Chapter 27: Different Pictures
Chapter 27: Different Pictures
When Chen Yuan returned to Black Wind Village, it was already evening. The setting sun was sinking in the west, and the vast mountains were covered with a layer of afterglow, looking dim and vast.
Chen Yuan recalled the map he got from Wu Dong. Halfway through the journey, he changed direction and followed a difficult-to-find path, turning around and around until he entered a dense forest.
The map marked the real treasure location of Black Wind Village, which was also the reason why Chen Yuan quietly returned to Black Wind Village.
Originally, Chen Yuan had no idea about the treasure hidden in Black Wind Village. However, when the Fuhu Gang ambushed the bandits in Black Wind Village, Wei Wuding did not find such a map from Xie Quan and Jiang Feng, which made him interested again.
Afterwards, the Fuhu Gang attacked the Black Wind Village, but still failed to find the map, nor did they seize the gold and silver in the Black Wind Village.
Perhaps after Wu Dong's death, Xie Quan destroyed his and Jiang Feng's maps in order to keep it secret.
Maybe Xie Quan hid the map and Wei Wuding didn't find it.
But in any case, the treasure location of Black Wind Village has not been leaked, and Chen Yuan's opportunity has come.
After returning to Zhuangzi, he used the excuse of going home to visit relatives and entered the Chimang Mountains again and came here.
The map in Wu Dong's arms was very detailed and clearly marked, completely in accordance with the standards of military maps, and should have been drawn by Xie Dong.
If the old scholar had not been so well-read, Chen Yuan would not have been able to understand this map even though he had learned Qi's "Wujing Zongyao" from him.
Following the instructions on the map, he went deep into the forest and found an extremely hidden cave.
The entrance to the cave was covered by vines, and several nooses and traps were set up to prevent wild animals from entering.
Chen Yuan drew out his long sword, lit a torch, avoided the traps, and walked lightly into the cave.
According to the map, there are no mechanisms in the cave, but Chen Yuan will not rely entirely on a bandit's map for his safety.
But perhaps it was because Xie Quan was extremely confident in the concealment of the cave, Chen Yuan went all the way to the deepest part and actually did not encounter any traps.
He stopped in front of an iron box with a copper lock on it, and with a swipe of his long sword, the copper lock broke.
Chen Yuan finally let down his guard and began to count the things in the iron box.
The most eye-catching thing was a pile of gold and silver. Chen Yuan weighed them and estimated that there should be about one hundred taels of gold and two hundred taels of silver.
One hundred taels of gold can be exchanged for one thousand taels of silver at a money shop.
Just the cash would have made the trip worthwhile.
Chen Yuan showed a smile and continued counting.
Next to the gold and silver were two weapons, a three-foot-long sword in a scabbard, and a ring-handled knife, both of which were common weapons in the martial arts world.
Chen Yuan picked up the ring-handled knife and drew out the long sword. After careful inspection, he found that these two weapons were both refined divine weapons and were worth a hundred taels of silver.
Putting the weapon on his back, Chen Yuan took out three jade bottles from the iron box.
After opening it, there were ten black pills in each jade bottle.
Taking a gentle sniff, the fragrance of the pill is strong, far better than that of Peiyuan Pill. It should be used by martial artists with internal strength, and has the effect of strengthening the foundation and replenishing the essence.
Chen Yuan's smile grew wider as he put the pill into his arms and took out a thick package wrapped in three layers of oil paper.
After opening it, there were five silver notes worth 1,000 taels issued by Huitong Money House, three property deeds of Xin'an County City and a map.
Chen Yuan carefully put away the silver office deed, picked up the map and looked at it carefully.
After the map was unfolded, it was about one foot long and high, densely packed with mountains, valleys, dense forests, lakes, rivers, etc., but the words on it were extremely obscure and Chen Yuan did not recognize any of them.
Not only that, there were also a few strokes on the map that drew images of animals, birds, insects and plants, which were extremely lifelike. Next to each one were a few lines of small words, which Chen Yuan also did not recognize.
But what was strange was that there was no state, county or town marked on the map, nor were there any road signs, as if it was a place where no one had ever set foot.
Chen Yuan stretched out his fingers and stroked the map inch by inch, feeling the warm touch from his fingertips and frowning slightly.
The texture of this map is like silk, but it is neither silk nor satin. It feels warm to the touch, as if you are touching a rare ancient jade with a delicate texture. It is extremely strange.
He read it carefully several times, recalling the several ancient scripts he had learned from the old Confucian scholar, but gained nothing.
Since he had no clue, Chen Yuan stopped worrying about it. He rolled up the map and put it away carefully. If he had the chance in the future, he would solve the mystery contained in it.
After Chen Yuan took the map, there was nothing else in the iron box.
But he did not leave. Instead, he searched the inside of the iron box inch by inch and turned it over to check carefully.
After making sure that the iron box did not have any interlayer mechanism, he searched the inside of the cave carefully again until there was nothing missed before leaving the cave.
After Chen Yuan walked out of the cave, he pondered for a moment, then covered the cave entrance with vines again to hide it.
Afterwards, he returned to Black Wind Village along the same route, took out some dry food and started eating.
At this time, the sky gradually darkened, and the dark mountains looked like the back of a dormant giant beast, silent and majestic.
After eating the dry food, Chen Yuan stood on the top of the mountain, gazing at the mountains in the distance, feeling the cold wind blowing across his face, and waiting quietly.
Gradually, the sky became completely dark, the moon rose, and the stars twinkled.
Chen Yuan did not move and waited for another two hours, until the moon was at its highest point in the sky, then he reached into his arms and took out the jade pendant.
Under the shining starlight, the jade beads emitted a faint green light. The stars in the sky were shining, gathering into a beam of starlight, hanging down from the sky.
Chen Yuan showed a hint of smile on his face and closed his eyes slightly.
Twenty breaths later, the starlight dissipated. Chen Yuan put away the jade pendant, took out a bottle of pills obtained from the cave, and swallowed one.
A warmth spread throughout my body and the hunger in my stomach slowly dissipated.
Chen Yuan clenched his hands and threw a punch suddenly, with a loud sound of breaking wind.
boom!
Feeling his strength obviously increased, Chen Yuan nodded with satisfaction.
When he was traveling for the past two days, he would take out the jade ball every night and try to infuse his body with starlight, but the jade ball did not respond at all.
Today, the jade beads finally emitted green light. Exactly thirty-six hours had passed since Chen Yuan last received the starlight infusion.
This should be the law of the starlight filling Chen Yuan's body after he broke through to the inner strength. Chen Yuan was in a good mood, practiced the sword technique twice, then packed up the gold and silver weapons he had obtained and left the Black Wind Village.
Wei Wuding only gave him seven days, and he had already used three of them. He also had to go to Leping County. Time was running out and he couldn't delay here.
……
Two days later, Chen Yuan rode non-stop out of the Chimang Mountains and returned to Chenjia Village.
He took advantage of the cover of night and quietly returned home, where he met Chen Tiezhu and Chen Lishi.
The two didn't expect Chen Yuan to come back, and they were extremely surprised.
Chen Yuan left fifty taels of silver and told them not to reveal anything. He then buried the two refined magic weapons in the yard and left quietly.
The next day, Chen Yuan returned to Leping County and paid a visit to Manager Sun.
Manager Sun's attitude was extremely cold, and he was obviously very dissatisfied with his decision to follow Wei Wuding to the county town.
But Chen Yuan pretended to be stupid and looked honest, which made it difficult for him to get angry.
After leaving Sun’s house, Chen Yuan went to the east of the city to visit the old scholar.
The old scholar was very happy to see Chen Yuan, but Chen Yuan was quite worried.
After not seeing him for half a month, the old scholar looked much older, with a haggard figure, like a candle in the wind, giving people a feeling of being out of oil and lamp.
Chen Yuan immediately invited a doctor to treat the old scholar.
The old scholar did not take it seriously and said with a smile:
"Ahem, life and death are determined by fate, wealth and honor are determined by God, why bother with so much trouble, it's just a waste of time..."
After examining him, the doctor looked embarrassed and said that the old scholar just caught a cold.
But before leaving, he quietly told Chen Yuan that the old scholar was mentally exhausted and lacked energy, and might have difficulty surviving the winter.
Chen Yuan made an agreement with the doctor to pay him fifty taels of silver and ask him to come and diagnose and prescribe medicine for the old scholar every seven days.
When he returned to the house, the old scholar asked:
"What did the doctor say? Am I going to die soon?"
Chen Yuan was startled, then smiled and said:
"Why did you say this, sir?"
The old scholar stroked his beard and smiled, saying:
"I have lived for so many years. Although I have not been able to go to school, I have seen a lot of things in the world. As soon as the doctor opened his mouth, I saw the clues. How could he hide it from me?"
Chen Yuan sighed and stopped hiding it:
"The doctor said that you are short of blood and energy, and your spirit is exhausted. If you don't get treatment in time, it will be difficult for you to survive this winter."
The old scholar paused and murmured:
"If we can't survive this winter... then we only have two months to live?"
Chen Yuan comforted:
"I have already told the doctor to give you medicine and acupuncture every seven days. If you take a good rest, the medicine will definitely cure your illness..."
The old scholar stroked his beard and said with a wry smile:
"You have the intention, but birth, aging, sickness and death are the laws of nature. How can you go against it? I thought I had already become indifferent to life and death, but in the end, I still... Forget it, even if I live for a hundred years, I will just be a handful of dirt. What difference does it make?"
Chen Yuan was silent. The old scholar smiled bitterly and said:
"Only wealthy families can afford to hire a doctor to visit them. The consultation fee must be quite high, right?"
Chen Yuan said:
"Don't worry, sir. I can still afford the consultation fee."
The old scholar shook his head and said seriously:
"The consultation fee may be just a drop in the bucket for you, but it is a life-saving favor to me. Please accept my gift."
As he said this, he raised his hand to salute Chen Yuan.
Chen Yuan quickly reached out to support him and said:
"Teacher, you taught me how to read and write, taught me books and scriptures, and taught me the truth and answered my questions. If I accept your gift, wouldn't that be disrespectful to my teacher?"
"I am just an old student. Although I taught you literature and books, you also paid me tuition. How can I consider myself your teacher?"
"Sir, you have read a lot of books and are well versed in ancient and modern times. How can your profound knowledge be bought with just a few hundred copper coins a month? Could it be that you are still obsessed with further studies and are bound by the imperial examination?"
The old scholar trembled and stood there in a daze.
After a moment, he slowly put down his hands and said with a wry smile:
"You are right. I am obsessed with appearances."
"Sir, take good care of yourself. I will ask you for advice when I come back from the county town."
Chen Yuan gave the old scholar some careful instructions, left thirty taels of silver, and left.
……
After Chen Yuan returned to Xingyefang, he went to Zhao Shan's house, took out fifty taels of silver, and taught him the previous part of the Six Yang Gong Gang Jin.
Zhao Shan and Chen Yuan were extremely grateful, and Chen Yuan was completely relieved.
Zhao Shan killed Manager Li with his own hands, accepted the pledge of allegiance, and took his money and martial arts skills. It was impossible for him to tell anyone about what happened in the Chimang Mountains.
Before Chen Yuan left, he asked Zhao Shan to take care of his family and the old scholar, and Zhao Shan readily agreed:
"Don't worry, Junior Brother. I will go to Chenjia Village once a month to visit my uncle and aunt. I will also visit the old gentleman from time to time."
Chen Yuan then felt relieved and went to Li's house again to bid farewell to Mrs. Zhang.
That night, he underwent a starlight infusion. The next morning, he got up early, left Leping County and headed for the county town.
(End of this chapter)