Chapter 42: The Mountain Does Not Look Like a Mountain
February 12 noon
The two entered the store. Although it was lunchtime, no one was there, so they just found a table.
Huailiang first listened to Shen Kuo's account of the incident, and then read the new nursery rhyme that Xu Chong had copied. He read it several times, but kept frowning, as if he had not figured out any clues about the internal changes of enemies like Lao Bao and Wen Yanbo.
He was more concerned about the puppets flying in the air, and repeatedly asked about the details of their flight. He seemed to be bothered by these little monsters flying in the air, because it completely went against what he had taught Shen Kuo when he first taught him, that everything must be reasonable.
After thinking carefully for a while, he asked Xiao Yi to bring paper and pen, and asked Shen Kuo to mark the layout of the attic at that time, the position of the lamp, the screen and the railing one by one. He also asked about other furnishings in detail. Shen Kuo carefully drew what he could remember. He had a good memory and drew all the seating arrangements on it.
The monk looked at the sketch several times again, and his expression relaxed a little, as if he had understood something.
"So the first nursery rhyme appeared on the screen through a curtain?"
"Exactly."
Huailiang sneered and asked:
"But the second part was read by those puppets in the air?"
"That's right."
"Did you hear it clearly at that time?"
“It’s true.”
Huailiang's expression became serious again.
"Let me ask you, you said everyone was in the hall, Xu Chong was behind you, and you were at the guardrail?"
"That's true, but is there anyone closer to the railing than you?"
"Yes, it's the singing girl Xiao Ping."
"Xiao Ping?"
"Master, do you recognize her?"
"She was famous in the capital back then, and she was a great singer. Of course I've heard of her name. But how could she be here at the scene?"
"She was invited by Mr. Pei from the mystery club to sing. It was because when the other palace lantern in the Prince Consort's Mansion transformed into Madam Huarui, she was playing the piano beside it. The members of the mystery club wanted to recreate the scene of that day, so they paid a high price to invite her to play and watch the lanterns."
"I heard from Lord Bao that during the Flower Demon Case at the Prince Consort's Mansion, she was indeed near the other candlelight display made by Yu Hao, but I didn't hear how close she was."
"It was very far away, she was playing the piano in the pavilion."
"It seems that everyone in this mystery club is just too idle to care about anything. They want to make such a thing into a farce."
"Yes. This is also the reason why the mystery society paid a high price to invite her to play, just to create the strange and weird scene of the dark moon and high wind. It's so absurd. According to the prince consort, she was in the pavilion outside the study at that time, and was clearly far away from the lamp. So asking her to play by candlelight on a moonlit night is not actually recreating the scene. "
"But it's a little strange. It was late at night, and she was a prostitute, so why wasn't she by the prince consort's side? But the prince consort deliberately concealed the fact?"
"Well, that shouldn't be the case, because what happened to her outside the study at that time was confirmed by many people inside and outside the mansion."
"Oh? In the dead of night, there are still many people to prove it? It's a wonder."
"She played in the pavilion, and many people heard it. In fact, I also heard the sound of the piano when I was watching the moon in the courtyard of Yang Chunguan's house that day. The sound of the piano stopped only after the prince consort screamed. When I went there, I saw her running out of the pavilion, and the piano was placed in the pavilion. It was obvious that she was not with the prince consort."
"How can we tell that it was played by one person just by hearing the sound of the piano? Could it be played by someone else?"
"Xiao Ping's piano skills are impossible to imitate. I can testify that it was definitely her who played that day."
Shen Kuo didn't know why the monk was so obsessed with Xiao Ping. There was clearly nothing suspicious about her.
"So, can you draw her position on paper yesterday?"
"good."
Shen Kuo drew Xiaoping's position on the sketch.
"In other words, she is between you and the puppet?" The monk frowned.
Shen Kuo looked at Huai Liang, not knowing what his intention was in asking this question. In any case, he felt that the monk was beating around the bush and wanted to get back to Xiao Ping.
"That's right. Master, do you have anything to tell me?"
" Not yet... By the way, there is one more thing that I find strange. During the Flower Demon Case in Prince Consort's Mansion, the lamp was burned. Why did it burn again when you and Xu Chong went to get the lamp this time?"
"It's strange to say, the lamp in the Prince Consort's Mansion was destroyed by the flower demon, and this time it seems to have burned on its own."
"Neither of these two lamps is left. Are there any remains that can be used as a reference? Even the smallest ones will do."
"I came here today with one from the Prince Consort's Mansion."
"What kind of thing?"
"There was a copper piece left in the lamp in the Prince Consort's Mansion." Shen Kuo took out the small bowl-like part and placed it on the table. "However, there was no unique object left in the fire at Baifan Tower last night. It's strange, because if the woodwork is burned, the copperware should not be burned. I looked carefully, but I couldn't find it."
Huailiang took the thing in his hand and looked at it for a long time, but still did not express his opinion.
"Master, is there nothing you can teach me?"
"No hurry, no hurry, let me think about it, think about it, could it be that the puppet has really become a spirit?"
"Master, what you said is really disheartening."
"However, there are too many things that cannot be explained."
"I still remember that fourteen years ago, you said: There is no chaos in the universe, and all things follow their own way."
"Alas... When I was young and arrogant, I thought that mountains were mountains and water was water. I didn't believe that mountains and water could be interchanged. Perhaps it was just because I was young and in the early stages of my life... Now, I see that mountains are no longer mountains and water is no longer water..."
“However, in the end, the heart returns to nature, the mountains are still mountains, the water is still water.”
"Yes, your suggestion is correct. Why don't you go back first and I will think about it carefully."
"Thank you, Master."
Shen Kuo put away the copper part and left Huailiang's shop. He was really disappointed this time. He thought Huailiang could at least figure out one or two questions, but this time he didn't even answer one question. Could it be that there was really no other reasonable explanation besides the supernatural explanation? Huailiang's sudden emotion made him feel unprecedentedly lonely. It seemed that everyone in this world thought that there was something underworld behind the resurrected puppet.
He could only return to Yang Wei De's house, and then he learned that Lao Yang had just calculated in the afternoon that there might be something unusual near the inner city's Imperial Street tonight, and the time was about midnight. Of course, he used his "Jingyou Dunjia Fuying Sutra" to calculate the direction, and then used the "Jingyou Liuren Shending Sutra" to narrow the range. However, he didn't want to be squeezed by Lao Bao because of his inaccurate calculation, so he only asked someone to tell Xu Chong of the Military Head Division about this matter, and Xu Chong replied that he would come soon.
The two of them were idle, so they chatted about some things, first about the sky and then about the hat monster, and finally the topic fell on the prince consort. The prince consort was also recuperating at home these days. It was said that after the fright, he felt "sleeping under the ghost" every night when he slept. As a result, he used a magic tool hidden in the house to suppress it, and it turned out to be better.
Yang Wei De was talking in a mysterious way and deliberately concealed what the magic weapon was, probably hoping to show off when Shen Kuo asked about it. However, Shen Kuo directly pointed out that it was the "magic pen" bestowed by the emperor, which was said to have been used by Zhang Sengyao of the previous dynasty, and was also given the name of "finishing touch".
Shen Kuo thought it had nothing to do with the magic pen, it was just that the prince consort thought the magic tool was useful and felt at peace. He had been in Jiangnan for a long time and had seen people who had told others to use the Zhuyou technique to treat diseases. In many cases, they would just go through the motions of casting spells and drawing incantations in front of the patients, and then let the patients drink the talisman water and comfort the patients that the disease had been cured. The talismans drawn for different patients were often the same, but they could often improve the condition. He once asked the Zhuyou master if the talismans worked. However, the master's answer was intriguing. He said that since it was classified as a mental method, it naturally did not rely on talismans, otherwise it would be called a spell. However, the talisman cannot be missing, but it is to make the patient feel at ease. The disease is in the body and in the mind. If the mental disease is gone, the physical disease is mostly gone.
Yang Wei De was somewhat disappointed by Shen Kuo's false curse and deceitful talk. He did not refute it, but only mentioned that the prince consort had suffered from epilepsy before, and in his dreams he had walked as far as two miles. Since the emperor gave him the pen, his epilepsy was cured. Isn't it strange?
While Shen Kuo was listening, he was still worried about Huai Liang's strange words today about looking at a mountain that doesn't look like a mountain. He didn't know what his intention was.
Over there, Yang Weide didn't notice Shen Kuo's distraction, and continued to talk about how Lao Bao decided to set up another base in the city, because the enemy behind the scenes seemed to be in the city, and was planning to cause trouble in the downtown area. The Juntou Division was too remote, so finding a place near the Imperial Street would also be convenient for response. But he thought it was not that easy, because every inch of land in the inner city of the capital was worth a lot of money, so how could he find one so quickly?
Shen Kuo had dinner and waited for a while before Xu Chong came in a hurry. He was also very interested when he heard that Yang Wei De had calculated that something strange might happen near the Imperial Street at midnight today. But those puppet spirits appeared at Baifan Building on the Imperial Street last night, and the time was probably also midnight. He suspected that Yang had made a wrong calculation and had calculated what happened yesterday. Because these strange things in the capital had never appeared for two consecutive nights, nor had they appeared in the same place for the second time.
But it was still early, so I could take Shen Kuo to the new base to familiarize himself with the environment.
Shen Kuo began to pack his things. When he came, he had left all his belongings behind and was left with only a donkey. However, in just a few days, he had a lot of things to take with him. He had already drawn a lot of drawings and made several models in these days, all of which had to be taken with him.
After finishing the arrangement, he put the heavy things on the old donkey, said goodbye to Yang Wei De and his wife with Xu Chong, and rode into the city with the donkey. He took the donkey with him in order to find a chance to return it to Xiao Ping.
The two entered the city. It was evening time and there were still many people walking on the street, but one could sense a solemn atmosphere.
The place they arrived at was Laoya Lane east of Zhuque Gate. It was originally a quiet place in a bustling city, because the Cai River ran through it, with willows and peach wood bridges and pavilions on both sides. In addition, the Imperial College, Imperial College, and Imperial Examination Hall were also on this street, and temples and palaces were scattered everywhere. There were many officials and scholars living here, so it has always been the first choice for officials and wealthy families in the city to buy property. However, at this moment, looking around, there were many mule carts parked on the street loading valuables, and boats on the river were busy moving luggage. It was said that the wealthy families here had started moving in the morning, and it seemed that they were almost done.
Shen Kuo didn't know why Lao Bao could find such a good place. The courtyards on both sides looked exquisite and beautiful.
When we got there, we saw a medium-sized courtyard with a loft inside the high walls and green trees all around.
