Painter

Chapter 154 Three: Sending the Sword
Qingling County is not big, and a Lunhoe Street rammed with loess runs through the north and south.Li Chan left the tea shed, glanced at the believers in front of the Eight Wax Temple, and when he turned to go north, his black eyes were stained with two colors.

There are few people in the wine shop and restaurant, a food store is open in the alley on the east side of the street, and people are crowded in front of the door.In front of Caishikou on the west side, there has been no porridge for many days, and there are still many people waiting nearby, eagerly watching.Li Chan walked slowly along the street, Danqing looked around, but found nothing unusual, and after a while, he saw the county government with gray tiles and gray walls.

In front of the gate of the county mansion, in addition to the guards of the county mansion, there are also two demon hunters with horizontal knives, cocked shoes, and green evil clothes. I don't know whether they came from the state mansion or Yujing.Li Chan passed by the gate of the county mansion, and heard a sound of horseshoes. Looking back, a carriage came at the end of Lunchi Street.

The carriage stopped under the county mansion, and an official in green robes came down, wearing a black Xiezhi crown, followed by two people in black clothes and green clothes, they were Qizhou inspectors and two judges.Several subordinate officials heard the movement early, waited outside the county mansion, and led a group of people into the mansion.

These people probably came here for the ghost lord to cross the border. Once a ghost lord is born, not only Qingling County will suffer disaster, but also Zhuzhou counties in the north will suffer.Li Chan took one last look at Lunti Street, then turned around to the east of the county.

Zheng's house is in Qimei Lane, and you can see the five-ridge hard mountain top exposed behind the wall.He stopped at the entrance of the alley, and took out from his bosom the Lichun mirror carved with twelve celestial beasts on its back, the mirror reflected the pair of mandarin duck eyes.He used his fingertips to outline the mirror image, the two colors of blue and blue seemed to be scratched away by his fingertips, and the mandarin duck eyes turned into a pair of black pupils.

Only then did he step through the alleyway covered with golden ginkgo leaves, walk towards Zheng's house, and clasp the tin ring under the eaves.

The person who opened the door was the steward of Zheng's house in an indigo robe. He was in his prime of life, and his temples were slightly stained with frost.

As soon as he saw the walker carrying the bookcase outside the door, the steward saw that this was a scholar who was going to Beijing for the exam, and asked, "Your Excellency?"

"I'm Li Dan, a person from Qingling in Lizhou." Li Chan reported his pseudonym familiarly. Under Du Chengzhou's arrangement, he became Li Dan from Qingling in Lizhou in the household registration, customs clearance documents, and coloring experience. The scholar whose family is in decline and whose parents have both died, although he has some relatives, has almost no contacts.

He went on to say: "I had the honor to have some contacts with Mr. Ying Qiu. Passing by here, I heard that Zheng Gong is an official here, so I came to pay a visit. Don't blame me for coming in a hurry and not preparing for the ceremony."

Zheng Junshan had a wide range of friends, and scholars often came to visit or seek shelter. The steward saw that the hemp vine shoes of the scholar were covered with dust, and the black donkey behind him was still carrying luggage, so he said: "This gentleman has not found a place to stay. Come in quickly."

The steward welcomed Li Chan into the house, led the black donkey to the servant, and said, "It's not a coincidence for Mr. Lang to come. Madam went to Mengzhang Shenjun Temple early in the morning to ask about the spring of the coming year. A Lang is in the county mansion. I'm busy with business, sir, rest here first...Have you ever eaten, sir? I'll get someone to get some food."

Li Chan just ate the pancakes and jerky, but she didn't refuse. She nodded and said thank you, took off her book case, and waited quietly in the side room.

After a while, the steward brought a bowl of porridge, and Li Chan got up to take it. The porridge was mixed with chaff and wheat bran.

The steward looked ashamed, "Lang Jun laughed, there was a famine recently, A Lang took all the food in his home to give out porridge, and there was not much left over. Even this..." Glancing at the porridge bowl, "It can only be eaten in one day. Just two drinks."

"If I'm in charge, I came from outside the county and saw some dead people throwing their bodies into the wild by the roadside. Even the meat was cut off." Li Chan held the porridge bowl, "It's rare to have this one."

The steward sighed: "If this goes on like this, I'm afraid it won't be long before we reach the point where we will be dissected."

Li Chan sat down to take a sip of porridge, and said inarticulately, "I heard on the way that the ghost master pays for food..."

"It's true." The steward nodded, "Everyone in the county saw it with their own eyes."

"I saw that Qingling County also has some high-ranking Shinto temples. When the ghost soldiers crossed the border, didn't the gods here show up to stop them?"

The steward hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "That's hard to say. When Ye's house was closed, no one dared to go out, and I don't know if the gods have appeared. However, it is said that this ghost master was transformed by a thousand-year-old soldier. The famous general of the Zhao Kingdom who kills without counting turned into a ghost after death, and his Taoism is beyond the reach of ordinary gods. If the gods dare not show up, it is also expected..."

"So it's like this..." Li Chan put down the porridge bowl thoughtfully, "I came here today and brought something to Zheng Mingfu." Pulling out Zheng Langjun's sword from the sheath in the book case.

As soon as the steward saw the sword, he opened his eyes wide, his lips trembled, and hurriedly asked: "Where did this sword come from?" At one moment, he was eager, and his tone was almost questioning, but the next moment, the steward suppressed his anxiety, and said in a low voice: "This is the sword." It's Shaolang's sword..."

Li Chan said: "When I crossed the state border, I met Mr. Zheng Lang in Baitou Village at the foot of Yiwu Mountain."

Before Li Chan finished speaking, the steward said happily, "At the foot of Mount Wuwu, Shaolang is only a few dozen miles away?"

Li Chan was a little puzzled by the steward's reaction, "He fell ill on the way back from Baque to collect food, and he recuperated in Baitou Village. He asked someone to send the food to Qingling County, and he also sent a message. Zheng Gong didn't receive the message?"

The steward was taken aback and shook his head.

He asked again: "Is Shaolang's illness better?" As soon as he asked this sentence, he looked at the sword in Li Chan's hand again, feeling ominous.

This sword is called "Zhen Gang" and it is the sword handed down by the Zheng family.Mr. Zheng Lang has been carrying the sword with him since the day he got the crown, how could he give it to others?

Li Chan handed the sword to the steward, "He is no longer alive."

The steward took the sword, his hands trembling, and he looked at Li Chan with unbelievable expectations, but Li Chan just lowered his eyebrows and shook his head.

"Young man, how could he..." The steward held his sword and wept.

After mourning for a moment, he raised his sleeves and wiped the corners of his eyes vigorously, subdued his grief, cupped his hands to Li Chan, and said hoarsely: "Thank you, Mr. Lang, for sending the sword. Mr. Lang just said... Shao Lang entrusted someone to send food?"

Li Chan nodded, "About three hundred shi of grain."

The steward shook his head, "Qingling County has not received Shaolang's food, and Alang has not received a message."

Li Chan frowned.

The steward was silent for a while, "Nowadays the world is chaotic, maybe the food has been robbed halfway, or... the person Shaolang entrusted is not a trustworthy person. I will go to find my wife and tell this matter. The gentleman will rest here first, and go to the west courtyard for a while. Stay, if you have anything to do, just tell the servants."

Li Chan nodded and said hello, and the steward took Zheng Langjun's sword and left in a hurry.

A servant in Tsing Yi entered the house, cleaned up the empty porridge bowl, and led Li Chan to the west courtyard of Zheng's residence.

The black donkey was tied in the yard, chewing the thin forage in the stone trough.

Li Chan put the book case and luggage into the house, took off the hemp rattan shoes, patted the dust on the ground, and checked the wear and tear on the shoes.After checking one shoe and taking off the other shoe, he suddenly turned his head and looked out the window, and the two colors of blue and blue reappeared in his eyes.

The clear autumn sky is divided into blocks by the window panes and the patio, and a shadow of a crow passes by.Although it was fleeting, Li Chan's Dan eyes reflected nine jet-black tail feathers.He raised his eyebrows, put on his shoes and went out, casually informed the servants of Zheng's house, left Zheng's house, stepped on the ginkgo leaves in Qimei Lane, and looked for the direction where the crow shadow disappeared.

(End of this chapter)