Chapter 257 A Fragment of the Past

The old man in the gray robe was stunned, speechless, filled with frustration and regret. He sighed deeply, seemingly not knowing what to say, nor able to say anything. After a long silence, Wei Yuan looked at the old man, whose temperament was ancient and simple, and said, "Also, sir, I would like to ask you a question."

The old man勉强(mianqiang - barely) collected his emotions and said, "Please speak."

The museum curator, dressed in black, asked, "Old sir, you are wearing Han Dynasty attire and know these things. I wonder, who are you related to? Is it that Wang Jujiun, or Guangwu Emperor?"

The Qi Family Army soldier spirit and the water ghost were both startled.

They looked at the old man with suspicion and uncertainty.

The old man was slightly stunned, then shook his head with a smile and said, "Little sir, you think too highly of me."

He looked at his palms and murmured, "I only have a little incense connection with the Mountain Lord. In terms of emotion, righteousness, and loyalty, perhaps the Mountain Lord doesn't remember, but I still have to come and seek a chance of survival for Him. My heart is agitated, I don't know what to say, I don't know what to say." The old man got up, staggered, bowed his hands, and choked with emotion.

Immediately, the fragrance of wine wafted, and the pure air spread. The old man in ancient attire had disappeared, leaving behind an ancient wine vessel. It was already damaged and entangled with the pure air of incense. The water that the old man had just drunk in this wine vessel had actually turned into fine wine.

The water ghost was dumbfounded.

"This, this is..."

Wei Yuan wasn't surprised. He looked at the weathered traces on the wine vessel and saw the words 'Temple built in the second year of Jian Yuan of the Han Dynasty'. That year, Emperor Wu of Han enfeoffed the Earth Gods. This was the thing used for the initial sacrifices to the Mountain Lord, and it was also the latter's beloved object, accompanying the Mountain Lord's story and running through the past years.

The old man once shared a trace of the Mountain Lord's fortune, and after thousands of years, he was finally able to take form.

But now, in order to plead for the Mountain Lord, he had exhausted the trace of incense he had shared.

Originally just an ordinary wine vessel, it had walked step by step into this street filled with Kunlun's pure air and the military's baleful aura, its voice gentle, telling that story, allowing Wei Yuan to see the scene of that year. Thus, a thousand years of hard work was scattered in one morning, leaving only a cup of fine wine.

"Emotion, righteousness, loyalty, this is the style of the Qin and Han Dynasties..."

Wei Yuan took a leaf of Yanghun wood, put it into the wine vessel, and collected and suppressed the last trace of incense transformation. It was just that the wine vessel was ancient and simple, and the old man who told the story was no longer visible. Perhaps after thousands of years, the old man still had the possibility of reappearing.

The Qi Family Army soldier spirit was silent.

The water ghost also seemed a little shocked. He was a modern soul and couldn't quite understand the old man's choice.

Wei Yuan got up, looked at the sky, and walked to the door. The water ghost subconsciously said:

"Boss, what are you going to do?"

Wei Yuan casually said, "Closed for today."

……………………

The next day, it was about ten o'clock.

A Taoist from Longhu Mountain hurried down the mountain gate, holding a scroll.

After introducing himself, the Taoist had a apologetic expression on his face. He handed over the scroll and repeatedly apologized, "Curator Wei, this is the mountain's record of the Mountain Lord. Originally, there was an ancient wine vessel in this scroll, but it was lost at some point. We are looking for it, but that wine vessel is only used to prove the scroll, and the content is still correct."

He opened the scroll, only to find that the scroll that had been preserved all along had turned into a blank sheet. His face changed immediately, and he almost jumped up in anxiety.

This, this, this... how is it gone?!

It was fine when I came down the mountain, full of words on the scroll, where did they go?

Wei Yuan didn't look at the scroll. The images from the true spirit of that wine vessel couldn't be faked. Those images were more direct than words. Wei Yuan put down the blank scroll and thanked him, "I already know. Thank you for making this trip, Taoist friend. Would you like some tea?"

The Taoist was sweating anxiously. He was stunned when he heard this and said, "You already know?"

Know what?

Wei Yuan didn't hide anything and replied, "Last night, an old man came to visit and we chatted about the past. By the way, this guest may also need you to take him back to Longhu Mountain."

As he explained, he prepared to get two bottles of drinks.

The Taoist didn't understand. Following the direction Wei Yuan pointed, he saw an old man in a gray robe and a Fangshi hat beside the table. In another trance, he only saw the ancient wine vessel on the table. This time, he saw the缺口(quekou- gap), and other than the extra fine wine and leaves inside, it was exactly the same as the ancient artifact he had lost.

A guest came last night, and they chatted about the past?

The Taoist's gaze slightly condensed: "This, this is..."

He subconsciously thought of a possibility, feeling absurd and a little unbelievable. Ancient artifacts transforming into spirits and seeking guests at night, it all seemed like a story from legends and strange tales.

But he thought that stories were originally recorded.

The Taoist's heart beat a little faster. Looking at the ancient artifact that already had spirituality, looking at the aged wine inside that hadn't been there before, he subconsciously turned his head to look at the young man beside him, feeling a sense of falling into the story himself. Wei Yuan just asked as usual, "Taoist friend, are you thirsty? Would you like something to drink?"

The Taoist wanted to ask, but didn't know how to open his mouth, and inexplicably couldn't open his mouth, so he had to say:

"Thank you for your trouble, oolong tea is fine."

In the end, no matter what doubts and questions he had in his heart, the Taoist still took the wine vessel, which was originally stored in Longhu Mountain, and sealed the wine inside with magic, and took his leave. When he left, he vaguely saw the old man he had just seen cupping his hands towards the museum, his expression solemn. This time he saw it clearly. The Taoist paused and then hurried out.

He felt that this museum was becoming more and more mysterious and strange.

When he found a quiet place, he opened the scroll and saw that it was still blank. Then, with a trance, words appeared on the painting, exactly the same as what he had seen before going down the mountain, except that now those words were filled with a strong aroma of wine, and he would feel slightly dizzy if he smelled it.

The Taoist was speechless for a long time. He suddenly thought that the ancestor put the scroll and the wine vessel together. Could it be that the wine vessel was the real scroll, and the words were just for outsiders to see?

Then, he thought of an idea because of this, and the corner of his mouth twitched--

My ancestor, who exactly is the outsider in your eyes?

………………

Wei Yuan didn't know that the visiting Taoist was caught in a tangle.

He was just cultivating while waiting for real and more important news. Yesterday, Zhang Hao had already gone with his teacher to find the true form of the Mountain Lord. In modern times, even if the identity used by the Mountain Lord appeared out of thin air, it was impossible not to leave any traces in the bustling city.

Modern big data searches can easily find these clues.

Soon, Zhang Hao's phone call came, his voice urgent.

"Curator Wei, we found the person the Mountain Lord transformed into!"

He said:

"That person is called Zhao Xiu, a local from Jiangnan Province, twenty-seven years old, and all his resumes can be found."

Wei Yuan said, "Zhao Xiu..."

"Where is he?!"

Zhang Hao's voice paused and said, "...He is in Baiyun Temple."

Wei Yuan's expression changed slightly, thinking of the old Taoist who was still a guest in Baiyun Temple. Zhang Hao's voice continued to sound, with a trace of confusion and disbelief: "But, Zhao Xiu is already dead. I mean, Zhao Xiu's body has been found, in the mountains. This matter has already been reported."

"When Zhao Xiu was found, only a piece of skin was left."

Wei Yuan noticed something was wrong and asked, "When was it?"

Zhang Hao said with difficulty: "About half a month ago."

"It was also before we gained something in Chixia Temple."

Half a month ago, that is, not long after killing the two monks. Judging from this, the Mountain Lord decisively abandoned his divine position and most of his incense body after killing the monks and seizing the relics, and abandoned the body of Zhao Xiu, which might be targeted.

And Baiyun Temple normally reported Zhao Xiu's death, cutting off the last clue.

Then, he used these cut-off external objects to frame Chixia Temple, guiding external vision.

Thus, he himself escaped from the cage and regained his freedom.

Wei Yuan organized the Mountain Lord's actions in his mind, as well as the preparations in advance. Even standing in the opposing direction, he couldn't help but be surprised. The methods were continuous, cold enough, rational enough, and ruthless enough to both enemies and himself.

Zhang Hao's tone was full of fear:

"Curator Wei, has the Mountain Lord taken this opportunity to run away?"

This was indeed very likely. In this case, taking the opportunity to leave seemed to be the best choice, but Wei Yuan recalled the image he had seen when he used Wu Zhiqi to eliminate interference and push for divination, thinking of the image of the fierce tiger constantly climbing the mountain and devouring the Taoist, and replied:

"Is everything still normal in Baiyun Temple?"

Zhang Hao said: "Yes."

Wei Yuan exhaled and said:

"Then he should still be in Jiangnan Province, and even, there is a high probability that he is still in Baiyun Temple."

"But wouldn't that be easily discovered?"

Wei Yuan subconsciously replied: "Make the real seem unreal, and the unreal seem real."

"When everyone thinks he must have run away, Baiyun Temple will become the safest blind spot in thinking. Even if there will be routine searches, it is impossible to be more thorough than searching outwards. He must have left enough guidance outside, guiding you to investigate outwards."

"When most of the power is guided away, it will be safe enough for him to leave at that time."

"In fact, whether his hiding place is dangerous or not depends not on the distance in reality, but on the distance in thinking. If even the rhythm of your thinking is guided by him, then even if you have ten times his troops and a strong enough will, you will definitely lose."

Zhang Hao was stunned, wanting to cheer up a little and joked:

"Curator, what you said sounds like you two are deploying troops and arranging formations?"

Wei Yuan was stunned. When he was saying those words, Lu Zhi naturally came to mind, Huangfu Song came to mind, and the sky full of rockets came to mind. The Mountain Lord was also a general in ancient times, and he had really been at odds with a famous general at one time, even though he was extremely weak at that time, even though he was very young at that time.

But some things cannot be forgotten.

It was not until this time that he, who was accustomed to modern life, could have a dreamlike feeling.

He had really stood side by side with those people.

He had really been at odds with those people.

He had really walked through those historical years.

Zhang Hao heard the voice pause slightly on the other side, and then the museum curator's tone seemed to become gentle:

"Reading history makes one clear in ambition."

"I just, have seen some history..."

ps: Today's first update..., thank you for the ten thousand reward from Killer Monk, thank you~

I encountered something a little bit, the update is a little late, hold your fists

The Mountain Lord character card has been added, who will add a tag for the bucket run away Zhenjun?