"Oh?"
Li Yan glanced at Kong Shangzhao, a little surprised.
Of course he had seen what this young man was capable of, but he didn't expect to be able to solve the suicide note of Xu Fu.
This <Seeking Immortality Chapters> is somewhat different from the <Qin Palace Chapters> I got before.
Although "Golden Crow Script" is also used, a lot of Daoist secrets are used in it.
The secret language of Daoism has a long history. After all, the Dharma cannot be taught lightly.
In ancient times, Daoist knowledge was monopolized by priests. Later, due to various reasons, it could not be easily revealed to others, so many Daoist classics used secret words.
"Hanshu·Yiwenzhi" records that books such as "Shenxian" and "Huangbai" written by Fang Ji "have many cryptic words and should not be passed down by anyone other than the author". The fragment of "Classic of Great Peace" also mentions that "spiritual diagrams and talismans are written in clouds and seals as the body, and no ghosts or gods can peep into them".
There are also many types of secret words.
There are "Yunzhuan" and "Dragon Seal", which are incomprehensible to outsiders and are also the key to performing magic.
It is hidden with Daoist terms, such as "Lead and Mercury" and "Dragon and Tiger", which may very well refer to something completely different. If those who obtain the scriptures practice rashly, they will definitely go crazy.
In addition, there are various secret spells and even hidden magic spells.
The changes involved are as numerous as the stars. Without formulas, it would be like a blind man touching an elephant.
This book <Seeking Immortality Chapters> is easy to talk about at the beginning, telling some events at that time, but later it involves key information, all hidden in secret words, and even Wang Dao Xuan has never seen it.
Kong Shangzhao was able to untie it, which really surprised Li Yan.
Kong Shangzhao seemed a little unaccustomed to being stared at by everyone. His face turned slightly red and he cupped his hands and said, "Daoist Wang is too praised. It's just a coincidence that I know this secret word."
"No rush."
Li Yan smiled slightly, raised his hand and said, "Let's go in and talk."
After that, he led everyone into the room.
Wang Dao Xuan had a clear understanding, and immediately took out Wish-Fulfilling Pearl from the baggage, and hung it on the beam of the room. A faint silver glow fell, blocking out all the breath and fluctuations in the room.
Linqing is the first pass on the canal and is extremely prosperous.
They entered the city at dusk. Although they did not meet any of their colleagues, there must be many magicians in the city.
<Seeking Immortality Chapters> It is very important, so be careful.
"This is called Taixu Hidden Text."
Kong Shangzhao didn't know why, but he didn't ask much. After sitting down, he said directly, "I have an uncle who is a bibliophile. He likes to collect all kinds of strange and strange books. He even squandered the family wealth for this and was often scolded by the elders of the clan."
"He is not popular in the clan, and his behavior is also a bit crazy. Only I caught him when I was a child, ran into his house, and was attracted by those miscellaneous arts, and we have been friends forever..."
As he spoke, the corners of his eyes turned a little red, as if he had remembered something sad. Then he cheered up and continued, "Among his collection of books, there is a book called "Cloud Satchel of Seven Tablets·Outer Edition".
Wang Dao Xuan frowned slightly, "As far as Pindao knows, <Cloud Satchel of Seven Tablets> does not have any external editors."
"The Daoist priest is right."
Kong Shangzhao nodded and said, "The book was written under the pretense of Dongfang Shuo. We also think it was compiled by later generations, but some of the things mentioned above are very interesting, such as a secret alchemist's language 'Great Void Script'."
"The writing of Taixu was performed by Zou Zi, using stems to control the stars and fields, and turning clouds and seals into mechanical pivots. When Jiazi moves, the houses and constellations rotate, and when Bingwu is silent, the Pleiades are hidden. Unless you get the secret, even ghosts and gods cannot detect it."
"The cracking method of Great Void Script is written on it. It is complicated and complicated, but because I have a photographic memory, I still remember it after reading it at the time. The Daoist priest asked just now. I took a look and it happened to match."
After that, he took <Seeking Immortality Chapters> from Wang Dao Xuan, pointed to a strange symbol on it that combined tree branches and water patterns, and said, "The basis of Great Void Script is the combination of heavenly stems and earthly branches, that is, with the ten heavenly stems and Twelve Earthly Branches as the bones, the five elements complement each other and reorganize the glyphs to form twenty-two secret symbols."
"For example, this represents the mutual growth of wood and water. Wood is the armor and water is the child, so it is called Jia Zi. This symbol has two fires intertwined with a sun wheel embedded in the center, which is the fire Zhengzheng. Bing Fire overlaps with the noon fire, so it represents Bing Wu..."
"But solving these twenty-two secret symbols is only the foundation, and it requires star shifting and encryption."
"Referring to the Twenty-Eight Mansions direction in "Historical Records·Tianguan Shu", each symbol rotates the stroke angle according to the position of the main constellation of the night. For example, if 'Fangsu' is on the value, all symbols will be tilted thirty to the right, and if 'Pleiades' is on the value, then they will be bent to the left by forty-five..."
"In addition, there is also the method of missing characters..."
Li Yan was confused after hearing this and shook his head. "Mr. Kong, just tell me, even if you talk about these things, we can't understand them."
"Hmm."
Kong Shangzhao stopped explaining the method and said, "The articles in the first part of this book are all deceptive. The secret words in the back are difficult to decipher. There is not enough time. I only solved a few words, but they are also very shocking."
As he spoke, he looked at the Bamboo Strips in his hand, pointed at a few lines of secret words, and read them word by word:
"Xu Fu pays homage to the head again: His Majesty patrols the east to entrust Zen and inherits the destiny of heaven to subdue Jiugai. Chen observes the stars in different areas, Daizong, Mount Yi, Zhibu Island, Langya, Kuaiji, Yunmeng, Nine Doubts, Jieshi, Ying Zhou The nine places, in conjunction with Purple Tenuity Nine Luminaries, should establish the 'Nine-pole Ascension Formation'. Once the formation is completed, the immortal gate will be opened, and His Majesty can ride a dragon to ascend to the sky, and hold Divine Land forever..."
Hearing these words, Li Yan's eyes flashed.
Kong Shangzhao said it was absurd, but he was certain that the decipherment should be correct.
This is "Seeking Immortality Chapters". With the power that Xu Fu could mobilize at that time, there was only a limit to what he could do. He must have borrowed the power of First Emperor. Maybe his search for overseas fairyland was just a cover.
The fairy gate opens...
Could it be that they want to open Great Luo Dharma Realm?
This idea makes Li Yan also find it incredible.
Thinking of this, he continued to ask, "What else will you talk about next?"
Kong Shangzhao was a little embarrassed, "Time is too tight. If I want to untie them all, I'm afraid it will take more than ten days."
"It doesn't matter."
Li Yan said in a deep voice, clasping his fists. "Please help me, sir, to complete this matter. If the reward is returned in full this time, I will treat it as sir's reward."
"Also, remember to keep this matter confidential!"
"Ah?"
Kong Shangzhao was obviously a little surprised, his face turned red, "This... this is too much."
His father directly spent most of his wealth in order to hire Twelve Yuan Chen.
I didn't expect that the things I had written down in such a mess could be worth thirty thousand taels.
"It's not much, but it's worth it to us!"
Li Yan said a few words of comfort, and then Kong Shangzhao felt relieved and quickly nodded in agreement.
The young scholar returned to his room and quickly lit candles.
The reflection of the candlelight is actually sitting at the table and translating all night long.
Li Yan winked, and everyone immediately set up defenses.
Lu San summoned a group of rats to monitor the nearby streets. Long Yan'er waved his hand, and Gu worms flew out and hid in every corner of the courtyard. Even Wang Dao Xuan placed warning talismans at several entrances.
In a short period of time, the whole yard was filled with murderous intent.
This Linqing City is prosperous and full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Even if you just stay for one night temporarily, don't be careless.
After all, the mastermind behind the murder and treasure grabbing in Zhangqiu Town is still hiding behind the scenes.
They took away <Seeking Immortality Chapters>, and the other party will definitely not let it go...
When Li Yan returned to the room, he did not take off his clothes to sleep. Instead, he sat cross-legged and meditated. He put Severing Dust Blade on his lap and practiced meditation while being vigilant.
In the visualization space, Luo Feng Mountain has just been reshaped and needs to be continuously stabilized.
The good thing is, nothing happened overnight.
Early the next morning, disciple Cao Gang came to greet me.
"You heroes."
The Cao Gang disciple was full of apologies, "The customs clearance procedures are a bit troublesome. Brother Liu said that it will take a whole day before we can board the boat and leave at dusk. This Linqing City is bustling. Do you want to take you for a walk?"
"No need."
Li Yan shook his head and refused, "The time is too short. I'll be on the road for days, so I'm not in a hurry. I can just order some food and have it delivered. I'm sorry to trouble this brother."
"What did Great Hero Li say?"
This Cao Gang disciple nodded quickly, clasped his fists and left.
After he left, Li Yan said in a deep voice to everyone, "At the port before, I heard people's complaints boiling, and Zhao Wan Fang also came, and he was accompanied by a master. There must be something wrong with Linqing City."
"We've already been delayed a lot of time on the road, so it's better to avoid getting into trouble."
"Yan XiaoGe is right."
Wang Dao Xuan turned to look at Kong Shangzhao's room and said solemnly, "This Linqing City prosperity is nothing more than Imperial Court fighting for fame and wealth. Protecting <Seeking Immortality Chapters> and figuring out the 'Jianmu' plot as soon as possible is the most important thing!"
The Daoist is right, but the undercurrent of Linqing City is far more ferocious than they thought...
Lin Clearance, inside the tax superintendent's office.
Eunuch Ma, who has been pampered and pampered over the years and has become fatter and whiter, has lost the humble appearance he once had in the palace.
But there was no smile on his face, and the people below were so angry that they didn't dare to breathe.
Eunuch Ma was leaning on the Grand Master's chair, running his fingertips across the edge of the celadon cup, casually flipping through the "Secret Account of Canal Taxes", without raising his head, and said in a high-pitched voice:
"The daughter of the shopkeeper of Satin Village Wang has been sent to Jiaofang Division?"
"Back to father-in-law, that girl bit her tongue and committed suicide..."
"Bad luck!"
He suddenly became furious and threw out the expensive teacup in his hand.
The porcelain cup was smashed on the tax collector's forehead, and blood mixed with tea foam splashed on the "List of Linqing Merchants".
"Tomorrow we will impose a 'fire consumption of silver'. Tell those mud-legged people that what is flowing in the canal is not water, but royal silver!"
As he said this, he seemed still upset and cursed angrily, "People say that scholars, farmers, and merchants, these merchants are cunning and cunning. If you don't show them some color, you will really rebel!"
"How dare you go to the capital to sue me, no matter how much the Za family has shared with the emperor!"
The words were harsh, but the worry in his eyes never diminished.
Since Great Xuan Dynasty opened to sea, the national treasury has become increasingly full. Last year, the tax revenue of Fujian and Guangdong exceeded Linqing Customs. Suzhou and Hangzhou Tianjin and other places are also following closely behind. It is feared that they will be even this year.
Eunuch Ma, I have felt the crisis.
His wisdom for surviving in the palace may be discarded if it becomes useless.
Therefore, in the past two years, the tariff exploitation has been intensified, and coupled with the oil and wealth of himself and his subordinates, it is inevitable that he has offended many people, including many complainants in the DPRK and China.
The person who was talking about revenge just now was a businessman who came to file a complaint.
In the past, this method could always keep those merchants honest for a while.
But now, he felt inexplicably uneasy.
"Have those people who sent gifts from the capital come back?"
"Go back to father-in-law, not yet."
"Go and do it, prepare some more, and send them to the palace..."
Linqing City dong, Jin Merchants Guild Hall.
"I can't bear it anymore!"
Jinzhou cloth merchant Zhang Mingyuan smashed the abacus hard, and the brass beads rolled into the charcoal basin, sparks bursting out.
His expression was ferocious, "This Moonlight 'Inspection Silver' has taken away 30% of our profit, and the horse gelding will cut off the trade route!"
"Master!"
The accountant's face was pale, and he hurriedly walked into the hall, shook out the blood-stained letter from his arms, and said in a trembling voice, "Pingyang Prefecture's Mr. Chen's family invested in the Wei River last night. When he fished it out, he still had the tax bill in his arms..."
Zhang Mingyuan's eyes instantly flushed with blood, "Go and invite other chambers of commerce to come!"
In the shadow of Underworld Journeys outside the door, Golden Swallow Gate's eyeliner lowered his head and left...
Linqing City East, Gutong Lane.
Clang! Clang!
The bamboo stripper Wang Chaozuo squatted on the bluestone slab where the dew had not dried, and the bamboo strips knife made a sharp sound.
"Master Wang, all the cloth from Yuan Family Cloth Shop was dragged away by tax dogs..."
"Old Yuan Tou hung himself from the flagpole of the tax office, saying he 'hanged himself for resisting taxes'."
The bamboo strips suddenly broke, and Wang Chaozuo stuffed the blood-stained sweat towel into the apprentice's palm:
"Tell Old Liu, the blacksmith, to make thirty cable-cutting machetes tonight."
At the entrance of the alley, white mist rose from the steamed cake stall, and the lame beggar banged his bowl and hummed:
"The canal is turbid, Wei River is muddy, Nine Heavens is squatting on the God of Wealth..."
Linqing City is still prosperous, but a storm is brewing.
Of course, Li Yan and others don't know these things.
They stayed in the small courtyard, busy in various places, and the day passed in the blink of an eye.
When it was almost dusk, disciple Cao Gang finally came to inform us to board the ship.
Everyone set off immediately, and when they arrived at the pier, it was almost dusk. The large and small boxes were loaded onto the ship, and it took a while. Fortunately, all the customs clearance documents were ready, and they left the pass smoothly...
In the city, on the second floor of Baixiang Building.
Zhao Wan Fang stood in front of the window and looked at the river bank quietly.
Behind him, the door creaked, and a cold-faced man walked into the room and placed a sealed newspaper on the table.
"Girl, this is just here."
Zhao Wan Fang nodded, turned around and came to the table to check.
But I saw seven secret letters on the desk, including the Shanxi merchants' strike statement, the craftsmen's weapons list, the time for the garrison camp to be replaced, and the movements of tax inspector Eunuch Ma's men...
Zhao Wan Fang After reading through it in turn, he shook his head slightly and chuckled:
"This Eunuch Ma, I'm afraid it won't survive the Jing of Insects..."
"Send the things away quickly, they are still waiting in the capital."
"Yes!"
The cold-faced man put away the information, clasped his fists and left.
After he left, the round-faced maid said with a face full of gossip, "Miss, Young Master Li just left, are you serious about not sending it off?"
"What should I give..."
Zhao Wan Fang shook his head indifferently, "The storm is getting worse over there in the capital, so I won't cause any trouble for him."
"The currents of the world are all rootless. Just live your life well..."
After saying that, he picked up the wine bottle and drank a few sips, leaning on the red lacquer railing, watching the white sails of the cannon boats sinking into the sunset in the distance.
The southeast wind brings the sound of silk and bamboo, and below the tanci group is singing the newly composed <Jingyang Gang>:
"Speaking of doing justice for heaven, speaking of loyalty and righteousness, grandpa's sword can only kill tigers in the mountains, but cannot kill wolves in the world..."
Grand Canal Starting from Linqing, there are four main river sections to the capital.
The first is the Huitong River northern section from Linqing to Dezhou, the second is the South Grand Canal section from Dezhou to Jinmen, and the third is the North Grand Canal section from Jinmen to Tongzhou. After passing the Tonghui River section from Tongzhou, you can reach the capital.
The Cao Gang merchant ship traveled through the starry night. A few days later, it arrived at the South Grand Canal section.
"Young Hero Li, Cangzhou has arrived!"
The Cao Gang disciples on the deck shouted loudly.
Li Yan and others walked out of the cabin, but saw a huge Iron Lion staring at the river on the shore in the distance...