Starting as the young master of a medicine shop, he practiced swordsmanship for twenty years.

Chapter 362 The Entire Ghost Town!

In an instant, the entire official road fell into a deathly silence.

The farmers who were carrying loads on their shoulders and the merchants who were driving oxcarts were all frozen in place.

I don't know who it was, but they suddenly knelt down with a "thump"!
Immediately afterwards, as if a domino effect had been triggered, the people along the entire official road knelt down in unison.

Someone's vegetable basket overturned on the ground, and fresh fruits and vegetables rolled everywhere.

Some children were about to cry when their parents covered their mouths tightly.

"Your Majesty... Your Highness?"

"real or fake……"

A few incredulous whispers rippled through the crowd.

These people, who toil under the sun with their faces to the earth, never imagined such a thing.

In my lifetime, I am fortunate enough to have the honor of seeing His Highness the Crown Prince, a member of the imperial family.
In the thousand years since the founding of the Wenjing Dynasty, there has never been a precedent of the crown prince leaving the capital.

Not to mention traveling thousands of miles to this remote border region in southern China.

"You are the governor of Jinming Prefecture?"

A clear, cold voice suddenly broke the silence.

Lu Xuan had somehow gotten off the carriage and landed on the ground, where he stood with his hands behind his back.

The dragon patterns on the crimson dragon robe were particularly dazzling in the sunlight.

Lu Xuan looked down indifferently at Wei Yuanlang, who was kneeling on the ground.

Wei Yuanlang felt a gaze, seemingly tangible, fall upon his back.

He was immediately drenched in sweat, and quickly pressed his forehead against the scorching stone slab, his voice trembling uncontrollably.

"Your humble servant... Your humble servant, Wei Yuanlang, Governor of Jinming Prefecture, pays his respects to Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

Lu Xuan remained calm and casually waved his hand.

"Get up."

These three simple words, however, were as clear as a spring breeze, reaching the ears of everyone present.

The people felt as if they had been granted a pardon and kowtowed to express their gratitude.

Most people hurriedly got up, lowered their heads, and ran quickly into the city.

How could ordinary people like them possibly look directly at such imperial majesty?

However, a small group of bold individuals hid in the city gate or in the corner of a teahouse, secretly peeking out.

They stood on tiptoe, craning their necks, eager to catch a glimpse of the Crown Prince of the Wenjing Dynasty.

Some people even dared to peek through their fingers—this was a once-in-a-century spectacle!

"That's His Highness the Crown Prince?"

An old man selling candy figurines muttered to himself, "Wow, that air about him..."

"He's even more imposing than the sons of wealthy families!"

Before he could finish speaking, his wife pinched him hard.

But the old man couldn't help but glance at it again.

In his eyes, Lu Xuan stood with his hands behind his back, and even the sunlight gilded him, making him look like a god descending to earth.

Standing behind Lu Xuan, Wei Yuanlang had fine beads of sweat constantly appearing on his forehead.

He bent his waist even lower, almost at a ninety-degree angle.

While reporting to Lu Xuan with a fawning smile, he used his wide official sleeves as cover to desperately wink at the assistant prefect behind him.

"Your Highness, you must be tired from your journey. I have prepared a simple banquet at the prefectural government office..."

As he spoke, he secretly made an "eight" gesture with his hand hidden in his sleeve.

This is a reminder to the magistrate that preparations should be made again according to the standards of the Eight Delicacies.

The clerk understood and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, secretly moved back a few steps.

He forced down his trembling legs, turned around and was about to run into the city, but accidentally stepped on the hem of his own clothes.

He fell down with a thud.

This useless old man, who is usually so shrewd and capable, has now made a mistake at such a crucial moment.

Wei Yuanlang was so angry that his beard stood on end, and he cursed inwardly that this fool had ruined everything.

He hurriedly turned to Lu Xuan and apologized: "Your Highness, please forgive me, Lord Hu..."

Before Wei Yuanlang could finish speaking, Lu Xuan said calmly, "No need."

These three words, though seemingly light and airy, sent Wei Yuanlang and the warden tumbling into an icy abyss.

His legs went weak, and he almost knelt down again.

But Lu Xuan's gaze swept over the people who were peeking and looking around on both sides of the street.

"I have come here to investigate a case, not to enjoy myself."

....
Qianfu Town is located thirty miles southeast of Qingming Prefecture, backed by Qingming Mountain and facing Huangyue River. It is one of the most prosperous towns in Jinming Prefecture.

The town has more than 3,000 households, and it is always bustling with people and merchants on market days.

But just half a month ago, on a rainy night, this vibrant town suddenly fell into a deathly silence.

"My lord! Something terrible has happened!"

That morning, a blood-covered courier stumbled into the prefectural government office.
"Qianfu Town...the people of Qianfu Town...they've all disappeared!"

Wei Yuanlang still remembers the chill of that moment.

When he arrived at Qianfu Town with his constables, he found it to be a strangely deserted city.

Every household had its doors and windows wide open, and untouched food was still on the tables.

The street vendors' goods were neatly arranged, and even the tea in the teahouses was still steaming hot.

But there wasn't a single person in sight.

"Not even... not even a dog was left..."

The clerk who was following behind Wei Yuanlang at the time was trembling so badly that his voice was shaking uncontrollably.

The most terrifying thing was that Wei Yuanlang personally led a search party throughout the entire town, but they couldn't find even a drop of blood or a piece of bone.

More than three thousand people vanished into thin air, as if swallowed whole by some indescribable entity.

Thousands of civilians died overnight; this was practically an attempt to kill him.

What's even more chilling is...

Several days passed after Wei Yuanlang left Qianfu Town.

When he led his team to investigate Qianfu Town again, he was still half a mile away from the town gate when this martial arts master felt his hair stand on end.

This time, Qianfu Town is different from the last one.

"Your Excellency...do we really still want to go in?"

Even the head constable accompanying them noticed this eerie feeling.

The steel swords in the hands of every soldier and yamen runner trembled slightly.

Although Wei Yuanlang was trying to remain calm, he couldn't stop the cold sweat seeping down his back.

As a martial arts master, his martial arts intuition was issuing a frantic warning.

The desolate town of Qianfu ahead resembled a gaping maw ready to devour its inhabitants.

Even under the blazing midday sun, he could feel that bone-chilling cold.

That wasn't an ordinary chill, but rather some kind of... living, malevolent energy lurking in the shadows.

"Withdraw! Withdraw everyone!"

Wei Yuanlang made a decisive decision and ordered everyone to retreat three miles away.

This decision proved to have saved many lives.

In the days that followed, not a single martial artist who rashly entered Qianfu Town to investigate survived the night.

The most terrifying thing is that the bodies of these people had all turned into decaying ashes.

On the official road, a grand procession was slowly advancing. Leading the way were three hundred iron cavalry, all clad in black armor, their hooves thundering in unison on the bluestone slabs.

Behind them followed thousands of soldiers, their spears like a forest, their banners obscuring the sky.

At the very center of the procession, a gilded carriage pulled by eight pure white Akhal-Teke horses gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, making it exceptionally eye-catching.

"Big brother! Look over there!"

More than a hundred armed bandits were lurking in the shadows of the trees in the dense forest on the mountainside beside the official road.

The scarred man at the head of the group narrowed his eyes, staring greedily at the caravan below the mountain: "What a grand display! The one sitting in that carriage must be a fat sheep!"

"But this formation..."

Despite his greed, the scarred man had no intention of making a move.

With so many enemy troops, even if each of them spat, they could drown our force of just over a hundred soldiers!

These bandits, including the scarred-faced man, were roaming the deep mountains and forests at the borders of various prefectures in Jinming Prefecture year-round.

Fire one shot and move on to another.

"These people are terrifying!"

The bandits hid deep in the dense forest, each one trembling with fear, secretly watching the large and imposing procession on the official road.

The cavalrymen were all clad in fine steel chainmail, and the standard-issue swords hanging at their waists gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

The thousands of soldiers in the rear were well-equipped, with spears like a forest and bows and crossbows strung, making them a veritable elite force on the battlefield.

"Damn it..."

Scarface wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling, "Those three hundred iron cavalry alone are enough to take our lives."

What chilled them even more were the deep-seated auras of the experts in the group.

The aura emanating from any of the leading officers instilled fear in these mountain bandits.

Especially those armored guards riding tall horses, with eyes as sharp as knives, were clearly ruthless characters who had experienced battles.

"Boss, this is quite a sight..."

The one-eyed henchman swallowed hard. "That should be enough to attack the prefectural city, right?"

The scarred man didn't answer; he just stared intently at the eight-horse carriage.

As the carriage curtain swayed slightly, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a pair of eyes as deep and unfathomable as a prison.

The scarred man shuddered, and his crotch involuntarily became soaked.
"Boss, something's not right..." a one-eyed henchman suddenly whispered.

"That carriage...it looks like it's drawn by eight horses..."

Scarface was taken aback upon hearing this, and then his expression changed drastically.

"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"

Scarface's voice changed as he scrambled and stumbled into the depths of the dense forest, crying out, "That's...that's His Highness the Crown Prince's entourage!"

Upon seeing this, the remaining bandits scattered like birds and beasts.

The bandits who had been eyeing them menacingly just moments before now wished they had two more legs, fearing that the incredibly powerful team down the mountain would discover their tracks.

An hour later, the vast procession slowly came to a stop.

Wei Yuanlang hurriedly dismounted and ran to the gilded carriage in three steps, carefully bowing and reporting, "Your Highness, we have arrived at Qianfu Town..."

His voice trembled involuntarily, but his gaze couldn't help but drift toward the majestic town gate five hundred meters away.

Two towering stone lions, each two meters tall, glared angrily, as if warning anyone who came to stop.

On a stone tablet over ten feet tall in the center, the three large vermilion characters "Qianfu Town" are as vivid as blood.

Under the blazing sunlight, it gleamed with an eerie luster.

Looking through the town gate of Qianfu Town, one can see rows of houses and buildings inside.

Courtyards with blue bricks and gray tiles, teahouses with upturned eaves, shops with faded signs...

If it weren't deserted, it must be a bustling and lively town.

However, it was eerily quiet at this moment; not even a dog could be heard barking, only the whistling of the wind blowing through the empty streets.

Wai Yuen-long's back was soaked with sweat.

He clearly remembered that the last time he came, the stone tablet didn't have these blood-red patterns...

Now, those eerie runes, like living creatures, were slowly writhing on the surface of the stone tablet…

Heh…
Suddenly, a biting, eerie wind swept in from Qianfu Town, 500 meters away, causing the feathers on Wei Yuanlang's official hat to tremble violently.

He subconsciously raised his hand to press down on the brim of his hat, only to see that the soldiers behind him were all pale-faced.

Some of them even had their legs go weak and were about to kneel down.

"Master Zhou Mu..."

A young soldier's teeth chattered, and the spear in his hand clattered to the ground. "Look... those windows..."

Wei Yuanlang followed his gaze and was immediately plunged into an ice cave—countless distorted human figures were clearly reflected on the paper windows of the shops facing the street.

The figures were either sitting or standing; some seemed to be drinking and having fun, while others appeared to be haggling over prices—a typical scene of everyday life in the city.

But... the entire street was completely deserted!
Crash!!!
Suddenly, the lanterns in front of the teahouse lit up all at once, their eerie green light casting a ghostly glow over the entire street.

Even more terrifying is the century-old locust tree in the center of the town, where the copper bells hanging from its withered branches move automatically without wind, emitting a crisp "ding-dong" sound.

The sound was pleasant at first, but upon closer listening, it sounded like... like countless people whispering!

Wei Yuanlang turned his head with difficulty to look at the carriage, peering through the gap in the swaying curtain.

Lu Xuan remained calm, with even a faint smile playing on his lips...

very good!

Those damn things again!
Moreover, the ghosts here are clearly much better than those in Mo Gui Lane.

Lu Xuan wasn't afraid of these ghostly things being powerful; he was afraid they wouldn't appear at all.

Lu Xuan slowly stepped down from the gilded carriage. He stood with his hands behind his back, his deep gaze fixed on Qianfu Town ahead.

Lu Yi and his two bodyguards, like ghosts, silently surrounded them.

They stood in a triangular formation, protecting Lu Xuan in the center, clearly prepared to accompany him.

Lu Xuan glanced at the three humanoid weapons out of the corner of his eye. These imperial guards seemed to be protecting, but in reality, they were more like... surveillance.

"Your Highness! Absolutely not!"

Wei Yuanlang almost knelt down as he stepped forward, his forehead slamming heavily against the bluestone slab with a dull thud.

His voice trembled so much it almost changed: "This Qianfu Town is extremely strange. If anything happens to you... this official... this official..."

At this point, Wei Yuanlang, the governor of a prefecture, had turned pale.

Countless terrifying images flashed through his mind—if even a single hair on the Crown Prince's head were harmed.

Not to mention his own head being in danger, the entire Wei clan, spanning nine generations, might be razed to the ground by that person in the palace.

The mere thought of that scene nearly made him faint.

"This humble official is willing to go into the town to investigate on behalf of His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Wei Yuanlang suddenly looked up, a resolute glint in his eyes, "Even if it's a mountain of knives and a sea of ​​fire, this humble official will..."

Lu Xuan, of course, understood his thoughts.

Wei Yuanlang would rather go into this ghost town alone to die than let his crown prince put himself in danger.

After all, for this governor, dying a heroic death could earn him a reputation for loyalty and bravery.

But if something happens to the crown prince, what awaits him will be a disaster that is a thousand times worse than death, involving the entire family.

"I know what I'm doing. Step back!"

The cold shout made Wei Yuanlang's eardrums ache.

When he came to his senses, all that remained was a fading afterimage.

Lu Xuan's figure had already appeared in front of Qianfu Town, five hundred meters away!

Lu Yi and the other two were taken aback for a moment, then quickly transformed into three black shadows and appeared beside Lu Xuan.

The armored figures stood tall and imposing, like shadows following them everywhere.

(End of this chapter)