"On that day, a flying boat flew over the sky above Luancheng. Countless residents looked up and unexpectedly saw a head hanging in front of their door!"
The shocking wooden stick was smashed down fiercely. The storyteller's face was red, and his tongue was swinging wildly as if it was equipped with an electric motor. He suddenly poured saliva into his throat and continued with high spirits:
"Everyone just thought that the Xuanxu Sword Sect was abusing its disciples, but they didn't know that there was a mystery in it - from then on, the Xuanxu Sect's huge and long-term plan took the first step!" "
Huh?"
Someone in the audience was confused: "Didn't you say before that Elder Tianxian abused the disciples of the sect and twisted He Zhizhou's head off to play Cuju?"
"That's all superficial, all shallow! We are all ignorant mortals, how can we see through the thoughts of the immortals!"
The storyteller's beard and hair danced in extreme excitement, and his tone was passionate: "You must not have expected that the reason why He Zhizhou's head was hung on the boat was because the Xuanxu Sect had long noticed the city lord, ah no, Luo Yuanming's cat was stupid, and wanted to lure the snake out of the hole through this method."
There was a noisy discussion in the crowd.
Ningning sat in the corner of the teahouse and drank a sip of water with a complicated expression.
Don't say it, this explanation is not only unexpected to the general public, but even she, the person involved, was confused when she heard it.
What is art derived from life but higher than life, the storyteller is really amazing.
Last night, the girls trapped in the secret room at the bottom of the well activated the soul-locking formation at the same time. Luo Yuanming had no way to survive. The blood-turned threads pierced deeply into his bones and blood. In the unbearable pain, he closed his eyes forever in an extremely twisted posture.
As for the door that He Zhizhou and Lin Xun entered, it turned out to be the storage place of the girl's corpse after the soul was refined.
After entering the door, you can walk forward for half a cup of tea, and you can gradually see the eerie white bones and clothing scraps all over the ground, and finally the piles of skeletons, which is very scary.
The reason why Luo Yuanming said "they will definitely not get out" was because the air in the secret room was stale and resentment was accumulated. Every corner was filled with poisonous blood mist and resentment. Soon after inhaling it, one would faint and pass out.
The two were brought out by the elders by the neck afterwards.
Ning Ning and Pei Ji were covered in blood from the fight. They slept like motionless vegetable men. When Lin Xun woke up, he was so ashamed that his dragon horns turned red. He kept stammering and apologizing. Not only did he not help, but he also caused trouble for the elders.
"It's okay, it's okay. Anyone who enters such a place will be affected."
Ji Yunkai comforted him with a smile: "If you don't use the Turtle Breath Pill to hold your breath, I'm afraid even Luo Yuanming himself wouldn't dare to go in."
Turtle Breath Pill is a kind of pill that can stop breathing. After repeated searches, a large box of it was found in the city lord's bedroom.
Later, the Criminal Court intervened in the matter. More than 30 victims were in public, and the precious images recorded by Ning Ning with psychic vision were played in public.
Now there are both witnesses and evidence, proving that the city lord who usually works hard to govern is the culprit of the murder of the girl. For a while, the whole city was in turmoil. It can be said that it is the best news of the year in Luancheng. If you don't forward it, you are not a Luancheng person.
The Soul Locking Formation would cause serious harm to the person who set it up. Fortunately, the girls shared the pain with each other, and the injuries suffered by each person were not serious. After being treated by Su Wen Tang, they all returned home safely.
The mother of the farm girl came to the inn specially and thanked them again and again with tears in her eyes. Xu Yi from the Wan Jian Sect next door happened to pass by and was moved by her. He gave her a magic pill that could cure her illness.
As for the group of disciples under Tian Xianzi.
Even Ning Ning couldn't figure out why they suddenly became famous in the whole city.
Whether it was the common people's criminal envoys or the monks from other sects, they all wanted to visit the inn. They were annoyed and jumped out of the window immediately. After using a sleight of hand, they came to the teahouse for refuge.
By the way, cultivators have supernatural powers, but not money.
Pei Ji, the richest of the group, was injured and could only stay in his room to recuperate. The other few poor prodigals were so poor that they wanted to sit on the ground and eat tree bark. This tea money was considered a blessing. It was paid by Jiang Si, the official designated only scapegoat, the young city lord of Jialan.
Jiang Si also heard about their exposure of Luo Yuanming's crimes. The arc on the right corner of his mouth was cold and arrogant, like a Nike shoe logo sewn on his face: "Woman, how many surprises do you have that I don't know?"
This sentence was said to Zheng Weiqi.
Senior Sister Zheng had always been irritated with him. She quietly turned her head and made a "bulge on the head" shape to Ning Ning, then glanced at him calmly: "My penis is bigger than yours."
This was not a surprise, but a shock.
Jiang Si's domineering boss quotes had never encountered such an opponent. He immediately snapped the shell, lowered his head and drank tea quietly, planning to fight again tomorrow, and he must beat her.
After hearing the storyteller's seemingly fantastic words, someone in the audience continued: "Sir, tell me, what is the connection between the heads on the boat and the trap set by the Xuanxu Sect?"
"That hits the nail on the head!"
The storyteller stroked his beard and smiled, narrowing his eyes: "I wonder if you still remember that later, He Zhizhou pushed Tian Xianzi down the stairs in front of everyone for revenge? In fact, this back and forth was just to create the illusion of discord between master and disciple, so that Luo Yuanming would let down his guard!"
The discussion in the audience became louder.
"Think about it, Luo Yuanming is in charge of Luancheng, so he might have arranged secret guards to monitor. Now is the Ten Dharma Conference, and he has done something so unruly, so he will be on guard against all the major sects."
The teacher said, "If we want to reduce his vigilance and investigate the truth without any hindrance, what else can we do? Of course, let Luo Yuanming think that the disciples of Tianxianzi are too busy to intervene in the case!"
These words actually sounded a bit reasonable, and his tone was so ups and downs and passionate that he made it sound 100% true.
Not only the audience, but even Ningning almost believed it.
"As for Elder Tianxian's nonsense in front of everyone, this matter is even more meaningful."
The gentleman suddenly became serious and slapped the wooden board: "Think about it, what is the homonym of 'repairing shoes'? Repairing shoes means practicing evil! Elder Tianxian seemed to be insane, but he was actually mocking Luo Yuanming, the thief, for practicing evil arts and being unacceptable in the world of cultivation!"
He Zhizhou couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of tea.
But everyone in the audience showed an expression of "I see" and shouted that it was exciting and stood up to applaud.
"This is nothing, there's something even more amazing! Do you remember that when Luo Yuanming intended to let Ning Ning come forward, Elder Tianxian ran to the stable and carried the horse out?"
The listeners' heads were no different from the hands of the fortune cat, nodding up and down.
"There was a sign before. Ning Ning was clearly at the scene. But why did he suddenly blurt out, 'Ning Ning is gone'?"
The gentleman almost broke his voice in excitement when he spoke: "That was because Elder Tianxian noticed that Luo Yuanming had evil intentions towards Ning Ning, and hinted to her to run away!"
Jiang Si's mouth was already wide open enough to fit a whole egg.
The hall of shock on the stage continued to clap like a disco: "Let's think about it together, what does it mean to hold the horse above the head? The horse is on top, 'right now'! Then he ran out of the door and ran to the street, what does it mean?"
I don't know who suddenly realized, and at that moment understood the true meaning of life and the power of thinking, and answered in a loud voice like a bell: "Ning Ning, run now!"
Absolutely, absolutely.
He is worthy of being the elder Tianxian. In order to solve the big case in Luancheng and protect his disciples, he did not hesitate to destroy his image! What a great spirit of sacrifice and dedication! What an incomparable high IQ!
The masses of the people praised with love and applauded with all their hearts. Under the leadership of the storyteller, they used all their brains to whitewash Tianxianzi.
To say that they whitewashed him was an understatement. It was like painting him with white paint, turning his reputation from the number one beheading maniac in the immortal sect into a person who endured humiliation and moved Luancheng.
"Speaking of this, we have to mention the greatest contributor to each other - Ningning."
The gentleman seemed to be under the curse of "every time he tells gossip, the gossiper himself will hear it", and continued to talk nonsense in Ningning's complicated eyes:
"This girl is amazing! Not only did she solve the maze in the secret realm, but she also deduced that the mastermind of the missing case is Luo Yuanming. I heard that she was born very smart. She could write at the age of one, paint at the age of two, and compose poetry at the age of three. She is a well-known child prodigy, and her brain is one and a half times bigger than others!"
Zheng Weiqi choked a mouthful of tea in her throat and almost couldn't breathe.
Jiang Si was stunned and went through the details of everyone present. Even at this point, he did not forget to control his expression. He frowned and said, "Is this true?"
"It's fake."
Ning Ning was so angry that she saw stars in her eyes. She ate a piece of cake with a blank face: "The story he told is probably called "Xuanxu Sect: Parallel Universe". It is not the same as ours. You can just treat it as the same name."
Later, the teacher said a lot of things very logically, such as "He Zhizhou disguised himself as a woman to sneak into the brothel to gather intelligence, and his dedication moved heaven and earth", "Zheng Weiqi turned into a shadowless spy and disappeared in the city for a whole day just to secretly monitor Luo Yuanming's every move."
It is not exactly the same as what really happened, but at least it is completely unrelated.
A group of drunkards who used to stir up trouble under Tianxianzi's tutelage have inexplicably become speechless and endure humiliation. The young Taoist priests were not wrong, but they were a group of short-sighted fools.
Zheng Weiqi was amazed, Lin Xun was so embarrassed that he buried his face in his arms, and He Zhizhou was extremely satisfied with his role and kept grinning.
Ningning was thinking about when she should visit Pei Ji, and when she looked up at the sky, it was noon.
She had an appointment with someone, so she couldn't be late.
=====
At noon in summer, the thick heat sank with the sun, and the slow chirping of summer cicadas was infinitely stretched, connecting the clear blue sky and the sparkling water.
The Longyin River was filled with the fragrance of lotus, and the shadows of the swaying trees cast flickering spots of light. The mist was lingering with hot air, and the smoke and water were both floating and elusive, silently surrounding a small boat.
A young woman in white sat quietly on the edge of the boat, originally gazing at the rippling water. She noticed someone approaching and suddenly raised her head with a teacup in her hand.
It was Luan Niang.
Or Meng Tingzhou.
She used to wear complicated and gorgeous red clothes, but this white dress had almost no decorations. Under the sunlight, her skin was whiter than snow and her spirit was as clear as autumn water. Although she still had a charming appearance, she exuded a bit of the heroic spirit of a sword unsheathed from her bones.
Although Meng Tingzhou had been guiding them to discover the truth, he had never been alone with any of Tianxianzi's disciples. He only quietly told Ningning when they were at the bottom of the well that he would leave by boat at noon today.
Now that the two finally met, Meng Tingzhou raised his eyebrows lazily and smiled like a fox.
"Miss Meng."
Ningning simply greeted her: "What are you looking at?"
"Shadow."
She lowered her eyes and looked at the green water waves under her feet.
Ningning looked and saw that the river surface was vaguely reflecting the blue sky and white clouds, and the shadow of the boat also fell into it, blending with a few white clouds.
Meng Tingzhou didn't know what he was thinking about, and a faint smile appeared in his eyes: "Look, the reflection of the clouds falls into the water and merges with the shadow of the boat - it turns out that the boat in the water can also touch the distant clouds in the sky."
Ningning understood what she meant and was stunned.
"Do you have a question for me?"
"I have a question for you."
Two voices rang at the same time, and she raised her chin, indicating that the little girl on the shore should speak first.
There was a doubt that troubled Ningning for a long time.
Although it was not that important, it was like a nail piercing her heart all the time, and she always felt that there was something that had not been thoroughly investigated.
"I went to that store, and the owner told me that Song Xianning had consulted him about the soul-swapping technique."
Ningning took a deep breath and looked into her eyes seriously: "Luo Yuanming is using girls to refine his souls. If he asked about the soul-swapping technique, it would be understandable... But if it's 'soul-swapping', what does it have to do with this?"
The soul-swapping technique has been lost for many years, and only a few words exist in the books of evil arts. As the name suggests, it is a method of swapping two people's souls, or using a corpse to revive.
At that time, Song Xianning discovered Luo Yuanming's secret, and in anger she moved into another courtyard to live alone. According to the store owner, she became seriously ill shortly after she inquired about soul-swapping.
This time is exactly between the two major turning points in Song Xianning's life trajectory, and the only reason she wants to change her soul is -
"Instead of asking this, don't you want to know something else?"
Meng Tingzhou leaned against the awning, letting the sun shine through the gaps between the branches, like a butterfly landing on her flawless profile and nose.
She was born beautiful, and now washed by the sun, she is even clearer and more moist, like a person in a painting that is half real and half illusory. After staring at Ningning quietly for a while, he finally laughed out loud.
"For example, who put the drug in Jiuzhou Chungui? Who sent your senior brother Meng Ju to the door of the painting-selling lady? Who was the old woman that Mr. He met by the river?"
She shook the wooden cup in her hand and said in a low and gentle voice: "And... who filled this cup of tea for me?"
Ning Ning was startled.
Meng Tingzhou had no relatives in Luancheng, and her identity as the wife of the city lord was extremely sensitive. If she hired a stranger to carry out the whole plan, it would be very likely to be betrayed or leaked, thus arousing Luo Yuanming's suspicion in advance.
Given that guy's personality, once there were witnesses and evidence, before Ning Ning and the others could find out the truth, she might have already married again and become another city lord's wife who died of a sudden illness.
In addition, the most worthy of consideration is why Song Xianning asked about the soul-swapping technique.
She discovered Luo Yuanming's secret of sacrificing young girls, and showed strong resistance, unwilling to be associated with it. Miss Song is such a smart person, how could she not guess that Luo Yuanming had murderous intentions in his heart.
And the purpose of the soul-swapping technique... isn't it to let the golden cicada shed its shell and revive the dead?
Ning Ning stared at the charming eyes of the woman in front of her, and said hesitantly: "But the shop owner clearly said that soul-swapping is an old secret technique, and even he doesn't know the secret."
"Soul-swapping is just a way."
Meng Tingzhou smiled gently, as if he was patiently persuading her: "If one method doesn't work, isn't there another way?"
Another way.
Yes.
Asking about the soul-swapping technique shows that Song Xianning had been on guard against Luo Yuanming a long time ago, trying to find a suitable way to escape. Apart from soul-swapping, the most likely way to hide the truth is -
Ning Ning blurted out: "Turtle Breath Pill!"
Turtle Breath Pill can conceal breath and converge breathing. If taken in excess, it may even damage the sea of consciousness and fall into a state of suspended animation for a long time.
And it happened that in the City Lord's Mansion, Luo Yuanming had prepared many such pills.
If Song Xianning really took this medicine and fell into a state of suspended animation... wouldn't it be consistent with her "sudden death"?
Meng Tingzhou curled his lips when he heard the words, still maintaining the posture of leaning on the boat, leaning back slightly, lifting the thin tent made of black gauze outside the awning, and leaning his head inside.
From Ningning's perspective, she could see her delicate neck and pointed white chin, and the corners of her mouth were hooked into a beautiful arc, and her lips opened and closed.
The beautiful woman in a white dress had a clear voice and a light smile: "I told you, she would definitely think of it."
...Ah. She was talking to the person behind the black gauze.
As if an electric current ran through her spine, Ningning heard the throbbing sound of her heart.
After a brief moment of freezing, a thin, white hand reached out from the boat and gently lifted the black veil.
Then, Ningning was caught off guard, facing a pair of dark eyes.
Song Xianning.
This name, which was buried deep in everyone's memory, finally had a concrete appearance at this moment.
She had a gentle and beautiful appearance, like a distant mountain. Although her face was unspeakably pale, it made people feel at ease for some reason, especially when she smiled at Ningning, it was like a breeze passing over the water, causing a shallow ripple.
"Nice to meet you."
She stared at the girl on the shore and said softly, "I'm Song Xianning. Thank you, Miss Ningning, for this time."
"She took a large amount of Turtle Breathing Pills, which made Luo Yuanming mistakenly believe that she had died suddenly. Although she escaped from the City Lord's Mansion, she slept in the coffin for more than half a year because of the effect of the Turtle Breathing Pills."
Meng Tingzhou smiled and said, "Fortunately, she woke up later. I was shocked when I saw her - I couldn't leave the City Lord's Mansion, and it was she who guided you step by step."
It turned out that from the beginning to the end, this has always been a story of two people.
Ning Ning had guessed so many tricks before, but she had never been so emotional as she was now. She sorted out her thoughts in silence and then asked in a deep voice: "Now that the matter in Luancheng is over, I wonder what your plans are for the future?"
"Of course, to travel all over the world, practice as we go, see all the scenery, and put an end to all the injustices in the world."
Meng Tingzhou smiled and looked at Song Xianning, with a youthful spirit in his eyes that had not been seen for a long time: "Where did we decide last night? The imperial capital, Nanping or Youzhou?"
Song Xianning smiled helplessly: "It's Youzhou. You couldn't wait to go and take a look last night, why did you forget it today?"
Ning Ning listened in silence, knowing very clearly in her heart that it was time for her and them to say goodbye.
The boat slowly drifted forward. Meng Tingzhou, dressed in white, said to her with a smile on his lips: "Thank you, Miss Ningning!"
She paused and turned up the volume: "Pei Ji is very good to you - you should keep up the good work!"
Ningning's smile and movements froze together.
The two laughs on the boat became more unbridled.
At noon in midsummer, a small boat broke through the steaming mist on the riverside.
Ripples spread out layer by layer, and in the endless cicada chirping and the sound of flowing water, the woman's clear and jade-like voice rang out.
"What? The boatman doesn't know how to get to Youzhou? Oops, I forgot to buy the map - should we go south or north? Oh, which is south and which is north?"
Then another person laughed crisply, like bells colliding together: "Forget it, where the water goes, we go there."