Chapter 3 second quarter

"Duan Chengshi! Duan Chengshi!" Guo Huan yelled repeatedly outside Duan Chengshi's door, but there was no movement inside the house.Guo Huan was so anxious that he turned around under the eaves of the corridor. Accompanied by the sound of "dong dong dong" footsteps, snow fell from the gaps in the lotus-pattern tiles and landed on his big white and fat head, like flour sprinkled On steamed cakes. The maid in the corridor couldn't help snickering. Guo Huan felt ashamed, so he took a step forward and shouted: "Duan Chengshi, if you don't come out again, I will go to Duan Hanlin now and tell him everything that happened when we were hunting in Lishan last time!"

"What do you want to do?" The door opened suddenly, and Duan Chengshi stood there with a gloomy face, with dark circles around his eyes. "I...just want you to go see the Buddha's bones tomorrow..." Seeing Duan Chengshi, Guo Huan's arrogance suddenly shrank a lot. "I said I'm not interested! Go on your own!" Duan Chengshi was about to close the door again. Guo Huan grabbed his sleeve: "What else is there?" "Which thing?" Guo Huan looked at Duan Chengshi pitifully and didn't speak. The two stared at each other, and after a while, Duan Chengshi sighed and said, "Let's go."

"where to?" "Lianzhentang, I'll ask Granny Shan to make a bowl of pork soup for you." Guo Huan muttered: "I'm not here to eat pork soup." "Are you going or not?" Guo Huan lowered his head and obediently followed Duan Chengshi.Although he is the emperor's nephew, the cook at home just can't make this bowl of pork soup from Duanfu.Well, even the imperial chef in the Daming Palace can't do it, so Guo Huan doesn't feel ashamed to bend his waist for a bowl of soup. The kitchen of Duan Chengshi's house is decorated with carved beams and paintings, and there is a plaque inscribed by Duan Wenchang, a scholar of Hanlin University, on the door, with three large characters: "Lianzhentang".People who don't know at first glance will really think that they are in the Treasure Building of the Duan Mansion, but people who know it well believe it, because the "Lianzhen Hall" is indeed full of rare delicacies.

Nowadays, Duan Wenchang is highly valued by the emperor, his official career is smooth, and he is very particular about basic necessities of life.Duan Chengshi is even more famous. He has already been praised as the most handsome, tasteful, and best at eating, drinking, and having fun in Chang'an City at the age of fifteen. "When I was a teenager in fresh clothes and angry horses, I saw all the flowers in Chang'an in one day." Such a poem seems to be tailor-made for Duan Chengshi.After he tied his hair at the age of fifteen, his father obviously relaxed his control over Duan Chengshi, as if he thought he had reached the age where he should be fighting cocks and dogs, shooting and playing ball.Compared with his peers of the same age, Duan Chengshi is smart and thoughtful, sometimes too sensitive, and occasionally appears a little lonely, so Duan Wenchang hopes that he can make more friends and cultivate a heroic masculinity.In fact, Duan Chengshi's lofty and romantic personality has quite the charm of Wu Yuanheng back then, which is what many people dream of.

At the young master's order, Granny Shan, the number one chef of the Duan family, hurriedly made pork soup in person.It took some time for the pork soup to be cooked, so Duan Chengshi asked his servants to place two velvet cushions with flowers and brocade under the eaves, and he and Guo Huan sat on them.Spread a Persian tapestry in the middle, and warm a pot of wine with a small red clay stove, drinking while waiting. Duan Chengshi poured himself a cup first, then he dried his neck.When I looked up, I saw small snowflakes fluttering in the red light of the lanterns under the corridor, like dancing white elves.Although it was a snowy night, it didn't feel cold at all, but it looked warm and beautiful, just like the world in his fantasy, where miracles would happen at any time.

"Are you worried?" Guo Huan asked softly. Duan Chengshi shook his head, raised his wine glass to signal to Guo Huan.After the two finished a cup each, Guo Huan plucked up his courage: "So that matter..." "Aren't you annoying?" Duan Chengshi broke out suddenly, "I just don't understand, your father is Jing Zhaoyin, and you have such a large group of Jinwu guards in your hands, so instead of catching the flying thief, you came to find him instead. Me! Why should I!" "Oh, keep your voice down!" Guo Huan quickly looked around, "Isn't my father busy with the Buddha's bones? Uh... Actually, I think that flying thief is more suitable for your appetite!"

"Where is it matched?" "Haven't you heard? The Flying Thief has blue-faced fangs and can transform into a human form for a while, and then two or three... Oh, by the way, it is said that when he is discovered, he will also spit out a puff of water." The smell of fox smells, and then waits for an opportunity to escape, so everyone is guessing that the flying thief is actually a vixen!" Duan Chengshi stared straight at Guo Huan. "...Don't you love ghosts, monsters, fox spirits and so on?" Guo Huan felt guilty when he saw him. Fortunately, Granny Shan brought up two bowls of steaming pork soup in time, and the aroma alone made people salivate.The two immediately buried their heads in eating, and they couldn't even talk.

When the two bowls were upside down, Guo Huan saw that Duan Chengshi's face had brightened, so he quickly took out a stack of papers from his pocket and handed them over. "what is this?" "It's the file of the Flying Thief." Guo Huan said earnestly, "Just take a look at it, okay?" "Isn't this an official document from Jingzhao Mansion? You can figure it out?" Guo Huan smiled "hehe".Regardless of the simple and honest appearance of this little fat man, he also has his own cunning.For example, being able to coax his parents into obeying his words, Duan Chengshi was far behind.

Duan Chengshi gave Guo Huan a sidelong glance, and stuffed the file into his arms.Guo Huan breathed a sigh of relief. Duan Chengshi stared at Xuehua for a while, and suddenly asked: "How is your majesty doing?" "Your Majesty? Are you okay?" "Does your mother still enter the palace often?" "of course." "Then did she mention the situation of the Holy Majesty? For example, whether the Holy Body is healthy or not? Or..." Duan Chengshi pondered, "Is there any change in personality?" Guo Huan was confused by the question: "Personality change? I haven't heard of it. I only heard that he has become more irritable recently, and he would chop off people's heads at every turn. Even Master Han was almost beheaded. Hey, he didn't really kill him." The Holy One is like this, it’s fine after losing your temper. As for the holy bow...you know.” He used his thumb, index finger, and middle finger to pretend to be pinching something, gesturing to put it in his mouth Sending off, he shook his head meaningfully at Duan Chengshi.

"Okay." Duan Chengshi said, "I have to think about the matter you asked me to help with. Tomorrow, after you finish reading the Buddha bones, go to the old place in Dongshi and wait. Let's meet there." Guo Huan left contentedly, and Duan Chengshi locked himself in the room again.He lay on his back on the couch, but as soon as he closed his eyes, that terrible night came into his mind, and he couldn't get rid of it—— Just five days ago, in order to chase a wounded boar, they galloped into the deepest part of Mount Li. In the harsh winter, the sky darkened very quickly. When the boar was finally pierced by a spear in the neck and fell to the ground, the dense forest was already too dark to discern the path.Because there are many hunting experiences in Lishan Mountain, everyone is not panicked.The guards lit torches, surrounded the hunters and prey, and ran towards the mountainside led by the hounds.

The dense forest suddenly opened, and the moonlight shone on the entire rolling palace.In the sound of barking dogs, you can also hear the gurgling of spring water.This is the campsite where they hunted Lishan at night - Huaqing Palace. There are Longwu Guards stationed at the entrance of Lishan Mountain, but Duan Chengshi and the others are the children of nobles, and they are allowed to enter the Forbidden Garden to hunt. The palace has been withered for dozens of years. The soup pool where the fragrance of Concubine Yang Guifei once wafted is covered with moss, and cobwebs are scattered among the broken walls and ruins. Only the Maimai hot spring is still flowing.In the deep mountains in the cold night, only this place can guarantee that they will not suffer from the cold.It was Duan Chengshi's idea to camp at Huaqing Palace during the night hunt. A tent was set up under the palace wall next to the hot spring, and everyone talked and laughed and ate roasted wild pork, and then fell asleep. The fire "cracked" to set off the silence of the mountains. After everyone was asleep, Duan Chengshi quietly got out of the tent, ran along the palace wall, and soon found a gap and slipped in. Duan Chengshi followed the flowing hot springs with the shadows of palaces and towers everywhere.In the already dead palace, there is still living spring water, and in the winter when the dripping water turns into ice, all this is like an incredible dream. After walking for an unknown distance, Duan Chengshi heard the voice of chanting coming from ahead: "The jade bowl holds the residual dew, and the silver lamp lights the old yarn. The king of Shu has no close trust, but there are celery buds on the spring." A stone pavilion stands on the hot spring, and the moonlight makes the people in the pavilion covered with frost, so pale that they are almost transparent.Seeing Duan Chengshi, he coughed a few times before saying hello: "You're here, I thought you wouldn't come." "The end of the new year has come. This is the last hunting trip this winter. If you enter Lishan again, you will have to wait for the spring of the next year." "So that's it, it seems that our appointment was a coincidence." "It's a coincidence. One day earlier or one day later, you and I won't be able to see each other." "Then hurry up." The man held up a black cloth bag, "Duan Lang must be wronged." Nothing can be seen.The carriage bumped all the way, going up and down suddenly, as if it was always circling on the mountain road.At first, Duan Chengshi tried to calculate the time and judge the path by hearing, but soon found that it was all in vain.Gradually, he lost control of the position and time, and felt that his joints were about to fall apart, and the surrounding became colder and colder, and he could not even hear the coughing from the opposite side... A sense of fear emerged spontaneously . Duan Chengshi couldn't bear it any longer, and reached out to pull off the hood. "Duan Lang!" Five cold fingers firmly strangled Duan Chengshi's wrist, "What do you want to do?" "I, I thought you were gone, I wanted to find you..." "Duan Lang was joking. Where can I go while the carriage is moving, but I just took a nap." Duan Chengshi swallowed: "How far is it?" "It's not far away." His tone was full of sarcasm, "Duan Lang, please calm down and take a nap. I will call you when the time comes." Duan Chengshi could only sit still obediently.The carriage was still moving non-stop, and no matter whether the eyes were open or closed, what they saw was always pitch black.Duan Chengshi finally couldn't tell whether he was awake or had fallen asleep... So would the people I saw and the stories I heard afterwards be a nightmare? Duan Chengshi turned over and sat up, staring at the paper full of words on the desk.He read it again from beginning to end, and he couldn't help raising his hands and hugging his head tightly. No, such vivid details, such eerie atmosphere, and such a terrifying plot could never be obtained from a dream.He can even clearly recall Xin Ping's strange hoarse voice, the cold and biting draft in the hall, and the looming smell of blood in the wind... Duan Chengshi picked up the pen, tried his best to concentrate, and wrote five words on the paper - "Xin Fairy Shangxian". As long as a good name is chosen, this story will officially become one of Duan Chengshi's notes.Zhiguai Notes is a major event that Duan Chengshi has been doing for more than a year.He searched everywhere, collected all kinds of stories about monsters, forces, chaos, and gods, and then processed them and wrote them down.As of today, there are more than one hundred stories in the notes.A recent story is "Xin Ping Shangxian". It is this story of "Xin Ping Shangxian" that seems to make Duan Chengshi fall into a huge mystery.He even felt that even he had become a part of this dark story. Duan Chengshi had no memory of how he returned to the camp. When he awoke, he found himself lying beside a dead fire, his whole body frozen stiff.He climbed into the tent with support, and Guo Huan, who was in the same tent, woke up. Duan Chengshi asked him to help him lie to cover up, and then he lost his mind. Duan Chengshi lay at home for two days before recovering.It is no longer possible to go to Lishan Mountain before the beginning of spring.After the beginning of spring, Lishan Mountain will be completely different.In the ruins of Huaqing Palace, blooming wild flowers and growing weeds will spread all over the place, erasing the last remaining traces. Could it be that Xin Gongping and the "ghost stories" he told only existed in Duan Chengshi's notes from now on? But it's not right! Duan Chengshi stared at his notes—what kind of ghost story, what is described here is clearly a bloody murder of the king!The dagger, the cold light, the blood that kept dripping from the jasper... Isn't that straightforward enough? But the problem is, the emperor is living well in Daming Palace.Is this man who calls himself Xin Fair talking nonsense?Why is he doing this?The crime of regicide affects the entire family, and spreading rumors about regicide is also a capital crime.What is this person's intentions in telling such a terrible story to Duan Chengshi? If the regicide is not true, is it a prophecy, a warning, or even a curse? Duan Chengshi's breathing became rapid. Whether it is a prophecy, a warning, or a curse, should I take some action?Do you want to try to let the emperor know that his life may be threatened? How to do it?Tell your father the story of "Xin Ping Shangxian" and ask him to pass it on to the emperor? Duan Chengshi shook his head and smiled wryly.Not long ago, because Han Yu said a few words about the early death of Ningfo in "Remonstrating the Buddha's Bone Table", the emperor almost beheaded this upright master. Could it be that he still wanted to harm his father? Moreover, Duan Chengshi felt that if his father heard this story, not only would he not go to Datian to listen to it, but he would think that his son was completely crazy, and maybe he would not even let himself out of the house from now on. The servant knocked on the door outside and invited Mr. Xiao to go to the front hall for dinner.Duan Chengshi hurriedly stuffed the manuscript of "Xin Ping Shangxian" under a large pile of writing paper, and left in a hurry. When I returned to the room, it was almost Haishi, and the servant had already lit the smoked cage in the warm pavilion, and the room was as warm as spring, with a burst of fragrance.Duan Chengshi leaned on the couch comfortably, picked up the Flying Thief file sent by Guo Huan and looked through it, but he couldn't concentrate, and he still didn't know what to say after reading it for a long time.In fact, Guo Huan was right. Duan Chengshi should have been particularly keen on the Flying Thief, but now... Duan Chengshi threw down the case file in frustration, and still couldn't help but pull out "Xin Fairy Shangxian" from the pile of papers . After reading it again, Duan Chengshi's feelings changed. Because he made a new discovery: During the whole process of ascension, except for Xin Gongping and Wang Zhen who greeted the driver, everyone else was unconscious, as if they were under a spell, and seemed to be wandering in a dream .Only the emperor himself, not only recognized the yin soldier and yin general who greeted him, but also watched the dagger come to him, and let it take his life.From beginning to end, he was the only one who was sober. Therefore, he must have been terribly scared, because he knew he couldn't escape; he must have been terribly lonely, because none of the guards, servants, and courtiers in the palace could protect him. In addition to the initial fear, Duan Chengshi realized the deep helplessness and deep sorrow from the story of "Xin Gong Shang Xian". It was the first time for Duan Chengshi to realize that the greatest misfortune in life is not death, but having to face death alone, with no one around him to confide in or turn to for help.