From the fusion of Tongbei Quan to the Longevity Martial Saint

The two quickly helped Zhanbo, who was exhausted from the intense tension, down from the boulder.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Ding Mingcheng eagerly grabbed Zhanbo's arm.

"Zhanbo! Tell me quickly!"

"Did Fang Qing find the account book?"

"Where is the ledger hidden?"

"I'll take some men to get it right away!"

"Once we have the account books, Lord Lin will be able to withstand all the pressure!"

"Those powerful clans will have to pay a heavy price this time!"

Ding Mingcheng spoke rapidly, as if he could already see the day when the Salt Patrol Guard would finally be able to hold their heads high.

However, Zhanbo's next words were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head.

Ding Mingcheng stumbled and almost lost his balance.

Zhanbo's face was numb, with an expression of utter despair.

"Fang Qing...the flag signals were used quite urgently this time."

"But he really didn't say anything important."

"They didn't even mention the edges of the ledger."

"What?!"

Gu Changyuan and Ding Mingcheng exclaimed in surprise again.

"What was he saying in such a hurry just now?"

Gu Changyuan felt like his brain wasn't working properly.

Zhanbo took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and then picked up the two thin bamboo flagpoles again. Instead of waving them, he held them in his hands as if they were some kind of percussion instrument.

Then, he rhythmically tapped the flagpoles together.

"Tap, tap-tap, tap-tap-tap..."

The crisp tapping sound, in sync with the rhythm, accompanied Zhanbo's clear and articulate speech in an almost fast-paced tone.

"The carrying pole is long, and the bench is wide."

"The carrying pole needs to be tied to the bench."

"Don't tie the carrying pole to the bench."

"But the carrying pole just had to be tied to the bench!"

……

The air suddenly became quiet.

Gu Changyuan watched Zhanbo tapping the flagpole to a rhythm, shaking his head and swaying his body.

He felt his mind go completely blank.

I was completely stunned.

Ding Mingcheng's mouth was agape, and he couldn't close it for a long time.

After Zhanbo finished reading, he put down the flagpole and looked at the two adults with an innocent yet determined expression.

"I assure you, there's absolutely no mistake."

"This is the passage that Fang Qing sent... um... of course, I added the rhythm later..."

Gu Changyuan braced himself against the stone wall beside him; he felt a little dizzy.

Ding Mingcheng frowned and fell into deep thought.

His eyes were fixed on the two flagpoles, as if he wanted to see something amazing in them.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up!

"I see!"

Gu Changyuan, as if grasping at a lifeline, instantly turned to stare at him.

"What do you understand?"

"Is there a hidden meaning in Fang Qing's words?"

Ding Mingcheng narrowed his eyes slightly, and a wise light, as if he had seen through the truth, appeared on his face.

He nodded slowly and with great solemnity.

"Fang Qing... is indeed clever."

Gu Changyuan's face immediately lit up with wild joy!

I never expected that this subordinate, who is usually simple-minded and only knows how to grab a weapon and rush into things, would be so reliable at a critical moment!

The next moment, Ding Mingcheng spoke in an extremely serious tone, word by word.

"What Fang Qing said..."

"It's a long-lost form of clapper talk from Tianjin!"

"You know what, these lyrics are really catchy and easy to remember!"

"Zhanbo, read it again, I want to learn how to play this clapper talk properly..."

Ding Mingcheng hadn't finished speaking.

The sole of an official's boot rapidly magnified in his field of vision.

boom!

Gu Changyuan kicked Ding Mingcheng squarely in the butt.

"Get lost!"

"What time is it? You still want to learn clapper talk?!"

"Believe it or not, I'll beat you into a clapperboard first!!"

Ding Mingcheng covered his buttocks and patted away the shoe print on his official robes with a wronged expression.

"Lord Gu, what are you doing... but... but this sounds like Tianjin Wei Kuaiban (a type of traditional Chinese storytelling)..."

"Sir, what are you doing? Why are you using your feet now...?"

……

At this moment, Gu Changyuan and his group were not the only ones who were bewildered.

On the opposite bank of Tiger Leaping Gorge, Zeng Qian, who had been closely following Fang Qing, also looked bewildered.

Fang Qing just sent out those twenty reserve battalion members like scattering beans, telling them to come back and report in half an hour.

There are almost no instructions on the search area and method.

It was completely aimless.

Just now, Fang Qing sent out a series of urgent and rapid flag signals in the direction of Gu Changyuan and the others.

Their anxious expressions made anyone think they had made a major discovery.

Zeng Qian finally couldn't help but ask:

"We haven't found any clues at all."

"Why were you in such a hurry when you were using semaphores?"

"It's as if we've already found the ledger."

Zeng Qian's voice was full of confusion.

Fang Qing calmly jumped off the rock.

He found a flat rock to sit on, and then took out dried meat wrapped in oil paper and a water pouch from his bag.

He tore the dried meat in half and handed it to Zeng Qian along with the water pouch.

He then picked up the remaining half and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly.

Zeng Qian took the dried meat and water, but didn't eat them.

Her gaze remained fixed on Fang Qing's face, trying to discern what he was thinking.

Fang Qing chewed a few bites of dried meat, then tilted his head back and gulped down half a mouthful of water.

He first cautiously scanned his surroundings.

After confirming that no one else was nearby, he lowered his voice and spoke slowly.

"Lord Gu once said that the Jade-Faced Scholar is extremely cunning and suspicious by nature."

"A person like him, if he's determined to hide something..."

"Let alone the thirty of us, even if the number were ten times greater, we probably still wouldn't be able to find it."

Fang Qing paused, then turned his gaze to the distant Tiger Leaping Gorge, with its towering peaks and bizarre rock formations.

"Tiger Beach, especially Tiger Leaping Gorge, has a very complex terrain."

"There are mountains, water, forests, and countless caves and fissures."

"It's easier to hide a small ledger than to hide a grain of sand."

Fang Qing knew very well that even in the era he came from, there were all kinds of high-tech detection instruments.

Finding a small object precisely in such a complex and vast terrain is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Not to mention now.

"Therefore, forcing a search is a poor strategy; it's like looking for a needle in a haystack!"

Fang Qing swallowed the jerky in his mouth:

"The only thing we can do is..."

"Lue the snake out of its hole."

Upon hearing this, Zeng Qian frowned slightly, and then a sharp glint flashed in her eyes.

She began to understand what Fang Qing meant.

Her gaze drifted almost imperceptibly toward the cave where the handsome scholar was hiding.

Fang Qing didn't offer much explanation, but instead brought up another matter.

"Guess how many eyes are watching us from the shadows right now?"

"Especially watching me and Zhanbo communicate using flag signals?"

Fang Qing's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile.

Zeng Qian's heart sank.

She originally thought that Fang Qing chose to use flag signals on this high ground because it was convenient for broadcasting and communicating flag signals, and that it wouldn't matter even if he was discovered, since flag signals themselves are difficult to decipher.

Now it seems that Fang Qing did it on purpose!

He wanted to make certain people see their flag signal communications!

"you mean……"

Zeng Qian's voice also lowered, carrying a hint of coldness.

Fang Qing nodded and continued speaking in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"And I can almost certainly say that..."

"My connection with the exhibition's flag signals was already written on a note and placed on the scholar's desk."

Zeng Qian was an exceptionally intelligent person.

Fang Qing's words of advice made her instantly grasp the key point, and a chill ran down her spine.

She suddenly remembered Fang Qing's seemingly casual grouping of the team before entering Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Her gaze suddenly fell upon the area where Lu Jianfeng's team was searching...

……