At noon the next day, Ji Zhiyuan held a grand mourning ceremony to remember the heroes who had died in battle and then rewarded them according to their contributions. They set off for Yongling that night. She had been away for too long and there were many things in court that needed her to deal with, so she had to hurry through the night.
Yan Li used the excuse of recuperating and didn't move with the main group. Instead, he found a carriage and had Zhao Qiping drive it back leisurely.
"What do you want to do the most after returning to Yongling?"
Zhao Qiping thought as he drove the carriage. "Of course I want to go back to the academy, but I know it's impossible. The academy never accepts students who have been driven away. Let's wait for His Majesty's arrangements. "
Yan Li hid in the carriage not to recuperate but to study the Wuling Painting. But there were no lights at night, so he could only rely on the moonlight. But he helplessly found that he had overestimated his eyesight. He couldn't even see anything during the day, let alone at night like this.
He casually comforted, "The entire West Mountain Camp died in battle and you are the only survivor. Ji Tiansheng will compensate you. I reckon he will give you an official position. Even if you face your old classmates, you will be able to hold your head high and answer to your family. "
"If that's the case, I really have to thank Brother Yan!" Zhao Qiping was overjoyed. Then, he sighed. "Life is really unpredictable. Opportunities always change. The feeling of standing at the gate of Yongling and waiting to be escorted still lingers in my mind. I never thought I would have the chance to return to Yongling … "
Speaking up to this point, the eyes of such a big man actually turned slightly red. Those who hadn't experienced it would never understand his feelings.
"Let's find an inn up ahead," Yan Li suddenly said.
Zhao Qiping was startled. "We've only walked less than twenty li."
Yan Li said, "There seems to be a small village in another twenty li."
Zhao Qiping smiled bitterly. "Brother Yan, I mean, if we want to find an inn to stay, why don't we just wait in Rong City until tomorrow morning?"
Yan Li rolled up the Wuling Painting and lay down lazily. "Because I suddenly realized that traveling at night is really a bit boring and I can't see any beauties."
Zhao Qiping could only smile bitterly. What else could he say?
An hour later, the carriage entered the village and knocked on the door of an inn.
The innkeeper was a fair-skinned and plump middle-aged man. He was not angry at being woken up in the middle of the night. He held a candlestick in his hand and smiled amiably. "Would you like to take a break or stay in?"
Yan Li said, "To stay, give me two rooms. Also, help us feed the horse, and it will be yours. "Finished speaking, he took out a silver ingot worth ten taels from his bosom.
"Alright!" The innkeeper's eyes lit up, knowing that he had met a big customer. "I'll take you to your room first, then I'll go feed the horses."
The inn was a duplex structure. On the right side of the lobby was a spiral staircase, and next to the corridor was the guest room.
"Be careful of the darkness. Watch the road."
The innkeeper pushed open a door and used a candlestick to guide the way.
Yan Li walked in and suddenly took two steps back. "Wait, leave the candlestick behind."
She put the silver in his hand and took the candlestick.
The innkeeper had no reason to refuse and brought Zhao Qiping to another room in the dark.
Yan Li locked the door and put the candlestick on the table. He looked left and right, the furnishings were simple and clean. He was very satisfied and went to close the windows. Then he sat down and took out the Wuling Painting and spread it on the table.
An authentic work of Master Pu could easily be sold for more than ten thousand taels of gold. If there was a good copy, it could be sold for hundreds of taels of gold. It could be said that Master Pu had raised the aesthetic standards of the Xia Dynasty by an entire generation.
Master Pu was used to painting freehand brushwork. This Wuling Painting had a simple yet rich charm. With just a few strokes, it completely outlined the entire Yong Ling. But every courtyard, every house, every street, every tree, and even the fruits on the trees, were vivid and lifelike, as if they could become real at any time.
Yan Li could even see the Martial Emperor statue at the entrance of the Martial Arts Practice Ground. That arrogance that looked down on everything was displayed vividly in one stroke.
After looking at it carefully, he could feel the artistic value of the Wuling Painting. The majestic aura of a master painter was vividly displayed on the paper. No wonder a good copy could be sold for hundreds of taels of gold. It was because most painters could not even capture one ten thousandth of Master Pu's charm.
However, he had also seen a copy of the work, and he did not find the so-called secret code that Sun Bo had mentioned on the original work.
After looking at it for a long time, he still could not figure it out.
Could it be that he still got nothing today?
Suddenly, the small saucer on the candlestick overflowed, and the candle oil dripped onto the painting.
Yan Li was stunned and immediately felt a pain in his heart. He quickly moved the candlestick away and blew on the candle oil to dry it before thinking of a way to peel off the painting. But when it came to peeling it off, he was troubled. The candle oil had already solidified on the paper. If he tried to peel it off by force, he might tear off a piece. That would be a disaster. Even if it was just a little bit of ink, it would be a blasphemy to the painting.
He could not help but blame himself for being careless and forgetting to check the candlestick.
It was useless to be upset now. He thought that rather than ruining the treasure, it would be better to find a skilled craftsman to handle it. He prepared to put the painting away.
At this moment, he inadvertently saw that the part where the candle oil dripped onto the painting was wrinkled. He went closer to take a closer look and found that there was a crack on it. But he was not surprised. Instead, he was happy because the crack seemed to be a transparent wax layer.
It turned out that the painting was covered with a layer of transparent wax.
He carefully peeled off the wax layer and the wax layer, revealing the Wuling Painting in its entirety. Only then did he slowly let out a sigh of relief.
He put the wax layer aside and muttered to himself, "Could it be that Master Pu predicted that this painting would face such a calamity and left this behind?"
No matter what, it was worth celebrating that the treasure was not destroyed.
Removing the outer layer, the Wuling Painting was still the Wuling Painting. There was no difference.
After thinking for a while, he picked up the peeled wax layer and looked at it carefully under the candlelight. Suddenly, he found a small black spot.
He was very surprised. Could it be that his hand was too heavy and he really peeled off the ink?
He compared the wax layer to the Wuling Painting again and found the location of the black spot. With the candlelight, there was no difference. Not only was there no difference, the ink on this spot was thicker than other spots.
"Hmm?" He suddenly thought of something, and the more he thought about it, the more likely it was.
Of course, Master Pu would not have sealed the wax layer on the Wuling Painting. Only the person who hid the clue would have put a little ink on the Dragon God Ring and sealed the wax layer, leaving a small black spot on the wax layer.
If Yan Li did not find the wax layer, then he would never be able to find the location of the Dragon God Ring.
Four days later, he rushed back to Yong Ling in the starry night and went directly to the location pointed by Little Mo. It was a weapon shop. Coincidentally, he had been here before. Before he rescued Tang Sanghua, he made preparations to rescue her in order not to expose his identity.
The shopkeeper of this shop actually remembered him. As soon as he saw him, he greeted him enthusiastically, "Dear customer, you are here again. What do you want this time?"
Yan Li said, "I am not here to buy weapons. I want to ask the shopkeeper about something."
The shopkeeper said politely, "Please ask."
Yan Li said solemnly, "Do you know a person called Zhu Long?"
The shopkeeper was startled and said, "Yes, he is an old friend of mine."
Yan Li was a little excited and said, "Then did he leave a sword with you?"
The shopkeeper was also excited and said, "Yes, yes, how did you know?"
Yan Li said excitedly, "I am his friend, I am here to get the sword."
The shopkeeper said, "Get the sword? What sword? "
Yan Li's heart sank and he said with a cold face, "Zhu Long's sword."
The shopkeeper smiled and said, "Dear customer, you have forgotten that you have already taken it from me last time."
Yan Li was startled and then said in astonishment, "You mean, Xuan Jun?"
The shopkeeper nodded.
Yan Li subconsciously touched his back.
Empty!
He felt the world was spinning.
Xuan Jun was captured when he was imprisoned in the Blackwater Courtyard. At that time, he escaped in a hurry and didn't have time to find it. Only God knows if it is still there.
Yan Li walked out of the weapon shop in a daze and sighed. Just when he was about to return to Rong City, a pretty girl blocked his way.
"You are finally back, sob sob sob …"
The little girl didn't care about the attention of the passers-by. She flew over and threw herself at Yan Li, crying her heart out. She was so miserable that everyone who heard her looked at Yan Li angrily, thinking that he had abandoned the little girl and caused her to cry so miserably.
Of course, she was Fu 'er.
Yan Li powerlessly pushed her away. When he was about to say something, he suddenly realized that there was a sword on the little girl's back. His lips trembled and he said, "Xuan Xuan Xuan, why is Xuan Jun here?"
Fu 'er wiped her tears and said, "I don't know, sister Drifting Cloud gave it to me …"
Yan Li took Xuan Jun and felt as if he had obtained a treasure. He sighed and said, "Why are you crying? Even if I am back, you don't need to be so touched."
Fu 'er cried even harder, "No, no, sister Drifting Cloud forced me to taste …"
Yan Li understood the moment he heard this. His mood was great, and adding his gratitude towards Chen Liuyun, it prompted him to make a decision. He decided to personally deliver himself to be a lab rat.
When he brought Fu 'er back to his residence, there was already a table full of dishes in the courtyard.
When he walked in, he saw Shen Liuyun wearing an apron like an ordinary farmer's wife, holding a plate.
"The last plate of stir-fried vegetables, you really came back at the right time." She skillfully untied the apron.
Yan Li took a look and was immediately dumbfounded, "This, this, this, this, you made all of this?"
The dishes on the table were garlic tofu, yuxiang shredded pork, black fungus stir-fried noodles, braised carp, potato braised meat, fish head soup, all of them looked very delicious.
Shen Liuyun opened the seal of the wine jar and said, "You forgot what day it is."
Yan Li thought for a moment and shook his head.
Shen Liuyun sighed faintly and said, "You really forgot, today is your birthday, you are already nineteen years old."
Yan Li was startled and felt a warm current flow into his heart.
Shen Liuyun poured a cup of wine for him, then for herself and Fu 'er, "Sit down."
Yan Li had long forgotten what it felt like to have company: even if it was a cloudy day, even if it was suddenly snowing, it would not affect his mood.
After drinking the wine, Shen Liuyun said, "Eat, taste my cooking."
Just as Yan Li picked up the chopsticks expectantly, Fu 'er suddenly clutched her stomach and said, "Wu wu, Fu' er's stomach hurts, I, I can't eat anymore …"
Shen Liuyun said lightly, "Don't worry about her, eat."
Yan Li had a bad feeling, he carefully picked up a piece of braised fish and slowly put it in his mouth to chew. Then, his expression became very interesting, tears gushing out of his eyes.
Shen Liuyun said in surprise, "Why are you crying?"
"Aunt, I, I was moved to tears …" Yan Li said with tears in his eyes, "I have decided to do something for aunt."
Shen Liuyun was very happy and said, "Oh? What is it? "
Yan Li got up and went into the house, took out the purple bamboo flute given to him by the Bo Re Pagoda, walked to the peach tree and turned around with a smile, "Aunt, I want to give you a song."
Shen Liuyun said with a smile, "Great."
Yan Li gently put the bamboo flute under his lips, his expression solemn and respectful.
Fu 'er's eyes were full of little stars, "Master is so handsome!"
Yan Li took a deep breath, then, a very unique flute sound rang out.
The two girls were startled at first, then they both frowned and finally covered their ears in pain.
"What, it's so unpleasant …" Fu 'er said angrily, "Master, if you don't know how to play, then don't play, it's so unpleasant!"
Shen Liuyun said with a dark face, "A fine flute has been played like a suona, why don't you stop it?"
Yan Li deliberately played even louder.
"Fu 'er, catch him," Shen Liuyun said.
"Hey!" Fu 'er bared her fangs and brandished her claws at Yan Li.
"I won't stop, I won't stop …"
"You blew it so badly, you still have the nerve to blow it …"
"You cooked it so badly, you still have the nerve to cook it …"
"Little Fan, you dare to talk to me like that! Take this! "
"Aiyo … today is my birthday …"
"So what if it is?"
"Can't you give me some face?"
"I can't."
"Right, did you prepare a gift for me?"
"Didn't you already eat it?"
"Master, Master, Fu 'er will give you a kiss, okay?"
"You're so naughty when I'm not here, tell me the truth, where did you learn that?"
"Wu wu, Master, I was wrong, don't hit Fu 'er's butt."
"You dare to touch Fu 'er?"
"I, I didn't …"
Today was the 15th of November in the 12th year of Emperor Qi, winter, Yan Li would always remember it.
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