Siheyuan: tomb robbing? I am serious about hunting.

Chapter 917 Chase

Night market changes the summer night in Chang'an. The heat of the summer heat has not reduced the prosperity of Zhuque Street. On both sides of the street, lanterns of various colors are dotted like stars, red, yellow, and purple, illuminating the whole street like daylight. The silk and satin in the silk shop are shining under the lights, the celadon white glaze on the porcelain stalls is radiant, and the aroma of barbecue wafts from the restaurants, interweaving with the hawking of the vendors, forming a lively and extraordinary market picture. Su Yan is wearing a dark blue gown, the corners of his clothes swaying gently with his steps, and the copper plate with the words "Dali Temple" on his waist is looming in the light of the lantern. As a new constable of the Dali Temple, he has just successfully handled a theft case and is now preparing to return to the yamen to report. His steps are brisk, and a smile unconsciously rises at the corners of his mouth. He can't help but feel a little proud of his ability to solve the case quickly. However, this relief did not last long. At the end of the night market, there was a sudden commotion. "Someone's dead! Someone's dead!" A sharp cry for help was like a sharp blade, instantly piercing the noisy atmosphere. The originally bustling crowd was stunned at first, and then rushed towards the source of the sound like a tide. Su Yan's heart suddenly tightened, and his face instantly became solemn. He did not hesitate to speed up his pace. With the agile skills trained in the Dali Temple, he quickly pushed through the layers of people and squeezed towards the scene. When Su Yan finally squeezed into the center of the crowd, the scene in front of him made his pupils shrink suddenly. A corpse fell quietly on the ground. The deceased was a young woman, wearing a gorgeous skirt with exquisite flower and bird patterns embroidered on the fabric. It was obvious that she was from an extraordinary family. But at this moment, her face was distorted beyond recognition, her eyes were wide open, her eyeballs were almost bulging out of her eye sockets, and her mouth was wide open, as if she had shouted desperately before dying. That expression was full of fear, as if she had seen the most terrifying thing in the world. What was even more bizarre was that there was a circle of black marks around her neck, as if she had been strangled by some kind of rope, but it also emitted a strange purple-green light, which was looming in the night, revealing an indescribable gloom. Su Yan squatted down, took out a white handkerchief from his arms, and carefully approached the body to observe carefully. He found that the woman had no other external injuries, her clothes were neat, and her valuables such as sachets and jade pendants were not lost. Obviously, this was not a case of murder for money. "Everyone step back!" Su Yan stood up suddenly, showing the Dali Temple bronze plaque on his waist, and shouted loudly. The crowd suddenly quieted down, and they all stepped back to make room for him. Su Yan squatted down again, his eyes were like torches, and he carefully searched every detail on the body. He noticed that there seemed to be some black powder left in the woman's fingernails, but before he could take a closer look, a breeze blew by, and the powder dissipated in the air like smoke. At this moment, Su Yan inadvertently looked up and found a black shadow flashing under the eaves not far away. The black shadow was extremely fast, and it would be almost impossible to detect it if it were not for his keen observation skills developed from his years of career as a detective. "Chase!" Su Yan shouted and chased in the direction where the black shadow disappeared without hesitation. The black shadow shuttled through the intricate streets and alleys of Chang'an like a nimble ghost. Su Yan chased after it, his footsteps moving quickly on the bluestone road, bringing up bursts of dust. Under the moonlight, the outline of the black shadow flickered, sometimes turning into a human form, and sometimes seeming to turn into a cloud of mist. This strange change made Su Yan feel a chill on his back, and a chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. But he did not stop, and there was only one thought in his mind: no matter what was in front of him, he must catch this mysterious black shadow and uncover the truth of this bizarre murder. Turning one street corner after another, the speed of the black shadow did not slow down at all, but Su Yan felt that his physical strength was gradually depleting. But he gritted his teeth and pursued with tenacious perseverance. Finally, when he turned a corner again, the shadow suddenly disappeared. A dilapidated temple appeared in front of him. The temple door was mottled and the vermilion paint on it had already fallen off. The three big characters "Wu Chang Temple" on the plaque were vaguely discernible, exuding a gloomy atmosphere in the night. Su Yan held the sword at his waist tightly, took a deep breath, and stepped into the temple carefully. The temple was silent, with only a few dim oil lamps swaying in the wind, the flames flickering, illuminating the surrounding walls. The murals on the wall had long been blurred, but it could still be seen that the images of ghosts and gods in the underworld, such as the Ox-Headed Horse-Faced, Black and White Impermanence, were painted. Under the dim light, these murals seemed to come alive, which made people shudder. Su Yan held his breath and looked around vigilantly, stepping very lightly, for fear of alarming the danger hidden in the dark. However, he searched every corner of the temple and found no trace of the shadow. Just when he was about to give up, his eyes were suddenly attracted by something under the altar. He bent down and reached out to take out the thing. It was a yellowed paper talisman with strange spells drawn on it. The spells were twisted and entangled, like some mysterious words, and like wriggling worms. The paper talisman also exuded a faint fishy smell, which was like blood but not blood, like rot but not rot, making people want to vomit. At this moment, a gloomy laugh suddenly came from behind him. The laugh was sharp and piercing, as if it came from the Nine Nether Hell. Su Yan was startled and turned around suddenly, with the sword in his hand already unsheathed. But there was no one in front of him. He only saw a gust of cold wind passing by, blowing his hair flying, and the flame of the oil lamp went out. The temple fell into darkness in an instant, and Su Yan felt his heartbeat accelerate and a chill spread throughout his body. He knew that he had been involved in an extremely strange and dangerous case, and this might just be the beginning... The old man's footsteps suddenly stopped in front of a dilapidated house. The doors and windows of the house had long been dilapidated, and the walls were covered with moss and cracks, like a hideous ghost face in the night. The old man raised his hand and knocked on the door three times with his skinny fingers. The sound was hollow and dull, as if knocking on the door of hell. The door opened slowly with a "creaky" sound, and a strong smell of blood came to his face. Su Yan almost vomited on the spot. He endured the discomfort and watched the old man flash into the house. The door was then heavily closed with a heart-pounding loud noise. Su Yan waited for a moment, and when the noise in the house subsided a little, he strode forward. His heartbeat was like a drum, but he tried to keep his voice calm: "Dali Temple is handling the case, open the door!" The house suddenly fell into a dead silence, without any response, as if everything just now was just an illusion. Su Yan's heart was filled with alarm. He knew the situation was not good, so he suddenly raised his foot and kicked the door hard.