The night wind was gentle and everything was silent, but neither of them was sleepy. Jiang Lian leaned against the wall and looked at the charlatan sitting on the bed with a ball of paper under his feet, trying to pull out the most important threads from his incoherent words just now.

"So do you think that the magical things circulating in western Hunan, even in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi are all related to Chiyou?"

The charlatan nodded: "The unique culture and inheritance of the Chiyou tribe have also spread over thousands of years with the retreat and migration of people in the tribe. Of course, they are all family members now and have been unified for a long time, but when you look back, don't you think the cultural systems of Yanhuang and Chiyou are very different?"

"The most typical example is that we are Zi Wuyu's words of strange powers and chaos, but they are the saying of Wu Nuo. All things have spirits, caves have cave gods, mountains have mountain gods, and even trees have tree gods. For a long time, the Central Plains civilization looked at the barbarian civilization, and they were a bit demonized. Whether it was a corpse driving, poison, or talisman, they were afraid of talking, but what if this was someone's unique cultural heritage?"

He began to list: "For example, corpse driving and poisonous poison were first classified as 'Zhu Youko'. Zhu Youko was also called Tianyi, which was an art of treating diseases in ancient times. Pigs driving may be people's research on the human body, studying the preservation and activities of corpses within a period of time after death; and poisonous poison is medicine..."

The charlatan was a little excited, and his eyes turned out to the window. In the distance, there were uneven shadows of mountains.

"Look at this mountain, besides all kinds of plant herbs, are there also a whole host of reptile insects? We are Shennong, who tastes hundreds of herbs and walks through the herb system. Maybe they are walking through the insect medicine system?"

"A Chinese medicine prescription, such as two cents of Poria cocos, two cents of Atractylodes, one cent of Aconite, grind it into powder and put it in a medicine jar to decoct. Its essence is like a centipede, a scorpion, and a poisonous bee. It is placed in a jar and buried underground, allowing them to swallow and kill each other, and use the earth energy and time to 'boil' and finally get the finished product. What's the difference?"

"But the medicine we came out was dead, their medicine was a worm, alive; our medicine was disposable, and their medicine could be used repeatedly. Do you think those insects are too disgusting and poisonous, but they are just existing and conventional aesthetic influences. What's more, many herbs are also poisonous, and the old saying goes, 'It's three parts poisonous.'

Jiang Lian was almost convinced by him. As he listened, he also felt that the so-called strange techniques of border people might really be due to the cultural differences between Yan Huang and Chi You.

After all, Gu Poison is just a tool, just like the ancestral card. Unfortunately, there are too many people who use it to do misconduct. Over time, it will give people a gloomy and terrifying impression - in fact, many of the potions nowadays are also powerful tools for murder in the hands of criminals.

It seems that Chi You is an unavoidable person in the whole matter.

However, the Chinese dynasty songs started with "Xia, Shang and Western Zhou". Even the Xia Dynasty was considered to be a fantasy by some historians. It did not exist. The dispute between Huangdi and Chiyou was far before the Xia Dynasty. There was no historical material to learn from, so I could only learn from the scattered ancient myths: But mythology has been constantly modified and deleted by later generations for thousands of years, and it has long been beyond recognition.

The charlatan is really... and has fallen into the most difficult puzzle from ancient times to the present.

Jiang Lian smiled: "Chiyou...I have been to Loudi. Legend has it that it is Chiyou's hometown. There are statues of Chiyou in many places, and there are two horns on their heads, which are majestic."

He was silent for a while before returning to the topic: "That knot is recorded, are you preparing to... start with the embroidery of ethnic minorities?"

The sage corrected him: "It's either a minority, or that village, Hua Yao. Chen Wangu's wife is a member of the Yao family. Because Hua Yao and other branches of the Yao family are different, his wife often mentions it. He listens a lot and is considered half an expert. I pulled him in front and asked a lot."

"I think it's just that village, not all intuition. There are reasons, three reasons."

"First of all, Huayao is in western Hunan, and is basically distributed in the area of ​​Xuefeng Mountain. Only that village is in the Dawuling District, and is closest to Xuandanfeng Forest - didn't you say that before? The geographical environment there is not very good, and it is inconvenient to go out and enter. There are many wild animals in the deep mountains. Why choose to settle there?"

"Is it possible that Hua Yao was the one who was responsible for recording things at Chiyou back then, and was a cultural person. You should know that there were not many cultural people in ancient times, and even fewer in ancient times. Knotting ropes was a high-tech job - when hanging the mountain gill, that Hua Yao was transferred to record the whole thing, and then they settled down nearby?"

"The second is that Huayao worships ancient trees and mountain rocks. The knots at the foot of the Jiule Mountain are made of rattan, and the rattan is also a kind of ancient trees. There is also the green cover on the top of the cliff, which is also caused by countless vines and wood branches. I think the ancestor of that Huayao has participated in this matter."

This is true that there are many bronze brackets chiseled around the cliff. Such a large project requires manpower at first glance.

"There is a third," the sage spoke with a dry mouth, but he didn't care about drinking water. "Chen Wangu said that Huayao's picking flowers is indeed mysterious, and some people call it "the gods picking flowers". Many ethnic minorities, in order to divine the age, have their own unique methods of asking for good and bad luck. Now, they have become part of their cultural heritage."

"For example, the wizards of the Wa tribe are good at telling fortunes by chicken bones; the wizards of the Miao tribe in Guangxi throw rice into the water bowl and observe the position of the rice grains falling. This is called the 'Shui bowl'; the Hani tribe is the pig liver hexagram, killing pigs to get liver to see the color - Huayao is to pick flowers and ask questions, saying that they are the wizards in their tribe, wearing witch and Nuo masks, and they can communicate with the imagined ghosts and gods. There will be an old woman who is best at picking flowers in the village. After the ceremony begins, the old woman will lose consciousness and be in a trance, but her hands are constantly moving, embroidering strange patterns. The wizards can predict next year's harvest, rain, and whether there will be a major disaster based on this pattern."

"I am at least 80% sure of the little exercise. The key to deciphering the knot is in the Huayao Village. This matter not only concerns me finding boxes, but also the origin of the mountain ghost. Miss Meng and the others must also be very concerned - so, can you stick your eyes as soon as possible and draw the pattern for me?"

He also emphasized: "Fine, you must draw very finely, because at that time, I will find a skilled person in that village, follow your paintings, thread a needle and thread a picture of picking flowers."

Jiang Lian looked out the window, the stars were flying all over the sky, and the night was dark.

He stood up and said, "It takes a long time to draw this kind of painting. I will go back and sleep and take some energy to nourish my spirits. Work will start tomorrow morning."

The charlatan nodded gratefully and watched him walk out.

But Jiang Lian took two steps, stopped again, hesitated for a while, and said, "Don't blame me for pouring you a basin of cold water first."

What's going on? The charlatan suddenly became nervous.

"In ancient times, craftsmen who built tombs for emperors were often buried alive in tombs; those who knew the secrets would probably be silenced."

The charlatan understood his implicit meaning.

If this is really a big secret, and Hua Yao is just a knotted rope to record things, then, shortly after the knotted rope picture, the key figures involved should have been dealt with. In other words, even if the descendants are still there and the village is still there, it would be futile to interpret the knotted rope to record things.

This is indeed a basin of cold water, pouring it on your head.

The charlatan was stunned for a while before saying, "Then he still needs to... try it. If he doesn't try, how can he know it won't work? Do his best and leave it to fate."

***

When Meng Qianzi knew about the whole thing, it was the next morning. It is said that Jiang Lian had already painted with his eyes and painted with his divine eyes since after six in the morning.

So while she sighed, the only thing she could do was to keep it quiet.

The entire Yunmeng Peak spent a morning in this unusual silence.

At noon, Kuang Meiying left the room and went downstairs to have a meal.

After Meng Qianzi heard about it, she asked her, "Is it okay if Jiang Lian is not with you?"

Isn’t it said that people with divine eyes are particularly fragile and need someone to take care of them?

Kuang Meiying accompanied Jiang Lian to touch the divine eyes, and she was already familiar with the road, so she was not so nervous: "What he drew this time was basically black and white, and there was no need to change the colors frequently. In addition, the surroundings were quiet, so I left for a while, which should not be in the way."

Meng Qianzi said oh, but she still felt that Kuang Meiying was so worried.

It should not be in the way. If this world "should" be in power, there would not be so many accidents.

But she is her own family, and she is not nervous, and she is not easy to point fingers.

Meng Qianzi thought about it and asked again: "Can I go and see it? I have never seen the eyes of the god in my life, and it is just open my eyes."

Kuang Meiying accepted her favor, but she was not easy to refuse: "Okay... OK, just Miss Meng, you have to keep quiet."

Xin Ci was curious and couldn't help asking: "Can I go and see it too? I promise not to say a word."

Before Kuang Meiying could speak, Meng Qianzi glared at him coldly: "You go see too, I go see too, are you visiting giant pandas? What's so good about it?"

Xin Ci was disappointed and didn't say anything anymore, just said in his heart: What's the best thing? Have you gone to see it yet?

***

Because the picture is too large and cannot be displayed on the desktop, the furniture in the guest room has been moved again and a large area has been vacated.

Under the huge piece of paper, Jiang Lian knelt on the ground to draw.

When Meng Qianzi followed Kuang Meiying in, she saw the scene of Jiang Lian kneeling down and painting. He opened his eyes, but he was no different from a blind man, with no light in his eyes, but this did not affect his painting. It seemed like he had opened his mind and had a contour in his heart, and his hands were constantly falling and his pens were stretched out.

He had already restored nearly half of the knotted lines to record the incident. The vines were thrust and twisted, the picture was extremely delicate, and the momentum was hidden, as if it could extend from the paper in the next second.

Kuang Meiying walked over gently and sat cross-legged on the side. Only then did Meng Qianzi see that there were countless cut pencils with long and thin pencils spread around her.

When painting with pure pencils, especially painting such a huge picture, it is very easy to polish the tip of the pen. One stroke will become bald as you draw. Whenever the tip of the pen is round and unsuitable for continuing to paint, Jiang Lian seemed to know and would suddenly stop until Kuang Meiying carefully replaced him with a new one.

The room was very quiet, and the rustling sound of writing was like gentle drizzle, dense and reassuring.

Meng Qianzi was out of sight and stood and watched for a while.

Kuang Meiying felt strange and went to see her several times: I remember that Miss Meng was very impatient. Last time she drew a simulated portrait, she seemed to have a needle on a chair, sighed and touched her forehead, and finally left. It was abnormal today, and I don’t know why she was so calm.

Meng Qianzi noticed Kuang Meiying's gaze and felt that it was time to leave.

She hooked up at Kuang Meiying and signaled her to come out.

Kuang Meiying was not sure, so she had to come out gently again. When she covered her body and closed the door, Meng Qianzi whispered: "You wait here, I'll give you a pair of tiger mats. See when it will be convenient, so help Jiang Lian tie it to her knees. If you kneel on one day, can you still walk after you get up?"

***

Jiang Lian did not gradually recover until dusk.

The drawing is too fine and consumes energy. The whole person is extremely exhausted: his muscles and bones are stiff, his hands holding the pen are trembling, his joints are locked, and his neck is sore and swollen even when he raises his head.

He sat down on the ground with his hands on his knees: the only achievement was this picture, which was really vivid, and every detail was accurately restored - it was not that he boasted, with such a clear pattern, it was really not difficult to write a needle to reproduce the knot.

The touch was a little wrong, and he lowered his head.

There were soft cushions tied to both knees. Jiang Lianjie looked at the next one carefully: To be honest, the shape was a bit like an insole, but it was much thicker and softer, tied to the knees...

This function can be guessed by everyone. Jiang Lian looked at Kuang Meiying on the side in surprise: It is said that girls are as careful as hair, but he always felt that Kuang Meiying's heart was covered with mesh, and everything was leaking, so he would never notice these details.

Today, she changed her sex and could do such a heartwarming thing. Jiang Lian was about to praise her. Kuang Meiying had already seen him holding the tiger mat: "Miss Meng has come to see you with a divine eye. The mat was sent by her, saying that you would kneel on your knees for a day and you wouldn't be able to walk."

Jiang Lian said, "Miss Meng sent it?"

"Um."

Jiang Lian didn't say anything anymore, but saw that Kuang Meiying had picked up the bald pencils scattered all over the ground, paused for a while, and asked again: "Are you saying that Miss Meng sent the mat?"

Kuang Meiyingqi said: "Didn't I say it several times? Are you forgetting when you put on the divine eye stickers? After hearing this, forget the other end?"

Jiang Lian pointed to his head: "You have to understand. This matter is really exhausting, and he is a little slow to react."

Kuang Meiying didn't doubt that he had him, and she curled her lips and continued to work hard on her own. Jiang Lian closed his eyes, reached out to rub his temples, but the corners of his lips were raised.

Who is forgetful?

He just wanted to hear her confirm twice.

Before the smile could be put away, the voice of a charlatan was heard outside the door: "Xiao Lianxian... I heard Xiao Lianxian speak, have you... been drawn?"

***

Jiang Lian didn't expect the sage to be so anxious: the painting was rolled up, and the car was ready to go downstairs. It is said that in order to facilitate communication with Hua Yao, Chen Wangu's wife was transferred to support her.

He sent the charlatan out, looked at the loophole, and deliberately whispered: "Miss Meng and I will go to see the Mirage tonight, why don't we go over and watch the fun together?"

The charlatan was stunned for a moment, and the gods and men were fighting in their hearts, but soon they had priority, and they became angry with him: "Miracle, I am a lotus petal, when can't I see it? Small exercise, we will go our own way and find our own boxes."

After saying that, he went there trotted.

Everyone went their own way and found their own boxes, and they were just like they were just parting ways. Jiang Lian couldn't laugh or cry.
To be continued...