Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

In the 13th year of Zhenguan, a dragon head descended from the sky on Zhuque Street, its eyes wide open. Suddenly, thunder roared in the sky, and blood rained down.

Witnessing such a bloody and bizarre scene, the passers-by were horrified and stunned. For a long while, there were sharp screams and people stumbling and running away.

It turned out that the day she entered the capital was the day when the old Dragon King of Jinghe River was beheaded on the Dragon-Slaying Platform.

Wen Jiao frowned and took out a piece of paper with a small paper umbrella drawn on it from her sleeve. She twisted it with her fingers and the paper split into four pieces. Then she shook it gently and four purple bamboo-frame oil-paper umbrellas appeared. She threw one to Huo Ling'er and the others and took one for herself.

The green willows on the umbrella were swaying, stained by the blood rain, with scarlet spots, as bright as peach blossoms.

Yin Yuan led the Jinwu Guards to the scene immediately. As soon as he arrived, he ordered people to surround the place, not allowing people to watch, and detain all witnesses. He ran into the encirclement in the bloody rain, saw the dragon head from a distance, and immediately took a breath of cold air.

The dragon's head was as big as a bucket, and its neck was smooth, as if it had been cut off by something extremely sharp. Dragon blood was all over the scales and beard of the dragon's head, and its eyes were as big as a fist, and it was so angry that its eyes were almost bursting.

Yin Yuan only took one look and was so frightened by the resentment that he pulled the reins hard. The horse under him seemed to be frightened by something and retreated repeatedly. No matter how he pulled the reins or kicked its belly, it was useless.

Yin Yuan had no choice but to ride his horse closer to the only four people standing still at the scene: "What happened just now? Did you see anything unusual? Uh, Yuan Ling?" As soon as they met, he recognized the Huoshan Ling Yuan Tiangang.

When Huo Ling'er was in the mansion before, she only followed Wen Jiao in and out. Apart from the maids in Wanhua Tower, only Madam Yin had seen her appearance, so Yin Yuan had never seen Huo Ling'er. Wen Jiao's appearance and temperament became more and more beautiful and youthful, and she was deliberately covered by an oil-paper umbrella, so Yin Yuan naturally failed to recognize her. On the contrary, because Yuan Tiangang was a famous person in Chang'an, he recognized her at the first time.

Yuan Tiangang glanced at Wen Jiao and gestured for advice.

Wen Jiao looked at Yin Yuan. The young prince who was once full of youthful vigor had now grown into a general with outstanding bearing. He had grown a slight beard, and his jade-like face was dyed into a messy little clown face by the splashing blood-red raindrops. He had an upright figure, and even on horseback, he had kept his back straight, and exuded a calm temperament.

Time really flies by and does not spare time for the young.

She shook her head imperceptibly.

Now that a dragon head has fallen from the sky, it is a very bad omen. Soon, Emperor Tang Li Shimin will be seriously ill and dying. As one of the eyewitnesses of this bad omen, she will definitely arouse suspicion. Now is not a good time to recognize her family.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Tiangang said, "Before the dragon head fell, I did not see any unusual phenomena. After the dragon head fell, what I saw was the same as General Yin's."

Yin Yuan was a little afraid to look at the dragon head. He glanced over when he heard the words, but was burned back by the angry dragon eyes: "In the capital of a country, a dragon head fell from the sky. It is really an unheard-of and great wonder. This matter must not be spread out. Yuan Ling, do you know where the other witnesses have gone?"

From ancient times to the present, the dragon has a symbolic connection with the imperial family. When a dragon is beheaded, it is inevitable that the people will have some negative associations. If the news is allowed to spread, what kind of rumors will turn into and what kind of riots will be caused? It is simply unimaginable.

Yuan Tiangang shook his head: "They were running away in all directions, and I didn't pay any attention. If you want to tell fortunes, the general knows my rules."

That's right, one divination is worth a thousand gold. If they were to calculate the whereabouts of each person one by one, even the wealth of the Yin family would not be enough to make the effort.

Yin Yuan's face suddenly turned bitter. He had to find a way to catch the other witnesses who had already run away, and he also had to try to control the only four witnesses left at the scene. It was still possible for the others, but Yuan Tiangang was a high-ranking official of the imperial court. It was never reasonable to arrest a fifth-rank official and put him in jail just for witnessing a strange incident. But he had to be careful not to run around and talk nonsense...

He thought about it and said politely, "Chang'an has been a little bit unstable recently. Would Yuan Ling be willing to stay at my humble home for a few days? My father has been obsessed with Lianshan and Guizang recently, and I am worried that I don't have an expert to consult with."

In the past, Yuan Tiangang, who was not used to living with others, would have refused repeatedly, but now was different. He glanced at Wen Jiao and said, "There are four of us."

Yin Yuan said calmly, "I was just about to ask Mr. Fengji and the two ladies for their opinions."

Feng Ji knew about it. He had been his sister's bodyguard for a while. Although he was Yuan Tiangang's attendant, his sister treated him with great courtesy, so Yin Yuan naturally had to be polite. As for the other two women, he didn't know them. But since they were also witnesses, he could just take them back with him.

Wen Jiao lowered the umbrella three inches, revealing only the tip of her cold jade-like nose and bright red lips, and said softly, "Obedience is worse than respect."

As he was talking, the sound of horse hooves came, and an old general with a majestic appearance came with his men. Yin Yuan wiped the bloody rain off his face, greeted him, clasped his fists and said, "General Yin Yuan, I pay my respects to the Right Wuhou General."

The old general nodded to Yin Yuan, his face as gloomy as water: "Where is that thing?"

"Please follow me." Yin Yuan said.

Wen Jiao glanced at Yuan Tiangang, who understood and said softly, "Qin Qiong."

It turned out that he was one of the door gods often posted on the door during the Spring Festival in later generations, Qin Qiong and Qin Shubao. I think he heard about the strange incident of the dragon head falling from the sky, so he hurried over to see what was going on.

Soon, two more groups of people arrived. The two leading men were very extraordinary. As soon as they arrived, they jumped off their horses and examined the dragon head with Qin Qiong.

"Li Ji, Yuchi Gong." Yuan Tiangang said softly.

Li Ji, whose original name was Xu Maogong, was a famous figure of divine calculation in later legends. Yuchi Gong, also known as Yuchi Jingde, was another door god.

The three famous generals of the Zhenguan Dynasty carefully looked through the dragon head several times and finally confirmed that it was not a forgery by the traitor. Not only was it a real dragon head, but the death was also extremely horrific, with eyes wide open and blood flowing from the corners of the mouth, as if endless cruelty was about to burst out, making people feel very ominous at just one glance.

The three of them all looked gloomy and glanced at each other. Yuchi Jingde said in a deep voice: "This matter is of great importance. We must report it to His Majesty immediately and truthfully."

Qin Qiong agreed, and Li Ji did not object. He just stared at the dark red clouds above his head and murmured, "This rain is really strange."

After discussing it, the three decided to take the dragon head to see Li Shimin immediately. The dragon head was as big as a bucket, and they couldn't find a suitable container to hold it in a hurry. Qin Qiong was not afraid, he picked up the dragon head with his bare hands and jumped onto the horse.

There was only a whistle, and the sound of horses' hooves was as rapid as a torrential rain, splashing countless blood-red raindrops. In a few breaths, the three teams of people and horses had quickly disappeared among the buildings lined up on Suzaku Street.