The space on the first floor of the tower is very spacious, equivalent to a movie theater that can accommodate a hundred people.
The ground is paved with neatly cut mountain rocks and polished so smooth that no gaps can be seen.
The ceiling is about five meters high, with four thick pillars supporting the beams. The column body is red, and the base is made of stone carvings of exotic animals. The strange thing is that about one-third of the upper section of the pillar is covered with copper sheets. Although the surface is bright, it is full of pits.
The ceiling area between the four pillars is covered with one-meter-square copper sheets, and the surface is also pitted.
There is a zigzag staircase at the east and west corners leading to the second floor. On the three-meter-high stone wall, there are three holes next to each other every two meters, about the size of a washbasin, with a total of three rows. The function is not only ventilation, the holes are inlaid with smooth copper sheets, and the sunlight coming in from the three holes is concentrated in a square circle, making it very bright.
An oversized bronze mirror is placed on the wall below each row of holes, and the mirror surface is concave. Moreover, there were wheels at the bottom of the wooden shelf. Qinxuan knew its function immediately. He ran over and wiped off the dust on the bronze mirror, pushed it under the light column, and adjusted the angle. The light was refracted by the concave mirror and transmitted to the ceiling and pillars. The pitted copper sheets then scatter light, making the entire space light up.
If all the copper sheets were polished and the dust on the ground was washed away, it would surely be even more brilliant.
At this time, you can see a large podium with five steps to the north. There are four people in relief on the wall behind, three men and one woman, life-size, all dressed up as ancient people.
There are three stone tripods placed under the stage, which are big enough to fit a whole adult large dog.
The right side of the tripod is engraved with simple lines on a one-horned monster, the middle is a tiger head with two sharp horns, and the left side is engraved on a bird with wings spread.
Seeing that the cauldron was full of incense ashes, Qinxuan thought to himself, could the tower be a sacrificial venue?
According to the ancient organizational system, such lobby-level places are special places such as palaces, noble ancestral halls, and government offices. Civilian buildings are not allowed to exceed four meters in height.
But there is a high platform here, there are human statues, there is a large tripod, and it is decorated with golden light. It makes no sense not to say that it is a place of worship.
At this time, Gongsun Zhi came to the high platform and found a five-meter-long bundle of cloth hanging on the roof near the wall. At first I thought it was a curtain for a portrait, but after looking at it a few more times, I discovered that the material revealed by the cloth roll was red satin. Even though it was dusty, the color was still bright.
It can't be an ordinary curtain using such good satin.
The wooden shaft in the center of the cloth roll is also equipped with wooden rollers at both ends, which are pulled by yellow ropes. The rope was hidden behind the side wall of the relief. When Gongsun Zhi held it in his hand, he discovered that the rope was made of mulberry silk. Although it was only as thick as chopsticks, it was still very strong.
Qin Xuan couldn't help but sigh, "Isn't this the hand-pull roller blind now? It turns out that the ancients had already played with it!"
The two men lowered the cloth roll together, revealing a calligraphy and painting about three meters high.
In the middle of the painting is a map with inscriptions in small seal script on both sides.
Picture on the right: The Wheel of Life is at the end, good and evil are not established, the dragon turns into a snake, and the name is Cang. We have gained the benevolence of heaven and the skills of the immortal sect, and we should benefit the common people. However, this is the way of heaven and cannot be violated. If the chaos of the Cang Snake is not eliminated, all living beings will be destroyed. We have acquired the most precious treasure in the world, built the True Spirit Cave for thirty years, formed the power of the Gang Wheel on the earth, held the breath of the sky stone, and hid the green snake here. Together with his disciples and more than a hundred people, they occupied the five directions and guarded them for generations. After more than fifty years, the green snake will be annihilated, the true spirit seal will be dispersed, and the descendants will be able to see the light of day. The rules and regulations here must be strictly observed and cannot be replaced. The five directions guard the territory, and from generation to generation it cannot expand or change its appearance. The head of each family is not allowed to change his residence, and he has to guard it from generation to generation. This is a forbidden place in the secluded mountain. No one but the owner of the family is allowed to enter. Remember this. Remember this.
Pictured on the left: Green bamboo forest, a land of blossoming trees. If the forest is lush, the true spirit will be enriched, but if it is dry, the ground will be different. This place cannot be empty, nor can it be lived in groups. It can be a place for young children to learn, which is of great help. Quemu Mountain is where the gold essence is. You can get silver, copper, and iron, but you can't get gold. It is a land of clear water and wise water. If the owner's water well dries up, there will be a drought for three years. The fish and water are abundant, which is good for strengthening the body and practicing martial arts. Pingzhao Village, where the earth element is located, is easy to farm mulberry trees and has many barns. Yong'anfang is the land of fire spirits. The land is barren and there are many miscellaneous rocks. In order to protect the fire, the first generation of family owners built various workshops here, which can be followed by future generations.
After seeing the pictures, the two of them realized that the cave was much larger than expected, and the bamboo forest was just one side of the world.
The entire cave is a large egg-shaped basin, with the tip of the egg in the north and the entrance in a gourd-shaped mountain in the northwest.
There are two rivers in the mountains on the northeastern border. The upper one is called Qingshui River. It runs from north to east. The main stream passes through the clear water. At the end of the river, it slopes to the south. It gives birth to a tributary named Huanxi in Pingzhao Village. flows southwest.
The other river, called Lushui River, runs from east to west, passes through the foot of Quemu Mountain, bends through the bamboo forest, crosses Yong'anfang, and disappears in the southwest.
A little north of the center of Dongtian Mansion is the Youshan Forbidden Land, which is not much different in area than a bamboo forest. There are many crosses drawn in the forbidden area, but I don’t know what they mean. A square frame is drawn in the center with an egg shape inside, marked with a meteorite.
Viewed as a whole, Youshan Forbidden Land looks like a strange bloodshot eye, always giving off a sinister aura. This shows that Youshan Forbidden Land must be the place where Youcang is imprisoned.
However, the picture looks simple, but it is written on the upper right side of the picture that the forbidden area of the mountain is not accessible except for the head of the family. This means that even if there is no mechanism in the mountain, it is still a large maze, and it is extremely difficult for outsiders to reach the center without knowing their own way.
At this time, a voice came from the intercom: "Sister, sister, where are you, where are you?"
Qin Xuan responded on the walkie-talkie. After a while, Qin Zhaoyun came to the tower. Before he could finish his praise, Gongsun Zhi asked urgently, "Have you found Xiao Jiang?"
Qin Zhaoyun shook his head and sighed, "It's hard to find traces of that guy. His route of action was very jumpy, and he finally disappeared in front of a strange forest."
Qinxuan asked, "Is it out of the mountain forest east of the bamboo forest?"
Qin Zhaoyun had already seen the calligraphy and painting, pointed at the picture and said, "Yes, it is the Forbidden Land of Youshan."
Gongsun Zhi asked, "You said Linzi is to blame, how do you blame it?"
Qin Zhaoyun said, "It's really like setting up a brazier in the hall. The whole hall is red, with a mountain of red maples and red leaves. Even the ground is covered with fallen leaves. Looking at the open space, it's flat. If you step on it, you can tell whether it's a pit or an old one. The rotten mud made it difficult to walk step by step. I only walked ten meters in and felt that I couldn't put my foot down. Everything was soft when I stepped on it. I couldn't climb trees inside. There were red ants on the trees and centipedes hidden in the cracks. The person who walked into the river to drink wine should not be an individual."
Gongsun Zhi frowned deeply, "This is not going to be easy. The compass is out of order here, and we will definitely not be able to pass through such a dangerous mountain forest in a short time."
Qin Xuan said, "Senior brother, it says that the forbidden area is not accessible except to the family heads. I think these family heads must know the way up the mountain, or hold some kind of pass. Why don't we go find it."
Gongsun Zhi said, "Your idea is feasible."
Qin Zhaoyun said, "Then we can save time by looking for them separately."
"No!" Gongsun Zhi said, "Let's not talk about why there is no one here, but whether there is anyone elsewhere. If we spread our actions, we can easily be plotted. Furthermore, this place is very vast and communication is inconvenient. We must act together. We cannot do anything just to save people. I'm anxious. If the second master can't protect Xiao Jiang, then it would be in vain for us to go early."
The brother and sister nodded, and Gongsun Zhi continued, "This is the Green Bamboo Forest, which literally means a school for educating children. Since there are ancestral teachings here, it means that there are documents recording history here. Let's look for clues first and see where they are. The head of the family has what we need."
The brother and sister made a statement and went up to the second floor.
The second floor is full of bookshelves, with six rows and three columns.
There are three floors of bookshelves, with different bamboo slips placed on each floor. The bamboo slips are packed in cloth bags, and wooden plaques are hung at the mouth of the bundles to mark the titles of the books. There are Daxue, Doctrine of the Mean, Analects of Confucius, Book of Songs, Book of Rites... all books for study.
So the three of them went up to the third floor, and what they saw was a mess.
The bookshelves fell to the ground, and some fell apart. The cloth wrappings of almost all the bamboo slips were damaged, and bamboo fragments were scattered everywhere, with traces of fire among them. Moreover, there are several scratches left by sharp objects on the four walls, the deepest of which can penetrate more than half of the palm of your hand.
The three of them looked through it for a while, but couldn't find a complete tablet, and there were traces of oil stains on many bamboo pieces.
There are various signs that there has been a large-scale armed fight here, and the enemy was stronger in the early stage.
Because the cloth wrapping of the bamboo slips would not be removed during the fight, it means that after the enemy captured the tower, they read almost all the bamboo slips. Regardless of whether the enemy found what they wanted, the enemy eventually burned this place to the ground. Fortunately, reinforcements arrived in time, put out the fire and went to pursue the enemy, but for some reason they never came back to clean up the enemy.
The three of them were depressed for a while, and wanted to go to the fourth floor to try their luck. As a result, they felt like they were strangling themselves when they went up.
The fourth floor is full of weapon racks, most of which are sword racks. If the shelves were full, there would be at least fifty swords, fifteen lances or knives, five bows, and maybe a few shields.
However, the shelves were all empty at the moment, not even a sword shell.
When I thought about it, these weapons might be the weapons of Zuo Ci's disciples. Even if they were not made by famous masters, they were real antiquities. The brother and sister felt as if they had been robbed, and felt as if their hearts were being torn out.
Gongsun Zhi couldn't help but sigh that it was a pity. He looked sadly at the shelf to see if there were any names or symbols engraved on it. When he found no names or symbols, he relaxed his face.
But after browsing four floors, I still didn't find any useful information.
Only the sentry pavilion at the top was left unchecked. The three of them didn't hold out any hope. They just wanted to climb up and have a look at the terrain. However, as soon as they showed up, they saw two human bones hanging in front of the pavilion pillars!
Two human bones were hanging in the air, naked. The bones in their bodies had dried and were very white. Most of the floor beneath the human bones was soaked with blood and was now black.
A thick and long arrow, like a spear, penetrated the ribs in front of the heart and entered the top of the pavilion pillar. It actually penetrated the pavilion pillar as thick as the waist, and the arrowhead was exposed for more than two inches!
The long arrow tilts upward from below, indicating that the arrow was shot from downstairs. Judging from the angle, the archery position must be at least a hundred meters away from the tower, so that the person can be nailed to the pillar at the current angle.
The three of them were very shocked. What kind of crossbow could be so powerful?
The three of them unanimously disagreed that this was man-made. Even if they stood on the ladder and shot arrows at close range, they could shoot through the pillars with the arrows. Even if they called Li Yuanba, who was holding a thousand-jin cauldron with one hand, he would not be able to do it.
The most likely thing is that the mechanical skills here have been brought to the extreme, making cold weapons no less powerful than firearms.
The three of them looked around with uneasiness. They saw the Calabash Mountain where they came from, the Forbidden Mountains full of red mountains, the south side full of cacti and strange rocks, and a bare mountain in the northeast. They felt depressed again. .
It seems that the picture has not been updated for a long time, and it is different from the actual picture.
At this moment, Qinxuan discovered that there was a vague peak behind Bald Mountain, which was not marked on the map.
The three of them took it together and decided to explore the mountain first.
