In late spring and March, Chang'an is surrounded by smoke, and a gauze-like mist pervades the city.
There was a light rain in the afternoon, and the willows all over the city looked like they had been washed, revealing a vibrant green, and the flowers were stained with rain, and the petals were falling all over the ground. Under the eaves, the rain was ding-ding-dong-dong, and the water vapor rolled and rushed into the Xingqing Palace.
Concubine Yang Guifei was leaning on the soft couch and was in a trance. Yang Guozhong was half-drenched in the rain, and sat aside, wiping a glass inlaid with gold with a silk handkerchief. There is a lifelike golden dragon carved on the leaker, with its five claws entrenched, holding two sealed glass cups filled with gray sand, but upon closer inspection, it is found that it is a mixture of black and white fine sand.
"...Deng Tong was once the richest man in the world, who would have thought that he would starve to death on the street in the end? Shang Yang has made great achievements in his life, but he could not escape the fate of being divided into pieces..."
"Don't talk about it." Yang Guozhong put down the silk handkerchief, looked at Yang Yuhuan, frowned, "Is it interesting?"
"I'm in a hurry." Yang Yuhuan said abruptly, "Brother, you don't know what people are talking about us outside. They all say that the Yang family is monsters!"
There was anger in Yang Guozhong's eyes, but Yang Yuhuan was very disturbed: "How could this be? Why..."
"What Li Jinglong said is just nonsense that confuses right and wrong and black and white!" Yang Guozhong said angrily, "If you can't let go of this matter, it will be our biggest trouble!"
"How do you let me go?" Yang Yuhuan said sadly, "After that night, I often dreamed of my eldest sister, her face was covered with blood, and she kept urging me to avenge her. I thought it was over, If you can forget it, forget it, His Majesty also said, there will be a heavenly demon descending from the Tang Dynasty..."
"Heavenly Demon." Yang Guozhong wiped the golden dragon more intently, and laughed mockingly.
Concubine Yang sighed faintly, Yang Guozhong shook the silk handkerchief, and Yang Yuhuan said in a low voice: "Brother, the golden mansion and jade mansion will eventually fall. The tree attracts the wind, so we must prepare early."
"The theory of ghosts and gods." Yang Guozhong said, "It's just rumors that foolish people and women use to deceive themselves and others. If I expected it to be true, then Li Jinglong has created such a big momentum, but he has been suppressed for a long time and wants to come up. Just take a breath."
Yang Yuhuan suddenly looked at Yang Guozhong, frowned and said, "What are you breathing for?"
Yang Guozhong said casually: "How many years has it been since the Tang Dynasty had a national teacher? If Li Heng wants to succeed to the throne, he should have his own plan. What kind of demon, what ominous, what disaster, except for us, how big can it be?" intention?"
Yang Yuhuan's beauty faded, Yang Guozhong brushed the gilt hourglass, opened an ebony box with preciousness, placed it in place, and said: "It's time for your righteous son to come, find a suitable time, and take Li Jinglong's own Give it away."
Yang Yuhuan stood up anxiously, Yang Guozhong thought for a moment, and looked at the rain outside the hall.
"I heard a secret order from Ge Shuhan. When they were in Liangzhou a few months ago, they caught a monster. They left in a hurry that day, but the monster didn't take it away. After interrogation by Ge Shuhan, they learned about it. Beside Li Jinglong, there is a monster lurking, guess who it is?"
"It's the young man named Kong Hongjun."
"What?!" Yang Yuhuan said in amazement, "It's absolutely impossible! The doctor who saw me back then was Dr. Kong, and that was his father!"
Yang Guozhong carried the wooden box in his arms, and said slowly: "It doesn't matter if you believe it or not. It's a monster, and one day it will show its original shape. Li Jinglong has ulterior motives, and he doesn't even think about it. When the world is peaceful and prosperous, when the kingdoms come to court, when was there a demon in the past?"
Yang Yuhuan panted slowly.
"It's just that after he became the chief exorcist, the anecdotes and strange things just happened one after another, and now it's even more shocking. Hey, 'Heavenly Demon' is just a cover that Li Heng conspired with him. Children's ghost stories can be hidden from old people... "
Yang Yuhuan turned pale with shock, and said angrily, "Shut up!"
Yang Guozhong sneered and said: "You can hide it from him, but you can't hide it from me. You think, if it is revealed that the Exorcist Division is the source of these demons, how will those people be dealt with? Do you really think that your eldest sister is monster?"
Yang Yuhuan said anxiously: "This..."
Yang Guozhong stepped forward a little, lowered his voice, and said, "I don't think so... the exorcists are full of charlatans who use illusions to deceive. Who would have thought that these tricks would be in His Majesty's favor?"
Yang Yuhuan couldn't help feeling chills running down her back.
"Your Majesty, I'll leave it to you. The exorcist cannot stay any longer, otherwise this matter will get worse and worse, and there will be no end."
Yang Yuhuan stared at Yang Guozhong in a daze, Yang Guozhong only said a few words, then he clicked, looked at Yang Yuhuan for a moment, nodded and left. Yang Yuhuan remained in a daze at the pattering spring rain outside.
In the Exorcist Department, Mo Zhigen and Ashina Qiong went to handle the case separately, while Artest asked Hong Jun and Lu Xu, "Want to drink in Shangxi Market?"
Hong Jun and Lu Xu waved together, and Artest went to see Trundeau, but Li Jinglong hadn't returned after going out for a long time. The two drank tea and watched the rain outside the eaves.
"Where did you go?" Hong Jun said to himself.
Lu Xu replied: "A monster appeared in Huaqing Palace in Lishan Mountain last night, and we checked it early in the morning."
Hong Jun was still a little apprehensive at first, for fear that people would ask him: Why did you fall in love with Chang Shi? The facial expression, apart from a few words of teasing at first, actually took Hong Jun and Li Jinglong as a pair for granted.
"Mo Zhigen..."
"I don't mention Li Jinglong." Lu Xu said expressionlessly, "Don't mention him either."
Hongjun: "..."
Hong Jun had no choice but to nod, and the two reached an unspoken agreement. Lu Xu pondered for a moment, and when he was about to ask something else, someone shouted outside: "Li Changshi! Is Li Changshi there?"
Hong Jun went to let the man in, but it was a staff member of the prince who personally delivered the imperial decree. Hong Jun said: "Chang Shi went out to investigate the case."
"Then you go ahead first." The staff said, "This is an order issued by His Majesty and the East Palace, to confer Li Changshi as Marquis of Yadan."
Yadan has always been barren, with a piece of yellow sand, and the cemetery of the dead in battle is all under it. It is also the first time for a Marquis to be granted to Yadan. I only heard the aide say again: "There are also the order of jurisdiction and the seal of the Marquis. They have all been prepared together. The Marquis Order has been issued along Hexi Road. Yadan is uninhabited. Just inform Yumen to close Jiazhou." .”
Lu Xu: "What do you mean?"
Hong Jun: "I don't understand."
In the Exorcism Department, there were two gatekeepers who did not eat fireworks. They looked at each other and accepted it without thanking them. The staff said helplessly, "Aren't there any adults here?"
"I am an adult." Hong Jun said angrily, "I am seventeen! Why am I not an adult!"
"I'm eighteen." Lu Xu replied, "He's my brother."
Staff: "..."
It is often heard that there are some strange people in the Exorcism Department. Today, it is as expected, and the staff have no time to investigate why Seventeen can become Eighteen's brother. Receive the letter from Hexi, and then get the seal..."
Hong Jun didn't have a seal, so he drew a sign in the end, and the staff member held an umbrella and went back to report. Lu Xu saw that Hong Jun's name was written on the letter, and said, "Is it yours?"
Hong Jun opened the letter and said: "My uncle!" All he saw in the letter was a matter of parting. He left in a hurry that day without explaining anything, but when he saw Jia Zhou's letter, it seemed that there had been a round before. Correspondence. Presumably, Li Jinglong wrote a letter in his own name to plead guilty. Jia Zhou's letter was to the effect that this time we will see each other again, and we don't know when we will see each other again. When we have free time in the future, we must choose a time when it is not cold and come to Yumen Pass often.
Hong Jun said to Lu Xu, "Uncle is my only relative."
Lu Xu nodded and said, "Ordinary people are different from us."
Hong Jun was suddenly reminded by Lu Xu, and thought of a question, he is a half-demon, that is to say... he seems to be able to live for a long time? But Li Jinglong, Lu Xu and others are all mortals, so what should we do
Lu Xu didn't know what he was thinking, so he picked out another one and said, "Whose is this?"
"This is... the King of Ghosts!" Looking at the silk paper, Hong Jun saw that there were all correct seal characters inside, and he barely recognized a few words. When he was about to turn the pages of the book, someone shouted outside: "Li Changshi! history!"
Hong Jun thought that the staff of the East Palace had left and returned, but when he opened the door, he found that it was Huang Yong, the Minister of Dali Temple, and a clerk.
"Where's Chang Shi?" Huang Yong asked anxiously.
Hong Jun had to explain again. Lu Xu looked behind Hong Jun. Hong Jun knew that this guy was Li Jinglong's immediate boss, so he invited him in for tea, but Huang Yong was anxious and said, "Is Mo Zhigen here? When will they come back?" ?”
"I don't know." Hong Jun and Lu Xu looked at Huang Yong expressionlessly.
"Kong Hongjun, don't you have any adults here?" Huang Yong looked around and asked.
"No."
Lu Xu and Hong Jun said in unison.
"We are all silly kids." Lu Xu added.
"Yes." Hong Jun explained to Huang Yong, "Since we were born, our brains have been trapped by the door, and we are not very good at it. We can't investigate cases, and we can't keep demons. We can only stretch out our hands here and open our mouths when we eat. Just eat and wait to die."
"Don't tell us anything." Lu Xu said.
Hong Jun: "We're not curious at all, you just stay here and wait for Chang Shi to come back."
Huang Yong understood the sarcasm in the words, and hurriedly said: "That's not what it means, you two come with me... Oh, what is this? Yadanhou? This must be called Lord Hou... No, how can I be named Yadanhou?" Dan gone?"
Huang Yong asked the documents to wait outside, and went to the hall by himself. When he saw Li Jinglong's Marquis Order, he didn't react for a while. Hong Jun just stood side by side with Lu Xu, tilting his head to look at him.
"You two." Huang Yong was sweating all over his back from running, "I'll just say it, something is wrong, please bear with me."
Hong Jun often ran to Dali Temple with Li Jinglong, and Huang Yong recognized him, but most of the time he regarded him as Li Jinglong's follower. Now that the matter is serious, Huang Yong calmed down and said, "To tell you the truth, there was a major event in the imperial mausoleum last night..."
March 17th, Tianbao thirteenth year.
Case: Zhaoling is haunted by ghosts
Difficulty: Herringbone
Region: Emperor Taizong Zhaoling Mausoleum of Jiuyi Mountain
Involved: Unknown
Facts of the case: On the night of March 13th, ghosts appeared outside the Mausoleum of Emperor Taizong of Jiuzhai Mountain, claiming their lives. The guards of the night mausoleum in Guojia Village were blood-splattered on the spot. Four people died and one became insane. The lunatic escaped during the day and fled all the way into the depths of Zhaoling. Cheng Xiao, the Prime Minister of Dali Temple, and the servant of the Yamen went to Zhaoling to investigate but did not come out.
Remuneration: None at the moment.
Remarks: Do not alarm His Majesty, alarm anyone, etc., or your life will be lost!
Hong Jun: "Is this haunted? Why didn't you say it earlier?"
Huang Yong smiled wryly and said: "I handed over a case before, and it was detained in the Exorcism Department. It has not been handled for a long time. It is a very important matter... It involves the Emperor Taizong's tomb, everyone will lose their heads..."
Lu Xu and Hong Jun looked at each other.
Hong Jun said decisively: "Let's wait for Chang Shi to come back."
Hong Jun didn't dare to go carelessly to the ancestral grave of the emperor's family,
"Don't!" Huang Yong's face changed, "Kong Hongjun, no matter what, your exorcist department really has to go today! This case has been suppressed and can't be suppressed anymore! If you wait any longer, the Lingwei will have to go to Dali Temple to make a fuss. The Lingwei didn't dare to go on duty, and Lian Hao made friends with the Yang family, if His Majesty finds out, Longyan will be furious, but then, just... didn't you just accept some war dead ghosts?"
Hong Jun and Lu Xu looked at each other, Huang Yong said again: "Very serious, very very serious!" He moved a little closer, and whispered: "This matter is related to the ancestral temple and society. If someone is caught by someone who wants to make a fuss, or Yang Xiang I suspect that someone is playing tricks..."
Hong Jun: "???"
Lu Xu: "?"
Huang Yong said anxiously: "In case there are rumors that it is Taizong's heroic soul, please advise Your Majesty... Alas, you two don't understand!"
Hong Jun suddenly understood, but he understood, and explained to Lu Xu: "Master Huang said that it was the emperor's ancestor who appeared, and scolded him for neglecting political affairs..."
"I didn't say that!" Huang Yong immediately said, "I mean, I'm afraid someone has ulterior motives and spread rumors! Ouch, two young masters... when will your housekeeper come back?"
Huang Yong was about to cry, Hong Jun said: "Don't worry, we'll go right away."
Lu Xu responded naturally, the rain outside had stopped, and no one from the Exorcism Department came back, and Huang Yong urged him thousands of times before going back. Hong Jun left a note to pull out Zhengchun's sleepy carp demon, put it on his back, and went out with Lu Xu.
Seeing that it was past noon, Lu Xu was about to wander out of the city, but Hong Jun suggested to go to Artest first. Arriving at the restaurant opened by Telanduo in the city, the restaurant happened to be opposite Hong Jun's favorite "Yuyuelongmen". It was a huge wine shop, decorated with resplendent and magnificent decorations, and many silk curtains were hung inside.
It was afternoon, and there were no customers in the restaurant. Artest took a fly swatter to swatt the flies in the restaurant.
"How much does it cost?" Lu Xu looked up at the two-storey wine shop and said, "Can I get back the money?"
Hong Jun roughly understood the concept of money, and when Trundeau saw the two coming, he said, "The lady boss is happy today, so I can drink for free!"
Artest raised the fly swatter and waved a greeting to the two of them. Hong Jun hurriedly resigned and told Artest that he and Lu Xu had gone to investigate the case.
"Let's go together?" Artest hurried out.
Hong Jun glanced at Trundeau, fearing that Trundeau would be angry, he hurriedly said, "You can stay here with sister-in-law."
Trundeau came out and said, "Let him be with you."
Lu Xu said: "Let's go and go back quickly, we will go around in an hour, and it will be slower if we take you."
Artest had no choice but to give up, and made the two of them be careful. After leaving the city, Lu Xu transformed into a white deer in a remote place, and Hong Jun sat on its back.
"Yo, your horn!" Hong Jun said in surprise.
The white deer's horns have actually grown a little, and the wound where Hong Jun cut it off has healed, like a short dragon's horn.
"It will grow slowly." Bailu replied, "Hold on."
Immediately afterwards, the white deer began to trot, running faster and faster, leaving the official road, stepping into the wilderness, stepping on the wind with four hooves, passing the green wheat field with a "swish", carrying Hongjun like flying on grass, With a swift sweep, he quickly stepped into the mountains.
If you were riding a horse, you still had to take a detour on the official road. It would take at least half a day to get from Chang'an to Jiuyi Mountain. However, Bailu was so fast that he even took a shortcut. In just one hour, he arrived outside Zhaoling at dusk. But traveling at high speed was exhausting, and when he transformed into a human body, Lu Xu sat down on the steps outside Zhaoling, panting.
"You're almost flying." Hong Jun said, "There's no need to be in such a hurry."
"Short-distance running is fine." Lu Xu panted, "It's really not good to run long distances like this. The big wolf has good physical strength, but he doesn't know where he went."
Facing east and west, Zhaoling Mausoleum is built on the hillside, like a huge palace, with many ministers' tombs beside it. Jiuyi Mountain was originally deserted, and there were still tomb guards at first, but after this incident, the tomb guards had temporarily retreated to the Guojia Village at the foot of the mountain, and it was even more desolate and strange in the evening.
The cold wind blew, and the grass and trees on the mountain rustled, and Hong Jun felt an unreasonable cloudiness, even if it was the emperor's mausoleum, the gloomy atmosphere would not change.
Hong Jun: "Are you afraid of ghosts?"
"It's okay." Lu Xu couldn't help but feel a little hairy.
The two stood side by side under the archway at the entrance of Zhaoling Mausoleum. Hong Jun would be a little scared if he came alone. He might wake up the carp demon behind him to embolden him, but with Lu Xu around, he would be much better.
Having neither magic weapon nor fight for a long time, Hong Jun couldn't help being a little unfamiliar. He shook off the five-color divine light, and held a throwing knife between his fingers.
"You don't have a magic weapon." Hong Jun remembered that Lu Xu used to only use a shovel.
"The big wolf said to get one for me." Lu Xu replied.
"Then you come with me." Hong Jun stepped into the area of Zhaoling holding the five-color divine light in his left hand and a throwing knife in his right.
Lu Xu: "OK, I'll hide behind you."
This is Hong Jun's first time to investigate a case by himself, and he brought a complete novice, Lu Xu, to replace Li Jinglong. I came here without thinking, and I always felt that something was wrong, but I couldn't tell for a while.
"Do you think it's a ghost?" Lu Xu asked.
"What do you think?" Hong Jun had no idea at all, and the two walked around outside Zhaoling.
Lu Xu said, "Maybe it's a demon."
Hong Jun nodded in agreement. Lu Xu used to be a scout. Although he had only one soul and one soul at that time, he often sent letters, and he had roughly seen the investigation.
"Where is the place of the dead?" Hong Jun murmured.
The sun was about to set, and the two came to the entrance of Zhaoling. There was another row of steps at the bottom, and there was no strange sound, just a gust of cold wind. There is a row of brick and tile houses outside the mausoleum, which is expected to be a place for people to live in, and the smell inside the house is very pungent.
"Blood." Lu Xu said.
Hong Jun also smelled it, stretched out his foot and kicked open the door, and saw that the inside was full of purple-black blood, which spread to the outside of the house, as if there had been a corpse that had been dragged away.
"Here." Hong Jun said, "follow the blood."