Chapter 28 Taoyuan Town
Gu Xu and Ma Qin walked along the riverside path in this crowded Jiangnan town in the "Review Pot".
The sun hung motionless high in the zenith, spreading golden light to the earth.
The old man with gray hair and childlike face is fishing leisurely, the graceful girl is focusing on washing her hair, and the waiters in the roadside wine shop are shouting loudly, scrambling to greet the passers-by.
Everything looks lively and prosperous.
Too beautiful to be true.
"Master Chu just said that the illusions in the 'Reviewing Pot' record real cases," Gu Xu said to Ma Qin beside him as he walked, "In that case, Ma Qin Brother, can you guess where this town is in Daqi?"
Ma Qin shook his head and said, "I can't recognize it."
Since birth. Until now, Ma Qin has never left the scope of Jiaodong Province. In his mind, all the towns in Jiangnan looked the same.
Gu Xu said: "It is a disappeared town - Taoyuan Town.
"Ten years ago, a fisherman discovered this town in the peach blossom forest. Since then, the Daqi Dynasty has included it in its administrative territory.
"In the following years, many civilians from other places even exorcised evil spirits. The official disappeared mysteriously in this town. No one was found alive and no body was found dead. But at the same time, the area of Taoyuan Town is constantly expanding, and the population is gradually increasing.
“Until five years ago, Taoyuan Town was inexplicably destroyed by a meteorite falling from the sky, and no residents survived. From then on, this ascendant town ceased to exist.”
“How did you see that? "?" Ma Qin looked at him with surprised eyes.
In yesterday's theoretical assessment, Ma Qin had already seen that although Gu Xu is young, he is knowledgeable in classics and has a lot of knowledge.
But he didn't expect that Gu Xu could even remember this little-known and unpopular knowledge clearly.
Gu Xu replied:
“It is recorded in the classics of the Exorcist Department’s Library that the clothing of the residents of Taoyuan Town looks very similar to the outside world at first glance, but in fact it is closer to that of fifty years ago. styles - for example, our current clothing is mainly stand-up collars and round collars, but the residents of Taoyuan Town prefer the paired collars that were popular fifty years ago; for another example, the straight skirts we wear have slits on both sides, but Taoyuan Town Men in the town wear straight skirts without slits.
"Also, the buildings in Taoyuan Town are basically taboo in Feng Shui - for example, the structure of the houses often has sharp angles, which are bad for the corners; the houses have sharp corners. If there is a well, it is a sign of disaster; if you open a window on the courtyard wall, it is a 'ventilation window', which will allow good luck to leak out and bring bad luck..."
Ma Qin looked around, comparing the surrounding landscape, the clothes of pedestrians and the Comparing the descriptions in Gu Xu's words one by one, I found that what Gu Xu said was indeed correct
"Brother Gu Xian observed so carefully." He praised sincerely.
“Basic operations.” Gu Xu smiled lightly.
Then he paused for a moment, pointed at the crowds and houses around him, and said to Ma Qin: "Master Chu also said that as long as we kill all the ghosts in this illusion, we will pass the test. Brother Ma, Why don't you guess where the ghosts in this fantasy are hiding?"
"I think...all the residents in this town look very strange." After listening to Gu Xu. After the introduction, Ma Qin suddenly became nervous.
"I feel the same way." Gu Xu patted his shoulder and comforted him.
At this moment, the bells of the distant temple came in the distance, and the lingering sound lasted for a long time.
A awning boat drifted slowly across the river, and the boatman sang loudly while punting.
A group of children were wearing pants and shirtless, laughing and jumping into the water one after another to play.
An old woman quarreled with the vegetable vendor because of the sudden increase in the price of vegetables.
The waiter from a restaurant on the roadside ran up to them, stared at Gu Xu, and said with great enthusiasm: "Sir, have you had your meal? Our store's waiter The street is most famous for its fine wine and braised pork, and all the guests who come here praise its deliciousness..."
Ma Qin next to him was completely ignored.
Seeing the smiling face of the waiter, Ma Qin couldn't help but curse: Gu Xu is indeed handsome and charming - but the problem is that he can only win the favor of the girls. Forget it, why are young men of the same age eager to show their affection to him?
"In that case, let's go in and try something new!" Gu Xu glanced at Ma Qin and nodded with a smile.
Immediately walked into the restaurant door first.
Ma Qinben hesitated.
He thought: If nothing else goes wrong, this Taoyuan Town should be a haunted town, so can the restaurants here really be entered casually?
But then he thought about it. Gu Xu was well-informed and might have a plan in mind. He might as well see what medicine this kid was selling in his gourd first.
Anyway, Ma Qin has long given up on competing for official positions.
Even if he really falls into the evil ghost's trap, he can crush the jade talisman and leave the illusion. So he chose to keep up with Gu Xu.
…………
Yamen lobby.
Chu Feng singer leaned on his chin and sat lazily on the Taishi chair. He glanced at Gu Xu and Ma Qin who were in the corner with their eyes closed and in meditation, and then looked at the "Review Pot" in front of them.
At this moment, a clear image appeared on the surface of this jade pot.
Every move that Gu Xu and Ma Qin made in the illusion was completely displayed in front of Chu Fengge.
"I really didn't expect that the Chief of Staff would specifically ask Gu Xu to go to Taoyuan Town for assessment," Chu Fengge thought jealously in his heart while looking at the image, "Even if he is really a genius that is not seen in Daqi for a hundred years. , you don’t have so much confidence in him!”
But at the same time, he was also gloating and looking forward to whether Gu Xu would be like himself in the past, and suffered a series of defeats in this Taoyuan fantasy. .
Many years ago, when Chu Fengge was still a monk in the first realm, he also entered the fantasy land of Taoyuan.
He was trapped for three days and three nights. In that small town where he could not find a way out, he killed the ghosts and ghosts that kept coming back from the dead over and over again, until his body was covered with bruises and his true energy was exhausted, but he still had no clue. The truth, find a way to break the situation.
"The Chief made a mistake! I can't kill all the ghosts in this illusion!" He once roared angrily.
In the end, the chief minister saw that he was exhausted and took him out of the pot.
This experience also became a lingering shadow deep in his heart in the following months.
He also learned a very profound lesson from it - "Seeing may not be believing."
But Chu Fengge’s mortal enemy, Shangguan Jin, successfully broke the situation in less than a day.
After she came out of the illusion, she kept giggling in front of Chu Fengge.
"Senior Brother Chu, this little girl admires you for your outstanding talent and profound cultivation," she chanted in front of him in a clear and soft voice more than once, "but in Taoyuan Town, you don't have to have brute strength, you need more. Use your brain!”
Her implication is undoubtedly: Brother Chu, you have no brain.
Chu Fengge was furious at the time.
But as a loser, he couldn't argue with Guan Jin and could only sulk alone.
“Huh, I wonder if this talented Gu Xu has a smart enough brain.”
Chu Fengge yawned and continued to stare at the image on the pot.
Yesterday, the Chief Secretary also summoned him to tell him that Her Royal Highness Princess Zhaoning proposed to rebuild the "Shenji Camp".
Her idea has been supported by the cabinet and the Exorcism Department, and she is now secretly recruiting talents across the country.
Chu Fengge knew that many years ago, the "Shenji Camp" was once a place where the geniuses from all over the country gathered. Young monks in Daqi were proud to enter the "Shenji Camp".
However, in a subsequent fierce battle, the "Shenji Battalion" was completely wiped out, and it has since become an indelible scar in the history of Daqi.
"It seems that in the next period of time, Daqi will no longer be peaceful," Chu Fengge sighed in his heart, "However, that may also be an opportunity for me, Mr. Chu, to become famous all over the world and soar to the sky."
…………
Luo Jing, the headquarters of the Exorcism Department.
Luo Chuan, the head of the Exorcism Department, sat cross-legged and meditated on the observatory.
Shangguan Jin knelt down beside him obediently and poured tea for him.
In front of the two people, there was a simple bronze mirror.
The bronze mirror also shows the images of Gu Xu and Ma Qin in Taoyuan Town.
Shangguan Jin stared at Gu Xu's figure in the mirror for a long time, and couldn't help but sigh: "He is so good-looking."
Luo Chuan glanced at her and sighed helplessly. :Son, your focus is wrong.
(End of this chapter)