The imperial city is bustling with tourists, and the voices of tour guides echo in the ancient imperial city. The stories they tell are true or false, some of which are documented in history, and some of which may not even be known to the people involved.
Ning Tao visited Beidu several times and passed by the gate of the imperial city but had no time to come in and take a look. Now he is here, just because there is a sentence written in the envelope picked up by Roaring Sky Dog: I am waiting for you in the imperial city. We have important matters to discuss, and you are the only one here.
There was no signature on the letter, but Ning Tao smelled a faint smell of sea from the letter paper. This reminded him of a missing character, Hai Dongfang. Although he couldn't be sure that the person who wrote the letter was Hai Dongfang based on the smell of sea, he didn't want to miss even a glimmer of hope. Not for anything else, just because Haidongfang might know who killed Liu Shiba and Taoist Qingsong.
Liu Shiba gave him the recipe for Chunsheng Dan stolen from Xu Fu's tomb, asked him to help him refine the elixir, and then told him who hired Zeng Xunlong's gang to steal the "Six Paths of Reincarnation Picture". He refined Xu Fu's elixir, which was not an elixir of immortality, but a cultivation elixir specifically designed to treat infertility. Liu Shiba was killed, and the clue was cut off. This letter that suddenly appeared brought him a glimmer of hope.
Unknowingly, he passed the Qianqing Gate. Along the way, Ning Tao kept his eyes and nose in sight and smell, investigating wherever he could. However, he did not find the presence of demonic energy, nor did he capture the scent left by the demon.
Ning Tao continued to walk forward.
In front is the Qianqing Palace. Hundreds of people stood outside the isolation zone to take photos, and the scene was lively.
At this moment, a ball of green demonic energy came into Ning Tao's sight. It was mixed in a large colorful field of ordinary people's innate aura, which was particularly obvious.
A person turned around among the crowd, it was Haidongfang. He has a strong and well-proportioned figure unique to the fish demon, but does not have the handsome face of the fish demon. I don't know if he deliberately changed his facial features, or if he was born with mediocre looks. Compared with the fish monsters in the monster village, he lost a lot of appearance.
Haidongfang just looked back at Ning Tao and strode to the side without saying hello.
Ning Tao followed Hai Dongfang, being cautious all the way. The experience in the demon village gave him a new understanding of demons, that is, there are more bad ones than good ones, and even good demons can harm people, let alone bad demons? After all, this Hai Dongfang only met once, and he didn't understand him at all, so it was necessary to keep a wary mind.
Hai Dongfang walked to a palace wall. There was a door on the palace wall but it was locked. Until now, the open area of the Imperial City has been limited to the central axis, and there are large areas on both sides that are not open. There is obviously no open area behind that palace wall.
Hai Dongfang suddenly jumped up and jumped over the palace wall in a whoosh.
Ning Tao walked over quickly and jumped over the palace wall.
Behind the palace wall is a royal garden, quiet and deserted. There are many ornamental flowers and trees planted in the garden, as well as a rockery pond, but there is no water or fish, and the ruler is full of dead branches and leaves. The buildings behind the Royal Garden are also gray, with mottled paint on the doors and windows, and signs of weathering are very obvious. This place is completely different from the scenic area outside the palace wall. It is more vicissitudes of life and has a richer historical atmosphere.
Haidongfang still didn't stop, he continued walking forward.
Ning Tao said: "Senior Hai, there is no one here anymore, where are you going?"
Haidongfang didn't say anything and continued walking forward.
Ning Tao frowned and had no choice but to follow Hai Dongfang forward. As he walked, his vision in the state of gazing quickly scanned the surroundings. In this unopened area, there was no third person except him and Haidongfang.
The stone path overgrown with grass extended forward, leaving the garden behind. After walking a long way forward, a palace appeared at the end of the road. It looked dilapidated, with doors and windows lying on the ground and rotting into piles of wood. The corridors were overgrown with grass, and the air was filled with a musty smell. The main entrance of the palace collapsed in half, and there was a plaque hanging on the lintel, with the words "Leng Palace" written on it.
The Cold Palace was a place where women who had made mistakes or fell out of favor were detained in the imperial palaces of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Over the past few hundred years, countless women have died here.
As soon as Ning Tao arrived, he felt that the place was dark and gloomy. As soon as I saw the plaque of "Leng Gong", I suddenly understood. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, countless women died in pain and suffering for hundreds of years. You can only imagine how strong the resentful spirits here are.
Haidongfang stopped and turned to look at Ning Tao.
Ning Tao shrugged: "Senior Hai, why did you choose this place?"
Haidongfang said: "I live here."
Ning Tao was surprised: "You live in the cold palace?"
Haidongfang said: "This place is full of yin and evil, and ordinary people dare not approach it, but it is suitable for monsters like me to live. Even if you trade a courtyard with me, I won't change it."
Ning Tao said: "No matter where it is, as long as it is suitable for you to live in. Let's get down to business. Senior Hai, you invited me here. I think it must be related to Liu Shiba's death, right?"
"Come with me." Haidongfang turned around and walked towards the broken door of Leng Palace.
Ning Tao hesitated for a moment, and then walked towards the broken door of Leng Palace. He was very unhappy with Haidongfang, but Haidongfang was the only one who could tell him who killed Liu Shiba and Taoist Qingsong. No matter how unhappy he was, he could only make do with it.
There are seats in the hall of the cold palace, but some have collapsed, and some are still barely in their original state, but judging from the degree of weathering and insect infestation, putting a teacup on them will probably cause them to fall apart.
Ning Tao followed Hai Dongfang through a side door in the cold palace and entered a corridor. After walking for a while, Hai Dongfang opened a door and entered a room.
Ning Tao thought that was the room where Hai Dongfang lived, but he didn't expect that after entering, he discovered that there was a tunnel extending downward on the floor.
The tunnel was dark, with gloomy air coming out of it. Occasionally, I could hear mysterious sounds, as if a woman was crying or cursing someone.
Haidongfang looked back at Ning Tao, said nothing, and walked back into the tunnel.
Ning Tao did not move, and said aloud: "Senior Hai, I have already cooperated enough. I walked with you for such a long distance and even visited the cold palace. What do you know? You can talk about it here. There is no need to say more. Are you going forward?"
Haidongfang said: "If you don't even have the courage, then you can go back. There is no need for me to say anything to you."
After saying that, he stepped into the tunnel without caring whether Ning Tao would follow him down.
Ning Tao pondered for a few seconds and finally stepped into the tunnel. This Hai Dongfang seemed to be testing him in this way, or perhaps trying to understand him as a person. Moreover, to say the least, even if Haidongfang had set a trap to harm him, he was wearing Tianbao magic robes and was invulnerable to weapons, water and fire, and could resist demonic powers and magic. What would he have to fear
Below the passage is a dungeon, with several lanterns lighting up, illuminating the space in the dungeon. In a cage, a moldy skeleton hung on a rope, and several bones fell to the ground. Lying in the corner of a cage was a mummified corpse, still wearing Qing Dynasty eunuch clothing. The dim lights, the gloomy dungeon, the hanging corpses, and the eunuch who died in the cage for unknown reasons, this scene is so horrifying!
Haidongfang finally stopped and looked back at Ning Tao.
Ning Tao smiled: "The rope used for hanging was of good quality. It has not broken after so many years."
Haidongfang said: "That's what I gave her. It is woven from the bark of the sea willow tree. It can be regarded as a low-level spiritual material."
Ning Tao was just joking, but unexpectedly it led to a story about a rope. However, in order to cooperate and make the atmosphere of the subsequent conversation more relaxed, he took a special look at the corpse hanging on the rope and pretended to be concerned: "What, do Senior Hai and that woman know each other?"
Haidongfang said: "Her name is Zaina Gu. She was a concubine during the Shunzhi period. She was thrown into the cold palace because she was too beautiful. I am a frequent visitor here, and we got to know each other not long after she came here. I often give her food. , and rouge, gouache and so on... "
He seemed to be caught in a certain memory scene, his voice became gentle, and his eyes became sad.
Ning Tao did not interrupt him.
"Unknowingly, we fell in love. We admired the moon on the roof of the cold palace, and we made love in her room. That period was the happiest time in my life... "
"and after?"
"Later, she got pregnant. I wanted to take her out of the cold palace and live outside. She agreed, and that day I told her the secret that I was a fish demon. She didn't react at that time and asked me to pick her up at night. She Bian also wanted to say goodbye to a close sister. I didn't think much about it at the time, so I left to get ready. When I came here at night, I found that she had aborted my child and told me to leave. I would rather grow old and die alone in a cold palace than be with a monster..."
Ning Tao didn't ask "What happened next" anymore. He felt the sadness in Hai Dongfang's heart and saw the tears in Hai Dongfang's eyes.
"I never thought that one day I would have a child of my own, but he died before I saw him born... I was very sad and angry at the time, so I strangled her to death with the rope and tied her to death. Hanging in that cage. I watched her slowly turn into bones, and my hatred for her slowly disappeared. Finally... I couldn't feel anything anymore, and I couldn't even remember what she looked like." At this point, Haidongfang had two tears rolling down his eyes.
Demons also have feelings, and demons also have tears.
No matter what kind of love, hate or enmity, the sands of time will bury it.
After a moment of silence, Haidong said again: "Thank you for listening to what I have to say. I have been holding this matter in my heart for too long. I feel much better after saying it."
Ning Tao said: "Then let's talk about business."