Zuo Ci!

I unexpectedly met Zuo Ci!

Wu Liang suddenly became energetic. He had wanted to see Zuo Ci for a long time.

Because Cao Zhi clearly mentioned in "Bian Dao Lun": "The art of Ci Xiao's house..."

"Book of the Later Han Dynasty" also said of him: "There are few divine ways."

In fact, it doesn't matter whether the art in the room is good or not. Is Wu Liang that greedy for beauty? What he mainly wants to do is communicate with you in person and appreciate this most famous person in the late Han Dynasty who left a lasting legacy among the people.

Whether the famous alchemist with the most legends had real talent or knowledge?

After all, Zuo Ci knows more than just the art of the house.

Legend has it that he also knows the art of alchemy, transformation, inescaping, and astrology. He can even control ghosts and gods and even cook. He has reached the point where he is omnipotent.

According to unofficial records, Boss Cao had several confrontations with him, and repeatedly tried to capture and execute him, but Zuo Ci easily saved the day in a way that science could not explain at all. He was like a god.

Later, Liu Biao of Jingzhou also thought that Zuo Ci was a demon who confuses people's hearts, and planned to catch him and kill him. However, when Zuo Ci showed his hand in front of him, Liu Bei was shocked and immediately gave up the idea of ​​killing him.

.

And Zuo Ci also left a sentence that seems philosophical but makes people think deeply: "The reason why I always have troubles is because I have a body. When I don't have a body, what troubles will I have?"

For ordinary people, losing the body means death. When a person dies, the lamp is extinguished, and naturally there will be no more troubles and sorrows.

But Zuo Ci’s words obviously didn’t mean this.

But what exactly does it mean? It’s up to the benevolent and the wise to decide...

But it's really a coincidence.

As far as Wu Liang knew, Zuo Ci was from Lujiang, which was thousands of miles away from Taiyuan County. With the current traffic conditions, it was not easy to get from Lujiang to Taiyuan County, and there were dangers everywhere along the way.

However, at this time, the alchemists and doctors liked to travel around, so it was not surprising to come to this place.

Maybe this is fate!

Having just said goodbye to the three brothers Liu, Guan, and Zhang, and meeting Zuo Ci again so soon, this trip can be said to be worthwhile for Wu Liang.

However, Zuo Ci cooperated with the Jinyang Order to hold a ceremony to worship the heavens with great fanfare...

This is another question worthy of scrutiny, but Wu Liangduo thought that everyone must have a purpose in doing anything, even a saint.

In Wu Liang's view.

This kind of ceremony to hold sacrifices to heaven is actually more or less a waste of people and money.

Either it's a charlatan doing it to make money from it.

And if there is real talent and learning, it should have other unknown purposes. It can't be purely for the country and the people, praying for blessings and saving the world, right?

Emmm…

Wu Liang has never shied away from the fact that he is a villain, so he habitually interprets a matter from a villain's perspective. Although his thoughts are slightly dark, it is actually not bad.

Isn't this an old saying that everyone knows by judging a gentleman's heart by a villain's heart?

However, Wu Liang insists that this is just a way of looking at things with a critical eye.

If something can make his critical eye unable to see any loopholes, he can accept the facts very calmly and express his apology and admiration to the person involved.

It's a pity that in the past life and this life together, there is really no one or thing that can withstand his critical eyes. There is always some darkness, and these darkness are often reflected in

The most complex aspect of human nature. No one can represent pure evil or pure good. When faced with different situations and choices, the proportion of evil and good in human nature may change at any time. This change can overturn you in an instant.

Inherent knowledge of a person.

"Are you sure it's the right time?"

Wu Liang pondered and asked.

"Can't be wrong."

Yang Wanli nodded and said, "I have seen people gathering together on the street to go to the ancient altar, so I asked many people and got the same answer."

"Since there is such a prosperous time, wouldn't it be a loss if we didn't join in the fun?"

Wu Liang smiled.

Ancient altar...

Yang Wanli mentioned this location for the second time, and Wu Liangzhong also had some thoughts.

Since the word "ancient" is attached to it, then this altar must be a building left over from the previous dynasty. However, it still needs to be determined whether it is an altar left over from the Zhao Kingdom in the Spring and Autumn Period or an earlier period.

Some research.

"Young Master is right, but this ceremony to worship the heaven is quite grand. Apart from the officials and celebrities in the city, there are also a large number of people present. You should keep a low profile, otherwise I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with."

Yang Wanli quickly raised his hands and reminded.

"It's natural."

Wu Liang nodded slightly, "You go ahead and buy the wine and food I mentioned before, and by the way, ask the people in the city about the origin of the ancient altar, and try to be as detailed as possible."

"promise!"

Yang Wanli responded, turned around and walked out of the door quickly.

Looking at his back, Wu Liang smiled coquettishly and muttered to himself: "Interesting..."

…

It’s close to application time.

Wu Liang and a group of key members of the Hu army came to the ancient altar in the north of the city.

At this moment, the ancient altar was already surrounded by people who came to watch the ceremony. Like other towns at this time, most of the people who came here were old, young, women and children, because most of the middle-aged men would be visited every once in a while.

They were forcibly taken away and made into young men.

Fortunately, among the backbone of Wu Liang, there are also old and young, male and female. Even if there are a few of them in their prime, they are not so conspicuous.

"How about it?"

Wu Liang called Yang Wanli, who had just arrived, to his side and asked in a lowered voice.

"I asked a lot of people, but unfortunately most people don't know when this ancient altar was built. They only say that the ancient altar has existed since their ancestors."

Yang Wanli said seriously, "Only an old man said that this ancient altar should have been built by the Zhao Kingdom during the Spring and Autumn Period. At that time, the capital of the Zhao Kingdom was here. Whenever there were major domestic events or wars with foreign enemies, the King of Zhao would be here.

He will bring many ministers to the altar to worship and pray for everything in the country to go well. Later, Jinyang City went through many dynasties and underwent many reconstructions. Many places in the city are no longer what they used to be. Only this ancient altar remains.

Down... He also said that he had heard from his ancestors that many years ago, no one had the idea of ​​dismantling the altar or rebuilding it. Unfortunately, every time the craftsmen were summoned to start construction, strange things would happen one after another in the city. Not only

Those craftsmen did not die well, and even the officials who presided over the matter were also unlucky. Later, people thought that this matter would bring about divine punishment, and no one was willing to touch this bad luck again, so the ancient altar remained."

"If this is the case, there may be relevant records in the government office, and the family of craftsmen in the city should also know about it. If it is passed down from generation to generation, the officials who come here to take over should know about it. Only in this way can the ancient altar be left.

Otherwise, as long as any official has a thought, this ancient altar may be destroyed."

Wu Liang nodded slightly and said, "Of course, if this ancient altar is really that evil, and it will attack in advance and send down divine punishment every time, that is also its ability, and it does not need anyone else to protect it."

"Young Master has reminded me. I will immediately take some more people to explore the craftsmen's families in the city. Maybe we can find out more information."

Yang Wanli said quickly.

"It's not urgent."

Wu Liang stopped him and said, "The sacrificial ceremony should be starting soon. You should stay here to have a good experience. Anyway, the craftsman family in the city should have lived here for generations. Unless there is a major change, they will not be able to leave."

place.”

"promise."

Yang Wanli responded and stood behind Wu Liang obediently.

And at this moment.

Although the sacrificial ceremony has not officially begun, the pre-sacrificial arrangements have been completed on the ancient altar.

On the top of the altar, there was a huge wooden case that was almost a foot long. A large piece of apricot-yellow cloth was spread on the wooden case to wrap it up.

On top of the yellow cloth, there are several bronze incense burners with three large incense sticks as thick as a thumb inserted in them.

There is also a relatively large copper plate next to it. On the copper plate are placed the six most common animals in the ancient sacrificial rituals of the Celestial Dynasty, as well as several large steamed cakes about the same size as the faces of later generations.

besides.

On the steps at the top of the ancient bronze altar, a red cloth was laid as a carpet. At this time, the red cloth was still very clean without any footprints.

On both sides of the red cloth, there were some soldiers holding spears.

Judging from the armor they were wearing, they were soldiers selected from the Jinyang City defenders.

There was also a circle of soldiers surrounding the ancient altar. These soldiers faced outside, and every other person held a flag with the word "Zhang" written on it.

This "Zhang" is the surname of Jinyang Ling.

According to the information obtained by Yang Wanli, the current Jinyang Order’s name is Zhang Liang, and he is about forty years old. According to the description of the local people, this person rarely interacted with alchemists in the past, and did not like to engage in rituals such as sacrifices. The biggest problem in his life was

My hobby is incense... I have to take a bath every day, and then incense myself so that my whole body is covered with fragrance. Even a wealthy young lady may not be as particular as him.
To be continued...