From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

Gu Tingshu came with a large number of men, in addition to being an elite high-ranking martial artist, and they poured into Yongqiu Mountain that very day.

At the same time, Zhang Henian was ordered to strengthen patrols and drive away other forces.

After all, Yongqiu Mountain was originally the fiefdom of the Marquis of Jing'an!

However, it is not easy to dominate the market. After all, the power of both the Marquis of Dingyuan's mansion and the Fufeng Society should not be underestimated, and a struggle is inevitable.

Chen Shi didn't care about these things.

He focused on treating his injuries, and after two days, the wounds had mostly healed. Although he still couldn't engage in close combat to prevent them from reopening, simple movements were no longer a problem.

To fully recover, he will need to recuperate slowly; it can't be rushed. While continuing to heal, Chen Shi studied the Yongqiu Mountains, hoping to find clues about the array diagram.

But no matter how he looked at it or how he tried to break it down, he couldn't find a clue.

"Could this image be incorrect?"

Yongqiu Mountain is so vast. If there were some kind of marker somewhere in the mountain, how could we guarantee that future generations would be able to find it? Moreover, if such a place really existed, how could Zhang Henian and his men, who had been stationed on Yongqiu Mountain for many years, be completely unaware of it?

After much thought, Chen Shi concluded that the clues might still be hidden within the map.

But he had looked at this picture hundreds and thousands of times. With his intelligence, he shouldn't be completely unable to see anything.

If it's not his problem, then it's the map's problem.

Looking at the map in his hand, Chen Shi pondered for a moment, then got up and walked out of the tent.

"Manager Chen."

In a small wooden hut, a middle-aged man dressed as a scholar saw Chen Shi enter and quickly got up to greet him.

Chen Shi glanced around. There were many shelves in the room, filled with books, and the tables were piled high with books.

This is where the garrison of Yongqiu Mountain stored various letters and documents.

"Is Chief Steward Chen looking for Lord Zhang? Lord Zhang is on an inspection tour and is not currently in the camp."

"You can come to me too."

Chen Shi said calmly and took out the map.

Do you have a more detailed and accurate map of Yongqiu Mountain here?

"That's all."

The registrar shook his head and said with certainty.

"This is the latest version, and it's the most accurate and detailed one yet."

"so……"

Chen Shi frowned slightly. Could it be a problem with the map?

"etc!"

A flash of white light seemed to pass through his mind, and Chen Shi suddenly opened his eyes wide and asked quickly.

"What you just said means that you still have many old versions of the Yongqiu Mountain map here?"

Why was Chen Shi so agitated over just a map?

The registrar nodded blankly and explained.

"Although it is said that a year in the mountains is equivalent to a thousand years in the world, in reality, over time, some things in the mountains, even the terrain, will change. In addition, some place names will change, so maps will also be updated accordingly."

"Find all the other versions for me."

"……yes."

Seeing Chen Shi's anxiety, the registrar became even more suspicious, but dared not ask any further questions.

Then, after a thorough search, all the old maps that were on file were found one by one.

The Great Qian Dynasty has been established for seventy years, and the Jing'an Marquis's Mansion has been granted Yongqiu Mountain for seventy years. The army has been stationed to guard the mountain for more than forty years, with the garrison rotating in various ways. There are already twenty or thirty maps drawn in total.

"Is everything here?"

"Everything is here, not a single one missing."

"it is good."

Chen Shi nodded and left with all the maps.

"Why didn't I think of that before!"

Back in his tent, Chen Shi laid out all the maps in front of him, his face beaming with excitement.

The Chilong has been imprisoned in Yongqiu Mountain for some years. If the person who imprisoned the Chilong hid the information of the array diagram in the map of Yongqiu Mountain, then it must be the map from that time, not the current version.

For most people, the newer the map, the better. But for Chen Shi, who was searching for clues about the array, old maps were necessary.

"Hopefully I'm not wrong this time."

With that in mind, Chen Shi wasted no more time and examined the maps one by one, from newest to oldest.

Although there are twenty or thirty points, the difference is not actually that big, especially between two scores that are close in time. Perhaps it is just a few place names that have been changed.

In this way, it doesn't actually take much time to check.

Even though Chen Shi looked very carefully, it only took him a few hours to finish reading it all.

But still, nothing was gained.

Chen Shi frowned, laid out all the maps in order on the ground, and stood beside them, looking at them back and forth.

After looking for a full half hour, we still found nothing.

"Am I wrong again?"

After frowning for a while, his gaze fell on the earliest map.

According to the date markings, this is a map from fifty years ago, likely used when troops were first sent to guard the mountain.

"Fifty years ago..."

Chen Shi suddenly opened his eyes wide and started walking.

A moment later, they returned to the registrar's office.

"Is there anything else you need, Steward Chen?"

Seeing Chen Shi return, the registrar asked a question in confusion.

Do you have any earlier maps here?

Chen Shi, with a serious expression, asked a question directly.

"An earlier map?"

"Why do you still need a map?" The registrar shook his head, quite certain.

"We really have none left. We have found all the maps in the camp's collection for you."

"Then let me ask you, where can I find an earlier map of Yongqiu Mountain? For example, one from seventy or eighty years ago, or even one from over a hundred years ago."

"So early?"

The registrar looked at Chen Shi in surprise. A map from so early must be unusable by now.

However, these high-ranking officials and nobles often had some peculiar hobbies, and perhaps Chen Shi simply liked collecting these useless things.

"Those old maps were no longer useful, and besides, the army hadn't been stationed here yet, so our camp certainly didn't have any."

The registrar thought for a moment, then continued.

"If you're asking where they are, perhaps the local government has them, maybe they're included in the county annals. However, given the long period of time, the documents are bound to be damaged, especially since that was from the previous dynasty. The county annals are probably incomplete, let alone the maps. Unless there's some place that specifically collects these kinds of books, but who would collect these things..."

The registrar seemed to be talking to himself, but before he could finish speaking, Chen Shi had already left.

He mounted a fast horse and galloped straight out of the military camp.

"How could I have forgotten that?"

As he spurred his horse onward, Chen Shi repeatedly slapped his forehead in frustration.

He actually knew where the earlier maps were.

That's the Jing'an Marquis's residence!

More accurately, it is a library.

The library houses a collection of various books, including some ancient books and albums, among which are early maps of Yongqiu Mountain.

Chen Shi had glanced at the array diagram when searching for clues, but he hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.

"Hopefully this time there won't be any mistakes."

Chen Shi, with a serious expression, kept urging his horse to head straight for Yongqiu City.