On the main street of Luoyang, at dusk, the pharmacy was about to close, leaving only a doctor in charge of the emergency. Hongjun carefully examined the patient and found that his body had begun to fester, and his meridians were extremely weak.
"It can't be cured." The doctor said, "Young people like to wander around the red-light streets and willow alleys. Everyone's life, everyone's responsibility. Go home early."
"What illness?" Hongjun had never seen such an illness before.
"Don't touch him." The doctor saw that Hongjun's pulse reading technique also seemed to be from a medical family, so he specially instructed, "If the skin is broken and bleeding and there are scars on the body, you will get sick if you touch too much. Look at how clean you are, don't get sores all over your body."
Hongjun glanced at the doctor, thought for a moment, and went into the pharmacy to get medicine. When he came out, he picked up the person and said, "Let's go, I'll treat you. Doctor, I'll bring him back to try. "
"Don't try!" The doctor still wanted to persuade him, but Hongjun had already taken him away.
This action was tantamount to challenging the doctor in front of him, but Hongjun was good-looking, and his words and actions did not seem to be deliberate, so the doctor let it go.
However, halfway through, Hongjun thought of Li Jinglong. What if he disliked him? Although this person was a sexually transmitted disease he found, his crime did not warrant death. However, Li Jinglong would definitely scold him. Hongjun thought about it and was very conflicted. What if Li Jinglong asked him not to bring him home? He could not let him lie outside, and they might even quarrel.
"Thank you … thank you." That person dragged his feet forward. Hongjun braced himself and brought him to the Luoyang Bureau of Exorcism. He had already thought of how to plead with Li Jinglong later.
He saw that outside the Exorcism Department, Li Jinglong was pacing back and forth, waiting for him to return. From afar, he saw Hongjun carrying a person and was shocked, saying, "What's wrong?"
Li Jinglong quickly stepped forward and helped the man in. Then, he said to Hongjun, "I was wondering why he didn't come back after so long!"
Hongjun hemmed and hawed as he recounted what had happened. Who would have thought that Li Jinglong did not have the slightest complaint and said, "Take off your clothes and let me see?"
"It's dirty," Hongjun said, "don't touch it."
Li Jinglong said, "It's you who shouldn't touch it. Come, wipe it for him …"
Hongjun was very surprised that Li Jinglong did not teach him a lesson. Instead, he helped him clean up. That person's whole body was festering. When he touched the towel slightly, he cried out in pain.
"It's almost gone." Li Jinglong said, "What's going on? Even an illness contracted from the red-light district would not be so severe. "
Hongjun looked at Li Jinglong suspiciously and said, "You've seen him before?"
"In the past, there were occasionally brothers in the Shenwu Army who were poor." Li Jinglong said, "Then, he fooled around with a female dancer in a Hu caravan and also contracted an illness. Naturally, I've seen him before … What's your name?"
"Wen … Wen Yi." That man moaned, "I'm so itchy …"
"Stop scratching." Hongjun stopped him from scratching himself and went to adjust an ointment to stop the itch. Li Jinglong undid that person's pants and said, "This part is fine. It doesn't look like it."
"What does it look like?" Hongjun asked.
"It looks like he's been poisoned." Li Jinglong muttered.
"I think so too." Hongjun said, "Feel his pulse. It's very weak. His body is festering, but there's no stench. Instead, there's a strange smell."
When Li Jinglong was in the army, he was slightly involved in internal injuries and other illnesses. Although he was not as proficient as Hongjun, he could still roughly distinguish. He thought for a moment and then asked Wen Yi, "What's the name of your lover?"
"I … I don't remember. There are too many girls …"
Wen Yi was about the same height as Li Jinglong. At this moment, he was lying naked on the bed in the room. His body was mottled and tattered, but his figure was excellent. His shoulders were wide and his waist was strong. In terms of handsomeness, he seemed to be slightly better than Li Jinglong. However, he lacked the heroic spirit between his brows. It could be seen that he was not lacking in beauties and was even a master that the girls were willing to pay to support.
"Speak clearly." Li Jinglong said, "This is to save your life."
Wen Yi groaned uncomfortably from the itch all over his body. The pain was like ants crawling in his bone marrow. He said, "In Shili River Han … Seven days ago, I saw Xiang Yu …"
"Xiang Yu?" Hongjun curiously asked.
When Wen Yi saw Hongjun bring the medicine over, he kept begging, "Quick … give me, give me the medicine …" He said intermittently. Li Jinglong heard this and the corners of his mouth twitched. Hongjun looked helpless because the begging and moaning sound was very similar to the "give me" that Hongjun said in bed.
"I'll go to Shili River Han to take a look." Li Jinglong said.
How could Hongjun let Li Jinglong go by himself? He immediately applied the medicine and quickly followed him out. Li Jinglong laughed and said, "Are you afraid that I won't be able to control myself? I'm not … "
"I'm very curious." Hongjun raised his hand and pulled Li Jinglong over. He put his hand on his shoulder and pretended to go out with him.
Li Jinglong first inquired about the direction of Shili River Han and was told to go to the back of the Tianjin Bridge. When he saw that there were many people in front of the cave, he went in. Hongjun was confused. However, when the two of them crossed the Tianjin Bridge and arrived at the bridge, they saw many people waiting outside a cave. The cave looked sloppy and ordinary. There was a plaque hanging outside with the words "Shili River Han" written on it.
Li Jinglong, "…"
Hongjun, "…"
Why did this place look like a tomb? Hongjun was looking inside when many of the debauchees around him said, "Hey, come, come, come. Let's not stroll around today. What's your name? Little Langjun? Let's go drink! "
Li Jinglong's face instantly darkened. Hongjun was afraid that he would beat someone up, so he said in a low voice, "Investigating the case, investigating the case is more important." As he said this, he didn't look seriously and dragged Li Jinglong inside.
The cave was pitch-black, and the sound of music and unbridled laughter could be heard from afar. Li Jinglong was also very surprised. Luoyang's brothels were all underground! He heard that when Wu Jiong was in power, he hated this business and investigated Luoyang. Therefore, many people went underground. At that time, the original location of Shili River Han was a section of the Grand Canal that was excavated by the previous dynasty's Emperor Yang. The underground canal was wide and ventilated. In the end, before it was used, Emperor Yang was hanged and left behind this abandoned canal.
After walking for a short distance, the front became bright. Hongjun exclaimed, "Wow!" Just like every young man who entered this place for the first time, he was almost unable to open his eyes.
Shili River Han was actually an underground street. On both sides of the street, there were wooden buildings embedded in the street. The red and golden lights were like a dream. There was no sunlight here, and the lights were bright all day and night. Many people gathered on both sides of the street. Some were drinking, some were flirting, and some were setting up stalls to watch dancing. It was just like a market.
It was just a grand brothel market.
Shops lined up in great numbers, from the entrance to the end of Shili River Han. Looking at the degree of prosperity, perhaps there would be more than ten thousand customers coming in tonight. On the left were the small buildings of the Central Plains, and on the right were the tents of the Hu people. There was also a thick and wide carpet of the Western Regions on the ground, piled with pillows. The Han people pressed the Hu women down and did things directly on the carpet.
Hongjun had never seen such an impactful scene. He was almost dizzy, thinking that fortunately he did not let Li Jinglong do it himself. Normally, even if Li Jinglong went to a brothel, it would still be a place of elegance. Since when did he enter a brothel that returned to its bestial nature?
"Ya! Little Langjun! "
As soon as the Hu women saw Hongjun, they immediately crowded around him. Hongjun immediately hid behind Li Jinglong, somewhat trembling with fear. Li Jinglong's expression changed. He forced himself to put on a dissolute and proud look. He asked one of the Hu women, "Is Miss Xiang Yu here?"
Unexpectedly, the women just rolled their eyes at him and scattered.
Li Jinglong said, "What's wrong? Is there something wrong with this person? "
"You're crazy." One of the Hu women said with a smile, "There are so many girls. Who knows which one is Xiang Yu?"
Hongjun laughed and could only give up. Li Jinglong actually had a time when he was being mocked. He could only take Hongjun along the street.
"Look, they're all picky." Li Jinglong said to Hongjun, "Pay attention to your eyes. Don't be too curious. Just treat it as shopping."
Hongjun reluctantly said, "Okay."
The two of them tried their best not to let others see that they were foreigners. When they passed by a fat Hu merchant's stall, the Hu merchant suddenly shouted, startling Hongjun. The Hu merchant then laughed loudly until the fat on his body shook. Several Hu women with heavy makeup and bells tied to their feet quickly walked over and reached out to pull Li Jinglong and Hongjun. Li Jinglong hurriedly waved his hand and hurriedly pressed the girl's wrist. Only then did he break free.
As they continued walking, Hongjun kept looking at the Han area on the left side of the street. Suddenly, someone whistled at him from the side. When he turned his head to look, he saw a tall, thin, shirtless Hu man with a red face. He reminded him of Mo Rigen.
The Hu man waved at him, indicating for him to go over. Li Jinglong asked from the side. Hongjun followed and said to the Hu man, "I want to ask about someone …"
The Hu man brought Hongjun into the tent and asked, "Are you Han?"
Hongjun nodded. The man said, "I am from Shiwei."
Hongjun thought that it was no wonder. He was about to ask when the man said, "I noticed you just now. Who is the person following you?"
Hongjun said, "It's my Langjun."
"Yo, you want him to come over?" The Hu man pulled his belt, his loose white trousers fell to the ground. He said, "Just give me any amount of money, Gege will accompany you to play until you are satisfied …" While saying that, he reached out to hug him and was about to lower his head to kiss him.
Li Jinglong was standing in front of the Hu's tent asking when Hongjun shouted loudly and hastily ran out. Li Jinglong thought something had happened, but then he saw a Shiwei man walking out from the tent behind Hongjun, with his mouth raised.
"I won't hurt you." The Shiwei man said with a laugh. He also used his finger to point below his body, meaning 'look.'
"Did he touch you?" Li Jinglong asked.
Hongjun hurriedly said, "No, I misunderstood."
The Shiwei man said, "Are the two of you coming together?"
"You're so small and yet you come out to accept work." Li Jinglong said to the Shiwei man, "Forget it, I'm afraid I'll hurt you."
The man was speechless.
Hongjun laughed so hard that he fell down. He hurriedly pulled Li Jinglong and ran away.
"Walk towards the innermost area." Li Jinglong said, "There's a wine shop in the middle. It's well-informed. Go there and find someone to ask."
Hongjun was crossing a long street when he whistled again. He saw a young man with colorful eyes. His whole body was smeared with oil, and he was standing naked. There was even a golden hoop around his member. He said, "Are you coming or not?"
Hongjun could only pretend not to hear. He thought, 'Why are you all looking for me? Go find Li Jinglong.'
"Not coming." Li Jinglong pinched his throat and said, "We are eunuchs. We can't come."
The young man was speechless.
Hongjun only felt that Li Jinglong's nonsense was too funny. Just as they passed the intersection, someone whistled at them again. The whistles rose and fell one after another. They were all teasing him, making him feel embarrassed to look at them.
"Langjuns!" Another young man said to him, "Come over and sit down?"
Li Jinglong pulled Hongjun to his other side and smiled at him in a cultured and refined manner, but did not answer. Hongjun had just turned away when someone whistled at him from the other side. It was a Tocharian man. He said something elegant to him in Persian. Hongjun had heard Atay sing that poem before. It was written by a woman in her boudoir. It meant: Beautiful young man, can you come to my window?
Li Jinglong hurriedly dialed Hongjun's number again. After passing through the Hu men's male brothel, the whistles finally stopped. There were only Hu women leaning in front of the tent. When they saw people passing by, they would gently shake their wrists. The sound of bells was crisp and clear. In the Han men's area, there were girls dressed in Chinese clothes holding round fans and lazily looking down the street.
"Why are they all so interested in you?" Li Jinglong said.
Hongjun laughed. His face was a little red as he said, "That's right. They don't seem to care about you."
Li Jinglong did not answer. He only glanced at Hongjun. After a moment, he said, "Don't you think …"
At this moment, Li Jinglong's brows furrowed as if he was thinking. Hongjun raised his eyebrows slightly and said, "What did you find?"
"A fragrance." Li Jinglong said.
Hongjun also smelled it. There was indeed a faint fragrance on Wen Yi's body. It was previously covered by the strong smell of Hu men's spices. When they reached the center of the river, it gradually became clear.
"I'll go take a look." Li Jinglong said, "Wait here for a moment."
In the center of the long street, there were already restaurants and wine shops, simple goods shops, and aphrodisiac shops. There was no one here to solicit customers. Li Jinglong first went to the restaurant to ask. Hongjun then sniffed to identify the source of the faint fragrance.
There was another whistle. When he turned his head to look, he saw a man in a bathrobe standing upstairs. His chest was uncovered, and there was a sword at his waist.
Hongjun was a little nervous. He saw the man with one foot in front of the railing, looking at him drunkenly.
"You came alone?" The man said to Hongjun.
Hongjun did not speak. He stepped back a little and looked up at him.
"You're so beautiful." The man murmured. There seemed to be pity in his eyes. He said, "Do you want to drink? Little brother, come up and drink. "
The man was obviously also a martial artist. His figure was similar to Lu Xu's. His chest and abdominal muscles were very thin, but his body was a size bigger than Lu Xu's. He held a bottle of wine in his right hand and shook it at Hongjun. He handed it to him, indicating that he should drink.
The man called him "little brother". Hongjun felt that he was not here to solicit customers. Moreover, he had a sword at his waist, which made him look like a Jianghu person. He happily went upstairs.
"Do you have money?" The man said to Hongjun, "Help me pay for the wine."
Hongjun then realized that he did not have money. He took out some money and asked the waiter to bring the wine first. The man's beard was not shaved, and he looked a little down and out. After the wine was served, he said, "Thank you." It was unknown whether he was talking to Hongjun or the waiter. He drank two mouthfuls and asked, "Why don't you go play?"
"I'm here to find someone." Hongjun said, "What's your name?"
"My name." The drunk man smiled. "If I tell you, you'll be scared to death."
Hongjun laughed and replied, "Tell me."
The man could not sit still as he spoke. He leaned against the table and asked, "Who are you looking for? There are millions of stars in the river. Can you tell which star is which? "
"A girl named Xiang Yu." Hongjun asked, "Have you seen her before?"
"Xiang Yu … …" The man said, "I've seen her before, but I haven't slept with her. Buy me more wine. Thank you."
Hongjun saw that he drank so quickly and said, "You're drinking so fast. You're going to piss yourself."
"You're right. Pass me Huzi." The man replied.
Hongjun: "… …"
The man was only wearing a blue and black bathrobe. He sat cross-legged and lifted his robe. He could urinate just by holding Huzi. Hongjun had seen many drunk unconscious people in Chang 'an. They even ran around the streets shouting that they had been caught. He was not surprised. He asked, "Where's Xiang Yu?"
"Over there … …" The man pointed to the east and said, "I remembered wrongly. I think it's over there … …"
Hongjun said, "I'll buy you two more jars of wine. Take me there."
The man said, "Deal!"
Thus, Hongjun and the man went downstairs and waited outside the wine shop for Li Jinglong to come over. The man was drunk. He put one hand on Hongjun's shoulder and leaned on him. Although the posture was very intimate, it was not lecherous. Hongjun was not afraid that Li Jinglong would be jealous. Usually, the brothers in the Exorcism Division often put their arms around each other's shoulders. It was fine as long as there was no other meaning.
Li Jinglong asked around and came over. When he saw the man, he immediately said, "Hey! Let him go! Who are you? "
The man's hair was disheveled. He raised his head and his eyes were filled with confusion. He tried hard to recognize Li Jinglong. Li Jinglong was stunned at first and said, "Brother Taibai?!"
The man nodded. He pressed Hongjun's shoulder and pushed him to Li Jinglong. He said, "You are … … Xiao Long? Hmm … … You two know each other? It's really … … rare. "
Hongjun: "… …"
Hongjun looked at the man. Li Jinglong's voice kept getting further and further away. He vaguely said, "Let me introduce you. This is Li Bai … …"
Hongjun's heart instantly collapsed.