One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

The day after leaving the company headquarters, Nie Lingfeng took Chen Duo to a budget hotel in Beijing. The hotel was located within the Second Ring Road; the room wasn't large, but it was very clean. Opening the window revealed the old alleyway's tiled roofs and pomegranate trees peeking out from the courtyards. Chen Duo was very curious about everything in Beijing, spending a long time peering out the window and even counting the bicycles passing by in the alley. She was only dragged back inside by Nie Lingfeng to eat when she reached the seventy-third bicycle.

"Stop looking, let's eat first. I'll take you to Houhai tonight." Nie Lingfeng laid out the takeout box, which contained fried noodles with soybean paste, fried liver, braised pork, and two skewers of candied hawthorn, all bought from a nearby old shop.

Chen Duo obediently sat down, picked up her chopsticks, and tried to mix the noodles with soybean paste like Nie Lingfeng, but her technique was clumsy, and the noodles were flying everywhere. Nie Lingfeng couldn't bear to watch, so he took her bowl, mixed it for her, and then put a piece of baked flatbread from the braised pork on her plate.

"Try this, it's a Beijing specialty."

Chen Duo took a small bite, her eyes lighting up: "Delicious!"

"Then eat more." Nie Lingfeng smiled and ruffled her hair.

As they were eating, the black cell phone on the table suddenly vibrated. Nie Lingfeng picked it up and saw a message from "Eagle" on the screen, containing only one line:

"The task library has been updated, please check."

Nie Lingfeng opened the "Dawn" app and entered the task list. Sure enough, there was originally only one task, "Eliminate the Lurkers," but now there were seven or eight more below it, all with the status "Pending Claim." The task levels ranged from D to B, and the locations were all in Beijing and the surrounding areas.

He casually clicked on the B-level mission at the top.

Task Name: Night View of the Forbidden City

Mission Level: B

Task Description: Over the past month, Palace Museum night patrol personnel have repeatedly reported sightings of unidentified figures in the area of ​​the three main halls. These figures move with ghostly speed and cannot be captured by surveillance cameras. Preliminary investigation reveals faint residual "Qi" fluctuations at the scene, suggesting possible unauthorized activity. Please investigate the situation. If it is determined to be malicious intrusion, take appropriate action.

Task time limit: seven days

Task Reward: 200 points, 50 funds

Note: The Palace Museum is a national key cultural relics protection unit. Please be mindful of your actions and avoid damaging the cultural relics.

Nie Lingfeng raised an eyebrow. The Forbidden City at Night? It sounded like an urban legend, but since the company classified it as a B-level mission, it meant there was definitely something wrong with it.

He then opened another C-level mission.

Mission Name: Unusual Activity at the Ming Tombs

Task Level: C

Task Description: At the Ming Tombs Scenic Area in Changping District, tourists have recently reported hearing eerie sounds near the Dingling and Changling tombs, resembling weeping or whispering. Local branch investigation revealed a disordered "Qi" field and a heavy Yin energy in the area, suggesting possible malevolent spirits. Please investigate and reassure the area to prevent the situation from escalating.

Task time limit: five days

Task Reward: 100 points, 20 funds

Note: The Ming Tombs are the imperial mausoleums of the Ming Dynasty. There may be tomb keepers or related inheritors. Please maintain respect during the investigation.

Nie Lingfeng scrolled down further and found a series of bizarre events, such as "The Bell Tolls at the Ancient Temple in Xishan", "The Corpse Floating in the Tongzhou Canal", and "The Disappearance of the Fangshan Cave Exploration Team". These events took place in various districts and counties of Beijing and lasted for anywhere from a few days to a month.

"This capital city... is really bustling," Nie Lingfeng muttered, feeling a bit of a headache.

He had originally planned to go find Zhang Chulan and Feng Baobao after accepting the "Eliminate the Lurkers" mission to see how things were going on their end. But now it seemed that Chairman Zhao was using him as cheap labor, dumping seven or eight missions on him at once, clearly to let him "familiarize himself with the business" and deal with the backlog of "dirty and tiring work" on the side.

"Forget it, let's deal with a few easy ones first, and accumulate some points and funds." Nie Lingfeng sighed and replied to "Eagle" with a message: "Accepted. The Forbidden City Night Shadow and the Thirteen Tombs have unusual activity. We'll deal with the others later."

"Received. Mission data has been sent. Please check your inbox." Eagle replied quickly.

A few seconds later, Nie Lingfeng received two encrypted files on his phone. Inside were more detailed mission information, including a floor plan of the Forbidden City, patrol shifts, blind spots in surveillance, a topographical map of the Ming Tombs, historical data, related legends, and even a few blurry surveillance screenshots and on-site photos.

"Okay, let's go to the Forbidden City tonight." Nie Lingfeng put away his phone and looked at Chen Duo. "I'll take you to the Forbidden City to see ghosts tonight, wanna come?"

Chen Duo was taking small bites of candied hawthorn when she heard this. She looked up, a hint of curiosity flashing in her emerald eyes: "The Forbidden City...is it haunted?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Nie Lingfeng laughed. "But it'll definitely be more interesting than going during the day. The Forbidden City is closed at night, so it's quiet and deserted, and you can even climb on the roofs and remove the tiles."

Chen Duo tilted her head, seemingly imagining what "climbing onto the roof and removing the tiles" would look like, then nodded: "Go."

"Okay, let's eat first, then take a nap, and set off in the middle of the night."

At 11 p.m., Nie Lingfeng woke Chen Duo up. Chen Duo was still half asleep when Nie Lingfeng dressed her in a black tracksuit, tied her hair in a high ponytail, and stuffed a hot jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) into her hand.

"Eat on the way to replenish your energy."

Chen Duo held a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe), taking small bites, her eyes half-closed, like a cat that hadn't woken up yet. Nie Lingfeng found it amusing, pulled her out of the hotel, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the Forbidden City.

At this hour, the Forbidden City would have long since closed. The surroundings were pitch black, with only a few streetlights casting a lonely glow on the vermilion palace walls, making them appear somewhat eerie. The Meridian Gate was tightly shut, and the square in front of it was deserted; a night breeze carried a hint of early autumn chill.

Nie Lingfeng led Chen Duo around to the vicinity of Donghua Gate. There was a section of the palace wall that was relatively low there, and there was a blind spot in the surveillance footage—this was marked in the mission data. He looked around to make sure no one was there, then picked up Chen Duo, and with a light touch of his toes, his body, like a roc spreading its wings, gracefully leaped over the three-meter-high palace wall and landed inside the palace.

It landed silently.

Chen Duo, still clutching half a jianbing (Chinese crepe), blinked, glanced at the palace wall behind her, then at Nie Lingfeng, and whispered, "Did we...fly in?"

"I guess so." Nie Lingfeng put her down, dusted off his hands, and said, "Let's go, let's go check out the three main halls first."

The two walked along the palace path. The Forbidden City at night was completely different from the daytime; there was no hustle and bustle of tourists, no guides' explanations, only boundless silence and long, distorted shadows of the palaces cast by the moonlight. The bluestone path stretched out beneath their feet, flanked by imposing palaces. The flying eaves and brackets resembled the spines of monsters in the night, and behind each tightly closed palace door seemed to lie secrets spanning thousands of years.

Chen Duo was a little nervous and instinctively grabbed Nie Lingfeng's sleeve. Nie Lingfeng held her hand and whispered, "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

"Mmm." Chen Duo nodded and squeezed his hand.

The two passed through the Gate of Supreme Harmony and arrived at the square in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. This is the heart of the Forbidden City, where the three main halls—the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony—stand in a row under the moonlight, majestic and solemn, exuding an imposing aura. But at this moment, there was an indescribable eeriness permeating this solemnity.

On the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, there seems to be... a figure?

Nie Lingfeng squinted and looked closely. Sure enough, at the highest point of the double-eaved hip roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, a white figure stood quietly, facing south, motionless. The night wind blew his robes, making them flutter like a banner summoning a soul.

"Did you see that?" Nie Lingfeng asked in a low voice.

Chen Duo nodded, a golden glint flashing in her emerald eyes—a keen perception of evil spirits inherited from the Queen Mother of the West.

"Not a person," she whispered, "but... a soul."

"Souls?" Nie Lingfeng frowned. "The wandering ghosts and spirits in the Forbidden City?"

"It doesn't seem like it." Chen Duo shook her head. "It has 'qi' on it, very weak but very pure, without resentment or malice. It seems... it's just looking at the scenery."

Nie Lingfeng thought for a moment, then took out a talisman from his Qiankun bag—it was given to him by Daoist Rongshan before he left the mountain, who said it was "better than nothing to ward off evil and bring good fortune." He folded the talisman into a paper crane, infused it with a trace of internal energy, and the paper crane fluttered up and flew towards the roof of the Taihe Hall.

The paper crane flew halfway when the figure seemed to notice something and slowly turned its head.

Under the moonlight, Nie Lingfeng could see his face clearly.

He was a young man in his early twenties, with delicate features, but his face was unnaturally pale, and his eyes were vacant and devoid of any spirit. He was dressed in a white... opera costume? It seemed to be the attire of a young male lead in Peking Opera, with flowing water sleeves that had an eerie beauty under the moonlight.

The paper crane flew close, and the figure raised his hand and gently tapped it.

"puff."

The paper crane transformed into a ball of flame and burned to ashes in an instant.

Nie Lingfeng's pupils contracted. Such refined fire control technique! And judging from the method, it didn't seem to be the style of a modern superhuman, but rather... an ancient inheritance.

"Friend, why aren't you sleeping at night? Why are you up on the roof getting some fresh air?" Nie Lingfeng asked, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

The figure didn't answer, but just stared at him quietly for a few seconds, then... turned around and drifted away.

Yes, he floated. His feet didn't touch the ground; like a falling leaf, he rose and fell a few times on the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony before disappearing into the shadows of the surrounding buildings at an astonishing speed.

"Chase!" Nie Lingfeng grabbed Chen Duo and chased after them with lightning speed.

The two of them traversed the rooftops of the Forbidden City with ease. Nie Lingfeng's Wind God Leg technique was already adept at light-footed skills, and Chen Duo's movements had also improved considerably after receiving the inheritance from the Queen Mother of the West. Although she was still not very proficient, keeping up with Nie Lingfeng's speed was not a problem.

After chasing for about five minutes, the figure stopped beside the artificial hill in the Imperial Garden. He turned around, looked at Nie Lingfeng and Chen Duo who had caught up, his face still expressionless, but slowly raised his hand and gestured "please" to the two of them.

Then, he swayed and disappeared into the depths of the artificial hill.