When he saw the record of "Ancient Pictures of Shantao", He Manzhou was obviously stunned.

She recalled carefully, this ancient painting was indeed not hung in the exhibition hall of the Tianwentang Museum, but was directly collected by He Sheng, so that she almost had no impression of this painting, and it was later sorted out the things he left behind and put it in the office of the Tianwentang Museum.

"It turns out that Lao He studied this painting last year......"

He Manzhou casually brushed the hair hanging down his cheeks behind his ears and whispered.

After a few pages of regular records, after reading the contents of the previous section, it quickly came to the most critical part. As the date got closer and closer, He Manzhou's expression became serious.

November 28th

When I was sorting out the exhibits, I studied the old painting again.

At first, I really thought that this "Ancient Picture of Shantao Words" was genuine, and such skills and painting skills could not be faked. Until I met him...... It was indeed me who was wrong before. But why did the seller lie to me, I don't understand, I always feel that something is wrong.

I'm going to go to him again tomorrow and I'll have to ask about it.

November 29th

What I heard today is so shocking.

The authenticity of the ancient painting is not important, it turns out that this is the mystery. If all this were true, it would be a startling discovery, but ...... Why did he tell me these things? Presumably, with his ability, it must be the safest and safest choice to deal with these things alone.

Such a temptation is too great, and he himself is a mystery hidden in the shadows.

As an information provider, I can't trust him, as a partner...... No, he can't be my partner until I figure out his intentions, it's too risky.

The notes after that are some formulas and deductions, some of which carefully and carefully standard the coordinates of the direction and scale, as well as relevant information about Gong Xian and the eight families of Jinling, but the handwriting became more and more sloppy, and the last few lines were hastily erased, which were obviously invalid.

He Manzhou knows his father's character very well, he has always been rigorous, and he has extraordinary patience for work, and being able to force him to this extent can only show that his heart has already been messed up.

At that time, it must have been He Sheng who was anxious to find some kind of explanation, but there was no way out.

The instant noodles on the coffee table were not eaten in a bite, they were completely cold, the quartz clock hanging on the wall was still ticking and ticking, the time had passed the early hours of the morning, but He Manzhou was not sleepy, there was a cat's cry outside the living room, and the little milk cake was grinding the shovel officer to play with it.

According to the timeline on the codex, she recalled what Lao He did during that time.

Yes, it was the end of November last year.

Last year, the winter in Z city came very early, and it was already very cold at the end of November, when the Tianwentang Museum was registering antiquities exhibits at the end of the year, He Manzhou was busy with the New Year's art exhibition, she and Lao He were in a state of continuous work, so busy that they hit the back of their heads, and even the communication was much less.

At first, I thought my father was weird because of the phone call.

That day, He Manzhou was nesting in the studio, and he had no clue about the landscape he was about to create, and suddenly remembered that his father seemed to have received a painting of Gong Xian, the head of the eight families of Jinling in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

Gong Xian's paintings are known for their thick and mellow ink color, and he uses the ink accumulation method to perfection, repeatedly smearing the stone surface of the mountain, so that his paintings are not only ethereal and far-reaching, but also with the grandeur and beauty of the mountains and rivers, such a creative style is even more unique, among which the heirloom work "Jiangpu Sail Map" is the best proof.

He Manzhou is a graduate student of the Department of National Painting, she is talented, and she was directly admitted to the graduate school of the head of the department, and her classmates joked that she is a rising star in the Chinese painting industry, and she has to hug her thighs now. In this regard, Miss He is very indifferent, for her, it doesn't matter what she does, whether she can make achievements is not the original intention, the most important thing is to do what she likes and follow her heart.

And in the eyes of everyone, it has become a jealous talent.

Probably because she has seen too many ancient paintings from childhood to big names, He Manzhou's eyesight and taste are not comparable to students of the same class, and because of this, her tutor Luo Tianhua admires her quite much, and has higher requirements for her than other students.

For example, the New Year's painting exhibition, originally just said that the theme of landscape was to create independently, and the subject matter was not limited. However, Luo Tianhua talked to He Manzhou alone, and asked her to create something different, which was enough to suppress the scene, so that her paintings could be placed in the main exhibition area and take the lead in this New Year's art exhibition.

For students, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but behind the opportunity there is a considerable challenge, since it is to suppress the scene, it must be both new and solemn and mellow, and those stream-of-consciousness works will definitely not work. In addition, He Manzhou also had to take care of the mood of the audience and school leaders who came to see the exhibition, and could not lower the level of this exhibition.

She wanted to use the ink accumulation method to paint a picture of mountains and rivers.

For this reason, He Manzhou specially called He Sheng, wanting to get close to the platform, borrow the "Ancient Picture of Shantao Words" in his father's private collection to take a look, and learn the creative techniques of famous artists up close.

Who knew that Lao He, who had always been obedient to her, and it was not an exaggeration to say that he wanted the stars not to give the moon, refused He Manzhou's request for the first time.

When answering the phone, He Sheng was unusual, and his words seemed to be preoccupied. He didn't explain much, just avoided the important and said lightly, "Xiaozhou, this painting is a fake, it has no reference value, Dad's study has some information about Gong Xian, you can go home and take a look." ”

He Manzhou casually coped with a few words, and didn't take these things to heart.

And when she went home, she heard that He Sheng had spent most of the month in the office of the Tianwentang Museum, and even took a leave of absence from her work. She also once asked side-by-side what her father was studying during that time, and she couldn't stand He Sheng's strict mouth as if she was anything, and in the end she didn't ask anything.

If you had known the result earlier, no matter what, you would have stopped Lao He.

He Manzhou thought so, and under the dim light, her expression was vaguely confused.

After that, there was a long blank in the diary, and when I started recording again, it was already December.

December 10th

If he hadn't come to me, I wouldn't have found it.

He said at the time that if I wanted to investigate, I would definitely go back to him. He really knew my character, and I couldn't let it go, human greed is the source of everything, whether it's the thirst for the unknown or the desire to explore the uncontrollable, it's the reason for the adventure.

But I can't work with him unless I have to.

December 11th

I have carefully studied the "Ancient Map of Shantao" several times, and although it is not thorough, I have done my best. coordinates with detailed notes, and if you can find the key to open there, you can get there.

This time it is extremely dangerous, not to be foolproof, but to have a clear conscience.

As for the records of that ancient city, I have investigated, and it is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and I cannot believe it.

......

He Manzhou's fingertips swept over the pages of the diary, and the more he looked at it, the more frightened he became.

Her mother died early, and she and Lao He relied on each other for their lives, and they were the most trusted people between each other. Although He Sheng is a bit of a shaft sometimes, He Manzhou also joked that since he is such a straight man, can he ask his daughter's opinion more before doing things.

He Sheng was noncommittal about this, and he always treated his daughter as a child, and he only thought about protecting her in his heart, and he didn't think about getting anything from her. But when he really encountered a big event, he never hid it from He Manzhou, and there was no secret between father and daughter.

But whether it is "The Ancient Picture of the Mountains and Waves" or this mysterious man, Lao He didn't mention it.

Behind such an anomaly, presumably not because of distrust, but because of protection.

That shows that the development of the situation is beyond He Sheng's control.

He knew that this was Lei Chi, but he knew that there were tigers in the mountains, so he went to Tiger Mountain.

"Lao He, are you stupid...... I knew it was going to be dangerous, so why did I have to investigate? Tell me about you, isn't it good to be a good university professor, what kind of hero is it, I don't know if I'm going to worry about it...... ”

He Manzhou muttered in a low voice, his tone trembled slightly, and he couldn't even support his usual big grin and heartlessness, just like a snake with seven inches, no matter how optimistic a person with a good mentality is, there are things that are extremely cold.

Another page of the diary was flipped over, and the date on it jumped to the day before He Sheng set off.

December 13th

In the end, I decided to take a trip to Dock City.

This time the matter is too risky, there is no need to let Lao Li and them follow me to take risks, the fewer people who know, the better. I didn't want to inform them, but Lao Li actually heard about my itinerary from the guide, so he must have been unable to hide it.

Anyway, Dock City is just the first stop, and it won't involve them after all.

Before leaving, Manzhou told me that I must not miss her New Year's exhibition. The child had a hard life, and since she was a child, she had no mother, and I was used to being careless, not taking good care of her, and always feeling indebted to her. This time is indeed too busy, and when I come back, I have to accompany her more and have a good New Year.

She's a big girl anymore, no longer the little girl who plays under my knees and peets me to go to the antique market to open my eyes. Sooner or later, she will have her own life, and the time she will be with me may not be a few more years, and there will only be fewer and fewer such days, and I will have nothing more than hope that she will be happy.

If you can come back smoothly this time......

December 16th

When I arrived at Wucheng, I broke away from Lao Li and them, and went up the mountain alone, only to know that the previous expectations did not have any meaning, and the missing half of the remaining data and coordinates were all on paper, and the calculation was meaningless, and the target range was too large, and it was impossible for me to find it alone.

Meaningless trip, I was disappointed when I came back.

Who knew that when he was at the bottom of the mountain, there was an unexpected gain..... The Bai family actually came over in person and told me about those secrets. He really trusts me, but behind this trust, there must be another purpose, and I still can't guess.

What is meaning and what is real?

After realizing the meaning behind it, I had to work with him.

.......

At the back were a few blank pages, and beyond that were neatly torn off the paper.

That's the end of the Codex.

Lao He's notes reveal too much information, if at first He Manzhou only thought that there would be unknown clues hidden in it, all this could not be just accidental, and it was really confirmed at this moment, she was completely frightened.

"Bai Family ......"

She repeated the sentence written by Lao He in a low voice, the delicate little face was shrouded thoughtfully, and the long eyelashes drooped slightly, covering most of the emotions under her eyes, leaving only the corners of her lips pursed to reveal the emotions.

I don't know why, the person He Manzhou thought of at this moment......

It's actually Bai Yicong.