He smiled and nodded. "Yes, we do have a few copies, but let us check the authenticity of yours first."
"Of course," Luo Wanjun nodded and gestured to his secretary beside him. The secretary gave us a charming smile, then took out a folder from her purse and pulled out a tattered piece of animal skin paper, just like the one in my hand. At a glance, I was certain that this was undoubtedly the map to the land of immortality.
But I still had to put on an act, so I took the animal skin paper in my hand and looked at it very carefully. Then I nodded and handed it to Xiang Fei, who also took it and looked at it carefully. Then I gave it to the old blind man, who looked at it and gave it to Uncle Liu from Hunan.
"Yes, it's true, but you only have one serving, while we have several. It seems like we're the ones who are losing out," the old blind man suddenly said.
"We naturally know that, but you all should know that the characters on this animal skin are the oldest ancient Shu script. How many people today can decipher and translate them? Haha, but our people can translate them all correctly. I wonder if you can?"
Upon hearing this, we were speechless. This was indeed our Achilles' heel. Although Xiang Fei could understand some simple characters, the map was entirely written in the oldest Shu script, which we couldn't understand at all.
Although I had several copies, not being able to understand them was like having a few blank sheets of paper. Now that Luo Wanjun and his people can fully understand them, this is indeed a very crucial role.
Luo Wanjun looked at us and continued, "Don't worry, everyone. Once the map of the Immortal Ascension Land is deciphered, we will compile a complete modern text version for you. We will absolutely not deceive you, because we will continue our cooperation. After all, entering the Immortal Ascension Land is inseparable from the Yin-Yang Master."
It must be said that Luo Wanjun's words make sense. The current situation is indeed like this, and cooperation between the two parties is inevitable, as they each get what they need.
“But we only have one map,” Xiang Fei said.
"Ahem, the other copies are all with me." Now that things have come to this, there's no need for me to hide it anymore.
"It's with you, Master Liu," they were all taken aback.
“That’s right. Wang Erwa came to me before he died, and I took a picture of the copy he got. The Great Sage Equaling Heaven also gave me a copy. I didn’t know it was a map of the land of immortality until recently.”
"Haha, since that's the case, why don't we find a place now to put the maps together, and then I'll have someone come over to decipher and translate them?"
"Ahem, I didn't bring my two copies with me," I said calmly. "I'll have to go back and get them tomorrow."
"Oh, I see. Then I'll have to trouble you to make another trip, Mr. Liu. I'll have someone drive you back tomorrow morning, which will save you time. We'll just wait for you here when you get back. What do you think?"
“Okay, that’s settled,” I nodded in reply.
"Hehe, since you have all agreed, let's start cooperating now. I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration. I've heard many legends about Onmyoji, and I admire you all very much," Luo Wanjun said, standing up and shaking hands with each of us. "It's getting late, so you should all get some rest. We've already taken care of your food and lodging here. Just let us know if you need anything, and we'll do our best to accommodate you."
Back upstairs, the old blind man and the others gave me strange looks. "Master Liu, you've been hiding your true colors quite well."
I shook my head. "You'll understand in time. There's no point in explaining now. I have my reasons."
Xiang Fei didn't say anything. He understood why I did this. It could be said that the map of the Immortal Land was of great importance, and perhaps many secrets lay within it.
Go to bed. Tomorrow we'll go back to our hometown to get the map. I've already asked Wang Ling to accompany my mom and the others to climb the mountain and visit various scenic spots. Xiang Fei and the others can take this opportunity to look around and get a general understanding of the terrain of Mount Emei.
I got up as soon as it was light the next day. Luo Wanjun's car was already waiting for me outside. I got in the car and drove straight home.
If you take a car, you can go directly to the highway, which will shorten the travel time to just over an hour.
When I got home, I took out the map and got back in the car. The round trip took about three hours. When I arrived at Mount Emei, Xiang Fei and the others hadn't returned yet. Luo Wanjun told me to wait while he went to make arrangements.
I estimate they'll start cracking the translation this afternoon, and all of us involved will be there.
Wang Ling and the others went out, and since I had nothing to do, I took out the map to study it. I had gotten one from Gui Qianshou a few days ago, and Xiang Fei had also given it to me, so now I had three copies. One of them was a photograph, but the map and text on it were still legible, so it didn't matter.
As I studied it more carefully, I became increasingly alarmed. When the maps were put together, they clearly formed a complete bronze human face. What's even more mysterious is that the entire Emei Mountain range seemed to be part of it.
But then I discovered an even more shocking secret: if you look at it from a different angle, you'll find that the map actually shows a person ascending to immortality. Could this be the place where one becomes an immortal? I stared at a spot on the map and began to ponder.
However, a key problem is that I can't understand the text on the map, and even looking at the map, I still can't grasp the core of the secret.
Just then, my phone rang. It turned out that Wang Ling and the others had returned. I put away the map and went out to meet them.
They were clearly having a great time, and even Mom looked younger. The group bought a lot of things and said they were going to have lunch at a specialty restaurant in Mount Emei.
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