Volume 1 The Hidden Movement of the World Chapter 43 Encountering Talents in a Foreign Country
After a full night's rest, Mi Yue's group of more than 30 people recovered their spirits on the second day. King Yiqu then arranged for Song Heng and Deng Hozi to take a few people to inspect the terrain and the outline of the city-state inside and outside the city-state, and arranged for Qianqian and Pian Pian to take a few people to keep an eye on the people entering and leaving Loulan Castle, and then went to Loulan Castle with Miyue and a few people.
Miyue and a few people pretended to pass by the gate of the castle, the gate of the castle was only opened by a crack, two people and a big dog were guarding the door, and a few people saw the ghost pattern on the door from a distance. This Loulan Castle is indeed very tall, on par with the Central Plains Palace, and the entire complex is made of stones, and it seems that it has just been expanded. A few people circled around the castle, and found that the castle had only one gate, the city wall was more than a foot high, and a river came to an end at the foot of the castle, but by this time the river had dried up.
Mi Yue and the others first arrived, and they didn't dare to stay too long, and then went to the street, found a silk and satin village opened by the Central Plains, and prepared to inquire about the castle from the side.
Mi Yue and King Yiqu pretended to be a husband and wife, and looked at the store for a while, Mi Yue asked a more honest looking Central Plains man:
"You are a good weaver of silk and brocade, but the silk of the Chu Kingdom?"
"Madame has a good eye, this is the best tri-colored satin, and at the moment it is most popular with high noses!" said the man.
"Your shopkeeper is from the Chu Kingdom, the Chu Kingdom is far away from here!" said Mi Yue deliberately.
"That's not it, our shopkeeper is from Jin, and we've been here for a long time!"
"Oh, I see! This grosgrain embroiderer is very good, I'm afraid it's from Qi Guo, right?"
"Madame is indeed a connoisseur!, Madame is from Middle-earth?" the man praised.
"Exactly, come here to sell some jade artifacts and sell them back! I heard that your prince here specializes in the jade business, so he came to visit!" Mi Yue took the opportunity to change the topic.
"Prince, we don't have a prince here, Madame is afraid that she is mistaken, right?"
When Mi Yue heard this, she deliberately looked at the king of Yiqu:
"Isn't your prince living in Loulan Castle?
"There is no prince in the castle, and the lord of the castle has no son, that is a strange man!"
"What's the weird way?" asked Mi Yue.
"I can't say this, I've never seen him go out anyway, and I don't know what to do for a living!"
"Do you have a 'Loulan Firm' here?" asked Yiqu Wang Tu suddenly.
"Yes, they're in the jade business!"
"Do you know where the Loulan Firm is?" Mi Yue asked.
"Go out from here and head east, walk to the fork in the road and turn left a short distance away!"
"Give me six feet of silk satin!" Mi Yue said, then paid the money and went out with King Yiqu.
A few people came to the door of the Loulan Commercial Bank again, the commercial house here was not much different from the Loulan Commercial Bank they saw in the Black Water Country, Miyue and King Yiqu turned around inside and out, did not see anything abnormal, and were a little disappointed in their hearts, so they wandered around the street for a while.
"What is the relationship between this Loulan Merchant House and that Loulan Castle?" asked Mi Yue as she walked.
"Since they are all related to the Ghost Fang Kingdom, there must be a connection between them, but we haven't found anything yet!"
"The castle lord doesn't seem to have any contact with the outside world, so it's hard to find a chance to enter!" Mi Yue said.
"yes, I'm afraid I'll have to go in at night to take a look!"
"Don't worry, let's see tomorrow night!" Mi Yue said.
After another day of observation and inquiry, the next evening they gathered together to discuss countermeasures. After Mi Yue and King Yiqu listened to the reports of several people, King Yiqu spoke first:
"At present, it seems that whether it is the Heishui Country, the Loulan City-State, or the Xiongnu Wusun, the vast majority of people do not know about the Ghost Fang Country, it should be the people of the Ghost Fang Country who are hiding here, after all, the Ghost Fang Country has disappeared for more than three hundred years. There is a ghost pattern on Loulan Castle, but no one knows this mark, and the Loulan Commercial House is ostensibly doing business, but in fact there must be some articles in it! As for the relationship between the two, and what is the secret deterrent, I am afraid that we will have to investigate deeply!"
"Since there is a ghost pattern on the door of the castle, it is obvious that the people of the ghost country are not afraid of outsiders knowing their identity and origin, but there is no mark pattern inside and outside the trading house, and it seems that it is deliberately hidden, so it is confusing!" Mi Yue said.
"If you don't enter the tiger's den, you will get the tiger! Let's go to the castle tonight!" Song Heng said.
"Yes! If you ask around, it will be easy to expose our intentions, so it's better to get straight to the point and be direct!"
"I don't know how many people live in the castle, who are there, or the same as last time, let's go and explore it tonight!" Meng Ying said.
"If you want to be direct, let's just go and pick the castle tomorrow!" Mi Ri said coldly.
"As long as there are no ghost soldiers," Song Heng said halfway, feeling that it was inappropriate, and he was glared at lightly and stopped talking.
"Heheββ It turns out that I'm not the only one who is afraid of ghosts!" said with a shallow smile.
"Who is afraid of ghosts? I just think that ghost soldiers are difficult to deal with, but I am not afraid!" Song Heng said.
"Master's newly designed chariot hasn't come in handy all the way, so it's time to try it now!" said Deng Hozi.
"Then you go and prepare, go as soon as it gets dark, go back quickly!" Mi Yue finished saying to Meng Ying, turned her head to Mi Ri and said:
"You're out there, aren't you?"
"I'm not going, I won't leave you!"
Mi Yue heard that Mi Ri rejected her, so she didn't say much, so she looked at King Yiqu, and King Yiqu said:
"It's the same as last time, just a general exploration, and I'll think about it when I come back!"
"That's fine, be careful, don't go too deep, if you find anything, come back and discuss it!" Mi Yue said.
"It's going to be fine, don't worry!" Meng Ying said.
After dark, the three of Mengying and apprentice left the inn, all changed into black clothes, put on elastic shoes and went to Loulan Castle together. The three of them all started to leap, and with a whoosh they went up to the castle wall from three different directions, and just climbed the wall, they heard a few dog barks, and several people did not dare to move on their stomachs, and the dog stopped barking a few times. Someone inside heard the dog barking and came out and looked around, and when he saw that the dog was no longer barking, he walked back again. At this time, Meng Ying and his apprentice realized that there were so many dogs in the castle, covering almost every corner of the castle.
Meng Ying slowly moved towards the roof of the castle, while Song Heng and Deng Hozi lurked in one place, but despite this, the dogs in the castle still seemed to smell a strange smell and barked from time to time. The castle guards immediately noticed that today was different from the previous days, and began to light a few torches to check around. Meng Ying felt that it was inconvenient to snoop today, so she immediately gestured to the two apprentices, and the three of them turned over and got off the wall and left in a hurry.
The three of them returned in vain, and halfway on the way back, someone suddenly shouted behind them:
"Hero, please stay!"
Meng Ying and the three of them were startled, stopped, and saw two people walking forward:
"A few heroes are from the Central Plains? We are also from the Central Plains!"
Meng Ying saw that the two of them, one old and one young, were not special, and were silent, and the old man continued:
"In Xia Zhuang Zhou! If the hero is from the Central Plains, he must have heard of the trail, right?"
"Zhuangzi, are you really Zhuangzi?" Meng Ying had not yet answered, and Song Heng was surprised.
"Xiaodao is Zhuang Zhou! I'm afraid it's the same purpose as a few people who came here!" Zhuangzi said.
"Contemptible Mengying to meet Mr!" Mengying was also very surprised when he heard that it was Zhuangzi.
"Moxia Mengying, a disciple of the Sword Saint, Xiaodao has heard of it for a long time, and it is really a blessing to see it today!" Zhuangzi said happily.
"Sir knows the teacher, and it is also a blessing to meet Mr." Meng Ying said.
"How did the gentleman appear here?" asked Deng Hozi.
"It's a long story, let's go meet the others!, oh, I noticed when you and your group came, and I didn't dare to recognize each other until this time, please forgive me for taking the liberty of it!" said Zhuangzi.
"Sir is polite, let's go!" Meng Ying said.
A few people hurried back to the inn and told Mi Yue and others about the situation, and everyone was overjoyed, they didn't expect to see a big man like Zhuangzi here.
"This child's name is Little Wolf, and he is also in trouble, and now the two of us rely on each other!" Zhuangzi introduced the little wolf and continued to say to everyone:
"I've been waiting here for almost a year, and I'm staying here for the sake of the Ghost Fang Country!"
When Mi Yue and the others heard this, they were secretly happy in their hearts, thinking that since they had been here for a year, they must have known a lot about the affairs of the Ghost Fang Country, and they had saved a lot of things.
"Sir, do you know what's going on inside Loulan Castle?" asked Mi Yue.
"The castle is full of vicious dogs, and it is very difficult to enter! Once the little wolf took the opportunity to follow the man who delivered the grain in, and the vicious dog smelled that he was a living man, and barked at him! Then he was locked up, and he was released after a few days! I heard him say that the castle was very mysterious, and the owner of the castle was even more mysterious!" Zhuangzi said.
"Sir, do you know that the Loulan Merchant House and the Prince of Loulan have anything to do with this castle?" asked King Yiqu.
"The Loulan Merchant House is a very large merchant house in the Western Regions, and its owner is the Prince of Loulan, but the prince here is just a title, not a real prince, he is the biggest merchant in Loulan City! The Loulan City State is divided into a state and a foreign state, and this is a Loulan Foreigner! There is no connection between the Loulan Commercial House and the castle on the surface, but in fact they are inseparable!" Zhuangzi said.
"Loulan Libang, where is Libang?" Mi Yue wondered.
"Loulan Libang is very mysterious, I've only heard of it, it's in the middle of the desert, and the specifics are not clear!" Zhuangzi said.
When everyone heard this, they looked at each other and were very surprised, they didn't expect that from the Black Water Country to the Loulan City-State, they hadn't seen the real Ghost Fang Country's people.
"What do you mean by inseparable?" asked King Yiqu.
"The Loulan Commercial Bank is just a disguise, and it is also a way for the people of the Ghost Fang Kingdom to gather wealth! Prince Loulan's name is Jamal, and he is a high-nosed native of the Western Regions, I have seen this person, but I think this person is also a disguise!" Zhuangzi paused and continued:
"It is said that there is a castle in Loulan Libang, which is the 'Ghost Fang Castle'! The Ghost Fang Castle is much larger than the Loulan Castle here, but it is also mysterious, and it is not that the people of the Ghost Fang Country cannot enter! The Loulan Commercial Bank has no connection with the people of the Ghost Fang Country on the surface, but in fact it serves the Ghost Fang Country and secretly provides economic resources and information sources for the Ghost Fang Country!"
"That makes sense!" King Yiqu looked at Miyue and said.
"Yes, but I'm afraid there are still some articles in this! If it weren't for Mr.'s guidance, I'm afraid I would still be in the dark at this time!" Mi Yue said.
"I think this Loulan foreign state seems to be a disguise, and the real place where the people of the ghost country gather should be Loulan Libang!" Zhuangzi said.
"Sir, do you know the ghost soldiers of the Ghost Fang Country?" asked King Yiqu again.
"No!" Zhuangzi shook his head and said:
"I think the ghost soldiers exist, I'm afraid I have to enter the castle to find out the details!"
"We just want to go in, but the vicious dog is annoying, it's hard to have a chance!" Song Heng said.
"Do you remember how many people were guarding the castle in Loulan Castle?" asked Meng Ying to the little wolf.
"The population of the castle does not seem to be much, one or two hundred!" replied the little wolf.
Meng Ying pondered for a while:
"I think Miri's statement is feasible!"
"Break through, won't you!" said King Yiqu in surprise:
"The situation is not clear, I'm afraid it's too risky to break in!"
After hearing this, Mi Yue said to Meng Ying:
"Although there are not as many guards as the soldiers and horses of the Marquis Mansion of the Qin State here, I am afraid that there will be accidents, and the heroes can be sure?"
"We need to make some preparations, and we need to think of a way out, so we can let it go!" Meng Ying said.
"Okay! just do it!" King Yiqu suddenly said excitedly.
"What do you mean by retreat, but are you worried about how many women I am waiting for?" Mi Yue asked Meng Ying.
Meng Ying nodded, and Mi Yue smiled:
"Heroes don't have to worry, although we are not as good as heroes, we can still protect ourselves! But we must minimize the casualties, if the risk is too great, you can make another plan, it's not that there is no other way to go!"
"We have enough manpower, I will attack in the least risky way, and arrange a retreat in case of contingencies!" Meng Ying said.
"If that's the case, then let it go!" Miyue said.
"Do you want to attack Loulan Castle?" Zhuangzi asked.
"Exactly, sir, what's your opinion?" asked Mi Yue.
"I just said, ghost soldiers must exist, you should be careful, the two of us have been here for many years, and we are more familiar with each other, but you have some drive, we will definitely try our best to help!" Zhuangzi said.
"I'm going to attack the castle with you, I can do martial arts!" the little wolf said suddenly.
"You're still young, so you can stay with me!" Mi Yue said when she saw that he was still a child.
"My sister looks down on me, I really know martial arts, and I've been inside the castle!" said the little wolf.
"This kid is so bold!" Mi Yue said to Zhuangzi, thinking that he was not afraid of knowing that we were just talking about the ghost soldiers in it.
"It's not ordinary!" Zhuangzi pointed to Meng Ying and said to the little wolf:
"Wait until you learn some skills from this uncle, and then you will be with the old man this time!"
"Okay, that's all for today, let's rest early, and make arrangements tomorrow morning!"
Everyone dispersed, but Zhuangzi and the boy stood still, and Mi Yue asked:
"Do you have anything to say, sir?"
Zhuangzi listened and said to the little wolf:
"You wait for me outside, I'll have a few words with this sister!"
The little wolf came out of the room, and Zhuangzi asked softly:
"I don't know what Miss is called?"
"I am the daughter of the King of Chu and the concubine of the King of Qin, my name is Mi Yue, and I am here for the affairs of the Ghost Fang Kingdom!" Mi Yue replied with a smile.
"Madame, do you know Master Qiongfang?"
"How do you know the name of the family teacher?" Mi Yue was very surprised, very few people in this world knew her master's name, but she didn't expect Zhuangzi to know, and since Zhuangzi asked so, he obviously saw that she was a member of the family. Mi Yue didn't know that the relationship between Zhuangzi and her master was not ordinary, nor did she know about the relationship between her master and Gongsun He.
"Madame don't need to be surprised, Xiaodao has always admired the goddess, and now that he is here, maybe the purpose is similar to Madame's!"
"The ghost Fang clan, few people in the world know about it, since Mr. is here, he must be an old friend with the family teacher!
"If he returns to the Central Plains one day, I hope that Mrs. will inform the whereabouts of the Venerable Master, so that he can go and pay his respects!"
"The whereabouts of the family teacher are uncertain, if the master wants to visit, I will contact the master!"
"Thank you so much, farewell!"
"Sir, go slowly, see you tomorrow!"
"We'll be here early tomorrow morning!" Zhuangzi said goodbye to Miyue, went out and took the little wolf away.
Early the next morning, Zhuangzi and the boy really came early, and everyone gathered together again to discuss the matter. King Yiqu and Mengying made arrangements one by one, preparing to go their separate ways.
Mi Yue then asked the store for a few more rooms, ready to pile up some newly prepared utensils, and in the evening, let Zhuangzi and the little wolf also stay in the store.