Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 704 Examination Hall
He stared at the portal that had appeared out of nowhere, and even with his vast experience, a hint of surprise flashed across his eyes.

The Eye of Regression quietly activated, a silver light swirling within its depths, attempting to pierce the mists of time. However, the scene before it seemed to be soaked in thick ink, or repeatedly kneaded by an invisible force; the past images were fragmented and difficult to piece together.

"Huang Chao's methods... or is it because too much time has passed?" Xiao Ran muttered to himself.

The Eye of Retrospection is not omnipotent. If Huang Chao has been transforming Chang'an for a long enough period of time, even he would find it difficult to see the whole picture.

"Where is this place?" He bowed slightly, his sharp gaze sweeping across the dimly lit space behind the door.

A huge iron pot came into view, almost occupying the center of the room. Its rim was thick, covered with years of grease and ash. The tables and chairs around it were askew, covered in a thick layer of dust. The layout was vaguely discernible; this had once been a soup restaurant.

Shao Hongzhang silently stepped past Xiao Ran and entered. His footsteps crunched softly on the thick layer of dust. In the murky air, there seemed to be a faint, long-spoiled smell of mutton.

He slowly looked around, his gaze sweeping over the overturned bench and the cracked counter, finally settling on the silent iron pot. His Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice, hoarse and heavy as if polished by sandpaper, said, "Wang Jia's mutton soup..."

He seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps speaking to the deathly silence: "When I used to finish my shift too late, I would come here for a bite to eat."

Shao Hongzhang's gaze became distant and unfocused: "The mutton soup in the boiling broth was milky white, sprinkled with a handful of bright green scallions, and served with a freshly baked flatbread, golden brown and glistening, piping hot..."

The warmth of the memory vanished in an instant, replaced by a deeper sorrow. "A century-old shop passed down through three generations," he sighed, walking step by step towards the giant pot. "In this generation, there's a young man named Wang Shun, young, quick-witted, and handsome; his eyes light up when he smiles..."

Before he finished speaking, he had already walked to the pot, and subconsciously, he looked down at the dark bottom of the pot.

It wasn't leftover lamb bones, nor was it charred soup residue.

It was a pile of pale, broken human bones. They varied in size and were twisted in shape, haphazardly piled on top of the thick layer of ashes at the bottom of the pot, like firewood carelessly discarded.

The sigh on Shao Hongzhang's face froze instantly, turning ashen. He stared at the bones, his eyes unblinking. After a long time, so long that Xiao Ran thought he had turned into a stone statue, he spoke in a voice that was almost a whisper, yet every word pierced the heart:

"Back then... you said you were going to close the shop and go back to your hometown in Qishan. I thought your cleverness would allow you to escape this predicament..." His voice choked up, perhaps thinking of his family.

Shao Hongzhang slowly picked up the huge, dust-covered pot lid beside him, his movements heavy with an almost pious reverence, and placed it tightly over the cold iron pot. He clasped his hands together in front of his chest, and bowed deeply, deeply, to the iron pot that had once cooked human meals but was now a burial ground.

“Let’s go.” When he straightened up again, Shao Hongzhang’s tone had returned to calm. He took the lead in walking out of the dilapidated soup shop and stood in the narrow alley. His gaze, like a precise compass, rapidly measured the walls on both sides and the blue bricks under his feet. After a moment, a glint flashed in his eyes, carrying an undeniable certainty:
"That's right! The entire city of Chang'an... has been shifted twenty-eight degrees to the left, turning the world upside down, and completely reversing the layout of Chang'an!"

The reason he was determined to find this unassuming "Wangjia Mutton Soup" was because it was one of the hidden landmarks on the central axis of Chang'an City.

Such matters, which relate to the feng shui of the entire city of Chang'an, are completely unknown to ordinary people. Only the Director of the Imperial Observatory, who possesses the secrets of the empire's mountains and rivers, can use these "nails" to reposition the latitude and longitude and map out the grotesque new skeleton of this twisted city.

For a Feng Shui master, mastering directions is like restoring sight to the blind—it is of utmost importance.

At this moment, the brilliance of a top-notch geomancer finally rekindled in Shao Hongzhang's cloudy eyes.

"Follow me!" Without further hesitation, Shao Hongzhang's steps became steady and swift as he led Xiao Ran through the intricate and secluded alleyways, heading firmly eastward.

The alley grew narrower and narrower, the light grew dimmer, and mold grew on the walls, giving off a damp and rotten smell.

After navigating two dead ends filled with garbage, a narrow alley suddenly appeared ahead, blocked by a high wall at the end, with only one doorway.

"Stop! What are you doing?!" Two burly men emerged from the shadows and blocked the two men's path. They were shirtless, their muscles bulging like rocks, and each carried a heavy, sharp broadsword at their waist. Like two guardian deities, they stood in the middle of the road, their eyes fierce as wolves, scanning Xiao Ran and his companion from head to toe.

Xiao Ran's gaze was like lightning, instantly piercing through the two people blocking her way. She caught a glimpse of the ambiguous lights flickering and the swaying figures inside the crooked door behind her, and she knew that this must be a brothel or gambling den.

Shao Hongzhang didn't even glance at the two fierce men, but merely turned his head slightly and gave Xiao Ran an inquiring look.

"Just go." Xiao Ran's voice was calm and even, as if she were talking about something trivial. "I'll take care of everything."

"Hey!!" Upon hearing this, one of the burly men's temples bulged with veins, and his large, fan-like hand slammed onto the hilt of his knife. Spit almost landed on the two men's faces. "Damn it! Where did this blind fool come from! Daring to cause trouble on my turf?! You're asking for death..."

The word "吗" had not yet been uttered—

hum!
An invisible yet immensely powerful pressure, like a mountain collapsing, erupted from Xiao Ran without warning! It wasn't a force targeting the physical body, but an absolute crushing blow that directly impacted the mental level! Like an invisible giant hammer, it slammed heavily into the souls of the two burly men!

The ferocity on their faces froze and twisted instantly. Their eyes bulged out, their pupils dilated in extreme horror, and before they could even utter a muffled groan, blood vessels instantly filled the whites of their eyes.

My brain felt as if it had been completely gripped and crushed by a cold, large hand, and my consciousness was violently erased in a fraction of a second.

His burly, ox-like body lost all support and collapsed to the ground like two puddles of mud.

It was decisive, efficient, and silent, yet it possessed an absolute power that sent chills down your spine.

Shao Hongzhang looked at the two people on the ground, who seemed to have had their spines removed, and then at Xiao Ran, whose expression remained as calm as an ancient well. His eyes flashed with extremely complex emotions—shock, fear, and even a hint of indescribable...understanding?
“Impressive skills…” His voice was deep, each word seemingly carefully considered between his teeth, “Even surpassing the Imperial Guard Commander Chu Tianming by three points.” “Chu Tianming?” Xiao Ran’s eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly. She still had some impression of this person. He was the leader of the Imperial Guard. During the sword evaluation, he and the Five Leaves Daoist were also among the judges.

However, after the sword review and the slaying of the dragon that day, Chu Tianming disappeared without a trace, and there was no news of him since. No one knew whether he deliberately hid or died somewhere.

But who cares right now?

Shao Hongzhang pushed open the door in front of him without pausing for a moment. The rotten wooden door groaned as it opened with a thud.

A wave of sweltering heat, carrying the stench of sweat, cheap cosmetics, and a strong metallic smell, hit the face, almost suffocating. At the card table, several men with open shirts, their greasy fingers twirling stained dominoes, held women in their arms whose makeup was so heavy it resembled paper dolls. The cacophony—the dice bouncing wildly in the broken porcelain bowl, the women's deliberately exaggerated giggles, the gamblers' foul language as they lost—was suddenly silenced, as if an invisible hand had gripped their throats.

A dozen pairs of eyes, filled with confusion, annoyance at being disturbed, and a hint of drunken drowsiness, were all fixed on the unexpected intruder. The air felt as thick as solidified grease.

The scarred man on the innermost side reacted the fastest. He put down his cards, slowly straightened his muscular upper body, revealing the nine-section whip wrapped around his waist. Several copper bells attached to the whip's tip emitted an extremely faint, teeth-grinding "ding-ling..." sound even in stillness. He grinned, a dark gold gleaming between his yellowed teeth, and was about to speak: "Sir, this isn't your place..."

"Just keep going!"

Xiao Ran's icy voice rang out from behind him, like a cold iron hammer falling to the ground, instantly shattering the deathly silence. At the same time, an immense, soul-chilling mental pressure, like an invisible deep-sea behemoth opening its maw, precisely enveloped Scarface!

The sneer on Scarface's face froze instantly, the ferocity in his eyes replaced by pure blankness. He only managed a short "uh..." before his body, like a puppet with its strings cut, staggered forward two steps and crashed heavily onto the greasy ground with a "thud," kicking up a cloud of dust. He was completely silent.

Shao Hongzhang didn't even glance at the figure on the ground again; Xiao Ran's name was the strongest paving stone. He walked steadily toward the small door on the left leading to the inner room.

However, the deathly silence in the gambling den lasted for less than a moment.

"Ah!! Murder!!" The heavily made-up madam was the first to let out a piercing scream, like the fuse that lit a powder keg!

"Kill him!!" Five or six burly men with ferocious faces, wielding machetes, suddenly sprang out from the shadows. Their eyes flashed with a desperate glint as they locked their sights on Shao Hongzhang, who was walking ahead. The blades gleamed coldly in the dim light, stirring up a stench of blood.

The blade sliced ​​through the air, about to strike Shao Hongzhang's slightly hunched back!

hum-

Xiao Ran's gaze narrowed slightly, and an even stronger, more condensed, and tangible invisible spiritual impact, like several silent thunderbolts, precisely pierced the heads of each of the attacking thugs!

"Ugh..."

A muffled groan and a strange noise rang out almost simultaneously. The figure, who had looked fierce and menacing just a second ago, suddenly seemed to have been struck hard on the head by an invisible giant hammer. His eyes glazed over instantly, and the machete in his hand clattered and fell to the ground.

Five or six burly bodies fell down like cut straw, piled on top of each other without any cushioning, and remained motionless.

The entire gambling den fell into an even more terrifying silence than before. The remaining gamblers and prostitutes were all frozen in place, as if under a spell, holding their breath, their eyes filled with boundless fear and blankness, as if watching a deadly being emerge from the depths of the underworld.

Ignoring the hellish scene behind him, Shao Hongzhang pushed open the even more dilapidated wooden door to the inner room.

Inside the door was an even more filthy scene: a withered old man lay naked on the bed, surrounded by three equally naked women, the air thick with a nauseatingly pungent, obscene stench. The four women, startled by the commotion at the doorway, were about to scream.

hum!
An invisible ripple of consciousness swept by once more, the scream caught in their throats, their eyes rolled back, and they collapsed like rag dolls, falling into a silent, unconscious state.

Shao Hongzhang's gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, completely ignoring the appalling scene, and he walked straight to the northeast corner of the room. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment, his fingers rapidly calculating in the air. Combining this with the location he had previously anchored at "Wang Jia Mutton Soup," he suddenly opened his eyes and pointed to the seemingly thick wall in the corner:
"This is it! Break through it!"

Xiao Ran stepped forward, without any fancy movements, and simply lifted her foot seemingly casually, then kicked the wall hard!

"Boom!!"

With the addition of hundreds of points of pure power, the explosive force of this kick was comparable to that of a battering ram! Bricks, wood chips, and dust were sprayed out as if they had been detonated! The entire wall collapsed inward, creating a huge gap, and the violent airflow carrying thick dust poured into the gambling house, causing a chorus of terrified coughs and whimpers.

Shao Hongzhang paid no attention to the choking smoke and dust. He even impatiently waved his sleeve to clear away the gray curtain in front of him and was the first to rush over the mess of broken walls and ruins.

Beyond the gap, there were not the neighbors or back alleys as expected.

What came into view was a desolate, abandoned street! Waist-high weeds grew in the cracks of the bluestone slabs, and the doors and windows of the shops on both sides were broken and rotten, as if forgotten by time for many years. The entire street was sealed off and frozen by an invisible force.

At the end of this dilapidated street, a majestic and solemn building loomed in and out of view amidst the swirling dust. Its flying eaves, intricately carved beams, and painted rafters, though faded and covered in dust, still exuded an air of dignified authority. Above the high-hanging gate, a huge plaque, after the dust had settled slightly, finally revealed two large, weathered yet clearly defined characters:
[Examination Hall]

Shao Hongzhang's body trembled violently as he stared intently at the plaque.

"Found it! This is the real Chang'an Examination Hall!!"

(End of this chapter)