Liangshan is surrounded by mountains, and the mountains stretching for thousands of miles are a line of defense for the country. All the way to the northwest, the land becomes more and more barren, and the population gradually becomes sparse. Sometimes, you can walk for three days without seeing a single person.
As long as people walk for another month, they will be able to see the border of Linguo.
Su Yan knew very little about Linguo. He had only heard a few things from his master. Most of them were old stories from the time when the late emperor founded the country, and they were all trivial matters.
From Liangshan to the ruined temple in Houshan, they walked for half a day without stopping. Rong Jin's hands were tied behind his back, and he staggered when he walked. It was very difficult, so he listened to their conversation to divert his attention. When he heard about the old events of Linguo
At that time, he couldn't help but interrupt them: "You two are investigating the case, why are you interested in Linguo's affairs?"
"It's been a boring journey, just rambling here and there." Xilou stopped, looked up at the scorching sun, and asked impatiently: "How long until we arrive?"
"Just turn around the hill ahead."
The ruined temple that Rong Jin was talking about was surprisingly large. Although it was dilapidated, its scale was no less than those popular temples in Kyoto. It stood at the foot of a high mountain, on a platform that was more than a foot high, with surrounding areas
Stone bricks of different colors are laid out in different colors. Even if it has been abandoned for many years, it still reflects the dazzling brilliance in the sun. Su Yan, standing in the west tower in front of the temple, looked at the dozens of high-level steps in front of him, and the high-level steps were like splashing ink.
The entire eaves are covered by creeping vines, and the mottled Xuanmen is under the eaves.
——‘Qingshan Ancient Temple’
Su Yan couldn't help but sigh: "What an ancient temple that has been eroded by the years and still retains its majesty." She looked at Rong Jin with dissatisfaction, "But you call it a ruined temple, you are so ignorant!"
"This ancient temple fell into disuse not long after it was built. Naturally, it is a ruined temple..."
Opening the Xuanmen, there are many statues of gods inside, and they are fierce and different from ordinary temples. This place is even more weird. Looking around in the west building, I found a long corridor on both sides of the hall, leading to an unknown place, so I asked Rong.
Enter the next route. At this point, Rong Jin has no way to turn back, so he has to lead the way honestly.
The long corridor is connected to another side hall, which is empty and the doors and windows are closed. Rong Jin pointed to the west wall with his chin, indicating that there was a mechanism there. Before he could ask to untie his hand rope, the west building had already kicked
A stone was thrown up, hitting the mechanism. Only a dull sound was heard, and the wall on the west side began to shake. As white smoke rolled out from the crack in the ground, a ray of light passed through the wall, and a secret door was gradually revealed in front of them.
Through this door, there is another corridor that can accommodate three or four people. It goes straight forward, presumably leading to the heart of the mountain. Su Yan opened the fire seal and led the way. Xilou immediately took her hand and protected her behind him.
.
"This place is dangerous, please be careful."
Su Yan shrugged his shoulders, always feeling that he was making a fuss out of a molehill.
The closer they got to the mountain, the brighter the light became. From time to time, they could clearly see the scene inside the mountain, and both of them were surprised.
I didn’t expect that the ancient temple was just a cover, but there was a whole other world inside!
It is said to be a cave, but the construction here is more like a village in the cave. There are undulating houses, connected by stone steps, and even shacks for drinking tea. If it is not coming from those houses
The sound of hammering iron and the light of fire coming from the windows really make you feel like you have walked into a village.
There was no smoke and smoke, just the walking dead forging weapons in the rooms...
"It took a year and thousands of manpower to dig out this cave that is twenty feet wide and four feet high. This is the source of Liangshan's finances!" Rong Jin said proudly, as if he was also involved in this project.
. He raised his chin and pointed upward and said: "There are dozens of caves above the cave, and there are wooden bridges connecting each cave. It is absolutely impossible for you to make any noise here. There are people living in the caves.
The dead warrior can come down and wipe your necks with a knife in an instant!"
Su Yan felt something was wrong as soon as he walked into this place. He looked around and didn't find a guard. Instead, he accidentally saw a dark crack in the ground. It was well hidden. If you didn't look carefully, you would have thought it was a stream.
Su Yan whispered to Xilou: "It seems that the gold mine is fake, but the privately made weapons are real. Now Mo Fei will be the one with the fish on his back!"
"You two are here, and the flowers will shine brightly!"
A loud voice came from above his head, and Su Yan was frightened. He saw a figure standing on the wooden bridge. He waved his arms, and then a large number of dead soldiers rushed out from various caves and flew down the wooden bridge, instantly covering them up.
Surrounded by the stone gate, the corridor behind them didn't know when.
"Oops, I fell into a trap!" Xilou said angrily.
The man flew down and landed steadily in front of them. He was only forty years old, dressed in white robes, and had an elegant temperament, which was out of place here.
"I'm Yu Mu, I've been waiting for you for a long time." Yu Mu bowed slightly and said with a smile.
"When did you find out? Is it Ajiu?" Xilou didn't bother to hide it anymore and simply asked.
"Ajiu is cowardly and cannot be used in a big way, so the county captain never let him get close to this place. All he knows is the ancient temple outside." Speaking of Ajiu, Yu Mu's eyes were full of disgust.
Xilou looked at Rong Jin who had his hands cut behind his back, and knew in his heart, "When did you deliver the news?"
Rong Jin smiled disdainfully and said: "You two were already targeted when you came out of the county government office. If you want to blame, blame yourself for being too anxious!"
"It seems that Ye Zhongyuan is far away!" Xilou sneered, but he didn't expect that he would be discovered even though he was so cautious.
Facing all the well-trained dead soldiers, Xilou had no chance of winning, so he could only let Rong Jin go and negotiate with them: "I think you have been reluctant to take action because you have something to ask for, right?"
Seeing that Rong Jin was out of trouble, Yu Mu immediately ordered the dead men to tie up the two men in Xilou and throw them into the cell.
"What do you want, why not call your master over and let us each get what we need?"
No matter how much Xilou shouted, Yu Mu seemed to be deaf and left without looking back. Su Yan didn't say a word from the beginning to the end, but Xilou kept fighting for it. At this time, he calmed down and couldn't help but ask her
: "You usually get so anxious whenever you encounter a life or death crisis, why are you staying out of it now? Are you seeing life and death clearly, or are you thinking about some escape plan?"
The cell is located in the east corner of the cave. Looking through the iron door, the layout of the cave can be seen at a glance. Su Yan pointed to one of the houses and said: "I noticed that room just now. When we were arrested, the people inside were always there.
Watch us."
"All the workers here should be ordinary people who were captured. Perhaps they were afraid of being beaten and did not dare to resist. Day after day, year after year, they became walking zombies."
"We have to find a way to lure him here!"
"What can I do?"
Su Yan rubbed one foot back and forth on the straw-covered ground, stepped on a small stone, and kicked it to Xilou's feet. Xilou lowered his head and took a look, immediately understood, picked it up immediately, aimed at the room, and took advantage of the opportunity.
When the guard's attention shifted, he threw it out and hit it exactly. The man was frightened and looked towards the cell in a panic. He must have received the message and was afraid of being discovered, so he hurriedly squatted down and left.
window.
Su Yan stamped his feet in disappointment and could only think of another way.
There was no day or night in the cave, and the walking corpses were endlessly smelting, beating, and repeating. During this period, the fire was blazing into the sky, the sound was deafening, and the temperature in the cave remained high. Su Yan was hot and tired. After about a long time, he leaned against the west
Lou's shoulders were a little drowsy. While he was sleeping, he seemed to hear someone talking next to his ear. When he opened his eyes, he saw that it was the person who was thrown stones by Xi Lou.
"It's you!" Su Yan's sleepiness disappeared instantly.
"My name is Chu Gou'er," he was only twenty years old. He was dirty all over his body, but that didn't stop his bright eyes. Chu Gou'er said with some worry, "I just overheard that they
We are here to find the county captain, you must be careful, but... there is no point in being careful, because..."
"Why?" Su Yan asked him anxiously.
Chu Gou'er looked at them as if he were looking at a dying person, his eyes full of pity and helplessness, "Because all the people who were imprisoned are dead, including the benefactor who saved me. He is also dead."
Yes, he could have escaped..."
His words were like a heavy punch on Su Yan's heart. Her internal organs seemed to be broken, and they were rubbed together. She collapsed on the ground in pain. Xilou didn't think that she was at a dead end, and even heard it in his words.
With a glimmer of hope, he asked him: "What do you mean when you say that your benefactor could have escaped?"
Zhu Gou'er turned back and pointed at the crack in the ground behind him and said: "There is a very wide abyss there, but there is an underground river under the abyss. My benefactor jumped from there. He almost escaped, but he crashed into the river.
On the rocks, when he woke up, he was rescued by the guards. However, he was still killed!"
"In other words, the underground river may lead to the outside world!" Su Yan stood up excitedly, but then became discouraged because he didn't know how to swim... But Xilou already had a plan.
"What's the plan?" Su Yan asked.
"Ye Zhongyuan has obviously discovered us, but he did not kill us. Instead, he led us here to capture us alive. He must have a purpose. Then we will listen to what he wants."
"Then what? If he wants our lives, you will give it to him?"
Xilou said: "It's rare that you still have the intention to ridicule me. Of course, you can't give me life, but we can take this opportunity to deal with him, and then take the opportunity to cause chaos, and then..." Xilou motioned to the people outside the cell to come closer.
He said to him: "Then you go and arrange for all the people who have been captured. Convince one of them if you can, so that they can cooperate with us and make this place as chaotic as possible. Although there are many dead soldiers, they cannot withstand so many of us.
When people rise up to resist, you will take the opportunity to jump from the abyss..."
Before Xilou finished speaking, Chu Gouer jumped up in fright and shook his head repeatedly: "There are rocks under the underground river. If you are not careful, you may be killed!"
"Then you can also exit through the corridor, but there is no guarantee that the exit will not be guarded, and it is easy to be overtaken on that road. You can weigh it yourself." Xilou made a comprehensive analysis. Chu Gou'er thought for a moment and decided to take the risk.
The stone door at the corridor slowly rose, and Chu Gouer hurriedly retreated to his house.
Ye Zhongyuan and Yang Quan came straight to the cell. Seeing the embarrassed faces of Su Yan and Xi Lou, they couldn't help but laugh: "You two adults are so elegant and come all the way here just to watch. I wonder what you can see?"
Su Yan got angry when he saw him, but when a person is at a disadvantage, he must understand the principle of being able to bend and stretch. He still pretended to be polite and said to him: "Ye County Lieutenant is a good person. After eating, there is nothing to do.
If you dig such a big hole here, you don’t have to waste it even if you die, it can be used as a tomb!”
She still couldn't hold back her anger.
Ye Zhongyuan disagreed and still smiled: "At first I thought they were sent by the prince, but as I followed you, I became more and more curious. Since they were appointed by the prince, why did they not show their tokens when they arrested Ajiu and Rong Jin? The prince was there to investigate the case.
Wouldn't it be more convenient? I guess you are the two people Mr. Mo mentioned, right, Mr. Su?" His burning eyes turned to the west building, and his smile became stronger, "And you, the Crown Prince of Yan.
"
Su Yan and Xilou looked at each other in shock, and it took them a while to accept the change. Xilou became calm and asked coldly: "What do you mean, Mo Fei already knew that we would come to Liangshan from the beginning?"
"I thought he would make a mistake, but I didn't expect that it was all in his calculations. Mr. Mo is really good at predicting things!" Ye Zhongyuan's eyes were full of admiration, like a devout believer.
"Does that mean... Zuo Qing is in trouble?" Su Yan muttered to himself.
"Master Mo is already devastated by Zuo Qing's betrayal. Now he has to make some sacrifices to heal the wounds in Master Mo's heart, so that your lives can be safe." After saying that, Ye Zhongyuan ordered someone to open the cell door and hold down Su Yan's arms.
On the neck, a section of hair was cut off.
"What do you want to do!" Su Yan shouted.
Ye Zhongyuan waved the thing in his hand proudly and said to her: "There is something there from Zuo Qing. I believe he is willing to trade a dead object for both of your lives."
Xilou was shocked when he heard this and shouted loudly: "What exactly does Mo Fei want?"
"You are so familiar with Zuo Qing, don't you know that he is an orphan of the Xuan clan?"
"mysterious……"
The four words "orphan of the Xuan Clan" hit him like thunder, causing his whole body to tremble and fear rising from the bottom of his heart. That was the past that he and Zuo Qing least wanted to face. A past that was enough to
The truth that will make them irreversible!
"Mo Fei...How could Mo Fei know?" Xi Lou rushed up to catch Ye Zhongyuan, but he sidestepped him and hid outside the cell door.
"You are dealing with three provinces and six tribes one after another. Lord Mo is not unaware of it. He blindly believes in Zuo Qing because of the father-son friendship for several years. But people have a bottom line after all. My son, you have harmed yourselves! Now Lord Mo is in Zhao
The country is just waiting for the weapon manual to arrive, and everything will fall into place!"
It turned out that Mo Fei had known for a long time that the Zhao State had no weapons records, so he used a trick to trick them into coming to Liangshan. He wanted to fight back with all his strength, and the weapons records... Zhao State...
He wants to rebel!
Su Yan was confused and asked: "What weapon spectrum? Why did Zuo Qing become an orphan of the Xuan clan again?"
"Mr. Su, you and Xilou are a couple, and you don't know their secrets. It's really sad!"
"Get out!" Xilou shouted out this word with almost all his strength. Ye Zhongyuan snorted coldly and walked away.
Su Yan asked him: "Tell me clearly, who is Zuo Qing?"
Xilou had never seen Su Yan like this before, and he didn't know how to deal with it.
"Now that things have come to this point, why bother hiding it from me anymore?" Su Yan said disappointedly.
"Zuo Qing is the orphan of the Xuan clan of the Zhao Kingdom. Xuan Tan... Zuo Qing's father was still the marshal of the Zhao Kingdom. He was called to go on an expedition, but was framed by traitors. As a result, the entire clan was unjustly executed! Only Zuo Qing was saved."
Hot tears burst out of his eyes. Xilou recalled Zuo Qing's experience and his own experience, wishing he could grit his teeth, "He has been carrying the family's more than 130 wronged souls for ten years. The instigator of all this is Mo Fei. This
This is a blood debt that Mo Fei must repay!"
"So, he recognized Mo Fei as his adoptive father and went to Qishan Academy for revenge. You targeted the three provinces and six tribes not to eliminate harm for the people, but also for revenge. Then... Then Zuo Qing took me to Ruoshui, right?
Is this also part of your plan? Why are you looking for me?" Su Yan suddenly realized an extremely important key point, yes, why did he find her? Is it a coincidence? Or...
Su Yan asked word by word: "What do you know?"
Xilou didn't explain, the truth was already written on his face!
Thinking back on what happened in Kuai Feng Town, she suddenly broke into a cold sweat. It turned out that they had planned it from the beginning, and even the palace was included!
In less than a moment, Su Yan's face went from disappointment to fear to pain, which made her feel exhausted. She said weakly: "Zuo Qing made all these plans for revenge. What is your purpose?"
?You still want to lie to me and say that you are supporting justice and eliminating harm for the people, right? In my opinion, you just want to get rid of your identity as a hostage and let Zuo Qing help you sit on the throne of the Yan Kingdom's heir apparent!"
"Ayan, I didn't..."
"Why is that?"
Xilou lowered his head helplessly. He still didn't have the courage to tell his identity. Until the last moment, he had no confidence. He was afraid of being doomed!
Su Yan laughed, but her heart hurt. She clearly wanted to cry, but why did all this make her feel ridiculous?
"Ayan, do you...don't want me anymore?"
"Ayan, I will not let you down, I will give you everything I can give you!"
…
She turned a deaf ear to the noisy sounds outside, and she seemed to be able to hear the sound of her own heartbeat, thump thump thump—it had never been so weak as it was today.
"I can forgive Zuo Qing for hiding from me, and I can forgive your selfish desires, but I will never forgive you for treating me as a pawn! This year, I have been at your mercy like a fool. What do you think of me?
"Su Yan laughed to herself. She always thought that Zuo Qing was at least sincere, but it turned out that it was all a lie!
"Xilou, no matter what happens in the future, let's survive today first. Only when we get out can we sort out and explain everything clearly, right?"
Xilou nodded stiffly. But he knew that he was about to lose her.