Huh?

He suddenly let out a soft exclamation, stopped in his tracks, and said, “Second Brother, look.”

“Look at what?”

“Just now, over by the imperial city, it seemed like something was moving.”

“There’s nothing!”

Brian Chandler stopped, gazed at the imperial city for a long while, shook his head, and looked at David Sutton in confusion, saying, “Amy Chandler, are your eyes playing tricks on you?”

“No, I just…”

David Sutton was about to speak, but then closed his mouth.

What did he see? He saw nothing at all! It was just that in the instant he turned his head, he seemed to see the imperial city trembling.

How could that be!

How could the imperial city tremble for no reason?

Could it be that I really was seeing things?

Thinking this, David Sutton shook his head with a wry smile and said, “It’s nothing, let’s go.”

“Alright!”

Brian Chandler agreed and continued walking along the street.

Just then, a silver snake shot out from the dark clouds, followed by a crack of thunder. The ghastly white lightning lit up the long street.

From the direction of the imperial city, a faint dragon’s roar could be heard.

This time, Brian Chandler heard it, and David Sutton heard it too.

The two of them hurriedly stopped and turned to look back at the imperial city. In a daze, they seemed to see a golden dragon…

That golden dragon was circling above the imperial city.

The golden dragon flashed and disappeared, and then a dense barrage of lightning burst from the clouds, thunder booming, casting the imperial city in a ghastly white light.

The lightning seemed to be striking the imperial city.

In the white electric light, the imperial city seemed to waver like a mirage, appearing unreal.

Clang, clang, clang!

The silver snake vanished, and suddenly a series of bell tolls rang out from within the imperial city.

“Second Brother, what’s going on?”

Before Brian Chandler could answer, a peal of bells also sounded from a Buddhist temple in the nearby market.

Brian Chandler, after all, had a few more years of experience than David Sutton, and knew a lot about the rules of Chang’an.

At this moment, in Chang’an, the bells of Buddhist temples and Daoist monasteries rang out one after another. Although he wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, he could guess that something major was going on. His face changed dramatically, and he grabbed David Sutton and took off running.

“Second Brother, why are we running?”

“Don’t ask so much, just follow me.”

Of the six main streets of Chang’an, Anhua Gate Street was one of them.

At every intersection, there were military posts, specifically for the night patrols to rest.

David Sutton followed closely behind Brian Chandler, but before they had run far, a strange sound suddenly came from all directions.

That sound was like the wailing of ghosts and howling of wolves, making one’s hair stand on end.

Brian Chandler stopped in his tracks, his face instantly turning pale.

In the darkness, wisps of black mist, barely visible to the naked eye, seeped out from the dark gutters on both sides of the street, from the shadows, from the corners, and quickly gathered along the streets. In an instant, the long street was covered by the black mist, with ghostly wails and howls rising and falling. The black mist grew thicker and rapidly spread, and the aura emanating from it made their limbs go weak.

“The strangeness is on the move, the strangeness is on the move!”

Brian Chandler’s voice trembled. He suddenly turned and ran for his life.

As he ran, he shouted, “Amy Chandler, don’t just stand there, run!”

The black mist surged along the long street like a thousand troops charging, roaring forward at incredible speed.

Brian Chandler had only run a few steps before the black mist behind him caught up. He could no longer care about David Sutton; suddenly crouching low, he leapt to the side of the road and plunged into a ditch. The stench hit him, but he didn’t care, holding his breath and burying himself in the filthy water.

Brian Chandler reacted quickly, but David Sutton couldn’t keep up.

The strangeness is on the move?

This was a legend that circulated in Chang’an.

He suddenly understood what Brian Chandler had been hesitating to say earlier.

Night curfew: people are forbidden, but not ghosts.

David Sutton had heard such warnings since he was very young. But from childhood to now, he had never encountered it…

Now, he had!

David Sutton turned, wanting to run with Brian Chandler, but his legs were weak and he couldn’t muster any strength.

He could only stand where he was, eyes wide, watching as the rolling black mist roared toward him. At last, unable to contain his fear, he let out a piercing scream.

His body was instantly engulfed by the black mist.

In a daze, David Sutton seemed to see countless bizarre creatures pouncing toward him.

The gold medallion hanging on his chest began to crack with a series of snaps, then flashed with golden light and shattered.

As the golden light flashed, David Sutton heard shrill cries and wails. But the black mist was too thick; after the golden light faded, David Sutton’s body felt as if it had been struck by a rampaging wild bull, and he was sent flying, crashing to the ground.

The black mist immediately swallowed his body.

A dragon’s roar came from the imperial city.

With the sound of the dragon’s roar, a golden dragon soared into the sky.

The golden dragon coiled above the imperial city, its massive head lowered, a pair of eyes shining with golden light exuding the aura of a king who looked down on the world, and it let out a mighty roar.

The black mist, which had been surging madly toward the imperial city, instantly stopped.

The black mist churned, and waves of ghostly wails and howls echoed, as if roaring at the golden dragon.