Secret 1

Chapter 29: Southern Ming Warrior (1)
2006年9月26日，下午13点30分。

When Tong Jianguo pointed his gun at the wolf dog, Ye Xiao and his second team were walking at the other end of Nanming City.

It is still the road I walked in the morning, but it no longer goes up the mountain from the southwest edge of the city.The four walked through the streets of Tumi Garden and continued to explore the depths of the city, leaving marks along the way.As usual, Sun Zichu bragged to the two girls—from the inland archaeological expedition of the Mekong River to the creation of ancient Indian civilization by aliens...

Ye Xiao was preoccupied from the moment he set off.When he left the base camp half an hour ago, he told Dingding to take the "unknown girl" back to the fifth floor.The girl who was silent for a long time suddenly said, "No, I don't want to go to the fifth floor."

"Don't be willful!"

At the top, like an older sister teaching a younger sister, she walked out with her arms around the girl's shoulders.But this 21-year-old weak girl resisted vigorously and almost pushed Ding Ding to the ground.

"What's wrong with you?" Ye Xiao firmly grasped her hand, making the girl unable to move for a moment, then whispered in her ear, "Listen to me, follow her up."

The girl frowned and shook her head, her eyes filled with resentment, as if she had just been bullied.She looked at Huang Wanran's mother and daughter in the room, and said in a low voice, "No, I just want to stay here, there are many people who can accompany me."

Ding Ding sighed: "Stop talking silly, it's safer upstairs, and I'll be with you as well."

"Wait a minute—" Ye Xiao interrupted Ding Ding, he looked into the girl's eyes and asked, "Do you want more people to accompany you?"

The girl nodded charmingly: "Yes."

"Because you're lonely? Is it?"

She had to nod again.

"Are you afraid of loneliness?" Ye Xiao asked persistently, "And you have been alone for too long, so you are also afraid of us?"

The girl nodded for the third time: "Yes."

Those eyes and this voice made it hard for Ye Xiao to say "no". Even though he knew that she should go to the fifth floor, his heart was too soft after all, so he took half a step back slowly and said, "Okay, you stay on the second floor."

"No!" Ding Ding still insisted, "It's not safe here, she has to follow me to the fifth floor."

"Forget it, she's just a weak woman, you can stay here and watch over her."

Ye Xiao didn't want to argue with Dingding anymore, Sun Zichu, Lin Junru and Yi Lianna were all waiting for him downstairs.He quickly ran out of the room, leaving the "nameless girl" to the base camp.

I don't know what she is doing at the moment?What did you say to others?Maybe more clues will be asked tonight.

At this time, I came to a main road, almost the widest street in the whole city, with tall trees planted on both sides, and behind it were mostly deep houses.There was a street sign marked "Zhuque Street". Sun Zichu dug out the map of Nanming, carefully compared the road names on the map, and found this road in the center of the city.

The map shows that this road runs from west to east, almost crossing the center of Nanming.At the moment they are on the west section of the road, turning east is the center of the city.

"Suzaku Street—is the most famous avenue in Chang'an, the capital city of the Tang Dynasty, and the most famous street in the world at that time. However, Zhuque Street in Chang'an City runs in a north-south direction, but this street runs in an east-west direction."

Yi Lianna interrupted Sun Tzuchu's long-winded words: "It doesn't matter whether he is going east, west, north or south, as long as he finds his way!"

"Yes, we have been here for two days, and we haven't been to the heart of the city yet!" Sun Zichu put away the map, eagerly ran to the middle of the road, and shouted to Lin Junru behind him, "Hurry up!"

"It's like Ketagalan Avenue."

Lin Junru looked around in a daze, even the mountains surrounding the city resembled Taipei.

On the contrary, Yi Lianna ran to the front, obviously her curiosity was more urgent.Ye Xiao also walked to the middle of the avenue. In the past, there should be a lot of traffic under his feet, and there would be no room for pedestrians at all.

The four of them walked several hundred meters forward, and there was a large open space on the left side in front of them, and green trees on the right side, and the road passed between the open space and the woods.

"GOD, it's a square!"

Elena was the first to shout. Behind a row of tall street trees, there is a square that can accommodate tens of thousands of people.

That's right!A wide square unfolded in front of them.

It seems that the sky is much higher, and the dark clouds are about to disperse from the top of the head.In the past two days of entering the empty city, there are dense streets and alleys everywhere, which makes people feel depressed. When they suddenly come to this huge square, their mood suddenly becomes much brighter.

However, when they saw the front of the square, the hearts of the four were all shocked.

A few hundred meters away, on the front is a Chinese-style building with a hip roof—it actually looks a bit like the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in Beijing, especially the majestic golden roof.The main hall is built on two rows of high steps. Standing in the square, you can only look up with difficulty, as if the ancient courtiers were kneeling in the gate of Taihe, waiting for the supreme emperor to summon.

Ye Xiao took another step forward, only to confirm that the ground under his feet was not the stone slabs of the Forbidden City, but a square paved with asphalt.

On the west side of the square is a modern building, wrapped with a glass curtain wall.It is located on the left side of the palace, it is nondescript, like the glass pyramid in front of the Louvre.

On the east side is an ancient Greek Corinthian building. The outer wall is supported by nine granite columns. The tall columns run through the whole building. The roof is in the style of the Acropolis of Athens. clear.

This scene made them all confused. I don't know which era and country they are in?Did he "travel" again all of a sudden?

In the same square, there are actually three completely different buildings: one is traditional Chinese, one is European classical, and the other is modern.

All the ancient and modern Chinese and foreign buildings collide here, which is probably unique in the whole world. If the designer of the square is not a genius, he must be a lunatic!
Sun Tzuchu opened the map again and confirmed that this was the geographical center of Nanming City, and the east-west Suzaku Avenue passed through the south side of the square.The forest across the road is "Nanming Central Park" - he finds it quite funny that such a remote place should learn from New York to build "Central Park".

And at the north end of the square, there is the majestic "Taihe Palace" in front of you, and the "Nanming Palace" is marked on the map.The modern building on the west side of the square is called "West Chamber Hall" on the map.The ancient Greek-style building on the east side is naturally the "East Chamber".

"What the hell is this place, like a royal palace in ancient China, and the city still implements a monarchy?"

"Now Thailand is also a kingdom."

"But obviously the architectural pattern here is completely different from the Grand Palace in Bangkok."

Sun Tzuchu took the map and walked a few more steps. There was no doubt that this was the place - but there was no more detailed description on the map about "Nanming Palace" and "West Chamber".

"Don't worry about it so much, let's go to the palace first!"

Yi Lianna rushed forward excitedly, walking in the empty palace square, the sound of her footsteps echoing around, every sound wave was conveying something.

Ye Xiao listened intently, this square has the function of collecting sounds, just like the echoing wall of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.If thousands of people stand on the square, it becomes a huge resonance box, and the sound effect is amplified many times, like a majestic choir.

They followed Elena to the foot of the palace steps.The angle of looking up here is wider, the pain in the neck intensifies, and the oppressive feeling of the palace is even heavier.

The four of them walked up the steps carefully, but they were actually paved with bluestone slabs, and there were some green grass growing in the cracks between the stones.There are two floors of steps, each with 39 steps.

"The designer of this palace must be a loyal fan of Hitchcock." Sun Zichu complained while climbing, "Damn, this guy must have watched "The 39 Steps" countless times!"

Between the two steps, there is a platform five or six meters wide.After walking the two 39 steps, my knees are a little sore - this is the design concept of the ancient palace, so that the courtiers who met the king were physically and mentally exhausted, and they knelt down at the feet of the emperor tremblingly, completely surrendering to the majesty of the imperial power.

The second group has arrived in front of the main hall. There is a golden plaque hanging under the tall eaves, with three Chinese characters in block letters from top to bottom: Nanming Palace.

They looked up at the golden plaque at almost ninety degrees, and the feeling directly shocked their hearts.Ye Xiao glanced back, and the huge square behind him was already under his feet, just like the emperor overlooking his officials in ancient times.

The vermilion gate of the palace is closed tightly, and the Chinese window lattice is inlaid with glass, which is already covered with dust.Sun Tzuchu touched the door, only to realize that it was not wood, but a solid steel door.It's just that the surface is sprayed with a layer of red paint, which looks exactly like the Forbidden City in Beijing.

He pushed forward again, and the door was slowly pushed open.With the sound of the door shaft turning, a dim space appeared inside.

All four of them felt a gust of cold wind blowing from the hall, as if the archaeologists were opening an ancient tomb that had been dusty for thousands of years.Grandson Chuhou wanted to rush in, but Lin Junru held him back: "Watch out where you step!"

It turned out to be a high threshold, as high as an adult's calf. If it wasn't for a reminder, Sun Zichu would have fallen heavily.

"Even the threshold is made according to the specifications of the imperial palace. What is the place inside?"

Sun Tzuchu was rejoicing, but also full of suspicion, he carefully raised his legs and crossed the threshold.Lin Junru and Yi Lianna helped each other to step in, Ye Xiao lingered at the door for a while, and had no choice but to follow them into the hall.

Accompanied by a strange smell, the cold wind quickly drifted out from the gate and dissipated.With the light coming in from outside, the eyes adjusted to the dimness in the temple.This is a hall of hundreds of square meters, with a few thick pillars erected in the middle. At first glance, they are all high-quality golden nanmu, but when you look closely, you find that they are reinforced concrete.Looking up to the ceiling, is there a "caisson" in a traditional Chinese palace?But it was too dark to see clearly.

There is no imaginary emperor's throne, and the entire hall is empty.The floor is actually black marble, no wonder even the air is cold.

"It's like walking into a funeral home!"

Lin Junru slid a few steps on the marble, and then echoes came from all directions, and the three words "funeral parlor" kept haunting them.

"Please! Be gentle, please?"

Sun Zichu warned her softly, and then walked to the end of the hall.Except for the gate and window lattice on one side, the other three sides of the hall are walls, and there are several doors on the left and right sides.Looking at the scale of Nanming Palace from the outside, it is obviously much larger than this hall, and there must be a lot of space hidden behind the wall.

Push open a door on the left, and there is a dark corridor inside.Ye Xiao and the others also followed, and took out their flashlights to shine ahead.There are also doors on both sides of the corridor, go in and open one of them.

A cloud of dust rose from the light beam, and he held his nose for a while before he saw a computer screen—a computer in the palace?Then, the flashlight revealed a desk, a telephone and a fax machine on it, and a water dispenser in the corner of the room.

This is obviously an office, but there are no windows on the four walls, and when the lights are turned off, it is an airtight dark room.

Elena shook her head and said, "Working in this kind of place will definitely cause depression."

The four of them exited the room, walked deep into the corridor, and soon encountered stairs. It seems that there are still several floors inside the hall.Ye Xiao walked ahead with a flashlight in hand, and the stairs turned twice to reach the second floor.

Facing it is a wide corridor, which is also very elegantly decorated.The floor is paved with black marble, and there are many oil paintings hanging on the walls. I don't know if they are authentic works by famous artists or mass-produced fakes.

The corridor was unexpectedly long, probably running through the entire second floor of the palace.Push open a door on the right, and it is also an office without windows, but the interior decoration is better.Back in the corridor and continue walking forward, the flashlight can only reach ten meters ahead.

Suddenly, a figure appeared faintly in the light.

Ye Xiao slowed down, Sun Zichu also clenched his fists, and the four of them looked forward carefully, but the shadow was always shrouded in dust.

After walking a few more steps, everyone's heart was hanging, and they didn't dare to speak out.There were only slight footsteps in the corridor, and the dusty air seemed to freeze.Ye Xiao thought of that mysterious girl, since there is already one of her, there must be another one, right?Maybe they live in seclusion in this palace, just like this figure in front of you—is he (she) male or female?How old are you?Why are you here?In an instant, many questions flooded out, and the "interrogation plan" was prepared in my mind.

In the second group, Lin Junru was the least courageous. She couldn't help shrinking behind Sun Zichu, only daring to look forward through his shoulder.Sun Zichu remembered all kinds of supernatural rumors about ancient palaces. It is said that the ghost of the Empress Dowager Cixi often haunts the Forbidden City in the middle of the night, beating the palms of concubines and maids with a board...

The shadow in the electric light was getting closer and closer, standing at the end of the corridor, less than five meters away, Ye Xiao could see the outline of that person clearly!
The man was quite burly, at least 190 centimeters tall.Standing there with his legs apart, the halo of the flashlight hitting his body is like a statue of a heavenly king in a Dunhuang mural.

He was also wearing a very strange hat, Ye Xiao pointed the torch at his head, it actually gave off a metallic luster, it turned out to be a steel helmet!

It must be soldiers or armed guards, Ye Xiao immediately raised his vigilance, will he regard them as intruders?

After taking a step closer, I realized that the helmet had a strange shape.There is a pointed thing on the top of the helmet, chain mail is dragged on both sides of the helmet to protect the cheeks and chin, and there is a nose guard in the middle of the helmet.

The man's face was hidden in the darkness.

No, that's not a steel helmet at all, but an ancient warrior's helmet!
Looking at the clothes that the man was wearing, they also gave off black metal reflections.There are two heart mirrors on the chest, and the back is lined with a mountain-shaped iron armor.There are two tiger-headed guys on the shoulders, with iron armor biting underneath to protect the upper arms, and iron wrist guards and hand guards on the lower arms.A green battle robe is wrapped around the abdomen, and a belt is tightly tied. The battle skirt connected to the lower body is covered with fish scale armor, and even the leg guards and shoes are made of iron.There is a precious sword hanging on his waist, a large iron-bodied bow on his back, and twenty feathered arrows stuck in the quiver.

In the depths of the Nanming palace, at the end of the dark corridor, he was dressed in heavy armor, as if walking from the tomb of a king, returning from the battlefield of hell.

And the four people from the distant world have long been dumbfounded in front of him, waiting for him to raise the sword that kills countless people.

Finally, the man in the armor opened his eyes, emitting two devouring gazes...

Afternoon, one forty.

Back to the first expedition group of the tour group.

Tong Jianguo held a pistol.

The gun was aimed at the huge and ferocious wolfhound. There were twenty bullets in the barrel, and the safety had been pulled.

Qian Mozheng next to him opened his eyes wide. This is a large-caliber military pistol with extremely fierce firepower, which can penetrate US military body armor at close range.

If you are unlucky enough to be shot in the head by it, half of your head will be blown off, let alone a wolfhound!
On the fourth floor of the unfinished building, two men, with bullets in their hands, confront a dog with teeth.

But teeth can't fight bullets after all.

The wolfdog also seemed to understand this truth, and did not rush up immediately.It lowered its upper body, tucked its tail between its thighs, and made a vague cry from its throat, and its mouth was turned up from time to time, revealing the sharp teeth inside.

Qian Mozheng asked with trembling lips, "Why isn't it afraid?"

"Don't talk! Let me focus, it will pounce anytime!"

Taking advantage of Tong Jianguo's speech, the wolf dog suddenly jumped up - the only loophole was taken by it, and it was about to pounce on them.

The pupils of the two immediately dilated, and Qian Mozheng wanted to shout "Shoot!" But the nerves in the brain that control language didn't have time to send instructions to the mouth.

boom!
Gunshots sounded.

Qian Mozheng only felt a fire flash in front of his eyes, and at the same time smelled the smell of gunpowder.Immediately he closed his eyes, unable to bear to see the tragic scene.

The gunshots, the deadly shots, continued to echo in the empty streets and rough buildings.

When he opened his eyes again, the wolfhound had disappeared without a trace.Tong Jianguo stood where he was, and the gun in his hand disappeared.

"Where are the wolf dogs?"

"I didn't shoot at it just now, I just fired a warning shot into the sky." Tong Jianguo twitched his mouth slightly, "After the gun shot, the wolf dog retreated immediately, turned around and ran downstairs."

Qian Mozheng has seen many big scenes in the past, but this time he was really intimidated: "Asshole! I thought its head was smashed by a bullet."

"The reason why it rushed up just now was because it wasn't sure whether the gun in my hand was a real one or an imitation gun? But after all, it was just a wolfhound. Any animal is afraid of firearms. As long as the gunshot - no matter how powerful it is even the wild beasts flee from their natural fear."

"You've got the guts! Where's the pistol?"

Tong Jianguo took the gun out of his trouser pocket and said, "It doesn't seem safe to put it here."

"What do you mean? You still want to guard against me?"

"Stop thinking about it."

He lifted up the leg of his trousers, put the pistol on the outside of his calf, took the tape from his bag, and tied it so that it was firmly in place.When he put down the trouser leg, he only saw a faint protrusion, but who would pay attention to other people's trouser leg?
Qian Mozheng still couldn't help his curiosity: "Where did this gun come from?"

"In the morning, the arsenal in that cave."

"It really is there!" He had already guessed three points, and asked with his fists clenched, "You actually stole a pistol?"

"Why do you use the word 'steal'? Isn't every meal we eat here 'stealed'?" Tong Jianguo leaned on the balcony railing and sighed, "Hey, you know this How dangerous is the place? That wolf dog is just one of many dangers. Didn’t you see how the butcher and the tour guide Xiao Fang died? There are more than a dozen people in our tour group, half of them are women. Could it be that you Can you protect yourself and them with your bare hands?"

"So, you secretly took a gun?"

"Yes, in the arsenal in the cave this morning, there was a box full of pistols, and the magazine was full of bullets. I specially picked this gun, and there are a few bullets in the magazine. on the body."

Qian Mozheng lowered his head and thought for a while: "You are right, so many of us need a gun, for example, it came in handy just now."

"Thank you, I don't know what kind of person I am in your impression? Maybe I have many ways to make it difficult for you to understand, but I will show you the best result."

"However, a gun is not a good thing after all. Most people in the tour group will be afraid of this gun, let alone a 15-year-old child. If someone with bad intentions or impulsiveness gets it, Maybe it will be self-defeating and become our biggest disaster."

"So please keep a secret for me, don't tell anyone in the tour group about the existence of this pistol—including Ye Xiao!"

(End of this chapter)