Chapter 122: The Light and Dark Side (1)
That day, the three of them went out to the streets to ask around but didn't get any definite or suspicious information. The night passed quickly, and the three of them waited in their respective rooms until dawn, and finally waited for Luo Xuanyi to return to her room.
"Did you gain anything?" Shang Qian asked eagerly, pushing the door open first. He practiced the sword art, and wasn't good at detailed work. He was overwhelmed by the vague doubts and couldn't concentrate on meditation. So he tried to pay attention to the movements outside.
Qu Qitao and Xi Xingji also pushed open the door one after another. Luo Xuanyi shook her head with disappointment on her face. The three of them were immediately discouraged when they saw this.
"Are we really overthinking it?" This thought began to linger in his mind again. Before Xi Xingji could pull Luo Xuanyi aside to elaborate on the news the three of them had received yesterday, an orange lantern suddenly appeared at the gate of the courtyard, which had not yet been fully illuminated by the morning light.
A long-handled lantern flickered, illuminating a scholar in a brown robe. Wang Zhanke, with his hands behind his back, stood at the door with a servant. He seemed surprised to see the four people's doors open. "Are you all asleep? Could it be that the servants in my palace haven't entertained you well enough?"
Xi Xingji laughed it off, and Wang Zhanke didn't seem to mind. He smiled and extended his hand in a gesture of invitation: "Everyone, the boat is ready. We'll just have to take it tonight. We'll start the journey now and arrive at the Ling Yarn Mill in an hour and a half. By then, everyone will be working, so it's a good time for you to inspect it."
The group followed Wang Zhanke out of the palace and headed towards the ferry. Qu Qitao, remembering what Wang Xianqing had said yesterday, pretended to chat with Wang Zhanke for a few words before casually asking, "By the way, I saw a man in fine clothes yesterday afternoon. Was that your master Wang Xianqing? Why didn't he come to take us to the Lingsha Field?"
Wang Zhanke's expression showed a hint of surprise, which then turned into a wry smile. "This, alas, is truly a family disgrace that should not be aired in public. My father never intended for my eldest brother to take over the family business, so my eldest brother doesn't know where the Ling Yarn Mill is."
"But your eldest brother is the legitimate son, and it's clearly so, but you were the only one I told?"
Wang Zhanke seemed to sense something, and after some thought, he compromised, "There's a reason for this. My eldest brother isn't a bad person by nature, but he's a bit shallow and easily deceived. In the past, some vagrants from the academy instigated him to steal money from our family and go to brothels. My father didn't tell anyone because he was afraid that the family business would be ruined."
"So, it seems that Master Wang likes you even more?"
Wang Zhanke just smiled, shook his head, and said with a sigh, "I'm afraid my father has never loved anyone in his life."
As they spoke, the group had already reached the ferry. A boat stood in the still dark water. Wang Zhanke took the lantern from the servant and personally led the way aboard. It was a two-story wooden boat, and there was no other light on board, only the lantern in Wang Zhanke's hand.
Wang Zhanke hung a lantern on the bow of the boat and explained to everyone, "This is one of our customs. Legend has it that there's a river god in the river. If he's disturbed, he'll get angry and turn the water pitch black. Anyone who drinks from it will surely die. We can ferry people during the day, but at night, if we don't hang a lantern on the bow, the river god will misunderstand and think someone is insulting his power, and become angry."
With only this little light, nothing can be seen clearly. Even if the cultivators have good eyesight, none of them have entered the Golden Core stage and opened their spiritual consciousness. They can only see the surrounding scenery, but cannot easily tell whether the ship is moving like in the daytime.
The wooden boat lurched out of the ferry and headed out onto the water. Wang Zhanke had prepared wine and food for everyone on the boat. Although the monks had already fasted, this was a good opportunity to chat with Wang Zhanke. The four of them sipped their wine glasses and started chatting with Wang Zhanke.
The sky began to brighten from the east, and the dark water, previously obscured by the towering Fu Jishan Mountain, was now tinged with light. Everyone felt the boat rock violently, as if it had docked near the shore. Only then did they realize an hour and a half had passed, and they all left the cabin and disembarked.
Before him lay a flat expanse of land. Slightly different from Fuji Town, which was occupied by Fuji Mountain, the Lingsha Weaving Mill, though also built on a riverbed, was completely flat. If there were no buildings, one could see as far as the eye could see.
Perhaps to prevent others from seeing or leaking their secrets, a circle of tall attics, perhaps four or five stories high, had been built around the flat ground, resembling a small city wall. The tower had four unobstructed entrances on all four sides, allowing for free entry and exit. Wang Zhanke and his men entered through any of the gates, encountering no guards along the way.
Shang Qian carefully observed the people gathered on the tower. There were men and women of all ages, all dressed in short, easy-to-weave garments, yet the craftsmanship was exquisite. The women wore a variety of jewelry in their hair, and from time to time, one could hear the clacking of bare feet from children running on the wooden floorboards from the upper floors. It was a scene of a truly beautiful life.
They appeared unforced, nor did they appear to be feigning anything. Each one of them was perfectly natural. Chatting and laughing, they made their way to the small building in the center, surrounded by tall buildings. Bamboo poles stretched out from the perimeter, on which hung a variety of colorful fabrics. The morning light filtered through the fabrics, revealing shimmering waves like the beautiful scales of a mermaid. The shimmering light then fell upon the city walls, painting them with a rainbow of hues, making the entire structure vibrant with life.
"That's the silk mill over there."
Wang Zhanke also stopped to admire the beauty of the ling yarn for a moment. Qu Qitao exclaimed, "This really does look exactly like shark yarn. No wonder it's so popular. What kind of material can restore the shark yarn to such a state?"
Wang Zhanke took a step forward. "I don't know about that. Father will probably tell me the secret book only when he's about to die."
Luo Xuanyi followed silently, knowing full well that this time, they would not uncover any flaws. While the formation the Ghost King had set up was difficult to execute in front of Luo Xuanyi, it was something he had painstakingly crafted over decades, and it was definitely not something an ordinary cultivator could penetrate. These people were already dead, merely manipulated by the Ghost King's formation to act like living beings. Combined with the illusionary formation, it was difficult for a cultivator without divine awareness to discern the truth.
What's more, some of them were actually living people. They were raised within the illusion, formed families, gave birth to children, and then returned as proof that the Lingsha Field really existed. They were unaware that their companions, with whom they had lived day and night for years, had long since died, and they were still experiencing their companions' birth, aging, illness, and death within the illusion.
The townspeople of Fuji Town have been living in this brilliant scam, and until now no one has discovered the flaws in the scam, let alone three righteous monks who are just passing by and are afraid to act rashly.
After searching fruitlessly for a while, the three finally returned disappointed. Wang Zhanke tried his best to keep them together for lunch at Lingya Mill, and then let them chat with the textile workers before leaving. By the time they returned to Fuji Town, it was already evening.
Ninth update! The last update will be after 12 o'clock~ Almost there
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