Under One Person: The Taoist Priest Descends the Mountain

Zhuge Village, Council Hall.

Zhuge Gong sat in the main seat, and the hall was filled with more than twenty people.

The clock on the wall had struck three in the afternoon, and sunlight streamed in through the window, cutting patches of light across the floor.

Zhuge Gong's voice was a little hoarse: "It's been three days. We've deciphered the secret message on that note."

Everyone looked at him.

Zhuge Gong stood up, walked to the whiteboard, picked up the eraser, erased the previous deduction process, and wrote a few words—

Qishan Road. Salt Official. Wooden Door. Pingquan. Old Fortress.

He put down his pen, turned to face the crowd: "The information on the note points to the ruins of an old fortress in the middle section of the Qishan Road in Longnan. It is about forty li from Lixian County, on the north bank of the Xihan River."

A murmur rippled through the council chamber.

An elder with gray hair stood up: "The old fortress... that's where our ancestors built it! In the middle of Qishan Road, on the north bank of the Xihan River—I've studied our ancestors' northern expedition route my whole life, and that location is definitely where our ancestors stationed their troops!"

Another elder stood up, his voice even more excited: "The handwriting on the note is that of our ancestor, and the coded message uses the Eight Trigrams Formation system, pointing to the place where our ancestor stationed his troops. How could this be fake?"

A third person chimed in: "Besides our ancestor himself, who could do all three of these things at the same time?"

The hall was noisy; some people started taking out maps, some started marking things, and some even started calculating how many people to take.

Seven or eight elderly elders stood up and stood in the aisle, waiting for Zhuge Gong to call their names. The youngest among them was over seventy-five, with most of his hair turned white.

Zhuge Gong frowned: "At your age, traveling such long distances—"

Before he could finish speaking, the eldest interrupted him: "Clan leader, these are relics of our ancestors. We don't trust the younger generation to go; they can't even understand them, and it's uncertain whether they'll even recognize them!"

Others chimed in, "Yes, yes, young people are so clumsy, what if they break things?"

"That's very likely an ancestral manuscript; even damaging a single corner would be a grave sin!"

Zhuge Gong raised his hand and pressed it down, waiting for his voice to become softer before speaking: "Zhuge Zheng, Zhuge Ping."

The two people stood up.

Zhuge Zheng, in his early seventies, was of a high generation and carried considerable weight in the clan. He wore a dark jacket and had his hair neatly combed, making him look much younger than his actual age.

Zhuge Ping had just turned sixty. He was lean and wore reading glasses. He was the most knowledgeable about feng shui and antique appraisal in the clan.

"You two take four people, and call Aqing too." Zhuge Gong paused, "Don't make too much noise."

Before the eldest could say anything more, Zhuge Gong turned to the others: "The rest of you, each do your duty and wait for news."

A chorus of agreement filled the hall, chairs rattled as people walked out one after another.

……

After the meeting, Zhuge Gong returned home. He had just sat down when there was a knock on the door.

Zhuge Zheng brought in a middle-aged woman—Zhuge Qing's mother, Lin Fang.

Zhuge Gong glanced at her: "What's wrong?"

Zhuge Zheng's expression was not good: "Clan leader, A Qing is not at home."

Zhuge Gong looked at Lin Fang: "Goed to school?"

Lin Fang nodded: "He left a few days ago, saying he went on a study tour with his classmates."

"What are the school's arrangements?"

Lin Fang shrugged: "Didn't he apply to the Shanghai Theatre Academy? They said it was their suggestion, to let them experience the theatrical atmosphere beforehand and walk around and see what's going on."

Zhuge Gong and Zhuge Zheng exchanged a glance.

Zhuge Gong asked, "Have you been in contact these past few days?"

"Yes, I called yesterday." Lin Fang took out her phone and scrolled through the call history. "It was around 8 p.m., and we talked for about ten minutes. He said he was in Longnan, visiting some historical site."

After saying that, he couldn't help but ask, "A-Gong, what exactly do you want with A-Qing?"

Zhuge Gong waved his hand: "Give him a call first."

Lin Fang took out her phone and made the call.

beep - beep - beep -

No one heard.

Lin Fang took the phone away from her ear and looked at the screen: "She probably didn't hear it because she was chatting with her classmate. I'll call again."

Zhuge Gong knew perfectly well that it must have been that kid A Qing who left early on his own.

He waved his hand: "Never mind, it's not important. Let him have fun with his classmates."

Lin Fang said "Oh," too lazy to ask her husband what was wrong, since A Qing wouldn't get into any trouble anyway: "Okay. I'll go back now. There's soup simmering at home, remember to come back for some tonight."

After Lin Fang left, Zhuge Zheng closed the door, turned around and asked, "Clan leader, did A Qing leave ahead of schedule?"

Zhuge Gong leaned back in his chair: "It took us three days to solve it, and he left two days ago. Do you think that's possible?"

Zhuge Zheng thought about it and agreed—no matter how smart that child was, he couldn't possibly be faster than dozens of people from the clan working together.

"Who should we take with us?"

Zhuge Gong thought for a moment and said, "Take A-Sheng with you."

Zhuge Zheng nodded and turned to leave.

After the door closed, Zhuge Gong remained seated in his chair.

He thought for a long time, then picked up the landline on the table, found Bi Youlong's number, and dialed it.

Beep beep beep—Connection complete.

"Old Bi, it's me, Zhuge Gong."

Bi Youlong's voice came through the receiver, full of energy: "Agong, what made you think of calling me? Is there any progress on that ancient book thing?"

"I've only got a rough idea, I haven't figured it out yet." Zhuge Gong smiled. "It's like this, my good-for-nothing son, Zhuge Qing, went off to study a few days ago, saying he was going to Longnan. I'm a little uneasy about it, and I'd like to ask you to keep an eye out for him."

"I've only got a rough idea, I haven't figured it out yet." Zhuge Gong smiled. "It's like this, my good-for-nothing son, Zhuge Qing, went off to study a few days ago, saying he was going to Longnan. I'm a little uneasy about it, and I'd like to ask you to keep an eye out for him."

He paused for a moment, then said, "If it clashes with what you've been doing lately, please bear with it."

Bi Youlong was silent for a second, then chuckled, "Alright, I'll have my men keep an eye on things. What's your kid's name again? Zhuge Qing?"

"Yes, the greenish-blue."

"Okay, I've got it. If we run into him, I'll have someone keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get involved."

Zhuge Gong thanked him repeatedly, saying, "Then I'll trouble you, Lao Bi. I'll treat you to drinks another day."

I hung up the phone.

……

The headquarters of Nadutong in Beijing.

Bi Youlong put down the phone and leaned back in his chair for a while.

Zhuge Gong's phone call was quite interesting.

He said he couldn't contact his grandson and asked me to keep an eye out for him, and he specifically mentioned that it "clashed with something I've been doing recently"—Zhuge Gong had guessed something.

But even if he guesses it, he won't admit it.

Bi Youlong picked up the folder on the table, flipped through it, processed a few documents, and then answered two phone calls.

About half an hour later, he picked up his phone, found Xu Si's number, and dialed it.

Beep beep beep—Connection complete.

"Chairman Bi." Xu Si's voice came through, the background noise was a bit loud.

"Xiao Si, how's things going over there?" Bi Youlong leaned back in his chair, speaking casually.

"We're still investigating the Wei Zhongxian lead." Xu Si sighed. "A couple of days ago, Zhong Kui ran into some trouble. He was kidnapped by a sorcerer who was very powerful."

Bi Youlong asked a few more questions about the case, and Xu Si reported back in detail.

After chatting for seven or eight minutes, Bi Youlong changed the subject: "Oh, right, there's one more thing—there's a guy in the Zhuge family named Zhuge Qing. If you run into him, please keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get involved in your affairs."

Xu Si certainly understood what his leader meant.

The leader called specifically at this crucial juncture, and even mentioned the surname "Zhuge"...

But he didn't ask Zhuge Qing what the situation was, he just readily agreed: "Okay, Chairman Bi, I'll have my men keep an eye out. If we run into him, we'll make sure he's safe and his family can rest assured."

Bi Youlong smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

"Of course."

After hanging up the phone, Bi Youlong placed his phone on the table and tapped it lightly twice with his fingers.

Hopefully, that kid won't cause any trouble.

……

Heng'an County.

In a budget hotel.

Cheng Mo lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Xia He lay down beside her, swinging her legs, looking at her phone over and over.

"Little Taoist priest, should we tell Xu Si we're leaving?" She tossed her phone onto the bed. "They never seem to know what to do these days."

Cheng Mo rolled over: "Why don't you ask Grandpa Xia? He's much more anxious than we are."

Xia He's eyes lit up, and she immediately took out her phone to call Xia Liuqing.

Beep beep beep—Connection complete.

"Grandpa Xia!" Xia He held the phone to her ear, "Any progress on that matter?"