In the dark secret room inside the wall, there are tables, chairs, beds and couches, and through the bright candles of the high-burning buildings, Hua Thirteen saw a strange scene on the couch.

The futon was limp and slumped, the craggy folds outlined a looming human figure, and an unkempt head was exposed outside the quilt, hanging listlessly at the head of the bed, staring indifferently at the corner of the bed curtain, indifferent to the sudden arrival of people in the room. But soon Thirteen knew that the person on the bed was not indifferent, but immobile.

"He's Shang Lu?" Painting 13 turned his head to ask Jingmo, his eyes mottled with intricate doubts.

Jing Mo stared at Shang Lu who was slumped on the couch with a deep pain, and nodded heavily.

Man Man on the side was very puzzled when she saw the two, she recognized the white-clothed boy in front of her, who was a young man who had undressed and presented him in the early winter morning, and also a painter who participated in the preliminary examination in the Spring Man Building. Although Man Man had already noticed that he and Jingmo might have known each other, she never expected that Jingmo would bring an outsider here, after all, no one but them had set foot here for five years.

"Momo, who is he, why did you bring an outsider here casually?" Man Man pulled Jingmo aside and questioned him with concern and caution.

"He's a man you can trust. He's here to help me. Jingmo replied steadfastly.

"Help? How can you help? Isn't it enough to have me here? Can he help you make money? Man Man glanced at Thirteen disapprovingly, and asked Jingmo in confusion.

Man Man only knew that five years ago, Jingmo came to Chunmanlou with a drag oil bottle to ask for help, and at that time, the old bustard Red Sleeves of Chunmanlou was infected with wind and dust disease, but fortunately Jingmo treated him carefully, and Red Sleeves did not even fall from the root of the disease. After that, Red Sleeves promised that Jingmo Chunmanlou could take in Shang Lu, but to inform him of his origin and cause, Jingmo refused to say, and Red Sleeves asked for a price of 1,000 taels of room and board per year, which was really a seal of money, and also wanted Jingmo to retreat and find another place to hide, after all, how could a little pharmacist earn so much silver every year?

How much Jingmo has paid for Shanglu over the years, the wooden man on the couch doesn't know, Manman can see it in his eyes, she admires Jingmo, and pities Jingmo from the bottom of her heart, for fear that Jingmo will suffer any more twists and turns.

"Chun Manlou is already full of people, I don't care who this son is who you are, it's best to let him leave as soon as possible. Otherwise, Sister Red Sleeves will see it, and I'm afraid that you will have to add money if you cause trouble. By the way, seeing that the end of the year is approaching, this year's 1,000 taels of silver Sister Redsleeve is already urging her. ”

Jing Moxiu frowned, and said with a sad face: "I just paid a thousand taels not long ago, and that's all my savings." Manman, can you help me ask Sister Redsleeve to take a break. ”

Man Man sighed softly helplessly, took Jingmo's arm and said coquettishly: "You, you always make up for last year's payment this year, I don't know your situation." Don't worry, I'll still help you with some first. Looking back, the interest of the Beijing pharmacist can be calculated for me a lot, and the old lady will save enough money to redeem herself. ”

Painting Thirteen stood aside, and their words were listened to word for word. He suddenly understood that the little money fan who asked for a few hundred taels of silver when she opened her mouth when she was orthodontic had other difficulties, no wonder she was planning to calculate something at the time.

"How long are you going to hide him here?" Hua Thirteen took out a stack of silver tickets and handed them to Jingmo, "These are enough for him to stay here for another year." ”

Jingmo was stunned for a moment, Manman's eyes widened, his eyes lit up when he looked at the thick pile of silver tickets, and then looked at the painting thirteen of Luo Tuo Sujing, and asked in disbelief: "Jingmo, who is he?" Isn't it some kind of river thief? ”

"He, he's a painter......" Jingmo replied indiscriminately, pushing Man Man leisurely and said, "You help me make a pot of tea, boil it for a longer time." ”

Man Man wanted to ask something more, but listening to Jingmo's tone, he had no choice but to leave knowingly, and before leaving, he glanced deeply at Hua Thirteen vigilantly and suspiciously.

"Candelabra." Painting Thirteen took out the half-crippled landscape painting and said to Jingmo.

Jingmo hesitated for a moment, then very resolutely handed over the candlestick that was dancing with flames, she knew that it was time to confess something to him.

Painting thirteen hands spread out the painting, carefully on the candle flame slowly swiped back and forth, gradually, the landscape on the painting faded like water stains being steamed dry, another completely different painting jumped on the paper, painting thirteen couldn't help but secretly stunned.

Hidden under Zhou Rong's double nested painting method, it turned out to be a detailed and detailed map!

"The place in the painting, surrounded by mountains like a screen, and the middle of the land is low-lying like a basin, it looks like it-" Painting Thirteen looked at Jingmo calmly with surprised eyes, and a terrible thought flashed in his heart, praying that he had guessed wrong.

"This is the Sichuan-Shu landform. The map shows the nearest secret path from the capital to the Xinglin Valley. Jingmo said with a gloomy expression.

"Kyokamo, oh no, Kyo Yakushi." Hua Thirteen unconsciously took half a step back, his eyebrows shrugged deeply, and he asked as if he couldn't speak, "How can you see at a glance that this is the map leading to Xinglin Valley?" ”

Jingmo glanced at Shang Lu, who was lying on the couch peacefully, and sighed faintly, she decided to be honest with Hua Thirteen: "Eliminate the diseases and pains in the world, and leave a piece of fragrance in the apricot forest." My brother and I have been away from there for too long. ”

Painting Thirteen felt "suddenly" in his heart, he glanced at Shang Lu, his voice was as deep as a thick fog, and asked faintly: "Shi Tuoqing, is it you and his master?" ”

Jing Mo nodded sadly, only then did he notice Hua Thirteen's unusual reaction and asked, "How do you know my master's name?" Xinglin Valley has been destroyed for many years, and I thought there was no one to ...... anymore."

"How dare I forget!" Painting Thirteen's sudden excitement startled Jingmo, his breathing became heavy, he stared at Jingmo in a tangled and complicated way, and after a long time, he said with difficulty, "Do you remember a story I told you when I first went to Qinyuan?" ”

Jingmo thought about it for a moment and shook his head suspiciously. Painting Thirteen gritted his teeth and said rather wistfully:

"I asked you what poison can make people bleed to death. I said that I once saw a heroic figure who turned the tide with a paintbrush when the country was in crisis, and finally died of this poison. ”

"You said then that it was from a book." Jing Mo faintly sensed something, and a huge dark cloud pressed down on his heart.

"You haven't asked his name yet." Painting thirteen clenched his palms, and his eyes were filled with infinite gloom.

"What's his name?" A person appeared in Jingmo's mind, she was frightened by this thought, and what scared her even more was that everything pointed to the same person, the same thing.

"Jiang Li."

With a "clang", when Hua Thirteen and Jingmo stood opposite each other in a daze, looking at each other without saying a word, the half-dead person who was lying on the bed suddenly fell down and slammed on the ground.

"Senior brother!" Jingmo hurriedly ran over and helped Shang Lu who had fallen down with great difficulty, and Hua Thirteen watched her nervously take care of Shang Lu, who was already a little sick.

"What's wrong with him?" Hua Thirteen asked in a cold tone, "The pharmacist of Xinglin Valley would be so sick?" ”

"He was poisoned too." Jing Mo's thoughts were chaotic, she stared straight into the bottom of Hua Thirteen's eyes, and asked, "Hua Thirteen, you said that you entered Beijing for your master." Could it be that your master is Jiang Li? ”

"Not bad." There was no half temperature in the eyes of Hua Thirteen looking at Jing Mo, "It is Jiang Li who died at the hands of Shi Tuoqing!" ”

"What nonsense are you talking about? I won't allow you to open your mouth and slander my master! Jingmo stood up and confronted Hua Thirteen angrily.

"Am I talking nonsense? When the Holy Decree closed the case, it was Shi Tuoqing who personally admitted that the poison in my master was the world's first strange poison developed by him - the Water Poison Dragon! Painting Thirteen took out the pain that had been accumulated in his heart for too long, "Your master, poisoned my master, are you clear?" Kyo Yakushi! ”

"My master wouldn't do such a thing! He and Jiang Li are lifelong confidants who drink and talk happily and hate each other, and the "Herbal Sutra" compiled by Gu Li is still painted by Jiang Taifu. Jingmo's grief was no less than that of Painting Thirteen, she held back her tears and pain, and continued, "Xinglin Valley is innocent! The master was sent to the guillotine, and the disciples in the valley were tragically destroyed, who should I find out all this? ”

"Innocent?" The coldness in Hua Thirteen's eyes gradually turned bitter, and he threw the map that had been revealed so hard in front of Jing Mo's eyes, and even twisted a fine line in the center of his eyebrows: "What about this map?" The terrain of Xinglin Valley is secret, and ordinary people are not allowed to enter. If it weren't for the collusion between you people in the valley and outsiders, how could Zhou Rong have painted this painting, and he also used the nested painting method with all his might! I also believed that Zhou Rong was a close friend of the master, but the poison was caused by him! I also want to believe that Shi Tuoqing is the master's confidant, but the water poison dragon was developed by him! ”

"I believe that Master, it is impossible for him to collude with Zhou Rong! I don't know, why things are the way they are, I don't know... I don't know......" Jingmo shook her head heavily as she almost collapsed, she didn't know how to refute the bloody painting thirteen, because she didn't know what really happened back then. She searched for ten years, but the only clues were this painting and a paralyzed person who could not speak, but now that the secret in the painting has been solved, her mystery is deeper, as if the truth is farther away from her.

"Why is this map in your hands?" Painting 13 gradually restrained his excitement and grasped the important and practical clues to pursue it.

"Ten years ago, when I secretly rescued my senior brother from a team of government soldiers, he was already paralyzed, and he only held this painting in his hand."

It is said that the past is unbearable, but those who can look back must have crossed the river safely to be qualified to stand on the other side and look back at this bank. People who are trapped in fate and seek up and down but have no way out never feel embarrassed by the past, because everything has not completely passed, and the aftermath is still inevitable.

Therefore, there are always more doubts than difficulties in Jingmo's tone: "What surprises me is that the poison in the senior brother is also a water poison dragon, but the amount of poison is small, and it is not fatal." ”

Painting thirteen eyebrows, he moved to the side of the bed, his eyes fell on Shang Lu's panicked eyes, and asked lightly: "He is no longer able to speak or act?" ”

"Yes."

"Can he hear us?"

"Yes."

"You ask him if Zhou Rong got the Water Poison Dragon back then, and if so, let him blink." Painting thirteen told Jingmo in a resolute tone.

Jing Mo shook her head gloomily, and a wry smile tugged at her lips: "Why haven't I tried?" But senior brother, he never gave me any reaction, I don't know what's going on. ”

Painting Thirteen's dark eyes rose with a touch of fierceness, he leaned over and whispered a few words coldly in Shang Lu's ear, Shang Lu stared at Jingmo with wide eyes, and as Painting Thirteen got up, Shang Lu winked at him heavily.

There was only satisfaction in the eyes of the thirteenth painter, and there was no smile, and he asked bluntly the doubts that had been stranded in his heart for many years:

"Did Zhou Rong use this map to get the Water Poison Dragon of Xinglin Valley?"

Jingmo was shocked to see that Shang Lu was actually willing to cooperate with the painting of Thirteen, and watched Shang Lu's answer with him, this answer, he and she had waited too long.