Tang Ping originally wanted to come today to ask what Shen Weixie said to her, but it was already past noon. She didn't know what happened to this girl, and she didn't know if she would come in the afternoon.
But whether she comes or not, Qian Chao always has something to do.
On Qian Chao's desk, there were several maps spread out, and several books he casually placed on the table.
One of the maps was the one obtained from the ruins. There was no Wuling Sect on that map. Qian Chao had to work hard to find the current location of the Wuling Sect on it. However, judging from the map, the terrain The landscape is completely different. At least there are no five vast mountains in the sect, no vast Tianshui Lake, and no Yuhu Mountain hanging in the sky. There are only signs of an ordinary forest.
Looking at today's maps, they are quite different.
Many towering mountains were bulldozed like piles of sand, and then the sand was piled up again in other places, even higher!
But there are always some places where you can see some traces of the past!
Qian Chao stared at the two maps, his eyes constantly moving from one map to the other. After looking at it for a long time, he felt that his eyes were a little astringent.
Qian Chao stopped, rubbed his eyes, then looked at the sky in the courtyard, and thought to himself, it's time, Girl Tang probably won't come today.
Then he put his mind on the map again.
What kind of power can make five giant mountains rise out of thin air here, with a Tianshui Lake surrounded in the middle?
On the map obtained from the ruins, the original location of the Wuling Sect had mountains and rivers, but the mountains were not high mountains and the water was not a big river. Naturally, the mountains and water were not arranged as they are now.
However, one thing Qian Chao could confirm was that on the map obtained from the ruins, the farther away from the location of the Five Spirit Sect, the closer the trends of the mountains, rivers and rivers were to the current map.
You should be able to see something. Even if the changes on the ground are too big, the changes below the ground should not be too big.
Or... like that ruins, because of the uplift of the mountain peaks, it suddenly reached the height of the mountainside from the foot of the mountain. Is it possible that there are mountains or peaks that sank underground or underwater as the ground collapsed?
Either it's hard to find underground, or... underwater?
Qian Chao determined a location. A small area of water was marked on both maps. However, on the map of the ruins, the area of water was not large. There were hills next to the water. It should have been a beautiful place at the beginning. , seems to be a livable place, but on the current map, the water area has obviously become larger, and the original few hills have disappeared. If there was any aristocratic family or sect there, it must be under the water now. .
But the next thing is to see if there were spiritual veins running through there in the past. If there were, then it is possible.
This step is a bit difficult, and sometimes it even requires guessing.
On the map obtained from the ruins, the locations of some aristocratic families were marked, and a small courtyard was drawn with a few strokes. This probably meant that monks settled there to practice. Qian Chao searched for these places one by one on the map. I used my fingers to trace these small courtyards back and forth, thinking about the direction of these aristocratic families built on spiritual veins and the direction of the spiritual veins passing through them.
It's still the same. Far away from the Five Spirit Sect, it seems that the spiritual veins have not changed much from now. Even if those aristocratic families have disappeared, the spiritual veins that originally flowed there are still there. This is shown on the map drawn by Qian Chao himself. It can be seen that just by what things have been produced there, if there is no spiritual vein, there will be no such things.
But near the Five Spirit Sect, those small aristocratic families that once existed, those spiritual veins that the monks used to rely on to establish sects, have changed a lot. For example, the ruins opened by Qian Chao, there used to be spiritual veins there. , and now it’s gone, but the question is, where did that spiritual vein go in the first place?
The spiritual veins will not disappear, they will only change their paths.
This is what Qian Chao believes. So where is the spiritual vein closest to the ruins, and what is its direction?
Qian Chao simply took out his pen and started sketching on the map.
However, even when dusk fell, Qian Chao could not confirm whether there were any ruins under the water, but it was not without gain. He was confident that he had at least marked seven or eight places on the map that might be ruins. The place, the location of the water body, was obtained from the ruins. Although the small courtyard is not marked on the map, it is estimated that most of the ones that can be marked are relatively large aristocratic families or sects. There is no need to mark the smaller ones. , just like the remains of this map, the aristocratic families that were there are not marked on the map.
When you go out and take a look there, you will know if there is anything under the water.
Thinking of this, Qian Chao's heart moved. It would be great if he could have a pair of eyes that could see through time. Standing there for a moment, he could have a panoramic view of the evolution of mountains, rivers and lakes, and the vicissitudes of the sea. As long as he could see it, he wouldn't have to do this. It would be great to try your best to guess!
He shook his head mockingly, how could such a thing happen? His own blue eye technique was an unintentional acquisition, and now it has benefited him endlessly. People still can't be too greedy.
But are there any other spells similar to his "Blue Eyes"? Qian Chao has always been curious about this question in his heart. He has not heard of it among the Qi Refining disciples in the sect. Are there any other large sects or small aristocratic families that secretly spread such magic? The world is so big, maybe there really is one!
After thinking about these things, Qian Chao put away the map and lit the lamp.
…
The night was quiet and the sky was cool. Qian Chao was reading a book in his room.
The book was obtained from the ruins, and what was recorded in the book turned out to be some things about the "Millennium War." Qian Chao knew that it was impossible to find records of the "Cross-sea Battle" in the ruins that could be found outside the sect. " book, because almost all the aristocratic families or sects near Wuling Sect were almost destroyed in the "cross-sea battle". The fate of those small sects and small aristocratic families basically reached the "cross-sea battle" The "Battle" ended abruptly when it began, so there will be no subsequent records. If you want to find records about the "Battle across the Sea," you have to look elsewhere.
(The author wants to say something here. According to my setting, I don’t know how many years ago the Millennium War happened. If you dig carefully, the words in the books will inevitably evolve, just like the oracle bone inscriptions we found in reality. The evolution of simplified Chinese characters has been the same until now, but this is a novel and a story. It would be meaningless if I said it in trivial terms. So as long as everyone knows that no matter how old the book Qian Chao finds, the text in it will be the same as it is now. .)
However, Qian Chao also discovered one thing. Why are there not many books about the "Cross-ocean War"? Even if it is very old, there are still a few books about the "Thousand-Year War" in the library, but there are only a few. That's all, but it exists. Why is it that the content of the "Battle across the sea" seems to have been lost? I may have heard one or two sentences from others, but those are just legends that have not been recorded. This is a matter of fact. strange things.
Just as he was thinking about this, there was a sound of wind in the courtyard, and a figure fell from the sky.
"Junior Brother Qian!"
Qian Chao smiled, put down the book in his hand, and said to himself that he had been thinking about this person these past few days, and wondered why he didn't come to see him anymore, but he did come today.
Ma Hu strode towards the house in the courtyard, and said as he walked: "Junior Brother Qian, did you go to see that beautiful white-haired girl yesterday? I did, dear, her face was really raw. She is beautiful, and her head of white hair is even more unique. Unfortunately, I am not that lucky, ha!"
Qian Chao smiled helplessly and said, "Senior Brother Ma is joking."
"Hey, it's not a joke. You don't know. Today, the sect called those who have masters like me, um, and those half-hearted dandies, saying that they wanted to get acquainted with Yan Shuang, so that we can do whatever we want in the future. Everyone inside and outside the sect has to take care of her. I got closer and looked at the woman a few more times. Well, she is indeed different from other women in the sect. Although she is always cold, she is such a woman. If If you can make her smile sweetly at you, haha! That would be so special!"
Only then did Qian Chao know why Tang Ping didn't come today. He was afraid that he might have been summoned to see Yan Shuang.
Seeing Qian Chao pouring tea for himself, Ma Hu picked it up and drank it all in one gulp, and then said:
"That woman's matter is secondary. Junior Brother Qian, I came to you this time because I want to talk to you. The idea you gave me last time really made me ask something, but I It doesn’t seem to be important, so I’m asking you to help me think about it.”
Qian Chao knew that Ma Hu had been busy with the cause of Senior Brother Xun's death. He did give him advice last time, but he didn't expect that he would make progress, so he put his own affairs aside and asked : "Oh? Have you got any clues about Senior Brother Xun's matter? Senior Brother Ma, please tell me."
Ma Hu took another sip of tea and said: "The last time you asked me to return to my original appearance, I listened to you and stayed outside the sect for several days. Just a few days ago, I was outside the sect. I met a boy named Zhao Shunyi. This boy is not a good guy. He will flatter those who are better than him. If he is not as good as him, he will plot against others. When I met him, I saw him punishing several little guys. So obedient..."
It turned out that Ma Hu met Zhao Shunyi by chance outside the sect. At that time, Zhao Shunyi was planning on a few little guys. He followed them all the way. When these people walked to a deserted place, he suddenly appeared, and then used methods to suppress them. Those people then threatened and threatened the little guys to hand over their storage bags, otherwise they would do whatever they wanted. Naturally, the little guys were frightened out of their wits. In order to go back alive, they They could only reluctantly give him their respective storage bags.
Ma Hu was most accustomed to doing this kind of gangster thing. He would not show up when he saw this in secret. After Zhao Shunyi succeeded, he followed him, found a secluded place, and took action to restrain this kid. . Naturally, what Zhao Shunyi had snatched previously and what was originally his own became Ma Hu's.
Zhao Shunyi naturally knows Ma Hu's name and knows that begging is useless. Although Ma Hu rarely kills people, if he makes him angry and torments people, it will make life worse than death. In order to get rid of it as soon as possible This scary guy obediently handed over everything he had on him.
Ma Hu was satisfied with Zhao Shunyi's attitude. He weighed the bags in his hands but was a little disappointed. There weren't many things in those bags, which made him quite dissatisfied. But it was always a case of taking advantage of others. Since Once he got it, he couldn't be picky, so he was ready to send Zhao Shunyi away.
But just before Zhao Shunyi left, Ma Hu's unintentional question made his heart suddenly tighten.
"Why are you alone today? Didn't you always come out with Jia Si to do such things in the past? Why didn't Jia Si come today?"
Ma Hu's original intention was that today's gangster business was a loss. It was not worth it to get such a small amount of things in one move. Moreover, he knew that Zhao Shunyi and a guy named Jia Si had always been in collusion with each other. , inseparable. If Jia Si is here, he can also get more benefits.
But Zhao Shunyi's answer was beyond his expectation.
"Senior Brother Ma, you don't know, that guy Jia Si, I don't know how he was taught a lesson by the dead Senior Brother Xun last time, but he has never been with him since then. It seems that he wants to change his mind. , just be a good person from now on.”
In fact, what Zhao Shunyi said was blurted out unintentionally. He didn't know that Ma Hu had been running around to find out the death of Senior Brother Xun. If he said that Jia Si couldn't come because he had something to do, or even if Jia Si felt that he always did such things, wouldn't he? No matter how promising he is, he changes his mind from then on and only wants to be a good person and no longer does evil. Ma Hu will not care. After all, people will change. What kind of changes in the heart of an insignificant person will matter to Ma Hu. It seems insignificant to say so, but when Zhao Shunyi mentioned Senior Brother Xun, it was still the 'dead Senior Brother Xun', which was different!
"Oh?" Ma Hu continued to ask calmly, "Senior Brother Xun actually has such a method. When did that happen?"
"That's the time...well...the time when Senior Brother Xun went out and died outside."
After listening to Zhao Shunyi's words, Ma Hu realized that the man named Jia Si had actually seen Brother Xun when he went out for the last time, so Ma Hu continued:
"This is interesting. Tell me what's going on."
Although Zhao Shunyi didn't know why Ma Hu was interested in this matter, he didn't dare to refuse, so he said it clearly:
"That time, Jia Si and I intercepted a few little guys who were coming back from the outside. We attacked and succeeded, but at that time we met Senior Brother Xun..."
Ma Hu interrupted him and asked:
"How many people were with Senior Brother Xun at that time?"
"Uh... two people, senior brother Xun and another senior brother who seems to be named Wei."
"Well, go on."
"Senior Brother Xun and Senior Brother Wei saw that the two of us were robbing others, so they came over to take us two. Hey, Senior Brother Ma, you also know, how can we be the opponents of Senior Brother Xun and others? After seeing them The two came to mind their own business and were about to run away, but I escaped, but that Jia Si was captured by Senior Brother Xun. I fled back to the sect and hid for a few days, and then I saw Jia Si. I was injured, but it was said that I was injured by a monster outside. A few days later, the news of Senior Brother Out."
"Jia Si was injured all over his body?" Ma Hu asked thoughtfully.
"Yes, the injury is not too serious, but it is not light at all. It really took him a while to recover." Zhao Shunyi replied.
"Where is Jia Si now?" Ma Hu asked again.
"She should still be in the sect. Well, that senior brother Xun died outside. He was so frightened that he didn't dare to go out at all. He was still hiding in the room after recovering from his injuries. I don't know what he was afraid of? "
Speaking of this, Zhao Shunyi suddenly understood something and looked up at Ma Hu.
"Senior Brother Ma, couldn't it be that Jia Si who killed Senior Brother Xun and others when they were escaping? The injuries he sustained during the fight... are wrong. With that kid's cultivation and methods, how could he want to kill Senior Brother Xun? It’s not a joke!”
"Huh! Who cares! It's a pity that Jia Si is not here, otherwise I could have snatched that kid away. Since he is not here, consider him getting an advantage and it's none of your business. Get out!"
Ma Hu was afraid that Zhao Shunyi would hear some clues, so he deliberately said this and sent him away.
…
When Qian Chao heard Ma Hu say this, he also asked: "This Zhao Shunyi said that when they met Senior Brother Xun, there were two Senior Brothers in total, but I remember Senior Brother Ma said this when he told me about Senior Brother Xun. , a total of three of them went out. Two of them, including Senior Brother Xun, unfortunately died outside. There was also a Senior Brother named Wei who escaped back. When did Senior Brother Xun have one more person outside? Later, that Jia Si, when Senior Brother Ma asked him, what did he say?"
Ma Hu said: "I felt something was wrong when I heard it, so I immediately rushed back to the sect, inquired about Jia Si's residence, and then went directly to the door. Junior Brother Qian listened to me first."
(Author's words: The death of Senior Brother Xun is a hidden line that I buried relatively loosely and longly. Perhaps the readers may have forgotten this. For details, please refer to Volume 4: Trial Feather, Chapter 72: Ma Hu’s plan. There is a plot designed in the story, and it is not used immediately. It is used as a secret pen, just like tying a knot on a rope. If it is not untied, it will always be there. There, and then slowly through this knot, some important subsequent story threads will be drawn. In addition, the characters in my story are like NPCs in computer games. As long as they have names and surnames, It will definitely be used, no matter how early or late they appear, so the characters whose names I mentioned before and after will naturally have their own endings later.)
…
After Ma Hu dismissed Zhao Shunyi, he hurried back to the sect. After a little inquiry, he found Jia Si's residence. He went straight in without knocking and blocked Jia Si in the room.
When he saw Jia Si, Ma Hu looked at this person carefully. Sure enough, he looked like he had just struggled out of serious illness but still hadn't gotten rid of that sickly look. His face looked a little pale, and his eyes were also... There was a hint of panic, especially after meeting Ma Hu. However, in Ma Hu's opinion, this person seemed to be more pleasing to the eye than Zhao Shunyi, at least when he looked at him, he didn't look so vulgar.
Jia Si was very surprised by Ma Hu's arrival. He naturally knew this senior brother Ma, who was known as the most notorious person in the world. However, he only looked flustered for a short while, and then asked Ma Hu about his purpose.
Ma Hu was not good at beating around the bush, so he directly asked Jia Si about meeting Senior Brother Xun outside the sect.
But Jia Si did not answer him at first, but looked at Ma Hu with suspicion.
"Why don't you say anything? Why are you looking at me like this?" Ma Hu asked displeasedly.
"Could Senior Brother Ma have come to kill me?" Jia Si asked.
"Kill you? This is within the sect. Besides, if I had the intention to kill you, I wouldn't come over and waste my time with you. Do you know anything? It's best to tell it all."
"So...Senior Brother Ma is investigating the cause of Senior Brother Xun's death?" Jia Si asked again.
"What on earth do you know?" Ma Hu didn't answer, just looked at Jia Si and asked.
"Hey, Senior Brother Ma, how do you know that I stayed with Senior Brother Xun for a few days before he died?"
"Zhao Shunyi told me."
"Sure enough, it's him. Huh, if you don't shut up his mouth, he will definitely die because of it!"
"Don't show off, I have no patience, tell me everything you know quickly!"
Later, through Jia Si's words, Ma Hu learned that Jia Si was from a small aristocratic family named Jia. The Jia family was related by marriage to senior brother Xun's Xun family, and they had known each other before coming to the sect. However, first of all, Jia Si is far inferior to Senior Brother Xun in terms of cultivation qualifications, and his improvement in cultivation is naturally not as good; secondly, Jia Si is still a loser and has a self-defeating temper. He feels that being sent to the sect by his family is equivalent to being sent to the sect. Abandoned, my heart has been depressed, so my efforts in cultivation are far inferior to that of Senior Brother Xun. Therefore, Senior Brother Xun's cultivation ability far exceeds that of Jia Si, even before Senior Brother Xun became a disciple.
However, Senior Brother Xun was a warm-hearted person and could not see Jia Si hanging around with a bunch of bad friends, so he went to persuade him when he had time. Jia Si was upset after hearing too much, and he has been avoiding Senior Brother Xun ever since.
Later, he got together with Zhao Shunyi, and the two often went to the clan to do evil together. These things were naturally known to Senior Brother Xun. It was said that Senior Brother Xun was very angry and even said that if Jia Si was caught doing evil, he would be taught a lesson.
Later, Jia Si and Zhao Shunyi met Brother Xun by chance when they were doing evil outside.
For Senior Brother Xun, he didn't take Zhao Shunyi seriously at all, but Jia Si could be regarded as a relative after all. If this person didn't learn well, he would have little future prospects, but if he allowed this person to continue to behave like this, he would definitely be a bad person in the future. Nothing will end well. With this in mind, Senior Brother Xun became very angry when he saw Jia Si blocking the road and committing robbery. He took a junior fellow apprentice named Wei who was traveling with him to capture Jia Si. As for Zhao Shunyi, then The man saw the opportunity early and escaped even faster, which was an advantage for him.
After Jia Si was captured, Senior Brother Xun scolded and advised him, but in the end he was not allowed to leave. Anyway, he came out to earn spiritual stones, so he took him with him.
For Jia Si, he has some admiration for this senior brother Xun. As mentioned before, this person has no independent opinions. He will naturally learn from the kind of people he follows. After some persuasion from senior brother Xun, his mind relaxed and he knew It would be difficult for him to make any progress if he continued like this, so he agreed to go with Senior Brother Xun all the way.
On their second day together, when dealing with a monster, Jia Si was negligent due to a moment of negligence. In fact, it was not considered negligent. After all, his cultivation level was still much higher than that of Senior Brother Xun and the other three. Gap, he was injured by that monster. The injury was serious or light. In short, he could no longer be with Senior Brother Xun and had to return to the sect to heal.
However, the missions assigned by Senior Brother Xun and others have not been completed, and they still have to stay outside the sect, so Jia Si can only be allowed to go back alone.
For this reason, Brother Xun also gave Jia Si a sum of spiritual stones, and told him to take good care of himself after he returned, and not to have any contact with those bad old friends again. He also said that he would visit him after he returned.
In this way, Jia Si simply applied some medicine to his wounds and returned from outside the clan alone.
A few days later, the news of Senior Brother Xun's death also reached his ears.
Jia Si had the same idea as Ma Hu, that is, Senior Brother Xun shouldn't die like that. There must be something fishy about this matter!
In his opinion, Senior Brother Xun must have been harmed!
However, Jia Si is also a timid person. Senior Brother Xun is a disciple of Elder Jiuxuanjin. It is said that master and disciple get along very well with each other, and it will take at least two years to build the foundation. Such a person will be harmed. , then how bold and cold-hearted the person who did it must be? Moreover, there were two people who followed Senior Brother Xun, one died, and the other returned to the sect with not even half a life left. It is said that it was difficult to practice in the future.
And he, Jia Si, was also the one who followed Senior Brother Xun when he went out. Could he also be targeted?
Because of this timidity and worry, plus the fact that he was indeed injured, he kept hiding in his residence and did not dare to leave the sect even half a step. Even after Zhao Shunyi came to see him after the injury was almost healed, he was dismissed. He refused.
Ma Hu asked: "You mean you weren't there when something happened to Senior Brother Xun?"
Jia Si smiled miserably and said: "If I were here, how could Senior Brother Ma ask me anything now? My cultivation is far behind Senior Brother Xun."
Ma Hu asked again: "When you were with Senior Brother Xun, how many people were there in total? I heard you said that there were two people when Senior Brother Xun captured you, so how come there was one more person later?"
Jia Si said: "The man's surname is Zhang, it seems to be Zhang Jing. When Brother Xun held me, it is said that the man surnamed Zhang saw an old friend and chased him to talk. He came over later."
Ma Hu asked: "Have you seen that old friend that Zhang Jing is chasing? Can you recognize who that person is?"
Jia Si said: "No, I was held by Senior Brother Xun. After talking for a while, I saw Zhang Jing flying back from afar. I didn't know who he was chasing. However, Zhang Jing seemed a little unhappy when he came back and said something What's that, that smiling man, in less than two years, he doesn't recognize me anymore, as if he's a different person, it's really unreasonable."
Ma Hu noticed something and immediately asked: "It's less than two years. What did Zhang Jing mean when he said less than two years?"
Jia Si said: "I didn't understand it at first. Later they chatted and I found out that this Zhang Jing was chosen by his family to join the sect. Because of some matters at home, he asked for leave from the sect and returned home midway, and then stayed at his home. Less than two years later, when I saw Zhang Jing, he had just returned to the sect."
Having said this, Jia Si stared at Ma Hu and said, "Senior Brother Ma, I can see that you probably have a good relationship with Senior Brother Xun. You came to me and asked these questions, and you must have wanted to find out the truth behind the scenes." You came to avenge Senior Brother Xun, right? Not only did you come to see me, one of Senior Brother Senior brother, I was injured by a monster and returned to the sect. During this period, there were only four of us, and we didn’t meet anyone on the road. As for what happened after I was injured and left, Senior Brother Ma, then I really I don’t know anymore. Besides, Senior Brother Ma, you don’t have to doubt me. With my cultivation level, if I want to kill Senior Brother Xun, can you believe it?"
After hearing what Jia Si said, Ma Hu was silent for a moment. As soon as he entered Jia Si's room, he saw that Jia Si's cultivation level was only at the middle level. There was a huge gap between him and Senior Brother Xun. He was trying to scare those who were outside. Low-level disciples are okay, but it would be too presumptuous to use any means in front of Senior Brother Xun. What's more, there are two monks with high-level cultivation beside Senior Brother Xun.
However, Ma Hu did not give up and continued to ask: "After you came back, did you notice anything unusual? For example, there was someone who was always hanging around you, trying to take advantage of you. Is there such a person? "
"Senior Brother Ma, this is what I am worried about. With Senior Brother Xun's status, his death will not be simple. Who knows what things may be involved that people like me should not know. If the murderer knows that I have been with Xun Senior brother, maybe he would also have murderous intentions towards me. Therefore, ever since I learned the news about Senior Brother , where do you dare to go out?"
