Fang Yun bought a new music stand and brought the Zhendan Qin installed with a dragon horn music pad back home. He put it on the old music stand and played a few songs. The tone was indeed purer than before, and even though the music stand below was cracked, it seemed to be under no force at all. So he changed to the new music stand and continued playing.
Fang Yun was playing the piano with great interest when he heard a voice from outside the door: "Fang Yun, do you have time for some wine?"
The voice was very unfamiliar. Fang Yun was sure that it was the first time he heard it. He thought it was very confusing and walked out.
When the doorman opened the door, he saw a young man with a hippie face standing outside, holding a jar of wine in his hand and looking inside.
Although this man seemed extremely casual, his body was straight and his eyes were not so much indifferent as to say that there was nothing in the world worth his attention.
Fang Yun was slightly stunned, thinking that this person might be a famous scholar. There have always been many maverick scholars among the scholars.
The man stared at Fang Yun with his dark eyes. His indifference faded, but his smile became stronger. He said, "Fang Yun, Fang Zhenguo? As the rumors say, he has a certain aura at such a young age, and he will soon become famous. I am Li Fanming, and it is my uncle who wants to buy you something on Valentine's Day."
Fang Yun suddenly realized. No wonder this man looked so extraordinary. It turned out to be Li Fanming, one of the four great princes of Qi State. Unlike the other three Jinshi princes, Li Fanming was only a Juren, and his biggest hobby was drinking wine.
However, no one looked down on him. Not only did he come from a wealthy family and was related to the Jisheng family by marriage, he was also the top scorer in the provincial examination in the capital of Qi State. His classics and policy essays were even more famous in the Jing State. Five years ago, the classics and policy essays in which he won the first place in the provincial examination were both published in "The Holy Way", which caused a sensation.
This person is also a frequent visitor to Wen Bao. Because at least three out of ten gossips about Qiguo are related to him, Fang Yun has a deep impression of this person.
Almost at the same time when he heard the name Li Fanming, Fang Yun understood that he came on behalf of the Ji family.
"It turns out to be Mr. Li. I've heard a lot about you." Fang Yun said politely.
Li Fanming smiled and said, "I thought you had heard a lot about me. I heard that there are many pleasure boats in Yuhai. I'm new here, so I'd like to trouble Brother Fang to take me for a tour."
Fang Yun smiled slightly and said, "I am preparing for the Mid-Autumn Festival and I really can't spare the time to play. You should come in and prepare tea."
Fang Yun made a gesture of invitation, and Li Fanming walked towards the living room with a disappointed look on his face.
The two of them sat down, and Fang Yun asked the others to leave, saying, "Brother Li, just say what you want to say."
Li Fanming restrained his cynical attitude and said, "Fang Zhenguo is a quick-witted person. Then I will finish my words quickly and go drink wine. Our Ji family was wronged. On the Qixi Festival, although my uncle wanted the blood-dropped animal skin, he told me afterwards that this might be God's will, and asked me to enter the Holy Ruins and never embarrass you."
"You haven't taken the imperial examination for all these years. Are you just waiting for the Holy Ruins?" Fang Yun asked.
"Yes, the Ji family asked me to wait for seven years. The condition is that my family will no longer control me drinking and having affairs." Li Fanming said.
"Waiting for seven years, is it also for this bloody animal skin?" Fang Yun asked.
"Half of it is. Even without this blood-dripping hide, it wouldn't be a waste of time."
Fang Yun nodded and said, "Meng Linyu came to me that day and said that it was your Ji family who leaked the news that I got the blood-drop hide."
"With your wisdom, you should understand that our Ji family would not do such a stupid thing. I came here this time to clarify this matter. And to tell you something that even many semi-saint families don't know."
"Speak!" Fang Yun said calmly.
"The Meng family entered the Holy Ruins, saying to the outside world that they were looking for the traces of the Meng Saint, but the real intention of the evil king was to find the relics of Zilu Bansheng. I believe you must know that Zilu Bansheng and the other three saints died in the Holy Ruins."
Fang Yun asked: "In the Meng family, only the evil king has been shining in recent years, and the others are unknown. He is a Hanlin and cannot enter the Holy Ruins. Why does he want to look for the relics of Zilu the Half-Saint?"
Li Fanming said slowly: "Repairing the plank road in the open, and crossing Chencang in secret."
Fang Yun was stunned for a moment. The secret crossing of Chencang was a famous battle example of Han Xin. He couldn't help but widen his eyes and said, "He wants to borrow the military book "Three Chapters of Han Xin" to sneak into the Holy Ruins?"
"No, he couldn't enter the Holy Ruins by himself, but he used other means in conjunction with the Three Chapters of Han Xin to indirectly achieve his goal of sneaking in. As for what the specific means were, we don't know, because he can use too many means. Moreover, others have used them before."
Fang Yun pondered for a moment and said, "I think I understand what you mean. You mean, he is determined to get the blood-drop hide?"
"Yes." Li Fanming said.
"Insufficient evidence." Fang Yun remained unmoved.
Li Fanming smiled confidently and said, "That's why I have to come and explain it in person, and I will tell you everything our Ji family knows." As he spoke, he took out a lake shell from his sleeve, and with a flick of his hand, a book and an album appeared in his hands, which he handed over.
Fang Yun took the book and took a look. Although he remained calm on the surface, he had to admit in his heart that the Semi-Saint Family did have enough foundation. The previous twenty-four travel notes and all the picture albums combined were not as detailed as the Ji family's book and picture album. Many places were marked on it, and even the Holy Ruins Dragon Cliff that he had only heard of in rumors was clearly marked.
The value of this book and picture album is far greater than that of the Hanhu shells.
After Fang Yun finished reading it, he slowly said, "It's still not enough."
Li Fanming didn't care at all and said, "The three drops of blood on the animal skin should be the blood of one of the three semi-saints who died in the Holy Ruins. It can point to the place where the three saints fought against the demon saint. You should know that Zilu and the other three saints mistakenly entered the edge of a demon saint's tomb and were attacked and killed by the demon saint."
Fang Yun nodded.
"But according to our Semi-Saint family's deduction, it is impossible for the Demon Saint to fight to the death just for a tomb. That tomb must have other mysteries!"
Fang Yun said: "Is this the reason why all of you holy families are rushing to enter the Holy Ruins?"
"The biggest reason is that this generation of Demon King actually grew up in the Holy Ruins, and the mysterious princess of the East Sea Dragon Clan also made rapid progress after coming out of the Holy Ruins. Do you remember the dragon of the Kong family?"
"Of course." Fang Yun vaguely understood something.
“The Kong family dragon also suddenly became famous after coming out of the Holy Ruins, but unfortunately he was killed by the Demon King. The people of the Semi-Saint family are used to calling these three people the Three Sons of the Holy Ruins. Each of them has the potential to be a sub-saint!”
"Not only is the evil king interested in the relics of Zilu the Half-Saint, he also wants to become the Fourth Son of the Saint Ruins?"
“Is this evidence enough?”
"Enough." Fang Yun sighed lightly. Li Fanming was only a juren. If he used military tactics or diplomacy, there was no way he could hide it from him. What's more, Li Fanming's tone was extremely sincere. That kind of sincerity could never be faked by someone who was not an expert in miscellaneous arts or diplomacy.
Li Fanming said: "Your blood-dropped animal skin is not the only key, but having one more is never a bad thing, so Xiong Jun and others really want to get it, especially since you are not a descendant of the saints' family." At the end, his tone was full of regret.
“It doesn’t matter. I will work hard to let my descendants become descendants of a semi-saint family.” Fang Yun said calmly.
Li Fanming smiled and said, "This is the most interesting declaration of a semi-saint I have ever heard. So, is our Ji family sincere enough?"
"That's enough, thank you." Fang Yun said.
Li Fanming said quickly, "We don't deserve this thank you. The reason I came here is to clarify things, and the second is that I hope you won't join the evil king. If you join the evil king, our Ji family will be in danger. This is a way to protect ourselves, not just for you."
"I understand. Your openness far outweighs everything else." Fang Yun raised the teacup, pointed it towards Li Fanming, and took a sip.
Li Fanming also raised his glass solemnly and took a sip of tea.
"So, what is the biggest secret of the Holy Ruins? Do you have any guesses?" Fang Yun asked.
Li Fanming sighed helplessly and said, "There are too many guesses. We even guessed that Confucius left something in there, but the Kong family denied it, because if Confucius really wanted to leave something good, it could only be left in the Holy Courtyard or the Kong Mansion. Oh, yes, it could also be left in the Book Mountain."
Fang Yun was about to put down the teacup, but then he took a sip of tea silently.
Li Fanming continued, "You have the bloody hide in your hand, what are you going to do with it? Are you going to exchange it for something, or use it yourself?"
Fang Yun said: "Since this thing involves the Son of Saint Ruins and may allow a person to obtain the qualifications of a sub-sage, its value is no less than Han Xin's review platform."
"Review of troops? You mean..." Li Fanming looked at Fang Yun in confusion.
"The evil king wants to exchange the Han Xin reviewing platform for the blood-dripping animal skin."
"He is really willing to do so... No, he is not in urgent need of military treasures. Does he want you to conflict with the Han family?"
"Of course. So, do me a small favor and spread this matter so that others will know about my relationship with the evil king."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of this matter. However, according to our deduction, the incident on Qixi Festival was spread by the Meng family, but it should not be the evil king who slandered you and defamed our Ji family."
"Since it wasn't done by the evil king, you probably know who did it. They like to kill people by using a borrowed knife." Fang Yun said.
Li Fanming naturally knew that Fang Yun was talking about the Miscellaneous School and the Diplomatic School, and said, "It seems that I came here for nothing. You know everything, so I feel relieved. Oh, by the way, I have another important matter."
Fang Yun immediately listened attentively. The previous conversation even involved the great secret of Holy Ruins. This time Li Fanming was talking about something important, which might be even more unusual.
Unexpectedly, Li Fanming coughed lightly and said a little embarrassedly: "I am carrying the hopes of my brothers and sisters. I want to ask you to write a copy of "Humble House Inscription". If you don't write it, they will not forgive me when I go back."
Fang Yun pointed to the books and pictures about the Holy Ruins and said, "With these two things, a copy of "Humble House Inscription" is nothing, but the original manuscript is not with me, so you can't see it even if you want to."
"That's great! As long as it's your authentic work."
Fang Yun had never thought that his calligraphy could now be called an “authentic work” and said, “Let’s go to my study.”
"I didn't expect you to be so reasonable. How about I treat you to a drink?" Li Fanming said.
"No need to drink wine. If there is any important matter related to me in the future, if your Ji family knows about it, please tell me as soon as possible, and I will definitely repay you." Fang Yun said. (To be continued...)