Under One Person: Dressed as Lü Liang, with vests all over

Chapter 168 Lu Liang of Quanxing pays respects to the Celestial Master!
"Yes, Fifth Sister-in-law gave me one when she left."

As soon as Granny Qi finished speaking, joy instantly spread across the faces of Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye.

On the way to Zhuge Village, Lü Liang had already talked to the two of them about the contents of the first two snail shells. Now, they were full of anticipation and excitement for the new snail shell.

A hint of eager anticipation flashed in Zhuge Qing's slightly narrowed eyes as he pressed Granny Qi for an answer:

"Grandma, what is the content of the sound stored in that snail shell?"

Upon hearing this question, Granny Qi raised her eyes in surprise, the wrinkles on her eyelids folding together even more tightly with this movement.

"Sound? What sound?"

She quickly came to her senses, and her expression suddenly changed:
"Qing, do you mean that Xiaodie's voice is stored inside that conch shell?"

"Yes." Zhuge Qing nodded affirmatively.

Seeing that Granny Qi's shocked expression seemed genuine, Lü Liang took the initiative to add:

"That conch shell is actually a magical artifact that can preserve sound, called the 'Rao Liang Conch Shell.' As long as you input Qi into it using a specific method, you can hear the sound that was previously stored inside."

Granny Qi listened attentively, then slowly shook her head and said in a low voice:
"I didn't know about this. I always thought it was just an ordinary seashell."

"After all... my fifth sister-in-law used to bring me back some novel and interesting little gadgets when she went out."

As she spoke, a smile unconsciously crept onto her lips, and a look of reminiscence appeared on her face:

“When my fifth sister-in-law was leaving the Zhuge family, I couldn’t bear to part with her, so I stood at the door wiping away my tears.”

"When she left, she reached out and gently touched my head, then handed me a seashell, saying it was a souvenir."

"But at that time, I had no time to think about these things. I just hurriedly put the conch into my pocket and was saddened by the separation of my fifth brother and sister-in-law."

"Later, less than half a day later, news of Fifth Sister's death came back."

"Fifth Brother was furious that the Zhuge family was untrustworthy. In a fit of anger, he took his one-year-old son and left the Zhuge family. He never returned."

“From then on, this matter became a taboo in the Zhuge family, and I didn’t even dare to take that conch shell out openly.”

……

Listening to Grandma Qi's story, Lü Liang quickly understood the key point.

The Zhuge family has a rule that "Qimen is passed down to sons and Shenji to daughters." The reason why Tian Xiaodie knows Wuhou Qimen is because Zhuge Yunhui secretly taught her without the family's knowledge.

Grandma Qi was not familiar with the art of divination, so she was completely unable to see through the small formation hidden above the conch shell.

"Seventh Grandma, where is this conch shell now?" Lü Liang asked.

"You guys come with me."

Grandma Qi turned and walked out of the house, returning to the previous room. She bent down slightly and took out a small, old-fashioned wooden box from the low cabinet by the bed.

She placed the wooden box on the table in the hall and gently lifted the lid.

Lu Liang saw that the snail was lying quietly on the right side of the wooden box.

In addition, the box also contained a shuttlecock, a slingshot, and a matchbox printed with images of classical beauties...

"These are all little trinkets that Sister Xiaodie gave me before."

As Granny Qi explained softly, she reached out her thin, bony hand and carefully took the snail shell out of the box.

Lü Liang reached out and steadily took it, then examined it carefully.

The edges of the first two snails are engraved with the characters "景" and "杜", and "开" and "休" respectively.

The snail that Granny Qi took out had the characters for "life" and "injury" engraved on it.

If we follow this pattern, the inscription on the still-undiscovered snail is most likely "surprise" and "death".

Without the slightest hesitation, Lü Liang immediately raised his hand, gently touched the character "生" with his fingers, and began to channel Qi into it.

Soon, that familiar faint light appeared on the snail shell.

Grandma Qi's gaze was drawn to the faint light as if by a magnet, her expression extremely tense.

When the first female voice rang out from the lingering snail shell, her hand instantly gripped the hem of her clothes tightly, the veins on the back of her thin hand bulged, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes trembled with excitement.

……

The first sound to be heard was Tian Xiaodie's voice, which sounded very cheerful.

"Little Qi, you've learned the magic tricks quite well."

"Hehe, she's far inferior to Fifth Sister-in-law," another female voice replied.

Upon hearing this voice, Granny Qi raised her hand and wiped the corner of her eye.

Lü Liang immediately understood that the person Tian Xiaodie called "Xiao Qi" was none other than the Seventh Granny in front of him.

The lingering sound of the conch shell continued, followed by a gentle male voice.

"Xiao Qi, don't compare yourself to your fifth sister-in-law. She's a genius."

"Yunhui, what nonsense are you talking about?"

"I'm not making this up."

Zhuge Yunhui laughed and retorted, "Don't even mention Divine Strategist, you can even learn Qimen Dunjia faster than me. What else could you be but a genius!"

At this point, Zhuge Yunhui suddenly realized something and abruptly stopped speaking.

Then, he cleared his throat and said in a low voice, "Ahem, Xiao Qi, you mustn't tell anyone that your fifth sister-in-law is learning Qimen Dunjia."

"I know! Fifth Sister-in-law is so good to me, of course I have to protect her."

"Fifth Sister-in-law, did anything fun happen to you on your trip? Tell me about it..."

"Hmm... I met a very interesting new friend on this trip."

Tian Xiaodie said happily.

"His name is Zhang Huaiyi. He comes from the Celestial Master's Mansion. He seems easy to talk to, but he is actually very stubborn."

"Zhang Huaiyi?" Zhuge Yunhui's voice was filled with doubt. "I don't think I've ever heard of such a person in the Celestial Master's Mansion."

"Yes, he's not very well-known outside, but his 'Zhang' is a pseudonym!"

"Using a false surname?!"

Zhuge Yunhui's tone revealed undisguised surprise.

"Fifth Brother, what does 'adopting a surname' mean?" Xiao Qi asked.

"The practice of adopting a surname is a unique system of the Celestial Master's Mansion, representing the Celestial Master's extreme recognition of his disciples."

"All the Celestial Masters of the Celestial Master's Mansion have the surname Zhang, which means that anyone who adopts the surname 'Zhang' is qualified to become the successor of the Celestial Master."

After explaining, Zhuge Yunhui couldn't help but sigh again.

"Before, I only knew that there was a Zhang Zhiwei in the Celestial Master's Mansion who was using a false surname. I didn't expect there to be another one now. This Zhang Huaiyi must be very strong."

Tian Xiaodie responded:
"Yes, he is very low-key, but I have seen him make a move a few times."

"His strength is indeed very strong, and what's interesting is that the Golden Light Mantra and Thunder Magic of Longhu Mountain are originally powerful and sweeping techniques, but he used them with a strange and unpredictable flavor."

"Such an interesting person, I really want to meet him," Zhuge Yunhui said with a smile.

“Great! I’ll introduce you two sometime.” Tian Xiaodie’s voice was also filled with laughter. “When the child is a little older, we can travel together.”

"Fifth Sister-in-law, I also want to go outside and see the world!"

"Okay, Xiao Qi, I'll take you with me next time I have the chance."

"Hehe, Fifth Sister-in-law, you're so kind!"

……

The conversation paused for a long time here.

Just when Lü Liang thought he had listened to all the sounds stored inside, the sound rang out again.

This time, it was Tian Xiaodie's voice again, but her words made everyone present perk up.

Because, surprisingly, this was a monologue.

"Xiaoqi, I'm Sister Xiaodie."

"If you can hear this voice, then I'm probably no longer here."

“I know you’re wondering why I made that choice, to become sworn brothers with Wugensheng and the other thirty-five people…”

"I'm sorry, I still can't answer that question."

"But I can tell you, I don't regret it. I've never regretted it. I know what I'm doing."

"So, you don't need to be sad for me, nor do you need to resent the Zhuge family."

"Alright, let's not talk about unhappy things. This conch is called the 'Rao Liang Conch,' a magical artifact that I researched some time ago."

"Well, besides you, I also gave gifts to three friends: Wei Shufen from the Qinghe Miao tribe, Zheng Zibu from the Shangqing Maoshan sect, and Zhang Huaiyi from the Celestial Master's Mansion."

“I don’t know when you will hear this voice. If the descendants of those three people come looking for you, you can give this conch shell to them.”

"Sorry I didn't tell you how to use this conch shell. After all, it's always safest to know nothing."

"I saved this audio message to tell you, thank you, Xiaoqi, I'm so glad to have met you."

The sound from the snail shell ended.

Grandma Qi covered her face with her hands, but tears streamed through her fingers, falling to the ground and creating small craters in the dust.

"Sister Xiaodie... Fifth Sister-in-law..."

Her voice came through her palm, deep and muffled.

"I still remember that conversation we just had."

"My fifth sister-in-law told me she was preparing a special gift for me, and it turns out it was this... Unfortunately, when I received it..."

Grandma Qi's voice grew increasingly hoarse until she choked up and could no longer speak.

Her hand repeatedly caressed the conch shell, especially the "life" character where Lü Liang had just input Qi. She tried to input Qi into it, but no more sound came out.

Seeing this, Lü Liang was somewhat moved, and he took the initiative to speak:

“Grandma, you can store what you want to say to her in the snail shell... just like you are having a conversation across time and space.”

"Is that alright?" Granny Qi lifted her face from her palm.

Lü Liang nodded and said softly:

"You can input your Qi along the 'injury' pattern on the edge of the spiral snail."

"it is good!"

Granny Qi, her hands trembling, channeled Qi into the device, then spoke in a very low voice:

"Sister Xiaodie... I miss you so much... Fifth Brother misses you too. He hasn't remarried since you left..."

"However, he left three years ago too... Now, I'm all alone..."

……

After pouring out what she had kept in her heart for decades, Grandma Qi's emotions eased considerably.

She wiped away the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes, then turned her gaze to Lü Liang.

"Sister Xiaodie said this should be given to the descendants of those three people."

Lu Liang nodded calmly, "Actually, I am a descendant of Wei Shufen." "The conch shell that I took out at the beginning was the one that Senior Tian Xiaodie gave to her back then."

As Lü Liang answered, he took out the Raoliang Snail he had obtained from the Great Gu Master and channeled Qi into it, allowing Granny Qi to hear the conversation between Wei Shufen and Tian Xiaodie preserved inside.

After a moment, Granny Qi nodded and handed the snail in her hand to Lü Liang.

"If you find any other information about Sister Xiaodie, I hope you can let me know."

“No problem,” Lü Liang readily agreed.

……

Lü Liang took the snail and was about to put it into his food bag.

"and many more!"

Just then, Zhuge Qing suddenly spoke up to stop him.

"What's wrong?" Lü Liang asked Zhuge Qing.

"President, you just said that the way to use this 'Rao Liang Luo' (a type of magical conch shell) is to input Qi into the patterns of one character to store the sound, and input Qi into another character to release the stored sound?"

“Yes.” Lü Liang nodded. “This is the method mentioned in the conversation between Tian Xiaodie and Zheng Zibu. What’s wrong with it?”

Zhuge Qing did not answer the question immediately, but took the snail and examined it carefully.

After a moment, he finally raised his head and stated his conclusion:
"This usage is fine, but there should be other uses besides this."

"Hmm?" Lü Liang immediately became interested and asked, "How do you use it?"

"Using formations to drive formations, reversing the eight gates, revealing the true gate of life."

As Zhuge Qing answered, he glanced at Wang Ye.

"Old Wang, what do you think?"

Wang Ye chimed in, "This idea is indeed mentioned in the Hetu Luoshu, and its usage is somewhat similar to the method of drawing talismans."

Upon hearing this, Lü Liang's eyes lit up, and he nodded to Zhuge Qing.

Zhuge Qing nodded in response, while simultaneously raising his hand to form a hand seal.

The next moment...

An unexpected scene unfolded—

A new sound actually came from the snail shell.

……

"Congratulations... you found the surprise I left behind!"

Tian Xiaodie's voice sounded somewhat languid.

"With guidance from Master Zheng, I modified the snail shell... I wonder how it will turn out... Hmm... I think I've had a bit too much to drink... Let me just say whatever comes to mind..."

"I've had a really great time these past few days in Twenty-Four Seasons Valley. I've met so many amazing people."

"The Daughter's Red wine that Fengping bought from Shaoxing is very delicious, and what's more, he actually said he could use fire escape techniques to steal the sacred artifact of the Fire Virtue Sect, the Crimson Sun Furnace..."

"Hmm, Sister Shufen said she can also produce the Qinghe Gu Gu, plus the Five Emperor Coins from the Shuzi Sect..."

"Three of the eight sacred objects required for the instrument are already here—hiccup—"

"belch--"

After two loud burps, the snail's snail whistling stopped abruptly, but the amount of information it conveyed left everyone present speechless for a long time.

The sacred object of the Huode Sect, the Chiyang Furnace, was actually lost at that time.

There's also the "Technique" sect...

Back then, the sect leader of the Shuzi Sect punished Hu Haiwang, who had participated in the sworn brotherhood, first. Could it be because Hu Haiwang stole the sect's sacred artifact?

Lü Liang's thoughts drifted further and further away.

The "Easter egg" inside the snail shell is really high-value.

However, Tian Xiaodie gave away four snails in total, and not all of them necessarily contained this kind of Easter egg.

Grandma Qi's was the last one given out, and it contained an Easter egg.

Tian Xiaodie used the concept of talismans to construct a formation within a formation, an inspiration she gained from a casual conversation with Zheng Zibu before they became sworn brothers.

In other words, the dividing line of the "Easter egg" technique is her casual conversation with Zheng Zibu.

Therefore, it can be inferred that the snail shell that Zheng Zibu obtained back then, which is now in the hands of Yemaoshan, probably does not contain any "Easter egg" and can be ignored for now.

The conch shell that Wei Shufen received likely didn't contain any "surprise" either.

Judging from the dialogues stored inside, Wei Shufen did not know Wugensheng when she obtained the Raoliang Snail, and the time between her sworn brotherhood with Wugensheng was still far off.

Thinking of this, Lü Liang took out the snail shell with the characters "Jing" and "Du" engraved on it, which he had obtained from the Great Gu Master, and had Zhuge Qing try it out according to the newly devised method.

Sure enough, the snail did not react at all.

In other words, the only thing that could provide additional information at present is the snail shell that Zhang Huaiyi obtained back then.

Whether there are any hidden surprises inside remains to be seen; we'll have to verify it for ourselves.

……

Lü Liang put away the conch shell and looked at Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye.

This trip to Zhuge Village not only confirmed the ownership of the next Raoliang snail, but also revealed three of the eight sacred objects used in the original ceremony...

It can be considered a very fruitful harvest.

Now that our objective has been achieved, it's time to move on to the next destination.

Grandma Qi's emotions had calmed down considerably by this time, and she waved to the three of them.

"I no longer have the energy to investigate Sister Xiaodie's matter. I only hope to get the answer before I die..."

"Don't worry, if there's any news about Senior Tian Xiaodie, I'll have Qing pass it on to you," Lü Liang replied.

Grandma Qi nodded slightly, then got up, picked up the wooden box, and slowly walked into the inner room.

Lu Liang and the other two silently left the house.

As they walked out of the alley, they stopped at the same time when they reached the alley entrance.

Because there were just too many people waiting there!
Zhuge Qing looked at the people waiting at the alley entrance and gave Lü Liang and Wang Ye a helpless smile.

"It seems I'll have to stay home for a while and keep my old man calm."

Lu Liang nodded.

It's not easy for someone in the clan to master the Samadhi True Fire. Such a big event will definitely be celebrated in Zhuge Village.

The elders would also come to Zhuge Qing to ask for his experience, so Zhuge Qing certainly wouldn't be able to get away so quickly.

However, it just so happens that the place he's going to next isn't suitable for bringing too many people.

"Chairman, Lao Wang, see you next time."

Zhuge Qing waved to Lü Liang and the other man, and then left surrounded by the enthusiastic elders.

Lü Liang and Wang Ye walked side by side out of the village.

Beside them, Zhuge Gong led several middle-aged men of similar age, walking and chatting as they went outside.

This level of attention left the young people in Zhuge Village speechless.

Along the way, I could hear a lot of discussions.

"Who exactly are those two people? The patriarch actually brought people to see them off in person."

"They must be Qing's friends, right? We should naturally pay more attention to them."

"There's no need to escort them all the way to the edge of the village. Sending them out of the Zhuge family's house is already showing enough importance."

"Exactly! With this kind of entourage, anyone who didn't know better would think a highly respected senior figure in the industry had arrived!"

"Yeah, I also find it strange. I bet they're really strong."

"Of course. Although Qing seems gentle on the surface, he's actually quite arrogant at heart. He doesn't usually get close to just anyone..."

"But it's a bit strange, why did they leave in such a hurry?"

"That's not important. Hmm, I also want to experience that feeling of being valued..."

Listening to these comments, Lü Liang couldn't help but think to himself: Is this what they mean by taking it seriously? They're just trying to prevent me from lingering in Zhuge Village and "corrupting" Zhuge Qing!
However, on the other hand, being watched and seen off by the head of the Zhuge family and a group of people is surely a special kind of attention, isn't it?
Even after leaving Zhuge Village, Wang Ye couldn't resist teasing Lü Liang about the incident:

"Old Lu, you're something else! The head of the Zhuge family personally saw you off out of the village. Normally, only the head of a major sect or someone like Zhao Fangxu, who's well-connected everywhere, would receive this kind of treatment."

Wang Ye had expected Lü Liang to say a few humble words.

To everyone's surprise, Lü Liangchao glanced at him, then said with a half-smile:
"If I were to take a trip to Wudang Mountain now, I might very well have to send me out like this."

Wang Ye choked.

The next moment, he raised his hand and patted his mouth.

Why bother arguing with someone who's so shameless and quick-witted? It's just asking for trouble.
After putting his hand down, Wang Ye quietly changed the subject:
"Old Lu, have you decided which sect you'll join next?"

"of course."

"Since Tian Xiaodie clearly stated in the snail shell that she once gave a snail shell to Zhang Huaiyi, then we should naturally go and look for it."

"The conch shell that Zhang Huaiyi obtained is either in Zhang Chulan's possession or with Tian Jinzhong of the Celestial Master's Mansion..."

"Let's go check out the Celestial Master's Mansion first!"

……

The next day.

Jiangxi Province, Longhu Mountain, Tianshi Mansion.

Lü Liang led Wang Ye up the path that Quanxing had previously explored, and soon they arrived at the dense forest on the back of Longhu Mountain.

Having learned from his previous experience, Lü Liang was already very familiar with the layout of the buildings on Longhu Mountain.

Their goal this time was to find Tian Jinzhong. It would be best if this matter could be kept from alarming the Old Celestial Master. Therefore, Lü Liang decided to go directly around to the west side of Longhu Mountain.

Night falls, taking advantage of the cover of darkness.

Lü Liang and Wang Ye avoided the patrolling Taoist priests and soon arrived outside Tian Jinzhong's courtyard.

Instead of rushing in, they hid among the dense canopies of two large trees outside the courtyard, observing the situation.

At this moment, lights were lit up everywhere in Longhu Mountain, casting shadows on the windows.

After confirming that Tian Jinzhong was the only person in the room, Lü Liang and Wang Ye exchanged a glance and nodded.

Immediately afterwards, the two jumped down from the tree at the same time and nimbly flipped into the yard.

But before Lü Liang could reach out to push the door open, a sound rang out. The sound, though clearly coming from a distance, pierced their eardrums and caused their internal energy to surge.

Lü Liang and Wang Ye's expressions changed simultaneously.

"What are you two doing wandering around Longhu Mountain in the middle of the night?"

That voice belonged to the Old Celestial Master.

　Thanks to book friend 20190104100902227 for the monthly ticket! ! Thank you! !

　　
　
(End of this chapter)