Gu Xu and Ma Qin walked along the riverside path in this densely populated Jiangnan town in the "Review Pot".
The sun hung motionless high in the zenith, spreading golden light to the earth.
The old man with gray hair and childlike face is leisurely fishing, the graceful girl is concentrating on washing her hair, and the waiters in the roadside wine shop are shouting loudly, scrambling to greet the passers-by.
Everything looks lively and prosperous.
Too beautiful to be true.
"Master Chu just said that the illusions in the 'Reviewing Pot' record real cases," Gu Xu said to Ma Qin beside him as he walked, "In this case, Brother Ma, can you guess Come on, where is this town in our Daqi?"
Ma Qin shook his head and said, "I don't recognize him."
From birth to now, Ma Qin has never left the scope of Jiaodong Province. In his mind, all the towns in Jiangnan looked the same.
Gu Xu said: "It's a lost town - Taoyuan Town.
“Ten years ago, a fisherman discovered this town in the peach blossom forest, and since then the Daqi Dynasty has included it in its administrative territory.
"In the following years, many civilians from other places and even exorcism officials mysteriously disappeared in this town. No one was found alive or dead. But at the same time, the area of Taoyuan Town continued to expand, and the population also increased. is gradually increasing.
"Until five years ago, Taoyuan Town was inexplicably destroyed by a meteorite falling from the sky, and no residents survived. Since then, this ascendant town has ceased to exist."
"How did you tell?" Ma Qin looked at him with surprised eyes.
During yesterday's theoretical assessment, Ma Qin had already seen that although Gu Xu was young, he was well versed in classics and experienced knowledge.
But he didn't expect that Gu Xu could even remember this little-known and unpopular knowledge clearly.
Gu Xu replied:
"It is recorded in the classics of the Exorcist Department's Library that the clothing of Taoyuan Town residents looks very similar to the outside world at first glance, but in fact it is closer to the style of fifty years ago - for example, our current clothing is characterized by stand-up collars and round collars. Lord, the residents of Taoyuan Town prefer the paired collars that were popular fifty years ago; for another example, the straight tops we wear have slits on both sides, but the straight tops worn by men in Taoyuan Town do not have slits.
"Also, the buildings in Taoyuan Town are basically taboo in Feng Shui - for example, the house structure often has sharp angles, which is a bad sign; there is a well next to the residence, which is a sign of disaster; and windows are opened on the courtyard wall, which is ' A vent window will allow good luck to leak out and bring bad luck..."
Ma Qin looked around, comparing the surrounding landscape and pedestrian clothing with the descriptions in Gu Xu's words, and found that what Gu Xu said was indeed correct.
"Brother Gu Xian observed so carefully." He praised sincerely.
"Basic operations." Gu Xu smiled lightly.
Then he paused for a moment, pointed at the crowds and houses around him, and said to Ma Qin: "Master Chu also said that as long as we kill all the ghosts in this illusion, we will pass the test. Brother Ma, please stop guessing. , where are the ghosts and ghosts in this illusion hiding?"
"I think... all the residents in this town look wrong." After listening to Gu Xu's introduction, Ma Qin suddenly became nervous.
"I feel the same way." Gu Xu patted his shoulder and comforted him.
At this moment, the bells of the distant temple came in the distance, and the lingering sound lasted for a long time.
A awning boat drifted slowly across the river, and the boatman sang loudly while punting.
A group of children were wearing pants and shirtless, laughing and jumping into the water one after another to play.
An old woman quarreled with a vegetable vendor because of a sudden increase in vegetable prices.
A waiter from a restaurant on the roadside ran up to them, stared at Gu Xu, and said with great enthusiasm: "Sir, have you had your meal? The fine wine and braised pork in our store are... The most famous one in the whole street, all the customers who come here praise the delicious food..."
Ma Qin next to him was completely ignored.
Seeing the smiling face of the waiter, Ma Qin couldn't help but curse: Gu Xu is indeed handsome and charming - but the problem is that he can only win the favor of the girls. How can he even win the favor of girls of the same age? Are all the young men eager to show their affection to him?
"In that case, let's go in and try something new!" Gu Xu glanced at Ma Qin, smiled and nodded.
Then he walked into the restaurant door first.
Ma Qinben hesitated.
He thought: If nothing else goes wrong, this Taoyuan Town should be a haunted town, so can the restaurants here really be entered casually?
But then he thought about it. Gu Xu was well-informed and might have a plan in mind. He might as well see what kind of medicine this kid was selling in his gourd.
Anyway, Ma Qin has long given up on competing for official positions.
Even if he really falls into the evil ghost's trap, he can crush the jade talisman and leave the illusion.
So he chose to keep up with Gu Xu.
…………
Yamen lobby.
The Chu Feng singer leaned on his chin and sat lazily on the Taishi chair. He glanced at Gu Xu and Ma Qin who were in the corner with their eyes closed, and then looked at the "Reviewing Pot" in front of them.
At this moment, a clear image appeared on the surface of the jade pot.
Every move of Gu Xu and Ma Qin in the illusion was completely displayed in front of Chu Fengge.
"I really didn't expect that the Chief of Staff would specifically ask Gu Xu to go to Taoyuan Town for assessment," Chu Fengge thought jealously in his heart while looking at the image, "Even if he is really a genius that is not seen in Daqi for a hundred years. , you don’t have so much confidence in him!”
But at the same time, he was also gloating and looking forward to whether Gu Xu would be like himself at the beginning, and suffered a series of defeats in this Taoyuan fantasy.
Many years ago, when Chu Fengge was still a first-level monk, he also entered the fantasy land of Taoyuan.
He was trapped for three days and three nights. In that small town with no way out, he killed the ghosts and ghosts that kept coming back from the dead over and over again. Until he was covered with bruises and his true energy was exhausted, he still could not find out the truth or find a way to break the situation. .
"The Chief made a mistake! I can't kill all the ghosts in this illusion!" He once roared angrily.
In the end, the chief minister saw that he was exhausted and took him out of the pot.
And this experience also became a lingering shadow in his heart in the following months.
He also learned a very profound lesson from it - "Seeing may not be believing."
But Chu Fengge's arch-rival Shangguan Jin successfully broke through in less than a day.
After she came out of the illusion, she kept giggling in front of Chu Fengge.
"Senior Brother Chu, this little girl admires you for your outstanding talent and profound cultivation," she chanted in front of him in a clear and soft voice more than once, "but in Taoyuan Town, just having brute strength is not enough, it needs more. Use your brain!"
Her implication was undoubtedly: Senior Brother Chu, you have no brains.
Chu Fengge was furious at that time.
But as a loser, he couldn't argue with Guan Jin and could only sulk alone.
"Huh, I wonder if this talented Gu Xu has a smart enough brain."
Chu Fengge yawned and continued to stare at the image on the pot.
Yesterday, the Chief Secretary also summoned him to tell him that Her Royal Highness Princess Zhaoning proposed to rebuild the "Shenji Camp".
Her idea has received support from the cabinet and the Department of Exorcism, and she is now secretly recruiting talents across the country.
Chu Fengge knew that many years ago, the "Shenji Camp" was once a place where the most talented people from all over the country gathered. Young monks in Daqi were all proud of entering the "Shenji Camp".
However, in a subsequent fierce battle, the "Shenji Battalion" was completely wiped out, and it has since become an indelible scar in the history of Daqi.
"It seems that in the next period of time, Daqi will no longer be peaceful," Chu Fengge sighed in his heart, "However, that may also be an opportunity for me, Mr. Chu, to become famous all over the world and soar to the sky."
…………
Luojing, the headquarters of the Exorcism Department.
Luo Chuan, the head of the exorcism department, sat cross-legged and meditated on the observatory.
Shangguan Jin obediently sat down beside him and poured tea for him.
In front of the two people, there was a simple bronze mirror.
The bronze mirror also shows the images of Gu Xu and Ma Qin in Taoyuan Town.
Shangguan Jin stared at Gu Xu's figure in the mirror for a long time, and couldn't help but sigh: "He looks so good-looking."
Luo Chuan glanced at her and sighed helplessly: My child, your focus is wrong.
