Chapter 295

【It was already afternoon, and the sun had not yet set.】

【Sister Wu Tong went to find Luya to help the Fourth Young Lady tidy up the room; maybe the Fourth Young Lady will get married next spring.】

【An old proverb says: "On the twenty-fourth of the twelfth lunar month, dust the house." Although the season has not yet reached deep winter, many mansions have already taken precautions and started preparing for the dust-sweeping.】

【Sister Wu Tong was thoughtful and prepared clear porridge and two bowls of braised pork for you, knowing your need for martial arts practice, and added meat dishes to every meal at home to strengthen your bones.】

【You finished your meal like a whirlwind and then stepped into the courtyard.】

【Winter is approaching, but the weather has been sunny recently.】

【According to the method of "Grand Ancestor Holy Ape Stake," you started practicing leaning stakes and standing stakes, every movement aimed at clearing the body, stretching tendons, and strengthening bones.】

【Hoo! Haa! Ha!】

【In just one hour, even though the weather was cold, your forehead and hair tips were steaming with heat, and your whole body was drenched in sweat, soaking your clothes; practicing martial arts to this point today, it is not advisable to continue.】

【After bathing and changing clothes, you sat quietly in the courtyard, concentrating your mind, and began to visualize the "Ghost-Slaying Sword."】

【Just visualized it once, yesterday's soul cultivation had already reached the limit, and it could not be practiced anymore.】

【Eating an elixir left by Lu Hua, you felt refreshed again.】

【Picking up the pen and ink, you started to outline the artistic conception on the paper again; perhaps it was because you ascended to the Third Realm of the soul yesterday, the writing in your hand became more and more miraculous.】

【You possess the talent of "God in the Pen."】

【You drew a Teng Snake, and it seemed that the ink was flowing and winding on the paper; you only need to use your Primordial Spirit to "endow it with spirit," and it can become a living thing.】

【You tried to use the power of the Primordial Spirit through the pen to complete the last stroke.】

【In an instant!】

【The ink painting turned into a Teng Snake that looked like a model and flew out, but it was out of control, like a baby holding a wobbly, heavy object that it couldn't bear.】

【You had to point your hand and let it fall into the large water vat in the courtyard, like a "huge stone" smashing into the water vat, with a "thump" sound, water splashed everywhere, and then it disappeared.】

【Only a pool of water remained in the courtyard, looking mottled and dripping.】

【You walked closer to look, only to see that the surface of the water in the large water vat was stained with a mass of ink.】

【You picked up the water ladle and scooped out the ink.】

【You shook your head gently, "It seems the heat is not enough yet."】

【Recalling the moment you just put down the pen, you felt extremely strenuous, and the accumulated Primordial Spirit power was almost exhausted.】

【If you want to make the dead thing in the painting truly alive, I am afraid your cultivation in the Primordial Spirit needs to be refined by a few more realms.】

【You couldn't help but imagine: if there were dragons and tigers in the painting, could you summon fierce beasts? If you drew a female immortal, could you make her appear in the world?】

【It is also worth looking forward to!】

【You looked at the overflowing water stains in the courtyard, and you suddenly remembered the "Teng Snake Playing with Fog Talisman" in the "Seven Arts of the Yin Talisman," which has the ability to control water; you have fully understood and mastered it, without needing to rely on talisman paper.】

【Admittedly, drawing talismans can enhance its power, and it is also a way of preservation, but the time that the miraculous state exists cannot last, and it needs the power of the Primordial Spirit to maintain.】

【With a thought, your eyes shone with a bright light, and the water on the ground slowly rose, turning into a white mist, covering the small courtyard, and slowly drifting away.】

【You no longer paid attention and let the mist diffuse.】

【At this time, footsteps came from the entrance of the small courtyard.】

【Now that you have entered the Third Realm of the soul, your senses are becoming more and more acute, "ears are sharp and eyes are bright."】

【The person at the door only knocked on the door of the small courtyard symbolically.】

【Seven or eight people filed in and stepped into the courtyard.】

【"Brother Guan, are you there?" Xie Yuan's voice sounded in the courtyard, followed by singers and servants.】

【"This is not early morning, where did the fog come from?" Xie Yuan muttered suspiciously while walking into the courtyard, waving his hands to fan the fog.】

【As he stepped in, the fog in the courtyard gradually dissipated.】

【Those servants were also amazed, and following Xie Yuan was that Fourth Young Lady Zhang Yuzhi.】

【She had already entered Primordial Spirit cultivation and was now in the Fourth Realm, feeling strange in her heart when she saw this.】

【This is clearly afternoon, not early morning, why would fog be generated?】

【A white expanse, as if being in the clouds.】

【However, after a while, the fog dissipated without a trace.】

【Xie Yuan saw you sitting by the stone table, walked up and shouted, "Sister Wu Tong, Young Master Lord Wo Yun is here, hurry up and make tea."】

【"Sixth Brother, why do you have time to come today? Isn't there a meeting arranged with the Li family young lady?"】

【"Sister Wu Tong, went to help out today."】

【"Miss Zhi!"】

【Zhang Yuzhi greeted with a smile: "Young Master Guan."】

【Xie Yuan said with a smile: "It's because I have to meet the Li family young lady today that I specifically ran to your small courtyard, Brother Guan, to avoid the limelight."】

【"To tell you the truth, the more I look at your small courtyard, the more I like it; reading books, writing, how quiet, and no outsiders come to disturb."】

【You shook your head helplessly.】

【"This Sixth Young Lady of the Li family is pretty and a famous talented woman; I even feel that you are wronging her, Sixth Brother?"】

【Xie Yuan naturally greeted Zhang Yuzhi to sit down; he had been familiar with this small courtyard for more than a year.】

【Zhang Yuzhi smiled: "I also think it's a toad and swan meat."】

【"Go, go, go, Fourth Cousin is fine, why are you still laughing at your brother, Brother Guan."】

【Xie Yuan joked half-jokingly: "Or, Brother Guan, you go and marry this Miss Li, I will let my mother go and say it, a gentleman has the beauty of helping others."】

【Hearing this, Zhang Yuzhi's eyebrows frowned slightly.】

【You smiled and responded: "Sixth Brother, don't joke, with my background, how can I be worthy of Miss Li?"】

【Xie Yuan waved his hand and said indifferently: "Today we don't talk about these annoying things, I am now forced by my mother to have a big head."】

【He mentioned with interest, "Brother Guan, what do you guess about the war in the west last time?"】

【He deliberately slapped his thigh and said "surprised": "It really hit your guess!"】

【Speaking of this!】

【Zhang Yuzhi was also deeply shocked today; in the morning, she just received a letter from her father, and what was described in the letter was exactly the same as what Xie Guan had guessed six days ago.】

【Zeh Lake and Above Bianjing are far apart, separated by two state roads, even if riding fast, a trip took a full three days.】

【Therefore, when Zhang Yuzhi received the reply from her father in Jiannan Dao, it was already the sixth day.】

【She just passed Xie Guan's words to her father like chatting about daily life, not expecting it to really come true.】

【Zhang Yuzhi did not directly reveal Xie Guan's true identity in the letter, but described him as an elderly alcoholic guest in the Xie family, who accidentally revealed his remarks after being drunk.】

【She felt that these words were quite reasonable, so she recorded them in the letter, trying to attract her father's attention in this way.】

【She was actually not sure in her heart whether what Xie Guan said could really be realized.】

【But if it were true, her father could make preparations earlier in Zeh Lake; even if it were false, it wouldn't matter.】

【Today, her father's letter was delivered to the mansion early.】

【In the past, her father would always care about her recent situation, ask if she had met a favorite man, what books she had read recently, and would ask her to accompany her mother more.】

【However!】

【This letter was very different from usual, and there was no mention of those trivial matters in the house.】

【Between the lines, one could see the "seriousness" of her father's writing.】

【Her father mentioned the result of the war in the west in the imperial court, which was exactly the same as the prediction of "that gentleman."】

【Her father analyzed in the letter, "This old gentleman may be hidden in the Xie Fu."】

【The letter also included a map of the war in Zeh Lake, intending to let her ask this gentleman about the situation in Zeh Lake.】

【However, to ensure that this gentleman was indeed "full of good strategies," her father set two questions as a test.】

【If both questions were answered correctly, he would ask about relevant matters at the end; otherwise, he would stop there.】

【Zhang Yuzhi couldn't laugh or cry, knowing her father's character well; no one knows a father like a daughter.】

【Her father studied in the academy in his early years, and at that time, he was taught by a down-and-out scholar living in a humble alley. At first, her father was dissatisfied with this scholar, but later he was amazed that the old scholar was full of knowledge, and the "truth came out" that the old scholar was a great Confucian who drove for the Master.】

【"Great hermits hide in the court, middle hermits hide in the city, small hermits hide in the wild." Her father had always warned her not to "judge people by their appearance."】

【This time, the story of the old guest of the Xie family revealing the truth after being drunk was in line with her father's "taste."】

【Therefore, she came with Xie Yuan today, and as for the two questions, they had long been thrown behind her head.】

【Because there was no old gentleman in the first place.】

【Zhang Yunzhi looked at the "old gentleman" who had not yet reached his capping ceremony and couldn't help but laugh.】

【Xie Yuan touched his head and said strangely: "Fourth Cousin, what's wrong with you."】

【"Nothing, nothing, you guys talk."】

【Xie Yuan said: "Brother Guan, let's talk while playing chess."】

【"Good!"】

【Xie Houer had already set up the chessboard; Xie Yuan loved chess and they carried it with them when they went out.】

【"Or Brother Guan, how about we bet three more games?"】

【"Bet again? Didn't you lose miserably enough last time?" Zhang Yunzhi teased.】

【Xie Yuan smiled awkwardly, then said: "Then like this, you let me half the pieces, if I lose again, I will be convinced."】

【You smiled slightly, pushed a chess piece lightly with your finger, and said: "."】

【After you entered the Third Realm of the soul, your state of mind was more stable, and your mental power and calculation power were greatly improved.】

【The first game went to the middle game!】

【Xie Yuan already felt that victory was in his grasp, but because of a trace of slack, he handed over a game that was clearly winning.】

【In the next second game, he couldn't survive the middle game.】

【Xie Yuan looked at the "half of the country" occupied by the black pieces on the opposite side and couldn't help but sigh.】

【He had been memorizing chess manuals recently and found several masters of this path to play against, feeling that his chess skills had improved, but he didn't expect that even if he let the other party half the pieces, he would still be defeated.】

【A group of singers and Xie Houer and others were accustomed to it, after all, their young master had lost too many times.】

【"Brother Guan, you have never read chess manuals, and have never played against masters, why is this chess so airtight, every step is step-by-step, leaving no chance?"】

【You looked at the situation on the chessboard that had already shown a trend of sweeping away the wind, used the chariot to eat a pawn that crossed the river, held it in your hand and rubbed it, heard Xie Yuan's words, and raised your eyes.】

【"The pawn crossed the river, and there is no turning back, and I, Xie Guan, am the same; I am not like you, Sixth Brother, who has an uncle, a mother, and the Xie Fu to block the wind and rain for you."】

【"I only have this small courtyard behind me."】

【"So I reflect on myself three times a day, not daring to take a wrong step."】

【The young man said this, also calm.】

【Zhang Yunzhi felt a little heartache for no reason; the young man in the courtyard had no one to rely on in the Xie Fu and was alone.】

【You dropped a piece and smiled slightly: "Sixth Brother, you lost."】

【Xie Yuan grabbed his head helplessly.】

【"I, Xie Yuan, am convinced, and I will never touch this chess again."】

【You didn't respond to Xie Yuan's words; he almost said this every time he lost chess.】

【You noticed an interesting thing; Xie Yuan actually had never practiced martial arts or Primordial Spirit methods.】

【However, his spiritual platform and his whole body were surrounded by a group of auspicious energy in the hazy.】

【You could detect it because you practiced the "Five Dragons Prosperous Luck Talisman" in the "Seven Arts of the Yin Talisman," which is a method to keep the essence, energy, and spirit from declining and suppress personal luck.】

【You had a keen perception of the five-element energy around you.】

【Only then could you discover this abnormality.】

【This should be the nine great clans' noble families mentioned by Sima Ting, who had martial artists secretly massaging muscles and activating blood, clearing qi and blood, and bathing the body with medicine every night since childhood.】

【The foundation had long been laid in secret, and the later martial arts cultivation was a state of "thick accumulation and thin hair."】

【This Zhang Yuzhi was different; it seemed that she had started cultivation very early, and the inner restraint of the spirit was a sign that the Primordial Spirit was already stable.】

【"Let's get back to the point, Brother Guan, how did you guess the war in the west of the Great Qi? Can you calculate, that's impossible."】

【"You don't leave this small courtyard, can you know everything in the world?"】

【You smiled indifferently and said: "It's just taking the overall situation as a mirror, knowing the truth that pulling one hair moves the whole body."】

【At this time!】

【Zhang Yuzhi took out a map that had been rolled in her sleeve and spread it gently on the chessboard.】

【"Fourth Cousin, what is this?" Xie Yuan couldn't help asking.】

【The map shows a vast circular water marsh, surrounded by towering mountains on all sides.】

【What is striking is that there are five paths winding between them, connecting the inside and outside, like five fingers.】

【Around it are towering mountains, surging rivers, and crisscrossing waterways.】

【"This is the Zeh Lake terrain map, the black dots shown in the map are the deployment of the Long Gong's troops." Zhang Zhi explained.】

【Xie Yuan heard that it was where the troops were stationed in Zeh Lake, and his curiosity arose, stretching his neck to look carefully.】

【"Fourth Cousin, where did you get such precious things?"】

【"This troop deployment, it can't be true, right?"】

【Zeh Lake is a gathering place for demons, and the master of the Long Gong is the head of the demons, a forbidden place for humans, and a mysterious place that the wealthy sons of Above Bianjing like the most.】

【Zhang Yuzhi didn't pay attention to Xie Yuan's words, but looked at you.】

【"Young Master Guan, this map is the demon cave of Zeh Lake Long Gong, in which there are five paths to enter and exit Zeh Lake, which can be said to be offensive and defensive."】

【She picked up the pen and then drew a few small crosses on several places on the three roads according to what was said in her father's letter.】

【"If these are the deployments of the Great Qi troops, if Young Master Guan now has 100,000 demons to come out from the five paths, what should be done."】

【Xie Yuan looked at the number of crosses drawn, which was obviously much less than the number of demons.】

【Winning with less?】

【Everyone knows that demons are powerful themselves, this is not hitting a stone with an egg.】

【The woman had already stood up and saluted solemnly:】

【"Please teach me, Young Master Guan!"】

Recommendation: Seeking good fortune and avoiding evil, I am really not the son of luck!

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(End of chapter)