I couldn't help but frown.
I'm not worried that the three of them will attack each other, none of them would do that. What I'm worried about is that they will have grudges in their hearts and won't be able to cooperate sincerely, which is the most fatal crisis for a group.
Before I could say anything, Lu Xiaoying stepped forward and said, "Whether one of them dies, I, Lu Xiaoying, will pay with my life. Are you satisfied with this answer?"
Nangong Ling's smile froze on her face. She looked like she wanted to mock Lu Xiaoying, but she couldn't say anything.
There was no need for Lu Xiaoying to explain anything to Nangong Ling; her words were meant for me.
When I turned to look at Lu Xiaoying, the latter nodded slightly to me.
Nangong Ling said coldly: "Then I'll wait and see how you pay for your life!"
Sun Yue smiled and said, "Sister, why bother to engage in such a fearless verbal battle with them? Let's wait and see what the result will be. Let's go!"
After the people from the Xuanjing Division left, Lu Xiaoying came up and placed the two magic boxes together: "Everyone come and look. There are definitely no two identical things in the world. There are definitely differences between the two magic boxes. Let's take a closer look."
We searched for a long time but couldn't find the difference between the two magic boxes.
I said to Zhiyuan, "Master, how likely do you think it is that someone will be able to copy the magic box?"
Zhiyuan shook his head and said, "Basically, no. I have also heard a little about the magic box. But the five major sects of magic..."
Zhiyuan was afraid that I didn’t understand, so he explained: “At that time, Jiuchong Pavilion was as famous as the four sects now. Later on, it lost a group of masters and fell out of the five major sects.”
After I nodded slightly, Zhiyuan continued, "The only ones who did not participate in the research of the magic box were Jiuchong Pavilion and Prajna Temple. It was the monks of Prajna Temple who sealed the magic box."
"Moreover, over the years, there have been high monks guarding this manor to pray for the innocent souls of those years. Before I came here, there was nothing unusual here. It is unlikely that someone stole the magic box and made a replica."
Shen Fengyin shook his head and said, "In fact, you don't need to steal the magic box to copy it. To copy the magic box, you only need to copy the appearance, and there is no need to copy the internal structure. In the past, the five major sects collected illustrations of the magic box and recorded the characteristics of the magic box in detail. With the secret files of the five sects, it is not difficult to copy a magic box."
I looked at Shen Fengyin: "Who can copy the magic box?"
Shen Fengyin thought for a moment and said, "The forgers in the antique business can imitate the appearance of the magic box, and their ability to make it look old is also first-rate. However, they cannot make mechanical locks. If there are descendants of Nansuo Beixin who cooperate with them, it will not be difficult to imitate a magic box."
The forgers in the antique trade are not from the same profession, nor do they belong to any school, but their skills are passed down from generation to generation. It is not difficult to find a forger as long as there is someone in the industry to guide you. The difficulty lies in the mechanism and lock.
Lu Xiaoying also asked: "Is there any successor to Nansuo Beixin?"
"Yes, but they rarely show up." Shen Fengyin said, "Since the decline of lock-making, they have gradually faded out of the art stage. It is very difficult to find them now. I need some time."
I was puzzled and asked, "What does 南锁北芯 mean?"
Shen Fengyin explained: "A long time ago, the art of machinery was once very popular. There were not only schools that specialized in making large machinery, but also schools like Nansuo Beixin that focused on small machinery."
"Nan Suo Bei Xin are both famous for making locks. Because one is in the south and the other is in the north, they are named 'Nan Suo Bei Xin'. It is said that their masterpieces have surpassed the ordinary locks and are worthy of being listed as top-level magic tools."
"However, Nansuo Beixin's main source of income is still manufacturing slightly more advanced ordinary secret locks or secret boxes. Before the Republic of China, locks were always hard to come by. Later, safes and combination locks became popular, and Nansuo Beixin's business began to plummet... In recent years, fingerprint locks and password locks have appeared one after another, and Nansuo Beixin, which still adheres to the ancestral secret techniques, has even less market, and has gradually faded out of the art."
Shen Fengyin pointed at the compass on the magic box and said, "This compass lock was the masterpiece of Nansuo Beixin back then. So I said that if you want to imitate the magic box, you need a counterfeiter and the heir of Nansuo Beixin to cooperate."
I nodded and said, "Besides them, is there anyone else who can imitate it?"
Shen Fengyin said, "The only one left is the Rumor Sect. The Rumor Sect has mastered all the tricks of deception, and forging counterfeits is one of their secret techniques. It is said that in order to keep secrets, the Rumor Sect rarely asks for help in making counterfeits. They themselves are masters of counterfeiting."
I pondered and said, "Can they also make a mechanical lock?"
Shen Fengyin said: "It's hard to say. It's not difficult to just let them create something on the surface. If we open the magic box, maybe we can see some clues; if that's all, it's hard for me to determine whether the magic box is real or fake."
"It can't be opened!" I immediately rejected Shen Fengyin's proposal.
Now, no one can guarantee that the magic box in our hands is definitely fake. Even the magic box that was taken out of the Burning Demon Pool at the beginning is hard to tell whether it is real or fake. If we rashly open the magic box, who knows what consequences will be caused.
Zhiyuan also nodded and said, "I also agree with what Donor Wu said. It is not wise to open the magic box rashly."
I thought about it and said, "Do you know the origin of the magic box? I mean, who got the magic box from where?"
Shen Fengyin said: "As far as I know, the first person to discover the magic box was the Dark Gold Hall of the Xuanjing Division."
"In addition to the five halls that carry out magic tasks, the halls that are responsible for other tasks are collectively known as the Twelve Halls of Xuan Jing. The Golden Hall is mainly responsible for raising funds for the Xuan Jing Division and maintaining its operation. The Golden Hall is divided into the Bright Golden Hall and the Dark Golden Hall."
"Ming Jin Tang does all legal business, but An Jin Tang's money is not visible to the public. Grave robbing is also one of the main methods used by An Jin Tang."
"It is said that the Dark Gold Hall once participated in a tomb robbery, and they took out this magic box from the tomb. The person who took the magic box died of a sudden illness shortly after returning to the Xuan Jing Division, but the Xuan Jing Division did not take his death seriously. The strange deaths of tomb robbers are not uncommon in the art of magic, so they just burned the bodies and left it at that. What they are really interested in is the magic box itself."
Shen Fengyin pointed at the lock on the magic box and said, "Because this lock was identified by the master of the mechanism at that time as an extremely rare divine work, the person in charge of the Xuanjing Division at that time became very interested in the mechanism."
I asked after hearing this: "I want to ask, since Xuan Jing Division was so interested in the magic box, why didn't they leave the magic box at the Xuan Jing Division headquarters and have to move it outside?"
Shen Fengyin said: "I was also very curious about this matter at first, but there was no record of this in the intelligence. After pondering for a long time, I came to a conclusion, that is, there should have been demonic energy on the magic box."
Shen Fengyin pointed to the manor outside and said, "There are many places like this in Xuan Jing Division. Rather than calling this the base of Xuan Jing Division, it's more like a workshop left outside. This manor belongs to Ping Yao Hall, and its main function is to kill captured monsters."
"Here are not only the Xuanjing Division's trap array and demon-burning pool, but also a slaughterhouse and processing workshop. The corpses of demons are either made into materials by them or directly traded with other sects. If the magic box originally had demonic energy, it would be most appropriate to send it directly here. In addition..."
Shen Fengyin changed the subject and said, "When the magic box was unearthed, there was no consensus on what was hidden inside. The Xuan Jing Division was probably afraid that if they invited a master of magic to explore the secret of the magic box with great fanfare, it would turn out to be a scam, which would lose face for the Xuan Jing Division. So they sent it to the periphery and had an elder come forward to ask fellow Taoists to study the magic box. This should be the consensus of many people at the time."
I nodded and said, "I see. So you don't know where the magic box was actually unearthed?"
Shen Fengyin said: "The Xuan Jing Division should know. But..."
Shen Fengyin's meaning was very clear, that is, Xuan Jingsi would not provide us with any information.
I put my hands behind my back and paced back and forth for a few steps: "Don't worry about it for now. It's no big deal."
Lu Xiaoying looked at me and said, "Wu Zhao, you'd better not have any tricks. We still need you to come to our rescue, so you'd better not leave the manor."
Xiao Baitang also asked nervously: "Brother Wu Zhao, what are you going to do?"
I laughed and said, "What else can I do? It's you, Sister Xiaoying, who is just imagining things."
Lu Xiaoying gave me a meaningful look and said, "I hope I'm just imagining things."
I would like to explain that the people who were delivering the arms to Shen Fengyin had already arrived. After both parties confirmed the quantity of the arms, Shen Fengyin led people to move all the large boxes into the manor.
Before leaving, Lu Xiaoying warned again: "Wu Zhao, we are a team, you'd better not act on your own."
"Where can I go?" I laughed and sent Lu Xiaoying away, then asked Ye Jin in a deep voice, "Old Ye, if we are not here, can Lu Xiaoying and the others handle it?"
Ye Jin said: "You should believe Xiaoying. Besides, even if we stay here, what can we do? We can't enter the manor, nor can we interfere with the arena. Staying here will be useless."
I nodded and said, "Master Zhiyuan, I am going to go to the place where the magic boxes were unearthed. I will take both magic boxes away. Please help me look after the interior of the manor. If Lu Xiaoying is in danger, please consider us as admitting defeat."
"This..." Zhiyuan couldn't help but hesitate, "I'm afraid this is against the rules."
I said in a deep voice: "The arrival of the three magic boxes is too strange. If we don't trace the source, we can't make any judgment. If we guard the four magic boxes, we will never be able to solve the secrets."
Zhiyuan frowned and said, "Let me think about it."
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Thank you for your support, and stay tuned for the next episode.
Thanks to Doudou, νíν?àn. ? 垚, Winterreise for the tips (to be continued)