Black Rock Cave elected Eve as the new cave master, which surprised Qining.
There are six villages in the Black Rock Cave, and the total number of men, women, old and young is at least thousands. In Qining's view, as the master of a cave, he naturally has to take on the mission of the rise and fall of the cave. After Bayali passed away, one of them was selected. A new cave master is naturally an imperative, but the choice of cave master must of course be carefully considered.
Eve is still young, and although she is quite popular in the clan, she still seems to be far behind the qualifications and prestige required by the cave master.
Qining never thought that Eve would become the new cave master. After being stunned, he quickly realized that there was something fishy.
For Heiyan Cave, under the current situation, the conditions for selecting a cave master do not necessarily rely on qualifications and prestige. Otherwise, the other village masters are above Eve in terms of qualifications and prestige, and Yifu will not be able to have his turn anyway. Fulai succeeded as the cave master.
But there is one thing that Eve is far better than everyone else, and that is her relationship with the Jin Yi Qi family.
Everyone is not blind, and of course they can see the closeness between Eve and Qining. Even if they don't know that the two are already privately engaged for life, the close relationship between the two is obvious to all.
Among the seventy-two caves of the Miao family, the Black Rock Cave belongs to a special force. Back then, because it assisted Lord Jinyi to pacify Xichuan, it disobeyed the order of the Miao King and became an anomaly among the seventy-two caves. The family regards him as the eagle dog of the court.
Under this situation, Heiyandong could only rely on Jinyi Qijia.
Maintaining the relationship with the court is of course extremely important to Heiyan Cave. Eve has a close relationship with Jinyi Marquis. If Eve inherits the position of the master of Heiyan Cave, it will naturally allow Heiyan Cave to work closely with Jinyi. connected together.
"Since it is their common intention, it certainly makes sense." Qi Ning said softly: "It's just that if you succeed as the cave master, you will have a lot more things to do and you will be a lot more tired."
Eve said: "I know why they chose this way, but...!" After a moment of hesitation, she said: "It's just because they know that you and I are very close, and they know that Heiyan Cave relies on Jinyi Qijia, so... "I smiled bitterly and said: "Originally I am not suitable for this position, but if I refuse, they will feel uneasy. I thought about it and the most important thing now is to make everyone feel at ease. I will be the caveman for the time being. Lord, let them choose someone else when the time comes."
Qining hummed, stared at Eve, and said softly: "No matter what difficulties you have, you have to tell me."
"I... understand." Eve nodded slightly, and then said worriedly: "You are going to Cangxi tomorrow, but... there are still a lot of things going on here. I originally wanted to go with you, but as the successor of the cave master, for a while, But you can’t walk away.”
Qi Ning smiled and said: "You don't have to worry too much. You also know that the current Damiao King Dandu Gu and I have a pretty good relationship, and we are going with Uncle Xiang on this trip. Uncle Xiang is very good at martial arts. Even if If we really take action, it won’t be difficult for us to retreat unscathed.”
Eve frowned and said, "I'm just worried that if the great witch of the Miao family is really Ksitigarbha, then... will the court punish her?"
"State-owned and national law." Qi Ning said seriously: "According to the clues we have now, Ksitigarbha was involved in many incidents that harmed Da Chu. If she is really Ksitigarbha, she will naturally have to give an explanation to the court."
Eve sighed: "The great witch has a high status in the Seventy-Two Cave of the Miao Family. Even if she is really Ksitigarbha, it will not be easy for the court to punish her. The Miao family will not watch the great wizard of the Miao Family being punished. The Seventy-two Miao Family Anyone who violates national laws can be punished, but the Miao family will not let her accept any punishment from the court."
Qi Ning looked solemn and thoughtful.
"I'm worried that if there is a stalemate, it is likely to cause a conflict between the Miao family's 72nd Cave and the imperial court." Eve said softly: "Little brother, when you arrive in Cangxi, you must think twice before acting impulsively. The Miao family is not warlike, but they are not afraid of getting into trouble when they are really fierce." After looking around, he lowered his voice and said: "The Li family has been domineering in Xichuan for many years. They expropriated the Miao family. Many people are dissatisfied with the Han family because of this. Even today, many people want to get rid of the control of the imperial court. However, most of the Miao family are willing to live peacefully under the control of the imperial court. However, once they find an opportunity, there will definitely be People with ulterior motives took advantage of the opportunity."
Qi Ning nodded and said: "I understand what you mean. There will always be black sheep, but don't worry, I will be careful in everything and will never let anyone provoke a conflict between the Miao family's 72nd Cave and the imperial court."
Of course Qining knew the huge consequences that would occur if Xichuan was in turmoil.
The imperial court has everything ready and is just waiting to send troops northward. Under such circumstances, any unrest in the country will affect the empire's northward march.
The Seventy-two Cave of the Miao Family is an extremely important force in Xichuan. The actions of this force can completely affect the entire Xichuan. If Ksitigarbha causes unrest in the Seventy-two Cave, the imperial court's plan to go north will be interrupted immediately. And he can only focus on Nishikawa.
In this way, Chu State will miss a golden opportunity. Not only will there be no possibility of conquering Eastern Qi, but its plan to take advantage of the opportunity to sneak attack on the northwest will also be in vain.
Therefore, Qi Ning knew that he had a heavy responsibility. He wanted to find out Ksitigarbha, but he could not let Xichuan be disturbed because of this matter.
Because of this, Qining did not insist on negotiating with the Miao family's great witch in person, but instead went up the mountain to Xiang Baiying.
Although it was a reunion after a long separation, Qi Ning behaved himself that night and did not make out with Eve. After all, the Black Rock Cave suffered a great disaster and they had just offered sacrifices to the dead. Under such circumstances, he had to persevere even if he couldn't bear it.
Early the next morning, Eve personally sent Qining down the mountain.
In addition to Xiang Baiying and Qining, Qi Feng also brought four guards with him on this trip, while Duan Canghai led his black scale cavalry to station at the foot of the mountain. This was also to guard against the treasure-carrying boy running into the black cave again. Do evil things.
Cangxi is in the southeast of Heiyan Ridge. Qining was surprised, and he picked a fast horse from the team as Xiang Baiying's mount, and a group of seven people went straight to Cangxi Miao Village.
We were on the way for more than one day, and this day we had already seen Khe Sanh from a distance.
Cangxi Shangshui Cave is also divided into six villages, and five villages surround the village of the Miao King. Qining knew that the village was located in Xishan Mansion. It was late autumn, and Xishan was like a giant dragon crawling on the vast land, spreading endlessly. Quite impressive.
There was a layer of misty clouds hanging over the entire Xishan Mountain, and Qining could vaguely see a peak rising toward the sky, among the mountains. Qining knew that it was the Sun and Moon Peak.
Riyue Peak is the highest peak in the entire Xishan Mountain. It is also the place where the Miao family's great witch is located. In the misty clouds, the outline can be vaguely seen. Qining knows that it is not easy to get close to Riyue Peak. He needs to travel through After passing through layers of mountains and many Miao villages, you can reach the foot of Riyue Peak.
The Great Witch of the Miao family is a god-like existence in the eyes of the Miao family, and the Sun and Moon Peak is only more than ten miles away from the village where the Miao King lives. For the Miao family, not to mention the Sun and Moon Peak, even the surroundings of the Sun and Moon Peak are forbidden areas. , if the Miao family discovers that someone approaches Riyue Peak privately, the consequences will naturally be disastrous.
Naturally, there are only a handful of people in the world who can see the great witch of the Miao family. Even if they want to see the great witch of the Miao family, they must obtain permission from the Miao king. Without prior reporting and obtaining the permission of the great witch, almost no one can You can meet the great witch of the Miao family.
It's just that this time Qi Ning and others want to meet the Miao family's great witch, but they can't let too many people know about it.
He had already negotiated with Xiang Baiying on the way to enter Cangxi, and then sneaked into Xishan quietly at night. After all, he knew where the Sun and Moon Peak was, determined the direction, and approached Qi Ning and others at the Sun and Moon Peak without being seen. Speaking of which, it is not too difficult.
After entering Cangxi, several people had already changed into Miao family clothes and stored their horses early.
The Cangxi area is the sphere of influence of the Miao family. It is rare to see the Han family here. Even if they are seen, they are mostly businessmen doing business here. The Miao family is not good at doing business. Most of the villages are It is self-sufficient, but the goods brought by Han merchants are abundant, and many Miao people are willing to do business with these merchants. For the Miao people, integrity is the first priority no matter what business they do, so they can survive here. Merchants can be regarded as being honest. Because they have been doing business for a long time, the Miao family has a strong sense of recognition of these merchants. If a stranger appears in this area, it will easily attract the attention of the Miao family.
Qining knew that the Miao family had many eyes and ears near Cangxi. After all, it was the seat of the Miao King and the Miao family's great witch. The security was naturally much tighter than that of other Miao villages, so they did not stay at the inn. After arriving, they first After finding a secret place to rest, after dark, we approached Xishan.
Xiang Baiying traveled south and north, and he was originally from Shu, so he naturally knew how to better avoid the eyes and ears of the Miao family in this area, and led everyone into the mountains. Precisely because he wanted to avoid the eyes and ears, he could only pass through some extreme Remote and difficult places.
Needless to say, Xiang Baiying and Qi Ning's martial arts skills, Qi Feng and others are also elite guards. They are not lacking in physical strength, and they can climb mountains and ridges. However, although the outline of the Sun and Moon Peak can be seen in the distance, it is really You have to walk through Xishan to get closer, but it becomes extremely far away. At dawn, you can see that Sun Moon Peak is still quite far away among the clouds and mist.
Everyone ate dry food and took a rest, and they were even more careful when traveling during the day.
It was not until dark that we finally arrived at the foot of Riyue Peak. On the way, we simply avoided the eyes and ears of the Miao family. I saw the Miao family several times and walked past nearby, but I discovered them in time and successfully avoided them. .
The solitary peak of Sun Moon Peak is independent, and the wind blows the trees. Not far from the bottom of the mountain is a lake, with Sun Moon Peak reflected in the lake.
This is the second time Qi Ning has come here. He knows that Sun Moon Peak is not like the other peaks in Xishan that have roads. All other peaks have villages. People come and go, so naturally there are roads available, but Sun Moon Peak has roads. There are very few people going up and down the mountain, and there is only one extremely rugged trail leading up the mountain.
An autumn moon rises from the east, and the entire Xishan Mountains are bathed in the moonlight.