Chapter Seventeen: Zhang Lai's Secret

  "How can I put it into words? You have suffered greatly, just speak your mind."

  Grandfather tried his best to persuade him to tell the truth.

  "You and I are fellow disciples, so we should have the certificate, don't you have it?" "Don't you trust me?" Grandfather suddenly became a bit unhappy because Zhang wanted to see his own certificate. (The so-called certificate is actually a kind of ritualistic thing similar to the ancient official's tablet, which is a kind of ceremony for the Tianfeng sect's disciples. Taoist disciples believe that only by being granted the certificate can they truly receive the protection of the gods and gain the power to exorcise evil spirits.)

  "It's not that I don't believe it, since it is a branch of the Orthodox Unity Sect Tian Shi Dao, there must be a certificate."

  "Good, then I'll show you!" Grandfather said, putting a 30-centimeter-long jade stone with patterns and texts carved on it from the altar next to the red rope, saying: "Do you see?"

  Luckily, Grandfather had made preparations earlier and knew that his certificate might be needed, so he had already taken it out and placed it on the altar.

  After Zhang Lai saw the letter from Grandfather, his tone also became respectful. "So you are indeed a disciple of the Tian Shi Dao, I apologize for my previous disrespect." It seems that Zhang Lai has now believed Grandfather's identity.

  "How about it, now you believe me!" said Grandpa to the red string.

  "Now you should tell us what's going on." Qin Feng interrupted before Grandfather could even ask.

  "What do you want to know?"

  "Gu Yin!" Grandfather anxiously exclaimed, "Although you don't know that you've been branded with a Gu Yin, shouldn't you remember why you were killed by the Gu technique?"

  "Alas, this matter is a long story to tell. In those years, Ben Dao helped Ming resist Qing, wanting to recover the lost land and uphold justice. But he didn't know that he had already walked onto a road of no return."

  "What happened?" Qin Feng was very curious.

  "In the 12th year of Chongzhen, I joined the Tian Shi Dao and became a disciple of Zhang Zhenfeng, the 56th generation master. I acquired Taoist skills and martial arts, originally intending to help the poor and promote Taoism. However, the war in Liaodong continued unabated, and the Later Jin army invaded, so my master led us to join the rebel army of Qu Shiyuan, a famous anti-Jin general, to fight against the enemy and save the country."

  "Who is Ku Shi? Xiao Feng, do you know who that is?" Grandfather asked Qin Feng with some confusion.

  "He remembered that he was a famous anti-Qing general, wrote the famous 'Hao Qi Yin', but unfortunately his great ambition was not fulfilled and he was killed by the Qing army." Qin Feng pondered his understanding of Qu Shi, although it was not comprehensive, but also had some involvement.

  "How can it be related to the Gu poison of Miaojiang?" Grandfather still didn't quite understand, and no matter who Qu Shi was, but based on the current conversation, Qin Feng couldn't fully understand either.

  "Our master led us, the disciples of the Tian Shi Dao, to follow General Qu on his southern and northern campaigns. We traversed mountains and rivers, with a sense of purpose. However, in the fourth year of Yong Li, when Guilin fell, General Qu was imprisoned. We had wanted to rescue him, but an urgent message arrived from Long Hu Shan, so my master and I returned to Long Hu Shan Tian Shi Dao to attend to another important matter."

  (Note: Yongli 4 years is equivalent to Shunzhi 7 years, 1650. Because at that time it was the Southern Ming regime that split with the Qing dynasty, so the year number is not remembered by people.)

  "An urgent letter? What's the important matter?" Grandfather, as a disciple of Tian Shi Dao, naturally wanted to know about his sect's past events. He also noticed that Zhang was gradually becoming tense, perhaps something strange had indeed happened in Tian Shi Dao. But thinking again, he had lived in Tian Shi Dao for so many years, why hadn't he ever heard his master mention anything about the late Ming and early Qing dynasties?

  The trembling red rope's frequency is getting faster and faster, it's Zhang Lai, Qin Feng estimates that Zhang Lai is becoming more and more tense, relying on his intuition, he feels that he seems to be hiding something.

  "After the death of Nurhaci, Prince Zheng of the Later Jin Dynasty, Jirgalang, arrived at Mount Longhu."

  "Zhilahalang? At that time he should have been stripped of his royal title and sent to Huguang for battle, how did he end up in Jiangxi Longhushan?"

  Facing the unbelievable history, Qin Feng felt such doubts for the first time. He also had a lot of historical knowledge and should be very familiar with this period of history, but he didn't know there was such a thing. It seems that the understanding of history by later generations is not as good as the real experience of those who lived through it.

  He wants to go find something.

  Grandpa frowned and locked up the question: "What thing?"

  "Speaking of finding a treasure, it is a treasure that encompasses everything, knowing the past and predicting the future."

  "Encompassing all things, knowing the past and predicting the present?" Qin Feng repeated in surprise. "What kind of treasure is that?"

  This sentence shocked Grandfather, after all, he had lived in the Tian Shi Dao for more than 30 years, and his parents had sent him to the Tian Shi Dao since childhood. The grandfather who didn't know that there was such a story in the Tian Shi Dao, what treasure, Jierhalang had been to the Tian Shi Dao, these were not mentioned by his master at all, let alone knowing what the treasure was.

  "This way is also unknown, and the master has not mentioned it to us either. However, Jierhalang was determined that we had hidden the treasure and sent a large army to thoroughly search Mount Longhu, but still couldn't find anything. You all know that the Later Jin people have violent tempers. So..."

  "What happened then?" Grandpa continued to ask.

  This time, Zhang Lai paused for a long while, as if recalling his past nightmares. Until Qin Feng's repeated questioning, Zhang Lai finally replied: "Then Jierhalang ordered to imprison us all and set fire to the Upper Clear Palace and the Fumo Temple."

  It wasn't until then that Grandfather had a bit of an impression, suddenly enlightened: "So that's how it is... no wonder Master said that the Tian Shi Dao rebuilt the palace and observatory during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, so that's what happened."

  Now, Qin Feng and his grandfather have more or less understood something. Jierhalang's move is clearly aimed at that treasure, but what's puzzling is that Qin Feng didn't say anything earlier, and the key point is that both Grandfather Zhang and Zhang Lai, who are also Tian Shi Dao disciples, don't know about it, suggesting there's another mystery behind this.

  "Is there really treasure?" Qin Feng shifted the question to the key point.

  "I don't know, Master didn't mention this matter to us at that time, and we all didn't know what treasure was in the Tian Shi Dao."

  Then Zhang Lao continued, "And so we were imprisoned in a cage until Zhirhalang marched north and back, when we were taken to Liaodong, where this scoundrel handed us over to a sorcerer. Later on, we met our miserable end at the hands of that sorcerer..."

  Zhang Lai didn't continue speaking, but his meaning was already understood by Qin Feng and Grandfather. As for why he himself was in the coffin, Qin Feng also told Zhang Lai about being sealed by the Gu insect. After listening, Zhang Lai seemed to have expected his own situation, but instead said: "This time, my benefactor and fellow disciple Cui Dansheng were also killed, I wonder what happened to them..." Zhang Lai began to sigh inexplicably again.

  "Don't worry, since we're both from the same Tian Shi Dao, I'll definitely help you find their graves."

  Grandfather's blood surged, and he sighed in his heart. It turned out that the Tian Shi Dao had such an experience. This might be the Tian Shi Dao's misfortune. No wonder he had heard his master say before that the Tian Shi Dao was ravaged by war at the end of the Ming Dynasty, but even his master couldn't explain what happened, and it became a mystery for future generations. Unexpectedly, after hearing Zhang Lai's words, he finally understood.

  "Right, there's one more thing I want to tell you!" Just as Qin Feng and Grandpa were sighing in relief, Zhang Lai seemed to have remembered something else, suddenly giving Qin Feng and Grandpa a shocking revelation.