The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 391 The White Crow and the Night Owl
A good place? Zhao Ti's heart skipped a beat. If they were kidnapping him, what good place could it be? It must be a dangerous place.

At this moment, Zhuge Qingqing's movements became even faster, like a wisp of green smoke, a phantom moving about, heading straight for the northwest of Yuzhou City.

Yuzhou City is vast, and even with her exceptional lightness skills, it took her nearly fifteen minutes to reach a spot in the northwest corner.

Zhao Ti grew up in a small town, so he naturally recognized where this place was. It was a Zen temple called Feilai Temple.

Behind this Zen temple is a thirteen-story pagoda called the Flying Pagoda, which is considered a scenic spot in Yuzhou.

At this moment, Zhuge Qingqing carried him around the temple. After a while, they arrived at the back of the temple. After looking around to make sure no one was there, she jumped directly onto the temple wall. Then, she lightly touched the top of the wall with her toes and leaped towards the flying pagoda.

The back wall of Feilai Temple was still five or six zhang away from the tower, but Zhuge Qingqing moved like a swift, and even with Zhao Ti in tow, she showed no signs of strain, and in the blink of an eye, she was standing on the eaves of the second floor of the tower.

Then she looked up and saw that the tower was narrower with each layer, and she could see the top, which seemed to soar into the night sky. Zhao Ti couldn't help but feel a little flustered and whispered, "Miss Zhuge, where are you taking me?"

Zhuge Qingqing smiled and said, "Young master, don't be in a hurry, we've arrived."

Then she rushed straight up, and in just a few breaths, she stood between the green tiles and thin eaves next to the thirteenth floor.

The tower was thirteen meters tall, and he was now almost at the very top. The night wind howled, far stronger than below. Zhao Ti couldn't help but shiver, wondering to himself, "Why did they bring me here?"
Then Zhuge Qingqing pushed open a wooden window on the tower and jumped inside. The tower was pitch black inside, with ink-like colors everywhere, so dark that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

With a crisp "snap," Zhuge Qingqing lit the tinderbox and then lit half a red candle.

The light flickered and shone, illuminating everything inside the tower.

The thirteen-story tower was not spacious, and even somewhat narrow and cramped. After all, it was the last floor, only about ten feet in diameter. Even though the red candlelight was dim, one could still see everything with a little observation.

Zhao Ti's gaze faltered slightly as he noticed that the passage down the tower was completely sealed off by blue bricks and covered in dust.

“Every level of this Flying Tower is sealed off; you can’t go up from the bottom, and you can’t go down from the top,” Zhuge Qingqing said.

Zhao Ti ignored her words and instead looked at the ground beside the blocked passage, where a clump of withered branches and leaves had formed a simple nest. A crow, more than half the size of its kind, was perched on the nest, staring blankly at the two of them.

“This tower is sealed off layer by layer, making it impossible to clean. There are some windows that are left open, which birds have used as nests,” Zhuge Qingqing said casually, glancing at the large crow.

Zhao Ti nodded. This kind of thing was quite common. Although he knew about the pagoda, he had never been inside. He didn't know why it was sealed off inside. He figured it was due to some special rules of Buddhism.

"Miss Zhuge... are you afraid I'll run away?" Zhao Ti asked. The other party had brought him to this place, clearly worried that he would escape.

"I didn't bring any paper or pen with me, and I'll have to go out and look for them. Please forgive me, Young Master Zhao," Zhuge Qingqing said with a smile.

As expected, Zhao Ti nodded. The other party wanted him to write the poem about the beautiful woman by hand, but he had no brush, ink, paper and inkstone. He had to go out to find them, but he was not at ease leaving him anywhere. Only on this high tower could he leave even if he wanted to. Even Luo Fu would not think of this place and would not come here to rescue him.

"Don't worry, young master. After I finish writing Qingqing's Song, I will send you away and will not harm you in the slightest," Zhuge Qingqing said. "I will also give you a gift as a token of my gratitude."

"No need for gifts." Zhao Ti shook his head. "A gentleman's friendship is as light as water. It's just a poem. I won't accept anything from Miss Zhuge. Please go and find some pen and paper."

Zhuge Qingqing looked at Zhao Ti: "Young master is quite composed. Even after being brought to such a place by my daughter, you remain calm and collected."

Zhao Ti glanced at her veiled face and said calmly, "How do you know I'm not flustered? I'm only outwardly calm; inwardly I'm already panicking and wish I could leave here immediately and go home to sleep."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Qingqing blinked and burst out laughing: "I didn't expect Young Master Zhao to be so humorous. I'll go out and look for something now, so as not to delay Young Master from going home to rest."

After saying that, she jumped out of the window, flashed a few times, and disappeared.

Hearing no commotion outside, Zhao Ti got up and went to the window to look. Under the moonlight, the night was vast and dark, and many things in the distance looked tiny. The sight was both surprising and dizzying.

He had never been to such a high place before. The only time he had ever climbed to such a height was when he went to Mo Xun's banquet at Taibai Tower. But none of those places were as tall as this thirteen-story pagoda. There were no high mountains outside Yuzhou City to overlook the view. He had never seen such a sight before.

He felt dizzy and reached out to hold onto the window frame, but then, feeling that it was a rare opportunity to climb up, he forced his eyes open and looked down.

If only I had martial arts skills, I wouldn't be so useless, Zhao Ti suddenly thought to himself, but then he shook his head. Why would he think about martial arts skills? If I really had martial arts skills, I wouldn't have been kidnapped here by Zhuge Qingqing.

He felt the night wind brush against his face and stretched out a hand to feel it. He found the spring breeze to be chilling and even a little bit piercing, a special feeling that he could not experience on the ground.

Looking into the distance, a sense of the vastness of the sky and earth arises in my mind. Looking at the sky, even the stars and moon seem incredibly close, almost within reach, and poetry naturally comes to mind.

Zhao Ti couldn't help but recite: "The pagoda is a hundred feet tall, one can pluck the stars with one's hand, but one dares not speak loudly, lest one startle the celestial beings."

"What a wonderful poem!" a voice exclaimed from somewhere.

"Huh?" Zhao Ti was startled and quickly turned to look, but there was no one there. The tower room was empty, the candlelight flickered, and only a crow was sitting in its nest, drowsy.

He hurriedly searched outside, but the top of the tower was bare, without even a single insect, and there was no one on the eaves below either.

Could it be a ghost or a demon? He pondered. Ghosts aside, the fact that each floor of this tower is sealed off does fit the Buddhist concept of suppressing demons. Could it be that some kind of monster is being suppressed in this flying tower?

There are demons and monsters in the world, but they are not scary. Especially ghosts. A virtuous person is upright and honest, with pure and innocent thoughts, and is least afraid of ghosts and the like.

Fu Ling, a great Confucian scholar of the previous dynasty, once wrote a book called "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio". In it, he said that once when he was walking at night, he encountered a ghost blocking his way. The ghost changed its appearance in various ways to frighten him, but he was not moved at all and continued to walk straight ahead.

The ghost asked him: Are you afraid of me?

Fu Ling said: I'm not afraid!
The ghost pressed for an answer, but Fu Ling gave the same response. The ghost said, "If you say you're afraid of me, then leave and stop bothering me."

Fu Ling said calmly: I'm not afraid.

In the end, the ghost had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

Therefore, Zhao Ti is not afraid of ghosts. As long as his aura is not weak and he is not overwhelmed by them, he will not be bewitched or harmed. Although demons and monsters are different, they are most likely suppressed and locked in the tower by this temple. In that case, there is nothing to be afraid of.

He took a breath and shouted, "Who was speaking just now?"

There was no response from the surroundings. He frowned and said, "Since you say my poetry is good, why don't you dare to come out and meet me?"

Still no one responded. Zhao Ti looked around the tower again and saw that apart from the mottled murals on the walls, there was nothing else in the room... except for the crow.

Hmm? Zhao Ti's gaze fell on the crow, and a look of doubt suddenly appeared on his face.

Although birds are said to be blind at night, and would generally be completely still and docile at the sight of a stranger, why is this crow still so quiet when there are red candles lit in the room and things can be seen?
It is known that the crow is the most intelligent bird, capable of knowing fortune and misfortune, distinguishing right from wrong, and understanding the nature of destiny. It is considered the foremost of all birds of ill omen, along with the owl. The owl, on the other hand, can recognize life and death, perceive the workings of fate, and comprehend the mysteries of the underworld. In folk tradition, it is called the "night owl." There is a saying among the people: "When a night owl enters the house, it's never without reason."

Both are known as the White Crow and the Night Owl, referring to the fact that crows are active during the day and caw out gossip, while owls are active at night and predict good or bad fortune.

The crow in front of me had a peculiar appearance, being a size larger than ordinary crows. It was clear that it was not stupid for being able to find a place to live in the tower. Yet, it was sharing a room with me now and did not try to escape. Even when Zhuge Qingqing brought it in earlier and lit the candles, it did not cause the slightest disturbance.

Something seemed amiss. Zhao Ti cautiously turned his entire body around and carefully examined the crow.

The crow had glossy black feathers that, under the candlelight, seemed to faintly shimmer with a seven-colored glow. Its legs and claws were slightly bent, revealing a dark gold color. Its wings were folded together on both sides, and its head was tilted to one side, as if it were drowsy.

"Just now...were you speaking?" Zhao Ti asked cautiously.

The crow didn't even glance at him; its eyelids remained half-open, and it didn't move.

Zhao Ti thought for a moment, then slowly moved forward: "If it is you who is speaking, please indicate so; if not... then I apologize."

He approached the crow, stretched out a hand, and slowly reached for the crow's feathers.

Although the crow had a sharp beak, he figured that if he was careful, he wouldn't get hurt unless there was some kind of supernatural being, someone who had become a spirit, and it was that spirit that had spoken just now.

If that's the case, the other party will surely speak again, and it's impossible for them to ask me to touch it.

He didn't have any other complicated or unusual thoughts. Regardless of whether the person who just spoke had good or bad intentions, he still had to find out where they were hiding. One shouldn't have the heart to harm others, but one must be wary of others. He had to know where the other party was hiding so that he could take precautions.

Zhao Ti reached out to the crow, and when he was about a foot away from its back, the crow suddenly raised its head and spoke in human language: "Good scholar, you can actually recognize me."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ti hurriedly withdrew his hand and took two steps back.

Although I wasn't particularly afraid, I was still a little flustered when I saw a bird speak for the first time.

He calmed himself down and looked at the crow again. He saw that the crow's eyes were dark red, as if it were staring at him like a human.

Zhao Ti pondered for a moment, unable to discern whether the demon was benevolent or malevolent. Adhering to the principle of courtesy before resorting to force, he cupped his hands and said, "So it really is Brother Crow. I apologize for my earlier offense. Please forgive me."

The crow said, "I don't blame you for testing me, but you are quite different from other scholars. You write good poems and can even recognize me, and you are not afraid of me. Why are you not afraid of me?"

Zhao Ti calmly replied, "Why should I be afraid of Brother Crow?"

The crow gave a mocking look and said, "If I speak human language, I must be a monster. People will fear me. The bold will attack, and the cowardly will flee. But someone like you is absolutely unique."

"Oh, I see." Zhao Ti nodded. "Brother Crow is right. If I were to meet Brother Crow under normal circumstances, I would not be so calm. But Brother Crow just praised my poem, so even if you are a demon, Brother Crow is a refined demon. I have nothing to fear."

"Elegant demon? Very good!" At this moment, the crow stood up from its nest, its legs and claws fully exposed, indeed gleaming with a dark, metallic light.

"No one has ever called me that before. You're an interesting scholar. Let me ask you, why were you captured by that little girl?"

"This..." Zhao Ti couldn't help but smile wryly upon hearing this. There was nothing he couldn't say. He then recounted how he composed two masterpieces at the Yujiang Poetry Gathering, which the other party heard and wanted to rename one of them, and how they brought him here.

“No wonder, no wonder…” the crow nodded repeatedly: “A beauty that could topple kingdoms, a beauty that could topple kingdoms, such a wonderful poem, no wonder these young people are vying for it. Although the Ten Famous Flowers are not ranked in any particular order, once they have this poem, their fame will be even greater, and they themselves will be passed down to future generations along with the poem.”

Zhao Ti smiled but remained silent, inwardly lamenting that he had been too sharp-tongued.

“If I were a woman, I would definitely fight for this poem too.” The crow suddenly laughed. “It’s just that this little girl from the Zhuge family is a bit too domineering. How could she just kidnap someone like that? People who know her would think she’s trying to steal a famous poem, but people who don’t would think she’s trying to steal her husband.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ti couldn't help but smile awkwardly: "Brother Ya, you jest."

The crow said, "What do you plan to do now? Do you really want to give this poem to this little girl from the Zhuge family?"

Zhao Ti said, "It's just a poem. I haven't thought too much about it. No matter whose name is included, it was written by me. That can't be changed. As for who it was written about, that's not that important."

The crow laughed, "Looking at your helpless expression, why don't you think about running away?"

Zhao Ti scratched his head: "I have no martial arts skills. I can't get down from this thirteen-story tower, and there's nowhere to escape to. Besides, this woman seems a bit troublesome. I'm just a commoner with no family background. It wouldn't be good if she went looking for me and disturbed my parents."

The crow said, "I was thinking of helping you out, as getting down this tower isn't difficult, but what you said makes sense, so I'll pass."

Zhao Ti said, "I thank you, Brother Ya. I wrote all the poems, and the author's name can't be changed anywhere. It doesn't really matter what name I am called."

The crow tilted its head and suddenly said, "But we can't just give it to her for nothing. Such a great reputation can't be bought with money. I'll help you get some compensation later."

Zhao Ti asked in confusion, "Miss Zhuge just mentioned the reward, what else could Brother Ya possibly want?"

The crow said, "Don't worry about it, I'll do it all. You just need to keep an eye on things."

Just as Zhao Ti was about to speak, he heard the crow say again, "Don't say anything, that little girl is back."

(End of this chapter)