Knife splashing

Chapter 624 Entering the Dragon Gate

Luoyang, the former capital of the Zhou Dynasty, is the ruins of the Han and Wei dynasties.

It is located in the center of the world, on the south side of the Luo River. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Luoyang Plain was called "China" on bronze inscriptions.

During the thousands of years of war, countless emperors and generals were buried in Mangshan.

But similar to Chang'an, Luoyang has gradually declined since the turmoil in the late Tang Dynasty. After repeated wars, it has lost its former glory as the divine capital.

Since the end of last year, the weather has suddenly changed and the climate has become cold. Now it is past the spring equinox, but the wind is still cold and the snow has not melted.

As the sky gradually darkened, the lights in the ancient city gradually went out.

In the distance, the outline of Mangshan looks like a dormant dragon.

Guiyifang, near Taipei City.

The bluestone streets were glowing with a faint light, and the night fog was hovering along the ground.

At the street corner, an old woman was burning paper in the dark. The ashes of the paper money were swirling in the wind, and the sound of crying could be heard faintly.

“This is Luoyang today…”

The night watchman Lao Zhao stopped and sighed to his apprentice.

He turned his head, holding the gongs and drums, and limped along, whispering: "In the early years, we could still get a hot meal in Luoyang, but since the court lifted the ban on sea trade, if you see any way, everyone will rush to the seaside to fish for gold."

"The East City Market is like a ghost market. The hooligans on the street can't make any money, so they are so hungry that they dare to do anything immoral."

Then, he lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "Look at Aunt Liu just now. Although her son is a second-rate person, he is filial! He went to Mangshan with others to 'touch gold' in the dark the other day. What do you think happened?"

"There's not even a complete corpse to be found!"

"What kind of place is Mangshan? There are more emperors buried there than living people! Two years ago, Wang Laowu dug up a Northern Wei pottery jar, and the eyeballs were dug out by some weird thing...

His little apprentice was quite tall, but he didn't have enough good food to eat and was as hungry as a skinny bamboo pole.

He didn't pay any attention to Lao Zhao's muttering. Instead, he looked around. Every time he saw those dark alleys, fear appeared in his eyes.

"Look at your courage!"

Old Zhao had a look of disdain on his face. "If your father hadn't come to me with a grovelling hand, I wouldn't have bothered to take you out at all!"

"This bowl of rice is not delicious. The son of Dongguan Lao Zhang was so scared that he peed his pants when he met Sanyue. You are worse than him."

"Ah."

His apprentice was a taciturn person. When he heard Lao Zhao scolding him, he immediately lowered his head and dared not speak.

Old Zhao rolled his eyes, then picked up the clapper, struck it rhythmically a few times, and shouted, "It's midnight, be careful of fire!"

This frightened the disciple again.

Soon, the two of them crossed the street. As soon as they turned the corner, they saw a dim light in front of them, accompanied by the sound of chiseling wood.

But it is a coffin shop.

It seemed like they were working overnight. Not only was there someone chiseling a coffin inside, but there were also a large number of paper figures piled up at the door. Two men were pinching bamboo strips with their fingers, flipping them up and down, and quickly made a mold.

The night wind blew, and the white paper figures rustled.

When the night watchman's apprentice saw this, his scalp suddenly went numb and his legs felt heavy, and he could no longer walk a step.

bah bah bah!
Old Zhao spat three times on the ground, glanced at his apprentice, and was too lazy to say anything to him. He stepped forward and asked, "What's going on? Whose work is so urgent that they have to do it at night?"

"He's a big customer."

The apprentice who made the paper figurine looked up and chuckled, "I came to order it last night. It's urgent. I'll come to pick it up tomorrow night."

"Come at midnight?"

The night watchman, Lao Zhao, frowned and said, "Tell your master to be alert. It sounds a bit mysterious. He still owes me two rounds of wine."

Another apprentice of the paper figurine shop said disdainfully: "What are you afraid of? Nowadays, as long as you pay, anyone can be a human or a ghost."

bah bah bah!
Old Zhao spat on the ground a few more times and cursed: "Children talk without restraint, they don't know whether to live or die."

After saying this, he continued his patrol with his apprentice.

After turning the corner and the lights behind him disappeared, he shook his head and sighed, "These days, the incense in front of the City God Temple is fading, but the paper-making shops are brightly lit every night. It's better to pray to ghosts than to worship gods..."

There is a taboo when walking at night: you cannot talk about ghosts.

Old Zhao was a night owl. He slept and drank during the day and patrolled at night. The apprentice became more and more frightened the more he listened. He begged, "Master, please stop talking. Let's finish this and go back as soon as possible."

"It's too early to go back..."

Old Zhao made a joke, but as soon as he turned around, his body became stiff and his face turned pale.

"Master, don't scare me."

The hair on the back of his disciple's neck stood up and he shook his head quickly.

But I saw that the street behind me had been covered with thick fog at some point, and under the bright moonlight, it looked hazy and dreamy.

In the mist, a few dark shadows vaguely appeared, walking up and down unsteadily, not like human beings at all.

"Cover it!"

The night watchman, Old Zhao, shouted sternly, pulled out two pieces of rags from the basket behind him, covered himself with one and threw the other to his apprentice.

Although his apprentice is simple-minded, he is not a fool.

There is a rumor in the market that night watchmen have been walking on the streets at night for many years, and have passed down some things that can help people avoid disasters.

Therefore, the apprentice covered his body with the rag without any hesitation, covering even his nostrils and mouth tightly.

In an instant, a foul odor rushed into my nose.

It was like falling into a cesspool.

The apprentice endured the discomfort and dared not speak. He wrapped himself with rags and even squatted down to cover his feet.

Only a pair of eyes were left, looking outward.

Soon, thick fog filled the street.

He finally saw what it was.

They were paper figures, swaying their bodies, moving forward with their legs crossed, and the sound of bamboo strips rubbing against each other at their joints.

Looking closely, they were exactly the things from the paper figurine shop just now.

But what was different from before was that the paper man was no longer pure white, but was covered with densely packed words, bright red, as if blood was oozing out of it.

What made the apprentice feel at ease was that the smelly rags on his body seemed to have some kind of magical power, as the paper people passed by them without being noticed.

He knew some characters, and could not help but glance at the paper figure beside him, and saw clearly what was written on it: Soul, come back! The bones were carved with Qin seals, and the Chu shamans made an alliance with the sacrifice. There are oak trees in the east, candles in the west, three animals buried in the south, and human sacrifices in the north...

Wow~
Before he could take a closer look, a large number of paper figures swam by.

In the middle of these horrible things, there was actually a large vermilion lacquered coffin with gold-painted dragons and phoenixes, which was not what an ordinary family would use.

Soon, the paper man disappeared into the darkness.

The thick fog around also dissipated.

However, the two did not dare to move. After a long time, the night watchman, Old Zhao, suddenly stood up and lifted up the rags on his body.

The apprentice followed suit, taking deep gulps of fresh air, and asked with lingering fear, "Master, what is that?"

"How should I know!"

Old Zhao glared at him, but his tone softened, "You're a good kid. You didn't get scared and run around, causing trouble for me."

The apprentice seemed to be a lot bolder after receiving the compliment. He looked at the stinking rag in his hand and asked, "Master, what kind of treasure is this?"

"Golden robe of Hunyuan!"

"If you want it, I'll give it to you. Twenty coppers."

Old Zhao responded casually, then looked towards the corner with a serious look in his eyes, "I'm afraid something has happened. Follow me."

After saying this, he returned with his apprentice.

When we arrived at the paper man coffin shop, we found that something had really happened.

But the paper figurine shop was in a mess. The paper figurines outside had disappeared, the lights were out, and the two apprentices in the shop were both lying on the ground.

His eyes were filled with fear and his body was covered with frost.

Around the paper figurine shop, black mold was seeping out from the cracks in the bricks.

Dangdang Dangdang!
The rapid sound of gongs and drums resounded through the night sky of the ancient city...

…………Yi River is a branch of Luo River, a tributary of the Yellow River on the south bank. According to the "Luanchuan County Chronicles", Yi River is also called Yishui, which is the ancient Luanshui.

Although the weather was cold, the ice on the Yi River had melted and was bobbing up and down in the yellow water, constantly hitting the hull of the boat.

Wow~Wow~
The wooden boat seemed to be moving through the ice.

On the bow of the boat, Li Yan stood with his hands behind his back.

The river breeze blowing in his face made his black hair move slightly and his black fur cloak flutter slightly.

After a long journey, they finally arrived in Luoyang.

This journey has not been peaceful.

They entered the Yangtze River from Chengdu Prefecture along the Min River, and then entered the Tangbai River from the Han River through Xiangyang. When they arrived in Nanyang, they traveled both by land and water.

Along the way, the water route is 3,000 miles and the land route is 500 miles.

It took more than ten days.

We were already rushing, and some things happened along the way.

When passing by Leshan Lidui, the boat ran aground. Fortunately, he had a great reputation in Shuzhong, and the local leader of the beach division came to help in person...

When they arrived in Hankou, they encountered the Cao Gang fighting with the Paijiao, blocking the waterway. The person in charge was a fool who dared to ask them for "court money" and directly attacked them, which attracted the Cao Gang elders to come to the door to apologize...

Of course, they were also given the "Caojun Banner", and with the appearance of the Tushi Division, the bandits and pirates in Huguang all fled wherever they passed...

When we reached Tangbai River, the water was shallow due to the construction of a reservoir, so we separated again and changed to several "舴艋舟" to continue our journey...

Next to him, a sturdy man was sitting cross-legged on the deck, eating snacks bite by bite, his eyes narrowed.

Among all the people, Wu Ba is the most free.

I eat wherever I go and I have become a picky eater.

The snacks in the oil-paper wrapper must be good to satisfy him.

Luoyang is the ancient capital of 13 dynasties. Its dim sum is a combination of imperial court cuisine, Taoist offerings and everyday life. It has both the elegance of a thousand-year heritage and the rich culture of the Heluo market.

This is the "Tang Fruit" that I bought from a nice dim sum shop when we stopped at Bowang Posthouse in the evening to have a meal.

It was originally a palace snack, which absorbed the cooking techniques of foreign food. In the past, it was only eaten in the homes of dignitaries. Now, with the decline of gods, it has long been spread to the common people.

There are Guifei Red and Luoning red beans as fillings, wrapped in glutinous rice skin, dyed rouge color, shaped like a peony, and it is said that Yang Yuhuan liked it the most...

There are Mandala cakes, which are the offerings on the Buddha's birthday in the White Horse Temple. They are made of sesame and honey and shaped into an eight-petal lotus, which symbolizes the "Eightfold Path"...

There are also peony flower dishes, peony pastry, peony honey cakes. Among the eight delicacies in Luoyang, there are Kaikouxiao, Jinmajujube, and Jiangmi Tiao...

Such a big bag is naturally not cheap.

Someone once said, "The rich families in Luoyang make fruit, and a box costs ten gold coins." You can imagine the price.

From these delicacies, we can get a glimpse of the atmosphere of the past.

Of course, Wu Ba didn't care and kept answering them one by one.

"It's not too choking!"

Li Yan took a glance and shook his head speechlessly.

Many of these things are sweets, and he can eat more of them when paired with good tea.

After saying that, he narrowed his eyes and turned his head.

On the "舴艋舟" at the rear, Dilongzi of Tongtian Sect jumped up from the deck, leaped seven or eight meters, and stomped hard on the water.

With a loud bang, water waves splashed everywhere.

The man flew into the air again and landed steadily on their boat.

Although the opponent's hands were not yet healed from injuries, his kung fu was still there. This move was something that an ordinary dark-energy expert could not do at all.

The opponent has entered the stage of Hua Jin.

But in Li Yan's eyes, it was full of flaws.

He was only half a step away from Dan Jin.

Of course, Li Yan would not show off casually, he just smiled and nodded and said: "Senior, you have great skills!"

"It's funny."

Di Longzi shook his head and looked forward, and said in a deep voice: "Young Master Li, the ferry ahead is the Yi River, and there is a Longmen Posthouse inside. We can change horses there and head straight to Luoyang."

"Just follow the arrangements, senior."

Li Yan nodded slightly, his face calm.

He was no novice in the world of martial arts. After a few casual chats along the way, he was certain that this old man had no good intentions.

Even, vaguely guessed the other party's plan.

It's nothing more than using his power to get rid of a few enemies.

When this old man was in Qingcheng Mountain, he had six or seven disciples around him, but now he has only four. The remaining three are probably already ahead to make arrangements.

Although he knew it, Li Yan didn't care.

People with different levels of Taoism naturally have different ways of doing things.

In the past, they had no fame and lacked strength, and they were faced with evil giants and reincarnated monsters, each one more difficult to deal with than the other.

Therefore, you must play both sides and temporarily avoid the limelight to attract your teammates.

But now, all we need to do is remain constant in the face of ever-changing situations.

In the end, the person behind the scenes can be forced out.

Not long after, a ferry appeared in front of them. Although it was not as lively as the Hankou Ferry, Chaotianmen Ferry and other ferries, it was also quite large.

The ships here are different from those in the south.

The main ones are grain transport ships, which are shallow-bottomed "grain ships" on the Yellow River, commonly known as "Yellow River flat boats", with zedoary wood as the keel and willow nails tightly fastened.

A two-masted ship, used for both passenger and cargo transportation, commonly known as the "Yellow River Harrier".

There are also pairs of trough boats, which are two boats placed side by side, connected by iron chains and covered with wooden boards. They are under the jurisdiction of the Yuzhou Dusi, and the boat owners are required to hold a "Cao Fu".

The rest include the Hunjianglong and the Kunxiang boat.

We also saw a military ship on the Yellow River. It had a double deck, with parapets and arrow slits on the upper deck, oarsmen hidden on the lower deck, and a cannon mounted on the bow.

After a busy time getting on the ferry, everyone, led by Dilongzi, immediately left the shore.

Not long after walking along the official road, a large post station suddenly appeared in front of us.

Dilongzi gave a wink and immediately a disciple ran into the post station.

They have been active in Yuzhou all year round and are very familiar with the place. Even if the postmaster does not know the color of the people, he can still use the pass to get the horse.

However, the disciple ran out not long after he entered, and said helplessly: "Master, there is no horse."

"interesting."

Dilongzi was amused, "The post station doesn't have horses, does that mean everyone in this post station wants to lose their heads?"

The imperial court stipulated that post stations must always have fast horses available to transmit important information along the way. If the post station master dared to rent all the horses to merchants, he would be putting money before life.

Upon hearing this, the disciple hurriedly explained, "There were still quite a few horses at Longmen Post, but some people from Qianhu Suo came this morning and were in a hurry to get to Luoyang. Are they going to take all the horses?"

"Oh?"

Li Yan thought of the military ship he had seen on the shore before, and said in a deep voice: "Could something have happened in Luoyang?"

The disciple shook his head and said, "I don't know."

"I don't know anything, what's the point of exploring?"

When Dilongzi saw this, his face suddenly turned ugly.

These disciples were good at flattering him, but they were a little stupid and often embarrassed him in front of their peers.

The disciple said quickly, "Master, please don't blame me. I have already asked around. I can still get horses here. According to the postmaster, there is an elder of the Heluo Horse Gang staying at the inn ahead."

"The people in the caravan still have a few horses."

"By the way, that inn is called Longmen Inn..."

(End of this chapter)