In the next three days, the full moon came soon. Yue Guanchao and the others took advantage of the sunny afternoon to arrive at the pier. When they arrived, Zhu Fushun and Ma Yanghua were already waiting for them at the pier.
"Brother Yue, Sister Song, the drift boat is too big and eye-catching. When we get there, we will borrow a ferry to take you to Junshan Island. When we get there, everything will go according to plan."
"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Brother Zhu."
After Yue Guangtai and they got on the drift boat, the Zhus immediately set off and crossed the Dongting waters to Junshan Island in the northwest. Originally, they could also take a detour from the land, but if they took the long way, they would not be accurate. blacken.
About two hours later, the drifting boat had approached Junshan Island. There was a lively temple fair on the embankment, and the sound of people gradually became noisy.
After getting off the boat, they borrowed a ferry from an acquaintance. In the name of taking guests to visit Dongting Lake, they took Yue Guanchao and sailed into the lake from the dock.
After Yue Guanchao boarded the boat, he looked at the ferry at his feet. The length of such a ferry was only seven or eight meters, and its width was only limited to five meters. Compared with that drifting boat, it was indeed smaller and lighter.
This kind of boat is mostly used to attract tourists. The hull is painted ebony and has a compact structure. It is like a shuttle with pointed noses at the front and rear and a wide belly. There is a pergola-like thing built in the belly of the boat, with tables, chairs and benches inside. The wooden cabins on the four sides are tightly spliced. , only four or five parallel windows were opened at half waist height.
If there is anything else, it is a paddle that can only be slid by hand!
"I haven't used a hand-rowed boat like this for a long time. Fortunately, I haven't lost my early skills."
When Zhu Fushun was talking, the ferry had already sailed towards the desolate areas on both sides of Junshan Island. As it moved away from Longjun Temple and the temple fair, the noisy voices were gradually drowned out by the wind and vegetation, leaving only the chirping of birds and the rustling of grass.
"Brother Zhu, do you want to start a ferry business like this?"
Yue Guanchao walked out of the cabin and stood on the board and asked.
Zhu Fushun shook the oar, wiped his sweat and said: "No, no one can become fat in one breath. It's not like we can save a fishing boat from the beginning. My ancestors came ashore late in the past and were old and infirm." I didn’t have much to live for, so I built a ferry to pick up travelers on Dongting Lake.”
"It was still an old business until my generation. When it came to my generation, I saved up my family and bought a fishing boat. Speaking of which, our fishing boat used to be a man-made sand transporting boat for the government. Later, they eliminated it and we now We bought it at a cheap price. In the past ten years, we have been fishing and soliciting customers while renovating the fishing boat. We suddenly turned the boat into our own house. We usually sleep in the cabin and work when there is work and rest when there is no work. Although It's not as good as those martial arts schools and escort agencies, so I live a happy life."
Yue Guanchao saw that Zhu Fushun was talking a little more than before, so he decided to ask about the map in a roundabout way. He coughed a few times and said, "Brother Zhu, wasn't your grandfather the master of the water bandits camp? Didn't he follow the water bandits when he got ashore?" Making a living?"
Zhu Fushun waved his hand: "Hey, the people of one country must abide by the rules of the other. Water bandits are bandits in Dongting Lake, but they become citizens when they land on land. These escort agencies, martial arts schools, etc. are all run by the government, and water bandits also It’s just a matter of begging for food, setting up camp at home is a mess, so who can care about making money for others.”
He paused and said in a mysterious tone: "My grandfather was weak and didn't have much strength at that time. Fortunately, he still read a few books in the water bandit camp for a few days. He earned a reputation as a master accountant by counting accounts, writing, and being eloquent. , after all, he is fed by the water bandits camp, and without the support from the water bandits, he would still be half-starved to death."
"After we get to land!"
Zhu Fushun coughed a few times: "The martial arts hall of the Human Escort Bureau has already had an accountant, and it was not his turn to show his shame. Besides, the little ink in his stomach was not enough to see the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in Yueyang City. Later, he really couldn't find it. When I was able to survive, I got a ferry and started a boating business, and then I barely managed to bring my old man up. This is what one party is called the overlord and the other is a turtle. No matter how prosperous it was in the past, if you change the place, you have to start all over again."
Seeing that the atmosphere was warm and the time was right, Yue Guanchao joked half-jokingly: "Oh, so that's what happened. If you want to say that, then your grandpa might as well go back to Chiba Island. I saw that when these bandit villages were built, there were According to the advice of an expert, even the bandit village has coincided with the Eight Diagrams, and maybe they can use Feng Shui to make a comeback."
"You mean this bandit village? That's indeed what happened."
When Zhu Fushun mentioned this, he seemed to have opened up a chat box and talked about the history of the initial establishment of the bandit village: "I heard these ancient sayings from my grandfather when I was a child..."
Back then, after General Nanming became a water bandit, he began to build the Chiba Island secret passage and the bandit stronghold. After all, the island was formed naturally and did not change due to his thoughts. It was quite difficult to build the bandit stronghold. When digging mountains and blasting rocks, it was often due to various factors. For some reason, it was either that the stone could not be exploded at all, or that the force was too strong and the ground was directly exploded.
Even after some soldiers entered Chiba Island, they lost their way and could not get out. This was the desolate and uninhabited Yehu Islands. Some soldiers began to worry that something strange had happened to the island or that they had offended someone. gods.
Fortunately, there were military advisors in the remnants of Nanming who were familiar with Qimen Dunjia, so they used the Bagua theory to explore the entirety of Chiba Island. After they went into the water, they discovered that Chiba Island was actually an entire island.
The Thousand Islands they saw were like stars, but they were just an illusion caused by the subsidence of the water level in Dongting Lake. As long as they dived to a certain depth, they could see that all the islands were connected together. This huge island in the lake was probably It was changed by external forces to form the current shape of Thousand Islands. If the water level sinks to a certain low point, you can still see this huge island holding all kinds of strange mountains out of the lake.
To be precise, the island is a huge man-made maze. However, the walls and spaces of this maze are not ordinary, but are connected by specific islands and water surfaces. If it were not for the full underwater view, one would never have imagined that Chiba Island is Such a pattern.
Although the military strategist could tell that this was a man-made maze, he did not know what the purpose of this maze was. He could only conclude based on the exquisite thinking of ancient people and regard it as a miracle gifted by God.
For the generals of Nanming, the appearance of an island in the lake that coincides with the Bagua, and the fact that the island can accommodate and hide, means that God does not want Nanming to perish and wants to preserve the last remnant of Nanming.
With this thought in mind, they combined it with the Bagua theory to easily see the hexagram relationships between the islands. As long as they built secret passages and built bandit strongholds between the hexagram relationships, it would be easy to accomplish anything and nothing would happen again. Strange things.
However, there is one place that they will never explore, and that is the location of Bagua's Yin Yang Fish Eye. If it were replaced by an actual location, it would be Yugou Island in the center of the island.
After listening to Zhu Fushun's words, Yue Guanchao's doubts were somewhat relieved, and then he asked: "During the past three hundred years, haven't the water bandits discovered the secret of Yugou Island?"
Zhu Fushun explained: "Brother Yue, there was a military advisor from the imperial court among the generals of Nanming back then. He was a master who was familiar with Qimen Dunjia Baguayi. Even such a resourceful military advisor could not figure out the mysteries of this Qianye Island. Later, How can you explore Yugou Island when all your disciples and grandchildren have become bandits?"
"However, I guess there is something strange about Yugou Island."
Speaking of this, Zhu Fushun lowered his voice and his eyes became obviously evasive: "My grandfather is a master, and he once heard a rule in the bandit village. The water bandits in the past generations are not allowed to dig up Yugou Island. It is said that Yugou Island is There is an island god, but once it is excavated, the god will be offended, and the island’s concealment effect will be gone.”
"These words must be a lie. I guess there is indeed some mechanism on Yugou Island, or there is something weird on Yugou Island. Otherwise, the ancestor would not have left such a sentence. As time goes by, this The water bandits no longer know what the words mean, they just stick to the rule of not digging up Yugou Island."
When Zhu Fushun was talking, he had already led them to the side of Junshan Island. As the lake shore became rugged, many impact caves began to appear in front of them. Most of these caves did not reveal the stone surface, and vines and branches were visible on the surface. The cave is covered with aquatic plants and moss, like countless underground mazes exposed to the sky. Occasionally, the ferry floats over the cave, and shadows of light can be seen shining down the sinkhole.
Yue Guanchao took out the map and handed it to Zhu Fushun. He watched the map and controlled the ferry to wander freely in the arch cave. When they reached the deepest part of the arch cave, everyone realized that there was no water channel in front, and only a glimpse of dense mossy stone walls remained.
"right here."
Zhu Fushun looked at the map and quickly slid the boat to the stone wall: "I heard my old man say that there is a chain at the entrance. As long as the chain is pulled, the wall can be opened."
While talking, Zhu Fushun and Yue Guanchao did not stop their movements. They picked up flashlights and kept looking around the stone wall. It can be seen that the stone wall is square and huge, about five or six meters long and wide. It is covered with moss and vines. If you don't pay close attention, It's really hard to tell the difference.
He picked up the dagger and stabbed it into the crack of the door along the straight gap. Sure enough, he could cut the vines smoothly, making the lines of the stone door completely protrude from the background of the vines.
"Yes, here it is."
Zhu Fushun approached the water and fished around in the water. He noticed that he touched the iron chain in his hand, so he grabbed it and pulled it out of the water.
Just when the chain was pulled out, the stone door rumbled and turned, moving into the mountain in front of them, and a dark secret passage appeared in front of everyone.
Yue Guanchao turned on his flashlight and shined it into it. The secret passage was similar to the outside world. It was composed of arches and water surfaces. The four walls were carved out of planes. The beams and vertical columns supported each other. There were either fresh moss or withered grass and vines between the four walls. , dust has accumulated for half a century, and there is dirt everywhere.
"No one has been to this secret passage for decades. Be careful when we enter later."
Zhu Fushun shook the oar and led them along the secret passage. When he turned the lamp niche from the inside, the stone door closed tightly with a bang.
At this time, the secret passage had become pitch black, and they had no choice but to take out their flashlights and continuously illuminate the environment around the ship.
Some people died, but not completely...
