Yingzhou Fucheng is the first city in Dachu to open sea, and it is also the leading sea trade port on the southern coast of Dachu.
Compared with a small place like Changsheng County, Yingzhou Fucheng is simply another world.
Beyond the city walls of Changsheng County lies the countryside.
And beyond the walls of Fucheng, there is still a city.
Streets and alleys extend in all directions, buildings stand like forests, people are walking shoulder to shoulder, and cars and horses are flowing in an endless stream.
It is said that there is no curfew in Fucheng, and in the busiest places inside and outside the city, the noise can last all night without stopping.
The tallest building in Changsheng County only has three floors.
In Fucheng, just outside the city, Shen Lang saw more than one five-story, or even six- or seven-story all-wood building. There were even taller buildings inside the city.
The pedestrians walking on the street are of all races.
In addition to the Eastern people from all over the world, there are also Westerners with tall noses and deep eyes, Nanyang people with slightly flat facial features and dark skin, people from Izumo with short heads and slender bodies, and all kinds of strange people who can't explain their way out.
kind.
The group of people rode horses slowly on the bustling streets, and Shen Lang took the opportunity to see a lot of new things - if it was just prosperity, it would not be a big deal to Shen Lang, a traveler who was used to seeing bustling cities.
With the productivity of this era, no matter how prosperous the city is, it is just a meager city. Yingzhou City is already the most prosperous city in the south of Dachu, but the permanent population inside and outside the city is only more than two million. Compared with China in the 21st century on earth,
, nothing at all.
It is different from the same old, square high-rise buildings in modern Earth cities.
There are streets full of antique Oriental buildings of different shapes, and there are also many foreign buildings with unique styles that are very different from Oriental buildings.
There are a dazzling array of small commodities in the shops and stalls, and there are also many weird and interesting gadgets.
The clothing worn by pedestrians also has more styles and more varied styles than the clothing worn by pedestrians on the streets of Earth——
There are classical ladies who hold small umbrellas, long skirts with water sleeves, swaying hair, wearing tassels on their breasts, and go shopping surrounded by servants and maids. There are also knights who wear narrow-sleeved archery jackets, two tubes of trousers, hold horses and carry swords, and are tired of the world.
female.
There are gentle scholars wearing square scarves, holding folding fans, and blue shirts and robes, and there are also dandies wearing Western-style lace shirts and baggy trousers, laughing and swaggering through the streets...
The first impression that Yingzhou Fucheng gave Shen Lang was that it was a prosperous and prosperous city.
But he also knows that where there is light, there must be shadow. The more prosperous the city, the deeper the darkness.
The reason why Mu Qingxue traveled thousands of miles from the capital to come to Yingzhou Mansion was precisely because underneath the prosperous appearance of this place, it was also a city harboring filth and evil and full of demons.
In places where the sun does not shine, countless evils quietly breed every moment.
When it got dark, the group finally entered the inner city. Mu Qingxue disbanded the team and the police officers went home. Shen Lang followed Mu Qingxue and moved into a compound arranged for her by the government.
Of course not living with Mu Qingxue.
The courtyard is very large, with three entrances and three exits, which is enough for Shen Lang to have a private courtyard.
After settling down, Mu Qingxue told Shen Lang not to run around or even go out for a stroll without her permission, and then went to rest.
Shen Lang also quickly made up for his homework, entered the Fine Brush Space and clicked on the Demon Taming Art Little Moon three times, pushing the progress of the first level of the Demon Taming Art to 93 points.
After that, there was daily practice until almost midnight, when I washed and rested.
In the next two days, Mu Qingxue was nowhere to be seen, and she didn't know where she went to work. She didn't take Shen Lang to the Yamen to report, nor did she take him out shopping, nor did she come to teach him how to practice martial arts.
If someone hadn't delivered three meals a day, Shen Lang couldn't help but wonder if Mu Qingxue had forgotten him again.
He actually wanted to go out for a walk and get familiar with the city's environment.
But Mu Qingxue had her word first. Since Shen Lang planned to accept her investment, he would naturally not disobey the financial owner's instructions. He stayed in the small courtyard for the past two days and concentrated on practicing.
It was not until the third night that Mu Qingxue came to the small courtyard where Shen Lang lived with a tired look on her face.
"How's your martial arts training going?"
"Well, I've only been in Fucheng for two days... My martial arts progress is limited."
"...I'm impatient."
"What do Mr. Mu mean by this? Is there something that could be of use to me?"
"Well, there is indeed one thing..."
"If you have anything to do with Mr. Mu, just ask me, and I will do it without any hesitation."
Seeing his happy face, Mu Qingxue petted the cat and said slowly in deep thought:
"Originally, you should not be sent to do this matter anyway, but the matter is so urgent that time no longer allows for the deployment of manpower from other places, and the local public servants in Yingzhou Prefecture are either untrustworthy, or they are public servants.
His identity has been known to everyone for a long time, and it is difficult to be qualified for this mission..."
Shen Lang was confused when he heard this and said blankly:
"So, what exactly is what Mr. Mu said?"
Mu Qingxue pondered for a while and then said:
"In the past few days, the Blood Shadow Cultists suddenly disappeared without a trace, and it is difficult to find any trace. In the past few raids on the Blood Shadow Sect strongholds, the Blood Shadow Cultists received the news in advance and escaped calmly. It can be seen from this that,
There must be someone in Yingzhou Prefecture reporting to the Blood Shadow Sect.
"And there are only a few forces in the huge Yingzhou Prefecture that can know my actions in advance and notify the Blood Shadow Sect in time.
"Among them, the most suspicious ones are the prince of the palace, and the other is the Duke of Yingguo.
"But Mr. Fu Zun is a temporary official. He just came to Fucheng last year and took office. Even if he was corrupted and won over by the Blood Shadow Sect in a short period of time, he could only inform the Blood Shadow Sect, but it is not enough to provide him with a safe hiding place.
"Only the Duke of Ying, who has been in Yingzhou for more than a hundred years, has the ability to inform the Blood Shadow Sect and provide it with a hiding place that even I can't find."
When Shen Lang heard this, he became energetic:
"Muda people want to investigate the Yingguo Duke's mansion?"
Mu Qingxue nodded slightly:
"The Duke's Mansion of the Kingdom of Ying was originally among the targets of my investigation during this trip, ranking second only to the Blood Shadow Sect. If the Duke's Mansion of the Kingdom of Ying really colludes with the Blood Shadow Sect, then the two will be combined into one.
"It's just that the Duke of Ying is a hereditary noble after all. He has the iron certificate of the elixir given by Taizu. As long as he doesn't commit treason, it will be difficult to attack him.
"In addition, Shizhen Yingzhou has been operating for more than a hundred years, and its forces are intertwined. Among the government gates of the city, there are many eyes and ears of the government. Even the chief arresters and policemen of Fucheng who follow me to handle the case are all under the control of the government.
Funding favor...
"As an outsider, it's really difficult for me to investigate this kind of bastard. Even if I have the power to mobilize official officials or even garrison troops, I still can't search the Duke's Mansion without solid evidence."
Shen Lang asked:
"What Master Mu means is that you want me to try to sneak into the Duke's Mansion and get evidence of the collusion between the Duke's Mansion and the Blood Shadow Sect?"
Mu Qingxue said at the beginning that the people in Fucheng's public sect were either untrustworthy or their identities were known to others, so it was obviously impossible for them to do such an undercover mission.
If we can recruit reliable manpower from other places, it will be too late in terms of time.
In this case, doesn't it mean that Shen Lang is the only one left, an outsider who is not well-known yet and has not even reported to the government office yet? Is he suitable for this mission?
However, Mu Qingxue shook her head:
“Not just anyone can sneak into the Yingguo Duke’s Mansion.
"For centuries-old nobles like the Duke of Guo, they basically only hire people born in the family. Even if they recruit people from outside, they will only recruit natives of the city who have lived in Yingzhou for a long time, have a clean family background, and have received favors from the Duke of Guo. Your words are obviously not enough.
qualifications."
Now Shen Lang was scratching his head:
"What do the Namuda people want from me?"
Mu Qingxue stared into Shen Lang's eyes:
"Remember what I told you? If you follow me, there will be trouble and danger. And what I want you to do for me this time is an extremely dangerous thing."
Shen Lang muttered:
"Can you know what the specific matter is?"
Mu Qingxue said in a deep voice:
"I want you to sneak into a group of pirates suspected to be under the direct control of the Duke of Ying and get the irrefutable evidence that the Duke of Ying supports pirates. Then I can use this as an excuse to dispatch manpower from outside to launch a comprehensive investigation of the Duke of Ying. That's it.
This way we can kill two birds with one stone, not only investigate the Ying Kingdom Duke's Mansion, but also follow the clues and dig out the traces of the Blood Shadow Sect."