A bright road appeared behind the old man, leading to nowhere.
"New Master of the Imperial Garden, please follow me."
Chu Tianxiao glanced at Mu Liuling and ordered, "Liuling, wait here for me to come back."
Mu Liuling nodded, and looked at the old man with caution, the meaning in his eyes was self-evident...
"Don't worry, this is not a trap." Chu Tianxiao smiled faintly, waved his hand, followed the old man into the road, and then heard a whoosh, the light disappeared, the passage closed, and at the same time, the crystal round screens outside the Imperial Garden also completed their mission, all closed and disappeared...
Seeing this, everyone outside the venue had to admit it no matter how unwilling they were... The battle for the Imperial Garden was over. Chu Tianxiao had become the new master of the Imperial Garden. Having completed the ultimate trial, he put an end to this grand event... From now on, there will be no more battles for the Imperial Garden!
For a moment, many people couldn't tell what they felt as they watched the crystal round screen gradually disappear...
…
After Chu Tianxiao walked in, he passed through a long and narrow corridor and came to a hall. The decorations were antique everywhere. There were birds singing, flowers blooming, and gurgling springs outside. It was an elegant place.
“It is indeed a top-notch luxury home… It not only has luxurious elements, but also has an inclusive and elegant style… Living here is truly a pleasure.”
As Chu Tianxiao was thinking this, the old man seemed to be able to see what he was thinking. He smiled slightly, raised his right hand and called for two seats. A pot of tea with a fragrant aroma fell in front of the two of them.
The old man respectfully poured new tea for Chu Tianxiao.
"The ceremony for the new master of the Imperial Garden?"
The old man nodded.
"... a little too simple, isn't it?" Chu Tianxiao was quite surprised. He thought it was some kind of extravagant display, but to his surprise it was just a cup of fresh tea...
Upon hearing this, the old man smiled but said nothing. Chu Tianxiao did not ask any more questions and drank the tea directly. He immediately felt a fragrance penetrating into his heart. All the pores in his body relaxed and he felt as if he was ascending to the clouds. He felt indescribably refreshed.
“Good tea!”
Hearing this, the old man still smiled, but his expression was more respectful. Then, he poured himself a cup of tea and said, "The new owner of the Imperial Garden must have many questions. You can ask them now."
Chu Tianxiao was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then said, "Are you the spirit of the Emperor Garden?"
"Yes and no."
“… What do you mean by that?”
"The spirit of the instrument that was derived from the birth of the Imperial Garden has long been annihilated. I am just a remnant soul that was born with the opportunity, and I am temporarily managing the Imperial Garden."
Chu Tianxiao thought for a moment and nodded: "I see... No wonder you still need my help to eliminate the Mo family's accomplice?"
"Exactly."
After getting the reply, Chu Tianxiao's first doubt was resolved, and he continued to ask: "Are you about to die?"
Hearing this, the old man sighed and said, "The new master of the Imperial Garden has a keen eye. I am about to die. Fortunately, I met you at the last moment. Otherwise... if a shameless person steals this precious artifact of the Imperial Garden, I will die with regrets, and I will be ashamed of the spirit of the artifact and my master."
Chu Tianxiao narrowed his eyes slightly: "Master?"
The old man said, "He is the builder of the Imperial Garden."
"… who is he?"
"This old slave is just a remnant soul parasitizing the Imperial Garden..."
Before he finished speaking, Chu Tianxiao understood and nodded, but he murmured: "Emperor Garden... Emperor Garden... Could it be that the original owner of this place was an ancient emperor? He left this imperial garden behind, and suddenly appeared in the vast land of China hundreds of years ago. He also set up many tests to trigger the dispute over the imperial garden. What is the purpose of this..."
Hearing this, the old man said, "This old servant can help you understand this."
"oh?"
"Although I have no chance to serve my master, Master Qiling once told me that the value of my existence here is to select a 'guide' who is young enough, responsible enough, strong, intelligent, and has all the best abilities..."
“…What is a Wayfinder?”
"I don't know."
Hearing this, Chu Tianxiao tapped his fingers lightly on the table. He suddenly thought of Panlong Road and Panlong Pillar... It seemed that they also wanted to select one person to do something... There were so many similarities between the two, could there be any intersection
Furthermore, in the second layer of the Panlong Pillar, there is a fragment of the "Secrets of the Imperial Garden"...
Thinking of this, Chu Tianxiao took out the three paintings from the third floor of the Panlong Pillar and pushed them to the old man, saying, "Take a look. Do these people and objects look familiar to you?"
The old man took it and looked at it, then his hands trembled violently, and he could not hold it anymore. He pointed at the man in the first painting and said, "This... This is the Lord!"
Chu Tianxiao was also startled when he heard this. His pupils shrank slightly, and he quickly spread the painting on the table, frowned, and asked, "Which one?"
There were two people in the first painting, one with a blurred face and the other with only the back. The old man pointed at the blurred person and said, "Master Qi Ling once told me that the clothes that the master likes to wear the most are very vivid and there is no doubt about it!"
Hearing this, Chu Tianxiao was a little surprised. After thinking for a while, he asked, "What about the other two paintings?"
The old man looked at them carefully, then shook his head and said, "Please forgive my poor eyesight, I can't see anything familiar about them..."
"Hmm? Nothing at all?"
“… Indeed, not at all.”
Hearing this, Chu Tianxiao fell into deep thought again—the Imperial Garden and the Panlong Pillar were indeed related, and what surprised him even more was that the original owner of the Imperial Garden was actually the one who handed over the inheritance in the first painting...
Hmm... Although there are many unknowns, there is a thread that can be connected...
"Panlongzhu selects people, and Diyuan also selects people. The former tells us what to do, and the latter provides the basis for implementation..."
"A fantastic thing, not participating in the Grand Autumn Examination, but winning the top spot... So that's how it is, the Imperial Garden appeared in Kyoto to make this fantastic thing possible?"
"Hey, I have a feeling... This is a very big chess game, maybe even a chess game that concerns the entire Chinese land, and even... the human world!"
“… It seems that we can only know the clues after we win the first place in the big autumn exam.”
Chu Tianxiao sighed inwardly when he thought of this. When he first crossed over, he fought back in anger just to survive, and fought with Qin Yun in a battle of wits and courage. He thought that after defeating him, he could live a carefree life of squandering money all day long... Now it seems that he is still squandering money, but he can forget about living a carefree life...
"The road ahead is long and requires hard work."
The old man saw that Chu Tianxiao was thinking, so he didn't disturb him. He just quietly made tea and waited for Chu Tianxiao to finish thinking.
After a while, Chu Tianxiao paused tapping the table, looked at the old man, and said, "What is there in the Imperial Garden?"
The old man heard this and said, "The medicinal field, the backyard, the study, the lookout tower, the arsenal... You have already seen all of these, so I will not go into details... The number and details are all here."
As he spoke, the old man took out a jade slip and handed it to Chu Tianxiao. As soon as he immersed his consciousness in it, the corner of his mouth twitched fiercely...