Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 500, 499, Empress's Shrine

The Queen's Shrine is located in the north of Fallen Cloud City.

The next day, before dawn, Feng Xiuhu was woken up by Liu Weisen.

After a quick wash, the two headed to the Empress's Shrine.

When we arrived at the destination, we found it was already packed with people.

It turns out that besides those who arrived early, many more people spent the night on the street outside the Queen's Temple.

Feng Xiuhu looked around, trying to find Shunzi.

Liu Weisen's expression was not good. He had already discovered the problem—the reason why the crowd was all gathered here was because the area outside the Empress's Shrine had been surrounded by the Great Xuan Army.

He lowered his voice and said, "I should have thought of that. The government must have some means to deter them if they dare to let so many bandits into the city."

Feng Xiuhu looked around but couldn't find a straight, so he struck up a conversation with Liu Weisen: "What is the Great Xuan Army doing? Are they not letting people in to search for treasure?"

Liu Weisen shook his head and said, "It shouldn't be that bad. Blocking someone's path to wealth is like killing their parents. If they really go too far, as long as one or two people fan the flames, these treasure hunters who have come from afar will all be in an uproar. At that time, not to mention the Great Xuan Army, even if the Temple intervenes, it won't be able to stop them."

Although Shunzi wasn't there, Feng Xiuhu was still able to lead Liu Weisen forward.

The crowd was jostled and pushed along the way, and many people glared at them, including some bandits. However, with the Great Xuan Army watching them from the front, no one made a move.

The two squeezed to the front and asked, only to find out the reason.

The Empress's Shrine is not like a temple. Apart from the head priest, there are only a few priests and ritual attendants, which is severely understaffed.

Now that the treasure-hunting teams from Yu'ai Prefecture have all come over, if they all come in at once, won't they just demolish the Empress's Shrine? So the shrine's headman went to the prefectural government to plead for help.

Regardless of whether the prefectural government is under the President's jurisdiction or not, the officials of the prefectural government are also human beings. In the territory of Yu'ai Prefecture, everyone still considers themselves to be descendants of Nanyu. The nursery rhymes they sang since childhood are related to the integrity of Nanyu. They can't just stand by and watch the Empress's Shrine be "swept away".

Therefore, the government issued an official letter and dispatched the Great Xuan Army over.

It's not about dampening everyone's enthusiasm for treasure hunting, but about establishing rules.

The rule is simple—each treasure hunting team can only send in a maximum of two people.

Feng Xiuhu and his companion were let in.

By this time, the sky was gradually brightening. The morning light filtered through the gaps in the ancient cypress trees, sparsely scattering across the bluestone-paved courtyard. Instead of dispelling the gloom within the shrine, it lengthened the shadows.

The air was filled with the lingering scent of incense, mixed with the smells of old wood, moss, and old paper, pressing down heavily and causing newcomers to unconsciously slow their breathing.

The restrictions imposed by the Great Xuan Army had clearly taken effect. Compared to the crowds outside, there were far fewer people inside the shrine. However, Feng Xiuhu roughly counted, and there were still dozens of people within sight.

They were scattered in twos and threes in the courtyard and the open space in front of the main hall, maintaining a cautious, almost tacit, distance from each other. No one spoke loudly, and even their whispers were kept extremely low, which only accentuated the eerie atmosphere of silence.

Feng Xiuhu could clearly feel that from the moment he and Liu Weisen stepped into the ancestral hall, countless gazes swept over them, some scrutinizing, some assessing, some wary, and even a fleeting hint of hostility.

But this hostility wasn't directed at them alone, but at everyone present.

These gazes from different chambers of commerce, aristocratic families, and even bandit strongholds in the mountains collided and clashed silently in the air, as if weaving an invisible yet taut net. Occasionally, acquaintances would exchange a glance, but they would quickly look away, filled with tacit calculations.

In this eerie atmosphere, Liu Weisen felt extremely uncomfortable and subconsciously moved closer to Feng Xiuhu.

He muttered under his breath, "See? This doesn't look like a temple at all. Anyone who didn't know better would think they'd stumbled into a den of dragons and tigers." Feng Xiuhu nodded perfunctorily, ignoring him—he was looking around curiously.

In a sense, the place he is standing on now is a genuine cultural relic protection building, and every brick and tile exudes a sense of historical weight.

But whether it was an illusion or something else, Feng Xiuhu vaguely sensed something unusual—like the lingering aftertaste of a rhythmic movement.

It was so subtle that Feng Xiuhu couldn't tell if it was real or fake.

The people inside the temple were scattered, each busy with their own things. Although their behaviors differed, they were all focused on the same goal.

Liu Weisen moved closer to Feng Xiuhu, almost touching his back.

Feng Xiuhu pushed him away impatiently: "Are you taking advantage of me?"

Liu Weisen secretly pointed to the side and said nervously, "Those two bandits just looked at me, and I felt they had ill intentions."

Feng Xiuhu frowned and lectured him: "Why are you looking at people with prejudice? We share the same world and the same dream. No one should look down on anyone else. Go and shake hands with them."

Liu Weisen didn't dare, so he pulled Feng Xiuhu and walked in another direction.

As he walked, Feng Xiuhu observed the surroundings.

Someone was respectfully offering incense to Empress Yun's memorial tablet in the main hall, their posture devout, but their eyes kept glancing around, trying to find some clues from the tablet and the offering table.

Some people completely disregarded the fact that this was the Empress's Shrine, holding up a map and carefully comparing it inch by inch with the inscriptions, couplets, and even the mottled patterns on the walls inside the hall.

Even more extreme, some people may appear to be strolling casually in the courtyard, but their eyes are as sharp as a hawk's, not missing any suspicious detail, and they will even use their feet to probe the cracks in the ground.

Aside from these treasure hunters with eyes as sharp as hounds, the guardians of the Queen's Shrine themselves appeared deeply worried.

The elderly shrine maiden was dressed in faded blue mourning robes and a square headscarf, trying her best to maintain the dignity of the host family.

He did not stay in the usually quiet back hall, but stood personally under the corridor on one side of the main hall, his hands clasped in front of him, his fingertips turning slightly white from the force.

He straightened his back, trying to maintain the dignity of the head of the shrine, but his slightly hunched shoulders and the way his eyes kept scanning the room betrayed his inner worry and helplessness.

Whenever he saw someone touch the inscriptions with their hands or strike the utensils in the shrine with a hard object to find hollow sounds, the shrine master would frown tightly and move his lips, as if he wanted to speak up to stop them. However, because he was concerned about the background and status of these people, he could only let out a barely audible sigh and forcefully suppress his anxiety.

He was like an old man guarding a family heirloom, watching helplessly as strangers broke into the treasure trove and rummaged through it, powerless to stop them, and could only pray that they wouldn't cause too much damage.

Where is Empress Yun buried?

The sudden sound startled the old man.

I quickly turned around and saw a young man in a Western-style dress with a cane standing beside me.

Ci Zheng pursed his lips, unwilling to answer the question.

Feng Xiuhu understood his little mood, so he didn't care. He said, "These people won't give up until they find something today. The reason they are still willing to follow the rules is because the Great Xuan Army is guarding outside, and because you haven't rung the bell yet."

"If they still can't find any clues after the bell tolls, I'm afraid even the Great Xuan Army won't be able to suppress them."

"So if you really know something, you might as well say it sooner rather than later, so as to save the Queen's Shrine from being thrown into chaos."

(End of this chapter)