Девять песен - Глава 106
The outside was quiet. This manor was full of Meng Tai's men, so in addition to being locked, there were many other guards. As a weak woman with no martial arts skills, she couldn't escape even if the door wasn't locked.
After an unknown amount of time, a faint, strange noise suddenly came from behind the screen wall on one side. Qingyan was startled and quickly sat up. When she looked, she almost cried out in surprise, hurriedly covering her mouth, her eyes shining with delight.
Jin Ling?!
A door had quietly opened behind the screen wall at some point. Jin Ling peeked out from inside and saw Qing Yan. He was also very excited and hurriedly turned around to call to the people in the secret passage, "Hurry up, come out quickly, this is my master."
As he spoke, a slender young man emerged from inside. He looked somewhat shy, scratched his head, and smiled sheepishly at Qingyan.
"Who is he?" Qingyan asked curiously.
Jin Ling grabbed the young man's hand and dragged him to Qing Yan's side. "Master, this is Huang Yan, my friend. Huang Yan, this is my master, he's very powerful."
Huang Yan nodded and chuckled.
“Master, I have another friend who also wants to meet you.” Jin Ling said with a grin, “He has been traveling all over the world and hasn’t been back for several years. After hearing about the mechanisms you made, he really likes them and must meet you.”
Well?!!
“It’s Yuan Yuan. Hehehe, Master, he can also make mechanisms, he’ll definitely keep bothering you with questions about them.” Jin Ling was a little embarrassed and scratched his head like Huang Yan.
Qingyan rolled her eyes. "Is it like you were back then?"
Jin Ling blushed and nodded, "Hehehe..."
Qingyan looked at the two grinning fools in front of her and was speechless. Ugh, is this really the time to talk about these things? However, her curiosity was piqued, and she looked them up and down. "Scholars love painting, you love clothing making, Yuan Yuan likes making mechanisms, so Huang Yan, what are you good at?"
Jin Ling's eyes widened. "Master, how did you know the four of us are good friends? You're amazing!"
Qingyan found it amusing. She had long heard of the "Four Eccentrics of Huaicheng," but she hadn't expected it at first. Now, seeing this, how could she not know them? Hehe, she had always wanted to meet the other two, and today she finally met one of them.
Huang Yan was clearly not a talkative person; he just smiled foolishly.
Jin Ling answered for him, "Huang Yan can see tunnels. He likes to dig tunnels himself and also looks for tunnels dug by others. Actually, I can't understand the fragmented map of the palace secret passages that my mother left me. It was Huang Yan who taught me how to read them."
Qingyan opened her eyes wide.
Chapter 234: Lost
It turns out that Huang Yan and Yuan Yuan, one who loves tinkering with mechanisms on the ground and the other who loves tinkering with tunnels underground, are the two best friends among the four. They often travel the world together. This time, they had just returned and happened to meet Jin Ling, who was returning from doing business in Gushan. The three of them were overjoyed and sat in the restaurant chatting for days and nights. They couldn't even wait to chat while traveling.
That's why Qingyan was seen among a group of strangers, seemingly not very free. Nurse Jin Ling, anxious for her safety, immediately dragged Huang Yan and Yuan Yuan along. They were actually just wandering around aimlessly, entering any secret passage they saw and opening any door they encountered. They were incredibly lucky; they weren't caught and, by sheer coincidence, ran into Qingyan.
After hearing their conversation, Qingyan was speechless, unsure whether to laugh or sigh. "So, Yuan Yuan is here too?"
"Yes." Jin Ling and Huang Yan nodded in unison.
Where are the others?
The two shook their heads together again.
What's the meaning?
Jin Ling suddenly pouted as if about to cry, "Master, he's lost."
Qingyan stumbled, quickly reaching out to grab the bedpost, and glared at him, saying, "Jin Ling."
"Jin Ling is here." Jin Ling sobbed.
"You said Yuan Yuan loves making traps and is also the best at breaking them?"
"yes."
"How could they possibly get lost?" Qingyan's tone was full of doubt. Could it be that the mechanisms here are extremely sophisticated? But if that's the case, how did Jin Ling and Huang Yan find their way here?
"Master, you don't know," Jin Ling cried, almost unable to breathe, "Yuan, Yuan Yuan, he's incredibly skilled in traps, he can get out with his eyes closed, but, but, in places without traps, he gets lost, he often, often gets lost..."
Qingyan rolled her eyes helplessly. "If he gets lost so often, why are you crying? Just find him..." Suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly asked, "Where did he get lost?"
With a loud "Wah!", even Huang Yan burst into tears. Qing Yan was startled and quickly turned to look out the window. Fortunately, there was no unusual activity. Surely no one was guarding the place?
"Stop crying!" she snapped in a low voice. She glared menacingly at the two men, who, momentarily intimidated, fell silent, though their sobs continued unabated, twitching occasionally.
"Listen, we're leaving now. You two lead the way. First, go to the place where Yuan Yuan got lost and find him. Do you remember the place?" Qingyan whispered.
The two nodded hurriedly.
Qingyan nodded, searched the room again, took out a few things, and chuckled, "Alright, let's go."
Chapter 235: Escape
A somber manor, with several small bridges and artificial hills, and winding paths. A man wearing a scholar's hat wandered around for several hours, muttering something under his breath, "One begets two, two begets... Bagua... array diagram..."
Meng Tai, who had been standing at a distance, finally lost his patience and said coldly, "Arrest him."
"Yes!" came a chorus of responses. Several well-built, sharp-eyed men stepped forward with steady steps.
The man in the scholar's hat, however, remained oblivious to the danger, still studying the position of a rock with his head down. Beside him was an artificial hill, which silently opened a door. A person darted out of the door, pushing and kicking him inside. The person turned around, smiled at Meng Taiyan, and then vanished in a flash.
"It's you!" Meng Tai exclaimed in shock.
It was actually Qingyan.
With a loud "boom," the artificial hill was struck by the palm wind, destroying a large part of it and exposing a large hole to the sunlight. Inside the hole, several figures were hurriedly fleeing.
However, in just a moment, the large hole was covered by collapsed rocks, making it impossible to enter again.
"Your servants deserve to die a thousand deaths, please punish us, Master." The attendants were all terrified and prostrated themselves on the ground.