. I didn't suffer much in the underworld. I was just scolded by the judge for some frivolous things. Alas, it may be because I died early. I have lived for more than 60 years in the underworld. I used to think it was a good thing, but now, it's boring in this underworld."
"It is better to live a miserable life than to die."
Lan Ningke could only say this to comfort him. After hearing what Dong Bicheng said, he basically understood that he and he were not the same kind of people when he was alive.
"By the way, Brother Lan, you haven't told me how you died?"
Lannink was about to speak awkwardly when a voice spoke first.
"He, of course, deserved his retribution for all the evil he had done. I swallowed him up in one gulp!"
As the voice fell, a cloud of mist separated from Lanningke's ghost body and transformed into the appearance of Lu Shanjun on the side.
"Who are you?"
Dong Bicheng was not too surprised. He had seen some old ghosts with many magical skills, and he himself also knew some of them, so he thought Lu Shanjun was also a powerful ghost.
Lu Shanjun bowed and said.
"My name is Lu Shanjun. I made a promise with you nine heroes in front of the mountain temple on Niu Kui Mountain. Now I have come to fulfill the promise, but you are unlucky and have died."
Dong Bicheng was slightly stunned and remembered what happened at the beginning. However, compared with the previous few people, he was the calmest. He had been dead for almost ten years, so what was there to be upset about? He just stood up and returned the salute.
"So it's Shanjun who has come. However, Dong has been dead for a long time. I was unable to fulfill my promise to you. I can only apologize."
After he finished speaking, he turned and spoke to the paper maid who was already carrying tea.
"Also watch the tea for Mr. Lu. Don't fill it up too full. Pour it carefully so it doesn't spill."
The paper man nodded mechanically, walked slowly, placed teacups for the three people one by one, and poured out tea that was not even cold at all.
"This paper man is a little bit stupid. Everything needs to be told in detail..."
Dong Bicheng sighed and looked at Lu Shanjun again.
"What are you going to do to me now that Shanjun is here? Can monsters enter the ghost town?"
Lu Shanjun picked up the light teacup and tasted the so-called tea. It was icy and full of yin energy, but the taste was okay.
"You didn't do anything bad. I won't do anything to you. I came to see you because of the agreement we made. By the way, how did you die?"
Dong Bicheng calmly drank a sip of tea and recalled what happened.
"It's also related to chivalry. Haha, everyone in the martial arts world admires the famous heroes. Those chivalrous deeds are also well-known, but who knows how many people died in them? Dong overestimated his own abilities and chased the thief Cao Shangfei. In the end, he was not as skilled as the thief and was killed by him."
"Yes, being a knight depends on strength and luck, but dying like this is admirable, and he can have a clear conscience."
Hearing Lu Shanjun's words, Dong Bicheng smiled bitterly.
"Really have a clear conscience? No! Not recognizing your own strength and acting blindly, it would not only harm yourself, but also cause grief to your family. After confirming my death, my father, who has always been extremely strict, turned gray overnight, and my mother cried all day long. Who can understand the pain of an old man sending a young man to his death? Can I have a clear conscience?"
Although Dong Bicheng spoke calmly, he still had a feeling of sadness and guilt.
Lu Shanjun didn't say anything, thought for a while, and just sighed.
"Let's not talk about this anymore. I'm very happy that you two can come here today. Tell me about the things in the Yang world. I won't mention Brother Lan's affairs. How are Yan Fei and the others doing now?"
Dong Bicheng did not ask about Lan Ningke anymore, but changed the topic to other people. Because Lu Shanjun's previous words had already made him guess, he chose to leave some dignity for Lan Ningke.
Lu Shanjun was still willing to talk a few more words with Dong Bicheng. He roughly talked about what happened to the previous few people and really didn't mention Lan Ningke's matter, which made the latter somewhat grateful.
It was not until half a day later that Lan Ningke and Lu Shanjun said goodbye and left. The former even asked in detail about the situation of "Flying on the Grass".
Dong Bicheng leaned against the gate of the courtyard and watched the visitors leave. He intuitively felt that the two people would probably not come again, and he could also guess that they did not come to the ghost town by legitimate means. However, he had no intention of finding the ghost messenger to report. He just sighed, sighing for himself and for his former friend.
Just as I was about to turn around and go back, I suddenly found another visitor at the end of the woods.
Ji Yuan was wearing a white shirt, with one hand at his side and the other behind his back. In just a few steps, he had arrived in front of Dong Bicheng's tomb.
"Who are you?"
Dong Bicheng felt a strong sense of familiarity in his heart, because he had just met Lu Shanjun, so he immediately thought of who this was and immediately changed his address to honorifics.
"You are Mr. Ji!"
Ji Yuan bowed and saluted.
"I never thought that I would meet Master Dong again in this way! The things in life are long gone, and the road to the underworld is still long. If Master Dong is bored staying in this city, you can go to the underworld to ask for a job and say that it was recommended by fate. Well, this is for you. Although it's just some small things, it's also rare."
After Ji Yuan finished speaking, he stretched out his right hand from behind his back and opened his palm, revealing a stack of copper coins on it. The gold-plated coins were very eye-catching, and there seemed to be about twenty or thirty of them.
“What is this?”
"Fa Qian, haven't you seen it, Master Dong?"
French money? Dong Bicheng was stunned. He took out a small stack of thin paper money with a slight brass color from his pocket and compared them.
"Haha, take it. Ji's magic money is certainly a little different. It can make the difference in times of crisis. Please use it with caution!"
Ji Yuan smiled and put the magic money into Dong Bicheng's hand. The latter subconsciously reached out to take it, only to feel that it was heavy and had a strong spiritual charm.
Dong Bi couldn't let it go and played with it for a while. Just when he was about to thank Mr. Ji and invite him into the house, he looked up and found that the man had disappeared.
Outside the shady forest, Ji Yuan looked back and then forward. Now, Yan Fei was the only one left.
"I don't know what will happen if that barbarian bull meets Lu Shanjun!"
Ji Yuan smiled and murmured to himself, looking forward to what he was thinking.