Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 469: Thank You for Passing Through the Hall

Shenjing is not her Shenjing. This is the feeling Xie Chuantang had when she first stepped onto Suzaku Street when she was half a head shorter than she is now. At that time, she wore worn straw sandals and loose cloth clothes, with a pair of distant and vigilant eyes.

I have lived here for nine years now, and this feeling still lingers. Sometimes I experience its prosperity and decay, witness its grandeur and elegance, but in my heart I am just a bystander and it is difficult for me to have any deep empathy.

She was neither born here nor did she want to come here; she was sold here.

The cargo, covered by a curtain, was transported for an unknown period of time and entered the city from a secret route late at night. However, on the third day after entering the city, the noise, the flash of swords and torches broke through the darkness of the dungeon. Amid the flash of swords and the shadow of fire, the man who was fighting in the front had blood on his face. He was wearing majestic clothes and had a shiny badge on his waist. He wiped the blood on the blade on his boots and put it back into the sheath.

Later she found out that they were the fastest in Chang'an County.

All the rescued companions were repatriated one by one. Some of their families came to pick them up, crying with excitement. Only she just stared blankly, not knowing where to go.

It's not that she doesn't remember where she lived. She knew the name and appearance of the place very clearly. She also remembered the small courtyard and the man and woman.

But she didn't have the option of "going home" because she was sold by them.

The relationship was settled with twenty taels of silver. The moment Xie Chuantang saw the silver being handed into their hands, he vaguely felt that there was a membrane separating him from the world.

When the man came over to ask, she told him all this without saying where she was going because she didn't know either.

She looked at the man who had looked so murderous that day, and his brows furrowed. His kind face looked at her worriedly.

"How about I follow you on the case and repay you for saving my life? I'm very strong," she said.

The man's eyes widened and he looked up: "I've been a bachelor my whole life, how can I let you rely on me?!"

But in the end, he really couldn't think of a solution, so he gave her a room in his courtyard to live in, saying that it would cost her one hundred copper coins a month. As for later when he discovered that she had a talent for cultivation, he used his savings to open her meridians, which was an incalculable favor.

So Xie Chuantang gradually felt connected with this world again, and later he grew into a person with a cold face but a warm heart, who would never give up, and hated evil like an enemy, all as a result of being influenced by the man around him.

And the next one or two years would be a turning point. The man always went home with a gloomy face, and some people in the quick-hand class also resigned from the office and changed jobs. She never heard the man talk about the next case he would handle.

The man went from coming home injured all the time to not caring about anything, and finally, after two years, he stopped even going out on field missions.

When Xie Chuantang asked, he poured his wine and shook his head, "I'm old now, it's time to retire and live my life."

The man had no cultivation and his physique was indeed weak, but Xie Chuantang could hear more of his disillusionment. Later, after working as a detective for a long time, she realized that it was because her boss, the magistrate of Chang'an County, had been replaced. The reason for the replacement of the magistrate in Chang'an County was because the boss's boss, the magistrate of Jingzhao Prefecture, had been replaced.

Only a frontline detective like her could have such a feeling - that was when the Taiping Cao Gang began to rise, and the entire Jingzhao Prefecture's public security system was being reshuffled and deteriorated.

Later, when she was older and was selected as a constable in Jingzhao Prefecture, the man let her live on her own. Xie Chuantang rented half a small courtyard in Chongyefang and came back from time to time. The man would take out his treasured wine utensils to drink with her and teach her about officialdom as usual.

But what was different from before was that the man no longer taught her those exquisite and unique crime-solving techniques, but began to persuade her to protect herself. Every time she said that she had handled a case alone, he would lecture her angrily.

Xie Chuantang didn't want to listen, so he went less and less often.

She knew what kind of yearning she had had when she put on this majestic dress. It was like a new life when she saw it. At least she didn't want to dirty it.

I met that girl in the midsummer of this year.

The family that had just moved into the house opposite their own rented yard, the gentle mother brought her daughter to give their new neighbors homemade pastries. The mother spoke softly and was quite polite, while the girl was as bright as a blooming summer flower. She kept pointing out to her which ones she made and asked her to taste them and report back on the taste.

It was such a beautiful smile, and the happiness immediately infected her. She sat alone in the yard for a long time that night, and then took the box of cakes to visit the man.

Apart from having a new neighbor, she still had little contact with the people around her. She worked alone on duty and handled cases that no one in the thief-catching department wanted to handle. Except for the occasional time off duty, you could see the mother and her daughter in the alley, clumsily hitting locust flowers or dates with poles.

The two men blamed each other with a thin layer of sweat on their foreheads, but they couldn't hide the smiles on their faces.

Xie Chuantang liked seeing this scene, as if it were some kind of dream scene. Later she thought that the devilish carriage might also be attracted by this smell.

It was an afternoon with a dim sunset. When Xie Chuantang came back from work, he saw the dark and gorgeous carriage parked at the entrance of the alley, which seemed somewhat out of place with this ordinary life.

Xie Chuantang had never seen such a carriage wall. It seemed to be a piece of South China Sea sandalwood worth thousands of gold, carved with an exquisite and colorless picture of Buddha. Xie Chuantang didn't know why the horseshoes also had to be carved with delicate pictures, but in any case, the deep and noble feeling was obvious at a glance.

The beautiful girl raised her head and beat the dates vigorously, and the car stopped quietly on the opposite street two meters away. The car window was not opened, but it seemed as if a person was looking out.

This scene made Xie Chuantang feel inexplicably nervous, but when she passed by, the car just drove away. She felt inexplicably uneasy, and for the first time she took the initiative to talk to the girl and asked her what the car was used for.

The girl was also confused and said that it suddenly stopped there and seemed to be watching her picking dates. But when she gestured to share some with it, no one responded.

However, the girl soon ignored the matter and smiled and handed her a handful of red dates.

That was exactly what a fourteen-year-old girl should look like, innocent, lively and carefree. Xie Chuantang couldn't help but pin his hopes on her at this age.

Then the incident seemed to have passed, but a few days later, the scholar's father seemed to have suddenly encountered some frustrating accidents, so the family had to give up their rented house and leave Beijing and return home.

Xie Chuantang felt a little sorry, but life is full of separations. Before leaving, the girl shyly gave her a piece of women's embroidery, saying that she had just started learning and her embroidery was still ugly.

The simple encounter just passed like that, and Xie Chuantang continued to live his lonely life, thinking that he would never see them again.

She would never have seen them again if it weren't for the heavy rain a month ago that breached the Longshou Canal.

On the morning of September 22, she went to Lin County to hand over official business and returned to the city. In the grass beside the Yinma River, she saw half of a pale arm.

She remembered the buzzing in her brain as she pictured that face, remembered the marks of hurt and violation, remembered feeling such cold rage for the first time in her life.

I remember grabbing Lu Dingwu by the collar and asking him to file a case. I also remember yelling out of control in front of Zhao Yin's case: "Fuck! She's only fourteen years old!!"

But later it all turned cold.

She tried her best to find the four beasts who had committed the crime, but she could no longer find the Buddha-painted carriage from that day.

That one thought made the Taiping Cao Gang offer the girl to his carriage owner, as if he had disappeared from her world.

Jingzhao Prefecture closed the case and refused to investigate further, so Xie Chuantang took off his police uniform and went into the prison alone with a knife late at night.

She interrogated the two survivors and confirmed that it was not "coveting wealth" but an order from "Second Master" himself. She spent three days to determine the movements of "Second Master". On the fourth day, when he boarded the carriage, she pressed a dagger against his throat and heard the words "Illusion Tower" from him, as well as the elegant gathering at Xunfang Garden two days later.

Xie Chuantang had only vaguely heard of the name "Huanlou". She didn't know who owned it or where it was, but she knew Xunfang Garden.

Hearing that those nobles would move into the Huanlou after the elegant gathering in Xunfang Garden, Xie Chuantang used all his means and luck to sneak in, hiding under a carriage that looked extraordinary for two hours with a dagger in his hand.

Then, as expected, someone got on the car and the car really started moving. Those were completely unfamiliar streets and walls. Xie Chuantang had never seen such a place in Shenjing, so he deeply realized that he had arrived at some kind of forbidden area.

She tried her best to hide her breathing, but when the carriage just stopped, her whole body suddenly became stiff and she fell down weakly.

At that moment she thought she was going to die like that, but at the same time she realized that she had arrived at the "Fantasy Tower".

This is exactly the supervision of Huanlou.

But she had no time to see anything, nor could she recognize the place. Just a moment before she lost consciousness, she saw a beautiful carriage with Buddhist paintings driving in from the corner of her eye.

During her time in prison, Xie Chuantang's biggest regret was telling the man about this incident. She subconsciously sought help from the man when she encountered difficulties, but after the four men were executed, the man firmly asked her to stop, and they had a heated argument, and Xie Chuantang ran away.

Then on the seventh day of imprisonment, she learned of his death.

The time passed by in a daze. Her connection with the world was so weak. Now she didn't need to hope that anyone could come to rescue her. She could only bury her hatred. But sometimes she felt that dying in pain and anger made her feel that she was really alive.

Then there was the young man who came and went overnight. The flames and sword light made her stunned for a long time again, until tonight, when the pain in her abdomen made her unable to close her eyes again. Then a group of officials walked in without any warning and pushed open her cell door.

"Thank you for the hall?"

"." She raised her head with disheveled hair.

"Sign the release papers."

"."

Half an hour later she was kneeling in the courtyard. The official documents had been completed, the shackles had been removed, and Xie Chuantang was rubbing his wrist.

After more than ten days, the climate has changed. The long-lost true energy is slowly emerging from the dantian, but the body is still cold. When Xie Chuantang stood up somewhat stiffly, the man in red robe who had just passed by with a solemn expression walked out of the hall.

"Minister Guan, take care of yourself." He left a message at the door of the hall. Only two light coughs were heard from inside, and then he stepped over the threshold with an expressionless face. When he passed by her, he glanced at her coldly with his side eyes.

Xie Chuantang's body suddenly became stiff and cold, and his heart and lungs suddenly began to pound like drums, as if they were about to explode.

It wasn't the threat from that look, but the lock from the man behind him.

With a silent and cold face and an unsheathed sword at his waist, Xie Chuantang recognized this man, or rather, she had heard of his name.

【The Heartless Wood】Linghu Qu.

This name can be found at the 234th place on the Crane List. He has been a soul chaser in the Ministry of Justice for ten years and has been a constable in the Shenjing for a long time. This name has entered his ears like a legend.

Xie Chuantang was very clear about this kind of lock. It was the energy before killing someone.

"Congratulations on your freedom." The scarlet robed man said coldly, "It's a pity that you only have half a street left to live."

Xie Chuantang felt cold all over, but even under such heavy pressure, she slowly turned her head, glanced at the man coldly, and walked straight out of the yamen step by step.

Late at night, the candles in front of the Criminal Department illuminated the two stone beasts. Xie Chuantang walked out alone, and the cold wind immediately filled his clothes.

She gradually guessed what had happened. Someone had transferred her out for some purpose. It was probably because of her own case, which angered the man in red robe and what he represented.

He couldn't stop it, so he just gave up.

——Killing a minion like her is really too easy.

There will be no trace left, and no one else can interfere. Even if you know that her death is not normal, what can you do? Even this case is still handled by the Ministry of Justice itself.

A dignified soul-chaser from the Ministry of Justice actually assassinated someone in the street. The intensity of the situation has reached a new level.

Xie Chuantang had no choice. She walked forward with her head down, as if there was a sword at the back of her neck, but she had no choice but to ignore it.

She walked forward step by step. The streets outside the Ministry of Justice were empty at night, and the lights of the government office were gradually left behind. She knew that when the flames were completely invisible, it meant that she had left the Ministry of Justice. She would not be allowed to take another step, and she would die immediately.

The candlelight became dimmer and dimmer, and Xie Chuantang's body suddenly stiffened. He turned his head and saw the figure of the unsheathed sword following silently behind him.

In her many thrilling experiences, there had never been a moment like this when she faced the Xuanmen on the Hebang. Even if there were Xuanqi restrictions, the Xuanmen was still the Xuanmen after all, and she could not possibly fight against such an enemy.

In the desperate situation where she could not resist, Xie Chuantang would choose to die more calmly. Her weak body and the fear of death made her shiver. She looked back at the executioner, held her breath and took the last few steps forward.

The candles in the Ministry of Justice disappeared completely.

The cold streets were deserted late at night. Xie Chuantang's heart and lungs clenched involuntarily at this moment, waiting for the moment when his head would fly off.

But suddenly she was stunned.

There was no chill running through his throat. When Xie Chuantang took the last step, what he faced was not a completely dark and cold empty street.

As if taking over from the candles in the Ministry of Justice, a flickering candle stood on the table of a noodle stall in front. The faint candlelight illuminated a space where a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties was sitting alone on a bench eating a bowl of hot noodle soup.

He was wearing a cloth shirt, his cloth shoes were covered in dust, his long eyebrows almost reached his forehead, and his beard was shaved. He had a look that could easily be ignored by others. He looked sad and discouraged, like a person standing in a corner at a gathering, out of place.

But now on this street, he seemed too out of place.

"Come and have a bowl of hot noodles." The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows and greeted her in a low voice.

Xie Chuantang took a step forward in a daze. The temperature of the bowl of hot noodles seemed to have warmed her body, and her muscles and bones felt numb and warm. It was not until she sat down on the bench that she suddenly remembered to look back.

[The Heartless Wood] Linghu Qu just stood there motionless.

He placed his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, and other than that, he made no other movements, as if he had turned into a stiff wax figure.

But Xie Chuantang could see the bulging veins on his arms and his slightly trembling body.

The man in front of him just lowered his head and ate noodles. Xie Chuantang was stunned for a while, then suddenly saw a sword placed beside the table.

Half of the sword had been pulled out, and the blade was exposed. Xie Chuantang had never seen such a magical sword. The sword was slender, as if it was made of black and bright. It looked like half and half, but not regular at all, like two armies fighting, or like one side was being consumed.

Xie Chuantang picked up the chopsticks in shock and lowered her head to eat the bowl of hot noodles. When she finished the soup and looked up, Linghu Qu was still standing behind her motionlessly.

“Even in the capital, there are two sets of rules. The court has its own rules, and the martial arts world has its own rules.” The man in front of him whispered, but his face did not look like he was declaring the rules. Instead, he looked like he was worried that this winter was too cold.

“If you choose to enter the world of martial arts, you must face it.”

The man finished his noodles and gently sheathed the sword. Xie Chuantang saw that the bright part had grown a little bigger in an instant.

Behind her, Linghu Qu, who was standing stiffly, aged rapidly and fell to the ground, turning into a dried corpse.

"Go after you finish eating. Someone is waiting for you at the corner of the street."

"Is that so?" Pei Ye supported his hands under his chin as he looked at the woman who was eating voraciously in front of him, frowning in thought.

"That's it." Xie Chuantang really didn't want to tell the story any further.

"But you don't look like you ate a bowl of noodles."

"Too hungry."

(End of this chapter)