(This chapter is adapted from a Tang Dynasty mystery novel, the style will be more different than usual, the content is not related to the main line at first glance, but there are also many foreshadowing)

Taihe five years, date unknown.

Late at night, go somewhere on the official road in Chang'an.

Heavy black clouds pressed down on the night sky, but in half an hour it poured a torrential rain, and the raindrops the size of beans fell on the gravel road, and the wind sounded like a ghostly roar.

A man dressed in a cloak and holding a hood in one hand to protect himself from the wind as he hurried along the gravel path.

The man in the cloth had been running for a long time, and running in the rain had made his legs feel like lead, and the gravel road had begun to get more and more muddy, and it had reached the point where it was difficult to walk an inch.

And the torrential rain still seems to show no signs of stopping......

To make matters worse, the torches of the clothed man had already been doused through, and it was pitch black in all directions, and it was impossible to see if there was a place to shelter from the rain ahead.

Just as the man in the cloth was about to leave the road and find a big tree nearby to sit and wait for the rain to stop, a white light suddenly flashed in the night sky in the west, like a giant dragon slashing the night sky in two.

The white light happened to shine the outline of an inn in front of the official road......

Although he was still apprehensive by the lightning just now, the man in the cloth grabbed the life-saving straw, clutched his shoulder backpack, and hurried towards the direction of the inn.

After getting closer, the outline of the inn finally became clear, and the hanging heart of the man in the cloth was relieved, and he finally didn't have to sleep on the streets in the rainstorm tonight.

Through the candlelight through the gap between the two wooden doors of the inn, the man in the cloth secretly liked that there should be someone inside, so he patted on the wooden door.

The appearance of the inn looks quite simple, there is a paper lantern hanging in front of the door, and a bracket stretches out on the other side, and there is a wooden signboard bolted, which is shaking with the wind and rain, "squeak" endlessly, the wooden signboard looks very new, and it is engraved with the crooked "Yulin shop" three words. However, what makes the people of Lingyi feel strange is that in the lower right corner of those three words, there is still an era engraved with this signboard, but it is written "the first year of the emperor's first year of October Jimao Day".

Kaihuang is the name of Yang Jian, Emperor Wen of Sui in the previous dynasty, and it has been more than 200 years ago.

Isn't there a century-old shop?

While the man in the cloth was puzzled, he found that no one opened the door, so he slapped the wooden door several times.

This time there was finally movement in the store, from the crack in the door came the sound of "Xi Xi Suo", after a few flicks of the fingers, the door of the store opened inward, and the candlelight from the store made the people in the clothes squint for a while. A few broken candles in the store were blown violently by the wind, and the shadow cast on the ground by the clothed man danced wildly behind him like a ghost.

It seems that the person who opened the door was the shopkeeper, and he couldn't tell the specific age, but he was afraid that he was around forty or fifty, his face was pale, his eyes were lazy, and after looking at the man in the cloth for a while, he asked, "Name?" ”

The person in the cloth handed over his identity document and replied with a forked hand: "My surname is Li Mingang, and I am really sorry for the disturbance in the middle of the night, I don't know if I can stay in your hotel for a night?" ”

The shopkeeper glanced at the identity document and handed it back to Leon, then let the door out, and when Leon stepped through the threshold, he closed the door again.

Li Ang looked around like a vigilant falcon, the tables in the store were disorderly, but to Li Ang's surprise, in this ghost place where there is no village in front of the village and no store, there are still many customers in the store, almost every table is sitting in front of a few people whispering and talking, maybe they are all tourists who come here to take shelter from the rain.

He sat alone at the table closest to Leon, and there were some supper on the table. The man was wearing a dark blue cloak and a wet hat on his head, and he was looking at Li Ang intently, and his gloomy gaze was fixed on Li Ang's heart.

"You may be seated, a treat!"

The man's face was pale, and he said loudly to Li Ang in a tone that could not be refused, and his voice sounded quite strange at first glance, making it impossible to tell the approximate age of this person.

Leon looked around for a moment, and the flickering candlelight calmed his tense mood a little, and he took off his soaked robe, took off his hat, hung it on the hook behind him, and sat down across the table from the man. Before taking his seat, Leon subconsciously glanced at the guests around him again, and it seemed that no one else seemed to cast superfluous glances at him.

"Dare to ask your Excellency ......"

"Contemptible Wang Zhen, presumably his surname is Li Mingang?"

"Exactly." Li Ang replied with his hands crossed, and his heart may have just introduced himself to the store by this person.

"Drink," Wang Zhen pushed a bottle of wine on the table to Li Ang, Li Ang looked at the dark red liquid in the wine bottle, picked up the wine glass and sniffed it, it smelled like wine, so he drank it with a little relief, but sighed in his heart that this shop is really not to be underestimated, and there is still a lot of expensive wine available.

After a few words of greeting with Wang Zhen, Li Ang learned that Wang Zhen was also a tourist who went to Chang'an on business, and only stayed in the heavy rain on the way. After several conversations, Li Ang suddenly felt that this person's speech was profound and full of speculation, and some of his remarks made even Li Ang, who had read poetry and books, quite admired, and couldn't help but feel close to him.

After a few glasses of wine and a few dishes were eaten, Li Ang's face, who was just bloodless, flushed with a flush, and his slightly cool fingertips gradually warmed up, Li Ang was a little drunk, and couldn't help but sigh: "Hey, it is said that all things are born in nature, only people are the most spiritual, but the world is impermanent, and everyone doesn't know what their bodies will do tomorrow!" Where is the spirit of man? ”

I thought that Wang Zhen would also express a similar emotion, but he didn't want him to pull out a weird smile, so he leaned closer and said softly: "Maybe so-and-so knows." People's fate is predestined, such as moving forward with one step, I'm afraid I want to go to Chang'an through Huayin......"

Li Ang couldn't hide his surprise, and hurriedly asked, "Zhen...... Brother Zhen is really a god and a man, Brother Zhen...... How did you find out? ”

Wang Zhen smiled mysteriously, the laughter was strange and indistinguishable, as if it only echoed in Li Ang's mind. Wang Zhen took another sip of wine, and Li Ang realized that even after drinking several glasses in a row, Wang Zhen's skin was still as white as before.

Miserable as white as white......

Wang Zhen leaned closer and said softly: "Brother Ang must be a wise person, or you can guess who Zhen is?" ”

Li Ang frowned for a long time, glanced away, and then looked at Wang Zhen and replied: "Versatile, a reclusive guest? ”

Wang Zhen's black eyes stared at Li Ang's eyes like a cheetah, and for a moment, Li Ang felt that Wang Zhen's dark eyes were a little strange, it was a bottomless darkness, just like the thick night outside the inn.

"Fei Ye ......" Wang Zhen drank all the wine in the cup, and said in an almost whispered voice: "I am the one who is driven by the ghost soldiers!" ”

A chill hit, and Li Ang shivered all over his body, the hairs on his back stood on end, and his forehead seemed to be enchanted and oozing many beads of sweat uncontrollably. Just because the word "Yingjia" refers to the car driving of the Son of Heaven.

Li Ang gasped and said, "Welcome ...... To welcome the Son of Heaven, there is only one person at his feet? ”

Wang Zhen laughed when he heard this, and he put away his smile again, and said expressionlessly: "I have hundreds of armor soldiers before and after, and there are also generals in the lead, how can I be the only one?" ”

Leon subconsciously looked around, but his breath stagnated, and his heartbeat seemed to stop at that moment.

All the diners in the restaurant were staring directly at Li Ang, and everyone pursed their lips, their faces were pale and bloodless.

"Please also ask Brother Ang to wait for ......me in three days under the ancient acacia west of the Baqiao Bridge in the future," Wang Zhen then said softly.

When Li Ang looked back at Wang Zhen again, he found that he only had a cup of rice wine and a few plates of appetizers in front of him, and Wang Zhen and the diners in the store disappeared without a trace when Li Ang turned his head, leaving only the fire candle that was about to burst was still burning, and the lazy-looking shopkeeper was fiddling with the abacus.

Three days later, outside the city of Chang'an, at the end of the day.

Li Ang didn't take Wang Zhen's words to heart, so he just hurried according to his own schedule, but on the third day, he happened to go to the west of Baqiao, and when he sat under a tall ancient acacia tree and rested for a short time, a yin wind swept in, and the whirlwind swept away.

Li Ang hurriedly closed his eyes, for fear that there would be sand and dust invading his eyes, and when he opened his eyes again, he found that a team of people appeared in front of him, and there was one person immediately, it was Wang Zhen, whom he met three days ago. The rest of the men stared at Leon's face with dull eyes.

Wang Zhen dismounted, walked to Li Ang, held Li Ang's arms with cold hands, and said sincerely: "The mission of the general and a certain is to welcome the emperor's 'immortal', which is really the most important event in the world. Would you like to see this scene? ”

Li Ang couldn't help but swallow his saliva, he knew very well that "Shangxian" was a euphemism for the emperor's death. At this point, Leon had no choice but to agree.

Wang Zhen was very satisfied when he heard this, so he took Li Ang very enthusiastically to meet the leading general. After hearing Wang Zhen's narration, the general praised Li Ang and instructed Wang Zhen: "Since you have summoned him to visit the ceremony of the 'Shangxian', you should do your best as a master and take good care of him." ”

Li Ang trembled and followed this strange group of men and horses, and entered Chang'an under the noses of the soldiers defending the city. Entering Tonghua Gate, to Tianmen Street, the general took the guards and settled in the Great Ci'en Temple. Wang Zhen and Li Ang were stationed under the west corridor, Wang Zhen took good care of Li Ang, and also told Li Ang about the characteristics of the underworld and the yang world, but Li Ang was extremely uneasy and couldn't listen to what Wang Zhen was saying.

After staying in the temple for two hours, the general complained impatiently: "The hour is coming, and we cannot wait any longer. But now that the emperor is surrounded by the protection of the gods, there will definitely be some delay in fighting with them, how is it good? ”

Wang Zhen thought for a while and came up with a plan: "We can have a night banquet in the palace, when the time comes, it will be full of meat and the gods will be dizzy, and we can act." ”

The general smiled eerily and nodded.

After everything was arranged, the general wore dazzling golden armor and ordered all the sergeants under his command: "When the time comes, the soldiers and horses march towards the Daming Palace!" ”

The ride begins......

The team went straight into the Danfeng Gate, passed the Hanyuan Palace, marched sideways into the Guangfan Gate, passed through the Xuanzheng Palace, and arrived at the place where the night banquet was taking place. The general quickly sent his ghost soldiers to surround the place, and brought fifty ghost soldiers with sharp blades into the palace to see the emperor.

After Li Ang passed through the Danfeng Gate, there was always a strange feeling haunting him, and when he entered the hall, this feeling was even clearer, as if he had been here......

Or in other words...... He belongs here!

Li Ang looked at the banquet situation in the hall from afar, and saw that the singing and dancing inside were very happy, and the silk and bamboo rose together. But what makes Leon feel strange is that the musicians are like puppets, with expressionless faces. Some danced extremely stiffly, while others stroked the strings in a daze. Everyone seemed to be unconcerned about the armored soldiers who broke into the temple, as if the ghost soldiers did not exist.

Seeing this, Li Ang couldn't help but be a little frightened, his back was cold, and he trembled all over.

Li Ang noticed that the candles on the Xuanzheng Hall glowed green, which made the atmosphere in the hall even more terrifying. On the top of the jade steps, I saw a person dressed in red and gold clothes sitting on the throne, looking at the "song and dance" expressionlessly.

Li Ang squinted his eyes and looked at the man's face, and exclaimed in a suppressed voice: "Huang Ah Weng! ”

That person was none other than Li Ang's late grandfather, Emperor Xianzong.

The bell rang for the third watch.

A strange man in a purple robe suddenly stepped up the temple steps. This person wears a black gauze crown on his head, and is covered with a leather mask that looks like a beast but not a beast. The man walked slowly, holding a golden dagger in the scabbard in both hands, and walked in the direction of Emperor Xianzong.

In front of the emperor, this strange man suddenly dragged out his voice, and made a voice that was neither male nor female like a eunuch: "The hour has come!" It's time to send the emperor to the 'immortals'! With that, the man walked up to the emperor and drew his dagger.

Li Ang wanted to open his mouth to remind Huang Ah Weng to be careful, but he found that his throat couldn't make a sound at the moment. The ensuing snap of the fingers...... After a long time, the temple collapsed like an anthill.

When Leon opened his eyes from the ruins, he found that he was surrounded by darkness, as if he was living in a tunnel buried deep underground, and there was chaos in the darkness of the front and back.

After sitting quietly in the tunnel for a long time, Li Ang noticed that someone seemed to be whispering in the distance: "Your Majesty? Your Majesty! ”

The voice was old and deformed, and after recalling it, Li Ang realized that it was very similar to the man who presented the dagger to Emperor Xianzong.

Li Ang followed the sound and found that there seemed to be a faint candle flame flickering in the direction from which the voice came, and the owner of the voice was getting closer and closer to him, and seemed to be holding something in his hand.

"Your Majesty should wake up!"

Closer, closer......

Leon's heart pounded, and the cold light in the man's hand came through the deep darkness, and when he was close enough, Leon's breathing stagnated.

In the man's hand was the golden dagger dedicated to Emperor Xianzong, with four coiled dragons tattooed on its handle, fighting each other. The only difference was that the blade of the dagger was stained with blood, dripping blood downward......

Li Ang raised his head suddenly, wanting to take a closer look at the man's appearance, but his eyes suddenly darkened, and his consciousness dissipated......

In the fifth year of Taihe, October Wuyin, Youzheng.

Chang'an, Daming Palace, Zichen Palace.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty? It's time to go. ”

When the Son of Heaven woke up, the silk shirt he was wearing was already soaked, and he gently touched his forehead with the palm of his hand, and half of his palm was wet. The Son of Heaven looked through the light veil on the couch and saw the face of the person who had been calling for him.

He was in his sixties, his flabby double chin was extremely eye-catching, and a pair of evil dead fish eyes set off the collapsed bridge of his nose. The Son of Heaven recognized that the person kneeling was Wang Shoucheng, the hussar general of the Commander-in-Chief of the Inner Servant Province.

"Your Majesty, you have finally woken up, but the old slave is in a hurry!"

"Princess?" The Son of Heaven pressed his temple, which was aching.

"Your Majesty said that you would take a nap for half an hour, and now the three incense sticks have passed, and although the old slave trembles, he has to dare to wake up His Majesty."

"Oh," the Son of Heaven looked still a little dazed, "Is it a dream?" ”

"Your Majesty... Dreaming? Wang Shoucheng pulled out a smirk, revealing his incomplete front teeth, and arched his hand: "I don't know what kind of dream it is?" ”

The Son of Heaven raised the corner of his lips, but his eyes shook his head slightly as if he was a little worried, and said softly: "I can't remember...... Stand down......"

"Whoa!"

The Son of Heaven stared at Wang Shoucheng's slightly staggering back, his masseter muscles twitched, and a touch of evil flashed between his eyebrows.