Chapter 20: Chang

Of course, no matter how terrifying Lin Yu’s true nature, on the surface he remained a man.

To the three members of the chat group, he was merely an elder brother with a long life and vast knowledge…

The next morning, in the Tang Gui world.

As the morning drum faded, the cobbled Zhuque Avenue steamed with last night’s autumn dew.

Since the fifth watch, the imperial road had been swept clean, its surface glinting with water; if one looked closely, a few Persian gold foils dropped by foreign merchants could be found in the cracks of the blue stones.

Locust leaves spiraled down onto the bright armor of the patroling Jinyu Guards.

As they walked, the armor plates clanked, startling a flock of gray pigeons perched atop the wall of Dazheng Fang .

At a new guesthouse on Zhuque Avenue, a young scholar in blue robes stood by the window, admiring the morning scenery outside.

To be honest, aside from the hidden currents swirling in the court, this era was indeed one of the rare golden ages in Chinese history.

For Su Haoming, who had memorized the Three Hundred Tang Poems since childhood, stepping into the poetry and experiencing the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty firsthand was a blessing.

“Come to think of it, Li Bai should be about ten years old this year, right?”

As Su Haoming pondered this, sudden footsteps sounded outside the guestroom door.

Su Haoming’s expression sharpened; he quickly stepped away from the window, returned to the desk, and pretended to study the scroll before him.

“Tap-tap—”

“Come in.”

The door opened, and the innkeeper entered carrying white porridge and pickled vegetables, smiling: “Young Master Su, reading so early—surely you’ll pass the provincial exam next year!”

“...Thank you for your good wishes!”

Su Haoming replied with a smile, then asked curiously: “Liu Er, why are you here today? Where’s Master Qian?”

Liu Er placed the tray on the table and replied with a grin: “You mean the old servant staying next door? He went to the county office with the Assistant Commandant last night and hasn’t returned yet.”

“To the county office?”

Su Haoming paused, then frowned.

He had come to Chang’an with two others: his cousin Su Wuming, and Qian Shu—the man who raised them both, a servant in title but a second father in truth.

Before arriving in Chang’an, Su Wuming had had no objection to sharing a room with his cousin.

But after reaching Chang’an, Su Wuming suddenly changed his mind, paying extra to have his cousin stay at the guesthouse, while leaving Qian Shu behind to attend to his daily needs.

Su Haoming had previously been unaware of the reason, only finding his cousin’s behavior strangely odd.

Only yesterday, after Lin Yu joined the group, did he learn that the former Assistant Commandant Wu Daqi had died mysteriously in his own residence.

After moving into that house, Su Wuming uncovered many suspicious clues; out of concern for his cousin’s safety, he had dared not let him move in.

“Qian Shu must be needed to assist—probably another autopsy, and the case is making progress.”

Su Haoming mused inwardly.

At that moment, Liu Er suddenly slapped his head and lowered his voice: “Oh, by the way, speaking of the Assistant Commandant, a few constables from Chang’an County just came to the inn. While serving them, I overheard something—seems related to the Assistant Commandant and the Ghost Market…”

“Ghost Market?”

Su Haoming froze, then furrowed his brow.

Chang’an City was designed by Yuwen Kai of the Sui Dynasty, integrating the city’s six elevated ridges according to the hexagrams of Qian.

The position of Nine Two housed the imperial palace; Nine Three held the imperial administrative precinct; the most sacred Nine Five was occupied by Xuandu Temple and Xingshan Temple to suppress it.

But no one expected that during the late Sui, the lowland near Xuandu Temple sank deeper and deeper, until a violent tremor turned it into a vast underground labyrinth.

Deep beneath the earth, with countless hidden passages, it was an ideal place to hide.

As the Tang Dynasty established itself, curfews grew strict; to evade them, homeless outcasts and night traders gradually gathered there.

Over time, it evolved into a bustling night market—the so-called Ghost Market.

Because it was ideal for concealment, many fugitives wanted by the court and violent criminals hiding from justice also took refuge there.

In any other location, the court could simply deploy troops to sweep them all away—but the Ghost Market lay beneath the lowland near Xuandu Temple, a place of profound geographical significance.

Whoever dared mobilize troops to storm it would face the Emperor’s immediate wrath.

Thus, the Ghost Market gradually became a lawless zone, even the Chang’an County Office and the Jinyu Guards avoided it.

Such a no-man’s-land naturally bred countless conspiracies and deceptions.

If Su Haoming remembered correctly, Lin Yu had clearly stated that the mastermind behind the Chang’an Red Tea Case was intimately tied to the Ghost Market…

“Has my cousin already found the Ghost Market?”

After a moment’s thought, Su Haoming pulled several Kaiyuan Tongbao coins from his sleeve and gave them to Liu Er.

Liu Er was overjoyed, bowed repeatedly in thanks, then happily left the room.

Once the door closed, Su Haoming immediately opened the chat group in his mind:

【Su Haoming: @Lin Yu, are you there, Master?】

【Lin Yu: What is it?】

Su Haoming told Lin Yu everything he knew, then asked eagerly: “Master, can you figure out how far the plot has progressed?”

【Lin Yu: From the information you’ve given, it’s likely when Su Wuming first visited the Ghost Market.】

【Su Haoming: Please elaborate!】

【Lin Yu: Didn’t I say before? ‘Chang’an Red Tea Case’ is just the final umbrella term. Your cousin took over the actual cases: the missing bride and the mysterious drowning of the former Assistant Commandant Wu Daqi.】

【Lin Yu: Wu Daqi’s case is simple—he drank Chang’an Red Tea. The stuff is called Immortal Tea, but it’s highly hallucinogenic and addictive. He consumed it, suffered hallucinations, and drowned.】

【Lin Yu: The missing bride case, however, reveals the true secrets behind Chang’an Red Tea.】

【Lin Yu: Your cousin likely uncovered Yin Vice Minister of the Ghost Market during his investigation. But since the former Assistant Commandant died after returning from the Ghost Market, the constables are terrified and refuse to accompany him—what the innkeeper overheard may be this.】

【Su Haoming: So he took Qian Shu with him to the Ghost Market?】

【Lin Yu: According to the original, Su Wuming planned to go alone—but your Qian Shu refused and insisted on coming along.】

【Su Haoming: I think so too…】

【Su Haoming: If even Chang’an’s constables are afraid, isn’t the Ghost Market extremely dangerous?】

【Lin Yu: For your cousin, it’s merely a close call—but I seem to recall one of the Jinyu Guards died during that visit.】

Upon reading this, Su Haoming’s heart tightened; he asked quickly: “What’s this about Jinyu Guards?”

【Lin Yu: It’s not just your cousin investigating the Chang’an Red Tea Case. There’s another male lead in Tang Gui—Lu Lingfeng, of the Fanyang Lu clan, currently a Jinyu Guards Lieutenant General.】

【Lin Yu: When your cousin first infiltrated the Ghost Market, Lu Lingfeng also went undercover, accompanied by three Jinyu Guards.】

【Su Haoming: So that’s it!】

【Su Haoming: Master, I have another concern. The original plot didn’t include me—could my presence cause a butterfly effect? For example, instead of a Jinyu Guard dying, it’s my cousin?】

【Lin Yu: That… shouldn’t happen, right?】

(End of chapter)