The new riddle was not more difficult than the first four lines of poetry. In less than half an hour, everyone found out several stories about dumb stones, then screened them one by one, and finally retained and determined one. A legend that existed a long time ago but is related to Shuiying City.
It is said that in ancient times, there were two countries that were at war all year round. The flames of war were not only between the battlefields, but also among the officials and businessmen of the two countries. A spy, after being brainwashed by strong patriotism, disguised himself in the streets of the enemy country since he was a teenager. After many years, he completely assumed the identity of a citizen of the enemy country, and then engaged in business and business without any help from the motherland. Working in politics and working as an undercover agent can range from a dozen years to a lifetime. In the officialdom of these two countries, each adult can only trust no more than three characters. This is also true for the emperor. Sometimes even his own concubine They are all spies sent by the enemy country.
It is precisely because of this phenomenon of excessive undercover interoperability that the two major countries cannot organize a decent war, so that the two have been fighting for thousands of years and have remained standing. But this phenomenon completely changed in a certain year because of one person.
Both ancient countries have great wizards, also called high priests. They are proficient in magic and witchcraft, and the man who changed history is the great wizard of one of the countries. Due to the long history of the story, these two countries and the great wizards, etc. None of the characters' names have survived. The archmage secretly proposed a plan to the emperor of his country, secretly organizing a strong army, and this strong army would mobilize the entire country's military power to launch a war against the enemy country without the knowledge of all the armies in the country.
The cleverness of war is that all armies receive different instructions and big plans. A few have subtle differences but similar directions, but many have completely different goals. In this case, not only the undercover agents deployed by the enemy will If you are confused, even your own people will be confused, and this powerful army firmly controls the movements of all armies. Small battles in various places are spliced together to form the largest war.
The successive kings of both countries followed the instructions of their ancestors and vowed to destroy the enemy country, so the emperor immediately agreed. The two of them selected three generals who were least likely to be undercover agents in the country overnight. These generals then selected the most trusted people to form the strong army. Only one was summoned the next day. In name, it was just to reminisce about old times. After the general left the palace, a month later, he held a feast to celebrate the marriage of his second son, invited a group of generals, and then took the opportunity to pass the information to the two generals.
The plans and actions were seamless, but even at the beginning, only the news of the meeting between the Archmage and the Emperor was inexplicably passed on. And that meeting was a sudden move by the Archmage, and no one would know or hear about it in advance. Anyone who has read the legend has to admire the powerful strength of the two spies from the ancient country in that era.
Of course, the Archmage has also thought of this. He will only call a few people related to the plan to hold an absolutely hidden and very short meeting. During the implementation of the plan, all accidents will be handled by the person responsible for that part. , as long as the goal is achieved.
After using many deception methods and releasing many false news, the Archmage chose the most dangerous place for the meeting, a workshop in a busy city. To be on the safe side, the Archmage placed a curse on this small space. Even if Someone has accidentally broken into or passed by this place. Even if he hears a word about the meeting, he will be cursed. As long as he reveals any information here to others, that person will directly turn into stone.
No matter how hidden it is, there are enemy spies who have found the right place. The archmage has many defensive tricks, and the spies are not weak in their tactics. In short, they have roughly heard the content of the meeting plan, because what the archmage said is just a rough idea. This is also for the sake of safety. Some words are whispered in whispers. Even if the people attending the meeting are the most trusted people, they must not pose any threat to each other.
After the spy heard the plan, he also felt that he was cursed, and let another spy unknowingly take over his identity in the enemy country. Then he ran all night, and for five days and five nights without stopping, he rushed to the palace of his motherland and saw his country. The emperor and the archmage told everything they heard and saw, and then they were turned into stone due to the curse. No matter how hard their country's archmage tried, they could not lift the curse.
The king of this country is also ambitious. Under the plan of him and the Archmage, Dong Shi Xiaoqian also formulated a plan to counteract the enemy country, and secretly organized a strong army. However, this team was smaller in size, but had many tasks. The military forces of both countries were mobilized in confusion. Some had a good night's sleep and were sent out to fight early the next morning. No one was told, only where to go and how long to fight.
(Use country A to represent the country that made the plan at the beginning, and country B to represent the country that made the plan later)
Country A's plan was implemented very smoothly at the beginning. This is exactly the purpose of Country B. It is reluctant to let go of its children and cannot trap the wolf. It will slowly lure Country A to take the bait, and finally make a surprise comeback. It is a pity that all this is the conspiracy of the great mage of country A who changed history. Even the emperor of country A does not know the true plan of the great mage, because the great mage told lies to the emperor from the beginning. The emperor formed a small team, which penetrated into the strong army and secretly controlled the movements of the strong army. Simply put, the strong army controlled the movements of the country's military forces, and the emperor He secretly controls a strong army, but the person who controls the strong army is the Archmage.
This archmage was very resourceful and devised a trick within a trick. He understood that iron walls could be leaky, and secrets would not be leaked until they were under his control. Even the emperor was unreliable, so he tried to trick him from the beginning. He thought that he and the emperor had carefully concealed but would be discovered, and then in that extremely hidden memory, he revealed the fake plan. The real plan that even the emperor did not know was covered by the "smoke" created by the fake plan. , can be implemented secretly. There are too many spies in the two countries, and the degree of penetration is too high. Only leaks under top secret protection, and information passed down by spies even through death, can be absolutely trusted.
That's why the emperor and the archmage of country B were successfully deceived. As for what happened next, you can imagine that the war for thousands of years came to an abrupt end in this generation. The emperor of country A, who originally thought that the plan failed and was about to be destroyed by the rebellion, Unexpectedly, the situation of the war suddenly changed. I won the victory without realizing it, and the whole country won a great victory. This hard-won battle and victory directly defeated the possibility of country B to recover. In just twenty years, country B was completely defeated. Country A was annexed, and the emperor became the founding emperor of the new dynasty. The mage was also revered by the new dynasty as the first master of the ages. The scale and nobility of his sacrifices were comparable to those of the emperor.
It is said that after the destruction of Country B, the capital of the Emperor of Country B was completely destroyed. The stone turned by spies that had been standing in the emperor's cabinet in the palace has never been cleared out. After the Emperor of Country B originally wanted to win, , who posthumously named him a great hero, did not expect that after the passage of time, the house was destroyed and the stone remained in place. Later, the place became deserted and overgrown with weeds, completely losing the scene of the past. No one knew where the human-shaped stone came from. After that, no one lived in that area.
It is said that the soul of the spy has always been sealed in this stone. Although it is immortal, it has never been reincarnated. It has been lonely for many years, unable to talk about its sorrows. It is unknown when the outside world will be or whether its motherland will be victorious. But Fortunately, every time there was music or singing, it could penetrate the stone surface and be heard by the spies' soul. The spies were speechless and could only emit a buzzing echo.
Later, a family moved to this place. An old woman who had lost her country taught her little granddaughter a piece of music. The little granddaughter happened to run to the stone to practice singing. The song was a tune from the old country that had the meaning of lamenting the country's subjugation. The stone After hearing this, the soul of the spy inside suddenly realized that his country had perished. He also instantly realized that it was his own fault that had caused this evil result. In grief and anger, the stone body instantly shattered into countless pieces and was scattered in the wilderness. Whenever there is a melody, the stones will "sing" together, but the echo is sad and sad, which makes people feel sad.
As for why this story has some connection with Shuiying City, it is precisely because the location of Shuiying City happens to be the area where the palace and cabinet were located in the ancient times. Although there is no substantial connection between the two, the stone has been there for many years. He just stood there, lamenting the song of national subjugation.
With a little inquiry, everyone can find where the stone is.
Everyone came to a wilderness on the edge of Shuiying City. The vegetation here was not very prosperous, and the land seemed to be covered with a layer of coal dust, lifeless. Everyone could easily see where the stones were, but only the number There are too many, they are everywhere, they can’t all be fragments of the stone they once were.
Kite suggested playing a tune, and Fang Tianmu was pushed out. He took out the Yi Xiao that he always carried with him, and blew it gently without deliberately playing any tune. The crowd lingered for a while, and the bell was the first to hear the echo. Everyone left. After a hundred steps, I finally heard a cry. After searching for a moment accurately, I found the legendary place. All the stones scattered on that land, big and small, were making echoes. I don’t know whether it was because of the quality of the stones or the wind. The echoes sounded like something. The creatures were moaning, and everyone's mood was very low.
"Found it," Mu Ziyun said in a low voice.
At this time, Zhuan Wangdong responded. He closed his eyes and said, "Stop talking, I am communicating with the spy."
Everyone was surprised, Lingdang whispered: "Does this guy even have such ability?"
Zhuan Wangdong asked everyone to step back a hundred or so steps, and then a man "wandered" among the land, talking to this stone, and then opened his mouth to that stone. I don't know, I really thought he was crazy. For a long time After that, there was a breeze in that place, and Zhuan Wangdong called everyone over.
Zhuan Wangdong sighed: "That is not the spy's dead soul, but the remnants of his spirit, a little bit left on every stone. Alas, his dead soul has been broken long ago, but the regret and the pain of the country's destruction cannot be dissipated. Go and use the power of the Archmage's curse to retain part of your spirit."
"Is he still there?" Du Xiaoyue asked.
"Already gone," Zhuan Wangdong replied, "I advise him that the world has passed through the vicissitudes of life, and the victorious countries have long since returned to the loess, and have been dead for countless generations. Let them stop lingering and blaming themselves. In this way, he will gone."
"So simple?" Huzi asked, "Isn't it after so many years of bitter hatred?"
Zhuan Wangdong said sadly: "Actually, he is just waiting for a voice to forgive him. The reason why he has been unable to come out is precisely because he is still a stone that cannot speak and cannot hear other people's words. He can only hear music. , can only send out echoes, and can no longer communicate.”
Everyone is looking into the distance on the wasteland. This small place, the ancient myth, can only be awakened at this moment. This little bit of people's hearts, after this moment, will become a memory that can be forgotten at any time, so how can it still be remembered? Is there anything I can’t let go of?
Fang Tianmu blew the flute again, but this time, there would be no echo.
