Zhu Lan is dead

The long street is lonely and cold, and there are few pedestrians on the road. A few moments of crisp rain drifts and falls on people, revealing strands of coolness, not cold, but chilling to the bone.

The boss has lived on Changjie for decades and opened a reputable steamed stuffed bun shop. He usually gets up early at Yinshi to open the shop, but today he unsheathed the door when he was waiting for Maoshi. After looking around, he closed the door again with a sigh.

This year is the most unfortunate one. Lincheng County was plagued by plague. It was not too serious. It was a few brigades fighting on the front line. After a long journey through Lincheng County, they stopped. Take the wind and wash the dust.

After traveling for only three days, some poultry in the city died of illness, and then another family died one after another. For a while, the city was in a state of restlessness, and the people were in a state of panic. , turn a deaf ear to it.

It was later discovered that the travelers along the way were infected with the plague and brought them into the city. The people were terrified and wanted to drive those travelers out of the city, but they all had the identity and power of the other party. They all had weapons and things in their hands. You alone The common people are unarmed and can do nothing.

Until a few months ago, when the imperial court sent people down, the people in the city were surprised and delighted when they heard that they were here to deal with the disasters in the city. Who knew that there were bandits from the Puxiang Temple not far from Lincheng County. After being stolen, the emperor was furious when he heard about it, and sent court officials to trace it all the way here. Only then did he find out that the traveling brigades stationed at the foot of Lincheng were faked by bandits. .

This dynasty advocated Buddhism. There are more than 800 Buddhist shrines and temples in the world, ranging from prefectures to prefectures and counties. Although Lincheng County is small, this Puxiang Temple is a national temple, and the treasure scrolls in that temple are even more The treasure of the country, every time the royal family sacrifices, it is a sacred object for everyone in the world to pay homage to!

Now that the plague has not been eradicated, the fake trips by the bandits have disappeared. Lincheng County has become the target of government suppression because of harboring bandits. Suspicious people, if they don't pay attention, they will be suppressed first. The city is full of ordinary people, and they are all good people who live their lives in peace. How can they bear it? Today, after spring and summer have passed, the city is still a miserable scene!

Not long after the door was closed, there was a clear knock on the door. He had been harassed by the military service in the city for many days. The boss was frightened and worried, thinking that most people in the city would stay behind closed doors, and who would come here to take care of him? His business?After thinking about it several times in my heart, I decided to turn a deaf ear.

But three quarters later, the knock on the door still hadn't subsided, the boss was disturbed by the knock on the door, and felt as anxious as Ling Chi, he hesitated for a while, thinking that if the knock on the door for military service was appointed, he wouldn't be so soft and elegant , usually kicked it away a long time ago, moved steps and approached the door cautiously, put his ear on the door panel and said: "Yes, who is here?"

The knocking on the door stopped, and then a clear and soft child's voice sounded, "Uncle, I want to buy buns!"

The boss was startled, and immediately opened the door, and in front of him was a waist-high child leaning on the door frame, wearing a lotus dress and a pink skirt, with two buns tied with a red string, a round and cute face carved with pink jade, and two big eyes like water grapes. blink.

Seeing that it was a young child, the boss sighed: "I didn't make steamed buns today, which company do you belong to? It's not safe outside, why do your adults feel relieved that you come out?"

The child didn't answer the words, and still looked at the boss with his big eyes open, with an innocent look on his face.

"Why don't you worry!" Suddenly there was a shock from out of thin air. The boss's intuition was wrong. Just as he was about to close the door, a strong hand suddenly stretched out from outside the door and grabbed the door panel. The swordsman in black appeared in front of the boss.

The man was very handsome, but his face was frosty like a ghost with green face and fangs. Seeing that the boss was no match for his strength, he turned around and wanted to run, but the man took a step ahead, grabbed the boss by the collar, and lifted his hand. The circle lifted him up.

"Why are you running? I can still eat you!" The black-clothed swordsman stared angrily at the boss who was shaking like chaff in his hands. His facial expression was indeed comparable to that of the door god Yu Lei.

"Okay, the hero is spared, the villain is innocent, and has never done anything harmful to the world..." The boss shrank his head and hung his feet in the air, his voice was terrified, and he was timid like a mouse.

"I haven't done anything bad, what are you afraid of, are you guilty of being a thief?" The black-clothed swordsman's tone was cold, with a faint hint of impatience.

"Hey! Jin Yuanyi, you can stop. If you accidentally hurt someone and make some excuses, then the prince will not be able to spare you!"

The girl with the almond-eyed round face walked in bouncingly, laughed and cursed loudly, but effortlessly picked up the child at the door with one hand, and the child was nestled in the girl's slender arms very dexterously. , stretched out one hand to hug her neck, his expression changed from the previous innocence, to arrogance in a blink of an eye, the other hand tore off the red rope on her head, and her soft black hair fell down , with perverted and disdainful tone: "Hmph, you guys dare to let me dress up as a woman, you are quite brave!"

"Yes, yes, my little son, Ayan knows it's wrong, and I'll take you to the Huanchang Pavilion in a while to eat something good!"

The young girl Ayan smiled, her tone was sweet and gentle, and she coaxed her back. Although the young man's expression was still "high and unreasonable", the immature eyebrows and eyes were already a little more moved and satisfied.

Ayan came forward with the child in her arms, lightly patted Jin Yuanyi's shoulder with one hand, immediately let his right arm loosen the force, and let go of the hand holding the boss's collar.

The boss who had no shackles fell to the ground in an instant, and his ass was covered in ashes for no reason. Before he could react, the girl stretched out her hand and grabbed his sleeve and pulled him away. When I got up, after so many ups and downs, I was already frightened into a trance, and stood aside tremblingly, not daring to make a sound.

"Don't worry, we don't have any malicious intentions. We just want to inquire about the situation in the nearby city and county. It won't take too long!" A Yan asked in a warm voice, her slender eyelashes blinking playfully, unlike Jin Yuanyi who is a stranger. The distasteful attitude of being close, looks very close and pleasant.

The boss timidly raised his head and glanced at the three people in front of him. Except for Jin Yuanyi who looked a little fierce, the girl and the child looked harmless to humans and animals, thinking that they didn't want to have any more troubles. , hesitated for a while, and finally blurted out: "You guys, if you want to ask anything, just ask!"

"How did those traveling brigades get in a few months ago?" A Yan asked.

"Yes, yes..." The boss's voice was like a mosquito, and it was obvious that he couldn't lie.

Seeing his appearance, Ayan obviously knew that the people in this city had had enough of the oppression of the local officials, and they didn't dare to discuss anything in private, so they couldn't help feeling a little bit more aggrieved, so they could only comfort him: "You Don't worry, we won't talk nonsense, after all, it won't be long before the officials in this city are domineering!"

Seeing her promise, the boss whispered, "It's the county magistrate who personally opened the city gate to welcome us in!"

"Hmph, something that is not enough to succeed but more to fail!" Jin Yuanyi cursed secretly when he heard the words, and both of them obviously had a clear look.

Before they came here, they also sent people to inquire about the situation. Lincheng County is the territory managed by Yizhou Prefecture and Yanmen County, but this small county with only a few hundred households is in those states with hundreds of thousands of households. The county is really inconspicuous, and in addition to its remote location, there are many barriers to economic exchanges. If it weren't for the Puxiang Temple sitting here, no one would know that there is such a little-known little place.

It's just that now that the treasure scrolls of the national temple have been stolen, the local government is relying on the high mountains and the emperor is far away to ignore it, and those officials sent before are all mediocre talents soaked in gold and silver rice vats. , so that the prince and them were sent to investigate here.

"Then do you know where those people are now!" A Yan said.

"The villain doesn't know, since the officials from the imperial court came that day, those people disappeared without a trace!"

A Yan and Jin Yuanyi looked at each other, and said: "Is there any suspicious person in the city recently?"

The boss fell silent when he heard the words, and raised his head after a while and said, "Recently, there seem to be more unknown beggars in the city!"

"beggar?"

"Originally, the abbot of Puxiang Temple gave porridge to some homeless wanderers, but since the temple was stolen, those beggars had no relief, so they came to the city to beg. However, the plague has been serious in recent months, and some The people were afraid that they would bring some dirty things, so they drove them all to a ruined temple on South Street!"

*

The drizzle has not stopped, and the sky is like a green square wash, just like the fog in the distant mountains, which is endless, and the description is not real.

The tile eaves washed by the rain showed a simple and old dark black color, and the raindrops like pearl foil slid over the flying tips, splashing the man's white clothes.

There was a man standing under the eaves. The man was dressed in ocher red robes. The plain silk cloth was flat, so simple and clear that there was no extra embroidery. The belt around his waist was only hung with a dark green knotted tassel. Decoration of other gold seal jade wares.

Holding an oil-paper umbrella in his hand, his innocent and handsome face was too quiet, but his eyebrows were slightly frowned, and his eyes seemed to embrace the color of mountains and rivers, the sky was clear, with a bit of the coolness of green bamboo after the rain.

The sky turned from bright to dark, and the look in his eyes gradually became darker. Yu Changqi moved his numb fingers and looked at the long street that was getting colder and quieter in the evening. He didn't hesitate anymore, opened the oil-paper umbrella in his hand and walked away Into the fine rain.

The place where he is located is Nanchang Street in Lincheng County. It is only a few steps away from the main road in the center of the city. However, this street is very cold on weekdays, and there are few people selling goods here, just because A few feet away from here is a high wall made of rammed adobe. This high wall encloses a Taoist temple, an abandoned Taoist temple.

Perhaps it is because of the upholding of Buddhism in this dynasty that people who practice Taoism are very rare, and because the emperors and princes wantonly promote the repair of temples, it is difficult to see a Taoist temple even in a small village with a population of dozens of households.

However, the only Taoist temple in this city is a prison specially set up for sinners who have been "pardoned" by the court. The territory supervised by the royal family, so ordinary people dare not come here, so that this Taoist temple and this street are abandoned by people.

Probably due to the dampness of the rain, the white plaster that painted the wall showed an old blue-gray color, and it was even more gloomy and cold in this rainy evening.

Yu Changqi stepped towards the direction of the Taoist temple, but the knuckles holding the umbrella handle turned white, and his mind was in a trance for no reason, but when he opened the dilapidated wooden door, all the remaining delusions in his heart disappeared for ashes.

Maybe it's because it's been in disrepair for a long time or it's been uninhabited all the year round. It lacks a kind of smoke and fire of the worldly world, and there is a kind of desolation that doesn't blend in with the world everywhere.

The scale and layout of the Taoist temple is not large. There is only a very ordinary courtyard and several east and west rooms separated by corridors. The main hall is located in the southeast corner. The big characters read "A humble heart is like a valley", and in the hall is a lotus platform on which a portrait of a real person is enshrined.

Yu Changqi walked in, but found several visions in a room not far from the main hall. The black shadow swayed past, adding a little bit of weirdness to this cold Taoist temple.

If an ordinary person saw it, he might break out in a cold sweat, but he didn't take it seriously. Human life is short, and ghosts and gods keep what they see behind them, so why use the belief in ghosts and gods for what happened in life? Said it cost life.

The folded oil-paper umbrella pushed open the dust-stained wooden door, and the first thing that caught the eye was a few "corpses" lying on the ground in disorder.

However, looking at the slightly undulating chests, Yu Changqi obviously understood that these people were still alive. During this period of time, there was a plague in Lincheng County, and the people drove the homeless people in the city together. And these people are obviously those beggars.

Looking at these beggars lying on the ground, they are barely clothed and hungry, some of them are naked|exposed wounds have even festered and pus, there are many women and old people among them, but he can't feel any pity in his heart Feelings.

Under such circumstances, there are many people who are in the same situation as these beggars. He does not believe in Buddhism or Taoism, and knows that pity is useless to add to sorrow, not to mention that these people will not live long, not to mention this kind of wetness. The windy, cold and rainy environment was dragged down by the plague, and they couldn't last long.

The author has something to say:

Ancient Dan group portrait essay, the emotional line may be slower~

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