In the night, a small ball of paper was thrown over the high wall of Chen's mansion and landed in an obscure alley outside the wall. In the darkness, a calloused hand caught it firmly.

A middle-aged man who was carrying a pole and selling hot tofu pudding in the streets put down the pole on his shoulders and carefully unfolded the paper. The calluses on his hands made a rustling sound when they rubbed against the paper. When he saw the contents of the paper clearly,

Immediately put down the pole on your shoulders.

There are two wooden boxes carried on the pole. The front box contains a small earthenware stove, which is kept on a low fire to keep the bean curd warm; the back box contains pots and pans. This is all a hawker needs to make a living.

Possessions.

The middle-aged man opened the wooden box at the back, reached for it for a long time, and finally took out a gray homing pigeon.

He tied the paper ball to the pigeon's leg, raised his hand suddenly and let it fly into the air. The pigeon flapped its wings and flew over the buildings, flying towards the north.

Seeing the pigeons disappearing into the night sky, the middle-aged man picked up the pole again and staggered out of the alley.

On the ridge of the roof in the distance, dark and fluffy clouds rose up and followed lightly, the pads of their paws stepping on the gray tiles without making a sound.

The middle-aged man didn't notice at all.

However, when he was about to walk out of the alley, he suddenly turned around. His eyes no longer had the simplicity and honesty of the hawker, only the sharpness of an eagle: "Who?"

The dark cloud stopped and huddled up.

It wondered in its heart, could it be that it had been discovered? Impossible, it was several feet away, how could the other party discover it? Moreover, the direction the other party was looking at was not towards it.

Wu Yun thought, maybe this middle-aged man wanted to deceive the person who was secretly following him, and was looking for enemies in vain.

The next moment, the middle-aged man's shoulders shook slightly, and the two wooden boxes on the poles fell to the ground.

But I saw him holding a pole and throwing it hard, and the bamboo pole was thrown into the darkness like a spear. However, the pole was thrown into the darkness, like a stone sinking into the sea, and there was no trace again.

There was silence in the alley, as if the pole had disappeared into the void.

The dark cloud looked down from the roof of the building in the distance. It was startled. It looked left and right... Where did the pole go? Is there really someone else in the alley?

In the blink of an eye, I heard a buzzing sound, and the pole went away and came back again. Just as fast as it left, it came back just as fast.

The middle-aged man's expression changed, and he picked up the wooden box at hand to resist.

With a bang, the front end of the pole pierced into the wooden box, shattering the earthenware stove and iron pot inside. Unable to withstand the huge force, the back end bent and shattered into bamboo strips inch by inch, and twisted into twists.

.

The middle-aged man received this blow and staggered back five or six steps before he stopped.

There really are other people in the alley!

Wu Yun was a little confused. As soon as Chen Ji returned to Chen Mansion, he was stared at. Who was the other person in the alley?

Who is monitoring the traces? And who, like me, wants to find out the identity of the monitor?

The dark clouds are confused. Where did these people come from?

At this time, a black shadow as tall as a person in the alley walked step by step from the darkness to the moonlight. The dark clouds widened their eyes. It was not a person who walked out, but a strange-looking black monster.

It has a sheep body and a human face. The human face grows on the chest and abdomen. A bloody mouth spreads from the left armpit to the right armpit. The black hair curled on the four hooves is like four black auspicious clouds.

The spirit was covered in black mist, as if it had walked out of the underworld.

The middle-aged man's face was shocked: "Tantric mandala secret seal?"

After saying that, he turned around and ran away.

The black spirit jumped up to the roof and followed closely.

In the dead of night, the man was walking through the alleys, but he could never get rid of the black spirit on the roof. It was like an antelope, walking on the undulating roof ridges as if on the ground.

Fiercely!

The dark clouds didn't dare to get too close, so they could only follow them from a distance.

But he saw that the man had been running for a long time and was out of breath. He took out a short knife from his sleeve, panted and turned around to face the monster.

The dark spirit stood on the eaves, looking at the man quietly, as if thinking about how to deal with him.

After a moment, the spirit suddenly swooped down, opened its bloody mouth on its chest, and swallowed the middle-aged man whole, including the dagger.

…

…

In Mingquan Garden, Xiaoman, who was nestled on a small bench, burped.

The heavy burps made her wake up.

Xiaoman opened his sleepy eyes, turned to look at the Mi Sandao on the table, and muttered in annoyance: "I can't eat it anymore...Young master said it will accumulate food."

But as he said this, he still tiptoed up, pinched three pieces of honey from the table and stuffed them into his mouth: "Hey, I won't hoard food."

Xiaoman rolled her eyes and puffed out her cheeks to look at Chen Ji who was sleeping soundly on the bed. She walked to the bed on tiptoes and waved her palms back and forth on Chen Ji's face.

When Chen Ji didn't respond, she raised the corners of her mouth slightly, carefully turned to the clothes rack, and fumbled for Chen Ji's clothes. While touching, she looked back warily.

On the bed, Chen Ji opened his eyes and looked at Xiao Man's back. When Xiao Man looked back, he closed his eyes again.

After a while, Xiao Man took out two strings of Buddhist treasures from Chen Ji's clothes. One string was given by King Jing of 2,500 taels, and the other string was given by Chen Wenzong. Chen Ji had the remaining 1,110 taels after buying ginseng.

She carefully touched the micro-carved lines on the Tongbao and kissed it on the lips. Then with a tangled look in her eyes, she stuffed the Buddhist Tongbao back.

Xiaoman sat back on the small bench in frustration, holding his face in his hands and looking at the flickering charcoal fire, muttering in a low voice: "Don't be deceived again..."

While he was talking, the window moved, and dark clouds came in through the gap like a stream of liquid.

Xiaoman put his finger to his mouth and shushed: "Keep your voice down, the young master is still sleeping."

Wu Yun glanced at Xiao Man, jumped out of the window lightly, jumped onto the old bed, and meowed softly.

Xiaoman stared at it: "Didn't I tell you not to disturb the young master in his sleep? You won't be cute if you do that!"

At this moment, there was a rooster crow outside the house, and then, someone set off firecrackers in Cuiyun Lane, and the crackling sound tore up the night.

Chen Ji stood up and asked doubtfully: "Who is setting off firecrackers so early in the morning?"

Xiao Man explained: "Young master, have you forgotten? Today is the promotion banquet of Zhang's and Chen's houses. According to the rules, to celebrate a happy event, one whip should be set off at Mao hour, one at noon, and another at midnight."

Setting off firecrackers on New Year's Day has the same meaning, it means saying goodbye to the old and welcoming the new, and it's time to take up a new official position."

Chen Ji Chang said oh.

At this time, Xiaoman rolled his eyes and asked knowingly: "Sir, I heard that you received two thousand five hundred taels of silver from the Construction Engineering and Preparation Bureau. Is it true?"

Chen Ji looked at Xiaoman with a faint smile: "It's true, what's wrong?"

Xiao Man suddenly looked up at Chen Ji expectantly and said, "How about you leave this money to me to take care of?"

Chen Ji was startled. He didn't expect Xiao Man to speak so directly: "What do you do with so much money?"

Xiao Man lowered his head and looked at his toes: "I'm really afraid that someone will coax your money away again. When the time comes, you want to marry someone else's daughter, but you won't be able to come up with a betrothal gift. Aunt Li said that my aunt could have married into

I am a wife from a small family, and I am committed to marrying into the Chen family as a concubine just to give you a better family background and support."

Chen Ji remained silent. He knew that it was not that simple for Mr. Lu to marry into the Chen family. Back then, the Chen family had lost a minister of household affairs.

Xiaoman counted on his fingers and said: "You want to marry the legitimate daughter of a wealthy family. Not to mention Shili Hongzhuang, the gift is 6,400 taels of silver, the welcome gift is 80 taels of silver, and the door-knocking gift is forty taels of silver.

Liang, a net increase of sixty liang of colorful silver, and a gift of Zhanghan Liang of ten liang

, eight taels of colored silver to welcome the book. Then there are eight pieces of gold, two wild geese, four chickens and ducks, two cattle and sheep, twelve pieces of silk... Master, my wife will definitely not prepare so much for you. You have to

You can save some money for yourself."

Chen Ji was dumbfounded: "Stop, stop, why do you need so many?"

Xiaoman looked at him doubtfully: "This is the rule among the wealthy families in the capital. This is called respectability. But you can rest assured that the dowry brought by the bride will not be less than your betrothal gift."

Chen Ji waved his hand: "Stop talking, I have no plans to get married, let alone the legitimate daughter of a wealthy family."

Xiaoman thought for a while: "It's okay if you don't marry the legitimate daughter of a wealthy family. You can marry Biyu from a small family. Then I will help you take care of your money, buy some farmland and shops, and you can be a married woman for the rest of your life.

You are a rich man...please give me your silver to look after? It doesn't need to be much. When you get to the capital, give me five hundred taels of silver. If I can make money for you, you can leave the rest to me."

Chen Ji refused ruthlessly: "No, I will take care of it myself if I give up. Besides, maybe I can get my aunt's property back when I become a high official one day."

Xiaoman was full of expectations: "Really? I feel sorry for you about those properties, and I feel like my chest is clogged."

Chen Ji hummed.

Xiaoman rolled his eyes again: "Then when you get the property back, how about Xiaoman helping you take care of it?"

Chen Ji sighed: "Why are you so persistent?"

Xiaoman muttered in a low voice: "I have been suffering for a long time. I have no money and am very nervous... Forget it, I will boil water for you to wash your face and comb your hair. Many big shots are coming today. I heard that Zhang Mansion yesterday

I brought back several carts of fish from the East Market, as well as palm-sized shrimps and crabs. You will take me with you, right?"

Chen Ji smiled and said, "Okay, I'll take you with me."

Xiao Man hummed a song and jumped out of the house. Chen Ji looked at her back in the room and asked Wu Yun in a low voice: "Sheep body or human face?"

Wuyun meowed: "It's absolutely true."

Chen Ji lowered his head and thought for a moment: "Taotie?"

"The Classic of Mountains and Seas" records: The Taotie is shaped like a sheep with a human face, its face is under the armpits, it has tiger teeth and human claws, and its voice is like a baby. This monster that appears out of nowhere is clearly very similar to the description of the Taotie.

But, who drives this glutton?

I no longer have any relatives in this world. Who immediately discovered that someone was spying on me and wanted to find out who was behind it?

While I was thinking, the sound of Xiaoman humming a ballad floated in from the right ear room.
Chapter completed!