It was late at night, and there were no people on the ancient street.
A black cat jumped from the eaves of a house and lay on the trash can rummaging for food.
Behind the carpentry shop, the lights flickered.
Chen Tao and Li Hao sat quietly at the small table, with an inexplicable look flashing in their eyes from time to time.
Mr. Li talked about a lot of things today, so much that Chen Tao was in a daze.
Chen Tao didn't know what Mr. Li meant.
But what he understood was that this incident had completely changed his view of the world.
It was the spring of 1958, and the whole country was engaged in the vigorous "Elimination of the Four Pests" campaign.
At that time, the Spiritual Alliance had just stabilized. Under the leadership of grandfather Chen You, the Spiritual Alliance gradually grew in strength. Although it was not enough to confront the Liu family head-on, it already had a certain ability to protect itself.
At that time, Mr. Li was still the son-in-law of the Zhou family, and his wife Zhou Linglong was pregnant with Liujia. The head of the Zhou family was still Zhou Yaoting, a famous mouthpiece in the capital known as "Tiezui Zhou".
At this time, Zhou Yaoting received a letter.
It was an ordinary-looking envelope, with no signature, no date, and even no horizontal lines printed on the envelope.
There were only four large characters written in red ink.
Zhou Gong personally initiated it.
The ink is very unique and exudes a strange fragrance.
No one knows how it appeared on Zhou Yaoting's desk.
When Zhou Yaoting saw the letter, his whole face changed.
Just because of that envelope.
The material used to make envelopes is not ordinary paper.
Instead, Huo Guangzhi.
This kind of paper was created by Huo Guang, a minister of the Western Han Dynasty. It is thin in texture, not afraid of insects and ants, and does not get wet in water.
Ancient books made of Huoguang paper are still well preserved even if they have been buried in ancient tombs for thousands of years. Even the handwriting on the paper looks like it has just been written.
The only regret is that the cost is too high. The cost of each page of paper reaches three stones of millet.
Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty felt that Huoguang paper was too wasteful, so he banned its use, and Huoguang paper was lost as a result.
For Mr. Li, it was not Huo Guangzhi that moved his heart, but the meaning behind Huo Guangzhi.
Huo family.
Huo Guang died in 68 BC, and his entire family was exterminated due to rebellion.
However, the Huo family was not completely extinct because of this.
As the Han Dynasty gradually weakened, the Huo family, which had been keeping a low profile, finally appeared in front of the world again.
Only this time, they were smarter.
For many years, the Huo family has been hiding in secret, waiting for the opportunity for revenge.
For the Spiritual Alliance, to a large extent, the Huo family is an ally that can win cooperation and a strong backer.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
As the mortal enemies of the Liu family, the Huo family has been fighting them for thousands of years. No family or force can be like them.
The hatred of genocide is irreconcilable.
But Mr. Li didn't understand why the Huo family suddenly came to Zhou Yaoting.
The envelope was opened, and there was only a piece of paper inside, with only one sentence on it.
"The willows under the moon are fragrant with cinnamon dew. The calyxes of the flowers are shining into Chang'an."
This is an invitation, and the post is written in secret.
April 21st, Xi'an Huacalyx Tower.
What does the Huo family want to do? Mr. Li was not sure at all, but he understood that if the Huo family did this, something big would definitely happen.
At that moment, Zhou Yaoting immediately sent Mr. Li to the ancient city of Shanxi to find his grandfather.
As Mr. Li expected, the Chen family also received invitations, and it didn't stop there.
This trip, the two of them had heavy thoughts.
For so many years, the Huo family has been hiding in secret, and now they are sending invitations to major families so blatantly. No one knows what Huo Yuanshan's plan is.
Xi'an, Calyx Tower.
The so-called Huacalyx Tower is actually a restaurant.
Everyone in the industry knows that this is the territory of the Huo family.
As soon as Mr. Li and his grandfather arrived downstairs, a waiter in Tang suit came over.
"Few distinguished guests, the master of the house has been waiting for a long time. Please come with me." The waiter was neither humble nor overbearing, and his words and deeds were not like ordinary people.
Mr. Li could see clearly that these people were well-trained, and even the most humble cleaning staff were the elites of the Huo family.
The interior of the Calyx Building is luxuriously and antique-style, and there are various precious flowers and plants growing in the building.
It seems random, but there is a secret behind it.
Looking at the dozen or so people on the table, Mr. Li nodded secretly.
The Huo family made a lot of noise this time. They actually invited most of the experts on the road, and almost all of them who could be named came.
"Everyone is here." Huo Yuanshan sat on the main seat, showing no anger or authority.
"Thank you for your compliments to me, Mr. Huo. Everyone here is one of the best in the world. I will offer you this glass of wine first."
"Everyone is sensible. I won't go around in circles anymore. I invite you all to come over today. We have a big deal to discuss..."
A few days later, in an inconspicuous Gobi desert in Brentai, a large number of people quietly gathered in the afterglow of the morning glow, and what could be called the largest tomb-visiting event in modern times kicked off.
They were going to a place where even the Huo family was not sure of their escape.
Everyone who comes here is prepared for the worst.
The cold wind was biting, and it felt like a knife cutting my face.
Although it has already entered summer, the temperature here in the morning still feels a bit cold. At night, the temperature will drop sharply, and the temperature difference between day and night is really not small.
Mr. Li glanced around blankly.
Here is the Kunlun Mountains, the "ancestor of dragon veins" in China.
At the foot of the mountain is the desert Gobi, and on the mountain are glaciers that do not melt all year round. There are many myths and legends about this place, but Mr. Li really doesn't understand what Huo Yuanshan wants to do here even if he doesn't hesitate to make such a big fuss.
The team walked on the Gobi for two full days and finally stopped in front of a valley.
Mr. Li followed his grandfather, roughly calculating the location of the valley.
It is located in the middle and upper reaches of the Narengrad River, with the Kunlun Mountains in the south reaching into the sky, the Qilian Snow Mountains in the north blocking the cold winds of the north, and the surrounding area is a mid-to-high mountain barrier composed of purple red rock and sandstone.
The snow-capped mountains are majestic and varied, but at the foot of the mountains are endless lush canyons. Two different natural landscapes are intertwined in the sight, making people feel a little unreal.
Huo Yuanshanzhao walked to the front of the team, took off his gloves, and pulled out a map from his arms.
The map is made of leather, but unlike ordinary cow and sheep animal skin, the texture is softer and more delicate.
Grandpa told Mr. Li that the map was a piece of human skin.
Both of them felt a little surprised.
Let's not talk about where Huo Yuanshan got such a human skin map from, just that picture alone is a bit incredible.
What kind of place would use human skin to make a map?
After comparing for a moment, Huo Yuanshan put away the human skin map and looked at the valley in the distance with burning eyes.
"Let's go into the valley!"
"Wait a minute!" Grandpa suddenly stopped everyone, "There is something strange in this valley."
Back then, my grandfather was known as the Golden Eyed Ghost Eye, and no trap could escape his eyes.
It was only later that Chen Tao realized that his grandfather's golden eyes and ghost eyes were not just for seeing traps.
Huo Yuanshan had no expression when he heard his grandfather speak.
"Leader Chen, what did you see?" asked one of the young men in fancy clothes.
This person is tall and tall, with bright eyes and white teeth, and a sense of heroism and capability between her brows. She is Chu Yuxuan, the third daughter of Chu Zhengtian, the head of the Chu family. The Taoist priest calls her Yu Niang.
But at this time, she disguised herself as a man and used a secret method to change her voice. No one present recognized her and thought she was a young member of the Chu family.
Behind her were seven or eight elite members of the Chu family.
Among the five major families in the Ling Alliance, the Chu family was the last to join.
In the capital, the Chu family was so powerful that no one in Panjiayuan or Liulichang dared not give Chu Zhengtian face.
This time Chu Zhengtian sent Chu over, firstly to find out what medicine was sold in Huo Yuanshan's gourd, and secondly to take this opportunity to get in touch with Chen You.
After all, at that time, although the Chu family was not as powerful as the Huo family, it was far from the Liu family's opponent.
For the Chu family at that time, it was no longer possible to be neutral. Chu Zhengtian had only two choices.
Or, rely on the Liu family.
Or, join the Spirit Alliance.
No matter which path he took, Chu Zhengtian was not willing to compromise.
The Huo family's sudden action made the already sensitive Chu Zhengtian feel nervous.
If the Ling Alliance can cooperate with the Huo family, it will be enough to confront the Liu family head-on.
By then, some of those small families that are as wandering as the Chu family will definitely join the Spiritual Alliance.
After all, after being controlled by the Liu family for so many years, no one in these families would hesitate if they could break away.
Therefore, this time, Chu Zhengtian wanted Chu Yuxuan to test whether this so-called leader of the Spiritual Alliance was a worthy partner or a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"It is said that Alliance Leader Chen's golden pupils and ghostly eyes can see things that ordinary people cannot. I don't know what his wisdom is." Chu Yuxuan smiled at the corners of his mouth, with a hint of provocation in his playful eyes.
She is a proud woman. Even if there are many capable people present who are above her in terms of seniority and qualifications, she will not lower her brows.
"Deadly." Grandpa's expression was serious. This group of people all had their own agendas, and Chu Yuxuan's tricks were simply ignored by him.
"Thousands of years of dead energy has been accumulated, which is really strange."
"Dead energy? Ha..." Someone in the team sneered.
"Leader Chen You is really good at telling jokes, what else do I think he is, a dead spirit?"
The person speaking was Hong Laojiu, known as Northwest Hongsandao.
This man used to be a swordsman in Guanzhong. Back then, he single-handedly picked out a mountain with a broad sword, and he became a bandit ever since.
During the Anti-Japanese War, Hong Laojiu and a group of bandits robbed three trucks of supplies from the Japanese army. As a result, they were surrounded and suppressed by the Japanese army. In the end, they escaped with a group of brothers and somehow started digging holes in the ground. Buy and sell.
This person is considered a figure in the Northwest Territory, especially his gangster spirit, which makes people dare to be angry but dare not speak out.
Hong Laojiu rubbed his face and spoke in a rough voice.
"Who here hasn't crawled out of a pit of the dead? Thousands of old pit masters have slept there, so why are you afraid of death?"
"On the way here, I heard from the locals that this place is called the Valley of the Dead. Whether it's humans or animals, very few people come out alive after going in. It's very strange."
"Puppet family, Murong Bo." Looking at the young man who was speaking, Mr. Li whispered in his grandfather's ear, "I didn't expect people from the Murong family to be involved."
Murong Bo was the leader of the younger generation of the Murong family. He had sword-like eyebrows and starry eyes, and a face as sharp as a knife. He was very handsome. He had an indescribable aura about him, which attracted several women among his colleagues to look at him.
It is really rare for people who work in this kind of business to look like Murong Bo.
The Murong family is the best at puppetry, and can even control living people with its puppetry skills.
In the tomb, the Murong family members would first use puppets to explore the tomb, and only then would they enter after the mechanism inside was triggered and destroyed.
"It is normal for the tomb to be closed and the death energy to be difficult to dissipate. However, the terrain here is open and this should not be the case." Grandpa looked into the distance. "Although it is not something to be afraid of, it is better to be careful."
"Is it possible that the leader of the dignified Ling Alliance is actually a coward?" Chu Yuxuan looked at his grandfather half-jokingly.
"Chen is just a friendly reminder. As for whether you listen or not..." Grandpa smiled calmly: "That's your business."
