The group of people who went up the mountain in the middle of the night really struck me as very strange.
Their practice of having supplies delivered in the middle of the night made me feel that these people were acting suspiciously.
I wasn't very satisfied with the work of the two earthworkers the night before. Now I'm racing against time to find the location of the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace. If there isn't a trustworthy and reliable person in the team, we'll be at a disadvantage.
After Xue Dong had his men assemble, he left a few men to guard the tomb-raiding gang that we had captured the night before, while the rest of them volunteered to head towards the valley ten kilometers away.
On my way to the valley where those people were hiding, I made up my mind that if these people weren't the group that kidnapped the monkeys, then I would have no choice but to ask the beautiful snake for help.
We walked for about forty minutes when the satellite phone in my pocket suddenly vibrated. I saw that it was Song Laosan calling, and I answered it out of curiosity: "Hello?"
"It's me, Qu Ruilin."
Qu Ruilin gave his name, and then added, "We don't know the phone number you're using here, so we can only contact you using Third Master's phone."
I knew Qu Ruilin wouldn't call me for no reason, so I asked, "What do you want to see me about?"
Qu Ruilin got straight to the point: "Duan Shenxing, I'd like to talk to you about cooperation."
Seeing that he was still bringing up this same old topic, I was speechless: "Are you ever going to stop? Didn't I clearly refuse you before and say that there was no possibility of cooperation between us?"
“I wanted to work with you before because I was going to repay a debt of gratitude, but things are different now.”
Qu Ruilin paused for a moment: "I found traces of exploratory holes on a mountain. There were two in total, two meters apart, and they were covered up. You guys did that, didn't you?"
When I heard him say that, I immediately narrowed my eyes: "You've been following us?"
"Don't get me wrong, I didn't do that."
Qu Ruilin explained quickly, “We found a group of people hiding in the valley in the mountains, but to avoid misunderstandings, we didn’t get close and lost sight of the mountain next to them. I know you entered the mountains before us, and I’m calling you to confirm whether you dug these two test holes. It seems I made the right bet.”
I narrowed my eyes: "What do you mean by that? Are you trying to threaten us by attacking our camp if we don't cooperate? I advise you to save your breath. It's true that there are our people in that valley, but I'm not there, and the person you're looking for isn't there either."
“I know you’re no longer at the camp, and I don’t want to threaten you. Regardless of our past relationship, you just rescued us from the Black Robe yesterday. Even if I wanted to do something to you, Sheng Nan wouldn’t agree.”
Qu Ruilin smiled and said, "The terrain here is the Five Yellow Sha. Your team has occupied a valley, and there are two probe holes under my feet, but no sampling traces were found on the adjacent mountain, which means you should be resting now."
This feeling of being seen through made me a little uncomfortable: "I'm not one to beat around the bush, just say what you mean!"
Qu Ruilin said, "I don't know what you're doing right now, but I think you'll definitely be digging holes in the surrounding mountains next. I just want to remind you that it's pointless to do that. These mountains are not fake tombs."
I had spent so much time wandering around the mountain before and hadn't noticed anything amiss, but now that I heard Qu Ruilin say this, I was indeed intrigued: "How do you know?"
"The Five Yellow Stars on these mountains are just a smokescreen. In reality, they are arranged according to the Hetu and Luoshu diagrams and the constellations. With the Qu family's ability to see into the earth, this trick is no challenge for me. I can see through the mountains to their true nature."
Qu Ruilin paused for a moment: "You have the key, but you have no clue. Although I don't have a way to enter the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, I can find its true location! Duan Shenxing, I admit you are a very smart person, and you know that the terrain here can't keep bothering you forever, but who knows how long it will take you to figure out the secret? Three to five days, four or five months, or one or two years?"
I remained silent.
In terms of observing qi and discovering tombs, I am indeed no match for Qu Ruilin. After all, each of the four sects has its own strengths. Otherwise, Old Master Wei would not have gone to such great lengths to reunite the four sects.
In the past, most of the tombs we raided had traces to follow, and my knowledge was barely enough.
But I don't even know which dynasty the Miao Jiang Fairy Palace was built in. My closest contact with it was seeing the three animal heads that served as keys and the Eastern Zhou pottery shards that I dug up last night.
Seeing that I remained silent, Qu Ruilin continued, "Then how long do you think it would take Duan Jinyan to figure out the problem here?"
I gritted my teeth: "So, you're calling this number to blackmail me? You think that without your involvement, I can't find Duan Jinyan, and everyone will suffer the consequences, right?"
"You can say that, but you can also understand it as me not wanting all our efforts to go to waste."
Qu Ruilin paused for a moment: "I need to remind you that what you have in your hands is just the key to opening the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace. Even without you, I can still keep an eye on Duan Jinyan and the others, but if you can't find the exit, what use are a few keys in your hands?"
"You're not lying, can you really find the entrance to the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace?"
After listening to Qu Ruilin's words, I ultimately chose to compromise.
The monkey is now missing, and our team is short of a skilled earthworker. If we can't find the monkey this time, Qu Ruilin would be an excellent replacement.
Although our relationship has always been awkward, he at least knows me well.
When Qu Ruilin heard my question, he didn't give a definitive answer: "At present, I can only tell that the terrain here is distributed according to the Hetu Luoshu. As for the location of the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace, it still needs to be deduced. If this place were really so easy to find, it wouldn't have been hidden for so many years."
I took a deep breath: "Miao Xiaoxian from Ping'an Village told me that the Miao Jiang Immortal Palace is located at the foot of Qingyun Town. I suspect that this place is related to the old site of Qingyun Town, and that the feng shui there has been altered."
When Qu Ruilin heard me say that, he knew that I had agreed to cooperate: "I will go and check it out as soon as possible. When will you come to meet us?"
It was sunrise time, and although the sun hadn't risen yet, the sky was already quite bright. I could see the mountain range of our destination in view. I replied, "I still have some things to take care of here. If there are any problems, let's talk on the phone. I'll come see you as soon as I'm done with what I'm doing!"
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