Starting from the imperial palace guards, his clones spread all over the world.

Chapter 441 Is there a ghost in the secret room?

On the third floor of the brothel, in a luxuriously decorated box, there were carved beams and painted rafters, brocade curtains hanging low, and the air was filled with the faint fragrance of cosmetics.

The greasy-haired and powdered man was still standing by the window, leaning most of his body out, cursing loudly at the street. The fat on his face kept shaking as he cursed, like a puddle of mud.

The people sitting around the table couldn't help but frown and shake their heads slightly when they saw this, with expressions of helplessness and disdain on their faces.

"If I had known earlier, I would have taken action myself."

One of the middle-aged men in a brocade robe narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes, and he complained in a low voice.

If Liang Jin were here at this moment, he would be able to recognize at a glance that this middle-aged man was his superior, battalion commander Xi Rong.

Xi Rong usually lives a life of luxury and is in good shape, but his slightly plump belly and the air of authority on his face clearly reveal his status.

Today he and some good friends made an appointment to come to this brothel to drink and have fun. When they were enjoying themselves, they happened to see Liang Jin passing by the brothel door.

Xi Rong had always been holding a grudge against Liang Jin, and now that he had finally gotten the chance, he naturally wouldn't let it go easily. He was determined to find a reason to teach Liang Jin a lesson.

Before, in the military camp, due to the presence of the deputy commander and a group of soldiers, there were some things that he was really not able to do, and many concerns restricted his hands and feet.

But now that he was outside, without the restrictions of rules and regulations, he felt that he could do whatever he wanted, and the evil thoughts in his heart grew stronger and stronger.

But at this moment, a friend of Xi Rong volunteered to help Xi Rong lure Liang Jin up and give him a good beating, which led to the scene just now.

Unexpectedly, not only did he fail to lure Liang Jin up, but he also caused the friend to lose a boot in vain, which was a joke.

This made Xi Rong even more depressed. His face was so gloomy that it seemed as if water could drip out of it. He secretly cursed his friend's incompetence in his heart.

Seeing Xi Rong's grim expression, his friends began to comfort him, their faces full of smiles:
"Don't be impatient, Lao Xi. Come on, have a drink first. Cool down your temper. There's no need to ruin our fun over a small pawn."

"That's right. Mr. Zhou's men have already gone after him. That kid can't get far. We'll catch him soon. Then we'll have plenty of ways to deal with him."

"Even if we can't avenge you today, there's still plenty of time to come. Just lure that guy out of the barracks, and we'll find a way to kill him for you! With our skills, are we really afraid we can't take care of a mere soldier?"

……

As Xi Rong listened to his friends' comfort, the resentment in his heart gradually dissipated and his expression relaxed a lot.

He nodded slightly, picked up the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.

That’s right, with his status and position, killing a soldier is as easy as pie.

But he didn't want to do it himself. After all, as a general, if he killed his soldiers for personal revenge, it would be extremely detrimental to his prestige and the morale of his soldiers.

But he has so many powerful friends, and each of them has considerable influence in the capital. With their help, Liang Jin is doomed to have no chance of survival!
Thinking of this, Xi Rong's mouth corners slightly raised, revealing a sinister smile. He immediately picked up the wine glass in one hand and hugged the girl beside him with the other hand. The girl snuggled in his arms with a sweet smile.

Xi Rong and everyone else continued drinking, and laughter and chatter rang out in the box again, as if the unpleasantness just now had never happened.

………………

the other side.

The night was as dark as ink, and a thin layer of mist filled the streets.

"Brother Liang, come quickly!"

Zhao Yiyi's voice was quick and clear. She held Liang Jin's hand tightly and ran all the way.

The two figures quickly shuttled through the dim streets.

They passed through narrow alleys and rounded corners, and behind them they could faintly hear the angry roars and chasing footsteps of the servants.

But as they continued to run, the sounds gradually faded away. It was obvious that they had successfully shaken off the pursuing servants.

Soon, the two came to a remote area.

This place is far away from the busy streets, and it becomes extremely quiet and pitch black at night. Only the occasional barking of dogs breaks the silence of the night.

Obviously, there are not many people living here. It is deserted and even gives people a gloomy feeling.

Zhao Yiyi brought Liang Jin to a small stone bridge that spanned a small river. The bridge was mottled and covered with traces of time.

"Brother Liang, follow me!"

As Zhao Yiyi spoke, he crawled under the bridge.

She squatted down, scooped up river water with her hands, and vigorously washed the bricks at the bottom of the stone bridge.

The river flowed through her hands, carrying away mud and dirt.

After the mud on the surface of the stone bricks was cleaned, Zhao Yiyi carefully identified and felt around for a while, her eyes flashing with excitement, as if she had found her target.

The next moment, she exerted force with both hands and actually pulled out a brick.

It was impossible for Zhao Yiyi to pull out the bricks with his strength, but the bricks themselves had already become loose.

At this time, she continued to work, one, two, three... After pulling out a few bricks, a big dark hole was revealed at the bottom of the stone bridge. The entrance of the hole was like a huge mouth, as if it wanted to swallow people.

Liang Jin looked inside and was shocked to find that there was a man-made secret passage inside.

This secret passage looks quite old, and the walls show signs of erosion by time, but it is still solid.

Liang Jin was extremely surprised. You know, the construction of such an artificial secret passage would require a lot of manpower, material resources and financial resources.

Zhao Yiyi is just a girl from an ordinary family, so how could she have such a mysterious secret passage?
“Brother Liang, get in like me.”

As Zhao Yiyi spoke, she had already skillfully entered the secret passage. Her movements were light and agile.

Liang Jin hesitated for a moment, looked around, and after confirming that there was no danger, he also went in.

The interior space of the secret passage is very spacious and the design is very ingenious.

There is a drainage channel at the bottom, which can drain the infiltrating river water in time and keep the secret passage from being soaked by water.

Moreover, this secret passage is not completely dark. The top is inlaid with some luminous fluorite and mica, which emit a soft light, so that even ordinary people can barely see things in the secret passage.

Zhao Yiyi stretched out his hand and piled up the stone bricks at the entrance of the secret passage to seal the entrance. His movements were skillful and quick.

She turned around, her face filled with excitement, and said to Liang Jin excitedly:
"How is this place?"

"I'll take you inside. There's plenty of space."

As he spoke, Zhao Yiyi led Liang Jin deeper into the secret passage.

The secret passage could only accommodate one person, so Zhao Yiyi was in front and Liang Jin was behind.

The footsteps of the two people echoed in the secret passage, appearing particularly clear.

As Zhao Yiyi walked, he explained to Liang Jin:
"I discovered this place when I was a kid and I was fishing in this river with my sister."

"That was probably more than ten years ago. I think I was only five or six years old. There had just been a flood that year, and the rocks in the river were pushed against the stone bridge by the current, knocking open the entrance to the secret passage."

"When we found it, we went inside and explored everywhere. We were very scared at first because it was pitch black inside and we always thought some monster would suddenly appear."

"But gradually we discovered that there was no one here at all, and it was very safe. So this place became our secret base!"

"Whenever our parents chased us and beat us, we would secretly run here and hide. We also made a promise not to tell anyone about this place."

Having said that, Zhao Yiyi paused slightly, turned around and smiled at Liang Jin. That smile was like the sunshine in spring, warm and bright.

"Unfortunately, my eldest and second sisters grew up and started their own families, so they never came to this place again. I am now the only one here."

"I'm bringing you here now. From now on, this will be a secret between the two of us, and you can't tell anyone else."

As Zhao Yiyi spoke, he continued to lead Liang Jin deeper.

This secret passage was actually longer than Liang Jin had imagined.

The secret passage was built very solidly. Although the various supporting structures were old, they were still strong, bearing the pressure from above and protecting the people in the secret passage.

After they walked for a while, the space in front of them suddenly opened up, and what appeared before them was a spacious hall.

There is a faint musty smell in the hall, as if telling the vicissitudes of time here.

Zhao Yiyi skillfully found the location of the oil lamp, then touched the flint and lightly scratched it. The flame jumped up and quickly lit the oil lamp.

The dim light made the hall dark, but it also added a touch of warmth to this mysterious place.

Liang Jin could see that the hall was paved with stone slabs, each polished to a perfectly smooth surface. The pillars were intricately carved. A ceramic ventilation duct was built into the ceiling of the hall, allowing air to flow in from the outside.

At one end of the hall, there is a stone staircase extending upwards and ending abruptly at a secret door.

At the other end, there were two sealed doors covered with rust.

In the middle of the hall, there were many miscellaneous items, including worn-out clothes, chipped pottery jars, some cloths of unknown use, and even some bamboo toys.

These are all civilian items and are out of place in this exquisite hall.

Zhao Yiyi proudly waved the leather boots in his hand towards Liang Jin, then threw them into the pile of debris with a mischievous smile on his face:

"I put this boot here, and Zhou Jiaze will never find it in his lifetime!"

"These boots are not cheap. They must have cost a lot of money. If Zhou Jiaze loses one pair, he won't be able to wear them anymore."

"How about I help you get revenge this way?"

Obviously, most of the miscellaneous items on the ground were brought in by Zhao Yiyi from outside, and each one seemed to have its own story.

Liang Jin frowned slightly when he heard this and asked:

"Do you know the owner of these boots?"

Zhao Yiyi nodded, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes:
"Who in our area doesn't know that evil young man Zhou Jiaze?"

"He is the youngest son of the Yingtian Prefecture Governor. He relies on his father's power to commit crimes and bully others, making him extremely hated."

In Zhao Yiyi's opinion, Zhou Jiaze was deliberately looking for trouble, and Liang Jin was just unlucky to be targeted by this evil young man.

Upon hearing this, Liang Jin asked:
"Aren't you afraid of offending the prefect's son?"

Zhao Yiyi winked at Liang Jin proudly, a confident smile on his face:

"Don't worry, I didn't let him see my face at that time."

"Besides, it's not easy to find someone as insignificant as me."

"Who asked him to bully you? He deserves it!"

Liang Jin smiled but said nothing. He then opened the [Thousand Mile Tracking] panel and entered Zhou Jiaze's name.

Soon, he locked onto Zhou Jiaze's location.

Zhou Jiaze deliberately provoked Liang Jin. Perhaps someone was behind this. Liang Jin would not let him go easily and would definitely find him to get to the bottom of things.

Liang Jin then pointed to the two closed doors and asked:

"What's in there?"

I saw that the two doors were made of metal, and now they were covered with rust, as if telling the ruthlessness of time.

There was a big lock hanging on the door, blocking everything inside.

Zhao Yiyi shook his head, his eyes revealing a hint of curiosity and helplessness:

"This lock is very strong. The three of us sisters tried every possible way but couldn't open it."

"We really don't know what's behind the door."

Liang Jin nodded, then pointed to the stone steps at the other end of the hall:

"Where does it lead to up there?"

Zhao Yiyi immediately said:

"Come on, I'll take you up to see it."

"But you have to be quiet so no one can find out."

"If we are discovered, it will be troublesome."

Zhao Yiyi said this and walked up the stone steps with Liang Jin.

The stone steps are a bit steep and you need to be careful with every step.

The secret door at the end of the stone steps is embedded in the top of the hall. The secret door is very thick and has more than one layer. Its design is very clever. If you look from the other end, who can detect the existence of the secret door?
Zhao Yiyi struggled for a long time before opening the secret door and then crawled out.

Liang Jin also climbed up with him.

After crawling out, Liang Jin discovered that the opening of the secret door was actually under the bed in a bedroom.

However, this bedroom had obviously been abandoned for a long time. It was covered with cobwebs and dust everywhere, and even the bed was so rotten that it was about to collapse, as if it would fall down at any time.

The bedroom door was severely damaged, with the door panel falling to the ground, revealing the scene outside.

Zhao Yiyi brought Liang Jin to the bedroom door, carefully poked his head out, and said:

"Be careful not to be seen by those on the city wall."

Liang Jin glanced outside the bedroom.

Outside the bedroom was an abandoned house.

The house is very large. Although it has been basically emptied out now, with only some ruins left, one can still see its former luxury.

Of the former pavilions and towers, only some stone pillars and rubble remain; of the former gardens, they are now overgrown with weeds.

It is obvious that the person living in this house is of extraordinary status.

Outside the wall of the house, one can actually see the tall city wall not far away without any obstruction.

The tall towers on the city wall stand solemnly, and at the battlements of the wall there are some imperial guards holding spears standing guard. They are wearing armor, have serious expressions and are very majestic.

This is actually at the foot of the imperial city!

This abandoned mansion is only separated from the imperial city by a moat!

"This... is the Shenwu Gate!"

As a member of the imperial guard, Liang Jin naturally recognized that this place was near Shenwu Gate.

Shenwu Gate is the gate connecting the imperial harem with the outside world.

The Shenwu Gate has three gates. Only the empress was qualified to enter through the middle main gate, while concubines, officials, guards, eunuchs and craftsmen could only enter and exit through the gates on both sides.

"It seems that this abandoned house was once the residence of an important figure in the inner court."

Liang Jin had a guess in his mind.

Shenwu Gate leads to the harem. The important figures living near Shenwu Gate are generally not court ministers, but more likely to be powerful people in the harem.

Either they are eunuchs, royal relatives, palace guards, etc.

Liang Jin thought to himself:

"There's actually such an abandoned mansion at the foot of the imperial city?"

"It seems that this land should be directly owned by the court or the royal family."

At the foot of the imperial city, every inch of land is worth a lot of money. Both housing prices and land prices are ridiculously high and can be hyped up to the sky.

In such a place, there are actually abandoned mansions that have not been commercialized. This can only mean that this land belongs to the royal family or the court.

Such land is not intended for profit, but is usually used to reward those with outstanding achievements.

If the officials in charge of managing these plots of land are talented and capable, then these lands will often be managed very well and can bring a lot of income to the court even during vacancy periods.

However, if the officials in charge are incompetent or have ulterior motives, these lands will easily become abandoned for a long time.

Liang Jin couldn't help but look at Zhao Yiyi:
"How dare you come to a place like this?"

"If someone finds out, we'll get into trouble."

Although this house is abandoned, there are no beggars or homeless people living here, which means that it is difficult for ordinary people to get close to this place.

You know, there are quite a lot of beggars and vagrants in the capital.

Now Liang Jin and Zhao Yiyi appeared in a place that was forbidden to be approached by the court or the royal family. If they were discovered, they would indeed be in trouble.

Zhao Yiyi replied:

"My two sisters said the same thing. After they came once, they never dared to come again."

"I know the dangers, so I only sneak out at night to take a look."

"I'll be careful and never be discovered."

There was a flash of intense excitement in Zhao Yiyi's eyes.

Liang Jin could see that although Zhao Yiyi was born in a scholar's family, she did not have the gentleness and elegance that a scholar's daughter should have.

On the contrary, her heart is full of adventurous spirit.

She doesn't like to follow rules, and she doesn't want to be bound by etiquette. She always likes to challenge and explore unknown things.

"Let's go back."

Liang Jin said this and took Zhao Yiyi back to the secret passage.

Before entering the secret door, he waved his hand and a strong wind swept across the ground, blowing away all the footprints left by the two of them, as if they had never been here.

After returning to the secret passage hall, Liang Jin's eyes were fixed on the two rusty doors.

He walked slowly to the door, first stretched out his hand and gently weighed the big lock hanging on the door.

This lock is heavy, and although the surface is severely rusted, it does not affect its sturdiness.

Of course Liang Jin didn't have the key, but he had other ways to unlock it.

Then he swung his arm violently, his movements as fast as lightning.

"Shh!"

A dazzling sword light flashed and disappeared, like a meteor across the night sky, brilliant and short-lived.

Almost at the same moment, the big lock on the door broke, and the lock body fell heavily to the ground with a loud "clang!" that echoed in the secret passage hall.

In a very short time, Liang Jin took out the extremely sharp Youlong Sword from the [Props Bar], cut off the big lock with lightning speed, and then took back the Youlong Sword with the same astonishing speed.

The whole movement was done in one go, smoothly and naturally, so fast that Zhao Yiyi couldn't see it clearly at all. He only felt a flash of white light before his eyes, and the big lock had fallen to the ground.

"Wow! How did you do that?"

Zhao Yiyi's eyes widened, his face full of curiosity and surprise, his mouth slightly opened, revealing a row of white teeth.

Liang Jin's attention was focused on the two metal doors. He took a deep breath, tensed the muscles in his arms, slowly stretched out his hands, and pushed the two heavy doors hard.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a dull and heavy vibration sound, as if a giant beast that had been sleeping for many years was awakened, the severely rusted metal door finally moved slowly under Liang Jin's push.

Fortunately, this place is underground, so the noise is not noticeable.

A large amount of rust fell like snowflakes, accompanied by a cloud of dust that made people's throats itchy.

As the dust gradually dissipated, Zhao Yiyi hurriedly took out the oil lamp and shone the light into the space behind the door.

Under the dim light, everything behind the door gradually appeared in front of the two.

I saw that behind the metal gate was a cave.

This cave has completely retained its original appearance, with traces of excavation still remaining on the rough stone walls, forming a sharp contrast with the previous exquisite hall.

The cave was filled with a damp and cold atmosphere, mixed with a foul smell that made Zhao Yi shiver.

When they saw the things in the cave, Liang Jin and Zhao Yiyi's expressions changed instantly.

Zhao Yiyi was so frightened that her face turned pale. She trembled all over and the oil lamp in her hand fell to the ground.

Then she threw herself into Liang Jin's arms and cried out in a trembling voice:

“There’s… there’s a ghost!!!”

(End of this chapter)