Simulation becomes reality, have I ever looked down upon the eternity?

Chapter 324: The Banquet of Beauties in Bianjing is about to begin. Are you the killer of Blood Moon Hall?
Bianjing was extremely lively during this period!

Firecrackers are blasting everywhere and the lights look like a long dragon.

According to the custom of Da Qi, in the days leading up to New Year's Eve, dragon and lion dances are performed on the streets of the city all night long.

This year seems to be different!

There was a curfew in previous years, but this year the court completely relaxed it.

The snow has not melted completely in the past few days, and various lantern festivals and poetry gatherings are being held one after another in restaurants.

As the year draws to a close, people who have been away for business or travel return home, and friends and relatives celebrate with each other, guess lantern riddles, and visit night markets.

This world's best capital is as bright as day at night.

A night of fish and dragon dance!

The aroma of wine filled the densely packed streets of Bianjing.

The mansions of the nine major surnames were decorated with big red lanterns and colorful lights, creating an atmosphere of great joy.

Even in the dead of winter, young ladies from wealthy families and handsome students from academies would pass by the snack stalls lining the streets of Bianjing.

There were also families of three with children walking on the streets.

There are a lot of people!

Saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, with laughter and joy, is the most lively occasion.

Of course, the most lively place is the West Wing.

Although the West Wing Tower is called a tower, it is actually a general term for the area of ​​willows and mist in the west city of Bianjing.

Gradually, the people of Bianliang began to call it by the name.

Especially today, as the beauty banquet was being held to select the most beautiful girl, many people had already headed to the West Wing.

The several paths and streets leading to the West Wing were already crowded with people.

at this time!

The sun sets in the afternoon and the sky becomes dark. It is already Youshi (five o'clock in the afternoon) and the sun is setting in the west, casting a few rays of afterglow.

The lights are just coming on, shining on the sparkling surface of the river.

On top of it is a wide stone bridge - Nai Bridge.

It is also the entrance to the West Wing, connecting Changning Street and Guannan Street where the nine major surnames of Xie, Li, and Sima are located.

Nai Bridge has five lanes, wide enough for five carriages to run side by side, and is about 20 to 30 feet long.

However, there are not as many people coming and going as elsewhere.

Because this is an official road established for the nine major surnames, there are five roads, and only one road is available for common people to pass, and they have to pay silver, so not many people come and go.

There are about ten roadside stalls at the Naiqiao Bridge.

At a small stall selling mutton soup, wontons and rice balls!
A middle-aged couple who were doing business were holding red-hot charcoal and a large iron pot with boiling water bubbling inside.

The man patiently used a large spoon to stir the floating white dumplings inside, fearing that they would stick together during cooking.

The stall was not big, with only four or five tables and chairs, all of which were full.

Nowadays, there are a lot of people passing by, business is surprisingly good, and the price of a bowl of dumplings has also increased a lot.

The man counted the silver he had received today, which was several times more than usual, and smiled naively at his wife.

The woman wiped her hands on her skirt but ignored the look in her husband's eyes.

But pay attention silently!

Inside the stall, sitting at a table, was an elegant middle-aged man sipping mutton soup slowly. His temperament was out of tune with his surroundings, yet he seemed harmonious.

The man was tall and slender, wearing a white robe inside and a valuable mink fur coat outside.

The snow-white fluffy collar makes the middle-aged man's face look even more fair and handsome.

He has very thin lips, a high nose bridge, and some graying hair on his temples. His originally cold temperament is diluted by a pair of slightly curved eyebrows and eyes with a bit of vicissitudes.

The man took out a handkerchief from his arms and wiped his mouth. He slowly raised his head, met the woman's eyes, and smiled gently.

The woman's face turned red and she quickly lowered her head. She wiped the table with the tablecloth in panic with one hand and covered her chest with the other hand. Her heart beat faster.

Oh my god!
She had been in Bian Jing for many years, but had never seen such a mature and elegant man.

A few strands of white hair hanging down add to the charm.

Just now when he was walking to the bridge, he saw countless young ladies passing by staring at him.

Some beautiful ladies do not fall for handsome young men, but prefer older, mature and elegant men.

Especially some noble ladies in Bian Jing were the most "fascinated by it".

Several groups of people had finished their meal and left the stall, leaving only the man chewing his food slowly.

From time to time, horse-drawn carriages from the nine major families would cross the bridge. They would be a convoy of more than a dozen carriages, speeding past in a proud and arrogant manner.

Soon!
The man finished eating, and the whole bowl of mutton soup was empty, leaving only thick oil floating in the bowl.

The man praised.

"This mutton soup is oily but not greasy. It is really authentic and hard to find in the capital."

"The boss is really skilled."

The man's voice was also magnetic, and the woman couldn't help but feel a little more favorable towards it.

"This is our ancestral craft. Thank you for your praise, sir."

The honest man smiled and asked tentatively: "Sir, you are not from the capital, right?"

The man was a little surprised, "Why do you say that?"

The honest man was about to speak, but the woman quickly interrupted him and said:
"Sir, you can't tell with the way you're dressed."

"Although your accent is the official language of Da Qi, some of your intonations are still northern accents."

She was also curious about where this "handsome man" came from?

Judging from their temperament, they are similar to the nine major surnames in Bianjing.

However, he was definitely not one of the nine major families in Bianjing, otherwise he would have brought servants with him. How could he be alone?

The man said with some complacency: "Ordinary people probably can't tell the difference, but we are used to seeing guests from the north and south here."

"Old people often say things in different accents, but they always make sense."

The man smiled and said, "I am indeed not from the capital, or rather, not from Da Qi."

The honest man was stunned. He was not from Da Qi and was from the north.

"Northern Changshengtian?"

The man nodded and said, "I come from the grassland."

The woman was a little surprised that he came from Changshengtian in the north.

"The distance between Changshengtian and Daqi is far, why did you come here alone?"

"Especially in the past few years, the border has been in chaos. Most of the barbarians in the north have come south to seek benefits. Although the two Dukes of the Li family have been stationed with troops all year round, they are still unable to prevent it."

The man smiled and said, "Although the road is long, we will reach our destination if we keep walking."

"I came down from the Snow Mountain in October this year. Although I walked at a moderate pace, it took me two months."

The man was surprised: "Great Snow Mountain?"

The Great Snow Mountain is the holy place of Changshengtian. Ordinary people cannot enter it and it is closed all year round. Not to mention ordinary people and herdsmen, even the Khan cannot easily enter the mountain.

It is equivalent to the fifth floor of the Da Qi Academy. It is the master's residence and ordinary people cannot enter.

If the man eating at a roadside stall had been to the Great Snow Mountain, he would not believe it at all.

and!

The Great Snow Mountain is thousands of miles away from here. There are countless bandits, fierce mountains, and bad waters along the way...

How could one person make the journey in just two months? A caravan protected by the military would need half a year.

He did not expose it, but cooperated and asked:

"It seems that you are the one who has traveled all over the country. The teacher said that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles."

"Sir, I wonder what is on this snowy mountain?"

The man smiled and said, "On the Snow Mountain, there is only snow except for a few old monks."

"It's nothing good. Beyond the Great Snow Mountain, there are endless glaciers. Although there is no Kunpeng as rumored, there are white bears that can swim and fish that are bigger than this bridge. The big fish can spray water columns several feet high."

"The sun never sets, and sometimes you can see the gorgeous colorful aurora in the sky."

The man felt as if he was listening to a foreign language, as if it were just an old man in the alley telling stories.

Just listen to it.

Who can believe this? Even a five-year-old child can't be fooled.

A familiar voice with a hint of reverence came.

"Sir, you are really knowledgeable!" The man was stunned, looking at his wife who was listening attentively with fiery eyes.

This seemed even more passionate than the look on my wife's face when she couldn't wait to get into bed at night ten days or half a month later.

The woman couldn't help but ask, "I wonder why you came to Bianjing?"

"Do you know anyone in Bianjing?"

The man pondered for a moment and said, "I came to Bianjing for this banquet and to visit my relatives."

"As for Bianjing, I'm really unfamiliar with the place!"

When the man heard the words "Banquet of Beauties", he couldn't help but give the man a look that said "I understand".

He didn't dare say it out loud. Who doesn't want to see the oiran?

He was going to watch the banquet tonight, and he was afraid that he would not be able to get home. His wife was crying and wanted to go back to her parents' home, holding her two fat sons.

The woman asked, "Visiting relatives?"

"She is one of my sisters. She married far away in Bianjing. Many years have passed and there has been no news from her. I happened to come to Bianjing and wanted to see her."

The woman's eyes showed a touched look. He traveled thousands of miles for his sister, what a good man.

"I have been married far away for many years and there is no news. Bianjing is so big. Finding someone is as difficult as finding sesame seeds in a dumpling. "

"Sir, I'm afraid it's hard to find her. If there's someone from her husband's family living there, there's a way!"

The man smiled and said, "It is said that she married into the Li family and is living a pretty good life now."

"Li family!"

The man couldn't help but ask, "Could it be the Li family among the nine major surnames?"

The man nodded slightly.

"But later on, I heard that she remarried."

The woman was a little puzzled. The nine major surnames were all intermarried, so how could a woman from the Northern Changshengtian marry into one of the nine major surnames?

She guessed that the man's sister was probably embarrassed, so she just married a Li family at random, but exaggerated it to be the Li family.

Or maybe the man didn't understand the importance of the Li family in Bian Jing.

The woman looked at the man's mixed black and white hair on his temples and suddenly felt a pang of heartache.

He came from the north to find his sister. He is a true man.

"If you don't have a place to stay in Bianjing..."

The words are not finished yet!
Another group of carriages and horses passed slowly from the bridgehead.

There is a flag flying with the word "Thank you" on it.

The couple, who had lived in Bian Jing for a long time, naturally knew that this was the Xie family's convoy, and they consciously lowered their heads and dared not to look.

The man looked up slightly until the convoy went farther and farther away and crossed the bridge.

He had already stood up, put a piece of silver on the table, smiled and said, "No, thank you very much."

"The extra money is considered as a reward for the boss's skills. I haven't had such authentic mutton soup in the past two months."

The man looked at the silver on the table and his eyes lit up.

The woman looked at the man's departing back with an infatuated look in her eyes.

"My dear, this man is so generous. With this piece of silver, we have to make 100 bowls of mutton soup."

The woman sighed and looked at her man. He was short, had a round face, and had several buck teeth when he grinned. Compared with the man just now, there was a huge difference, one world apart.

I was so angry that I couldn't control myself.

If the man wasn't honest and the work he was doing was big enough, he could have barely made a living!
The woman took a last look at the man who disappeared over the bridge, reluctant to leave.

The woman urged: "What are you standing there for? Why don't you clear the table? A guest is coming."

The honest man smiled, not angry, and cleaned the tables, chairs and benches quickly.

As a man, it is not shameful to be afraid of your woman.

The man with gray hair walked alone to the end of the bridge. There were several officials guarding there, there to collect money.

Except for the nine major surnames, all common people, whether walking or driving, have to pay bridge tolls.

The man was no exception and handed over a piece of silver, saying with a smile:

"Keep the change, please!"

Obviously, this amount of money far exceeds the travel expenses.

The official was delighted when he saw the silver, but his face changed when he heard these words. He snatched it away and sneered:
“There’s no change here.”

The man didn't care and walked away slowly.

After crossing the bridge, there is a very wide open space, which is divided into three parts by bamboo forest.

There is a carriage pavilion in the open space, which is built to accommodate carriages.

It says:

There are three brands: Xie, Li and Sima.

The carriage and horse pavilions representing the three families are all quite far apart, and are divided into three parts by bamboo forests and fences.

After crossing Nai Bridge, you are not far from the West Wing Tower.

Many people choose to walk there.

There are so many carriages at such a grand event today that we can only park them here and have them looked after by the coachmen, and then walk to the west wing.

The man smiled and walked straight into Sima's carriage pavilion.

What's strange is!

Inside the Sima family's carriage pavilion, there was dead silence except for the rustling sound of bamboo.

Now the sky is dark and the moon is rising.

The grooms who were supposed to take care of the horses were nowhere to be seen, and the twenty or so horses pulling the cart were snorting.

The man's eyes moved slightly and he noticed blood dripping under the carriage and flowing to his feet.

This time!

A sound of breaking through the air came from the carriage of a nearby carriage.

The man waved his sleeves, stretched out his hand, and grasped a sharp long knife with two fingers.

The man smiled and said, "It's been a while since anyone used a knife on me!"

"act recklessly!"

The masked man in black holding a knife in front of him was startled, and a white hand passed through his eye socket, and he lost consciousness instantly.

In the shadow on the ground, all I could see was the man’s head exploding like a watermelon.

Blood splattered all over the ground, but not a drop splashed on the man.

The man had an iron badge in his hand.

It says "Blood Moon Hall!"

The man didn't care and exhaled a purple gas that enveloped the corpse.

The body emitted a sizzling sound as it burned, and thick smoke rose.

In less than a moment!
The body disappeared, and so did the blood.

The man's eyes rolled and he slowly turned around.

There is the sound of bamboo leaves swaying in the bamboo forest.

See!

An ugly old man with a fur hat and a huge nose.

Flying down from the bamboo forest.

The old man was Shen Qian. He had just arrived at Naiqiao from Zhao's house, waiting for Xie Guan, when he heard the noise here.

I found that there was a lot of blood inside.

The rickshaw drivers of the three families were all killed.

Shen Xun looked at the blood on the ground with poor eyesight, and then looked at the token in the hand of the middle-aged man with gray hair.

The three words "Blood Moon Hall" are written on it.

"You are the killer of Blood Moon Hall!"

"You guys at Blood Moon Hall really don't consider the consequences of your actions. You killed the grooms from the Xie, Li, and Sima families. Aren't you afraid that they will cause trouble for you in the future?"

Shen Qian thought that such a big thing happened at the Banquet of Flowers, and so many people died. It might shake Bian Jing again tomorrow.

"Forget it, forget it, it's none of my business."

(End of this chapter)