Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 198 Pretending to be a ghost
In the blink of an eye, it was time for another short holiday. Early in the morning, Chen Xuan and his friends began to pack up and prepare to return to Mo City.

"His Majesty's birthday is in two days. Mo City will surely be bustling with activity. Young Master should also relax and go for a walk around," Chen Xuan said as he packed up his things in the study.

Gao Jingming put down the book and said, "Indeed, I've been here for a few months, but I haven't really seen Mocheng yet." He paused and said, "By the way, Xuan, have you sent out all the invitations?"

"Don't worry, young master. Everything has been delivered. I have sent invitations to the five guests you wanted to invite or to their close associates one by one. Besides, I have asked Brother Zhao to inform Uncle Geng that I have booked a banquet in Mocheng, and we can have the banquet there tomorrow night," Chen Xuan said with a smile, but his hands did not stop moving, arranging the pens, inkstones, papers and books he was going to take away neatly in the book basket.

Gao Jingming said with emotion: "I trust Xuan to do things, I can worry less with you around."

Chen Xuan thought to himself that it would only be in the next few years, but he said, "After this banquet, the young master will have his own social life, and I think he will have a lot more peace and quiet in the future."

"That's true. Although you, Xuan, have helped me block and shirk most of the requests during this period, I'm still a little exhausted. Reputation is really tiring. The people invited to this banquet were determined after careful consideration. We need to maintain it well and build a small circle. If someone comes to make friends with them next time, I'll have to think twice," Gao Jingming said with deep conviction.

It is very necessary to have your own fixed small circle, which can invisibly block many people with ulterior motives. It is not that small circles are exclusive, but once you have your own social relationships, it becomes difficult for outsiders to integrate into it.

Just like in Yushan Academy a few years ago, Gao Jingming and his friends formed a stable circle, which invisibly blocked many people out.

When they were almost done cleaning up, Chen Xuan noticed that Xiao Gao occasionally rubbed his eyes subconsciously, and asked curiously, "Master, are your eyes uncomfortable? Is it because you've been using them too much?"

"That's not the case, it's just that my left eyelid has been twitching these past two days," Gao Jingming said with a smile.

At this moment, Xiao Cai said outside the door: "Master, we are all packed. Oh, by the way, there was a magpie calling outside early in the morning. Did you hear it?"

Feeling speechless, Chen Xuan looked at Gao Jingming and said, "Maybe something good is going to happen."

"A Xuan, do you still believe this? Although the master taught us some medical skills, he also repeatedly reminded us not to be too serious, otherwise it will only make us confused. Let's go, pack up and set off," Gao Jingming shook his head.

They didn't care too much and packed up, closed the door and set off.

After he went out, people kept coming up to Gao Jingming to talk to him. Although he had no choice, he could only deal with them one by one.

In order to have peace and quiet on the road, they simply chartered a carriage, and only after getting in did they have peace and quiet.

Xiao Cai and the others were simply happy that their young master was so popular in the academy, but they didn't think too deeply about it. Focusing too much on social interactions was putting the cart before the horse.

The academy is on a short holiday, and most students who have the conditions will go to Mo City to relax, so the streets are very busy with people and cars. If Xiao Gao hadn't chartered a car, he would probably have been annoyed to death along the way given his current popularity.

In fact, as Gao Jingming's popularity in the academy grew in the past few days, people tried to avoid him whenever possible. There were already some rumors circulating secretly that he was an arrogant person, and Wu Junyao definitely contributed to this.

Xiao Gao didn't care about these things. He believed that Chen Xuan would handle it. Since that day, he never asked Chen Xuan what progress he had made.

After returning to the residence in Mocheng, Geng Hong was the only one there for more than 20 days, which seemed a bit deserted. However, with the arrival of Chen Xuan and the others, the place became lively again.

While they were resting, Chen Xuan found Geng Hong and asked, "Uncle Geng, has Zhou Xiaomiao been here recently?"

"She came several times to ask about the Qi-calming and health-preserving exercises. Xuan Ge'er had told me about it, so I naturally answered her questions one by one. She was quite reserved at first, but then she gradually relaxed. She became a very sensible and obedient girl. Every time she came to ask for advice, I would help with the cleaning. But after she learned it, she never came again," Geng Hong said truthfully.

"Well, thank you Uncle Geng."

"polite……"

After discussing some minor matters, Chen Xuan asked, "How are the arrangements for the banquet going, Master?"

"We have booked a private room at Yipinxian. You can go there anytime tomorrow. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Yipinxian is just across from Wenxiang Pavilion. When you have dinner tonight, you may be able to open the window and enjoy the singing and dancing at Wenxiang Pavilion," Geng Hong said with a smile.

Gao Jingming is still young, even according to the laws of Jing State, he is not yet an adult. It is naturally inconvenient for him to go to a place like a brothel to entertain guests. He has to wait until he is at least sixteen years old.

The laws of the Kingdom of Jing stipulate that men reach adulthood at the age of 16 and women at the age of 14, which is considered humane at the current age when the average age is around 40.

You can get married after you reach adulthood, but this is the law. Whether the people abide by it or not is another matter. Usually they turn a blind eye and the government will not take it seriously. In many places, men and women are eager to get married and have children as soon as possible to increase the population. The number of people under the rule is also one of the political achievements that are evaluated.

Chen Xuan hadn't suggested that Gao Jingming host a banquet at Yipinxian; he'd simply suggested a place closer to his residence with a better environment, and Geng Hong had already decided on that spot. So, the fact that a talented young woman was getting married tomorrow at Wenxiang Pavilion and Wu Junyao and his friends were going to support her was purely coincidental...

After coming back to rest for a while, Gao Jingming and his friends went out to play in Mo City. When he was in the academy, he was very popular during this period, but in Mo City, with a population of one million, not many people knew him, so he was able to have some peace and quiet.

It was inevitable that people would take a second look at the two pretty girls, Xiao Ye and Xiao Cai, who were surrounding him, but that was all. There were many handsome men and beautiful women in Mo City, and it was rare for people to go up and tease pretty girls when they saw them on the street. The government was not just a decoration.

Emperor Shang Xuan's birthday is approaching, and the entire Mo City is decorated with lights and colors, waiting for that day to come to celebrate. Some businesses even take the opportunity to offer discounts, and many wealthy families have prepared entertainment activities with prizes.

It's a celebration for everyone.

To put it bluntly, the whole country will of course be celebrating Emperor Shang Xuan's 70th birthday. After all, it is still unclear whether he will have the chance to celebrate his 80th birthday.

Walking and stopping, when passing by the abandoned yard that he had noticed last time, Chen Xuan's keen senses heard a conversation between two people at a street tea stall about a hundred meters away from the yard. It was about that yard, so he just listened in.

"Have you heard? The night before yesterday, something strange happened again in that haunted house."

"Something happened again? Tell me what happened in detail."

"What else could it be? There are so many weird things going on there. It's pretty scary anyway. I heard that the night before last, five homeless beggars went there to spend the night. Three of them died early yesterday morning, and only two survived. The three dead were horrible. Their bodies were just skin and bones. They said that evil spirits sucked all their flesh and blood out of them!"

"The authorities investigated, and the coroner found no wounds. It looked like a natural death. But a perfectly healthy person was reduced to skin and bones overnight. How can this be normal?"

"Ah, there is such a thing. Could it be that the evil spirit is really taking my life?"

"Hush, keep your voice down, don't say anything. The government said they died of a sudden illness, their bodies were burned, and no one claimed them, so the matter was over. But I heard from two surviving beggars that they kept hearing women crying at night, and when they woke up the next day, their three companions were dead!"

"Shh... this is too scary. It's so hot, but I keep feeling cold all over. It must be because the haunted house is too gloomy. No, this place is too close. I have to leave quickly. I paid for the tea..."

Hearing this, Chen Xuan's heart moved, and he couldn't help but look in the direction of the haunted house deep in the alley on the street. It had been abandoned for many years, with many collapsed parts of the walls and weeds growing on the roof. In particular, there was a huge locust tree growing lushly in the yard. Not to mention, it looked a bit eerie even in broad daylight.

Chen Xuan had not carefully examined the haunted house, but he had noticed that there was such a place by looking for remote buildings for sale.

From his previous understanding, he had heard that many strange things had happened there, and now it happened again, so he planned to go and see it when he had time.

If it's suitable, you can buy it and use it as a private space. It would be the best place where others can avoid it.

He didn't believe in any weird things, and it was most likely that someone was playing tricks.

Are you kidding? Even someone like Lao Liu, who was just one step away from becoming an immortal, could only stay in the human world for a short time after death. How could there be so many gods and ghosts?
If there is someone who has passed the tribulation or above causing trouble, it won't be just a small fight. The whole Mo City will turn into a hell on earth in a matter of seconds!
"A Xuan, what are you looking at?" Gao Jingming followed Chen Xuan's gaze and asked in confusion.

Chen Xuan put away his thoughts and said, "Nothing, let's go, young master. In front of us is the Mo Lake, which is a scenic spot in Mo City. The water is black, but it is full of green lotus. This season is the perfect time to visit."

"Then I have to take a closer look," Gao Jingming became interested.

Xiao Ye was speechless and said, "Could it be stagnant water? Otherwise, why would the water be black?"

"It's all exaggerated. Actually, I heard from the grapevine that many ink-making workshops secretly discharge water into the lake, which is why the water is so black," Chen Xuan whispered.

Xiao Cai blinked and said, "Isn't that just a man-made landscape?"

"That's right, but the scholars couldn't help but brag about it. 'Black water gives rise to green lotus,' listen, how elegant it is. Gradually, Mo Lake became famous," Chen Xuan said with a smile.

Not long after, they came to Mo Lake for a visit, but they left with their noses pinched after a short while.

The scenery of Mo Lake is indeed beautiful, and the black water and green lotus give people endless reverie. However, the lake water is full of the stench of ink, which no one can stand.

They visited many places during the day, and continued their tour the next day. In the evening, they went to Yipinxian to wait for customers to come...

(End of this chapter)