Going up the mountain along the road carved out by the walkers, in the sharp cracks in the stone wall, they used their hands to peel away the vines covering the entrance of the cave, revealing a cave entrance that could accommodate two people.
"I doubt that Duke Nie's treasure house would be in such a...shabby place."
Zheng Xiu looked at the dark hole where he couldn't see his fingers, and the corners of his eyes twitched and he said something.
Xie Luohe smiled: "Isn't the fact that 'Nie Gong's treasure house is in Bashan' exactly the answer that your great painter Gongsun came up with after he discovered the mystery of the painting of the Holy Four Seasons?"
Zheng Xiu sighed: "I said before, I'm not sure. Now that I'm here, I'm even more doubtful."
Xie Luohe shook his head: "Let's take care of things as they come, they have come..." Xie Luohe's voice became smaller and smaller. After she tied the horse at the foot of the mountain, she carried a bulging luggage. At this moment, her buttocks were facing Zheng Xiu, and she was carrying the luggage.
He was groping for something, his voice became quieter and quieter, and in the end he said nothing more.
Zheng Xiu knew what Xie Luohe wanted to say.
It’s just that I feel unwilling to go and look for it even after I’ve come here.
Xie Luohe took out a bundle of finger-thick hemp rope from her luggage. She tightened it slightly to test the toughness of the rope, and threw one end towards Zheng Xiu.
Zheng Xiu noticed Xie Luohe's persistence in Gong Nie's treasure house and knew that he could not persuade him. After a moment of silence, he could only warn: "Be careful."
"Well, you, be careful."
Xie Luohe held the other end of the rope and wrapped it around his wrist for a week.
After being stunned for a moment, Zheng Xiu came back to his senses, pointed at himself with wide eyes, and looked incredulous: "Wait, it's me who's going down?!"
Xie Luohe nodded matter-of-factly: "Otherwise? I'll go down? Are you willing? If I'm trapped inside and starve to death of thirst, your Fengbei will never come back."
"He and I……"
Zheng Xiu broke through the defense instantly.
"Um?"
"nothing."
"You're so kind." Xie Luohe praised, inserting the arrow that was a little exposed back into the quiver.
Zheng Xiu reluctantly tied the thick rope tightly around his waist, stepped on the protrusions on the stone wall, climbed down carefully, and entered the cave.
The cave was more spacious than Zheng Xiu imagined, but the light was extremely poor.
After a while, when Zheng Xiu raised his head, he could no longer see the entrance. In addition, it was dark outside and there was no light. Zheng Xiu followed the cave for about a few feet in the dark and suddenly slapped his forehead and cursed himself for being stupid.
.
After staying in the world of paintings for a long time, Zheng Xiu gradually forgot his specialness as a "foreigner" and left behind his magical skills. Today, he is not only a "Prisoner", but also an upright "Painter".
Yes, great painter.
Zheng Xiu was hanging in the air by the thick rope around his waist. He kicked his legs and swung the rope with the help of inertia. After swinging several times, Zheng Xiu hit the stone wall.
After several attempts, Zheng Xiu finally grasped the crack in the stone wall and clung to the stone wall like a gecko.
"Nerd, are you safe?"
Xie Luohe's worried voice came from above, echoing several times, forming a hollow echo in the cave and reaching Zheng Xiu's ears.
When no one else is around, Xie Luohe always likes to call Zheng Xiu "nerd".
"Haha, I can't die!"
Zheng Xiu replied angrily and ignored Xie Luohe. He took off the Luohe pen from his waist, bit his finger, got some blood on it, touched the black, and relied on the artist's touch to draw a lamp on the stone wall.
"Candlestick".
As the "blood ink" on the stone wall twisted and squirmed, the flame suddenly "came alive", swaying, emitting a faint blood-colored light, illuminating Zheng Xiu's surroundings.
"It's done."
Zheng Xiu grinned.
The painter's happiness is so simple and unpretentious.
Maybe I can draw something else in the future.
The [Painter] path seems to be less lethal, but it is extremely malleable. Zheng Xiu likes to take the [Painter] path more and more. He doesn’t know what this path will evolve into in the end.
"what have you done?"
Xie Luohe noticed a faint bloody light coming from the cave and asked doubtfully.
"Hahaha! I drew a lamp!"
Zheng Xiu continued to climb down and answered with a laugh.
"Don't forget, you are using Luohe pen."
Hearing the pride in Zheng Xiu's words, Xie Luohe reminded him.
"Don't be arrogant thanks to the bandits."
Zheng Xiu lowered his voice and muttered.
Zheng Xiu was speechless, and Xie Luohe's words instantly revealed his true nature as a bandit.
"If you scold me again, you really should let me go. Humph, if I throw you to death, it's all over. I don't need to look for Mr. Nie's treasure house anymore." Xie Luohe's voice came slowly.
Zheng Xiu immediately shut up, did not dare to say anything more, and continued to work as a miner. Every once in a while, Zheng Xiu would draw a lamp on the stone wall, and while the wound on his finger was not healed, he would draw more.
Although Zheng Xiu was no longer afraid of pain and death after experiencing the "reopening" process of ghosts many times, but looking at the five fingers that were bitten and miserable, Zheng Xiu wanted to cry without tears, and the good-looking scholar's hand became
In this way, it is difficult to say.
Finally, Zheng Xiu reached the bottom. The cave was not as deep as Zheng Xiu imagined. A lamp was painted on the wall to provide light. Zheng Xiu frowned and relaxed after seeing the scenery at the bottom clearly.
Branches above the moon.
Zheng Xiu crawled out of the cave with a disgraceful face. Looking at Xie Luohe's expectant eyes, Zheng Xiu slowly shook his head.
In the darkness, Xie Luohe's bright eyes dimmed slightly, and she was seen biting her lower lip, with a bit of disbelief on her face, and asked: "What's there?"
Zheng Xiu patted the ashes on his body and said helplessly: "The six skeletons have been dead for a long time. Their clothes have long been rotten. Maybe they were hikers who came to hunt for treasures. They slipped and fell to death. There is nothing else except the corpses."
Zheng Xiu described it so clearly that Xie Luohe had no choice but to believe it. She raised her head and glanced at the night, silent, then took a gentle breath and was about to say something.
Unexpectedly, Zheng Xiu predicted Xie Luohe this time. Before she could speak, Zheng Xiu said with a straight face: "Xiao Tao is still in the inn."
Xie Luohe's expression was startled, and he looked at Zheng Xiu's serious face. Soon Xie Luohe looked away, covering the right side of his face with his long hair, and said softly: "Then, go back."
On the way back, both of them were quiet and didn't say anything.
Zheng Xiu once again felt that something was wrong with Xie Luohe. Apart from the obvious "anxiety", Zheng Xiu could not taste anything else for a while. When he arrived at the inn, the watchman was banging a gong in the street next door. Xie Luohe jumped up, opened the window and entered
room.
At first Zheng Xiu didn't think there was anything wrong, but when he trotted to the door, Xie Luohe's laughter came from the closed door: "It's late at night, please come back, this anxious young man."
Xiaotao lowered her voice and said urgently: "Miss, it's getting so late, if you let the young master sleep on the street..."
"Why are you... rustling..."
"Squeeze..."
"You……"
Inside, the master and servant were arguing, and in the end Xiao Tao's mouth was covered.
It's obviously the room opened by me!
The money I spent!
"Bandit! Bandit! Banditry will never change!"
Although Zheng Xiu didn't intend to do anything, he always felt unhappy when the room was occupied, so he left cursing.
Fortunately, it wasn't too cold tonight, so Zheng Xiu found a place on the roadside under a roof that could protect him from the rain, and stayed the night until dawn.
Early the next morning, Zheng Xiu felt someone slapping him on the face. When he opened his eyes, he saw Xie Luohe squatting in front of Zheng Xiu with a smile. She was still dressed like Feng Bei, with black gloves on her hands.
.
The sky was gray and misty, and the heavy moisture condensed into clouds of mist that could not be blown away on the street. Zheng Xiu was huddled miserably at the street corner, with crystal clear dewdrops on his hair.
When Zheng Xiu stood up sleepily and patted the dew off his body, the sound of roosters crowed one after another in the city. When Zheng Xiu heard this, he said angrily: "You actually got up earlier than the roosters."
Xie Luohe smiled, pointed in the direction of the stables, and pulled Zheng Xiu towards the stables.
On the way, Xie Luohe was afraid that Zheng Xiu would be worried, and said that Xiaotao was much better after taking the medicine, so there was no need to worry. Zheng Xiu knew that Xie Luohe would not joke about this kind of thing, so he sighed lightly and followed Xie Luohe out of the city.
Horseback riding, out of the city, up the mountain, down the cave.
Five days in a row.
The landscape of Bashan Mountain is far more complicated than Zheng Xiu and Xie Luohe initially thought. They visited seven caves in the past five days, but found nothing.
On the sixth day, two expected guests came to visit.
It's Cheng Xiao and Bai Xiaosheng.
Cheng Xiao was still dressed like a down-and-out knight, wearing a thick cloak, messy hair, pale face, and the black scabbard in his arms, which formed a sharp contrast.
After several days of struggling, Zheng Xiu stopped getting up before the rooster crows. This morning, he and Xie Luohe were drinking porridge at the same table in the inn, while Bai Xiaosheng and Cheng Xiao sat down.
"Meat buns, four."
Cheng Xiaoku ordered a breakfast.
Then he looked at Zheng Xiu: "I don't have any money."
"You still eat so much without money?" Zheng Xiu glared at Cheng Xiao.
Soon the meat buns arrived, and Cheng Xiao ate them with big mouthfuls.
Bai Xiaosheng looked at Xie Luohe and Zheng Xiu respectively with a smile but not a smile.
"Have you found the entrance to the treasure house?"
Xie Luohe frowned.
Zheng Xiu was not surprised that Bai Xiaosheng knew that they had been going to caves and mountains every day these days. Seeing Bai Xiaosheng winking and looking like he needed a beating, Zheng Xiu pondered for a moment and then laughed dumbly: "Do you know where the entrance is?"
When Bai Xiaosheng heard this, he shook his head and looked very proud.
Xie Luohe's brows relaxed: "Say."
Bai Xiaosheng snorted twice.
Xie Luohe smiled slightly and slowly pressed his palms on the table.
Click.
The wooden table cracked, and when Xie Luohe raised his palm, a clear palm print was left on the table.
"Ahem." Bai Xiaosheng said immediately: "Don't worry, am I, Bai Xiaosheng, a person who forgets his integrity when he sees his wealth?"
Zheng Xiu smiled and added: "It's hard to say."
Bai Xiaosheng glared at Zheng Xiu fiercely, and took out a sheepskin map from his arms. The map was covered with mildew spots, and he could tell it was old at a glance. Zheng Xiu curiously took the map from Bai Xiaosheng's hand, and on the right
The year number was written on the lower corner. Zheng Xiu looked at it and was stunned for a moment: "The map of Yanzhou from the previous dynasty? Jiang Fatty, where did you find it?"
"I have my own way!" Bai Xiaosheng proudly pointed to a place near Bashan Mountain on the map and knocked: "Can you see the clues?"
Xie Luohe's eyes fell. After a moment, Xie Luohe's eyes lit up: "During the previous dynasty, there was a river here?"
Bai Xiaosheng nodded and said: "I actually arrived nearby two days ago. I learned that the two of you were alone, a man and a woman, and went up the mountain to a cave, so I didn't bother you. After I got this ancient picture, I compared it with the history books and learned from a few words in the history books.
, noticed a coincidence.”
Cheng Xiao finished the four meat buns, and with a straight face again, he held the black scabbard and listened quietly.
"Hey, you don't know if you don't check. After checking, I discovered a huge secret. Decades ago, there was a flood in Yanzhou. At that time, there were countless casualties and it was tragic..."
Bai Xiaosheng kept talking.
"Tell me the important point." Xie Luohe's eyes narrowed with murderous intent.
"...At that time, it was said that the person responsible for Yanzhou's fight against floods was Nie Gong. You said that Nie Gong was a corrupt official and had to come to remote mountainous areas to fight against floods." Bai Xiaosheng paused and narrowed his eyes: "Unless that year
The Ministry of Works' allocation for flood control is huge and profitable, otherwise, what do you think Nie Gong is trying to do?"
"Walk!"
When Xie Luohe heard this, he rolled up the ancient picture, rushed out like a gust of wind, and disappeared at the door of the inn in the blink of an eye.
"My ancient picture!"
Bai Xiaosheng was anxious, but he looked at the palm prints on the table and did not dare to get angry.
Zheng Xiu had no choice but to look at Cheng Xiao and Bai Xiaosheng. Bai Xiaosheng wondered: "Is the treasure hidden in Mr. Nie's treasure house really so tempting?"
"maybe."
The three men chased him and rode out of the city.
Near noon, we arrived near Bashan.
Zheng Xiu was thinking about the problem of Duke Nie's treasure house on the way. No wonder he and Xie Luohe Tiantianxia Cave found nothing. It turned out that the direction was wrong. From the beginning, Duke Nie's treasure house was not hidden in the mountains of Bashan Mountain, but underground.
.
Bai Xiaosheng relied on his memory and came to the area where the river used to be. The ground was undulating. If you look at it from above, you can vaguely see a river bed covered with shrubs and piles of gravel. If you hadn't known in advance that this place was there many years ago,
It was once a river, but it was hard to tell clearly just from the topography.
There was no road ahead. The three of them saw the horses coming from the Xieluo River tied to a tree trunk, so they had no choice but to dismount and walk.
boom!
boom!
boom!
A hundred steps apart, Zheng Xiu and the other three felt an earthquake coming from ahead. On the top of the mountain, pieces of rock peeled off due to the violent vibrations, and fell downwards.
"Sierlo River!"
Zheng Xiu was startled, quickened his pace, and sprinted to the end of the river bed.
Cheng Xiao and Bai Xiaosheng were faster. Cheng Xiao even glanced back at Zheng Xiu curiously, frowning, as if wondering why the man who broke his sword with a slap was so weak in Qinggong.
A figure flew up and down, hitting the steep stone wall crazily.
Xie Luohe looked crazy, and when he struck out his palm, sand and rocks flew, and strong winds were everywhere. After Cheng Xiao and Bai Xiao were born, Xie Luohe did not hesitate to expose his biggest secret. Black lines instantly covered his body, and black shadows loomed behind him. At this moment, her
His posture is like that of a demon, extremely terrifying.
"What the hell is she!"
Bai Xiaosheng, who wrote the "Weapons Manual", looked at Xie Luohe in horror as he hit the mountain wall crazily. The terrifying posture frightened Bai Xiaosheng to sit on the ground, his eyes were distracted, and he kicked his legs forward.
The butt kept moving back, as if instinctively escaping from the beast called "Sierro River" in front of him.
Even Cheng Xiao's usually unruffled "dead face" showed rare and obvious fluctuations, bang! Cheng Xiao opened his mouth and couldn't close it, and the scabbard fell from his arms to the ground.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Xie Luohe was still frantically attacking the stone wall. Seeing that just a pair of fleshy palms was not efficient, Xie Luohe sneered and took off the long bow from his back. His technique was as fast as lightning. Zheng Xiu didn't even see what Xie Luohe was doing. Twelve arrows were set at the same time.
on the bowstring of the Serlo River.
Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock.
Red blood dripped along the arc of the long bow. Zheng Xiu, who was dumbfounded, noticed that Xie Luohe's gloves had long been torn, bloody and bloody. However, she seemed to feel no pain at all as she drew the bow to full capacity.
The twelve arrows were silently covered with a layer of black light. Xie Luohe's long hair automatically blew up in the wind. The long hair that had been covering his right eye was lifted up by the wind.
"Sierlo River! Enough!"
There is definitely something wrong with Xie Luohe's mentality at this moment.
Zheng Xiu didn't know why, looking at this crazy gesture, Xie Luohe suddenly felt as if his chest was being grabbed by a hand, causing a dull pain. He rushed forward, hugged Xie Luohe tightly from behind, and said loudly: "
Enough! Shelo River! Enough!"
Xie Luohe was shocked.
The tightened bow string was slightly loosened, and Xie Luohe stared blankly at the jagged stone wall in front of him.
The long hair falls down again.
Zheng Xiu didn't see the word "Ding Wei" flash past in Xie Luohe's right eye.