Bang bang~~Bang bang~~
The sound of night watchmen's clappers could be heard faintly in the streets of the city. Lu Liangsheng listened to the wailing coming from the Han Mansion, lowered his eyes, turned around and left holding the scroll, strolling down the street. It was already late at night and there were basically no pedestrians. Occasionally, the sound of drinking and singing could be heard from restaurants and brothels.
The city became quiet, with a thin mist filling the air. The faint sounds of suona and gongs could be heard spreading out. The dogs and stray dogs in the streets and alleys were silent at this moment. They hid in their dens with their tails between their legs, whimpering and not daring to come out.
Only when he heard the monotonous footsteps on the street did the beast emerge from his perception, dragging its rope around its nest uncomfortably. Lu Liangsheng walked through the street alone, and the streets behind him began to come to life.
Soon, we returned to Furong Pond. There stood a high platform not far from the lake. Rows of soldiers stood in a circle with weapons in hand. White scarves were tied to the ends of their spears. When the night wind blew, they looked like graves swaying in the wind.
Seeing the figure coming from afar, they all shouted, dragging their armors and making a rustling sound, and half-knelt down: "Greetings to the Imperial Master!"
Lu Liangsheng said "hmm", walked straight past them, walked up the stone steps step by step, came to the altar on the stage, and with a flick of his fingertips, he lit three long incense sticks of heaven, earth and man, and inserted them into the incense burner. The night wind blew through his robes, beard and hair, making them flutter in the wind.
"Sacrifice to the gods and ghosts of heaven and earth and the four directions. Now there is Han Qinhu, who has made outstanding contributions and is feared by the world. Please ask Hou Tu to grant him the position of god in the underworld!"
As soon as the voice fell, he grabbed the talisman paper on the stage and held it between his fingertips. The moment it burst into flames, Lu Liangsheng shouted, "Soul, come!"
The flaming talisman paper was thrown into the night sky, and was carried away by the wind, turning into specks of sparks that floated around. The soldiers below the high platform immediately pulled down the white cloth on their iron helmets to cover their eyes. After a moment, the woods in front of the Wanshou Temple and the reeds beside the Hibiscus Pond rustled, and ripples appeared on the water surface. Sensing something, the old dragon lit up a lantern-like light from the bottom of the lake and looked towards the shore.
In the distant streets, the sounds of suona and gongs were heard. The soldiers under the platform got goose bumps on the back of their necks. Some of them trembled all over and subconsciously pulled down the white scarves wrapped around their eyes. Out of the corner of their eyes, they saw a team wearing red robes and white hats, carrying a sedan chair and playing strange music rising and falling towards them.
"Cover your eyes quickly and don't look!" A companion next to him whispered to the soldier. The soldier then came to his senses, hurriedly raised his hand to prop up the crooked white towel, and closed his eyes again.
The next moment, a chill came over them, making everyone shiver.
The strange music stopped abruptly, and the surroundings fell into dead silence. In the team coming from afar, figures stood still. The curtain of the sedan chair in the middle was opened, and Han Qinhu walked out. When he looked at the platform, he saw Lu Liangsheng standing on it, nodded, took out the seal from his sleeve, and spread it on his palm.
"Han Qinhu, a native of Dongyuan, is the son of Han Xiong, the general of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. He pacified the Northern Qi Dynasty and destroyed the Chen Kingdom. He made outstanding contributions and was promoted to the rank of Shangzhuguo and Dajiangjun. Now his life span has come to an end. In remembrance of his good deeds in this life, he is promoted to the King of the Underworld."
The voice resounded through the night sky. Lu Liangsheng turned his head and looked down while holding the seal. At the moment when Han Qinhu raised his hands and slowly bowed down, the divine light of the Kongtong Seal intertwined and bloomed. A square crown appeared on the head of the old man who bowed down, and the green jade bead curtain made a sound.
"Han Qinhu, thank you!"
The old man stood up, and the shroud he was wearing faded in the light, turning into a royal robe with a black background and gold patterns. In his hands there were tablets with the words "Yama" engraved on them.
Han Qinhu was in no hurry to go down to the netherworld. He looked at the robe and tablet, pursed his lips, and whispered, "Master, can you let me take another look at Chang'an?"
Once you go down to the Netherworld, it will be difficult to come out again. At most, you can take a look at the human world on the reincarnation platform. Lu Liangsheng nodded, stretched out his hand, and the magic power rolled up the old man's legs and slowly rose up. Soldiers, lakes, and Wanshou Temple gradually descended from the field of vision. Han Qinhu held the tablet and stood in the night sky. He turned around and looked at the pitch-black darkness, the occasional lighted buildings, and the brightly lit imperial city in the distance.
A smile appeared on her face, she nodded several times, and tears flowed down her face.
"From here, the country that I conquered with the late emperor is truly beautiful."
The old man slowly turned back and bowed with the board in hand: "Today is the most I have ever bowed, and it is also the most willing one. Imperial Master, Chang'an and His Majesty are now entrusted to you."
“It is my duty.”
Lu Liangsheng on the high platform responded and saluted towards the old man in the air. The two bowed to each other with mixed emotions in the night wind.
Hahaha!
After a while, Han Qinhu stood up and laughed, then waved his hand away, as if he had returned to being the general who dominated the world in the past, with a heroic spirit.
He shouted towards the direction of the palace: "Your Majesty! I am leaving now!"
In the night sky, the old man who was as heroic as before lit up with a divine light, dragged a tail of light, and fell straight to the ground, disappearing from the surface in an instant, leaving only a little dust floating.
In the imperial city of Chang'an, Yang Guang stood on the highest attic in the palace, looking towards the distant Hibiscus Pond. In the darkness, a divine light rose up, then fell straight down and disappeared. He silently raised his sleeves in the wind, clasped his hands heavily, and bowed towards that side.
It took him a while to collect himself, and he turned around. His steps were a little unsteady, and he asked his attendant to support him as he went down the stairs.
"Your Majesty, you should rest early tonight. You haven't slept for two days. Even if there is something serious, you should take care of your health before you deal with government affairs."
"I am not sleepy, nor can I sleep. Lead the way and go back to the study first. There should be more news coming back from outside."
In front of him, there were the sounds of palace guards moving and keeping watch in the dark. The emperor pushed away the eunuch who was supporting him and walked out of the room. He straightened his chest, his face majestic and solemn, but his eyes were bloodshot and there was a weariness that was hard to conceal.
When the news of rebellion came from outside, the civil and military officials in the court thought that they were just some capable bandits. Only he, the emperor, knew that those were the gods possessed by mortals as mentioned by the national teacher. Ordinary soldiers were no match for them at all. They would march forward in an unstoppable manner, capture cities and strongholds, and it would not take long for them to reach Chang'an. How could he sleep well after this
Pushing open the door of the study, memorials were piled up on the dragon desk, and moths kept hitting the lampshade next to it. The sound of "puff, puff, puff" rang in my ears. At a certain moment, it seemed like the collision of swords and spears. In the swaying firelight, there was a scene of iron horses rushing towards me.
The sky rose to the clouds, the air was hot and restless, and the soldiers surged beyond people's sight.
Fighting and shouting, they rushed to the top of the city with swords waving.
Countless arrows flew across the sky.
The general with divine light on his body cut a bloody path, and the big flag with the word "Li" on it fell down and fell off the city wall. In a moment, countless footsteps rushed and crashed into the city gate.
boom!
The heavy city gate was recessed inwards, and dust was shaken off from the tower, streaking across the word "Taiyuan" on the wall.
The howling hot wind made it hard to breathe.