"When we came here half a year ago, there was no such situation, but according to the people in Jiangyue Village, it was already very serious outside. Looking at the scope of the spread, the problem could be at the source of the Qingmo River."
Zhao Ning speculated, and Qin Keyuan agreed with her statement.
So after the two buried the man who died of dehydration, they went along the Qingmo River to the source of the Qingmo River.
The source of the Qingmo River is not in the mountains, but in a grassland swamp. The water in the swamp comes from nowhere, but it flows continuously. There are countless water outlets to form countless creeks, and then the creeks gather and merge. A river is formed, and the river flows all the way east, eventually converging into the Qingmo River.
In this swamp, Zhao Ning and Qin Keyuan saw the source of the problem.
Countless grassland animals lay in the swamp, with dead bones everywhere, even though the swamp did not completely swallow them up.
The root cause of all this lies in a piece of meat as big as a palm in the middle of the grassland.
Zhao Ning couldn't believe that the source of the disaster in the entire Qingmo River and the near collapse of the entire Wuming due to famine was actually a piece of meat with some scales still left on it.
The piece of meat looked extremely fresh, as if it had just been cut from a monster.
Qin Keyuan wrapped the piece of meat with spiritual light. The piece of meat was floating in the air, sucking the outer spiritual light. It seemed to be alive. As long as it sucked the spiritual light, it could break free from their grasp.
But how could Qin Keyuan let it escape.
He recognized it, "Dunshui Fish."
Of course, Zhao Ning knew that Qin Keyuan was not talking about anything. This was the name of this piece of meat.
"Uncle Master, what's the meaning of this thing?" Zhao Ning asked.
Qin Keyuan explained, "In ancient times, there were fish that filled the water, and those who ate them killed people."
Zhao Ning was shocked, but Qin Keyuan did not relax his brows, "It's just strange that the Dunshui fish in ancient times has completely disappeared, and only two of them are still in the Tianchi of Jihan Palace."
Jihan Palace is the only sect that has been inherited from ancient times and has always been respected by Jiuzhou.
If Jihan Palace wanted to do something, it would have been done tens of thousands of years ago, and it would not wait until today to suddenly do such a thing to a small, unknown mortal country in Kyushu.
The reason for this matter is unclear and has no context.
Zhao Ning thought for a while and said to Qin Keyuan, "Uncle Master, to remove this filth, you can use heaven-defying water to dilute it. If the two collide, the Qingmo River can probably be restored to normal. I just don't know how to investigate the truth."
As soon as the five fingers were closed, the Dunshui fish flesh melted into the spiritual light, leaving only a scale.
Qin Keyuan said to Zhao Ning, "First restore the Qingmo River to normal and pass the matter to Jihan Palace. They will definitely have an explanation."
Zhao Ning nodded and saw Qin Keyuan move his fingertips, a small golden sword appeared in his hand. The small sword shot out, carrying the scales on the tip of the sword, and flew steeply towards the sky.
Zhao Ning asked, "We have traveled thousands of miles to Jihan Palace, but it can actually deliver the news to Jihan Palace exactly as it is."
"This is the golden sword sent by the Heavenly Palace. It is enhanced by the divine consciousness of the venerable. It will not be opened unless necessary. If you block it, it will be disrespectful to the venerable."
Zhao Ning seemed to understand but not quite.
Seeing that Qin Keyuan had solved the problem, she took out a small bottle from the House of Silent Spirit. The effect of the heaven-defying water in purifying impurities was very terrifying. Only a small bottle was enough for such a large Qingmo River.
Zhao Ning stood in the middle of the grassland and poured the heaven-defying water from the small bottle. The colorless heaven-defying water merged into the source of the Qingmo River. Wisps of black air seeped out and gradually spread, one circle after another. Circle until the entire source seems to be much clearer.
New river water will continue to rush downward until the water of Qingmo River is completely replaced.
Zhao Ning walked to Qin Keyuan and said, "Uncle Master, where are we going next?"
She glanced at Qin Keyuan, "Are we going back to Kunxu?"
But Qin Keyuan had no intention of leaving directly, "Don't worry, we will go back after you kill Fan."
Zhao Ning nodded and said "Okay".
Half a month later, Nanjingguo Jiangyicheng.
A bookstore opened quietly. The owners of the bookstore are a brother and sister. The older brother often sees no one, while the younger sister often writes and draws behind the counter, and sometimes writes letters on his behalf.
The owner of the store is Zhao Ning. The books here are the collections they bought from some down-and-out families when they traveled to Wuming and Nanjing. Most of the books are messy books, including travel notes and story books. Occasionally, Zhao Ning returns them. Zhao Ning could see a martial arts secret book, which he had put all on the bookshelf. If by chance, someone would read it in the bookstore, and if the leak could be detected, it would be his luck, and he would just let nature take its course.
However, most people in the town are not very literate, and the scholars who read have recently gone to Nanjing City for scientific examinations, so the store is very deserted.
On this day, Zhao Ning lowered her head and wrote ancient cloud patterns. Suddenly she raised her head and looked in a certain direction, her expression fluctuated slightly, and Qin Keyuan appeared beside her silently.
"Time is up."
Zhao Ning lowered her eyes and her mood returned to normal. She put down her pen and walked out with Qin Keyuan.
They walked to a small courtyard. In the small courtyard, they could still see the appearance of the original school. However, the master of the school was old and no longer taught classes, so the school gradually fell into disuse.
This is the place where Zhao Ning once learned calligraphy in a daze.
There were cries in the backyard room. Some people noticed Zhao Ning and Qin Keyuan coming in, but they just took a look and didn't say much. Zhao Ning and Qin Keyuan had visited a few days ago, and they knew that Zhao Ning was the master's friend at some time. student.
"Miss Lin, Mr. Lin, grandpa... he's gone. Grandpa lived to be ninety and always said he wanted to live a hundred years, but he still left."
People next to him also said, "The old man lived a long life and died without illness. It is God's blessing."
As he spoke, a group of people lowered their heads and burned paper.
Zhao Ning unfolded his palms, and a little spiritual light appeared, and then a trace of green smoke floated out from the old man's body. His soul was very pure, and he looked full of energy. He glanced at the person kneeling on the ground with nostalgia, then raised his head and looked at Zhao Ning, his soul showed surprise, Zhao Ning seemed to be able to see himself.
A little aura merged into the old man's soul, and the old man only felt warm in his soul.
He suddenly realized something and bowed his hands to them respectfully.
"The old master has given me your surname, and Zhao Ning will give you a ride."
A huge black hole appeared behind the old man's soul, which was a sign of reincarnation.
Zhao Ning held her hands in the distance and bowed as a student.
Zhao Ning and Qin Keyuan were walking slowly on the streets of Jiang Yicheng.
Zhao Ning talked about what happened in Jiang Yicheng when she was a child.
Zhao Ning was still young at that time, just seven or eight years old. She hid in a pile of cargo and somehow got on a cargo ship on the Qilin River. Later, the boatman noticed it and threw her off the ship. Zhao Ning was lucky. , not far from the ferry, swam ashore.
I walked into Jiang Yicheng wetly, and somehow made it to the outside of the school. The autumn wind was blowing, and I shivered in the corner outside the school.
The old master of the school actually discovered Zhao Ning from the beginning, but ignored her. However, in the middle of the night, he threw away a shabby stall and half a pancake without saying a word.
Zhao Ning relied on this gadget to get through that night.
Perhaps this was the only goodwill he had in his wandering life. Zhao Ning naturally stayed outside the school. During the day, he listened to the conversations outside the school. At night, he went into a nearby uninhabited house to escape the cold. He was confused and confused. I understood some of the words in the school.
Sometimes the scholars in the school would sarcastically say that a beggar could still read and understand, but sometimes there would be a few scholars who were kind enough to give Zhao Ning some food, or even squat next to Zhao Ning and follow her. Zhao Ning talked about something in the book and asked Zhao Ning if he understood.
When she answered in a low voice, the scholar felt that Zhao Ning could answer a few questions, so he asked her more questions.
Until the nearby aunt drove these scholars away.
When it was time to take the exam one year later, Master sent away the last group of people who were going to Beijing to take the exam.
When he turned around to go back to school, he turned a corner and walked to Zhao Ning and asked, what is your name.
Zhao Ning was confused and told him that her name was Zhao Ning.
The master raised his eyebrows and asked how it was written. In his opinion, it didn't seem like a name that a street boy should have.
So Zhao Ning took the pebbles and wrote the word "Zhao Ning" stiffly on the ground. In fact, it was not written, but more likely it was painting, as if it was painting the name in her memory. come out.
The master recognized the crooked characters and saw that it was quite difficult to write.
The look in Zhao Ning's eyes changed a little.
"He is a smart child." The master stared at her, thought for a long time, and then asked her, "The next batch of classes will be in seven days. Do you want to learn writing from me?"
Zhao Ning stared at the Master, her eyes a little confused, but she knew in her heart that this must be a good thing, just like a scholar in the school, reading very charming words.
Zhao Ning nodded heavily.
But the Master said again, "But you can only learn for seven days. After seven days, you should go wherever you want."
Zhao Ning agreed without hesitation.
So Zhao Ning followed the master and entered the school that he had been looking forward to outside.
The master taught her for a few days, and when the crooked characters finally took shape, he looked at her again and thought about her name, "When you are born in this world, you have a name and a surname. You can't just have a name but no surname."
Zhao Ning looked at him in confusion, watching him stroking his beard and thinking, "I saw you coming out of the water like a drowned rat before. You are probably related to the water. I'm afraid that village started worshiping the river god again. Just like Just like sacrificing cattle and sheep, sinking is difficult in water, sinking is sacrificing to gods, so your surname should be Shen."
Zhao Ning did not understand the connection between Master and Master at that time, but he nodded obediently and asked Master how to write this word.
The Master entered the school, took out a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote the word "Shen" on the paper.
Zhao Ning tilted her head and looked at it. The master handed the pen to Xiao Zhao Ning, "Here, you can try it too."
That was Zhao Ning's first time writing with a brush. He was very clumsy, and the words he wrote were blurred into a ball, making the master look at him and shake his head.
But Zhao Ning worked hard. Since writing at Master's place, she has been practicing writing stroke by stroke on paper and on the ground.
By the seventh day, the writing could be considered neat.
But seven days later, Zhao Ning seemed to be imitating the etiquette of adults. She crossed her hands and saluted the master, saying that the time was up, and Zhao Ning left the school immediately.
The master opened his mouth, but still didn't speak. He only sighed quietly behind Zhao Ning's back.
Later, when a new batch of students entered the school, Zhao Ning still only watched from the outside and listened carefully, and the Master no longer cared.
At that time, Xiao Zhaoning would go to the back of the restaurant to help wash the dishes, so she would sleep in a dilapidated and deserted house at night.
He stayed there for a year until a year later, the new county magistrate strictly controlled Jiang Yicheng and imposed a curfew at night. Street children or beggars like Zhao Ning were driven out of the city.
Zhao Ning had no idea at the time and just followed the crowd to another town until they got separated from the crowd after entering a new town. However, the people in the new town were not as friendly as Jiang Yicheng, and there was no need for beggars to do odd jobs behind the restaurants. At that time, Zhao Ning wanted to go south to see if he could reach home. He walked intermittently for several years until he reached Yongning County, Nan County, where he met the Qingyun Gang Zhao Ning.
Qin Keyuan listened to Zhao Ning say this, and when she heard her words, she no longer had any emotions about the past, but instead had a trace of nostalgia.
He smiled, and he knew that Zhao Ning had never been stuck in the past.
He said, "Not anymore."
Zhao Ning looked up at Qin Keyuan and smiled, then nodded heavily, "Yeah."
When they walked to the door of the bookstore, they saw an old woman leaning on the door and looking in. This old woman was known to Zhao Ning. Within half a month of coming to Jiang Yicheng, the old woman had asked Zhao Ning to write letters home several times.
These family letters were given to her son who joined the army. The Chen family army in Nanjun was stationed in Nanjun, about two hundred miles away from Jiang Yicheng.
"Grandma Zhang." Zhao Ning greeted.
Granny Zhang was a little hard of hearing, but she heard Zhao Ning's voice very clearly. As soon as she turned her head, her wrinkled face broke out into a smile.
"You are back. I asked you why I didn't see you opening the door at this time. Zhao Ning, I have to trouble you to write a letter for my mother-in-law again today."
Zhao Ning smiled and said, "Okay."
