Heroes of the Fantasy World

Chapter 25
(2)

The twilight gradually replaced the blue sky, the deep night was dotted with stars, and the bright moon was in the sky.Torches were lit in the caravan, just to illuminate the road ahead.At the end of the road is a dazzling place. From the merchants on the side, we know that that is where Wandeng Town is.During the "Ten Thousand Lantern Festival", it is a custom handed down from ancestors that the wax flame of the oil lamp does not go out at night, and the oil wax has naturally become a rigid need.Thinking of this, the hearts of the businessmen can't help but stir, and the fatigue brought by the trip disappears in a flash.

Following the footsteps of the caravan, Zhao Kuo and Bai Feng walked into the town where a grand festival was being held.A dazzling array of lanterns hang above and on both sides of the street, and workers in short coats are climbing wooden ladders to replace the candles in the lanterns.The lanterns above the street are decorated there in an ingenious way, regularly and beautifully: using the protruding parts of the eaves of the two houses opposite to each other, they are fixed and connected with knots, and this is repeated several times. Finally, the paper with different pictures will be drawn. The lanterns were hung up one after another.This completes a simple yet beautiful, ingenious street.At night, you can also have a strange feeling of being in the sun.And the content of the pictures on the lamp is rich and colorful: there are strange insects and beasts, men and women, ancient love stories, famous legends of heroes... Several people just watched novel things, and their minds seemed to be captured by those firelights. , hardly noticed Nie Yun who had been waiting in front of him for a long time.

Several people passed by Nie Yun, who was parked next to the horse under his crotch, only Bai Feng, who was behind, noticed that his clean face was always smiling, and his small but piercing eyes were looking at him. someone passing by.Out of etiquette, Bai Feng drove his horse forward and made a series of greetings: "Brother Nie, why did your Excellency stop here this month when the stars are scarce?" Zhao Kuo and the other four who were in front heard Bai Feng's words and hurriedly reined in their horses. back.

Seeing this, Nie Yun replied with a little embarrassment: "Uh... I just want to come and remind you that during the 'Wan Lantern Festival', the inns are mostly full. If you don't dislike it, you can follow me and say the 'Shi Family Chamber of Commerce' for a while. make repairs."

"Oh! That's a big thank you to Brother Nie!" Zhao Kuo cupped his hands and replied.

After everyone got to know each other, they realized that Nie Yun was already a man of twenty-five years old. Without a mustache, he looked the same as Zhao Kuo and Bai Feng.Under the leadership of Nie Yun, the five arrived at the guild and packed their luggage.Given that it was not too late, at least the streets outside were still very lively, and under the strong wishes of Xiaomei and Ajuan.Several people set off from the Chamber of Commerce in the center of the town and started the "Ten Thousand Lanterns Tour" that night.What makes people strange is that Murong Yan has been frowning since she entered the town.Bai Feng asked her if she was unwell, but she always forced a smile and shook her head gently, as if she didn't want to disturb everyone's Yaxing.But this small matter has always been remembered in Bai Feng's heart.I don't know since when, every frown and frown of the other party can affect his thoughts... Along the way, Zhao Xiaomei and Ajuan have responded to each other, telling each other about the lantern paintings that they understand.The active dispositions of the two made the other three seem to be supporting them.

"This is a sika deer! And there, the painting is 'Chang'e flying to the moon'!" Zhao Xiaomei said excitedly.

"Which is 'Chang'e Flying to the Moon'! It's obviously 'The Cowherd and Weaver Girl's Magpie Bridge'!" Ajuan corrected.

The little girl pouted and was busy looking for the next one that Ajuan couldn't recognize. She fixed her eyes on that one and pointed out, "That is 'Jing Ke stabbed the King of Qin'! It can't be wrong!"

Ajuan looked at a red-faced villain holding a sword on the lamp, and was about to jump up and stab the white-faced robe villain, puzzled.Therefore, he looked away, and suddenly said in shock, "What! The woman on the lantern is not wearing any clothes..."

The little girl heard the sound and looked around, and saw a few women with scantily clad and bright make-up standing under the lantern, poking their heads and beckoning passers-by.The wooden plaque on the door had three characters written on it, and the little girl read it out slowly: "Xun... Huan... Pavilion." Then she asked Zhao Kuo, "Brother, what is this place?"

"This...is a place you shouldn't go." Zhao Kuo replied.

"This place is very lively, let's go in and have a look!" Ajuan said as she stepped on the steps leading to Xunxiang Pavilion, and was pulled back by Zhao Kuo a moment later.

"Ajuan! This is not the place where the girl's family should go. Let's go back and rest! To save you from running around and causing trouble..." Facing such a tough Zhao Kuo, Ajuan had to pursed her lips and obediently obeyed her orders.

A gust of river wind blew, and several people happened to meet face to face. It turned out that there was a pier next to Xunxiang Pavilion.There is a towering marble archway in front of the pier, and a lantern is hung on the cornices on both sides of the top of the archway, illuminating the four characters carved in the center - "Good weather and good weather".Just when Bai Feng thought that he was going to start from here tomorrow and head to Jiangzhou, the copper bell on his waist suddenly rang unnaturally, and he subconsciously looked for the person related to the copper bell.Only Murong Yan, who was facing away from her, was covering her chest with both hands, bowing slightly to her trembling body.

The boy hurried up to help and said, "Yan'er, what's wrong with you!"

Murong Yan took a deep breath and said weakly, "Somehow, this town gives me a very strange feeling. Especially after coming here, it seems that the thoughts of hundreds of people flooded into my mind in an instant. "..." After speaking, Murong Yan looked in the direction of the pier.The other four had no clue about what she said, but they left there cautiously and returned to the Chamber of Commerce to rest.

The Shijia Chamber of Commerce is a group of mansions built by Shi Hongtu, a man of Wandeng, for the convenience of businessmen. Because Wandeng Town is adjacent to Jiangzhou, it is the hub connecting the east and the west on the Yangtze River, so Shi Hongtu's actions are highly appreciated by his peers.This rich man with fame and fortune has been mentally exhausted because of the strange incidents in recent months, coupled with strange illnesses: the so-called can't eat, can't sleep well.The next day, the mysterious death of one person involved the five newcomers in this strange incident.The process of the matter had to start when Zhao Kuo and his group were preparing to leave for the pier in the morning.

The sun shines, and the blue sky and white clouds surround.Some of the overhead lanterns were still lit, but most were dimmed.It was such an ordinary morning, but the pier was full of people.They were all surrounded by the archway, chatting chatteringly.

"Isn't this the second master of the Shi family?"

"It's really haunted! The Shi family was a shipwreck a while ago, and this time it's a violent death on the street!"

"It's Shi Hongtu who contracted a strange disease again, and his younger brother died unexpectedly. This Shi family is really in a lot of trouble..."

The five people who wanted to board the boat and leave had to stop.Bai Feng pushed aside the crowd and saw that Nie Yun was crouching beside a corpse, with panic on his face.The corpse had no scars on the outside, its complexion was ashen, and its lips were an unnatural blue-purple color. "Could it be that he died of poisoning?" Bai Feng said in his heart.At the same time, he also recalled the unusual situation when Murong Yan passed by this place last night, so he felt that this matter must not be easy.

After some conversations, I learned that it turned out that Nie Yun was the adopted son of the Shi family, and his parents only left a knife book for him, and he disappeared.The corpse lying on the ground was his uncle who had taken care of him since childhood.

"It turns out that Brother Nie still has such a background..." Bai Feng said with emotion.

Nie Yun watched the officials dispose of the corpse, and replied sadly: "So, Brother Bai came to Wandeng Town on this trip just to go to Jiangzhou by water?"

Bai Feng nodded and replied, "It looks like we won't be able to leave."

"Alas, there was a shipwreck accident here half a month ago, so the pier was blocked by foster father." Nie Yun said helplessly, "As a man, foster father believed in ghosts and gods so much that he thought it was the river god who brought disaster on him. There may be room for negotiation with the adoptive father..."

(End of this chapter)