Near midnight, three figures slowly walked into an alley near the Hunshui River in the southern city of Bianliang.
Several black shadows crawled out from the broken brick wall next to them, and asked with a sneer: "Who is coming? The Bell Hall is a powerful place, and those who trespass will die!"
A man snorted coldly: "How dare you kill someone in the street like this? This is Bianliang, not some den of thieves!"
A hoarse laugh sounded... and then a stooped man came out holding a paper lantern... "Hehehehe... Isn't this the old hero Zhou from the Imperial Boxing Hall of the Capital? We don't mess with the river.
Why are you here, old hero?"
An old man among the three people stepped forward... It was Zhou Tong. Zhou Tong chuckled and said: "The bell will... You have caused a stir in Beicheng. Even if I want to pretend to turn a blind eye and not hear it, it won't work.
! Since you didn’t come to chat with me after entering Beicheng, I will come to meet your mysterious gang leader to see if we can have a smoother conversation... This will also save you any misunderstandings in the future!"
The rickety man grinned: "It's rare, it's rare! But I was rude and asked the old hero to come to the door by himself, and the old hero... was invited inside!"
A martial arts master from the boxing gym said angrily: "What a big arrogance, why don't you inform your gang leader to go out to greet me? Do you still know some etiquette?"
The rickety man shook his head: "Our gang leader has limited mobility, so even if the officials of the Song Dynasty come, he won't be able to welcome him... Please forgive me, old hero!"
Zhou Tong waved his hand: "Guests do as they please...please lead the way!"
"Hey hey hey... please come inside!"
Behind the dilapidated brick walls on both sides, black and grotesque heads suddenly popped out, with teeth bared and grinning, and each one looked like a poor and grotesque figure! There were also lepers, some with crooked eyes and mouth, green faces and fangs, and some with pus and blood.
...a few tattered white paper lanterns look like all kinds of evil spirits in the underworld!
Zhou Tong turned a blind eye with his hands behind his back, while Shi Shiran walked leisurely behind the rickety man. The two martial arts masters from the Royal Boxing Hall secretly held their weapons and were on guard as if facing a formidable enemy.
After walking a few dozen feet, the dilapidated alley became darker and darker. The man turned around and smiled, revealing his tattered yellow teeth... "Hehehehe, you are worthy of being a hero of Zhou! Even after entering this ghostly underworld, his expression remained unchanged!"
Zhou Tong curled his lips and said, "You act openly and aboveboard, why should you be afraid of evil spirits!"
Entering a small courtyard, the ground was overgrown with weeds. A few lights flickered like will-o'-the-wisps in the surrounding dilapidated houses...
"As you know, old hero, this place was originally densely populated and considered one of the wealthier places in Nancheng! But when the government office was established in the west city, the people who had some good land outside the city became impoverished overnight...hehehehe...thanks
Our good official family has raised a group of good officials! These people's families are broken up, their wives and children are scattered, and they live on the streets... They can't even pay their taxes, so they have no choice but to leave their hometowns and become refugees. They should all die, right? Hehehehe
…”
Zhou Tong snorted and was noncommittal.
With a bang, the door of the dilapidated hall opened! A statue of a god with a gray head and a ferocious appearance stood on the ground, and there was an incense case in front of it. On the case, in addition to incense candles, there were also three bloody animal sacrifices!
The statue is naked and wrapped in chains, holding a ghost in one hand and holding a bell in the other! The expression seems to be smiling but not smiling, crying but not crying. The sight of it makes people feel irritated and fearful...
The rickety man said coldly: "Please take off your weapons and worship our bell god first! Then go in and meet our gang leader for a while..."
The two martial arts masters from the Royal Boxing Hall had ugly expressions, frowning and saying nothing. Zhou Tong smiled and cupped his hands at the statue... "I don't want to say anything about the strange power that confuses the gods, or stay away from it... There is no need to go in to worship, your gang leader
Where exactly is it?"
The rickety man sneered: "I wonder if the old hero dares to come with me?"
Several torches suddenly lit up in the main room, revealing a dark hole behind the statue... as eerie and terrifying as the giant mouth of a monster.
A martial artist scolded: "Is your gang leader a rat? What's the point of pretending to be a ghost? Who can dig holes and live underground?"
The rickety man glanced at the martial artist coldly, turned around and entered the main room, stood next to the cave and sneered: "If you dare, follow me in to see the gang leader. If you don't dare... don't brag about such bullshit heroes again.
hero!"
After saying that, the man actually jumped in, and a burst of eerie laughter echoed endlessly in the cave...
The two martial arts masters looked troubled, while Zhou Tong stroked his beard, smiled and walked over... "Sanlang, Liu Wen... you two will stay here, don't act rashly if nothing happens!"
The two martial arts masters were surprised and said: "Master, no, we can't believe them because the future is unpredictable..."
"Hehehe, when I, Zhou Tong, traveled around the world, I saw a lot of these things... It doesn't matter!"
After saying that, Zhou Tong actually jumped into the cave.
The cave was actually not deep, and Zhou Tong could clearly hear the sound of the rickety man landing. There was an open space underneath, and a corridor in front went straight forward. The rickety man was standing under a torch and looking at Zhou Tong with a smile.
"The old hero is so brave, come with me!"
The two of them walked seven or eight feet away, when an arch-like masonry structure suddenly appeared underground!
Zhou Tong frowned... "This is actually an ancient tomb? I didn't expect you to do this kind of digging tombs?"
"Hehehehe... It makes the old hero laugh, we are all beggars and homeless people who are neither humans nor ghosts... no matter what the grave is! Just exchange money for food in exchange for a miserable life! Hehehe
…”
Zhou Tong looked at the arched door of this ancient tomb and sighed... "I didn't expect that there is such an ancient tomb in the southern city of Bianliang. It seems that he was also a nobleman in ancient times... It's a sin to disturb the purity..."
The rickety man smiled as he walked: "It looks like he was buried by some kind of Bird Lord from the former Tang Dynasty... He even threw the bones away to feed the dogs and didn't even eat them! The rest, including the coffin boards, were asked to be taken out in exchange for food.
...Princes, generals, ministers, talented men and beauties, when they die, they are nothing more than a pile of stinky meat and dirt! It is no pity..."
Zhou Tong snorted noncommittally and walked dozens of steps. The lights were dim and uncertain. Two ghost-like guards in black robes stood on both sides of the main tomb chamber. They held big axes and shouted in a deep voice: "Everyone knows his name. Take off your weapons."
!”
Zhou Tong put his hands on his back and used his internal strength to shout: "People from the northwest, Zhou Tong of the Imperial Boxing Hall of the Capital is here!"
The huge sound instantly enveloped the spacious tomb passage and tomb chamber, shaking the soil between the bricks and stones. Although the two guards were good at martial arts, they were suddenly shocked by the sound wave that contained internal force, and their blood surged and they were dizzy.
…
The rickety man's face was as pale as a death, and he was holding on to the wall of the tomb passage to steady himself.
"Old hero Zhou, why bother?"
Zhou Tong glanced at him... "Stop pretending and talking nonsense! Lead the way! Today I want to see who the leader of the Ling'er Club who has been hiding underground in Bianliang for more than ten years is..."
The huge tomb was filled with an indescribable weird odor. Zhou Tongrao was a veteran in the world... he had long been able to distinguish various incense and poisons used in intoxicants, but he had never smelled it.
This taste.
The rickety man bent down and walked to a lotus stone platform where the coffin was originally placed. He raised the lantern in his hand and held an oil wick in his other hand to draw out the light and ignite the tall torch poles on both sides!
The firelight illuminated the entire tomb, reflecting everything clearly...
Even though Zhou Tong has been traveling around the world for many years, from being a teacher in the imperial army to being the master of the imperial boxing gym, he has seen many strange people and strange things in the world of martial arts...but the scene in front of him still made him take a breath and take three steps back.
!
"Is this...is...is this a human being? What kind of person is this? Is this a human being or a ghost?"