The eaves of high-rise buildings pierce diagonally into the night, as if they are desperately trying to grasp the withered palm of the stars. However, the bamboos growing close by add many sword shapes out of thin air, making this withered palm more like a weird animal claw.
Lying in ambush around the road with malicious intent.
In the narrow road left for Hong Wending to find shelter, there happened to be such a strange shadow. Even though he could see the true appearance of the shadow when he raised his head, he still chose to stick to the alley to avoid this clawed shadow.
It was late at night, and Hong Wending was walking alone in the quiet government office. The grass and rocks on the ground were drifting away in the wind, making strange sounds. However, these low thatch trees could not block his sight. He could still
From among the strange trees that have not been repaired for many years, we can see the traces of many buildings in the abandoned government office.
According to the information obtained by Chong'an County Magistrate Guan Shengjun, in order to prevent the siege of refugees, this long-abandoned Chong'an government office has a tall and solid outer wall, which covers the surrounding area like a fortress, and is surrounded on all sides.
Connected to a wing tower and the government office gate, it looks like it was built in the shape of a lotus flower.
As long as Hong Wen can walk straight into the central axis, he can see five main halls, five second halls, and five third halls, which are Jianfang, pavilions, xuancang, official residences, ancestral halls, prisons and other buildings.
The criminal documents that the magistrate of Chong'an most wanted to obtain should be in the "Jiage library" where the files were collected and stored by the Yamen officials after the prison was closed and the lawsuit was settled that year.
However, after walking in, Hong Wending discovered that the central room in the main hall had collapsed over time and had fallen into the shape of a hump. Two beams and columns were inserted diagonally into the walls on both sides. If they were not careful, they might collapse again. It was already impossible to directly
Passed.
The long grass has always made it difficult to perform Qing Kung Fu. If you are lucky enough to jump in, your footing may break and collapse before you can use the force to stabilize your body, and you may fall headlong into the unknown depth of the grass.
"I'm afraid it's still a deserted ruin if we go any further. It's better to walk along the outer wall."
After Hong Wending murmured, he started to think about it. He picked up the stone and threw it into the grass next to him. After realizing that there was a stone path underneath, he stood up and walked to the narrow passage next to the house, quickly passing by a few rooms.
In the dark room, I reluctantly entered the row of houses in the second hall.
After arriving here, Hong Wending secretly rejoiced that his choice was correct, because between the main hall and the second hall, there was a pool of turbid dark green sewage. It looked like a bluestone floor in the dark, and he could only look sideways.
Only then can you notice the irregular reflections on the green grass. If you are not careful, you may fall into it, not to mention that there is pond water and silt underneath.
After all, it has not been repaired for nearly a hundred years, and the government office has become dilapidated and leaky. It is like a corpse of a prince buried in gold and jade clothes. Even though the majesty is still there, it will inevitably rot into a pile of ashes.
A dark plaque hangs not far away, and the words "Rui Lian Tang" can be vaguely seen, proving that he has arrived at the center of the government office, and he can approach the location of the cabinet library if he goes further.
Hong Wending walked slowly along the path along the outer wall, listening to the sounds of everything around him. He could only vaguely hear the chirping of insects and the cries of panicked birds, all of which were hiding in the weeds and unwilling to show up.
Hong Wending had always sensed that something was wrong, and it was only now that he suddenly understood his doubts. It seemed that there was a clear difference in the degree of decay between the central axis of the government office and the side roads. Even if the influence of the pond trees in the atrium and the blue bricks on the floor were excluded, there should not be such a disparity.
yes.
However, after all, it was this only remaining road that provided Hong Wending with many conveniences. As his sudden footsteps stopped abruptly, he had already arrived at the door of the cabinet that was heavily locked.
"This is the right place."
Hong Wending didn't know why, but he suddenly started talking to himself tonight. Maybe the silence here was too heavy, and even his thoughts became chaotic and muddy.
It was like being in a deep drunken dream, and you had to speak out the words to delay your groggy brain from falling into a deep sleep.
The heavy iron chain was rusty, and even the original key might not be able to open it. Therefore, Hong Wending chose the fastest way. He clenched the rotten and loose window frame with his palms, and used his arms in reverse to force the window lattice.
Come down and let the dust and sawdust fall from your head, revealing a dark room.
The stale air has a hint of sourness, not only because the books have not been exposed to the sun for many years, but also because of the many rats that have eaten away at the books and classics, causing the stinking rat urine in them to drift in the wind.
Hong Wending quietly fell to the ground, took out the fire folding book from his arms and blew it. With the faint light, he searched row by row and began to search forward along the Jingtai era, gradually approaching the Jiajing era classics.
"February of the 45th year of Jiajing... it should be here..."
In the dark room, Hong Wending rummaged through the documents one by one, quickly searching for the criminal documents that Chong'an County Magistrate said were crucial. However, just as he held his breath to prevent himself from inhaling the stench, the document had just been opened.
A figure seems to have passed outside the window?
Hong Wending turned around in horror. The weak light from Huozhezi also flickered on and off. The black shadow actually passed by not very fast, but from his position it was destined to be difficult to see the whole picture. It was also unclear whether it was a wild fox or a night owl——
But his intuition told him that this warehouse was no longer safe.
After going through the criminal records of the forty-five years of Jiajing, only the last half of the book of business is left. After that, there is an empty piece of white paper that could not be copied. Hong Wending immediately tore off the remaining half and put it in his arms.
Here, I have to leave immediately.
The main door of Kejia Geku was locked and surrounded by thick fireproof walls. Only the window that had been opened earlier was left for passage. Hong Wending narrowed his eyes slightly in the darkness and was judging whether it was safe outside the window. He gradually walked towards the window.
Remove.
His footsteps were extremely slow, but the crisp sound of landing footsteps still echoed in the empty corner, and the layers were layered and made it feel like they were winding around the beam. Hong Wending frowned, and his feet were pressed against the ground.
Sliding, but the same sound of landing still lingered in his ears.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! As Hong Wending's eyes were shaking, he vaguely saw a black shadow flashing past the pavilion not far away from him, and in an instant he hid in a blind corner, his footsteps
In a hurry, the other party's footsteps are also fast. When my own steps stop, the other party's steps stop too. They keep walking around the bookshelf, as if they are going to circle behind Hong Wending in a sinister way!
Hong Wending slapped the pavilion with his palm, and the sound of books collapsing could not be heard. However, the heavy books fell one after another, but they did not suppress anything unknown. Only two frightened mice hurriedly fled from the ground.
But the next second, the same footsteps sounded again, low and dark!
"No, this sound does not come from inside the house, but from outside the porch!"
An idea came to him like a flash of lightning, and Hong Wending noticed that outside the house at this moment, there was a person maintaining the same posture as him, moving along the outer wall, listening, trying to judge every move in the house!
At this time, all the sounds of crows and insects disappeared, and the sky and earth seemed to be as empty as the first opening of the Hongmeng. Hong Wending held his breath and clung to the bottom of the window, still unable to guess what was approaching outside the house.
Suddenly, he remembered a story Fu Ningdie once told. There was a legend in their hometown that if someone pointed at the full moon, the moon would secretly cut off his ears in the middle of the night.
Hong Wending sneered at this story, but he vaguely understood why Fu Ningdie always went to bed so early and was particularly reluctant to see the scenery of the waxing moon hanging high.
Once, he dreamed that he woke up in the middle of the night. Fu Ningdie and Xiao Shitou were still sleeping soundly in the house, but the window covered with new paper was bright and scary. So Hong Wending opened the window curiously and saw a round of
The frighteningly large full moon was right next to the window, with a sharp mist appearing on the edge of the dim yellow, looking at them maliciously as they tried to squeeze into the house...
Hong Wending took a deep breath, stood up suddenly, and looked out the window. The window was still empty, with a depressing scene of smoke and grass. There were only a few cold stars shivering on one side of the sky, peeking at the situation here.
Seeing this situation, Hong Wending calmed down and put the bizarre rumors in his mind behind him.
His intuition told him that making too much noise was irrational, so he tried his best to avoid destroying the tranquility here. Then he held the window frame with his hands and jumped out, preparing to leave the county government office via the original route.
But the next second, he suddenly noticed a strange aura approaching from behind, and the Heavenly Silkworm Energy was flying out, and every pore reminded him that something was wrong!
Hong Wending didn't hesitate anymore. He immediately stepped on the window frame and climbed up the corridor pillar with his hands. Like a spiritual ape, he climbed to an uninhabited height under the eaves. His ears once again heard clearly and strangely rhythmic thumps all around him.
Weird banging noise.
In the dark narrow alley, a vague figure walked slowly from the corridor, seemingly wandering aimlessly among the ruins.
It sniffed cautiously for the scent of outsiders. The clothes on its body were ragged and shabby, and the rags were almost dragged to the ground. However, it seemed to be holding something rare and refused to let go, knocking it every step it took.
Hong Wending held his breath again. The extremely abnormal reaction in his body was intensified by the approach of this thing. It seemed that an ominous and dirty smell was spreading wherever it appeared.
As the ragged figure got closer, Hong Wending finally saw more details on it.
Under the tattered and worn clothes, there was only one bony thigh, and every time he walked, he relied on the jump and fall of this leg; what was dark was not the moonlight tonight, but the appearance of the thing itself, from head to head.
Its feet are a terrifying color as black as ink; it is holding a night patrol board of the same color in its hands, and it is reciting crazy scriptures in its mouth, which vaguely sounds like the "Ksitigarbha Sutra" that Hong Wending heard that night.
!
As the scriptures were recited, the entire Chong'an government office seemed to wake up under a strange call. Wisps of sinister wind were floating around the empty houses, searching insidiously for traces of intruders. Inside the surrounding empty houses
, the sound of swords, axes, cauldrons and woks being clashed could be heard constantly.
After a while, these strange phenomena became more and more frequent. Sometimes men would show their heads coming and going in the old government office, sometimes women would look at the wall and smile, or an empty sedan would drive by itself in the hall. Hong Wending even saw a headless body on the side of the pond in the county government courtyard.
The corpse was staggering away around the tree, as if chasing someone fleeing.
In the courtyard where the demons were dancing, Hong Wending did not panic at all. He was trying to find a way to escape, but he heard bursts of singing again, coming from an old and decaying high-rise building——
"It turns out there is a building here..."
Hong Wending thought so, because even among the broken walls of the abandoned pond, this abandoned building seemed too hidden, so that only by hiding it in a high place could its true identity be distinguished from the bells on the eaves of the building.
"The flowers are blooming, I am walking in the middle of the night, I will die without hearing about my concubine's resurrection. Oil-painted carriages, cold green candles, pines and cypresses in Xiling are in the same heart..."