To the west of the endless fog, a giant ship slowly approached and stopped two or three miles away from the fog.
This ship is naturally a mirage that went to sea for the second time.
This time out to sea, Mirage spent more time than the first time out to sea before reaching the sea area where the fog was again.
After a few months, the people of the Yin Yang family are not sure whether the fog has spread. In addition, although these fogs are theoretically conspicuous, you will unconsciously ignore them before you are truly aware of their existence.
Therefore, the mirage reduced its speed to ensure that the ship would not be caught off guard and sail directly into the fog.
The mirage is so big!
Although it relies on the black technology of the Gongshu family to successfully drive at sea, and the speed is not slow, it is completely impossible to control it delicately - it is very laborious to stop when driving, and it is also very difficult to start again after stopping.
Effortless.
This is also one of the reasons why the mirage will park so far away when it is parked at Songhai Port. If it gets any closer, it will be unable to stop and directly hit the port.
It is the same now, you must anchor far away, otherwise you may accidentally plunge part of the hull into the fog.
When the mirage stopped, the three cloud-breaking crossbows built and installed by Gong Shuqiu himself immediately adjusted their positions, all pointing in the direction of the fog - of course, due to the different positions of the three crossbows, the specific area they could cover
There are also differences.
The base of the Poyun Crossbow has been specially designed. The crossbow body can turn 360 degrees without any blind angle, but the adjustable range on the vertical axis is much smaller, only about 45 degrees.
The highest point of the mirage, inside the Toad Palace.
Xinghun folded his arms, with his usual sneer on his lips, and looked at the Moon God opposite:
"Lord Moon God, we have arrived at the place. The next step is up to you."
"This is natural." Moon God ignored Xinghun's expression of frustration and replied calmly, "But astrology can only achieve its best effect at night, so please don't be anxious, Mr. Xinghun."
"I'm not in a hurry. Lord Luna can prepare slowly. I just happened to go see how the crossbows are being prepared." Xinghun did not continue to provoke Luna. It seemed that the lack of beatings just now was just a habit of looking for trouble.
After Star Soul left, the Moon Goddess told the two sisters, Ehuang and Nvying, who were standing behind her, "Go and prepare to activate the stargazer."
Princess E didn't understand...or wasn't good at astrology, but she didn't need to know astrology to drive the stargazer.
Because in the end it was Luna who was in charge of controlling the instrument. The two of them were just assisting, which was equivalent to exerting their strength. It didn't matter whether they understood or not.
The stargazing instruments in the Qin Dynasty world were different from the ancient astronomical instruments in ancient Xun's previous life.
Although the appearance is very similar, the actual effect and usage are completely different.
The latter is a scientific instrument, while the former is a metaphysical instrument.
Although Yin Yang's astrology also has a certain scientific part, the main body is still metaphysics, which focuses on pursuing a mysterious and mysterious feeling to spy on the destiny.
The function of a stargazer is to help astrology users more easily obtain that ray of divine inspiration.
Driving the stargazer requires the consumption of true energy - it does not mean that it can only be driven by true energy, but for the Moon God, there is no need to bother with other methods.
In order to increase the chance of success in tonight's astrology as much as possible, Luna asked Mrs. Xiang and her sisters to power the instrument. Then she would only need to concentrate on performing astrology.
The two sisters did not speak, nodded and then left side by side.
Luna was the only one left in the room, and she suddenly said to the air, "Do you think this will work?"
A ball of fire suddenly rose in the room, the light dissipated, and Concubine Yan's figure appeared:
"Since Donghuang Taiyi has arranged it like this, I think it's safe."
Luna didn't dwell on this issue, and asked again, "Gu Xun is on the ship now?"
"He should be here, but I don't know where he is." Concubine Yan replied calmly.
"With him here, do you think your goal can still be achieved?" Luna asked again.
"If you don't give it a try, who can be sure of the result?" Concubine Yan remained calm, "The end of Mirage's journey is unknown to all of us, and he will be no exception."
………………
Deep below the mirage deck, where Tianming is imprisoned.
In a blink of an eye, Tianming has been trapped on the ship for two months.
Being alone in this hellish place is undoubtedly very debilitating for one's spirit. Even though Tianming often 'meets' Qiantaki and Xinghun occasionally comes over for a walk, it's still too lonely for him.
The young man who was handsome and lively two months ago is now lying on the bed like a puddle of mud, with a face full of decadence and degradation.
It's not like he really collapsed and lost his fighting spirit, but he did feel depressed and lethargic.
The only difference between him and squatting in a small dark room is that the Yin Yang family does not spare the lamp oil and allows him to keep the lights on for twelve hours a day.
Probably because they were worried that he would be too bored, the Yin Yang family even provided him with some books to pass the time.
Most of them are casual books written by novelists, so we can call them novels.
But in fact, the difference is quite big, and the content is not very interesting.
Tianming, who has experienced hundreds of battles and has enough experience to actually write a novel, is not very interested in these stories with no beginning and end, but because they are too boring, he still read through the books.
Then it gets even more boring.
Sometimes he couldn't help but wonder whether it was more tormenting the days when he was living on the streets, suffering from hunger and cold, or whether it was the days of being imprisoned in this tiny place unable to move that were more tormenting now.
From a rational point of view, there is no doubt that it is more uncomfortable not to have enough to eat, but his rationality has been almost worn away.
"It seems that you have been tortured a lot these days."
A smiling voice suddenly sounded from outside Tianming's room.
Tianming, whose thinking was disordered and disoriented, thought at first that he was hearing hallucinations - this was not the first time. He didn't have much reaction, he just tilted his head.
Then the door was opened.
Gu Xun walked in with steps.
Tianming's eyes suddenly widened when he noticed this scene from the corner of his eye.
He has had auditory hallucinations recently, but they have not yet developed into visual hallucinations. If nothing else, they should be real people!
Gu Xun was not in a hurry to talk to Tianming. After feeling the turbid air in the room, he frowned and immediately raised his hand.
A strong gust of wind immediately blew up inside the house, blowing up all the dirty exhaust gas and expelling it, replacing it with fresh air - relatively fresh air.
In the deep areas of the mirage, there is basically no real fresh air.
The people of the Yin and Yang family did not abuse Tian Ming, and they cleaned up all the domestic garbage produced in his room very diligently. However, no matter how they were cleaned up, the place was inevitably dirty - Tian Ming's muddiness might also have something to do with this bad environment.
A strong, cold wind blew through the morning, making him shiver unexpectedly. His mind suddenly became clearer, and he climbed out of bed numbly.
"Uncle... Gu!"
Tianming was very excited at first and wanted to say something, but then he suddenly remembered his revenge for killing his father. The smile on his face suddenly disappeared, and his voice suddenly became weak.
Gu Xun smiled when he saw this, found a chair, sat down first, and then said:
"Don't think too much about things that can't be done temporarily. Just take care of your current troubles first."
When Tian Ming heard this, his expression was very awkward, and he didn't know what attitude he should take towards Gu Xun.
After struggling for a long time, he could only lower his head and mumbled back, "Are you here to save me?"
"No." Gu Xun smiled and shook his head, "I just came to see you."
"As for saving you...the mirage has already reached the sea. You can't escape from this door without the mirage. There is no need to bother."
"That's better than being locked up and subjected to mental torture by them!" When this topic was brought up, Tianming became excited again.
He had really had enough these days.
"Well... you can negotiate terms with the Yin Yang family later and ask them to change your cell to a room on the upper deck with windows that offer a view and good ventilation." Gu Xun gave him advice with a smile.
"If they don't want to, just tell them that you're going to commit suicide because of the pressure, and they will give in."
"As for further freedom... to be honest, you don't need to be persistent."
"The sea is so boring. Even if they allow you to move freely, it's just to go to Zibei Water Pavilion to see the fish... Do you like those fish very much?"
"But... there are other places on the mirage! Some places I haven't been to yet." Tianming was obviously not interested in the fish in Zibei Water Pavilion, but he did not give up on the pursuit of freedom and wanted to struggle.
.
"Yes, yes, but do you think the Yin-Yang family will allow you to get close to those places?" Gu Xun spread his hands and asked, "Or do you think you can escape the confinement of the Yin-Yang family and hide and move around freely?"
"The latter...isn't it possible?"
"I told you, you were able to hide before because the Yin Yang family didn't want to take care of them." Gu Xun persuaded him earnestly, "Do you think you can avoid them so easily now?"
"Even if you manage to do it, life will be very difficult, and eating and drinking will probably be a problem."
"Don't forget, the temperature is getting lower and lower, and winter is coming soon!"
Winter is a difficult time for everyone.
You won’t freeze to death at dawn, but if you can stay in the house and enjoy good food and drink, why do you have to hide in Tibet and suffer from hunger and cold?
When Tianming thought about it, he felt that there was nothing wrong with what Gu Xun said, so he could only nod his head in recognition:
"you're right……"
"But, can the Yin Yang family really agree to my request?"
"Of course." Gu Xun nodded and replied, "When the mirage reaches the sea, you can no longer escape. There is no need for them to continue to guard you."
"If they really lock you out, they will be in big trouble."
"Hmph..." Tianming laughed at himself, "I have never been so important in my life."
"What do they want from me?"
Gu Xun shook his head, "I can't say for sure now. Anyway... I can't live without you."
"Then can I still survive?" Tianming looked at Gu Xun and asked with a complicated expression.
He looked confused and a little sad.
The mental malaise eventually affected his mood.
Gu Xun shook his head again, "I'm still not sure. Maybe it can, maybe it can't. I'm not even sure whether your problems can be solved."
"You can only know how it will end if you go step by step."
Tianming let out a long sigh, turned over and fell on the bed again, and said in frustration, "Why...why am I so unlucky? Why do I have to get into all these inexplicable troubles?"
"There's no point in dwelling on these issues." Seeing this, Gu Xun tried to persuade Yi Er.
Tianming was very angry after hearing this, "Why is it meaningless!? I don't know the result, why can't I even ask the reason!?"
Gu Xun didn't care about Tianming's eagerness, and still explained calmly, "I said, it's meaningless, it's not impossible."
"If we really want to investigate the cause, your...let's call it troubles all stem from your father, because he used power that he shouldn't have used, and thus suffered a 'curse'."
"The 'curse' here is just my way of describing it and has no actual meaning."
"And when it comes to your father's assassination, we have to trace it to Yan Dan, the last tycoon of your Mo family."
"If he hadn't insisted on assassinating Ying Zheng, your father wouldn't have had to take Can Hong to fight for his life."
"But at the same time, it can also be traced to Ying Zheng - if he hadn't kidnapped your mother for his own ambition of immortality, your father might not have risked his life."
"In the future, more people can be traced, including many people you know, people you don't know, people you know and people you don't know."
"Who do you think is the culprit? Who is the accomplice? Who is the innocent person?"
"..." Tianming replied after being silent for a long time, "There will be a day when everything will be settled."
Gu Xun pursed his lips and smiled, "Of course, there will be such a day, but it is definitely not today, and it is not what you should consider right now."
"Let's find a way to survive first."
Tianming rested his head on his arm, looked at the roof, and fell into silence.
"..."
"Is this why you came here today to tell me this?" Tianming suddenly asked Gu Xun after a long silence.
Gu Xun shook his head, "I just came to see you. As for what I said, by the way, I happened to catch up with you to ask."
"The rest...is gone. It's time for me to say goodbye."
"If someone from the Yin Yang family happens to come looking for you, I will have to find a way to cover it up."
"I will help you create some noise before I leave. People from the Yin Yang family should come over soon to check on your situation. If you want to make some conditions, you can take advantage of this opportunity."
After saying that, Gu Xunren left and closed the door, but he just closed it and did not lock it... In fact, it was not locked.
Tianming raised his head and glanced at the ajar door. He hesitated for a while, but still didn't make any move.
………………
The Land of Baiyue, the New Road to Lingnan.
Although the empire's southern expedition to Baiyue failed, it did not result in nothing.
In the past, anyone who wanted to travel to Baiyue in the Central Plains could only travel along the mountain roads of the Wuling Mountains or the waterways and rivers that crisscrossed the north and south.
These roads are not roads at all. They are impassable for cars and horses, and extremely difficult for people to walk on. They are not far different from the desperate situation in Western Shu.
But now, the empire has finally built a serious road in and out of Lingnan, which can be used for pedestrians and military mobilization.
Of course, this road has not yet been completed, it is only half completed. The most troublesome part south of Wuling has not yet been completed - the ground has not been completely cleared, so it cannot be repaired even if it is wanted.
