Being exhausted doesn't stop someone from getting up early.
Yin came again, and Jingzhi rolled around Yin Ci for a few times and pulled himself up. Unexpectedly, this time his master apprentice did not stay in bed either, and followed him out of the quilt like a bunch of peanuts.
There was no sign of Yan Qing in the room. Since he had acquired the Compassion Sword and the Jade Chime Sword Technique, Yan Qing seemed to have a string of firecrackers tied behind his head, which would explode if he was lazy. Only Su Si was sleeping on the mat with his legs spread out, and Master Bai, who looked like a snowball, was pressing on his chest.
Jingzhi kicked the quilt at his feet and covered Su Si, whose hands and feet were exposed. Then he dragged his sleepy apprentice and tiptoed back to the front hall.
Young people sleep little, and Granny Wei is already busy in the hall. It is still dark outside the window, and the snow reflects the beautiful dark blue. Chen Xi is not sure whether he is asleep or not, he is still glued to the table, studying his way to immortality.
"The young man with red eyes went out to practice swordplay."
Granny Wei chuckled as she poured a basin of hot water. There was a different soup cooking in the pot, all with the same smell, and I wondered whether salt should be added this time.
Chen Qianfan glanced at him with respect. He was from Jianchen Temple after all. He had been beaten by the Compassionate Sword, so he would never let him go. Who would have thought that Chen Qianfan would see the descendant of the Yan family carrying a sword and going out, and he was as steady as a mountain, calm and composed, without any strange expression.
This state of mind is too peaceful.
Chen Xi seemed to have noticed Xi Jingzhi's prying eyes, and he was too lazy to even raise his head: "Today I will take that girl to dig materials, you guys should also help, and ask that dead-faced boy to come with me. You, think carefully, throwing away memories is a gamble with your life."
Jingzhi made a prompt decision: "I will go too."
Chen Yu finally opened his book and glanced at Yu Jingyi: "What are you doing? Are you so bored? My husband only needs one of you. It will be troublesome if there are more."
"Sir, you are very good at diagnosing illnesses and you cut through the Gordian knot. You are not like a gangster and you don't charge weird fees. I also have a strange disease and I would like to ask you to take a look."
"You are a good kid. You can hold in your fart and let it out the next day. That's fine. I really don't like people asking for too much at once. Come over here."
After half an incense stick.
"It can't be cured. Either wait for a miracle or wait for death." Chen Qianfan said cheerfully.
Jingzhi, Yin Ci: “…”
Chen Qianfan glared at him and said, "Why, this is a congenital disease. I have been praying to become an immortal since I was a child, why would I bother to cure someone else's congenital disease? But your disease is too strange, I am afraid no one in the Central Plains can treat it."
Jingzhi didn't have high expectations to begin with, so he didn't seem disappointed: "Senior, you are wise. This disease is indeed unusual. I am looking for some meat to help me out."
Seeing that Jingzhi didn't make a fuss, Chen Qianfan's temper improved a bit. "Well, it's a solution that's not a solution. My husband is somewhat interested in that piece of meat, but unfortunately he doesn't have enough arms and legs to compete with the young man."
At this point, he revealed a look of regret: "Only half a year left to live... What a pity, the essence is so full, it is obviously a good material for casting spells."
"Thank you for the compliment, Senior. To be honest, I want to go out with you for the purpose of learning—"
Chen returned to the table with his hands behind his back and began to fiddle with the demon corpse again: "I didn't praise you, I just said that your body is full of energy and is suitable for making magic tools and formations."
Respectfully: “…”
It turns out that "material" is literal.
It turns out that this is not regret for his short life, but hatred that he will not die here, so that he can be taken away to be skinned and bones for research.
Jingzhi took two steps back, half hiding behind his disciple, and said politely, "... I really want to go."
Chen looked him up and down, his medium-length beard trembled, and his tone became more friendly: "Okay."
Jingzhi suspected that this kindness was not for him, but for his body. He guessed that Chen Qianfan felt that since he couldn't get the good talent, he could just watch him aside to satisfy his desire. Fortunately, Jianchen Temple guaranteed that Chen Qianfan would not be a murderer, so Jingzhi had the courage to do it.
This time the breakfast soup had salt in it and it tasted exceptionally good.
After the meal, Granny Wei continued to embroider her flowers as usual, humming a cheesy tune that came from nowhere: "The warm wind is affectionate, the peach branches are pretty, the spring river is calm, whose house is bustling with spring..."
Her harpsichord was not accurate, but the tune of this piece of music was very accurate. Even if it was sung in a poor voice, the little song was still soft and pleasant to the ear, with some lingering long notes, adding some Jiangnan water vapor to this northern land.
Chen Qianfan chewed his peony and pretended not to hear. He took the food prepared by Grandma Wei, hung himself up like a baggage rack, and walked out unsteadily without even saying goodbye.
The snow was above the calves. Chen Qianfan was leading the way, and the group walked at a leisurely pace.
Yin Ci remained silent all the way, resisting the urge to look at Jingzhi with his hands, but he couldn't figure out how to intervene gently. It was a pity that he hadn't been a father to anyone for hundreds of years, so he would experience this feeling of being at a loss and having to deal with it.
Although Sun Huaijin was only eleven or twelve years old when he picked him up, Yin Ci always felt that something was different.
Jingzhi did not "rely" on him.
Sun Huaijin was indeed a mortal, and he needed his guidance in everything. But the little mute didn't recognize him as his father, and he didn't need his care either - he was very smart and good at dancing. Even if he always liked to inflict physical pain on himself, he knew it in his heart and would not hurt his life.
Since he was born with the demons of the world, Jingzhi's understanding of human nature has improved by leaps and bounds. Yin Ci has never been gentle to others since he was born. Even though he felt sorry for this person's injury before, his actions were full of the dominance of a superior.
He accepted it calmly. I think it was not because he was indecisive or soft-hearted, but because he just didn't want to conflict with him.
Not sure who was taking care of whom, the more Yin Ci thought about it, the more powerless he felt.
It was a small matter, but if he forced Jing to make such a big decision, their hard-earned friendship would end here. The hemp in his hand became warm and fresh, and Yin Mo's sharp knife could not cut it, which was very painful.
Yin Ci was not the only one who was thinking hard. Shi Zhongyu was also concerned about his master. He ran halfway and his knees were stiff. Jingzhi was at the end of the team and felt miserable.
He was the one facing the life-or-death decision, but he ended up being a corpse driver, driving two young and beautiful corpses forward. In addition, Chen Xiaoxiao was silent, and he looked like the most energetic one in the group.
But Jingzhi's vitality didn't last long - the sun was rising, the sky was clear, and the snow scene was like a fairyland on earth. Unfortunately, Chen Qianfan chose to take the darkest road. The more they walked, the more desolate it became, and the cold wind became colder and colder. The scene around them gradually became spooky, and the coldness penetrated deep into the bones.
Chen stopped in front of a glacier.
There was white snow in front of the glacier, and a dead deer was embedded in the snow. The deer looked very old, as if it had frozen to death. The body lay on its side in the snow, not too broken, and there was no blood around it.
The antlers are covered with strange-looking lumps of flesh. Perhaps it is a deer monster, but not an obvious one.
Chen Qianfan hummed twice, took out the record book, and crossed it out: "I'll use this as a pass today."
Hearing that they were looking for materials, Jingzhi thought they were going to catch a monster or dig up some natural treasures. Now facing a dead deer, he was a little confused: "A guide?"
Chen Qianfan showed a hint of malice: "The spell is difficult to make, I can explain this difficulty based on my experience. The materials are hard to find, so young people must also contribute - don't make a fuss, just shut up and watch. The big demon corpse is not that easy to find, and you'll have to work hard later if you waste this one."
The other three just stood there.
Chen Qianfan first took a bowl of dried fruits dyed black and red and scattered them on the deer carcass. He then boiled snow to make a small pot of thick medicinal juice, and poured it carefully to create a deep red pattern with the deer carcass as the center. The thick blood-like substance touched the snow, but did not disperse with the snow water, but condensed into a clear trace.
Chen Qianfan painted it carefully and lightly, without damaging even a trace of the medicine.
The magic circle was completed, and the details were dazzling, which was very different from those of Granny Wei.
I don’t know if it was an illusion, but Jingzhi always felt that the deer corpse was fresher, not as frozen hard as it was just now. It seemed as if it had just died and was steaming.
Chen Qianfan fumbled around and took out four thick dark brown incense sticks, poking them at the deer demon's eyes. After lighting the fire, the incense sticks ignited with a blue flame, and the black smoke did not sway with the wind, rising straight into the sky, making people's hair stand on end.
Jingzhi took a breath of cold air, and his teeth ached. No matter how you look at it, this is more like a sorcery than a fairy art.
"It's done."
Chen Qianfan spun around and jumped out of the magic circle. He shook his bag and shook out a bottle of dirty pills, then poured four of them into his hand, not caring about the dirty incense ash on his hands.
The pills had a pungent sour smell and a suspicious oily sheen.
Chen Xi didn't care. He picked one and ate it, chewing it with a crunch.
Jingzhi held back a whine and picked up a pill with difficulty. He had originally hoped that this thing might just smell disgusting but not taste that bad. But once it entered his mouth, it felt like a layer of mud coated his tongue, bitter and greasy.
He stuffed two handfuls of snow into his mouth to suppress the strange taste. Even Shi Zhongyu turned his face away, only Yin Ci was absent-minded.
"That's the Breath-Stopping Pill. Normally, you should hold your breath for a long time, but you kids definitely can't... Use this to breathe gently. Remember not to make loud noises or breathe rapidly."
Jingzhi whispered, "Senior, can you hold your breath for a long time?"
"nature."
"Then this medicine..."
"Let it go for three to five years. It's no big deal."
Jingzhi wanted to cry but had no tears.
Finally, the incense stick in the deer horn suddenly lit up. The black smoke from the incense stick suddenly changed direction, all pointing to the glacier not far away, like four taut black ropes.
"Here comes the secret book of Queen Mi Lan's magic." Chen Qianfan said, "You will listen to my instructions later and don't act rashly - especially you fox-like kid. Your internal strength is too strong. If you damage the secret book roughly, it will be equivalent to making an enemy of the entire Mishan Sect."
Yin Ci asked curiously: "Secret book?"
He had heard of this thing. According to the people of Mishan Sect, this secret book recorded some complex and profound techniques, and the secret book itself was also very dangerous. Unless it was necessary, the people of Mishan Sect were unwilling to touch it.
Yin Ci himself could not perform magic, and the masters of Mishan Sect specialized in their own fields, so few of them were willing to study the secret book. So he had to skip this clue and only investigate the ready-made magic of Mishan Sect.
Who would have thought that I would get to see this thing by accident today.
It was just that this secret book was not stored in a confidential place, which was a bit beyond his expectation.
While everyone was guessing, the four incense sticks burned out.
At this moment, without Chen Qianfan's explanation, Yin Ci also knew why the "secret book" could not be kept, and where the danger lay -
A not-too-small team was coming in a mighty manner.
The team was mainly composed of some strange-looking insect monsters and rat monsters, mixed with a few hundred larger monsters. A team of monsters staggered forward, lined up in an orderly manner, as if it was a funeral procession.
They surrounded a monster that was about five or six feet tall.
Judging from its shape, the monster looked like a woman, but her body was not a whole, but a patchwork of countless naked human corpses. Her skull was made up of thousands of skulls, with densely packed faces stacked together, like something out of a nightmare.
The corpse was not rotten or bloated, and there was no peculiar smell of decay. On the pale skin, many dark red ink characters were crawling around like insects, as if they were alive.
He kept his knees on the ground, and moved forward little by little with the team. The countless skulls of the "deer demon" crowded and pushed, and a crack appeared in the middle. Then he picked up the deer demon's corpse with his giant hands and threw it into the gap.
After chewing slowly, it spat out a large pool of broken bones. The surrounding little demons swarmed over and ate up all the remains.
"This is Queen Milan's secret book. The ancient corpse in the secret book is an indispensable material for the disaster-preventing talisman. The magic of the ancient corpse is the only one created by the queen. She threw herself into the glacier, used her lifelong learning as the magic, and her own corpse as the core to refine Milan's most vicious magic weapon."
Chen Qianfan whispered.
"This place is rich in mineral deposits, but in the past two hundred years, all the original inhabitants of Milan have moved away, and only the Mishan Sect, which is good at magic, has survived. Boys, there is a reason why the Mishan Sect does not live together."
"Two hundred years ago, wherever humans and animals gathered, it was very easy to attract groups of monsters led by magic weapons. The magic weapons would choose the ones with the strongest essence to devour to maintain their operation, and the monsters would eat the residue, and the two would coexist. At first, it was not called the secret book, but was called 'Queen's Funeral'."