Hua Yitang reclined comfortably on the bed, with his legs crossed and a pair of feet dangling leisurely. Behind him was a thick cushion, which was wrapped with a layer of bamboo mat, which could breathe and dissipate sweat. It's not too hard. He was a delicate and frail dandy who was tied to a tree and floated for several days. His waist and thighs were covered with bruises. This was his medal of glory for playing the God of Flowers. If it weren't for the inconvenient location, he would have been exposed. It was revealed.
There were several cases placed in front of the Hu bed. Lin Sui'an, Fang Ke, and Zhu Zhushu each sat on one side, staring at the Chengxian Fangtu on the cases and worrying. Although they have achieved some success in pretending to be the God of Flowers, the power of the Dragon God Temple is still there. It is deeply rooted, its strength cannot be underestimated, and it still needs to be done step by step. The most important thing is that until now, the source of the raw material of Talisman Water - Dragon God Fruit has not been found.
Fang Ke: "Based on the concentration of Talisman Water, it takes half a kilogram of Dragon God Fruit, or thirteen Dragon God Fruits, to refine a bottle of Talisman Water."
Hua Yitang: "There are at least more than 400 bottles of talisman water in the secret library. Plus the dragon god fruit in the dye vat, the dragon god fruit that the Dragon God Temple can use should exceed several hundred kilograms."
Lin Sui'an: "Such a large demand cannot be met by wild dragon fruit. There must be a large-scale artificial cultivation and planting base."
Zhu Dachang traced his finger along the outer edge of the Cheng County map and then traced back, "Where did they plant the Dragon God Fruit?"
"There is no such thing as Chengshan Mountain. There are only a small amount of wild Dragon God Fruits on the south bank of Longshen Lake. They have not been found around the exit of the secret passage. Could it be——" Hua Yitang clicked on the map, "It's inside the Dragon God Temple?"
"I have dug through the inside and outside of Longshen Temple. Not to mention the fruit, I didn't even see a leaf." Yun Zhongyue climbed through the window with Taoist Master Xuanqing's face in mind, and sat in Zhu Dachang's seat. Next to him, Zhu Dachang felt disgusted when he saw this Taoist robe. He had no choice but to get angry but did not dare to speak, so he could only secretly rub his buttocks away.
Hua Yitang: "Brother Yun, don't you have to keep an eye on Xuan Ming at Dragon God Temple? Isn't it unethical to go to Hua's place to eat and drink every day?"
Yun Zhongyue picked a piece of snack and threw it into his mouth, and said with a smile: "Xuan Mingsan has too much time to take care of himself. He coughs up blood every day and has heart palpitations every night. Doctor Fang, your life-threatening poison is really damaging. I can't see it at all." Without us taking action, Xuan Ming wouldn’t be able to live for more than a few days.”
Fang Ke glanced at Yun Zhongyue and said, "The poison I made shouldn't have such an effect. You don't have to compliment me like this. Fang can't bear it."
Yun Zhongyue was startled, "I'm not flattering or exaggerating at all, it's the truth!"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone was stunned.
Mu Xia came over with a fruit plate. The fruits in the plate were cut into thin and transparent pieces and bloomed like petals. There was also a delicate wooden fork beside the plate. Mu Xia forked a piece and handed it to Hua Yitang. Hua Yitang handed it to Lin Sui. An, Mu Xia had no choice but to give the second piece to Hua Yitang.
"Before, when I was ordered by Shiro to chat with the neighbors to find out about the Dragon God, I heard a lot of strange rumors. It didn't sound like a big deal. They were all about things like hens not laying eggs and donkeys losing their hair. The family dog died inexplicably and so on," Mu Xia said, "I wonder if it has something to do with the Dragon God?"
Hua Yitang and Lin Sui'an looked at each other and frowned.
Hua Yitang: "Master Zhu, where does the drinking water in Cheng County come from?"
"Since the Dragon God Temple sealed the south gate and prohibited people from approaching the Dragon God Lake, the people basically use well water." Zhu Dachang understood instantly and couldn't help but gasped, "Could it be——"
Lin Sui'an: "The water source in Cheng County is polluted."
Zhu Dashang's face turned pale.
Fang Ke: "The old doctor in Guangdu said that the Dragon God Fruit likes warm weather and darkness. It mostly grows near moist swamps. According to this habit, it can also be planted on a large scale underground."
Hua Yitang sneered: "Doctor Fang's medicine is just an introduction at best. Xuanming is now seriously poisoned and is incurable. It is probably because he planted the Dragon God Fruit in the underground secret passage or cave near Longshen Temple, so the underground water of Longshen Temple is The toxin pollution in the city is even worse than in the city. It’s really your own fault.”
Lin Sui'an: "Master Zhu, do you know about the groundwater system in Cheng County?"
Zhu Dachang wiped his sweat and said, "I know, I understand!"
With that said, he quickly drew the direction of the underground water flow on the map of the map shop, called Li Nili over, gave a few quick instructions, and handed over the map. Li Nili looked shocked and hurriedly left with his fists clasped.
"Cheng County is close to a lake and has a complicated groundwater system. It will take time to investigate." Zhu Dachang asked, "Is it too late?"
"There's enough time." Hua Yitang said.
"It's too late." Fang Ke said.
Zhu Dachang was a little confused. He looked at Hua Yitang and Fang Chu, not knowing who to listen to.
Fang Ke glared and said, "Jin Ruotuo Jingmen's first batch of water-bathed silver toads transported into Cheng County have been destroyed by you. The subsequent water-bathed silver toads can only be transported from Yangdu Port. I don't know how long it will take." , the antidote can’t be replenished, it’s too late.”
Hua Yitang touched his nose and did not dare to refute.
Giving away so much flower dew was also for the sake of the glorious image of the God of Flowers. Without those flower dew, he could only become a god of wealth at best. How could he compete with the dragon god who controls life and death.
Thinking like this, Hua Yitang rolled his eyes in a circle and found that Lin Sui'an had been frowning and silent, looking thoughtful. He was about to speak, but Yun Zhongyue asked first.
"With Madam Lin's expression, are you thinking of other clues?"
Hua Yitang puffed up his cheeks and glared at Yun Zhongyue, thinking that this thief was really starting to treat him less and less as an outsider, and actually dared to steal his limelight.
Lin Sui'an: "I've been thinking about what Mr. Qiu said before he died, and I think there's something fishy about it."
Hua Yitang caught on to the topic and asked quickly, "Didn't Mr. Qiu lose consciousness before he died?"
Lin Sui'an: "But at the last moment, he seemed to regain consciousness for a moment and said the word 'kill'."
Everyone: "Kill?"
Zhu Dachang: "Who to kill?"
Lin Sui'an shook his head, "Now that I think about it, maybe he wasn't talking about killing, but about tea."
Hua Yitang: "How do you say that?"
Lin Sui'an sat up straight and said seriously, "I have been to Mr. Qiu's teahouse twice. The first time I was not poisoned, but the second time I was poisoned. What's strange is that after I entered the teahouse the second time, I didn't eat anything." If you drink anything, why would you get poisoned?”
Hua Yitang: "You once said that there was a strong incense in the teahouse. Could it be that the incense was poisonous?"
Lin Sui'an nodded, "That's about it. But the first time I went to the teahouse, I smelled the same incense. The only difference was that that day I drank a cup of tea cooked by Master Qiu. When Master Qiu cooked the tea, , kept nagging that the tea was the secret recipe of medicinal tea sent by his old friend, shopkeeper Zhu of Zhu's Pharmacy. It contained many precious medicinal materials. Because the tea was full of fragrance and exquisite in color, it was named "Xianglong" '. I speculate that the medicinal tea is the antidote to the Dragon God Fruit."
Fang Ke suddenly became energetic, "Ms. Lin, do you still remember the specific ratio of medicinal materials?"
Lin Sui'an glanced at Fang Ke rather sadly, thinking that Doctor Fang also thought highly of her. The medicinal materials were all ground into powder, and they all smelled so bitter that it was impossible to tell them apart, let alone even if they were not ground. She doesn’t know the medicinal powder either.
Fang Ke: "How does the medicinal tea taste?"
Lin Sui'an's face became even more bitter: "It's as good as Eta's craftsmanship."
"..."
Hua Yitang pondered: "Xianglong? Xianglong - could it be -"
Yun Zhongyue: "The homophone of subduing dragon?"
Being snatched away by Yun Zhongyue again, Hua Yitang was very unhappy. He glared at Yun Zhongyue and spoke faster, "The formula of the herbal tea may not be the key. Maybe we can consider it from another angle. The secret of Xiande Village and Simian Village The Tao opening mechanisms are all reliefs. The reliefs at Simianzhuang are Dragon God Fruits, and the reliefs at Xiandezhuang are——"
Lin Sui'an: "It's camellia."
Fang Ke's eyes lit up, "There must be an antidote to the poison within a hundred steps. Dragon God Fruit is produced in Cheng County, and local doctors are most familiar with it. Maybe they have found something that is incompatible with it and recorded this discovery in the tea recipe." And on the reliefs, the so-called subduing the dragon must be an allusion to subduing the dragon fruit. Does Mrs. Lin still remember what kind of tea Master Qiu makes? "
Lin Sui'an showed a bewildered expression, "It's Baihua tea, a specialty of Cheng County."
Everyone fell silent, staring at each other for a long time, then silently turned their gaze to the outer courtyard.
Ita was instructing Qiu Laoba, Bingsi and others to make the original antidote soup. The language functions of Bingsi and Bingsi recovered very slowly. Until now, they can only speak a few words, which coincides with Eta's big tongue. Tang and Yu complemented each other, and there was no barrier to communication. After a few days of working together, Yita had already replaced Lin Sui'an and became the boss of the four Bings.
Eta: "Boil the medicine and make a small fire!"
Bingsi4: "Small fire."
"Take your time, don't rush."
"Not urgent."
"Careful, fan."
"Fan yourself."
Xiaoyu squatted beside him with his cheeks in his hands and watched, smiling so hard that his eyes were crooked, "Ita is awesome, Ita is mighty!"
Lin Sui'an smashed the tooth flower, and Hua Yitang waved a small fan, "Oh, Hua's luck has come, and I can't stop it."
Fang Ke was too lazy to pay attention to him and stood up to call Xiaoyu over to check his pulse. When Xiaoyu agreed to help Eta before, he had diagnosed Xiaoyu once. At that time, he only felt that Xiaoyu's poisoning was very mild. He was quite lucky and only sent one After taking the small bottle of antidote, a few days later, I listened to my pulse again and discovered that Xiaoyu's Dragon God Fruit poison had been completely detoxified, faster than anyone else's detoxification speed.
Xiaoyu sat awkwardly on the cushion, surrounded by a circle of eyeballs. Hua Yitang, Lin Sui'an, Yun Zhongyue and Zhu Dachang all shone brightly, especially at the moment. The dry well-like eyes were as bright as the wild mountains. Wolf.
Xiaoyu sweatdropped, "Doctor Fang, if you have anything to say, please speak directly. Don't look at me like that, making you panic."
Fang Ke: "Where do you get your hundred-flower tea?"
"There is a large wild tea forest in the back mountain of Chengshan Mountain."
"Is there a dragon fruit growing nearby?"
"...didn't pay attention."
"Besides you, who else likes to drink flower tea?"
Xiaoyu's face darkened, "Everyone except grandpa doesn't like to drink it. The flower tea doesn't taste good, so the tea shops don't accept it, the people in the city don't like it, and the tea stalls in the suburbs can't sell a few bowls. "
Hua Yitang: "I remember when we entered the city, there were a few farmers drinking tea at your tea stall."
"You said Brother Li and the others, yes, they also drink some." Xiaoyu said, "They came because my tea is cheap."
Lin Sui'an: "On the day of worship at the Dragon God Temple, Jin Ruo visually measured the weight of all the people and said that almost everyone weighed 40% less than ordinary people. Only Xiaoyu and those farm men were no different from ordinary people. .”
Yun Zhongyue: "Hey, hey, could it be that everyone has been searching for him for thousands of times, but the antidote is right at your fingertips?"
"It's not an antidote, but a medicine that can replace the water-bathed silver toad." A hard smile flashed across Fang Ke's skinny face, "Master Zhu, please invite those farm men to the county government."
Zhu Da was so frightened by Fang Ke's smile that he hurriedly ran out to ask for help. Fang Ke turned around and went to his workbench, tinkering with his bottles and jars, and took out all the autopsy instruments. Wiping each piece carefully, smiling ferociously while wiping.
Yun Zhongyue was horrified when she saw this, "Hey, hey, hey, this little coward of yours doesn't want to cut up all those people for experiments, right?"
Hua Yitang's face twitched a few times, "Should—"
Lin Sui'an: "That's not true..."
Just as he was talking, Fang Ke picked up his big wooden box and went straight to the kitchen, asking Mu Xia to help him make a mouse trap.
The three of them breathed a long sigh of relief.
Yun Zhongyue: "Ms. Lin, think about it quickly, what else did Mr. Qiu say?"
Lin Sui'an scratched his forehead, "He also mentioned his brother, Qiu Liang, the magistrate of Cheng County. He said that Qiu Liang was very strong and could carry several tanks of water. He also said that he had not seen Qiu Liang for a long time and missed him very much."
Yun Zhongyue: "Hey, hey, I have an ominous premonition. Could it be that Qiu Liang is dead?"
"No, that's not what he wants to say." Hua Yitang quickly shook his small fan and said, "I remember that strange things happened frequently in Xiande Village, and one of them was about the water tank."
Lin Sui'an nodded: "Qiu Laoba and I's job at Xiande Village is to fill ten tanks of water every day. The kitchen in Xiande Village never fires, but these ten tanks of water and firewood are all used up every day."
Hua Yitang closed the fan with a snap, "There's something wrong with those water tanks!"
Lin Sui'an nodded, "I'll take Qiu Laoba to explore again tonight."
Zhu's mother walked in with joy and sat down at the vacant seat in Fang Ke. "Silang, it's done. After my lobbying, the Zhu family has become convinced of the theory of the Flower God. We can finally compete with the Dragon God Temple branch." ”
"Thank you for your hard work, Aunt Zhu." Hua Yitang poured a cup of tea for Zhu's mother with a smile, "Now we just need to add fuel to the fire."
Yun Zhongyue glanced at Lin Sui'an, "What does this guy who is afraid of chaos in the world want to do?"
Lin Sui'an shrugged.
Hua Yitang shook his small fan, swayed his head, and said happily, "Now that the flower god is at the top of the sky and majestic, he will naturally pursue the victory." He took out a scroll book from his sleeve and flicked it open, showing it, "Next step, Naturally, we will build a temple according to the unparalleled and handsome appearance of my Lord Flower God, Feng Shen, trample the Dragon God Temple under our feet, and capture Cheng County in one fell swoop!"
Everyone stared at the portrait in Hua Yitang's hand in astonishment. In the painting, the immortal is clothed in rays of sunshine and is unparalleled in splendor. There are lotuses growing under his feet and hundreds of flowers blooming behind him. His painting skills are at their peak, with fine brushstrokes, especially the high and deep lines on the clothes. , side, curl, float, slant, natural wind | flow, the ultimate creation, the ink is mixed with gold powder, when the scroll scroll shakes, the clothes and sleeves of the immortal in the painting flash, lifelike, if not for the face of Zhang Yang, the most dandy , a bit eye-catching, such a fine piece should be listed as a national treasure.
Yun Zhongyue: "You didn't draw this yourself, did you?"
Hua Yitang was proud: "Other than me, Shiro Huajia, who else in the world can depict the flower god's stunning appearance so realistically?"
Mother Zhu was full of admiration and said, "This painting is very good. If it can be made into embroidery, it will definitely sell well in the five major capitals of the Tang Dynasty!"
Hua Yitang: "That's natural!"
Lin Sui'an helped his forehead.
Yun Zhongyue looked away with a trembling face, unable to bear to look directly.
In all my years in the world, I have never seen such a shameless person!
This was Qiu Laoba's first night visit to Xiande Village. Even with Lin Sui'an holding the line, he was still so nervous that he was sweating all over.
Lin Sui'an, on the other hand, had an indifferent expression. He easily climbed over the wall and entered the village, strolling around while looking around, just like strolling in a garden. Qiu Laoba was frightened and reminded Lin Sui'an several times not to be so showy, but he was ignored. .
Soon Qiu Laoba understood why Lin Sui'an was so confident. It was pitch dark in Xiande Manor and there was no one at all. Since the theory of the flower god appearing in Cheng County has become popular in Cheng County, the influence of the Qiu family has become less and less. Qiu Hong seems to have accepted his fate and hides in his private house every day. According to Qiu Bo, this In the past few days, several elders of the Qiu family have lived in Qiu Hong's house, plotting something unknown.
"Ms. Lin, are you looking for something here?" Even though he knew that Xiande Village was now an empty village, Qiu Laoba still didn't dare to speak loudly.
Lin Sui'an: "Actually, I don't know what I'm looking for. I guess it's just shitty luck."
Qiu Laoba nodded repeatedly, "Shit is good, shit is good."
After he learned Lin Sui'an's true identity, he admired and respected his savior even more. As long as Mrs. Lin said it, it was correct. Even if she said that dog shit smells good, there was no problem.
But as they walked, Qiu Laoba felt that something was wrong. Lin Sui'an actually entered the side courtyard along the old road they used to work, entered the kitchen, and wandered around the ten large water tanks.
Qiu Laoba understood it after thinking for a while, and was immediately moved to tears: Mrs. Lin is taking him to visit his old place again, remembering the bitterness and remembering the sweetness!
But before the tears could fall, Lin Sui'an suddenly grasped the mouth of the tank with both hands and lifted the large water tank that was as tall as a person with a breath.
Qiu Laoba's chin hit the ground. He wanted to help but was unable to intervene, so he could only encourage him verbally: "Ms. Lin, please take it easy and don't duck."
Lin Sui'an held up the water tank and shook it, but found nothing. He put the water tank aside firmly, then lifted the second, third, and fourth one with a sigh - moving all ten large water tanks to the outside. , circle around the mark of the water tank on the ground.
Qiu Laoba didn't know why, so he followed behind and circled three or four times. Lin Sui'an squatted down and swept away the loose soil on the ground, "Qiu Laoba, dig down from here."
Only then did Qiu Laoba realize the reason why he had brought him here. It turned out that he was interested in his mace's ability to dig in the earth. He immediately became very energetic. He spread his arms and worked harder. In a short time, he dug three feet into the ground. Then, he could not dig anymore. .
Underground, a hard stone slab appeared.
Lin Sui'an touched it with his hand, and as expected, it was a camellia relief mechanism. He pressed the petals in order, and the stone slab moved to the side with a click, revealing a dark secret passage.
"Qiu Laoba, you stay outside and I'll go in and take a look." Lin Sui'an took out the Night Pearl and ordered.
Qiu Laoba nodded dumbly, not sure whether he was frightened by the mechanism or shocked by Ye Mingzhu.
This secret passage is much shallower than the secret passage under the teahouse of Master Qiu. It is only five or six feet away from the ground. It is different from the meticulous style of the previous secret passage. The craftsmanship is very rough, as if it was excavated and built on a temporary basis. Lin As Sui'an walked, he smelled a smell, like the smell of animal feces and rotten plants that had accumulated and fermented. It was extremely unpleasant and nauseating.
Fortunately, Lin Sui'an was prepared and took out Muxia's specially made incense towel and hung it on his face, so his breathing became a little smoother.
Soon, the secret passage came to the end, and there was another stone slab. Lin Sui'an touched it from top to bottom, but found no mechanism. Just when he was wondering, there was a sound from behind the stone slab, boom, boom, boom, like Something alive was hitting.
Lin Sui'an listened close to the stone slab. The rhythm of the tapping was irregular. He didn't know whether it was a person or an animal on the other side. After thinking about it, he knocked twice.
The movement in the stone slab suddenly stopped, and then the tapping speed became faster, as if to convey something urgently.
Lin Sui'an understood that there was a person inside, and quickly shouted, "Back off!"
The knocking sound stopped. Lin Sui'an waited for a while to make sure that the knocking sound did not sound again. He took out Qian Jing and drew a knife with his backhand. The green light of the knife drew a shock on the stone wall. The stone slab cracked. Lin Sui'an He yelled "Back off!" and slapped it away with his palm. The stone wall collapsed, sending out a large plume of smoke and dust. The stench poured out overwhelmingly, completely covering the scent of the mask. Lin Sui'an almost vomited and held his hands. Mounoose quickly took a few steps back.
The smoke and dust gradually dispersed, and inside the stone wall was a stone chamber. No, it was more like a stone prison than a stone chamber. A few weak rays of light fell from the gaps in the high stone wall, and sticky things on the ground exuded. Lin Sui'an only glanced at the unspeakable stench and quickly looked away, not daring to think about it.
A figure was sitting on the only small patch of dry ground. His body was stooped and so weak that he couldn't even breathe.
Lin Sui'an came forward holding the luminous pearl. The man seemed to feel the light of the luminous pearl and slowly raised his head. Lin Sui'an was startled and took half a step back.
Under the dim light of the night pearl, a face was reflected. The white hair was disheveled, the facial features were dirty, the face was full of wrinkles, and tears were everywhere. It was actually seventy-nine times similar to the old owner Qiu.
Lin Sui'an was shocked: "Could it be that you are the magistrate of Cheng County - Qiu Liang?!"
The man's body trembled violently and nodded. :,,
