Chapter 890 Owl and Doom

Zhang Heng jumped off the balcony and landed lightly on the ground.

To his left, singing and dancing were still going on in Lucila's Domus. The musicians plucked the strings of the lyre, and the melodious sound of the piano came from the other side of the wall along with the laughter and laughter of the banquet, as if happiness would never last forever. The same ending.

But in comparison, the streets outside are much quieter.

It was already past midnight, and there were basically no pedestrians still outside.

This is not good news for Zhang Heng, because assassins prefer chaotic environments, markets with mixed crowds, arena stands full of guests, and taverns and theaters with people coming and going... These places can easily An assassin disappears.

Fortunately, the moonlight tonight is not too bright, and the night can provide Zhang Heng with some camouflage.

Zhang Heng did not go to Otrus immediately, but went back to the southeastern city first and changed into black clothes that were more suitable for action at night. Just as he was replenishing arrows in his quiver, he heard something in the corridor. The sound of footsteps coming from outside.

The footsteps were very light. If the floor of this apartment was not in a state of disrepair, even with Zhang Heng's hearing, it would be difficult to hear it through a door.

This is a standard assassin's footsteps.

Zhang Heng was not surprised. It was no secret that he had formed a new force in the southeastern city. What's more, the Hounds and the Beehive were gathering information for them. After Zhang Heng had a premonition that his identity might be exposed, he asked Marcus to go to the southeastern city. The city has arranged several safe houses for him, but now it seems that the locations of these safe houses are also controlled by hounds.

In addition to ambushing assassins in his quarters, Hound also had men stationed here.

The footsteps in the corridor finally stopped outside his door, but Zhang Heng seemed not to have heard them. He was still counting the arrows in his quiver, and also packed two figs to eat on the road later.

After that, the assassins in the corridor were probably ready and quietly opened the door lock. However, when they rushed into the room, they found that there was no one inside, and they couldn't help but look at each other.

In the room opposite, Zhang Heng put on his hood slowly and looked behind him again to make sure nothing was left behind. Then he leaned out of the window and climbed up the khaki brick wall to the roof. , jumped directly from the roof to the shorter apartment building next door, then returned to the ground again, dodged into a dark alley, and disappeared completely.

The safe house Zhang Heng arranged through Marcus was originally for hounds. Later, he asked Soap to find a few trustworthy locals and paid to rent the opposite door quietly. This is what Zhang Heng is doing. A true hiding place in times of crisis.

After getting rid of the assassin behind him, Zhang Heng set off for the first place he wanted to go tonight.

--Roman Forum.

Just like all cities have a city center, Rome is no exception. Its city center is in the Roman Forum.

A dozen centuries ago, this place was just a desolate and barren swamp, full of mosquitoes and uninhabited. The Romans even buried their dead relatives here. However, after a few centuries, large drainage ditches diverted away the water in the valley. The water turned the swamp here into hard ground.

At that time, Rome was still in the republican era. People paved roads here, built temples and basilica, making the place more and more prosperous, and gradually formed a huge square. In the imperial era, due to the continuous expansion of territory, , and the explosion of the city's population, the original Roman Forum could no longer meet the needs, so five new squares were built around it.

But there is no doubt that the Roman Forum is still the most central area. The former emperor Mark Aurelius once delivered a eulogy in memory of Caesar here. The gilded pillar in front of the podium is the starting point of all roads leaving Rome. . It is also the end point of the proverb "all roads lead to Rome".

But Zhang Heng was not here to visit tonight. He walked through the huge arch built by Augustus and passed through the center of the square, where a grape vine, an olive tree and a fig tree were planted. Known as the sacred tree of Rome, Zhang Heng looked up and saw the temples located on Capitoline Hill, where the Roman gods were enshrined.

The two most majestic temples stand on the top of the mountain. One on the left and one on the right are the temples of the god King Jupiter and the god Queen Juno.

Zhang Heng knew that Otrus was in one of the two temples. He wasted no time and walked up the wide stone steps.

During the day, the Roman Forum is almost the busiest place in the entire city of Rome. It is crowded with people. Devout believers line up in long lines in front of temples of all sizes. Beggars will take the opportunity to ask for money from them. For food or copper coins, vendors will sell their wares at stalls around the square, and there are always wonderful wars of words going on in the Basilica...

But now, after entering the world of night, everything has returned to silence. Only the sacred fire of the Vesta Temple is still burning.

Zhang Heng did not encounter any obstacles along the way and quickly climbed to the top of the mountain.

After that, he hesitated for a moment, and first came to the Temple of Jupiter on the left. The flames on the altar had been extinguished, leaving only some blackened bones and garlands around them. Zhang Heng walked around the altar and came to the tightly closed bronze temple. In front of the gate, he threw out the stones picked up on the road.

After a while, the bronze door slowly opened, and a young priest rubbed his eyes and poked his head out. However, he looked around, but did not see anyone outside, and then looked further away. Where I was, I saw an owl standing on the wall, and I couldn't help but lower my head and curse.

Owls have always been a symbol of bad luck in Rome, so seeing one is not a good thing.

The young priest did not dare to lie down and look around any longer. He retracted his body and closed the door again. But what he didn't notice was that just as he and the owl were looking at each other, a figure above his head quietly slipped into the temple.

Zhang Heng has been practicing stealth hard during this period, and with the blessing of [Heart of Cleis], even if he passes by ordinary people, it will be difficult to be discovered as long as he is not seen.

Zhang Heng was not in a hurry and waited for a moment in the shadow of the ceiling. It was not until the young priest walked back to his residence that he returned to the ground again. Then he walked to the marble statue of Jupiter.

Zhang Heng's eyes were not on the lifelike statue that could be called a work of art, but on the stone pedestal under the statue. He squatted down and touched the vent underneath.