Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

The sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the beginning of the Chou hour, the Ghost Market

Cui Bianxu, Wang Mingqian and Wang Leisheng followed Qingxuan, who had changed his clothes, not too far away and walked slowly in the ghost market. The three of them changed into dark clothes and covered themselves with black cloaks that covered most of their faces.

This was their first time to the ghost market, even Wang Leisheng, who had been in Chang'an the longest and had the richest nightlife.

The only light source was a dilapidated building, a filthy floor, and faded red lanterns swaying in the cold wind. A piece of unidentifiable rag spread on the ground served as a stall.

Although there were many pedestrians coming and going, everyone was careful not to bump into others. Those who spoke spoke in low voices. Even the vendors' hawking sounds were as intermittent as a broken wind basket, with hoarse and muffled voices. Their voices were very small, and only when you got close could you hear their weak and careless hawking voices.

Qingxuan's eyes, hidden under the cloak, flickered from time to time. Wang Leisheng felt uneasy, as if someone was secretly watching him. But when he looked over, there was nothing.

He grabbed Qingxuan, who was leading the way, and threatened in a low voice, "How much longer will it take? You, a dog Taoist priest, are you trying to trick us? If you dare to play tricks, next time I'll hit you with more than just bamboo boards!"

Hearing the sound of the bamboo clappers, Qingxuan's body shuddered twice, and he felt the pain in his buttocks, which had been treated with medicine, begin to resurface. He turned his head and begged for mercy in a low voice: "How dare I? It's just that my body hurts. Walk slower. Shangguan, look, isn't it right in front?"

Following the direction of his finger, Cui Bianxu and the other two looked and saw a man in a black robe huddled in the shadows at a corner. Their features could not be seen clearly, and only a small part of their body could be seen. In front of him was a piece of rag less than half a meter long, with a small pottery jar placed on it, and the lid on it was not opened.

Cui Bianxu and Wang Mingqian looked at each other. Their noses were not as sharp as Jiang Shangxian's. They had no way of being sure without seeing what was inside with their own eyes.

"Act according to the plan and don't alert the enemy." Cui Bianxu walked past Qingxuan as if unintentionally, patted his shoulder, and took Wang Mingqian and the other two to hide aside.

Qingxuan nodded slightly, licked his tongue which was a little dry due to nervousness, and tried to appear more natural as he walked towards the stall.

The stall owner still hung his head, his voice as hoarse as a jackdaw that hadn't had water for days: "If we don't meet face to face, I'll be afraid of the wind for half a day."

Qing Xuan said without hesitation: "Three times eight equals twenty-one, which makes us one sect."

The stall owner asked again: "We didn't know each other before, but we met for the first time today."

Qing Xuan answered smoothly: "You will know it naturally without asking. Everyone has their own reasons."

Neither Wang Leisheng nor Wang Mingqian heard it. Cui Bianxu stared at it without blinking and explained to them softly, "This part is a kind of cryptic dialogue when meeting someone. It's the codeword of the Jianghu people."

Wang Leisheng was just about to ask how he knew it since it was a code word in the underworld when he heard the other end speak again: "Your cousin, why are you here again?"

(In underworld jargon, "Laobiao" means Taoist priest, while "Guangbiao" means monk.)

After confirming his identity, the stall owner finally raised his head. It was a sallow face with sunken cheeks, a layer of white film over his left eye, a slightly crooked nose, and a huge black mole on his chin. With Cui Bianxu's eyesight, he could see that there were three hairs on the mole, two short and one long.

Qing Xuan also squatted down at this time, revealing his face a little so that the other party could see it clearly: "The enemy is coming."

The stall owner stiffened and lowered his head again: "Fengzai?"

"Shaoqing, what does this mean?"

Wang Leisheng felt that he didn't understand a single word. Just when he was about to poke Cui Bianxu and ask him to translate it, he saw Cui Bianxu's face wrinkling more and more, as if he was thinking hard about something.

The next moment he leaped out like a leopard, and the only thing he could hear was, "Oh no! They're trying to escape!"

"Huh?" Wang Leisheng was stunned for a moment. Before he could react, Wang Mingqian grabbed him and said, "Quick! Tell the people outside to keep a close eye on them. No one can escape!"

Wang Mingqian followed as he spoke. Cui Bianxu had already chased him for a while. The stall owner's lightness skills were average, but he was very familiar with the terrain here. The road was winding and he knew at a glance that he probably couldn't catch up with him. He turned around and saw Qingxuan limping and trying to escape, and he had turned into a small alley, so he immediately chased after him.

In fact, Cui Bianxu was not familiar with the secret codes of these people in the underworld, otherwise he would have heard something wrong at the first moment.

(The enemy is coming: the government is coming. Fengzai: the official. The above code words are from Jianghu Code Language.)

The ghost market has a complex terrain with countless small paths. Most people who come here for the first time can easily get lost if they run around. Fortunately, Cui Bianxu's kung fu is very high, and he can still keep a distance from the stall owner in this terrain.

As for Qingxuan, he couldn't take care of him for the time being. He thought Wang Mingqian should be able to catch up with him. As for Wang Leisheng, he didn't count on him at all!

The stall owner's figure was similar to what Lai Laonian described. He ran very fast. Cui Bianxu followed him for half an hour and finally found that they had actually circled around a low hill near Shanghaofang.

Although this mountain is low, few people come here. This place is next to the mass grave of Shanghaofang. The wild beasts and birds on the mountain mostly feed on human corpses. The slightly larger wild animals will attack if they see someone alone. Many people have been injured and died as a result. As the number of deaths increased, gradually no one came here.

Year after year, the vegetation here becomes more and more lush and looks particularly eerie. Even in the middle of winter with heavy snow, no one will come here, not even the woodcutters who make a living by cutting and selling firewood.

When he got here, he slowed down. The vegetation in the mountains was dense and any carelessness would make noises. He waited for a while at the foot of the mountain, made a mark on a dead tree at the foot of the mountain, and then followed the footprints left by the stall owner. With this person's lightness skill, he had to find a foothold every five meters at most to gain leverage.

Cui Bianxu's judgment was correct. He could see a footprint almost every five meters on the tree trunks, the ground, and the low bushes. He was chasing them all the way and making marks along the way.

Following the footprints, he came to a cave. Above the cave, there were many black vines hanging, hanging at the entrance like a curtain.

The cave was pitch black, like a giant beast with its mouth open, quietly waiting for its prey to come. Logically speaking, in the current weather, it would be absolutely unbearable to live in a cave without lighting a fire to keep warm.

The terrain here was unfamiliar, so the best option was to wait for the people from the Dali Temple and the Jinwu Guards to come. However, Cui Bianxu did not stop. He drew the long sword from his waist and held it horizontally in front of him, then walked in cautiously step by step.

As soon as he entered the cave, Cui Bianxu smelled a strong stench of corpses. This smell was obviously several times stronger than that in Ding Yuan's morgue.

The cave was very deep, and the stench became stronger the further he went in. He even felt that he could hardly open his eyes. This was definitely not the smell that four heads could produce!