Only Tang Nian herself knows how complicated her feelings are right now.
Lancheng is located by water, and its people rely on the water for their livelihood, with most making a living by fishing.
Unlike other ghosts, water ghosts cannot stray too far from the water and need to find a substitute to die in order to return to the underworld.
If what the scholar in front of me said is true, are there really any living people in Lancheng?
Cui Wensong was terrified, but he still wanted to maintain his composure in front of Tang Nian. He held the teacup with both hands, waved his sleeve to cover the teacup, and drank it all in one gulp.
“Those ghosts were all staring at me and grinning, but the villagers seemed not to see them and said there was something wrong with me!”
Tang Nian looked at Ming Huan and saw him nod at her, which made her understand.
“Yesterday at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), I was returning home from the school when suddenly many ghosts appeared in the middle of the road and blocked my way. I kept running and running until I got out of the city.”
Cui Wensong recalled intermittently: "Those ghosts couldn't leave the city. I originally wanted to stay overnight in a dilapidated temple outside the city and then find another way, but I didn't expect that there were ghosts in the temple as well. I was so scared that I went up the mountain."
"Why aren't the city gates closed so late?"
“No caravans have come to Lancheng for a long time, and there are few people visiting relatives. The city gates have also been left unclosed for a long time.”
Tang Nian looked at Cui Wensong with suspicion, but couldn't tell if he was telling the truth, so she tentatively asked, "Does Young Master Cui know Song Shiyi?"
"No, I don't know her." Cui Wensong clutched the hem of his clothes, his eyes darting around, not daring to look Tang Nian in the eye.
He was clearly telling Tang Nian that he knew Song Shiyi and was hiding something.
Tang Nian didn't want to ask any more questions; she would find out when they arrived in Lancheng.
She stood up and said, "Minghuan, let's go."
"I don't think Young Master Cui wants to return to Lancheng. Why don't we bid farewell to each other here?"
"Wait, wait a minute, are you really going?"
Tang Nian nodded casually, seemingly unaware of Cui Wensong's unusual behavior.
Cui Wensong glanced at the mountain and felt that the monster in the mountain was hiding behind the trees and watching him. He quickly said, "I'll go with you."
Tang Nian dusted off her slightly wrinkled clothes, put down a few copper coins, and sent a telepathic message to Ming Huan: "Ming Huan, keep an eye on him later."
Upon arriving at the city gate, a sinister aura assaulted our senses, even more so than that of Muyun County.
Seeing that the two people beside him were looking up at the sky, Cui Wensong quietly moved his feet back. When he was a step away from Ming Huan, he turned around and took a step to run away.
Suddenly, his outstretched foot stopped in mid-air, his eyes widened like two copper bells, and one hand flailing wildly behind his back.
The moment he tugged at Minghuan's sleeve, Cui Wensong unleashed a strength beyond his frail frame, pulling Minghuan in front of him.
"A monster..."
"What?"
Ming Huan turned around in confusion, but saw nothing. There were only the three of them in the large open space.
Seeing that Ming Huan was trying to pry his hands off, Cui Wensong quickly said, "No, no, let's go into the city quickly."
Before he finished speaking, he dragged Ming Huan to the front, completely unaware that Ming Huan's sleeve, which he wasn't holding, twitched slightly.
There wasn't even a gatekeeper; the three of them entered the city with ease, as if it were empty.
Unlike the desolation outside the city, children in the city could run and jump freely in the streets, their faces beaming with smiles. Street vendors lined both sides of the street in neat rows, their shouts and calls rising and falling.
The only odd thing is that there are an unusually large number of pregnant women in the city.
However, none of the pregnant women on the street looked worried or distressed. Wealthy women were accompanied by two or three maids, while husbands who couldn't afford maids stayed by their side without leaving their side.
"Are there so many pregnant women in Lancheng?"
As Tang Nian spoke, she glanced at Cui Wensong, only to find that Cui Wensong seemed lost in thought and hadn't heard Tang Nian's question at all.
Tang Nian opened her mouth slightly, her eyes questioning Ming Huan, but Ming Huan shook his head.
The more she looked, the more alarmed she became.
The vast city was filled with an eerie atmosphere, yet not a single evil spirit could be seen.
Most of the pregnant women walking on the street are in their forties or fifties, and some even have a full head of white hair and a protruding belly.
"I didn't see wrong, did I..." Tang Nian blinked and murmured.
She made a mental note of it; there were more important things to do now. Cui Wensong's condition was very strange, and she needed to find a place to stay.
The people of Lancheng were not wary of the outsiders' questions, but stared in shock at Cui Wensong, who was clearly out of sorts, behind the two.
"Big brother, do you know him?" Tang Nian stepped aside, revealing Cui Wensong being supported by Ming Huan.
"Of course I know him, Xiao Cui is Song Niangzi's husband." The elder brother smiled honestly.
"Madam Song?" A bold idea popped into Tang Nian's mind.
"It's Song Shiyi from the pharmacy, she's been a huge help to Lancheng. Look at my wife, if it weren't for Song Shiyi's help, this child would definitely not have survived."
As he spoke, he carefully touched the middle-aged woman's belly beside him, afraid that if he touched her too hard, the baby would be in danger.
Tang Nian took a light breath: "Brother, could you take us to an inn in this city?"
The elder brother was very kind and, together with his wife, took the three of them to the largest inn in the city.
"Manager, give me two rooms." Tang Nian tossed a silver ingot onto the table, waking the manager who was sleeping on the counter.
The shopkeeper straightened up, his bewildered eyes instantly clearing when he saw the two strangers, but his eyes remained fixed on Tang Nian.
"Is the young lady married?"
Tang Nian frowned and was about to turn around and leave when Ming Huan quickly stepped forward to stop the shopkeeper's outstretched hand.
"Innkeeper, we'd like to stay at your inn."
"Huh? Ah."
The shopkeeper then came to his senses, hurriedly picked up the silver, and personally led the three upstairs.
"These two are the best rooms in our establishment." Having just finished introducing them, the innkeeper rubbed his hands together and smiled obsequiously, "This young lady, if she is unmarried..."
With a stern face, Tang Nian walked past the three people and went straight into a room, slamming the door shut with a loud bang.
The innkeeper didn't feel embarrassed at all. He respectfully invited Ming Huan and his companion to stay before turning around and going downstairs.
Once there was no sound outside, Tang Nian pushed open the door and knocked on the door next door.
"Minghuan, how is he?"
Ming Huan shook his head.
"Could it be that your illusion scared him?"
Outside the city, Tang Nian naturally saw all of Ming Huan and Cui Wensong's little tricks.
"It shouldn't be that easily frightened, right?" Ming Huan scratched his head, also somewhat uncertain.
Seeing that Cui Wensong wanted to escape, he thought long and hard but couldn't come up with a good solution, so he simply used magic to create an illusion and moved the mountain goblins from the mountains to outside the city.
Tang Nian sighed: "You stay here and watch over him at the inn. I'm going out for a stroll."
"good."
Tang Nian asked everyone he met about Song Shiyi, and the people he asked all praised Song Shiyi as a living bodhisattva in their Lancheng.
When talking about Cui Wensong and Song Shiyi, everyone praises the couple for their harmonious and loving relationship.
However, the people in the city were very excited about gossip and knew nothing about what was happening in the Great Chu.
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