When night fell, the doors closed one after another. Other than Marquis Wu patrolling the streets from time to time, there was no one else to be seen.
In the Xiu wen workshop, there were a few houses that were still brightly lit. In the southeast corner of the workshop, Fang Yuanwai's house was currently hosting a banquet for distinguished guests that had come from afar. In the northwest corner, there was a brothel where music was being played. In the dim light of the night, decadent sounds drifted in spirals.
In Yang Fan's small room, the lamp was as small as a bean, and it was extremely quiet. A mouse poked its head out from the corner of the wall. It seemed to be a little uneasy because of this unusual silence. It squeaked twice, and finally gave up and went back into the hole in the wall.
The dim light shone on Yang Fan's body. Yang Fan was kneeling on the ground, dressed in neat short clothes.
He had already retrieved the bundle from the bird's nest. At this moment, it was untied and spread out on the table. Yang Fan took out a sharp short knife, tested the sharp edge with his finger, and inserted it into his waist where it was easiest to pull out. Then, he took out a small sword and gently inserted it into his leggings.
Finally, he took out a mask. This mask had a green face, red eyebrows, and two snow-white fangs. In the night, it looked extremely terrifying. This was the Exorcism Mask that could be bought anywhere on the street. Yang Fan gently placed the mask on his knees, waved his hand to extinguish the candle, closed his eyes, and quietly waited.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! "
The sound of night watchmen faintly came from afar. Yang Fan's thoughts were surging in the blood. The people running for their lives in the mountains and valleys, the arrows and blades that hunted them down like hunters, the fallen bodies, men, women, old people, children … A green-robed civil official with sunken eyes and a hawk nose reined in his horse and stood on a high slope. He coldly ordered, "Kill! Kill them all! Don't let a single one go! "
Yang Fan's body suddenly trembled. His eyes suddenly opened. It was as if two electric lights suddenly flashed in the dark room. Then, the light gradually disappeared, and it became ordinary.
Superior martial arts not only cultivated the body, but also the mind. His mind was already more stable and dignified than most of his peers.
"Strategy is the most important. Plan before you act!" This was something his father had once explained to him when he was young. At that time, he had completely disregarded these words, but for some reason, he could often think of them now.
After a long time, Yang Fan gently put the mask on his face, and he turned into a ferocious ghost with a green face and fangs.
Yang Fan slowly stood up and flashed out of the room like a ghost.
…
In a simple and elegant study room.
There were some antiques and historical books on the bookshelves on both sides.
Under the wall, there was a table with curved legs and rolled ears. On the table, there was a veiled lamp, paper, ink, brush, inkstone, and a stack of files.
Yang Mingsheng, the disciplinary officer of the Ministry of Justice, was sitting cross-legged behind the desk. Behind him was a huge screen with calligraphy on it. Lines of large, ink-stained characters were written on it.
"The Han Clan has its own system. Originally, it was based on the tyrannical Dao. How could it allow pure virtue to be taught, and use Zhou Zhen? Moreover, secular Confucianism is not suitable for the times. It is good that it is ancient and not modern. It causes people to be dazzled by its name and not know what to guard. How can it be appointed! Therefore, those who use the country, establish righteousness as a king, establish faith as a tyrant. The higher one can be a king, the lower one can be a tyrant, and use tyranny to support the Way of the King … "
Yang Mingsheng took a sip of tea and flipped a page of the file. He continued to read seriously.
The tea was not clear because salt, pepper, ginger, jujube, cheese, and other seasonings were added to the tea. The soup was stewed in a big pot. The taste was really not good for modern people, but that was how the tea ceremony was at this time.
At this time, tea was not a popular beverage in the upper class of the Tang dynasty. Other than the people of Sichuan, only monks and Taoists liked to drink tea. The people of Sichuan were the first to drink tea. The people of Sichuan, who had developed a sense of taste, began to drink tea as early as the Western Han Dynasty. However, this habit was limited to the local people. Yang Mingsheng was from Sichuan, so he had this habit that was not popular in Luoyang.
Yang Mingsheng finished reading this page of the file. He picked up the cup and took a sip of tea. He gently pushed the teacup with blue glaze and white flowers to the side. He narrowed his hawk-like sharp eyes and looked at the closed file in front of him. He stroked his beard and fell into deep thought.
At this time, a figure jumped into the courtyard of Yang Langzhong's house like a ghost.
Yang Langzhong's house was magnificent and took up several acres of land. However, it was still quiet at night. There were only a few lanterns hanging at the corners of the corridors. The lanterns gently swayed in the night wind, emitting a dim light.
At this time, many rich families did not have fixed rules for building houses. They would build houses according to different topography or according to the interests and hobbies of the owner. Therefore, the architecture of the houses was not the same, and it was not easy to judge where the owner lived based on experience.
Moreover, Yang Fan had been overseas since he was a child and did not know much about the layout of the big families in the Central Plains. However, he was patient. After sneaking into the Yang's house, Yang Fan did not rush into action. He stood quietly for a while.
Although it was only separated by a wall from the cross-street, he had never been to the Yang's house before. He first familiarized himself with the scenery and layout of the courtyard, then crouched down and felt his way into the back of the house.
Suddenly, he stopped behind a cluster of flowering trees. He keenly noticed that there was a lamp in the corner of the corridor. Under the lamp, there was a big black dog lying lazily. Yang Fan's brows furrowed slightly. The Yang's raising a vicious dog was troublesome.
A dog's sense of smell and hearing was far more sensitive than a human's. It could detect the intrusion of a stranger from far away. If it barked a few times, it would attract the attention of the guards of the house, and that would be very bad.
Yang Fan cautiously moved closer. When he was still a distance away, the black dog suddenly raised its head and looked left and right. It sniffed its nose alertly, as if it had sensed something strange.
Yang Fan immediately stopped and did not move forward. He had wanted to kill the night guard dog, but just as he was about to act, his heart suddenly moved and he suddenly thought of a problem. Yang Mingsheng is the Disciplinary Officer of the Ministry of Justice. He is in charge of prison litigation and has a high position and power. The security in his house cannot be too lax. Since there is a night guard dog here, is there a night watchman?
…
Hua Xiaoqian stood under the osmanthus tree for a long time.
The night wind was a little cold. He wrapped his cloak tightly around himself and took a deep breath. The osmanthus tree was full of sweet fragrance, and the smell was quite refreshing.
Hua Xiaoqian was a qualified night watchman. The position he chose was very good.
This position was in the corner of the courtyard, and he could see the whole courtyard. No movement could escape his eyes. And no matter which direction someone came from, it was not easy to find the night watchman standing under the tree, dressed in colorful clothes that were almost the same color as the bark of the tree. With his back against the tree, he did not have to worry about a sneak attack from behind.
There was a faint sound of clappers coming from the street. Hua Xiaoqian listened carefully. It was almost midnight. In another hour, the shift would change. He had stood for a long time, and his feet were a little sore. He wanted to jump onto the sweet-scented osmanthus tree and sit on the overgrown branches to rest. After enduring for another hour, he could go back and have a good sleep.
A gust of wind blew, and some osmanthus petals fell from the tree. Hua Xiaoqian loosened his grip on the hilt of the knife, bent his knees, and jumped up.
Every other night, Hua Xiaoqian would be on watch for four hours. He would always choose this spot. Every night, when it was quiet, he would jump onto this osmanthus tree to rest. Thus, he knew this osmanthus tree like the back of his hand. He didn't even need to lift his head to know what the osmanthus tree looked like. He knew that there was a horizontal branch that could support his weight and that it was very comfortable to sit on.
Hua Xiaoqian was good at martial arts. With one jump, he jumped about ten feet high. Then he stretched out his hand. When his hand reached out, it should be able to touch a branch. As long as he reached out, he could pull himself up, and with a twist of his waist, he could sit on the branch with his back against the tree and smell the fragrance of the flowers.
But this time there was something unexpected. Just as his body jumped up, he felt his shoulder sink and his mouth was tightly covered. The hand that was about to grab the branch was tightly gripped by a large hand that was like an iron pincer. It was twisted in a strange position to his back. If he used even the slightest bit of force, he would feel unbearable pain.
When he landed back on the ground, there was an extra person behind him. The moonlight shone on his back and two figures appeared on the ground.
"Silence! If you don't want to die! "
This was a hoarse and old voice. Hua Xiaoqian only needed to move slightly to know that he had no way to resist. He quickly nodded to indicate that he was willing to cooperate.
The hand covering Hua Xiaoqian's mouth loosened slightly and slid down to his throat. Hua Xiaoqian's throat was tightly gripped. The force from the fingers was very strong. He knew very well that if he screamed, the hand would immediately crush his throat.
"Who is this elder? Do you know that this is the mansion of Yang Langzhong of the Ministry of Justice?"
Hua Xiaoqian immediately revealed the identity of his master. He hoped that the other party was a thief or a great thief who had mistakenly barged in without knowing the identity of the owner of this mansion.
Thieves did not fight with officials and did not dislike trouble. After all, there were only a few thieves who went against the government. Moreover, Yang Langzhong was an official in charge of the Ministry of Justice and Prison. Great thieves and thieves were even more unwilling to deal with him.
Unfortunately, he was disappointed. The old and deep voice hoarsely said, "This old man has come for Yang Mingsheng!"
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