The Imperial City of Zhongzhou is located in the most central location of the thirteen states of the Central Plains, and is the center of power in the entire Zhongzhou region. Its prosperity is very different from that of the three cities of heaven, earth and man in southern Xinjiang.

The imperial city is divided into three parts, the most central part is where the imperial palace is located, which is heavily guarded, and it is impossible for ordinary people to enter it without a summons.

Outside the palace is the inner city, where most of it is the residence of some powerful merchants and the offices of various departments. There are shifts patrolled by the city defenders, and there are very few people who don't open their eyes to cause trouble here.

And the outermost part is called the outer city, and it is also the most lively part, accounting for seventy percent of the population of the entire Zhongzhou Imperial City.

In terms of population alone, the imperial city alone has a population of nearly one million, which is more than several times that of the Heavenly City in southern Xinjiang.

The outer city is prosperous, and there is no supper at night, and the inns and restaurants are almost always closed for twelve hours, not to mention the Qinglou Flower Shop where the rich people linger.

It's just that in recent days, the night near the east gate of the outer city seems to be a little unusual.

The east gate of the outer city is built on the mountain, which is a natural moat. The mountain range was surrounded by cliffs on three sides, and only this side of the city eased slightly.

Walking along the mountain on this side of the city, walking through the mountain road for an hour is where the imperial tomb is located. The concubines of successive emperors are buried here.

In recent days, the people near the gate of Dongcheng have closed their doors and windows after nightfall, and have not left their homes. The shops also closed early at sunset. This situation seems to be a far cry from the outer city that night without supper.

It's night, and looking at the dim starlight, it should be the hour.

On weekdays, although it is not as good as those Qinglou Flower Shops and Inn Restaurants, there are still a lot of people who have made appointments with three or five friends to drink and hang out before the time.

It's just that there is not a single figure on the street at this moment, and even the sound of birds and insects is a little sparse.

On the official road a few miles away from the gate of the East City, two dusty figures were strolling towards the location of the East Gate. Approaching the city gate, one of them frowned and said, "Why is it so deserted near the city gate today?"

The other hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "Why don't you let a few sisters investigate?" After saying that, he took out a large oil umbrella with patches from behind him.

"Don't be so troublesome, no one will come stupidly to make trouble in the imperial city. Red Whisk, your cowardly problem is going to be changed, you said that along the way, there is a trace of the situation and let the ghost scare people, don't do this when you enter the imperial city. ”

This is no one else, it is Li Goudan, who was separated from Mu Chen in the Ancient Tomb half a month ago.

And beside him is the little maidservant girl that Mu Chen rescued from the Bifang tribe - Red Whisk.

"Brother Goudan, after entering the Imperial City, how long will it take to find Young Master Mu Chen?Fei adult is dead, Young Master must be sad to death......" Hongfu knew Fei Yike's status in Mu Chen's heart, and he had said such words hundreds of times in front of Li Goudan along the way.

"It's not far from the gates, it's right on top of this mountain. Li Goudan pointed to the cliff on the side of the official road and said.

"Then hurry up and get in!" After Hongfu finished speaking, he pulled the corner of Li Goudan's sleeve and trotted towards the city gate not far away.

Above the city gate, the dozen or so guards who were on guard tonight all had a little apprehension on their faces. Because in the past few days, there has been a rumor of a haunted ghost in the neighborhood of Dongcheng.

"Chief, it's only autumn, why is the wind so cold tonight?, are you saying that the rumors of the haunting are true or false?" one of the young guards couldn't help but shudder and asked the middle-aged man beside him.

"Look at your appearance, how can you be like a fool in the market. You are also a master of the inner family who accepts qi, and you have already reached the realm of qi and blood, and you are still afraid of ghosts?" the middle-aged man couldn't help but disdain when he heard this.

For a moment, the middle-aged man's words provoked the rest of the guards to laugh.

"I'm naturally not afraid of ordinary ghosts, but I heard rumors that the ghost came and went without a trace, and the whole body was covered with scars the size of centipedes, which scared Zhang Laohan of the Dongcheng pork shop and didn't dare to get out of bed for three days. The young guard was not ashamed of the laughter of the crowd, but said as if it were something to do.

Among them, there are good things to listen to, but they can't listen to it, and they retorted: "You said that you have come and gone without a trace, how can the old man see the true face of Lushan?"

The young guard lowered his voice and said, "You don't know, Zhang Laohan didn't go home until he drank with his drinking friends that night. When he entered the courtyard, he saw a dark shadow coming out of his mother-in-law's house. Although this old man is over half a hundred years old, his mother-in-law is more than ten years younger than him, and she is at the age of a wolf and a tiger. Seeing his dark shadow coming out of his mother-in-law's house, he suddenly woke up most of the wine."

The young guard's words suddenly made the eyes of the guards present light up, and the rough men in the barracks were naturally gossipy when they heard this kind of thing about the men and women of Fengyue.

No, seeing that the young guard paused, some people were not happy, and hurriedly urged: "Don't stop, tell me what happened after the black shadow of Zhang Laohangen?"

"Fuck you, who the hell told you to steal people, as soon as I heard this kind of thing, I was excited, Lao Tzu said that the land is a haunted thing. The young guard couldn't help but curse a few words, then returned to the topic, and then said, "It is a coincidence that the black shadow did not leave after coming out of the house of Mrs. Zhang, but touched his pigsty, picked up a little piglet and climbed over the wall.

When the old man saw this, how could he bear it. In his opinion, the black shadow slept with his mother-in-law first, and then his mother-in-law obeyed his little piglet, and suddenly became angry, and hurriedly chased after it.

Although this old man is over half a hundred years old, he is also a good hand at foreign kung fu, and his martial arts cultivation has also been cultivated to the I Ching realm, plus he slaughters pigs all year round, so he didn't think so much in a hurry, so he picked up a pig-killing knife and chased towards the black shadow.

It's just that the speed of the black shadow is extremely fast, if it weren't for Zhang Laohan's familiarity with the taste of the little piglet, he wouldn't be able to catch up with the speed of the black shadow at all. In addition, with his familiarity with the terrain, Zhang Laohan still saw the black shadow along the mountain road.

But seeing the black shadow that was about to be pulled away again, Zhang Laohan suddenly became anxious, and hurriedly spoke out. The black shadow stopped when he heard the sound, and came to Zhang Laohan in the blink of an eye, and the appearance suddenly frightened Zhang Laohan and fainted directly, and it was not until ten minutes of dawn that he was discovered by Lao Li, who went up the mountain to chop wood, and carried him home.

When the old man woke up, he panicked and shouted "Hell, help." And it spread in ten and ten, and in a hundred. ”

"After doing it for a long time, did this black shadow have anything to do with that old man's mother-in-law?" asked the guard who had urged him with a lewd face.

", I don't know. Anyway, this matter is not groundless, although no one has seen the black shadow after that, but the poultry and livestock of every family will be lost every night, just like the little piglets of the old man's family. That's why it makes people panic. The young guard looked at the lewd guy with disgust, but explained seriously.

Suddenly, the lewd man's face changed, and he pointed behind the young guard, but he couldn't speak.

"How...... What's wrong?" the young guard changed slightly, and suddenly looked behind him, but there was nothing unusual at all.

"Just ...... A dark shadow flashed just now......" stammered the lewd guard.

"Smack!"

The middle-aged man gave the two of them a shudder, and said with a cold face: "Guard the city gate for Lao Tzu well, what are you talking about! Don't do anything every day and listen to the gossip of those people! Even if there are really ghosts, what if there are really ghosts, just a lonely soul and wild ghost, Lao Tzu's cultivation in the soul condensation realm alone can't get close to my body with the power of qi and blood!"

Seeing that the head was angry, the group suddenly lost their temper. Only the young guard muttered dissatisfiedly, "That's not an ordinary lonely ghost, they all say that this ghost escaped from the imperial tomb on the mountain......"

"You can't fucking find death! You dare to talk about royal affairs!" The general soldier's cultivation is not low, his ears and eyes are clear, but he listened to the muttering of the young guard, and immediately said a lesson.

"Bang!" suddenly came from the house on the city wall.

"Which bastard who doesn't have long eyes has knocked over the wine that Lao Tzu hid!" the general head suddenly said angrily when he heard this.

"Chief, our brothers who are on duty at night are here...... the young guard said weakly.

"Let's go, you fucking follow Lao Tzu to see, which bastard eats the bear's heart leopard and dares to steal wine and drink on Lao Tzu's territory!"

After watching the head of the guard leave, the young guard asked the lewd guard, "Brother, what did you just see, don't joke with me......"

The lewd guard replied hesitantly, "I seemed to have seen the dark shadow you mentioned just now, and he grinned at me, and his face was covered with centipede-sized scars, exactly like you said......"

"My mother, could it be this guy who knocked over the wine jar on the city wall?" the young guard shuddered.

"You two are talking nonsense, the head is a master of the soul condensing realm, even if it is really the lonely soul and wild ghost you said in your mouth to make trouble, facing the head head is not a disgraced end. The other guards looked at the two of them with some fear, and immediately enlightened.

It wasn't long before the chief came down from the city wall in a menacing manner, and when the young guard saw this, he asked, "What is happening up there, chief?"

"Damn, all the wine in Lao Tzu's private collection is fucking gone!"

......

On top of the mountain cliff not far from the city wall, there is a raised stone, about the size of a zhang and a half.

There was a cyan jade coffin standing on the stone, and on the edge of the jade coffin, there was a young man sitting cross-legged, only to see him hook his fingers, and a black shadow holding six or seven pools of fine wine suddenly came to him.