across the Quartet

Broken Chapter Eight

"This is……"

Wei Zhuang stepped into the circle and bent down to examine the three headless corpses carefully.

"Hogs, cattle, and sheep happen to be the three animals commonly used in sacrifices, which are the so-called 'three prisons'. Could it be that some kind of sacrificial ceremony was held here?" Gai Nie said.

"Although it can't be confirmed, it seems that this blood-driven pattern contains some incredible power." Wei Zhuang said, "Three human sacrifices, three heads, and the three we saw Monster, there must be some kind of connection."

"Then, the person who can use the connection to manipulate those monsters is the culprit behind the death. However, is this person's goal someone at the banquet, or everyone..."

At this time, more and more people escaped from the hall.The bold ones gradually approached this side, seeing the weird circle formation on the ground, they were all stunned in shock.

Wei Zhuang suddenly moved his neck and raised a hand toward the southeast—"Listen, there is movement over there."

He turned around and rushed over quickly.Ge Nie followed closely behind.Chi Lian, "Hengyang Lord" and the few people who escaped followed one after another.Everyone found a scorched black corpse in the grass two or three hundred steps away from the blood formation; it seemed to have been burned violently, the skin was cracked, and the surface had turned into carbon.

The strange cry of an owl was heard from above, which made people feel even more chilled.

Wei Zhuang pulled out the shark's teeth, fiddled with the charred corpse a few times, and picked out something - it was a familiar copper chain, with one or two discolored jade stones on it; , scattered with a few unburned black feathers.

Chi Lian suddenly felt his belly churning and covered his mouth and nose. "This man is—that sorcerer Kanbo! Could it be that he—"

"It seems that this is the fate of backlash." Wei Zhuang sneered. "Tell the owner here immediately."

After a while, Yi Dun led a group of servants to rush there.He claimed to be too drunk to take a nap in the bedroom, completely unaware of the movement of the banquet.It wasn't until I saw the smoke on the top of the hall that I realized that something was wrong.Those who have survived will tell him about tonight's tragedies and thrills, ups and downs.Yi Dun apologized to everyone again and again, and settled the frightened guests, including "Hengyang Jun" and Wei Zhuang and his party one by one.

The next day, the young master Xiangchu personally came to the door to apologize to "Hengyang Jun".He claimed to have mistrusted Kan Bo, thinking that he was just a sorcerer in southern Xinjiang who possessed magical powers but was depressed, but unexpectedly he had the audacity to commit such earth-shattering evil deeds.Wei Zhuang greeted him politely, and agreed to have a banquet ten days later, to shock the surviving guests this time, before he left.

As we walked away, another person secretly visited the meeting place of Liusha—it turned out to be one of the messengers sent by Wei Zhuang before crossing the river.This person was instigated by Wei Zhuang to defect to the son of the son and become a diner; although he was not qualified to be a regular servant, he also heard a lot of first-hand news in the son's mansion.According to him, a few days ago, there was an argument when he was discussing matters with his cronies, and several disciples whom the young master valued highly suggested that Wei Zhuang should be killed.According to these people, Wei Zhuang had a very bad reputation when he was in Korea. He was insidious, cunning, and ambitious. He was involved in the death of several important officials; now he still wants to interfere with Li Yuan It's not a small matter, his plot is not small; I'm afraid he will not be able to control it after he takes root in Chu, it's better to get rid of the culprit earlier, and then slowly gather the available people under his command.But the young master said, no matter how famous this person is, if someone else comes to vote for me, he will be killed, and the scholars in the world will regard me as a person who cannot tolerate others. Who will dare to come to Chu in the future?In this way, those few disciples just stopped discussing.

"I didn't expect the young master's subordinates to be hostile to me to such an extent." Wei Zhuang pondered, "Fortunately, Lord Yi Dun is also one of the young master's confidantes. He is my good friend, and I must be able to defend myself in front of the young master—"

The messenger said: "Yidun is the leader of the people who tried their best to kill. After the young master refused, he had a long private conversation with the sorcerer Kan Bo. This was witnessed by the villain. It is a pity that the villain is not strong enough to hear what they said. Let me tell you the details; I only heard a few words from Yi Dun."

"What did he say?"

The messenger learned vividly: "He said, 'Young master is kind and has a good reputation, many things are of course not feasible; however, what he said today may not be all from the bottom of his heart. Those of us who are subordinates need to understand our intentions and do things for you. Things you want to do but can't do'..."

"Damn it!" Chi Lian suddenly stood up, furious, "This despicable villain is so hypocritical! I want him to look good sooner or later!"

"No, we must not move him now." Wei Zhuang said, "We are not stable in Chu, and we still need to make friends with him. No matter what plans he has behind his back, we can only pretend not to know."

"...Yes." Chi Lian sat down angrily, but his heart was still churning.In contrast, Wei Zhuang looked extremely calm, as if he was used to repeated plots like this.

After the messenger left, Wei Zhuang returned to the room alone, and saw Ge Nie staring at a chessboard in a daze.There are three white pieces on the belly of the plate, and there are several black pieces outside, forming a faint encirclement trend.

"Still thinking about the strange formation from last night?" Wei Zhuang sat down next to him unceremoniously, reached out and grabbed a white stone, and weighed it in his palm. "I once read in one of Master's collections that it is said that before the Duke of Zhou crusade against the Xiongying tribe of the Nine Barbarians, he used three human animals as sacrifices and slaughtered the animals at the same time. Using blood as a reference, he painted a picture of "three prisons painted with blood." It was a great victory and returned. I felt a little strange at the time, because there were no records about how the troops were arranged and the casualties of both sides in this war, but it specifically detailed the situation of the formation used by this sacrifice. , it seems that this formation is the key to victory. But if yesterday's formation was the so-called bloody formation of the three prisons, then it is not difficult to guess why Jiuyi lost that year." After finishing speaking, he fell down Son—seemingly unintentional, but it solved the dilemma of the three sons in the central government.

Gai Nie responded, and said: "The ancients believed in witchcraft and divination, and similar records are not uncommon. But if there were such capable people by the side of Emperor Zhou back then, why did King You die in the chaos of the dog army? And why are there all kinds of miraculous events?" After the operation, it will never be seen in the annals of history?"

"There are no successors, what's so strange. For example, if both of you and I died in a war before we could accept disciples, then the swordsmanship of Guigu's lineage would also be cut off from then on." Wei Zhuang said calmly. "Books often record all kinds of incredible things in ancient times, such as calling the wind and calling the rain, copper heads and iron arms, spreading beans into soldiers, etc. People in the world regard it as the ancients and spread rumors, so it is not credible. However, perhaps some of these strange arts really existed. However, it is a pity that it was lost thousands of years ago, and no one in the world can master them again."

Ge Nie subconsciously held the forearm of his right hand with his left hand, "I don't know if you've heard of the Yin-Yang Curse Seal?"

"I've heard it a little bit. It should be a thaumaturgy that has been lost for hundreds of years." Wei Zhuang said, "Brother, have you ever seen someone who claims to be able to use the Yin-Yang curse seal?"

"...I'm sure, I have been sealed by some kind of curse."

"What did you say?" Wei Zhuang asked sideways, his voice sank involuntarily, "It is said that there is no solution in the seal of Yin-Yang curse."

"good."

Gai Nie roughly narrated his previous experience, Wei Zhuang's brows were furrowed and his face was livid. "That is to say, you still haven't found the person who cursed you?"

"...I already have someone in mind. After returning to Zhao, we can settle the matter." Gai Nie said. "What I am puzzled is, first, the Yin-Yang Curse Seal, and then the Blood-smeared Formation of the Three Prisons. These strange arts that have been lost for hundreds of years, why did they appear one after another recently? If they came from the same source, they disappeared almost at the same time, and then When we reappear in the world together, there will be a reasonable explanation."

In a flash, Wei Zhuang understood what he really meant. "You mean, that sorcerer, Kan Bo, is related to the Yin Yang family?"

"I'm just assuming a possibility. Hundreds of years ago, one or several masters of the Yin-Yang family, perhaps because they didn't find a suitable successor, or because of some accident, they permanently erased all the records about the sect's unique knowledge. Sealed up. These spells never existed in the world. Until several decades ago, another great master named Zou Yan came out of the Onmyo family. It is said that Zou Yan can use the art of Yin-Yang and Five Elements to change the temperature of the climate and understand the reincarnation of the country. , has reached the realm of the unity of man and nature. However, according to records, Zou Yan traveled to Qi State when he was young, and he learned Confucianism. I guess that Zou Yan may have had some special encounter in the past, and accidentally obtained the ancient Yin-Yang secret method."

"...For example, digging graves?" Wei Zhuang asked with raised eyebrows.

"Zou Zi is a great master of a generation. It is probably inappropriate for us to infer his character in such a random way."

"Then let's pretend that he jumped off the cliff and entered the secret realm by mistake. You continue."

"After Zou Zi, the number of disciples of the Yin-Yang family increased dramatically. Among them, those with higher talents also learned the secret method, and the art of Yin-Yang was resurrected. Among the disciples, it is unavoidable that there are some ambitious people who think that they can influence the fate of the world by virtue of the art of yin and yang... Most of the disciples of the yin and yang family today are in the state of Qin, and some of them have become important national teachers around the king of Qin. I heard that this is also their basis According to Zou Zi's calculation, the world will replace the virtue of fire with the virtue of water, so Qin will definitely replace the Zhou family and become the result of the co-lord of the world."

"So that's how it is." Wei Zhuang lit the chessboard with a chess piece, and said slowly, "Actually, I am also wondering. In addition to the servants, guards, and retainers at the banquet last night, many children from aristocratic families who were loyal to the prince were also lost; if Kan Bo just wanted to kill me to show his loyalty to Xiang Chu, there is no need to go to this extent. The purpose of setting up the three-prison blood formation is clearly to kill everyone at the banquet. But if this Kan Bo is not who he claims to be In that case, if it is a Luoyue native born in southern Xinjiang, but a pawn buried in Chu by the Yinyang family, then everything makes sense. His real purpose is to bury the quarrel between Ling Lingchu and the big family of Chu. Seeds, disturbing the government of Chu State, so as to pave the way for the future war between Qin and Chu."

"It is indeed possible." Ge Nie pondered for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and stared at his younger brother, "However, I think there is another explanation for what happened last night."

"Oh? What explanation?"

"...It's not Kanbo who wants to kill you, it's you who want to kill him."

Wei Zhuang stared at Gai Nie's eyes, with a half-smile on his face, and his tone was a bit joking. "...Absurd. Could it be that senior brother intends to say that I drove those three monsters yesterday?"

"Of course not. What I mean is, you had murderous intentions towards this sorcerer long before last night."

Wei Zhuang rested his palms on his hands, and there was a frivolous smile on his brows. "Appreciate further details."

"Since yesterday, there are two things that I can't figure out. The first thing is that yesterday morning, you and Bai Feng used the birds to monitor someone's whereabouts. I thought that the person you were monitoring must be the young master, but You also intentionally induced me to think so at the time. However, when I thought about it later, I realized that the person you were watching could never be the young master. Bai Feng once said, 'He went to Beishi before and stayed for two hours.' And I heard someone else It has been discussed that Beishi in Chencheng is a place where cattle, horses and livestock are sold, and there are many corrals. This kind of place often smells bad all the year round, and generally nobility with a little status would never set foot there. Handan also has a horse market, but Zhao Guo’s Even if the nobles are crazy about horses, they will order their servants to bring the horses they like back to the house to choose; as a bearer, he has no reason to go to Beishi in person."

"Perhaps it is different from ordinary nobles who don't mind the smell of livestock at all?"

"...Liu Chu is definitely not this kind of person. His clothes, accessories, vehicles and horses are all extravagant and expensive, and when I opened the incense burner last night, I found that there were chicken tongue incense and embers of mugwort leaves in the burner, but the ones lit above were from Baiyue. The agarwood produced in the country. Among the guests invited yesterday, the son is the most respected, and the only person the master needs to cater to. It can be seen that Yi Dun deliberately changed into such a precious fragrant wood to cater to the preferences of the cud. Since the cud A person who is so particular about smell, how could he linger in the livestock market for two hours? But if you replace the person you are monitoring with Kanbo, then it makes sense. Whether it is the Central Plains or the barbarian land , but the rules for sacrifices are very complicated; as a sorcerer, perhaps he needs to personally select the sacrificed animals before he can cast spells."

"It sounds quite reasonable. But in the final analysis, these are just wishful thinking of senior brother."

Ge Nie paused for a moment, and then said: "The second thing is that last night we saw the blood array with corpses. At that time, Xiaozhuang, you seemed to have heard something suddenly, and then led us to find Bo Kan's corpse. However, Kan Bo's whole body was scorched black. Logically speaking, it should be the same pain that we felt when we burned the two monsters in the palace, and the same pain came back to him. If this is true, then he would have died before we escaped. You How can you hear the movement of the corpse?"

"Perhaps when he was about to die, his remnant body struggled a bit, what's so strange about that?"

Gai Nie shook his head and said, "Kan Bo's body is not too far away from the blood formation. If he hadn't breathed out at that time, struggling to the point of death, there must have been a lot of movement. How could no one notice except you? If he had been dead for a while It's time, so what is the movement you heard?"

Wei Zhuang raised his eyebrows, with a strange expression on his face. "...Yeah, what is it?"

Ge Nie was not fooled.He placed a sunspot on the chessboard, but it was outside the area where the two sides were fiercely competing. "It's Baifeng."

"Ok?"

"When the body was found, I heard a strange bird song, but I didn't pay much attention to it. Now that you think about it, what you heard was not the movement caused by Kanbo, but the signal from the owl bird. This in turn confirms that Bai Feng has been following Kan Bo, so he can inform you of the location of his body immediately after his death."

"Brother said it vividly, as if you saw it with your own eyes. However, there is still a contradiction in your speculation." Wei Zhuang said with a smile, "If Bai Feng had been lurking behind that sorcerer, could it be that he just watched He drew a blood formation and released monsters? When he saw the monsters rushing into the palace, he should have known that Kan Bo was going to harm me, so why didn't he kill him earlier?"

"...he's still a kid."

Wei Zhuang raised his eyebrows and said, "If you despise others when you see them urinating, you will be in great trouble in the future."

Gaine took a deep breath. "Even if Bai Feng is sure to assassinate Kan Bo, I think you have told him in advance not to allow him to take action."

Wei Zhuang smiled and said: "After so many years, senior brother should know a little about my nature. I am not a kind and gentle person like senior brother."

"It has nothing to do with your temperament, it has to do with your purpose. You don't want Kan Bo to die by a sharp edge, but you want to see him die by witchcraft." Ge Nie said, "I have been thinking for a long time today, and I finally figured out what is going on. The deal between Quicksand and Negchu is an assassination. His target is probably not only Li Yuan, who is in charge of the government, but also the current king of Chu. However, you mentioned yesterday that it is rumored that Kanbo cursed the king of Chu with witchcraft, making the The King of Chu has no heir, so he has won the trust of Li Chu; since Li Chu is so superstitious about the power of witchcraft, whether the King of Chu dies of illness or is poisoned by others in the future, Kanbo can attribute it to witchcraft. So he became more and more You are favored, but Quicksand has no chance to be trusted and reused. So you want to get rid of this person. But you are new here, if you try to murder the son's cronies now, you will definitely make the chum fearful and wary. You will be suspicious if you kill, but you will see if you stay So you plan to instigate Kan Bo to take the initiative to deal with you - if he dies from the backlash of witchcraft, it will naturally be his own responsibility. The son will value your martial arts strategy even more, and entrust him with a heavy responsibility from now on."

He turned his head, but he couldn't see the slightest shaken expression on his junior brother's face.

"Last night's banquet was planned by Yi Dun alone; the young master also attended it, but left early. It is really hard to be convincing if it is said that they were ignorant of Kan Bo's plot. Brother, do you think that these two people also Conspire with me?"

"Perhaps Young Master Xiangchu really didn't know about it, or maybe he knew a thing or two, but he deliberately indulged Kanbo to make things difficult for you; but in any case, he should not know that Kanbo would implicate everyone else at the table. As for Yidun, he is The most important pawn in your plan. It is he who encouraged Kan Bo to make a move, prepared banquets, and created opportunities for him everywhere. Kan Bo probably thought that Yi Dun was his accomplice until his death, but he would never think that all his actions were under calculation."

"Then how do you explain that Kan Bo intends to kill everyone at the banquet together, instead of just killing me?"

"This person's witchcraft may be very strong, but there are bound to be many restrictions when using it, and it is not easy to control. If he could drive those monsters accurately, he would have assassinated the king of Chu in the deep palace for the son. Or maybe, our previous speculation is also valid. He is indeed a middleman of the Yin Yang family, and he has other plans in his heart. He wants to take the opportunity to weaken the strength of Chu State and prevent Han Chu from forming an alliance. No matter what the reason is, the ending will be It's the same—he is determined to use this long-lost blood formation to get rid of you no matter the cost. On the other hand, through Yidun, you know Kanbo's plan to do something at the banquet in detail, but you can't predict it in advance What kind of witchcraft will he use. But you risk it."

Wei Zhuang supported his forehead, his light gray eyes overflowed with light, and his gaze pierced straight into the depths of Ge Nie's pupils.The two stared at each other for a long time, and he suddenly burst into a burst of laughter, which shocked the white phoenix and thousands of birds on the roof to fly away.

"Hahahahahahaha..." He laughed enough before saying, "Very good. Very good. Brother, you are neither a fool nor a waste. You can see through the little tricks of the younger brother. For some reason, I am very happy .”

Ge Nie frowned.He consciously admires Wei Zhuang's methods, but he doesn't like them.

"Now that I think about it, the bronze tripod filled with oil happened to appear there, and I'm afraid it was carefully arranged by Yidun." Wei Zhuang explained to himself, "He has decided that no matter what kind of magic method Kan Bo uses, after that They must set fire to eliminate the evidence. Even without you and me, his people will act accordingly. This person's methods are ruthless and his actions are decisive, I am afraid that he is still better than me."

"……you are too humble."

"Brother, what do you mean?"

Gai Nie lowered his eyes and sighed secretly.The blood and howls of last night, the deformed faces and distorted bodies are still vivid in my mind; among the casualties were a few noble children, presumably Young Master Xiang Chu had appeased their families one by one; but most of them The dead are all the maids, servants, musicians, guards present, and many followers died tragically in order to protect their masters.And the three who were beheaded and sacrificed like livestock.I heard that the place where Chen Cheng bought and sold slaves was also in Beishi. Presumably Kan Bo bought them together when he was selecting cattle and sheep?

They are just servants.Yi Dun who hosted the banquet did not regard them as human lives, Kan Bo who cast the spell did not regard them as human lives, and Wei Zhuang who arranged the layout did not take them into consideration.What they see in their eyes is victory and defeat, the ebb and flow of power, and the ladder leading to the hegemony.

But how much better am I than them?He dropped his hand heavily and stopped answering.

In the game, who doesn't play chess?

TBC