Infinity: Our Zhongzhou team is really amazing!

Chapter 475 Ghost Buddha! Li Longji, how long are you planning to keep this up?! (34)

On the Lantern Festival, Chang'an City was like a magnificent scroll that had been set ablaze.

At dawn, crowds thronged the streets and alleys, with young women and their husbands laughing and frolicking as their skirts fluttered and their robes billowed.

Among them were figures of Central Asians with high noses and deep-set eyes, camel bells jingling, and silk fluttering, vividly depicting the open atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty.

Smoke rose from the street stalls, children eagerly awaited at the sugar painting stalls, and people thronged the lantern shops, with the air filled with the sounds of gongs and drums and joyful laughter.

With flowers blooming like clouds and lights shining like brocade, being here truly gives one a sense of boundless joy and a bright future.

But Zhuang Boshi always felt that there was something illusory about this place, that it wasn't quite real.

Zhang Xiaojing, a newly appointed county magistrate of Wannian County, was preoccupied with official duties during the Lantern Festival and had no time for anything else.

They could only give Zhuang Boshi a token engraved with intricate patterns, which served as a pass for entering and exiting the building.

Today, Bosch still has three nails stuck in his body.

If it were the old days, he should have stormed into the palace right now and spent the night on the emperor's bed to question Emperor Xuanzong.

But now, if he rashly barges in, he might be killed by those top-tier ghost tamers.

"The Empress is here! The Empress!"

A roar of cheers erupted like a tsunami, and the crowd instantly erupted in cheers.

A colorful flower slowly drifted down before my eyes.

Then, on the rooftop of the Hua'e Xianghui Tower, a woman of indescribable beauty appeared.

With a wave of her hand, countless petals fell in a flurry, as if the whole world was captivated by her.

There seemed to be no supernatural aura about the woman in front of him; she was just an ordinary person.

Yang Guifei was still as beautiful as a young woman in her late teens.

He scanned the entire Hua'e Xianghui Building in that direction.

I wanted to get a clear look at Xuanzong's figure.

At that moment, the surrounding crowd erupted in loud cheers.

They had all knelt down on the ground in unison, the sound of their robes rubbing against the blue bricks echoing like a tidal wave.

May Your Majesty be well!

May Your Majesty be well!

The shouts from the mountains shook the candlelight in the Flower Calyx Pavilion.

Zhuang Boshi hid in the shadows, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw that all the dragon heads were facing the roof of the Hua'e Xianghui Building.

Yang Yuhuan leaned against the glazed tiles on the rooftop, and where her flowing sleeves fell, ripples suddenly appeared in the air.

It felt like someone had gently poked me.

Where is the sage?

Zhuang Boshi's eyebrows were raised high.

Yang Yuhuan was the only one on the rooftop, but everyone's eyes were fixed on the empty seat next to her, as if there was an unseen person standing there.

Even more strangely, the imperial concubine suddenly smiled slightly, her earrings swaying gently, her eyes darting around as she looked at the air beside her, as if listening to someone tell a joke.

"The sage is wise!" Everyone stood up again in unison, the wind from their robes causing the candlelight around them to flicker.

Yang Yuhuan gently pressed her face against the empty space beside her, her water sleeves draped over her unseen arms, her posture as intimate as if she were leaning against a lover's arms.

In the silence, the glazed tiles on the roof of the palace suddenly made three soft sounds, as if someone was tapping a rhythm with jade clappers.

Yang Yuhuan smiled even more charmingly, while the people showed excited expressions, praising, "The sage's voice is so beautiful, it is truly heavenly music!"

Zhuang Boshi felt a chill run down his spine; everyone could "see" this saint.

He, however, only had eyes for air.

It's not a ghost, and it's not an illusion.

It's not some kind of invisibility technique!

It's air!

There was no Xuanzong!

There is no Li Longji!
This eeriness sent chills down Zhuang Boshi's spine.

The more lively and enthusiastic the atmosphere around him was, the more he felt a chill run through his body.

But then, he seemed to understand.

No one noticed him; everyone was looking up at the non-existent saint atop the Hua'e Xianghui Tower.

"Master Zhuang, Master Zhuang!"

Zhuang Boshi looked down and saw a eunuch standing in front of him.

The eunuch, who was quite old, said anxiously, "Master, I've finally found you!"

He raised his hand and pointed upwards.

"Didn't you want to offer up some extraordinary technique before?"

"The sage has summoned you upstairs."

Zhuang Boshi forced a dry smile: "Since the Sage has invited us, please lead the way, sir."
-
The Hua'e Xianghui Tower has seven floors.

On each floor stood the imposing Dragon Warriors and the Black-Clad Bad Commander.

It is clear that Emperor Xuanzong still held great power.

On the top floor, a beautiful woman was grinding ink and painting, while several eunuchs stood respectfully to her side.

The very center, position C.

It was a wisp of air.

It is air that is painting.

The drawing paper was completely blank.

"Why haven't you paid your respects to the Sage yet?" a tall eunuch demanded. Zhuang Boshi's lips twitched slightly.

He looked around at everyone, stepped forward, overturned the table, and said coldly, "Where is the saint here?"

These words were met with utterance and became taboo throughout the room.

“Li Longji!” Zhuang Boshi said to the empty dragon throne.

"You dare to do it but not admit it, how long are you planning to keep this up!"

"Is it really interesting to hide here and play the role of a wise ruler with a bunch of phantoms?!"

Upon hearing this, the commotion outside the Hua'e Xianghui Tower ceased, and everything seemed to freeze in time.

Yang Yuhuan, Gao Lishi, and the eunuchs all maintained the same expression, and the next moment, they vanished like a dream.

The once magnificent Hua'e Xianghui Tower is gradually losing its luster.

The beams and pillars made of Phoebe zhennan wood are groaning.

Large patches of vermilion lacquer peeled off, revealing the dark brown wood grain underneath.

The gilded patterns on the floor cracked, plunging the entire building into a gloomy, bluish-gray hue.

The tassels of the curtains turned into firefly-like specks of light, and the silk and satin crumbled into ashes.

When the last glazed tile fell from the eaves, the passage of time for the entire building finally came to a standstill.

The once thriving scene, like oil being poured on a blazing fire, has instantly become as if decades have passed, utterly dilapidated and desolate, a paradise for snakes, insects, and rodents.

"I never expected that you would be the one to shatter this illusion."

An old man with a pale face and wearing tattered white clothes was squatting on the chair.

“Li Longji, you’ve finally woken up,” Zhuang Boshi said.

"The dream of wealth and glory must eventually be awakened," Li Longji sighed.

Zhuang Boshi coldly asked, "Did you make a wish to the Ghost Buddha?"

Li Longji said wearily, "Every emperor has the opportunity to make a wish to the Buddha once, and I made two wishes."

"His first act was to ascend the throne and end the Wu clan's regime."

"The second time was in the fifteenth year of Tianbao. I made a wish to the Ghost Buddha at Mawei Slope."

"I hope to correct my mistakes."

"My wish came true."

"But it's all an illusion."

His face was lost in deep thought.

"Was that a dream?"

Zhuang Boshi frowned and asked.

"It's not a dream, it's reality."

Li Longji stared intently at him with his cloudy eyes: "If it weren't for you, this dream bubble wouldn't have burst, and everyone would still be living in that prosperous era."

Zhuang Boshi sneered: "You have confined all living beings to the seventeenth year of Tianbao."

"That world can never move forward, and you will forever remain the wise saint."

"How many years is a cycle? Three years, five years, or seven years?"

How many times have you gone through this cycle?

"An endless loop, you've trapped the consciousness and bodies of the Tang people, just for your own regret?!"

"Li Longji, don't think you're so noble. Everyone is forced to play along with you in a play that will never end."

"So what if it's just a play!" Li Longji's eyes were bloodshot.

"Reality is too cruel; shouldn't everyone be immersed in beautiful, dreamlike illusions?"

"As long as you don't show up, the whole Tang Dynasty will continue to be peaceful and prosperous."

They're still blaming me.

As expected of Emperor Xuanzong.

Instead of trying to improve yourself, blame others.

Zhuang Boshi shook his head: "Those who should sell their children are still doing so in their delusional fantasies, and those who should exploit the people are still exploiting them in their delusional fantasies."

"Some people can indeed enjoy endless luxury, but others are trapped in a hopeless cycle from which they cannot escape."

"Li Longji, don't exaggerate your wisdom."

"You're nothing but an old codger who's drowned in his past glory."

"So what? It's better than becoming food for ghosts!" Li Longji said with a heart-wrenching voice.

"After the An Lushan Rebellion, countless people perished in the war and were killed by ghosts."

"Look, Chang'an has become like this."

Zhuang Boshi turned his head to the side.

The entire city of Chang'an was shrouded in an indescribable bluish-gray mist, a ghostly realm filled with extremely terrifying and vengeful spirits.

A living hell, rampant with vengeful ghosts, Chang'an has become a paradise for them.

"An Lushan died from the resurrection of a vengeful ghost, but was sent to Chang'an by the rebel army!"

"Chang'an was turned into a ghost town, nine out of ten houses were empty, and no one survived."

Li Longji cried out in anguish, as if he were regretting his past actions.

Zhuang Boshi sneered, "Didn't you flee in panic, leaving Chang'an and its people to the rebels?"

Li Longji remained silent.

Zhuang Boshi looked at him: "There's one last question, where is the Ghost Buddha?"

(End of this chapter)