Chapter 52: Master Zhuge
February 14th
The two men rode forward, and it had been several hours since they left the city gate, and they had entered Zhongmou County. From a distance, they saw a fisherman fishing on a small boat on the river. Xu Chong saw that the fisherman's fishing rod was a bit new, with a small wheel hanging below. By turning the wheel, the fishing line could be reeled in and released.
"In the village, look over there, what a weird fishing rod."
"Xu Jieji has been in the northwestern border for a long time. There are probably not many rivers and he doesn't go fishing often." Shen Kuo laughed, "That's called a reel rod or a fish cart. You can use it to remotely drag the fishing line. No matter how deep the river is or how far the fish hook is, you can retract and release it..." He stopped halfway through his words. The reel in front of him suddenly touched his mind, as if a little bit of his mind was blocked, and he felt somewhat clear but not completely transparent.
"What's wrong?"
"It's all right. We'll visit the elders in the countryside later, and we'll ask them one thing: Did you see anything falling from the sky during the thunderstorm the night before?"
"The night before yesterday, you and I were at the foot of the Baifan Building, and we saw those puppets and demon flags flying and leaping. If there were other things in the sky, why didn't you and I see them? Also, why did you come here to ask instead of asking in the city?"
"That day, the thunderstorm clouds were low, and something in the sky might have blocked it. So no one in the city saw anything other than the puppet. However, if something lighter than the wooden puppet had fallen, it would have been lower and lower with the east wind, and we would have been able to see it from here."
As Shen Kuo was talking, he saw an old farmer setting up a loofah rack by the field ahead, so he dismounted and walked forward, crossing his arms and bowing to ask. Xu Chong was not very interested either, so he just sat on his horse and watched.
Shen Kuo chatted about farming season and vegetables for a while, then asked about the night before, which really got him a bad look. The old man thought he was buying spring chives from his field, but he asked about what flew in the sky the night before, so he was furious. He heard that people in the farm went to bed early, and now it was the Spring Festival, when the food stored before the New Year was all eaten up and only porridge could be eaten. There was no leisure time and extra energy like people in the city to go out for a walk in the dark night.
Xu Chong listened to it and couldn't help laughing. Although he was confused by Shen Kuo's analysis, he felt it was a profound theory. However, asking such a question to the old farmer now was not something a serious person would ask. Who would care about what flew in the sky the night before yesterday? No wonder the old man in the countryside was so unhappy.
After suffering a setback, Shen Kuo had no choice but to mount his horse. The two of them passed through the village. Shen Kuo was still not discouraged. He asked everyone he met, but to no avail. Instead, he was met with many contempt and sneers.
Xu Chong didn't help either, he just sat on his horse and watched, but he wasn't just staring blankly.
In the past few days, he has helped Lao Bao to question more than a thousand people, and his experience in this area is far greater than Shen Kuo. Although he did not dismount, he carefully observed the expressions of the people being questioned. At first, they were either dull or confused, and then they smiled awkwardly. Their expressions were not right, so there was no need to ask more. He was also skeptical of Shen Kuo's judgment, and did not take it too seriously, so he first watched the villagers' reactions.
After visiting two villages without any results, Shen Kuo finally became discouraged. It was already dusk, and if he returned later, he might not be able to enter the city gate. Just as he was hesitating, he saw a hunter carrying a bow and arrows and a steel fork, followed by two hunting dogs. There was something in the bag on his shoulder, but it was still moving, and it was clearly a living thing.
Shen Kuo stepped forward and bowed. When he saw the man stop, he bowed loudly and then asked the same abrupt question without any context: "Sir, I have something to ask you. When the lightning and thunder roared the other night, did you see anything falling from the sky ?"
He kept saying these words all the time, and most of the time, no one got a good response. Some people ran away laughing, while others looked at him as if he had a madman.
However, the hunter's expression seemed to change. Xu Chong was experienced after all, and he immediately realized that there was a way.
The man hesitated for a moment, then returned the greeting and said, "Sir, there was thunder the night before last. I was so scared that I hid in a dilapidated temple. The temple had no roof and only a few tiles were left. I dared not show my head. I only saw the flashing thunder and nothing else."
"Oh, sorry to bother you." Shen Kuo clasped his fists and sighed. It seemed that he had given up completely and it was time to go home.
On this side, Xu Chong got off the horse.
"My dear brother." He stopped in front of the hunter and clasped his fists, "Is there any wild animal in this sack?"
"That's right. They are a litter of wild civets. It's spring famine season now. These wild animals have nowhere to find food. I set a trap to catch a civet cat the day before yesterday. After skinning it, I found that it was a female that had just given birth. I came back today to look for them. Sure enough, I found three kittens in a nearby grass nest. Two of them had starved to death, leaving only one. I want to go home and find some goat milk and rice porridge to feed them. If they can survive, I will wait until the temple festival to sell them. I heard that the young ladies of the rich families in the city like these wild animals."
"Then just sell it to me. Just name a price, brother?"
As he spoke, he took out some money from his side.
"This... wild animal, how much is it worth? If you want it, fifty cents."
"Okay, fifty is fifty." Xu Chong grabbed a handful of money and handed it to the man, who took out a curled up kitten from his bag and gave it to Xu Chong. Shen Kuo, who was standing by, thought: We have agreed on official business, but you are being partial. Besides, Jin'er wants a puppy, so what's the point of buying a cat?
"Brother, there is one more thing..."
"Just ask, it's okay." The hunter said happily.
"That's what the gentleman just asked. The night before, could you see something falling from the sky? Just now you said that you were in the dilapidated temple that night, with only a few tiles above your head. You should be able to see the sky, right?"
"this……"
This time even Shen Kuo saw something was going on. He quickly came over to listen.
"To be honest with you two, I have seen some, but I dare not tell you."
"Why don't you dare to say it?"
"That... that is clearly an ominous thing. If I tell you about it, I'm afraid I'll reveal the secret and suffer retribution."
"I still have seven or eight cents and eight cents of silver here. If you are willing to tell me, I will give it to you." Shen Kuo took out the money in a hurry. Xu Chong beside him shook his head. Seeing this man said that it was a waste of money.
"Hey, since you are so generous, I will tell you," he grabbed the silver coins from Shen Kuo's hand, "I missed the time to shoot a wild boar the day before yesterday, and suddenly there was a rumble of spring thunder, so I couldn't return home. So I hid there... in the dilapidated temple," he pointed northwest with his hand, "I wanted to avoid the rain and carry the boar back. My two dogs are usually afraid of thunder, but that day they ran outside the temple and barked wildly, which was very strange. When I went out, I saw..."
The fear on the hunter's face at this moment was obviously not fake.
"What is it?"
"Under the lightning, you can see a white demon flag flying out from the clouds. There is a flame on the corner of the demon flag, and it is trailing a trail of black smoke."
"What kind of demon flag?" Shen Kuo asked anxiously.
"There are words on it, but I can't read them."
"Where did it fall?"
"I saw it go northwest, and it clearly fell into the forest over there. If you two want to look for it, just go there. But..." He glanced at Xu Chong, who was wearing a sword, and there was a crossbow and a quiver hanging in front of his saddle. "I think you two are probably here to patrol the general's tent or the government office. It's not enough for the two of you to ride together, and crossbows, arrows, swords and guns are not enough. We need to find some skilled sorcerers and monks, and bring magic weapons with us."
"Thank you, brother. We know what to do."
The hunter bowed to the two men, thanked them and left quickly, for he was afraid that Shen Kuo would go back on his word. In the past, I heard that there were few good people and many bad people in the city, but now there are many fools who are willing to pay a small amount of silver for such an evil thing.
The two of them quickly mounted their horses and went there, but Xu Chong found that his short coat could not fit a cat, but Shen Kuo's scholar's robe had wide sleeves, so he hid the cat in his arms. The two of them did not care about the closing time of the city gate, but just found the ruined temple first, and then followed the hunter's instructions to find the "demon flag".
They found a forest, but it was so dark that they couldn't see how deep it was, and the bushes made it impossible to ride a horse, so they dismounted. Xu Chong took the crossbow and the two of them went in.
The two of them wandered around in the woods for a while but didn't find anything. Shen Kuo felt that the money was not worth it and began to worry about closing the city gate. Xu Chong became more determined. He was very good at judging people and saw that the hunter was definitely not a liar, because the fear that flashed across the hunter's face just now was the same on the faces of everyone he had asked who had seen the hat monster or the puppet. It was not an act that could be performed to cheat seven coins of silver.
"Brother Xu, are you looking in the wrong direction? This forest is so big, and it seems to have no end."
"That's right. I often march in the northwest wilderness, so I can tell the direction best. The ruined temple just now is southeast of here. And Kaifeng is southeast of the ruined temple, and the two places are connected by a straight line. If something is blown away by the southeast wind, it should come here. What the hunter said must be true."
"But the city gates are about to close. Why don't we go back first and wait until tomorrow..."
"Shh!"
Xu Chong suddenly stopped him from speaking. Shen Kuo didn't understand what was going on and held back what he was going to say, but he saw Xu Chong staring into the depths of the forest ahead. Shen Kuo also looked in that direction, but saw nothing.
"Are there tigers and wolves?" he asked in a low voice.
"A bird took off just now. It must have been startled. Tigers and wolves walk cautiously and won't startle a bird. It must be a human. Let's go and take a look. Be careful not to step on dead branches."
The two walked forward cautiously, carefully avoiding the dead branches under their feet. After a while, they heard someone talking in the distance. The forest was quite quiet and empty, and the voice could be heard from far away.
Shen Kuo looked over there and saw two figures standing under a big tree. He looked up again and saw a huge demon flag hanging on the tree, and a person standing on the branch. The two people under the tree were wearing short dark clothes and covered their faces. They didn't look like good people. Listening to the floating voices, the three people's voices were sometimes loud and sometimes soft, and some were fierce, as if they were arguing, but the voices were erratic and the content was unclear.
Shen Kuo was also anxious. Although the old forest was dark, he was afraid he would be discovered if he got any closer. When he turned around, he caught a glimpse of Xu Chong's quiver.
"Brother Xu , give this to me." He said in a low voice.
"What's the use of this?" Xu Chong had no choice but to throw away the arrows inside and give the quiver to Shen Kuo.
"I know a trick called 'Quiver Listening Pillow'. It can hear sounds far away."
"Is it from your book Dream Stream Essays?"
"That's right." Shen Kuo replied proudly, "You will be useful to me in the future when we attack the enemy camps in the front line."
He blew air into the quiver with his mouth, then aimed it at a distance and put his ear to it. As expected, the sound was much clearer.
"...You two have also seen it. The magic flag is indeed here. Master Zhuge figured it out just by counting with his fingers. He is clearly a real immortal. You two have been rude to him along the way. You should have nothing to say now, right?" said the man on the tree.
"Just hurry up and chop the branches and take down the divine pennant. Go back and report. We have other errands for you. Why are you being so long-winded and noisy? It is true that Master Zhuge has great magical powers, but why did the divine pennant disappear when he was performing the Five Thunders Spell and float here? Do you have to send your brothers to this gloomy old forest by the Yellow River to look for it? What kind of divine plan would it be if the government found it first?"
"How could the officials be so stupid? You are still not convinced by making such a deceitful argument to slander the wise man."
"It's not that we are dissatisfied. This master came to our sect not long ago. At that time, some people said that it was not like the magic of our sect, but all unorthodox tricks. Our sect has never heard of such magic as the 'Five Thunder Magic'. When the king was alive, he often taught that outsiders should not be used or trusted, and should not be promoted to positions above the incense master. Now, Master Zhuge and Yu Silang have only joined the sect a few years ago, but they have been promoted very quickly with some unorthodox magic and have even become hexagram masters. It is inevitable that the members of the sect are dissatisfied."
"Master Yu and Master Zhuge are considered heretics? According to you, what is the true meaning of our religion?"
"Of course it's the magical magic of the Saint Fox Yong'er. Only she can convince everyone." said the man under the tree.
"I have also seen the Saint perform magical powers. I know that she has been in the Holy Church for a long time and is the Saint's disciple. However, when Beizhou City was broken, the Saint escaped using the earth escape technique. She betrayed her master and was afraid of fighting. She has no faith and loyalty. How can she convince the people?" said the man in the tree.
"What do you know? You were not in the city when the city was captured. It is said that the Saint Girl escaped because the King sent her in times of crisis. She had a great plan to entrust to her, and she did not escape privately..."
"I'm not in the city, and you're in the city again?"
Although Shen Kuo didn't know what they were discussing, he could sense the tension between them. The two started arguing back and forth, and the situation was almost out of control.
"Keep quiet," the man who had been silent under the tree spoke up. He sounded like an old man. "No matter what the morals of these three hexagram masters are, we have sworn not to spread rumors that will harm the sect. We should stop saying these suspicious and sinister words."
"Okay, since Zhang Lingguan has spoken, I won't mention it anymore. I will just take this 'divine banner' back to the Master and report it. You two can do as you please." said the man on the tree.
"You only asked us to help you find the divine flag, and now we have done our part. You also said that you went to Zhuge Suizhi to report on your own, and you didn't even tell him where the master was? Aren't we being sent around by you for no reason?" The other man was still angry and asked relentlessly.
"No need to ask more, just give it to me. I saw that you two were carrying the Saint Lady's token, and I also knew that you had other assignments, so I won't ask. This is also the new rule of Master Yu Gua. Each of you will be assigned your own tasks, and you are not allowed to tell the brothers in the church." said the man on the tree.
"Speaking of the new rules, I am even more dissatisfied. The Saint Lady has been missing for nearly two days since the night before, and the old incense master Jiu Gong, who is usually the most respected by the people, has not returned. The brothers in the sect all have some questions and want to know why Master Yu Gua is in charge of internal and external affairs for no reason, but he doesn't say anything and only believes in the new Master Zhuge."
"Hide your doubts in your heart. Don't ask questions that you shouldn't ask. This time, Yu Guazhu asked for the dangerous demons that came out of the world. Yu Guazhu is also thinking about everyone."
