The scene before me was a man in black walking out of the depths of a bamboo forest. His high ponytail was slightly disheveled by the wind, and he carried a black cloth bag on his back. What followed was the chill emanating from him, as well as a faint red mole between his eyebrows.

Neil just stared blankly as the person walked out of the rainy night.

Xiaoqing naturally stepped forward and told Xu Qian everything she had discovered over the past two days, especially the seal on the Qingyan acupoint.

"Take me to see him." As Xu Qian spoke, his gaze fell on the monk Neil across from him. Compared to his disheveled state in the meteorite cave on the island last time, the monk now looked quite dignified.

Neil nodded to him as a greeting.

Xu Qian smiled back at him.

The scene appears... both incongruous and harmonious.

The most perplexing characters here are probably Neil's two apprentices. From the very beginning, when Xiaoqing said that a friend of hers was going up the mountain, I just couldn't understand it. After all, the roads up and down the mountain were so congested. But this so-called 'friend' actually showed up, and... dressed like this!

The two apprentices instinctively touched their bald heads, and when they saw the other person's high ponytail, they were momentarily stunned. However, time did not allow them to be in a daze, because the three people in front of them were almost far away.

"Hey, Master, wait for me!"

Xu Qian put on the hood and then a mask, his whole body covered in black. In the past, he would have attracted a lot of attention, but in this mountain village full of strange people, he looked quite ordinary.

The Blue Eye Cave was discovered in the morning at the end of the bamboo forest, which, according to the villagers, was originally an abandoned well.

As the guardian of the main spirit, the Blue-Eyed Spirit has been disguised in various ways by its designers, and using a well as a disguise is not unusual.

When the five arrived, there weren't many people in front of the Qingyan Academy. This was partly because the investigation had already been completed, and partly because everyone was busy finding the corresponding Que Ling Sect (main academy entrance). After all, this was a competition, and the conclusion was the most important thing.

Xu Qian saw Zuo Yu squatting in front of the acupoint, the young man he had met once before.

Zuo Yu seemed to sense something, looked up, and met Xu Qian's gaze.

Xu Qian remained impartial and showed no intention of dodging.

It was precisely this 'righteous spirit' that made Zuo Yu even more suspicious.

Zhao Changzhou was the first to notice Zuo Yu's unusual behavior. Following his gaze, he also saw Xu Qian.

"You're here to investigate clues, right? I'm sorry." Zhao Changzhou politely gave up his seat and also pulled Zuo Yu, who was squatting down, up.

Zuo Yu glanced at Zhao Changzhou, didn't say anything, and stood up.

Neil nodded to the three leaders as a sign of thanks.

Soon, the trio left with their umbrellas.

After walking a distance, Zhao Changzhou turned to Zuo Yu and asked him what had happened.

Zuo Yu hesitated for a second and said, "I think I've seen this person before."

"You've seen him before?" Zhao Changzhou was wondering. The person Zuo Yu was staring at was almost wrapped up like a dumpling. How could he still recognize him?

"It's in the painting," Zuo Yu said almost definitively.

"..." Zhao Changzhou blinked. If he remembered correctly, the painting from the Zuo family must be at least a thousand years old.

Zuo Yu noticed the doubt in the other person's eyes and changed his words, "...Maybe I'm overthinking it."

Zhao Changzhou's preference for Zuo Yu is overthinking things; after all... it's too absurd.

...

Xu Qian quickly confirmed that the seal was left by the Jiuyue Sect members, but due to the passage of time, the inscription had become somewhat blurred.

"How is it?" Xiaoqing asked him.

“That’s right, it’s Jiuyue,” Xu Qian nodded.

"Can you tell who did this?" Xiaoqing continued to ask.

Xu Qian compared his memories and realized that if he had to name a school of thought, it was somewhat similar to Senior Brother Lan's.

The Nine Mountains Sect has countless disciples, and even within this single sect, the runes are all different. Just like characters, the same characters will naturally have different handwriting depending on who wrote them.

As it stands, the drawing is quite 'chubby,' giving off a strong Lan Shixiong (senior brother) vibe.

"When was this estate built?" Xu Qian asked.

The remaining four people looked at each other, as they had never actually encountered this problem before.

The five returned to the hall, and Xiaoqing went up to ask Uncle Wang, the manager, and learned about the background of the manor.

Futu Manor was built before the new dynasty, almost a hundred years ago. Its predecessor was the private villa of a high-ranking official in Kecheng. After several changes of ownership, it eventually came into the possession of the Shen family's ancestors.

As he spoke, Uncle Wang seemed to remember something, "The old master of the manor attached great importance to the layout of the manor and never allowed the younger generation to do anything easily. At most, they would only do small repairs and renovations."

Xiaoqing didn't understand feng shui, but Monk Neil had explained it to her before. He said that the feng shui layout of this villa was a textbook example, which showed how brilliant the person who designed the villa was.

"Uncle Wang, Uncle Wang!" A voice came from outside the hall.

"They say they've found the entrance (the Sparrow Feather Gate)!" The messenger was a waiter.

The people present exchanged glances.

"Let's go! Let's go and see!"

Author's Note: Three thousand words!

I'm also doing a small giveaway on Jinjiang (a Chinese online literature platform). I haven't tried this one yet; the giveaway will start the day after tomorrow!