What will happen to Cuo Wenbu next, and what changes will occur within the Taoist sect as a result, have nothing to do with Qi Xuansu.
Qi Xuansu tied up his armored horse and ran all the way, along the long coastline of Cuowenbu, and came to the east of Cuowenbu.
Because Cuo Wenbu is so huge, the east of Cuo Wenbu and the west of Cuo Wenbu are almost two different worlds. The west of Cuo Wenbu is a vast Gobi desert, which is often said by the world as "a place where birds don't poop." , known as the "West Gobi". However, the east of Cuowenbu is not the "East Gobi", but an oasis, so it is also called the "Eastern Oasis".
This is like "East Prince" corresponding to "West Queen Mother", rather than "East Queen Mother" corresponding to "West Queen Mother".
It's no wonder that Bai Yutang chose to hide here. Not to mention anything else, just in terms of environment, it is much better than the West Gobi. After all, the members of the secret society are not ascetics, and they also hope that their living conditions will be better.
Following the guidance of the map given by the innkeeper, Qi Xuansu ran for several miles and found a small river in the southwest of the East Oasis, tracing its source upstream. After walking for several more miles, the creek suddenly disappeared. It turned out that it had turned into an underground river.
Qi Xuansu could only dive into the water and then enter the underground river. The top dome of the underground river was only two feet away from the water surface, so Qi Xuansu could only move forward under the water. After swimming for a while, the river water emerged from the sky again, and the water flowed downwards, so the terrain here was obviously lower than before.
Qi Xuansu emerged from the water and saw mountain peaks standing on both sides. He looked up at the sky and saw only a thin line. The mountains are green and the water is green, and the scenery is extremely quiet, but there is silence all around, and there is a faint danger.
Qi Xuansu couldn't help but secretly admire Bai Yutang's ingenious thinking. This line of sky is narrow at the top and thick at the bottom. Even if a heavenly person looks down from high altitude, it will be difficult to find that there is a cave in this deep valley, and it must be close.
Qi Xuansu walked out of the river. Fortunately, the official ticket, the Zimu Talisman and the "Dragon Hand Gun" were all waterproof. All he had to do was steam dry his clothes with his true energy. Then he walked several miles along the river bank and came to a place full of flowers. Green Valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides, protected from the early wind, is no more drab and green than the outside, with blooming flowers and extraordinary splendor.
There is a small village not far away, with more than ten houses of various sizes gathered together. There are no fences, and there are fields and mulberry forests around it. It is really a pastoral scene.
Qi Xuansu walked into the village along a path and found that the place was deserted, with not a single person in sight. Qi Xuansu walked into a house and checked various traces. There was no obvious dust, which meant that someone had lived here not long ago, but the fire was no longer warm, which meant that they had not just left.
Qi Xuansu should have calculated the time. It took him about a day to return from the workshop to Qianhu Office and then leave Qianhu Office. It took one day to get from Qianhusuo to Cuowenbu, and three days to get from the west bank to the east coast of Cuowenbu. Six days have passed since we finally found this place.
It seems that Bai Yutang evacuated this place during this period.
Qi Xuansu walked through the empty village and came to the other side.
There is a huge manor here, which is not quite like the local buildings in Yongzhou. It has an obvious style of the Imperial Capital, just like the various summer gardens built by the Imperial Capital's dignitaries outside the Imperial Capital, such as the famous Yuqing Garden. This garden was built during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong of the previous dynasty. The original owner was the father of Empress Xiaozong, and it was taken back to the royal family during the reign of Emperor Sejong. When Daxuan conquered the world, the garden was put under the name of the new royal family. After repairs by successive emperors, it now covers an area of about 1,500 acres. There are front lake, back lake, Yihai Hall, Qingya Pavilion, Tingshui Pavilion, Huaju Pavilion and other buildings imitating the Jiangnan landscape are known as the first garden in the imperial capital.
This manor has the style of Yuqingyuan. It can even be said to be a replica, but it is much smaller. It is not as exaggerated as covering an area of 1,500 acres, but only a few dozen acres. This is interesting. Bai Yutang imitates Jinque in its organizational structure, its name alludes to Yujing, and now it imitates the imperial family's Yuqing Garden.
At this time, the gate of the manor was closed tightly. Qi Xuansu did not push the door rashly, but jumped up to the gate tower and looked down at the manor from a high place.
At a cursory glance, except for the absence of anyone, the entire manor remained calm. It seemed that the owner here only went out temporarily, so he took nothing with him. No one else came during the period, and everything was as it was when he left.
Qi Xuansu jumped down from the gate tower, kept vigilant, and walked cautiously to the main hall.
To Qi Xuansu's expectation, there were no mechanisms or formations along the way. Qi Xuansu came directly to the main hall. There was also no human figure here, and all the furnishings were well preserved and not cluttered. It can be seen that the people in Bai Yutang did not evacuate. Don't panic, be methodical.
After Qi Xuansu wandered around the main hall, he went to other places, including the side hall, garden, bedroom, conservatory, small living room, etc., and finally came to the most important study.
Nothing else has changed, with the exception of the study. The three walls of the study room were filled with bookshelves, but at this time the bookshelves were empty, with nothing left. There is also a huge brazier in the middle of the study, which is filled with ashes. It is obvious that someone once burned some important files here.
In addition, there are many scattered papers on the ground. Qi Xuansu glanced through it and found all kinds of information, including information about the imperial court, Taoist sects, and even the specific movements of the imperial army and Taoist sect spiritual officials. However, information is time-sensitive. Because it is out of date, the information that was once worth thousands of dollars has no value at all now and is just a pile of waste paper.
Qi Xuansu saw a piece of paper writing the news that Qin Wubing was about to lead his army into the West Gobi. Before that, it was indeed top secret, but now even Qi Xuansu knew it. Qi Xuansu even met Qin in the West Gobi. Wu Shi is not just a piece of waste paper. No wonder it was thrown here carelessly.
Qi Xuansu walked around the brazier and came to the bookcase. The four treasures of the study are still on the desk, and there is a piece of paper under the paperweight. Qi Xuansu hesitated for a while, then picked up the paperweight and found a letter underneath.
This letter was not accidentally left here, but was left behind intentionally by the owner of this place. Judging from the handwriting alone, there are no obvious characteristics and it is quite satisfactory.
The letter was written to Qiniang. Strictly speaking, it was written to the person Qiniang sent, that is, Qi Xuansu.
The content of the letter was very simple, and it roughly explained the reason why they had to leave this place, mainly because of the Taoism. Daomen is not a weak giant who has entered his old age and is riddled with all kinds of diseases, but a giant whose actions are uncoordinated due to schizophrenia. Although this giant often fights with his left and right hands or slaps himself in the face, he even takes the initiative to stretch out his fingers to let people outside Snakes and insects came to gnaw at him, but there was no doubt that this giant was in the prime of his life, and when he drew his sword, he was still unstoppable.
Although the internal fighting within the Taoist sect has become increasingly fierce, following a certain inertia, the sword of the Taoist sect will not stop. Not long after, the Taoist gate swept across the entire Cuowenbu. If they continued to stay here, it would be difficult to survive. This was the reason why they had to leave here.
Before leaving, he decided to fulfill the contract with Qiniang, which is what Qiniang said to pay off the debt.
The signature is "Mountain Ghost Ballad".
Qi Xuansu felt that it was unexpected but reasonable. Bai Yutang was originally a union of multiple secret societies, so the existence of members of the Qingping Society was very reasonable. From this point of view, both "Shan Guiyao" and Qiniang joined Bai Yutang, but Qiniang later left Bai Yutang for some reason and said that she would not return to Bai Yutang for the time being. As for the relationship between "Shan Gui Yao" and Qiniang, it may be that they were former partners, or it may be that "Shan Gui Yao" took over Qiniang's position in Bai Yutang.
After thinking about it more deeply, there is no obvious distinction in the tone of "Shan Gui Yao"'s letter. He should be on the same level as Qiniang. Qiniang is a second-class member, so "Shan Gui Yao" should also be a second-class member. .
As for the rest, no more.
Qi Xuansu read the letter twice more and used some methods of roasting it with fire and soaking it in water to make sure there was no mystery on the letter paper, only these contents. "Mountain Ghost Ballad" talks about repaying the debt, and then stops abruptly without saying how to "repay the debt" or even what the debt is, let alone where to put the things.
"Pretend to be a ghost." Qi Xuansu cursed lightly and put down the paperweight he had been holding.
etc.
Qi Xuansu suddenly felt that this scene seemed familiar.
