Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 80: The Black Clothes of the Dead

It was daybreak and the sound of birds singing could be heard outside the yard.

Lu Qing dressed neatly and walked out of the courtyard.

Several soldiers followed behind him.

Lu Qing slept very well tonight. He rarely slept so soundly when he was in Yecheng.

He has to leave Cheng'an today and return to Yecheng to report. Before reporting, he has to go to Murong's house to make his position clear.

Surrounded by the crowd, Lu Qing's carriage slowly drove towards the east of the city.

There were not many pedestrians on the road. The ground was bumpy and had accumulated some sewage. The wheels of the carriage rolled over the potholes, causing Lu Qing to shake. After driving for a long time, they finally arrived at the east of the city.

As soon as he approached here, Lu Qing heard bursts of noise.

He got out of the carriage and saw soldiers gathered in groups of three or two in the distance. They were all armed forces in the county. However, these people looked absent-minded. Even if a carriage approached, they ignored it and just talked to themselves.

Lu Qing couldn't help but frown.

At this moment, someone finally stepped forward to block their frame.

"No entry or exit allowed!"

The soldiers around Lu Qing immediately revealed their identities, and the county soldier hurried over to report.

A moment later, Changsun Jiaye appeared in front of Lu Qing limping.

The eldest grandson bowed and said, "Even if you are an envoy of honor, you have to ask the county lord first."

Lu Qing looked at the lame county lieutenant in front of him. The lieutenant looked extremely bad. His face was gray, his eyes were swollen, his hair and beard were messy, and his eyes were wandering, which made Lu Qing very unhappy.

This captain of the Seventh Division has such a character?
No wonder the county soldiers are so lazy and disorderly, with no military discipline at all.

"You don't have to send anyone to inquire. I already asked yesterday, and the county magistrate agreed."

Changsun stiffly made way to let Lu Qing and others pass.

When their carriage approached the inner courtyard, Murong Zeng and others came to greet them.

Murong Zeng was extremely polite to Lu Qing. This politeness was not false like the one he showed to Gao Changgong. He almost kowtowed in front of Lu Qing with great courtesy, which made Lu Qing very happy.

"Hahaha, our two families have a very deep relationship, why should we be so polite?"

Lu Qing helped him and Murong Guang up, but Murong Zeng hurriedly said, "The young master once told me that Lord Lu is his close friend. If you see him, you should greet him with the highest courtesy. You should treat him like you would treat him. How dare you neglect him?"

Murong Guang also hurriedly said: "We have cleaned the mansion, slaughtered the livestock, and are waiting for you to join the banquet."

They greeted each other warmly in front of the county soldiers outside, and then walked into the inner courtyard together.

Murong Zeng first took the distinguished guest to visit their mansion, where there were all kinds of rare and precious plants, as well as some strange wild beasts that could not be found outside. Murong Zeng kept bending over and followed Lu Qing respectfully.

After Lu Qing toured the courtyard, he went to the banquet in the lobby.

Several young men of the Murong family had been waiting here for a long time. They were all distant relatives and their status was not as high as Murong Zeng's. However, they called Lu Gong "Lu Gong" every time they opened their mouths and flattered Lu Qing to the utmost, which made Lu Qing feel even more comfortable.

The banquet was really lively.

As a guest, Lu Qing sat in the upper seat, while Murong Zeng and Murong Guang insisted on sitting on his left and right.

According to Murong Zeng, this means following the young master's instructions and treating him with the highest courtesy.

"You don't have to worry about what's happening in this city."

"The county magistrate will not attack you again."

Lu Qing said cheerfully, and Murong Zeng just bowed his head to thank him.

"Mr. Lu, this really offends the county lord. Will he do anything wrong?"

Murong Guang didn't know what he was thinking of, and a hint of unnaturalness flashed across his eyes.

Murong Zeng hurriedly said: "Don't talk nonsense!"

Lu Qing smiled and said, "Don't worry, sir. The county lord is different from the other royal family members. He is a kind man and will not kill people indiscriminately."

Murong Zeng spoke again, "Gentleman, please go outside and have some wine with Lord Lu's subordinates!"

Murong Guang quickly got up and left.

Murong Zeng then smiled and explained: "This gentleman in my family has been a hard-working person since he was young. I'm sorry to have embarrassed you."

"No, in fact, his worries are not without reason. It's because Prince Gaoyang is pressuring the county lord. Even if he is kind-hearted, he is still a member of the Gao family. In the current situation, you have completely offended him. It's okay now, but what about in the future?"

Murong Zeng laughed, "We have already thought about it. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, my young master will return to Cheng'an. By then, he will find a way to make up for it."

His eyes suddenly swept towards Murong Guang who was walking away, "There is always something that can calm the county lord's anger." "That's good."

Lu Qing was unwilling to continue talking about this matter. He casually said, "I think the many county soldiers in the east of the city will also withdraw."

Murong Zeng was stunned for a moment, then said, "Speaking of the county soldiers, a strange thing happened last night."

"Oh?"

"Something strange?"

In the county government office, Lu Qubing rushed forward in a hurry, and several clerks trotted after him.

Lu Qubing rushed into the backyard. The soldiers standing at the door were dumbfounded. They put their hands on the hilts of their swords, looked at each other, and let go.

"County Lord!!"

Gao Changgong, who was wearing a crown, looked at Lu Qubing who had barged in and smiled bitterly, "Mr. Lu, when did you become so panicked?"

Lu Qubing's eyes widened, his face full of tension, "Something happened in the east of the city yesterday!"

"Oh?"

"Zhangsun County Lieutenant sent someone to report that last night, a dragon-headed monster with a black head, black body, and black feet appeared in the east of the city. It was very strange and no one dared to approach it. The monster spoke human language and told everyone to leave. Then it jumped into the Murong family's well and turned into a black dragon."

Gao Changgong looked at Lu Qubing blankly. Not only him, but also the servant who was tidying up his crown, had their eyes wide open at this moment.

"Nonsense."

Gao Changgong shook his head, "Zhangsun County Magistrate is too tired."

"It's absolutely true! Not only Lord Changsun, but also the county soldiers and the people of the Murong family, have seen this monster!"

"The county soldiers were so frightened that several of them fled on the spot and were killed by Lord Changsun."

Gao Changgong frowned and fell into deep thought.

He was just about to ask how many people knew about this, but looking at Lu Qubing, he didn't want to ask anymore. Since Lu Jun knew about it, there shouldn't be many people who didn't know about it.

"County Lord, there is a lot of noise in the city right now. It is said that there is a traitor who wants to deal with the Murong family and forced the Black Dragon King of the Murong family to come out to protect them. The more they talk, the more outrageous it becomes. They all say that you deliberately persecuted them, which caused this monster to come out and protect the Murong family."

"The servants of the Murong family have begun to perform sacrifices."

Gao Changgong couldn't sit still any longer, "Someone, prepare the horses!"

Inside Murong Mansion.

Lu Qing's hand holding the cup began to tremble.

In an instant, his face turned into one of horror, and his lips trembled unconsciously.

Murong Zeng was still immersed in his own story. "After I was woken up, I went to check, but I didn't see any monsters. I also checked the well, but there was only mud."

"Things like this are mostly rumors, but my own subordinates all swore that they saw the divine beast and said it was the blessing of the spirits of their ancestors. Today, a few people urged me to offer sacrifices. This is simply incomprehensible."

At this moment, Lu Qing's body was shaking even more violently.

He was almost shaking like a sieve.

His abnormality finally caught Murong Zeng's attention, "Mr. Lu? What's wrong?! Are you feeling unwell?!"

Lu Qing was shaking, and he struggled to support himself with his hands on the ground, and he stood up trembling. His legs were a little weak, and he slowly walked outside. Murong Zengda was startled and was about to step forward to support him, but was quickly pushed away by Lu Qing.

Lu Qing walked faster and faster, and everyone was shocked.

"Lu Gong! What happened?!"

"Mr. Lu, you were fine just now, why is this happening?"

Lu Qing pretended that he heard nothing. He just walked all the way to the door, called his soldiers and subordinates, climbed into the carriage tremblingly, and then left quickly.

Murong Zeng stood at the door, looking at this strange scene, his brows furrowed, his face extremely ugly. Now he also realized that the monster incident last night was probably no trivial matter and was far from as simple as he thought.

what on earth is this kind of happenings?
Lu Qing was sitting in the carriage at this moment, his face still full of fear. He curled up in the carriage, muttering to himself.

"The dead high-ranking one in black."

"The Emperor in Black"

"The dead high-ranking one in black."

"The Emperor in Black"

(End of this chapter)