Two days later, at noon, a messenger from the Imperial City of Southern Liang came.

I sat at the desk and spread out the letter paper, read the long letter sent by my brother at a glance, and when I closed it, I couldn't help but sneer.

"Girl, what is in the Lord's letter?" Seeing that I put the letter in the box that was delivered, Cui'er couldn't wait to ask.

"Cui'er, do you know that I recently flipped through the pile of books on the shelves of my senior brother, and there are references to the past of that area in the southwest and southwest of Qibei."

I turned my head to look at Cui'er and said lightly: "There are only one or two sentences mentioned in the book. ”

"The Lord has a lot of books stored here, what new discoveries has the girl made? Speak to the slave and the maid. Cui'er asked with a grin.

I tried my best to calm down the ups and downs just now, took a few breaths, and said in a soft voice: "The place in the southwest, according to what the senior brother said in the letter, is different from what is mentioned in the book on the shelf. “

"The letter said that tracing back to the roots, the southwest region has not been a barbaric land from ancient times to the present."

"At least two hundred years ago, there were still many people living in that place, and it was divided into several small cities that belonged to the previous dynasty, and when the Houhu King clan was in power, those small cities changed hands again."

Cui'er looked at me puzzled and said, "Then why have slaves and maids never heard of such a history in Qibei these days?" “

"I've always said that there are no people in that southwestern wasteland, and I didn't say anyone was there until recently." Cui'er said with a questioning expression, "The slave and maid don't hear it very clearly, it's all rumors. ”

I sneered: "This is to ask the royal family of the Lake Country, and I also have to ask the historian who wrote it." “

"Why doesn't that history come up in the book?"

"Of course, there is something unsightly about what is hidden."

Cui'er approached the desk, poured me a cup of tea, and handed it to me with her own hands, "Girl, why don't you sit down and talk to the slave." “

She is accustomed to reading words and feelings, and I can't bear to ignore her.

I sat down close to the table and straightened the hem of my skirt, an action that usually seemed a little boring just enough to channel the depression in my heart at the moment.

"Cui'er. Have you ever heard of Nanling Miaojiang? I suddenly looked at Cui'er and asked.

Cui'er had just sat on the stool opposite me and picked up the embroidery bandage that had been set aside, when she heard the words, her hand trembled and she was almost poked by a needle.

I said helplessly: "But ask if you have heard of it, and you will be scared like this, which shows that this legendary place with shadows is also afraid to you today." “

"Girl, this place is too evil, although it has been separated for a long time now, but Qibei is close. There are some stories that are circulated among the people. Cui'er forced her composure.

"What's the story?" I took a sip of tea and said, "Tell me about it." “

"Girl, you also know that Nanling is good at using those evil arts, especially in the use of poison, so it will naturally not be a good thing to spread in Qibei."

"Yes, poison is such a thing, it can harm or save people, it depends on how to apply it." I whispered.

"The slave and maid that the girl said don't understand, can poison still save people?" Cui'er's eyes widened curiously, at this moment she had eliminated the fear of hearing that Miao Jiang was making poison before. Instead, I was directed to something she was interested in.

"Cui'er, you know that the famous doctor in Qibei is Dr. Liu, and he goes to Qishan to help those mountain people treat their diseases the most, and a large part of it is to detoxify them."

"There are many poisonous insects in the mountains, and every time Dr. Liu uses the medicine, it is very effective, and his reputation is also spread by those mountain people." I continued.

"But Cui'er, have you thought about it, where did Dr. Liu's medicine come from? If the medicine had been developed by himself. So what kind of material did he use? “

I looked at Cui'er with a stunned expression. Asked the question I was going to ask in one go.

"The materials of the medicine, the slave and maid don't understand very well, probably ...... It's probably the herbs picked in the mountains, girl, you also said that Dr. Liu will go to the mountains from time to time, and the slave maid thinks that collecting herbs is also a task he must do. Cui'er replied to me.

"You're half right. The medicinal materials in the mountains are abundant, among which the herbs, I see that the senior brother put in the pharmacopoeia here records that many scarce varieties do have to go deep into the mountains to be able to find, and there is a lot of luck to store zài. “

"But, Cui'er, have you thought about another question? Dr. Liu's fees have always varied from person to person, how much do you think he will be paid to the mountain people? “

"The girl has been very concerned about the silver lately." Cui'er smiled.

Her expression relaxed a little, and her tone raised a little. "How much money can the mountain people have, Dr. Liu estimates that the remuneration received is not much."

"That's it, Cui'er, you agree with what I think."

"Dr. Liu went to the mountains for medical treatment, which was not only to pay for the travel expenses, for example, he always had to prepare dry food and the like along the way, but also to paste medicinal materials."

"According to what you just said, he will use at least half of all the herbs he collects as necessities to make antidote pills."

"He doesn't receive any money yet, and he does this not for a day or two, but for years, or even more than ten years in the future."

"That sounds like that stupid old man from Dr. Liu." Cui'er suddenly frowned and muttered, "He seems to be doing something very loss-making." “

I laughed, patted Cui'er on the shoulder and said, "It's not a loss, it's the owner who wants to open a shop in the future, and sure enough, it's a little bit clear." “

I restrained my smile and said, "That's why I said that you are only half right, I think the purpose of Dr. Liu is to win people's hearts, and the second is to indirectly pave the way for the Liu family in Qibei." “

"Cui'er, every time he goes up the mountain to see a doctor, he doesn't just detoxify and cure the mountain people."

There must be something in Qishan that he is more interested in, I whispered in my heart.

Cui'er looked at me puzzled, and I reluctantly walked over and patted her on the shoulder and said, "Maybe you think it's incomprehensible now, but it's not for nothing that I guess so." ”

"Girl, you just said that the slave is half right, and there are ...... What about the other half? Cui'er said slowly.

"The other half? The other half is what I said, poison can harm people and save people, in addition to the herbs you mentioned, the poisonous insects all over the four fields in Qishan are among them...... The other half of the raw materials. “

"No wonder the girl said that poison can save people, so the old man is very busy every time he goes into the mountains." Cui'er grinned.

"Girl. But there is still something that the slave maid doesn't understand, you mentioned the southwest region earlier, isn't it the place where the steward led the team to deliver the letter this time? And Nanling Miaojiang, what is the connection with the southwest you mentioned? “

Cui'er thought for a moment, then looked up at me and asked.

"Cui'er, speaking of which, I want to mention to you that I first learned about Nanling Miaojiang in another place before." I put down the teacup and said unhurriedly.

"I knew about such a place a long time ago, when the teacher I was teaching with showed me a map of the Seven Kingdoms in the world today. In that class, he mentioned this place to me. “

"Is the girl's teacher also the master's teacher?" Cui'er asked out loud.

I shook my head: "No, I have had three teachers, he is the second one to teach me, the master you said, that is, the master Xiuzhu who I worshipped, he is already the third teacher." ”

"The slave maid heard that Master Xiuzhu is very old, but his martial arts are unfathomable. And it is famous in the rivers and lakes. ”

Cui'er looked at me, her eyes showed yearning and a little melancholy: "The girl actually has three teachers, and after all, Master Xiuzhu is the third person." “

"With his talent, he is only ranked third, and the other two are afraid that they will not join the world, in terms of age, how old should they be."

I laughed and said, "You want to go wrong, it's just that Master Xiuzhu met me later than the other two." “

"This is not a ranking list of talents, in fact, in terms of age, the other two are ...... Much younger. ”

Isn't it? General Snow Eagle is young and promising. Another......

I looked at Cui'er with a smile, she scratched her head embarrassedly and said, "The slave still wants to listen, the girl continues to speak." ”

"When the second teacher mentioned the many small countries in the south of the Lake Country, he told me that because of years of strife, the royal family of the Lake Country had sent troops to exterminate the mountain bandits in the south and the small countries that were unwilling to surrender."

I walked to the sand table, raised my hand and pointed to an area south of Qishan in the southern border of the lake country, and said, "Cui'er, come and see." That's the place. ”

"The mountain bandits in the south that my teacher mentioned should be the group of people from dozens of mountains in Qishan, large and small."

"His account now seems to have either been partially concealed, or he himself did not know as detailed as my brother's investigation."

"In a small country where the Miao Xinjiang people gathered, the part of their self-governing country, Nanling, of course, no longer exists."

Cui'er carefully inspected the land, raised her head and asked, "Are all the people in Nanling Miaojiang dead?" “

"No," Cui'er looked a little confused, "if they were all dead, how could there still be so many rumors about their use of poison today?" It is also said that in the world today, the use of poison is the most. They are second to none. “

"In the past few hundred years, some of their ethnic groups have gone out of the mountains, penetrated deep into the rivers and lakes, and even infiltrated the court of the Seven Kingdoms."

"The spread of the use of drugs is the very small number of Miaojiang people who have gone out."

"Their base camp, more than 200 years ago, had a catastrophe, and that time made the Miao Jiang people stationed in Nanling completely disappear."

"Cui'er, do you know what the truth is in the letter my senior brother told me, why the southwest border has become a wasteland, and why the place in Nanling has disappeared overnight?"

Cui'er looked at me with wide eyes and asked nervously, "Girl, what is the truth of what the Lord said?" “

"Near the South Ridge, there is a large swamp surrounded by a heavy miasma forest."

"The terrain is also very low-lying, back then, the royal family of the Lake Kingdom regarded Nanling Miao Jiang as a thorn in the flesh, and those weird rumors of Gu poison made it difficult for the high-level to sleep, so they came up with a poisonous plan."

"That's the reason why the Nanling Miaojiang people will disappear overnight......"

Cui'er pursed her lips, clenched her fists, and relaxed her breathing.

She stared at me without blinking and asked:

"Girl, what kind of poison is it?"