"Okay, okay, I said." Mu Qingyan smiled, "Let me ask you first, do you feel cold or hot now?"
Cai Zhao was startled and unconsciously raised his collar, "It's a little cold."
Mu Qingyan said: "Wu'an Mountain is already cold and remote, and it is a shady mountain valley. It is quite chilly in early summer now, not to mention that your father came in early spring back then."
Cai Zhao nodded.
Mu Qingyan: "My father was in a daze in the cemetery for a long time that day, so he must have been cold. Under normal circumstances, he was blown by the cold mountain wind for a long time. What should he do after he returns?"
Cai Zhao: "Of course I should drink a bowl of ginger soup to ward off the cold."
"But your aunt asked your father to wash his face with cold water." Mu Qingyan said slowly.
Cai Zhao took a breath and was filled with shock: "...Why is this?" She scratched her ears and raised her head after a moment, "Did my father's face get reddened by the sun?"
Mu Qingyan's eyes showed appreciation: "I guess that's it."
"So that's it, that's it!" Cai Zhao said to himself, "No wonder my dad feels strange, because he vaguely remembers that his face was heated by the sun more than ten years ago, but not a few months ago."
She looked around confusedly, "But it's clearly shady here, and the sunlight is very scarce in early summer. It was early spring, how could my father's face be reddened by the sun?"
Mu Qingyan's eyes darkened and he said slowly: "There must be a place here with particularly abundant sunshine, enough to heat people up."
Cai Zhao followed his gaze and looked around. A cold wind blew by, and the tombs in the wilderness were filled with gloomy energy.
Chapter 102
More than an hour later, Mu and Cai met again in front of Mrs. Chang's tombstone.
Just now, they walked back and forth around the cemetery to test the sunlight, standing beside every corner, every gable, and even every tombstone for a short while, but still found nothing.
Cai Zhao's face was blue and her lips were white due to the mountain wind. Mu Qingyan took out a small silver pot from the bamboo basket at his feet and handed it over to her to drink some wine to warm her body.
"How about digging a grave." He used to touch the girl's messy hair. Cai Zhao leaned back to avoid it, but he didn't feel dissatisfied. "As long as we dig up the back mountain one by one, everything under the ground will be there." It’s clear. The brothers selected by Shangguan Haonan are very capable. It is said that our ancestors originally started by robbing tombs, so it only takes half a day.”
"Master Mu, please respect yourself." Cai Zhao threw the small silver pot back into the bamboo basket with a straight face, "The people buried here are all heroes of the right path who helped the strong and supported the weak. You actually let tomb robbers dig their graves!"
Mu Qingyan clasped his hands behind his back, "Then please tell Miss Cai what to do next. I'm at my wits' end."
Today he wears a black brocade robe with a waist and narrow sleeves. The robe reaches the floor and his waist is straight. Because he is tall and thin, he looks particularly good dressed like this. Standing in the wind in the lush wilderness, he looks even more slender and tall as a pine tree.
Cai Zhao turned his gaze away slightly, sighed and reorganized his thoughts, "My father said that he was standing on the stone steps to the south at that time..."
"That's right here." Mu Qingyan pointed to the small three-story steps made of bluestone slabs in front of him.
——The steps extend to the cemetery. On the steps is a stone tripod that is as big as two people can hold it. There are two bluestone strips on the left and right sides of the stone tripod for placing tributes and offerings. Behind it is a wide stone wall, which is as tall as one person. It is wider than the distance between the two stone steps below, enough for more than twenty people to stand side by side, and a righteous song is carved on it with flying dragons and phoenixes.
Cai Zhao lowered his head and stepped on the stone steps, "My father said he stood here for most of the day."
"There are stone steps on the left and right, which are used to climb up to the altar, so where is your father standing?" Mu Qingyan continued to unravel, "And what step is he standing on?"
Cai Zhao ignored him and continued to talk to himself, "My aunt was discussing important matters with Chang Daxia, so she came to call dad back. It must have been dinner time, so dad stood from morning to evening..."
Mu Qingyan: "Only two or three people can walk side by side on these two stone steps. We have all stood on them just now, and we don't feel hot at all."
Cai Zhao glared at him, "Don't interrupt."
Mu Qingyan smiled: "I'm just giving you advice."
"I don't need you to come up with ideas. I'll go down the mountain later and ask Senior Brother Fan to find me a hundred or eighty brothers. They will stand all over the cemetery and let them sit in the sun for a whole day. Then we will know where the difference is. ." Cai Zhao looked proud.
Mu Qingyan thought for a moment and said, "This is a good idea, but if your father remembers it wrong, he was sitting down at the time."
"Then come back the next day and let all the brothers sit in the cemetery full of sunshine all day long."
Mu Qingyan added: "That's okay. But it's best if you find someone who is about the same height as your father. If there is a difference in height, even if you stand in the right position, you may not be able to get the sun's rays on your face, and you may not be able to notice it if it hits your head or chest. .”
Cai Zhao held back his anger and said, "Okay, I'll ask the senior brothers to try to find someone who is similar in stature to dad."
Mu Qingyan also had something to say: "You still need to write to ask your father how tall he was back then. Most young people will still grow taller before they are twenty years old. I remember that your father was only a teenager at that time, so maybe he was not tall enough." It’s enough.”
Cai Zhao was angry: "Why are you so troublesome!"
Mu Qingyan let out a clear laugh, "I'm doing this all for your own good. The so-called mistake of a slightest step is a mistake of a thousand miles..."
"I don't want you to worry about it!" Cai Zhao took a breath and put on a calm and composed temperament on his face, "Okay, today's business is done, you might as well leave first."
Mu Qingyan: "Why should I leave?"
Cai Zhao stamped his feet: "When my senior brothers come up, but you are here, as soon as you meet each other, wouldn't it be, wouldn't it be..."
Mu Qingyan raised his eyelids and said with a gloomy look, "Xiao Cai, you are a little too agile in killing the donkey."
"Are you leaving or not!"
"Not leaving."
Cai Zhao held his breath, then slightly opened the five fingers of his right hand, and used the Dragon Capturing Skill to make a false grab on the ground. Then he turned his palm and struck forward. A stone the size of a child's head quickly hit Mu Qingyan.
According to her idea, Mu Qingyan only had to wave his palm to block the stone, and the stone immediately fell into pieces. Unexpectedly, Mu Qingyan did not move his hands, but turned sideways to avoid the flying stone.
There was a "bang" sound, and the stone just hit the bluestone case behind Mu Qingyan.
The two stones collided, sending gravel flying everywhere. When the dust of the messy gravel dispersed, a long crack was seen in the long bluestone case.
A drop of sweat slowly broke out on Cai Zhao's forehead.
Mu Qingyan seemed surprised and let out a loud sigh, "Zhaozhao, you broke into pieces the sacrifice of a righteous hero who hoeed the strong and supported the weak!"
"You monster, it's all your fault!" Cai Zhao was so angry that tears were about to fall, and he angrily threw himself at this scourge.
Mu Qingyan laughed, turned around and retreated up the stone steps, then opened his long arms and hugged the angry little girl, hugging her softly. His body froze slightly, and a thought suddenly came to his mind - the little girl he hadn't seen for several months seemed to have grown up.
Before he could think of something else, Cai Zhao suddenly shouted, "Don't move, don't move!"
Mu Qingyan lowered his head and saw that the little girl in his arms was struggling and looking straight ahead from his side. He followed his gaze and found that it was on the easternmost side of the stone monument behind him.
He frowned: "What's wrong with this stone tablet?"
Cai Zhao shook his head and walked to the westernmost side of the stone wall in three steps and bent down to take a closer look.
Mu Qingyan followed up: "We just tested this place and there is no mechanism. What did you see?"
Cai Zhao pointed to the seven or eight green vines winding up the stone wall and said, "Look what this is."
Mu Qingyan laughed, "It's a creeper."
He was a little sad, "It's true that the old friend has passed away and everything is devastated. How could Daxia Chang let these things grow on the stone wall when everyone in the Chang family was there."
"Thankfully, we have this thing." Cai Zhao looked solemnly and pointed to a spot among the ivy. "Look carefully and see what's different about these ivy."
It was early summer at this time, and the vines on the stone wall were growing lush and lush. It was expected that they would cover the front stone wall in a few months. However, the ivy leaves at the place Cai Zhao pointed to were a little shriveled.
Mu Qingyan got closer and looked up and down - the vine leaves above were very lush, and the vine leaves below were also very lush. Only the vine leaves in this medium-high area were somewhat wilted. Centered on Cai Zhao's finger, in a small area about the size of a human head, the cane stems shriveled and the thin leaves curled up to varying degrees.
Cai Zhao said word for word: "This is the result of long-term exposure to the sun." Because Cai Pingshu has been taking medicine all year round, she has been learning to make medicine from her parents since she was a child, and she is used to seeing plants and trees that look like this.
Mu Qingyan was shocked, and they both turned and looked back at the same time.
This is close to the western end of the stone wall. Directly in front of it are several tombstones that are half a person tall. On the east side is a denser group of tombstones. Only on the west side, which is at the edge of the cemetery, is a forest of arrogant rocks. One of them is particularly eye-catching. .
The rest of the rocks are low and sharp, but this one is as tall and thin as a curved stone pillar, as tall as two people.
Mu Cai walked around the stone pillar and observed it carefully. There was no need to discuss it. Mu Qingyan was responsible for inspecting the upper half, and Cai Zhao was responsible for the lower half.
After a moment, Cai Zhao exclaimed: "Look here."
This stone pillar was strangely jagged, either concave on one side or convex on that side. It was only about the height of Cai Zhao's chest. It had a large, extremely smooth and flat mirror surface that was slightly concave inward, just like a condenser mirror.
And this mountain stone mirror just faces the direction of the stone steps and monument.
"So that's it." Mu Qingyan couldn't help but sigh at the coincidence of heaven and earth. "The mountains behind are shady and the sunlight is thin. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible to heat people. However, with this light-concentrating mirror, It can gather the thin sunlight dozens of times and shine it on the opposite side.”
"My father happened to be standing here at that time, and the concentrated sunlight hit his face from the side." Cai Zhao walked to the stone steps opposite and stood up. "Because it was early spring, even the sunlight that gathered dozens of times did not It’s not very strong. Daddy stood here worried for most of the day, unaware that his face had been sunburned. Auntie saw it and asked him to wash his face with cold water. "
"No, this is the wrong position." Mu Qingyan said suddenly.
He quickly took out a ball of fine hemp rope from the bamboo basket, pressed one end onto the stone pillar mirror, and threw the other end to Cai Zhao.
Cai Zhao took the thin hemp rope to the exposed ivy and tightened it tightly to form a straight line.
The two people's eyes converged, and they saw that the position between the hemp rope and the stone steps was neither high nor low. It was lower than the man's face when he was standing, and slightly higher than when he was sitting on the top stone step.
"If the sunlight reflected from the mirror of this stone pillar hits the ivy at that position on the stone wall, it will never shine on your father's face." Mu Qingyan asserted, and then hesitated, "Or maybe it was your father's true identity at that time. Not enough, very short..." Leader Mu Da, who has always spoken freely, rarely dodges his words. After all, he is the future elder.
Cai Zhao looked confused: "No, my aunt said that my father always kept his head down when he was a child, because he was tall and always felt embarrassed when standing among his peers."
"Then, something has changed in the past ten years or so." Mu Qingyan concluded calmly.
He turned to look at the altar, "This altar occupies a large area, and the foundation is made of huge bluestones. Even if it collapses downward, it will not collapse flatly. There will be tilts everywhere in the east, west, north and south. However, Now it seems that the altar is still stable."
He turned his eyes again and looked at the stone pillar beside him, "Then something happened here."
Cai Zhao hurried over to take a look and saw that the bottom of the stone pillar was sunk deep into the soil.
The soil in the mountains is far harder than the soil below the mountains, but it cannot withstand the huge and heavy weight of this upright stone pillar, and the surrounding land around the base of the stone pillar has sunken slightly towards the middle.
"Why did this stone pillar sink?" Cai Zhao was very surprised.
Mu Qingyan looked down, "Wu'an Mountain has been exposed to wind and rain for hundreds of years. To be able to form this rugged rock, the foundation must be solid and it will not collapse for no reason, unless..."
"Unless someone dug out the ground!" Cai Zhao said.
Mu Qingyan glanced at the girl with a smile, then went to rummage through the bamboo basket, "Now that we have confirmed the location, the rest is easy. Just blow up the place."
He walked over with two familiar black objects in each hand, which were poisonous needle versions of thunderbolts. "If it doesn't explode, just ask someone to come up and dig three feet into the ground."
Cai Zhao looked a little dazed, "...Tell me, what is underneath this stone pillar?"
Mu Qingyan stopped and asked in confusion: "What do you mean? You can't tell what it means when you see it."
Cai Zhao raised his head slightly and said softly: "According to your statement, the remains of a mysterious person should be buried here, and no matter how mournful Chang Daxia is, he will remember to come to worship him during the Qingming Festival. Therefore, he He shouldn't be a bad person. But if he is a good person, why can't he erect a tombstone in an honest manner."
Mu Qingyan sarcastically said, "You wouldn't even allow me to dig this place out. If you are so kind-hearted, why did you break the arm of the bully by the Qingluo River and scare Zhou Yuqi away?"
"You are really..." Cai Zhao didn't bother to get angry with this person, "What I mean is, let's not explode here, go over there. From Nankan to the north, Kanyiganliu, Kun is the master of Yin, adapt to it Life and death in heaven and earth…well, it’s over there!”
She walked five or six feet straight in this direction, then stood still and said, "Blow this place."
Mu Qingyan narrowed his eyes slightly and remained motionless: "Little Heroine Cai, why don't you say a few words?"
Cai Zhao was helpless, "Uh, okay. You still need the Shi brothers that my aunt befriended..."
