48 Hours a Day

Chapter 889: Owl And Bad Luck

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

On his left, the guests in Lucilla’s domus were still singing and dancing. When the musician plucked the lyre’s string, its melodious tune coupled with the laughter of the guests broke through from the other side of the wall. It was as if the happiness would never end.

But in comparison, the street outside the domus was quieter.

It was past midnight. Hence, no pedestrians were walking around the street.

This was not good news for Zhang Heng since assassins usually preferred chaotic environments like crowded markets or an arena full of spectators or a tavern or brothel with a constant flow of customers. In places like these, Zhang Heng could make an assassin disappear easily.

Fortunately, the moon was not too bright tonight, and the darkness could provide Zhang Heng with some disguise. He didn’t go looking for Altrus right away after leaving the domus, heading back to the southeast city instead to change into a set of black clothes, one more suitable for what he was about to do. He also heard the sound of footsteps in the corridor when he added some arrows to his quiver.

They were almost silent, and if it were not for the zero-maintenance floor of this apartment, Zhang Heng would find it hard to hear footsteps through a door even with his excellent hearing. These footsteps could only belong to an assassin.

Zhang Heng was not surprised to find an assassin following him. It was no secret that he had formed a new force in the southeast city. Besides, the Hounds had Beehive collecting all kinds of information for them in Rome. After Zhang Heng foresaw his identity might be exposed, he asked Marcus from the southeast city to arrange several safe houses for him. However, now it seemed the Hounds also controlled the location they were at.

In addition to the assassins that ambushed him at his domus, the Hounds had also arranged for some personnel to deal with Zhang Heng here.

The footsteps from the hallway finally stopped outside his house. Still counting the arrows in the quiver, Zhang Heng pretended that he did not hear him. He even packed two figs to snack on during his journey later.

The assassins in the hallway, on the other hand, were probably ready to attack Zhang Heng. He quietly unlocked the door. However, when they entered the room, they found out that there was no one inside. They could not help but glance at each other.

In the room opposite his, Zhang Heng put on his hood and looked back again to make sure that he left nothing behind. After that, he stuck his body out of the window and climbed the brick wall to the top of the building. Upon arrival, he jumped from the top of the building to the slightly lower apartments next door. When he landed on the ground, he walked into a dark alley and disappeared completely.

The safe house Zhang Heng had arranged with the help of Marcus was to bait the Hounds. Later, he asked Soap to find a few trusted locals to rent the opposite unit quietly. It would serve as Zhang Heng’s real hideout in the event of a crisis.

After losing the assassin behind him, Zhang Heng set off to the first place that he wanted to go tonight.

That place was Rome Square.

Every city has its center, and Rome was no exception. Its center was located at Rome Square. More than a dozen centuries ago, it was but a desolate, mosquito-ridden swamp, with not a single soul inhabiting the place. There were even Romans who buried their dead relatives here. However, several centuries later, a large drain was built, draining away all the water from the valley, and turning the ground. hard

At that time, Rome was still in its Republican phase. The people who lived there paved the way and built the temples and Basilica, making it more and more prosperous as time went by. Gradually, it formed a huge square. When the Empire era arrived, the continuous expansion of the territory caused an explosion in population. The original Rome Square could no longer meet the people’s needs, so a total of five new squares were built around it, one after another.

But there was no doubt that the Roman Square was still the most central area of Rome. The former emperor Marc Aurelius once gave a speech about how he felt about Caesar here. The pillar coated in gold in front of the podium was the starting point for all roads leaving Rome. Hence the saying, “All roads lead to Rome.”

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

Among them, the two most majestic temples stood on the top of the mountain, one on the left and the other on the right. They were the temples of King Jupiter and Queen Juno. Knowing that Altrus had to be in one of the two temples, Zhang Heng wasted no time and ascended the wide stone steps.

During the daytime, the Roman Square was the busiest place in the entire city of Rome. Crowded with people, the devoted believers would line up in front of the large and small temples. At the same time, the beggars took the opportunity to ask for food or copper coins. Vendors, too, would sell their products in the stalls around the square. One could always hear the constant haggling among vendors here in Basilica.

But now, after entering the night, everything fell silent. Only the holy fire of the Temple of Vesta was still burning. Zhang Heng did not encounter any obstacles along the way and quickly made it up to the top of the mountain.

After a short bout of hesitation, he went up to the Jupiter Temple on the left. The flame on the altar had been extinguished, leaving only some charred bones and garlands around. Zhang Heng walked around the altar and came to the closed bronze gate. He then picked up a stone and threw it at the gate.

After Zhang Heng waited for a while, the bronze gate opened slowly. A young priest rubbed his eyes and stuck his head out of the temple. However, after scanning his surroundings, he saw no one. He strained to look a little further before eventually seeing an owl standing on the wall. He could not help but curse.

Owls had always been a symbol of bad luck in Rome. Hence, spotting one was not a good thing.

The young priest did not dare to look around anymore. He retreated and closed the gate again. While he looked at the bird, a person slipped into the temple silently. Recently, Zhang Heng had been practicing his stealth ability assiduously. Coupled witKreis’ Heart’s blessing, it was difficult for an ordinary person to notice him unless he was spotted.

Zhang Heng was not in a hurry. He waited for a while on the ceiling. It was not before the young priest walked back to his residence that Zhang Heng returned to the ground, closing up on Jupiter’s marble statue.

His attention was not focused on the lifelike idol, a magnificent work of art on its own right. Instead, he was looking at the stone seat under the idol. He knelt down and touched the hole with air coming out of it.