Youbao Chapter 14: Earth-nourishing Corpse Pill (3)
After returning to the city, looking at my familiar yet unfamiliar home, the sense of dreaminess became stronger and stronger.
I know that I haven't completely gotten over that stimulation yet, but maybe it will get better after a while.
However, from now on, perhaps I will never have this kind of experience again, never have the chance to witness the old Taoist priest’s magical magic, nor will I have the chance to see the bronze-armored corpse that saved my life.
Perhaps, I can only see him again when the old Taoist priest recovers the corpse-nourishing pill and returns the jade pendant to me.
From that day on, I returned to my previous idle life.
I didn't touch the old Taoist's gold brick. Every time I saw this orange brick, I would think of my adventure in Xishuangbanna. Looking back now, even the first time I was hit by the corpse gas and vomited so much, it seemed so wonderful.
I've been idle at home for a while and don't want to write articles to make money. Anyway, I have the gold bricks left by the old Taoist priest as a foundation, so I don't have to worry about food and clothing in this life.
When I have nothing to do, I keep looking for antiques left in my family. After my father passed away, I moved back all the things related to my grandfather.
There were very few ancient books, and occasionally a few modern copper coins, silver dollars, etc. I am not a collector, and I don't have the capital to do this business, so I put all the antiques into a sandalwood box and threw it into the stairwell.
The old Taoist priest said, my ancestors belonged to the Eight Ropes.
What is the Eight Ropes?
I searched online and found many explanations, including all kinds of weird ones. For example, "suo" is a name for books, and there are four names for books in different eras: "Sanfen", "Wudian", "Basuo" and "Jiuqiu".
But in my opinion, this statement is nonsense.
The most reliable theory is that the Eight Ropes refer to the Eight Trigrams, which is the original name for the Eight Trigrams technique given by the ancients.
I couldn't help but wonder, could it be that my ancestors set up stalls to tell fortunes and look at feng shui?
It is indeed strange that it is difficult to find anything related to Basuo on the Internet, or even impossible to find anything at all.
The Eight Trigrams are easier to understand. It is said that in ancient times, the great god Fuxi created the Sixteen Trigrams of the Innate. However, the Innate Art was difficult for mortals to understand, and the heaven and earth could not tolerate it. Later, Ji Fa, who destroyed the Shang Dynasty, changed it into the Eight Trigrams of the Acquired.
I don’t know whether this mythical legend is true, but gossip does exist.
It is recorded in the Book of Changes that "The Book of Changes has Taiji, which gave birth to the two yin and yang. The two yin and yang gave birth to the four images, and the four images gave birth to the eight trigrams."
It can be said that the Eight Diagrams encompass all things in the universe, the yin and yang of heaven and earth. This statement is quite widespread and also very thought-provoking.
If I say that my ancestors belong to the Bagua lineage, it is understandable. After all, Bagua contains too many things, communicating yin and yang, and exploring all things.
The old Taoist priest had the Five Elements Meridian, and the Taoist methods he used were all related to the Five Elements of Heaven and Earth. My ancestor's Eight Trigrams Meridian was obviously much more advanced than his. No wonder the old Taoist priest praised my ancestor so much when he talked about him, but when he saw that I didn't understand anything, he looked angry.
Among the things left at home, there was nothing else related to the mysterious, except the jade pendant that the old Taoist priest had borrowed. I put the sandalwood incense back into the stairwell with some disappointment, patted the dust off my body, and felt a little distressed.
You mentioned so many things, how could my father bear to burn them all?
Thinking of the old Taoist priest's shocked expression when he heard that the Tongmingjian was burned, I regretted it so much. If I was a little older, I should have snatched it from my father. The ancient book that even shocked the old Taoist priest must be extraordinary, and it may even record the unique secret technique of the Eight Ropes lineage.
After all, if it was just a biography or a record of all things, based on the old Taoist's knowledge, he might not even look at it.
Sigh... This is the hundredth time I have sighed since I came back.
Grandpa, if you are still alive, please send me the knowledge of the underworld in a dream. I muttered to myself and sat back in front of the computer.
Nowadays, information on the Internet spreads very quickly, and with the development of communication equipment , what you see one second ago may be uploaded to the Internet in the next second.
The old Taoist priest caused quite a stir in Xishuangbanna. Even a blind person could see the pillar of fire reaching the sky, but there was no news about Xishuangbanna on the Internet.
Could it be that this old Taoist used some magic to erase the memories of ordinary people?
This is also possible. Although the human brain is extremely mysterious to ordinary people, for monks, they all know the most mysterious Taoist methods, so erasing memory is nothing.
These people cannot be judged by common sense, because their existence has overturned all common sense.
Every day and every page, I recall the three days in Xishuangbanna. This experience is really magical and impressive. I haven't experienced this feeling for a long time.
On the thirteenth day after I returned to the city, someone knocked on my door. This person was very polite, but his expression was very serious. He introduced himself as follows: Hello, Mr. Yang, I am Zhou Guangyun, from Guangzhou. I came to see you this time because a senior told me that you can find the demon-slaying sword of my Zhou family.
After being stunned for a while, I invited him into the house.
Who told you that I could find your Zhou family's demon-slaying sword? I asked in confusion.
He is a white-haired Taoist priest. He said that only you can restore the Zhou family's sword. And judging from your tone, I have found the right person.
Old Taoist priest?
I was extremely puzzled. How could he, who personally sent me back to the city, let someone from the Zhou family come to find me?
What's more, the Zhou family's demon-subduing sword was taken away by that sinister villain Zhou Xuehai... Oh, maybe that guy's name is not Zhou Xuehai at all.
Is there any young person in your family named Zhou Xuehai? I asked.
Zhou Xuehai? Zhou Guangyun was stunned when he heard this name. Then he looked a little sad: There was indeed such a person, but he died seven years ago.
Dead... That guy is not called Zhou Xuehai. But, how could it be such a coincidence?
Here comes a mortician who has a grudge against the Zhou family. Not only does he have the Zhou family's demon-slaying sword, but he also uses the name of a person who died seven years ago. Could it be that he knows the dead Zhou Xuehai?
This thought flashed through my mind, but I didn't take it seriously. Because I remembered another more important question: why did the old Taoist priest tell the Zhou family that I could find the Demon-Subduing Sword?
No matter how you look at it, this matter has nothing to do with me. I am just an ordinary person. The Demon-Subduing Sword is in the hands of that villain. How can I find it?
I'm sorry, but I can't help you find the sword. I said.
Maybe as an ordinary person you can't, but you are the descendant of the Basuo lineage, with this jade pendant, you can definitely find it. Zhou Guangyun took out a jade pendant from his suit pocket, which was the one passed down from my ancestors.
How did you get this jade pendant? I took it and asked in confusion while looking through it.
It was given to me by that senior. It is the Eight-wire Jade. It is so precious that I thought it was fake at first. Zhou Guangyun said with a smile. He was obviously relieved when the jade pendant was handed to me.
The Jade Pendant can probe far away places, but although I can use it, I don’t know how to use it. I said.
That's no problem. To use the Jade of the Underworld, only the spiritual blood of your lineage is needed. As for the rest, my Zhou family will naturally take care of it.
I nodded and asked: Then, shall we start now?
No. Zhou Guangyun shook his head: "The old senior said that your spirituality is not yet awakened, and the time you can use the Tongming Jade Pendant with the power of your blood can only last for a short time, which is probably not enough to find the Demon-Subduing Sword. Therefore, I need to take you to the place where the Demon-Subduing Sword last appeared, which is more likely."
Oh? Where are you going?
Gaoping, Shanxi.
Shanxi is not too far from me, but I don’t know where Gaoping City is.
Zhou Guangyun only told me this place name, and then left me a plane ticket and 5,000 yuan in cash.
Normally, I have gold bricks in my hands, and I have even taken back the jade pendant passed down from my ancestors, so why would I take risks? Not only can others not understand it, even I can't understand it.
As long as I play dumb, I can live a peaceful life as a small rich man. Disputes and swords have nothing to do with me.
However, the three days in Xishuangbanna always come to my mind.
The old Taoist priest's figure was particularly clear, especially his back as he sat in front of the bed every night. As time passed, his back not only did not fade, but became taller and taller.
Looking at the plane ticket, I decided to take the jade pendant with me and go on the trip.
Because I have too many puzzles that need to be answered, and only the old Taoist priest can solve these puzzles.
I knew nothing about Gaoping at first. After I came out of Changye Airport and boarded the bus to Gaoping, I chatted with people and found out that this Gaoping City has a great background.
It is said that Gaoping is the hometown of the ancient Yan Emperor. Who was Yan Emperor?
We Chinese are called the descendants of Yan and Huang, and we are all descendants of Emperor Yan and Emperor Huang. So in a sense, Emperor Yan is also my ancestor.
Another point is that Gaoping City was the site of the famous Battle of Changping during the ancient Warring States Period.
Bai Qi, the general of the Qin State, buried alive 400,000 Zhao prisoners of war and was known as the Human Butcher and the God of War of the Qin State.
It is not surprising that such a place is associated with corpse-carvers. Four hundred thousand captives were buried alive, which must have been a huge source of resentment. Whether in novels or movies, it is not unreasonable to often use this place as a mysterious background.
