Above the source of Tao

The originally bustling streets in Chuwang City have now become very deserted.

Looking at the people walking in groups of three or four on the street, Yun Changan couldn't help but wonder, "What's going on? Why are there so few people in the city today?"

Could something have happened? Chu Xiaoxiao did not respond to Yun Changan's jade slip message.

This made him feel a little uneasy. When he returned to Manager Sun's residence, he did not see Chu Xiaoxiao in the room.

Yun Chang'an took a deep breath, and a feeling of panic instantly surged into his heart.

Since entering the city, everything has been too weird. Not only are there few pedestrians on the streets, but even the shops on the road are closed.

Yun Chang'an came to the front hall of the pastry shop, where Manager Sun and his wife were slumped in front of the counter.

The weather now is not too hot, but the two people in front of the counter can't stop sweating, with worried and terrified looks on their faces.

They didn't notice Yun Chang'an coming to their side.

"What happened in the city?"

The sudden sound scared the two men so much that they fell off their chairs and dared not look up.

"Grandpa, please forgive me!"

They kept begging with trembling voices and kowtowing repeatedly. They looked like they were frightened by something, even more so than before in the mountain temple.

The cold sweat kept flowing down their bodies until their clothes were all wet. The two of them knocked their heads hard without raising them, and there were traces of blood on their foreheads.

Yun Chang'an frowned, and it was hard to tell that they were frightened by something.

"Stop knocking, it's me."

Yun Chang'an pulled up the shopkeeper Sun who was kneeling on the ground and kowtowing continuously.

After seeing the person who was speaking in those frightened eyes, he came back to his senses, breathed a sigh of relief, and then wiped the blood off his forehead.

He didn't say anything for a long while, then fetched a pot of water from the side and drank it from it in big gulps until the pot was empty. After a few drops of water dripped from the spout, he shook the pot vigorously a few times and no more drops of water fell. Then he put it aside.

Wiping the water stains from the corners of his mouth, Yun Chang'an looked at Shopkeeper Sun without any hurry. Only after he had finished all these did he ask again what happened in the city.

"Enxia, ​​where have you been these days?"

Shopkeeper Sun did not answer his question, but asked where he was going.

This made Yun Changan a little unhappy.

Seeing his expression change, Manager Sun immediately smiled and responded to his question.

"Two days ago, I hosted a banquet for you two at Zuixianlou. Only Enxia came at that time, and you were nowhere to be seen. But on the way out, I met a girl who was dressed very luxuriously. She should be someone from the palace. She talked to Enxia for a few words and then left. I don't know exactly where she went."

Yun Chang'an thought to himself that this girl should be Miss Han Lan. He wondered what exactly she wanted to do with Senior Sister Chu.

"And then? What happened in this city?"

Shopkeeper Sun then whispered, with a hint of panic on his face, "Enxia, ​​this is a long story."

From Shopkeeper Sun, Yun Chang'an learned why there were so few people on the streets in the city nowadays and why every household had their doors closed.

Perhaps it was related to the "magic pill" before. Someone in Xidoufang who had eaten the magic pill seemed to be sick. His eyes were red, his face was ashen, and he looked as if he was lacking in energy and blood. It was very scary.

Moreover, they are in a very listless state, but they feel very thirsty and want to drink water at night.

So at night the moat was full of people, all lying by the river drinking water. Hearing this, Yun Chang'an looked at him suspiciously.

Shopkeeper Sun also saw his expression, and thinking about how he had just drunk a lot of water, he hurriedly said, "Enxia, ​​I didn't take that poison pill, so I won't be thirsty at night."

I just heard someone talking and was so scared that my mouth was dry, so I picked up the copper kettle and drank a pot of water.

Yun Chang'an looked at him and knew that he was not lying.

"I have asked people around me who have not eaten the poison pill, and they also said that they do not have the symptoms of those people in Xidoufang."

"So, it is the people who ate the poison pill who had those symptoms?"

Shopkeeper Sun guessed that it was caused by the poison pill.

"Do you know where my senior sister went?"

"This... should be the palace. As for where in the palace it is, I don't know. After all, it is extremely difficult for people like us to enter the palace."

Yun Chang'an also nodded and fell into deep thought.

Senior Sister Chu should be fine. If something unexpected happened, she should have left me a message.

Maybe he was delayed by something in the palace, but I still want to find out.

So he said to Shopkeeper Sun, "It's not going to be peaceful in the King's City recently. If you can leave the King's City, leave as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Sun was also horrified. He wanted to ask carefully what was going on, but seeing Yun Changan speaking with a serious face, he did not ask any more questions.

He immediately told his wife to pack up and prepare to leave the Chu City.

Yun Chang'an was walking on the street at this time. Looking at the deserted road, he felt a little uneasy. Soon he arrived at the gate of the Zhenbei General's Mansion.

This general's mansion was built with great grandeur. It was an extremely spacious residence. On the tall gate tower, pieces of red doors and green tiles were intricately stacked together. Right in front of the entrance were two stone jade lions, looking majestically forward, symbolizing the majesty and dignity of the general's mansion.

The gate was also extraordinary, made of the finest redwood, with exquisite cloud and lion patterns engraved on it. On each side of the gate stood a soldier holding a halberd with a serious look.

As he walked forward, one of the soldiers pointed a halberd at him and asked sternly, "No one except you is allowed to approach the general's mansion."

Yun Chang'an was not angry either. He just smiled, bowed with both hands and said to the soldier, "I am Miss Hanlan's friend. Please let me know that someone named Chang'an is looking for him."

The soldier was unmoved and looked at him coldly. "Every day someone comes to see her pretending to be her highness's friend. Leave immediately, or I will treat you badly!"

Yun Changan felt helpless, nothing he said worked.

The stalemate lasted for a long time. Seeing that the soldier guarding the palace was getting angry and wanted to use force against him, a young woman came over from a distance. She was dressed simply and held a basket with many fresh vegetables in her hands.

The young woman walked forward, lifted her hair from her forehead, exuding a faint fragrance, and opened her cherry mouth to ask, "What are you doing?"

When the soldier saw the woman coming, he put away his halberd and said with a grin, "Sister Ying'er, this guy pretended to be your friend and wanted to see your Highness. I will drive him away immediately."

As if to show off in front of Ying Er, he sternly said to Yun Changan, "Get out of here right now, or I'll do something to you!"

Yun Changan felt a little depressed. He was being treated like a flower. This guy wanted to show off in front of this woman and treat himself like a flower to be picked for her?

This was intolerable, so he turned around and said to Ying'er, "I am Chang'an, a friend of Miss Han Lan. Please let her know that Chang'an wants to see her."

Without waiting for the woman to speak, the soldier said angrily, "No matter if you are from Chang'an or Chang'an, if you don't want to leave, don't leave here."

After saying that, he was ready to take his halberd and bring Yun Chang'an to the ground.

Yun Chang'an was not willing to be outdone. He raised his fists and wanted to fight with the soldier.