The Imperial City is the old tomb.

From the distant forest deep in the mountains that had been sealed for many years came the low and depressing sound of a silver bell. A red bridal sedan slowly came against the mournful night.

When the sedan chair passed the ebony branches, a few jackdaws landed on the sedan chair. There were a total of eight people carrying the sedan chair. They were dressed in plain white linen clothes and had round black hats with their heads lowered. They smiled so sinisterly that their faces were pale and their cheeks were painted with blood-red rouge. They carried the sedan chair into the city gate without saying a word.

The matching red and white was extremely dazzling.

A quiet night breeze blew past, and the gilded curtains of the sedan chair fluttered in the wind. The woman in the sedan chair was dressed in a wedding dress. Her jade-like hands rested on her knees, and her fingertips were thin and pale, covered with black blood stains. The blood-red wedding handkerchief was raised to reveal the bride's face. The bride's red lips were pale, and her black pupils were filled with tears of unwillingness. However, the corners of her mouth were curled into a determined smile.

"Wait for me."

It was a sentence spoken in Japanese in a desolate voice.

Gu Mausoleum City was bustling with fire and wind. Bright lanterns were everywhere. When the fireworks exploded in the sky and pierced through the thick sky, the night birds chirped and startled the moonlight. The night of Gu Mausoleum was considered late.

A black-robed man with a sword by his waist stood on the beacon tower at the city gate. The man had his hands behind his back. From his posture, one could tell that he was not an ordinary person. When the patrolling soldiers at the city gate saw that this man had been staying here since a long time ago, they had initially tried to persuade him to stop. However, the man was unmoved and did not listen to their words. A few hours passed, and they were too lazy to pay attention to him.

The soldier drank a pot of pear white and sighed,"Maybe he's some infatuated young master."

"Come, drink another one!"

The officers and soldiers were drinking in their spare time, but they did not see a blood-red sedan chair enter the city gate.

The sound of the silver bell entered the noisy city from the forest outside the city. The people who were rushing forward did not seem to hear the sudden sound. The man who had been quiet for a long time on the beacon tower slowly opened his eyes. His sharp eyes looked at the silver bell hanging on the red sedan. Almost in an instant, the drunk soldiers looked up and saw the infatuated man on the beacon tower jump down. They could not help but exclaim and clap their hands." Good skills!" Alright!"

The man snatched the silver bell from the palanquin and disappeared into the thick black. The palanquin bearer wanted to chase after him, but the woman's indifferent laughter came from the palanquin.

"Let's go."

......

"Let's go, let's go. The cloud bridge will be closed soon. At that time, we won't be able to pray for blessings!"

" Yeah, this is the only time of the year. I was hoping to find a good husband. Xiao Mo, hurry up!"

The young ladies from the various pavilions went from house to house and knocked on the doors of their close friends. Although they kept urging them, the joy on their faces could not be deceived. Under the light of the lamp, they looked excitedly at the end of every intersection of the streets and alleys in the old mausoleum.

Today was the arrival of spring. The snow melted in the spring season, and a large amount of snow flowed along the black ebony stakes into the dazzling Luohui River. There was a legend in the ancient mausoleum that on the night of the arrival of spring, a girl from a good family held a lantern in her hand. Inside the lantern was a lotus-like lamp. The lamp was blood-red and was burning with oil. It was beautiful.

"Red Lotus?"

"That's something that attracts ghosts."

In a huge and famous brothel in the center of the Luohui River, there were lights and melodious music. The ear-piercing and noisy sound of the zither was mixed with the sharp voice of a woman. In fact, it was not pleasant to hear, but when the passing merchants saw its brilliant appearance, they were sincerely impressed and also plunged into it.

The lower part of the brothel was bustling with noise, but the top floor was secluded and elegant. The veranda faced the moon and the cold river. The red curtain was hot and abrupt. The butterfly fan was lit and green smoke was emitted. Under the fluttering red curtain, a few vague and delicate figures flashed. The owner of the figure finally stopped in front of a long couch. He held a wine cup and knelt down humbly, looking at the person on the couch.

Her black hair was scattered on her scarlet robe. She looked flirtatious, but she looked especially noble.

Avoiding the grape that the woman beside him had passed to his lips, Li Zexi raised his eyes to look at the red lotus flowers overflowing in the river.

"A bunch of idiots."

"I agree."

"Let's go downstairs and take a look."

Si Gui pushed away the beauty in his arms. He stood up and smiled." Today is the competition. Who do you like?"

"I haven't seen it yet."

Si Gui laughed dryly.

He couldn't find a topic to talk about.

Today was Gu Ling City's annual flower festival. This was a tradition that had been passed down for many years without a moment of neglect. It was even more grand and lively than the Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival of the previous Yuan Dynasty. The royal family and nobles invited the entire city's people to the banquet. No matter how high or low the guests were, they had to carry an ashen lantern and walk across the cloud bridge over the Luohui River. The bridge was opened at Youshi and closed at Xiaoshi. They could drink and listen to music on the boats set up by the brothels. When it was midnight, they would choose another beautiful woman to win the Ember Corolla and become the new courtesan of the old mausoleum.

This year's flower festival was different. The flower boats of each family would stop in front of Moon Crane Pavilion, and Moon Crane Pavilion would host the Courtesan Belle Banquet.

Candlelight shone on the golden crane lamp, and everyone wore luxurious clothes. The ashes of the lantern lit up the entire Luohui River in the old mausoleum. The merchants and nobles went to the Luohui River to see the agarwood flower boats carved with double-shadow peonies facing the phoenix. The golden silk embroidered with mandarin ducks playing in the water wrapped the tea and food in the imperial room. The peonies beside the bridge were blooming beautifully. The sky was fragrant and the country was beautiful. The moon's shadow entered the river and the water was clear, as if a piece of clear jade had sunk.

A group of talented and beautiful young ladies were gathered on the boat. The sound of pipa and laughter echoed on the boat. Their grace reflected the moon. The young ladies looked at the approaching Moon Crane Pavilion with expectant smiles.

"I heard that Lord Li is here too."

The beautiful faces of the ladies were filled with longing and anticipation. Only one lady had a tag on her chest called Hua Yin. Although she had a dignified smile on her face, it was still difficult to hide the loneliness in her eyes.

"I heard that a beauty came from Bronze Sparrow City today. She has a unique flavor and should be to your liking."

Si Gui followed Li Zexi downstairs, looking for something to say.

"Asking you to come to the Ren Residence to work, are you really going to choose a consort?" Li Zexi said calmly.

Si Gui said," The netherworld is so boring. It's rare for me to come to the human residence, but you don't allow me to see thousands of beauties. However, I heard that you went against Hoshino's wishes when you came to the human residence this time. Don't you usually put her in your heart the most? What's wrong this time?"

"I'm just doing my job." "The flower fair is over. You can go back," Li Zexi said with a tired voice.

"You stayed in the Human Residence to tour the mountains and rivers, yet you want me to accompany Hoshino in your place. That's too much." Si Gui said.

"The red moon is coming."

"Yes." Si Gui stopped smiling and heaved a sigh of relief." I'll take good care of her. Don't worry."

The two of them walked down the stairs with light steps. The noise was loud and noisy. An eight-foot-tall burly man was supported by two geishas upstairs. At the corner, he met the two of them. The geishas smiled shyly and said softly," Lord Li, Young Master Si Gui, long time no see."

Li Zexi smiled lightly and did not say anything else. The eight-foot-tall man suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Li Zexi. His eyes seemed to have seen something extraordinary. He was wretched and excited. The burly man had drunk a lot of wine. His face was dark red and his eyes were filled with wine. He raised his hand and landed on Li Zexi's clothes.

" Oh my god, why didn't I know that there was such a person in Moon Crane Pavilion? She's so beautiful. Tell me how much it costs for a night. I have plenty of money."

The brawny man's voice was very loud, and perhaps because he was too excited, his voice was even higher.

As soon as he said this, the expression of the geisha changed. The manservant who was extremely busy on the first floor changed his expression. The face of the leading geisha aunt changed. Even the faces of the young masters and old masters who usually patronized Moon Crane Pavilion and knew Li Zexi's temper changed. They stopped what they were doing and looked at the corner of the stairs.

"What's going on?" Some people who didn't know asked in a low voice.

" You'll find out later," a young noble who looked like he was dressed in fine clothes put down his wine glass and whispered.

Someone sighed,"It's a good flower festival, but people are going to die again." 

Si Gui looked at the brawny man's arrogant words and gave him a crazy look to persuade the brawny man to stop talking. However, the brawny man did not even look at him and tugged at Li Zexi's clothes. He drooled as he fumbled with his hands.

The geisha who was supporting the burly man broke out in a cold sweat.

Si Gui could only turn his body to cover his face and sigh.

I gave you a chance, but you're useless.

When Ye Ling arrived at the Moon Crane Pavilion, he saw Li Zexi stepping on the head of a strong man. The strong man had lost a few teeth and his mouth was full of blood as he said some unpleasant words. Li Zexi looked down at the strong man's chattering mouth. From the beginning to the end, his face was tired and indifferent.

He was not even willing to put on a ruthless expression.

Li Zexi raised his eyes and glanced at Ye Ling. Ye Ling immediately understood and handed the short knife at his waist to Li Zexi.

The burly man only realized that something was wrong when he saw this. He turned from cursing to begging for mercy in a low voice. The crowd gathered around silently to watch the show. They did not dare to make a fuss or look at him. They could only look at him from head to toe. Following a miserable cry, everyone saw a stream of blood flowing out from the burly man's neck and splattering on the high-quality carpet of the Moon Crane Pavilion. The rest of the servants were not surprised and covered the newcomer who wanted to scream.

However, most of them tactfully shut their mouths.

It was fine if the city gate was on fire, but they did not want to be implicated, nor did they want to be implicated.

A geisha carefully threw a piece of linen cloth at the burly man's neck over the bloodstains. She then took out an exquisite handkerchief from her chest and handed it to Li Zexi.

"How is it?" Li Zexi took the handkerchief and asked.

"He's here," Ye Ling said.

"Let's go."

Ye Ling nodded and turned sideways to say something to the servant.

"Clean this place up."

"Yes," the servants replied in unison.