Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 135 Kill three birds with one stone

After seeing off the satisfied tour group, the old man turned around and was about to go back to the village, but he almost bumped into a group of three people: a man and two women.

The three of them are all young. The man is tall and handsome, and looks very heroic. The woman on the left in a white dress is as pretty as a fairy and as cold as ice. The woman on the right in a green dress is even more stunningly beautiful, elegant and graceful.

The old man remembered that two of them came in with the group of tourists, but it was the first time he saw the woman in the green dress.

"The three of you have fallen behind, hurry up and catch up." The old man smiled and showed them the way.

"No need, we stayed here on purpose." Ren Yuan smiled evilly and said, "I have something to ask my father-in-law."

"You have lived in our Taoyuan Village for so many days, what can you not ask?" The old man said with some displeasure: "Why do you have to stay here to ask specifically?"

"Did we really stay here for several days?" Su Xiaoxiao asked faintly, "Why do I feel like we only stayed overnight?"

"I don't know what you are talking about." The old man's face changed and he was about to leave.

But his senior sister stepped in front of him.

"You!" The old man's face turned pale, and just as he was about to call for help, a blade that could kill evil appeared on his neck.

Senior sister's bone sword was unusable, so Ren Yuan gave her his own weapon. Arming the highest combat power is the wisest move in team battles.

"If you have something to say, let's talk about it..." The old man immediately changed his expression and asked very flexibly: "How did you masters see the problem?"

"Need I say more?" Ren Yuan said, "Peach trees have the ability to ward off evil spirits. The peach forest outside is obviously a barrier between the yin and yang worlds. And the peach forest is obviously a magic array that can make people hallucinate. Everything you see is beautified according to your own imagination."

"So that cave that is narrow in front and wide in the back is actually a tomb passage. Before I even came in, I guessed that your Peach Blossom Spring might be a cemetery." Ren Yuan continued:
"As soon as we came in, we saw that this village with its intersecting paths was actually a cemetery. The neatly arranged houses were neatly arranged graves."

He pointed at the old man and said, "And you are the ghosts and corpses living in the graves."

Seeing that he had explained the whole story clearly, the old man sighed and said, "Young Master, you are right. There are indeed no living people in the Peach Blossom Spring."

He asked curiously, "I just don't know why you exposed us now?"

"Because I was waiting for you to do something harmful." Ren Yuan said calmly, "But I didn't see it until the end. If I have to say it, it's not very decent of you to use offerings to entertain guests."

"It's always been like this. The most customers get is diarrhea. Besides, it's winter now, so the food won't go bad..." The old man explained awkwardly, and then sighed, "You three are really different from others."

"We only look at what you did, no matter whether you are a human or a ghost." Ren Yuan said.

"That's right," Su Xiaoxiao nodded and said, "As long as you do something harmful, we won't talk outside the village like we are now."

"Well done, you are worthy of being the Ghost King's subjects." The old man praised: "You have a different perspective."

Ren Yuan and Su Xiaoxiao looked at each other quickly, neither correcting the old man, who said, "We have already been honest with each other, isn't it time for you to be honest too?"

"Well, okay." The old man nodded and said, "I was a Feng Shui master in a nearby village. I have always liked Mr. Wu Liu's article. After I died, I was buried in this mountain grave."

"Later, there were changes of dynasties and wars. The court was short of population, so the whole village was forcibly relocated." He sighed again and said, "Now no one visits my grave, and we all became hungry ghosts. Life is very difficult." "A few years ago, my grandchildren moved back to the county and started visiting my grave again. But my family can't feed a hundred people. After much thought, I came up with this idea. I led everyone to build a fake Peach Blossom Spring. Then I sent a dream to my grandson, asking him to contact the inns and bring guests to visit."

"This way, the guests who come to visit the Peach Blossom Spring will realize their dreams, and the county inns will have business," the old man said, spreading his hands, "and everyone will have offerings. It's a three-pronged approach, so what's wrong with that?"

"What you said makes sense." Ren Yuan couldn't help but laugh: "This business brain must have been a wealthy man when he was alive, right?"

"Alas, it's a time of war and chaos. Common people can't accumulate property, and it's good enough if they can support their families." The old man was obviously being too modest.

"I don't think your trick is very clever. After all these years, has no one been able to see through it?" Ren Yuan asked curiously.

"There are many knowledgeable people who come to visit, and quite a few of them can see through my maze, but it's only the second time that you three have been able to directly reveal it," the old man replied.

"Why is this?" Senior Sister couldn't help but ask.

"This is human nature," Su Xiaoxiao said, "Anyone who pays to visit is a respectable person. It doesn't matter if they lose some money, but they can't afford to lose face."

"Of course, the tickets are very expensive. Who would come to see this if they don't have money?" Ren Yuan nodded and said, "If you come all the way here and go back and say that you wasted your money and was taken to a tomb for a tour, wouldn't you become the laughing stock of the whole village?"

"Yes." Even the old man agreed: "As long as you believe this is the Peach Blossom Spring, then this is the Peach Blossom Spring. Those who don't believe it can come and see for themselves."

"Okay, as long as you don't cheat the poor." The senior sister had no objection.

~~
"Okay, I'll ask you a few more questions," Ren Yuan said to the old man, "as long as you answer truthfully, we'll leave after we're done asking you questions, and we'll keep your secrets. You can continue to achieve three goals at once."

"Excuse me, sir." The old man nodded and said, "I will tell you everything I know."

"You have to say everything you want to say." Su Xiaoxiao added.

"Hey, hey."

"Since you are particularly fond of "Peach Blossom Spring" and you are a professional Feng Shui master, do you know where the real Peach Blossom Spring is?" Ren Yuan asked.

"Alas, I am ashamed. I have been searching for the Peach Blossom Spring for my entire life, but I still cannot determine its exact location." The old man changed the subject and said, "But I can be sure that the Peach Blossom Spring really exists, and it is in our Wuling County."

"Why do you say that?" Ren Yuan asked.

"Because this incident is also recorded in our County Chronicles, which is earlier than the time when Mr. Wu Liu wrote the article." The old man replied.

"The father-in-law just said that the exact location has not been determined." At this time, Su Xiaoxiao, who was as careful as a hair, asked: "Is there a general location?"

"It's just an inference." The old man replied slowly: "Think about the last part of the article - the fisherman clearly 'guided the way and marked it everywhere.' But when he brought people back, he 'searched for the places he had marked, but got lost and could not find the way again.'"

"This shows that the real Peach Blossom Spring is also hidden in the formation!" The old man raised his voice and continued, "No matter how cleverly the formation is hidden, there will be unnatural places. So as long as we walk through the mountains and rivers of this county and carefully observe every blade of grass and every tree, we will definitely be able to find it!"

(End of this chapter)