At noon, Hongjun arrived at the restaurant where he had arranged to meet the other three. It was a big restaurant called "Carp Leaping Over The Dragon Gate". Hong Jun's mood had not yet calmed down as he said, "Today … something big happened!"
Qiu Yongsi, Mo Rigen, and Atay had just sat down and were all confused. They hurriedly said, "Come, come, tell us quickly. The Chief Inspector is not here yet?"
"He took the cat back." Hongjun said, "He told us to eat first. He will explain in detail when he comes later."
"He really found it?" Mo Rigen was surprised.
The three of them looked at each other and hurriedly asked. Hongjun could only tell Li Jinglong to first go back to the Exorcism Department to take care of the cat. Because of the discovery of the corpse, he had to go to the Supreme Court to ask if anyone had gone missing. This was a case within a case, and it was of great importance.
"Let's eat. I'm starving."
The waiter announced the dishes, but no one knew what they were. Atay had never tasted Chang 'an delicacies on his way here. Mo Rigen was born in the grasslands and had never eaten the high-end banquets of the Tang Dynasty, and Hongjun had never eaten them before.
Qiu Yongsi said modestly, "You guys can order. I'll eat with you."
Everyone was confused when they heard the names of the dishes. In the end, the carp demon got impatient and ordered the dishes. He opened and closed his mouth behind Hong Jun's back and said, "Six bowls of Black Pheasant Chicken Soup, a plate of stir-fry, scallion vinegar chicken, frosted orange okra, and five vegetable rolls. The main dish is six bowls of royal yellow rice, a plate of sweet snow, and a catty of Mount Li roasted spring. Don't use carp if there's fish. "
"Who?!" The waiter's face turned pale. "Who's talking?!"
"Ventriloquism!" Hongjun said immediately.
"Four people eating six portions?" The waiter kept glancing at the empty seat beside Atay, his hair standing on end.
"There's one more person who hasn't arrived." Hongjun said, "He doesn't need to come over after the dishes are served."
"Carp has a lot of bones, who would eat it?" The waiter muttered to himself.
"What did you say?!" The Carp Demon glared at Hongjun from behind, feeling insulted.
Xiao Er: "???"
"It's nothing. Go ahead." Hongjun hurriedly sent the waiter away.
The waiter went to serve the dishes with lingering fear. In a short while, the table was filled with exquisite dishes. Hongjun realized that what they had eaten on the road a few days ago could not be considered a meal. The Black Pheasant Chicken Soup was served in a porcelain bowl made of imitation bamboo. The Xun Kuai stir-fried fish and mutton, and the Scallion and Vinegar Chicken was steamed. The chicken was white and yellow, and its fragrance assailed the nostrils. The Imperial Yellow Queen Mother's rice was half-cooked egg-covered rice. The four people and one fish immediately began to sweep away everything.
"Zhao Zilong used to stay in a Chang 'an restaurant before," Hongjun said as he ate. "Fortunately, it has heard a lot."
"Oh?" Mo Rigen smiled and said, "You want to be a chef? I can't tell. "
"As an ingredient," the Carp Demon answered.
Everyone: "…"
Hongjun said again, "It was first sold to the market, then bought by a food store and raised in a water tank. Later, a kind-hearted monk bought it and set it free. That's how it got to where it is today. "
The Carp Demon was full. It buried its head in the cup, drank a few mouthfuls of wine, staggered a few steps on the table, and finally fell down drunk with a "bang".
"Come." Atay said, "Today, it's my treat. Let's toast to our friendship and the absent Chief Shi."
The four people raised their cups. This was their first official gathering since they entered the Exorcism Division. Usually, Hongjun was not present, and the other three often slacked off, so they were familiar with each other. They immediately asked about Li Jinglong. Hongjun answered roughly, but recently, he rarely participated in the activities of Mo Rigen and the others. Now, he was very curious about his companions.
"My father asked me to come to Chang 'an." Hongjun thought about it. There were many things that he was specifically told not to say before they set off. Zhao Zilong was also drunk and didn't know what to say. He was afraid that if he said too much, he would make a mistake. He said, "He asked me to expel all the demons in Chang 'an … Yes."
Atay laughed and said, "How can there be demons in Chang 'an?"
Mo Rigen also laughed and said, "But if there are no demons, what are we doing here?"
Hongjun said, "But Chief Shi also said that there are demons in Chang 'an, but they don't come out often."
Hongjun had never drunk before. Today was his first time drinking, so he only drank it like water. Mo Rigen and Atay thought that Hongjun had a good tolerance for alcohol, so they let him drink. Hongjun drank half a catty of Lishan Braised Spring. At this moment, his brain was in a daze and he couldn't take it anymore. He fell to the side and fell asleep.
Not long after Hongjun fell drunk, Li Jinglong came. When he saw Hongjun, he was immediately angry.
"It's work time, and you're drinking here?" Li Jinglong said, "And you got him drunk, this …"
Atay hurriedly said, "Chief Shi, come, come, sit down! It's my treat today! "
Li Jinglong frowned and sat down. There was a table full of leftovers. Li Jinglong didn't mind and started eating with the cold dishes. The remaining three people hurriedly asked what happened. Li Jinglong explained, and everyone fell silent. Those who were drinking tea, drinking wine, and eating desserts all stopped what they were doing and looked at Li Jinglong in unison.
"You found a dead person under the bed?" Mo Rigen asked.
Li Jinglong snorted and said, "You're finally interested? I went to the Supreme Court just now, and no one reported a missing person recently. "
"That's not right." Atay frowned and said, "Hiding a corpse under the bed, what do you mean?"
Li Jinglong answered lightly, "I don't know if it's something under my jurisdiction, so I was just about to discuss it with you …"
"It must be a demon!" Mo Rigen said immediately.
"The demon won't run away." Qiu Yongsi laughed, his smile carrying a deep meaning.
"Why? Tell me. "Li Jinglong ate absent-mindedly and asked with his brows knitted.
Atay looked at Li Jinglong and said after a while, "Let the two brothers speak."
"No, no, no, you first …"
"You first, you first …"
The three people started to push each other again. Li Jinglong shouted, "Enough!"
After a while, Mo Rigen said, "Hiding a corpse under the bed will cause it to rot in a few days, and the stench will attract people's attention. If a dead person was specially air-dried and then hidden under the bed, it wouldn't make sense. It would be less troublesome to just bury it directly. "
"So Jin Yun hid the corpse because she wanted to use witchcraft?" Li Jinglong frowned and said.
Everyone looked at Li Jinglong strangely. They wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. Li Jinglong was confused and said, "Did I say something wrong?"
Qiu Yongsi said, "Uh … this, Chief, I believe that the person was turned into a dried corpse on the spot."
Li Jinglong instantly understood and muttered, "I see."
"His blood was sucked dry by a demon." Mo Rigen answered, "He didn't know what to do at the last moment and was randomly stuffed under the bed. This is the most likely scenario."
Li Jinglong muttered to himself for a while. Atay looked at the other two and said, "Going on a trip tonight? I always felt that something was wrong in Pingkang. Sure enough, the fox's tail was exposed. "
Qiu Yongsi immediately used a look to stop Atay, telling him not to talk nonsense.
Li Jinglong then realized that Atay and Qiu Yongsi went to the brothel the night before to investigate a demon.
"There's a demon in Pingkang?" Li Jinglong asked.
"It's practically filled with demon aura." Qiu Yongsi laughed and said, "The places with the heaviest demon aura are Pingkang, Daming Palace, and Xingqing Palace."
Li Jinglong was immediately speechless for a long time.
Li Jinglong had previously thought for a long time. Should he inform the Shenwu Army and the Long Wu Army to surround the Leaning Column and search for the corpse, or should he secretly capture the demon first? In view of his own bad luck, if he captured the one called Jin Yun, no one would believe him and he would instead cause a lot of trouble for himself. He didn't think that his subordinates would each know better than the other.
"Then tonight is the perfect time to see what you're capable of." Li Jinglong said.
"With Brother Hongjun taking action, capturing a few small demons shouldn't be a problem." Mo Rigen laughed and said, "We'll just be his assistants."
In the afternoon, thunder boomed and it started to drizzle in Chang 'an. Li Jinglong quickly took the lead while Mo Rigen carried the unconscious Hongjun on his back and braved the rain to rush back to the Exorcism Division. Atay and Qiu Yongsi quickly followed behind. The young girls in Chang 'an who were taking shelter from the rain along the street saw the three of them and called out to their female companions to quickly look.
Li Jinglong was tall and handsome, Mo Rigen was slender and handsome, Atay was as beautiful as a pearl, Qiu Yongsi was elegant, and Mo Rigen carried Hongjun on his back. His face was like a flawless white jade. Hongjun also carried a salted fish … no, a carp on his back.
The young girls quickly followed and chased after the three of them. Mo Rigen turned around and Atay said, "Sigh, it's so troublesome. Why are there so many people chasing after us … Everyone, let's go."
In the afternoon, everyone was listening to the rain in the main hall. The cat in front of the porch was tied to a post by Li Jinglong with a rope. It meowed a few times and tried to pull its head out, trying to get out of the rope. Something big happened today, so Li Jinglong planned to send the cat back the next day.
The Carp Demon didn't move at all and lay in the courtyard in the rain.
Hongjun was lying on the table in the hall. Li Jinglong flipped through all of Di Renjie's case files. The other three seemed to have a tacit understanding as they each went to investigate the demons in Pingkang.
However, according to Di Renjie's records, even if there were demons back then, most of them were in chaos in Luoyang. After the Emperor moved to Chang 'an, there were very few local records.
"What kind of demons can absorb people's blood to cultivate?" Li Jinglong asked.
"Many of them." Mo Rigen looked down at the file and said casually, "Fox, snake, flower, painting …"
Atay said, "Don't be so sure. What if this corpse is Jin Yun's lover?"
Everyone was furious. Qiu Yongsi said, "That can't be! Atay, you have such a fetish?! "
"I'd rather it be a demon." Atay laughed.
Li Jinglong suddenly said, "Everyone, did you report to the Exorcism Division together?"
"We arrived around the same time." Atay laughed.
"Why do I feel like you've known each other for a long time?" Li Jinglong said.
Everyone was silent again. After a while, Li Jinglong seemed to be indifferent, but he was actually observing the three's reactions. He said, "I still have to ask for your guidance. Tonight, I'll leave it to you."
The three nodded. Li Jinglong looked at Hongjun. Hongjun was still drunk. Mo Rigen shook him and said, "Hongjun?"
Everyone was afraid that Hongjun would be drunk until night fell. Just as they were thinking of ways to wake him up, the Carp Demon outside woke up first. It stood up drunkenly and swayed a few times, saying, "You're back? Hmm … "
The Carp Demon swayed and walked to the corridor. When the cat saw the Carp Demon, it was immediately interested. It pulled its head out of the rope and rushed towards the Carp Demon. The Carp Demon was stunned. It looked at the Chauvinist and was frightened after a few breaths. It screamed, "Help! The cat ran away! "
This scare was no small matter. Even Hongjun woke up. Everyone saw that the cat that they had painstakingly caught was about to run away and hurriedly chased after it. Li Jinglong shouted angrily, "Come into the hall!"
Previously, Li Jinglong was afraid that the cat would be tied up and did not dare to tie it too tightly. He did not expect that it would escape. The carp demon immediately rushed in, and the cat also chased in. Hongjun shouted, "Quickly close the door!"
Everyone quickly closed the door. The Carp Demon was so scared that it wanted to pee and hide. Hongjun told it to stand still. However, the fear of its natural enemy had already defeated Hongjun's order. The Carp Demon panicked and did not know where to go. It first jumped onto the table, then jumped onto the offering table. With a leap, it displayed its extraordinary potential at the moment of life and death. "Xiu!" It flew like an arrow to the top of the cabinet.
Immediately after, Atay and Mo Rigen pounced towards the middle. The Chauvinist was extremely agile and chased after the Carp Demon to the top of the cabinet.
Li Jinglong suddenly realized a serious problem. He stepped on the wall and was about to pounce to save it.
— — It was too late.
The Carp Demon shouted, "Oh my god!" Then it bounced down and flew into Li Jinglong's arms. Immediately after, the Chauvinist turned around and directly swept down the box full of Soul Leaving Pollen.
Under everyone's gaze, the box of Soul Leaving Pollen drew an arc from the top of the cabinet and smashed onto Hongjun's head. With a soft sound, the box's lid bounced off and the pollen scattered all over the sky.
Everyone: "…"
The doors and windows were tightly shut. As soon as the pollen scattered, the five people simultaneously sneezed loudly and began to sneeze continuously.
"Achoo — —!"
"Achoo!"
"Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! Achoo! Achoo — —! "
"Achoo!"
Atay, Mo Rigen, Qiu Yongsi, Hongjun, and Li Jinglong crazily sneezed. The sound of sneezing rose and fell one after another. The five people were surprised for a moment and confused for a moment. They stood in the room, feeling dizzy and disoriented.
"What's going on?" Hongjun asked in confusion. "Achoo!"
Atay: "Who am I? Achoo! "
Mo Rigen: "This … you guys … where are we? Achoo! "
Qiu Yongsi: "Achoo! Wait a minute, this brother? Achoo! "
Even the Chauvinist kept sneezing. Sometimes, it saw the anticipation in the Carp Demon's eyes, and sometimes it sneezed and looked confused. Everyone was confused for a moment, confused for a moment, and sneezed continuously.
"Should we go out … Achoo!" Li Jinglong sneezed again. The Carp Demon jumped down and ran to open the door.
The Carp Demon's nose was only effective in water. Its nostrils were too small and often blocked, so it was not affected. At this time, seeing that the cat did not chase after it, it pushed the door open.
"Come out quickly!" the Carp Demon shouted.
In this confusion and sobriety, Hongjun felt that something was calling him, so he staggered out and shouted at the door. Everyone came out one after another.
Hongjun was dizzy and disoriented. He looked at the Carp Demon, then looked at Li Jinglong and the others. He tried hard to remember something, but his mind was full of confusion. The cat jumped out and did not know where to go. The Carp Demon said, "Hongjun! Catch it quickly! "
Hongjun subconsciously hugged the cat. The Carp Demon picked up a small brush and a dustpan, and went in to collect the Soul Leaving Pollen.
"What happened just now?" Li Jinglong asked.
The remaining four people looked at each other and were all dumbfounded. Not long after, Atay was the first to remember and said, "You are Chief Li!"
"Ah!" Li Jinglong said, "Yes, yes, I am Li Jinglong. This is the Exorcism Division."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Everyone seemed to wake up from a dream and hurriedly nodded. Hongjun hugged the cat and said blankly, "But why am I hugging a cat?"
"Meow?" The Lion Eye looked around in confusion.
"What … are we doing?" Li Jinglong asked.
Everyone's heads were filled with question marks. Mo Rigen walked around the courtyard in confusion and said, "I vaguely remember that everyone came to report to the Exorcism Division."
"Did you report?" Qiu Yongsi said, "Why does it feel like everyone knows each other? It doesn't seem like it's the first time we've met?"
Li Jinglong said, "Calm down, something must have happened just now …"
The Carp Demon collected the Soul Leaving Pollen and put it in a palm-sized brocade bag and said, "You smelled the Soul Leaving Pollen."
"Yes, yes, yes!" Everyone remembered again and nodded. Now, they seemed to be able to connect the cause and effect.
An hour later, everyone gradually remembered some things, but most importantly, they completely forgot what they were doing before they smelled the Soul Leaving Pollen. Thus, Li Jinglong led his subordinates, each holding their chins and thinking hard in the main hall.
The Carp Demon gave a rough summary of what happened to catch the cat, but it didn't know anything else. Thus, "I can't remember what I forgot" became the primary problem they had to face.
The cat was in the cage and looked at the Carp Demon helplessly, but there was nothing it could do.
"What exactly happened?" Li Jinglong asked with a deep frown.
"Maybe we were just drinking tea?" Qiu Yongsi said.
"No." Li Jinglong said to himself, "Why would there be so many files on the table while drinking tea? There's something strange. We must have been working on an important case. "
"First of all, when we were catching the cat, Hongjun and I hid under the couch …"
"After I drank the water to wash my feet …"
Everyone began to rack their brains. Li Jinglong analyzed according to the memory fragments, while Hongjun was still talking to himself, trying to remember who he was and where he came from. Gradually, he remembered that he was from Dazzling Gold Palace, and many details from when he was young came to mind. After a short period of absent-mindedness, he remembered the Chong Ming, and even remembered the first time he met the Chong Ming.
Hongjun breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly fell into a strange memory. Li Jinglong's voice seemed to be getting softer and softer.
Under the sunlight, the rustling shadows of the sycamore trees gave him a strong sense of unreality, as if everything was just a dream under the sunlight. In this dream, his consciousness was getting farther and farther away. Time kept rotating like a whirlpool, bringing him back to the evening in Dazzling Gold Palace.
Countless scenes flashed by and suddenly froze on a certain day.
"Hongjun said that you saw a dead person under the couch …"
"Dead person?"
Everyone was shocked and looked at the Carp Demon in a daze. The Carp Demon described what he knew in the room vividly.
Hongjun's pupils contracted violently. After smelling the Soul Leaving Pollen, he suddenly remembered the night when he first arrived at Dazzling Gold Palace. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Chong Ming with tears rolling down from the corners of his eyes.
Instantly, his memory retreated again, returning to the darkness. He stood in the ruins, looking around blankly.
"… I only have one child …"
A strange man's voice sounded in his ears.