Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 998

He pulled cinnabar from his cloth bag and drew a soul-guiding array on the ground, about a foot in diameter. At the center of the array, he arranged copper coins in the shape of the Big Dipper. "Hold the torch farther away," he instructed, then lit three incense sticks and placed them in the center of the array. As soon as the incense flame stabilized, it suddenly tilted northwest, and the column of smoke twisted into a thin line in the air, as if being pulled by an invisible hand. Shen Yanzhi stared at the direction of the smoke and discovered that it pointed to the mountain temple deep in the mass grave. "Follow me." He pulled up the incense and wrapped the flame with talisman paper—he wanted to lead the way with the incense, preventing interference from other wandering spirits. The mountain temple had long been dilapidated, the temple door hanging crooked on its hinges, and the door god portraits on the door panels had been washed away by rain, leaving only a blurred outline. As Shen Yanzhi stepped through the temple gate, he was hit by the strong smell of blood. It was not fresh blood, but old blood mixed with the stench of earth, as if a blood-written letter buried for years had been unearthed. The muddy ground inside the temple was covered with messy footprints, some of which looked like human footprints, while others had only three toes and sharp claw marks on the edges. The statue of the mountain god on the altar had long been pushed over and broken into pieces. Its head had rolled to the corner of the wall, and black mud had accumulated in its eye sockets, as if silently watching the newcomers. Shen Yanzhi raised the torch and shone it on the wall, and suddenly took a breath of cold air - the four characters "Return my innocence" were written in blood on the wall. The handwriting was vigorous and powerful, and there was a sense of awe-inspiring righteousness in the strokes, but also a strong sense of resentment. "This is not an ordinary haunting." Shen Yanzhi approached the wall and found that the edges of the blood words were shimmering with a faint golden light. He touched a little of the remaining blood stain with his fingertips and tasted it on the tip of his tongue - it tasted astringent and bitter, with a metallic smell.

Record of the Ghost King of the Netherworld? Chapter 4: Royal Secrets (Extended Edition) When the morning light penetrated the mist, the two fast horses had already rushed out of the county town. Shen Yanzhi reined in the reins and looked back. The county town was only a vague outline in the morning mist, and the water of the moat was like pieces of broken silver spread on the ground. He touched the rosewood box in his arms. The military token inside could feel the coolness through the brocade - this was the military token of the Zhenbei Army left by the Ghost King Qin Yue. The bronze texture had long been oxidized to a greenish-blue color, but the inscription of the word "Zhenbei" was dark red, as if it had seeped in blood stains that could never be erased. "Mr. Shen, there is a fork in the road ahead." Wang Hu reined in his horse and stopped by the side of the road, his horse's hooves crushing the dew on the grass leaves. He pointed to the official road on the left. "This way will take you to the capital in five days, but you'll have to pass through three checkpoints." The path on the right was hidden in the woods, with only shallow hoofprints visible. "This shortcut will save you two days, but it requires crossing Black Wind Ridge—a place where robbers are common." Shen Yanzhi looked in the direction of Black Wind Ridge. The morning mist drifted through the trees, and the ridgeline could be vaguely seen like a dormant giant snake. The peach wood sword at his waist suddenly trembled slightly, and the red rope on the sword tassel moved without wind—a sign of the growing yin energy. "Let's take Black Wind Ridge." Shen Yanzhi turned his horse. "The checkpoints are the real obstacle. Robbers are not necessarily bad at heart. The only thing to worry about is that the government has already been informed." Although Wang Hu hesitated, he urged his horse to follow. He understood Shen Yanzhi's concerns—Qin Yue's case had far-reaching implications, and there might be people in the court who wanted to cover up the truth. As the two entered Black Wind Ridge, they heard rustling noises in the woods. A dozen dark figures suddenly emerged from behind the trees, each holding a steel knife, their faces covered with black cloth. But upon seeing the mahogany sword at Shen Yanzhi's waist, they all took a half step back. "Who's coming?" the burly man in the lead shouted in a voice as loud as a bell, unconsciously lowering the tip of his knife half an inch. Shen Yanzhi noticed a wolf tooth pendant hanging from his waist. The crack on the pendant was exactly the same as the one worn by the Zhenbei Army soldiers in the illustrations of "Records of the Netherworld." He dismounted and pulled out the Zhenbei Army token from his bosom. "Greetings, brothers of the Zhenbei Army." The moment the burly man saw the token, his face suddenly changed. A steel knife clanged to the ground, lifting the black cloth to reveal a scarred face. He knelt on one knee, his knee trembling as he slammed it against the ground. "General Zhao Hu, I pay my respects..." He choked mid-sentence and reached out to trace the lines on the token, his fingertips rubbing the worn areas. "This is General Qin's token! My father was a personal guard there, and before his death, he was still remembering the general's injustice." The dark figures in the forest removed their masks. Most of them were weathered veterans, some still bearing crescent-shaped scars behind their ears from Northern Di arrows. Zhao Hu explained that they were all descendants of the Zhenbei Army. After Qin Yue's misfortune, they left their homeland and settled in Black Wind Ridge, guarding the road to the capital, hoping that someone would one day clear the general's name. "The commander of the third checkpoint ahead is Li Song's nephew." Zhao Hu handed Shen Yanzhi a waist badge with the character "Zhao" engraved on it. "Take this. He says he's a merchant from Black Wind Ridge. He didn't dare examine it closely." He also had two new horses prepared, their bags loaded with rations and medicine. "I can only take you so far. Please be careful within the capital." As Shen Yanzhi took the badge, his fingertips touched the inscription on the back—a miniature outline of Langjuxu City, identical to the shadow emerging from the moat. He suddenly understood that Qin Yue's old subordinates had never given up all these years. Like scattered sparks, they waited in the dark for the moment to ignite the prairie. On the afternoon of the fourth day after crossing Black Wind Ridge, the outline of the capital finally appeared on the horizon. The gray walls gleamed coldly in the sunlight, their battlements connected like teeth, biting the city in the center. The moat was about ten feet deep, with a layer of light green algae floating on the surface. The weeping willows on the bank were particularly lush, with branches hanging down to the water surface, like countless prying hands. "There's something wrong with this moat." Shen Yanzhi reined in his horse and looked at the city wall reflected in the water. A normal reflection should be symmetrical with the real scene, but the reflection in front of him had an extra dark shadow at the city gate, as if there was a secret door hidden underwater. He touched the Chilong pendant in his arms, and the ghost face pattern on the jade pendant suddenly became hot, reflecting a burning pain in his chest - this was the reaction to being close to a very dangerous place. The two changed into short green cloth jackets, pretending to be merchants selling tea, and followed the crowd to the city gate. The guards guarding the city wore bright armor, and the long swords at their waists flashed coldly in the sun. Their eyes were particularly sharp when checking passers-by, especially travelers carrying documents, who they always checked over and over again. "Stop!" The guard suddenly reached out to stop Shen Yanzhi, his eyes fixed on the mahogany sword at his waist. Although it was wrapped in a cloth sheath, the outline of the weapon could still be seen. Shen Yanzhi was about to speak when he heard the sound of horse hooves behind him. A group of guards in purple armor were gathered around a sedan chair. The curtains of the sedan chair were embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon, and it was obvious that they were members of the royal family. "Get out of the way! His Royal Highness Prince Rui has arrived!" The captain of the guards whipped the ground, startling the passers-by and causing them to retreat.