Rebirth: The Time-locked Girl
Chapter 364 Another genuine masterpiece! Beiming Sect Master Xing Yun [2 more - s]

Chapter 364: 364 Another genuine masterpiece! Beiming Sect Master Xing Yun [2 more Chapters]

A faint sound, heard only by Ye Wanlan.

Although the Prince of Chu was unfamiliar with Mechanical Techniques, He Jia had sent him quite a few mechanism locks.

But currently, there were many people around the Divine Tree and it was daytime, so Ye Wanlan could not continue to explore.

The villages in the Southern Frontier were also close to the border, a melting pot of sorts, with mercenaries frequently present in the borderlands.

She had to protect the items left behind by Xiang Qingtian.

Discreetly, Ye Wanlan turned the mechanism lock back and stepped forward.

The villagers, encountering foreigners who came to film for the first time, stood in groups along the roadside, curiously watching.

Ye Wanlan, still dressed in the simplest attire and bare-faced, nonetheless attracted the attention of many.

"Mama, that sister is so beautiful!" a little girl exclaimed as she jumped up. "Won’t the Mountain God take her away?"

Ye Wanlan halted her steps and turned back. "Mountain God?"

"Children shouldn’t speak nonsense!" the woman hurriedly picked up the little girl and apologized to Ye Wanlan. "I told her some mythological stories yesterday. There’s no Mountain God, miss, please don’t be afraid."

Ye Wanlan gave a faint smile, turned, but then seemed deep in thought.

Mountain God... could it be referring to Mount Beiming?

The Beiming Sect, was there truly no legacy left?

She had confronted the Beiming Sect Master Xing Yun directly. Xing Yun, a man of strong ability and cunning mind.

At eighteen, he became the leader of the Beiming Cult, and by twenty-two, he had slain the High Priest within the sect, monopolizing the sect’s power.

Xing Yun was extraordinarily gifted, a brilliant gem.

The other sects had managed to preserve part of their legacy; it was unlikely Xing Yun had not taken any precautions.

However, Beiming Arts had indeed almost completely vanished from the Shenzhou Land Continent over the past three hundred years.

"The legend says that the Prince of Chu planted this Divine Tree to warn the Beiming Cult, this evil cult, not to harm the common folk," the guide continued, "If you all have any wishes, feel free to hang a red ribbon."

At this, Yan Tingfeng’s expression turned slightly colder.

Though the Beiming Cult was termed an ’evil cult’, they had never actually harmed the common folk.

It was only because the Arts and Methods practiced by its followers were more ruthless that they were labeled as such.

In the face of justice, every sect was the same.

Yan Tingfeng’s chilly look faded, and he turned his head, "Xiao Wan, aren’t you going to make a wish?"

"If I have a wish, I act on it directly, never just wish," Ye Wanlan smiled faintly. "Besides, the tree planted by the Prince of Chu... it might not be meant for making wishes."

Yan Tingfeng paused for a moment and then smiled, "Maybe it’s just a homage to his homeland."

History records that the last time the Prince of Chu returned to Fengyuan was when Princess Yongning died.

For six years after, he never returned to Fengyuan.

Now, the flight from Fengyuan to the Southern Frontier takes only three and a half hours, but the Prince of Chu had to travel tirelessly for fourteen days and nights.

After a day’s shooting, the people of Youlan Village retired early.

At nine o’clock in the evening, Ye Wanlan called Professor Shen and Professor Li to the location where she found the mechanism lock that morning.

Professor Shen was surprised, "This village has cultural relics?"

With hundreds of years of history, should there truly be relics, why hadn’t the locals found them?

Ye Wanlan hummed softly, "This morning, I accidentally triggered a mechanism, but there were too many people around, so I asked the two professors to come and take a look tonight."

Professor Shen and Professor Li exchanged glances, their expressions solemn.

Since Youlan Village was once a residence of the Prince of Chu, the artifacts buried here must be related to him.

Ye Wanlan crouched down and skillfully opened the mechanism lock.

To her surprise, inside the mechanism lock was only a long box.

And she recognized it instantly.

For it was the very box she had used to send the letter to Xiang Qingtian.

Three hundred years had passed, yet the box showed no signs of decay because it was made entirely out of jade.

Ye Wanlan slowly opened the box, and indeed, inside was a scroll.

As the scroll unraveled, four large characters came into view—

Flourishing Divine Land.

"This is..." Professor Shen’s pupils contracted sharply, gasping, "A genuine piece by Princess Yongning!"

Princess Yongning’s calligraphy was very distinctive, which was why she was followed by numerous calligraphers in later generations.

"A piece given to the Prince of Chu by Princess Yongning?" Professor Li was equally shocked. "It’s unclear whether this was written by Princess Yongning for the Prince of Chu, or at his request."

The phrase ’Flourishing Divine Land’ carried too much weight. Given the Prince of Chu’s historically villainous reputation, this piece could overturn many theories about him, possibly prompting historians to reevaluate his character.

"Professors, let’s go back for now. There’s definitely more than this piece in Youlan Village," Ye Wanlan picked up the jade box and reset the mechanism lock, "We need to invite a team from the Cultural Relics Bureau to continue the investigation."

Professor Shen and Professor Li both nodded gravely.

Back at her lodging, Ye Wanlan pondered before dialing the phone number of the No.7 Middle School Principal.

"Principal, I’ve decided what to write for the competition piece." she said. "I’ll have it sent to you after I finish it shortly."

"Don’t rush, take your time," the No.7 Middle School Principal hurriedly responded. "You’ve been very busy recently, and you’ve already clinched the first place in the physics competition. Whether or not you participate in the calligraphy competition doesn’t matter."

"A promise is worth its weight in gold," Ye Wanlan smiled faintly, "The matters I’ve agreed to, I will see through."

She was determined to clear the name of the Prince of Chu.

**

In the early hours, at the village head’s home in Youlan Village.

People, including the village head, were grouped around a charcoal brazier, their expressions somber.

"You’re saying, you saw those foreigners unearth antiques, and by their speech, it’s something of Princess Yongning’s?" a middle-aged man eagerly nodded.

"That antique stuff, we’ve lived here so long and haven’t found any, how could this TV crew just come and find them?" the village head pondered while smoking his dry pipe.

Their village ancestry survived the great war, and the village had a history of over a hundred years, passed down generation after generation until today.

"If it’s found in the village, then it’s ours," a young man sneered, "If they don’t leave those things behind, they shouldn’t think about leaving Youlan Village."

The village head hesitated for a moment, "But after all, they are officially sent from Yunjing, and the actors are celebrities. We can’t just detain them."

"Uncle, we only want the antiques left by the Prince of Chu, we aren’t asking for their lives," the young man chuckled, "At least to prevent them from coveting the village’s property, how does that equate to detaining them?"

"How would we keep them?" the village head was distraught,"So many artifacts have been discovered, people from the Cultural Relics Bureau are already en route, how could the artifacts possibly be kept here?"

We would, of course, like to keep them, especially that genuine piece from Princess Yongning. If it could be sold, who knows how much money it could fetch.

I’ve heard that the Global Center is aggressively purchasing artifacts from the Shenzhou, even an ordinary vase from the Ning Dynasty Period could fetch a six-figure price.

The village head couldn’t imagine, if it were Princess Yongning’s genuine calligraphy, how high a price the Global Center would offer—enough for generations of his family to live without worry.

But if taken by the research team from the Cultural Relics Bureau, he would lose the chance to become wealthy.

"Yes, uncle, it’s possible," the young man smirked mysteriously, "We just need to make them willingly leave these artifacts behind."

The village head was startled and blurted out, "You mean... Gu?"

Gu, the practice of hex parasites and Gu Art, was widespread in the Southern Frontier, and indeed existed, not just fabricated.

But over the years, the Gu Masters had diminished, and the more profound Gu Arts had been lost.

As a native of the Southern Frontier, the village head also kept some hex parasites.

However, these hex parasites, even if they entered a body, could still be cured with modern medical methods and were hardly considered Gu Arts, at best, they were "parasites."

In all of Youlan Village, those who really practiced Gu Art could be counted on one hand.

"My great-grandma just happened to return from her travels," the young man’s eyes sparkled, "Uncle, you know, her Gu cannot be resolved by anyone but herself, not even by Taiyi Divine Doctor or a Taoist physician."

Specialization in arts.

Gu Art and Taoist Arts, though both beyond ordinary capabilities, were not the same thing.

The only person who had ever integrated Gu Art and Taoist Arts was Beiming Sect Master Xing Yun from three hundred years ago.

According to records, under Xing Yun’s command were also the Four Great Protectors, who were versed in Gu Art.

"Not bad, very good," the village head was pleasantly surprised, "With your great-grandma’s involvement, indeed we could silently make those people stay."

The young man grinned again, "Princess Yongning’s artifacts could fetch a sky-high price."

"But I’ve specifically checked the news—the Young Temple Master from Penglai Observatory is also in the TV crew," the middle-aged man who spoke earlier hesitated again, "If we use Gu on them, wouldn’t that Young Temple Master notice?"

"Absolutely not, she practices Taoist Arts, and those who practice Taoist Arts can’t practice Gu Arts," the young man asserted decisively, "Who do you think everyone is, the Beiming Sect Master?"

Nowadays, in Divine Land, there simply did not exist a person who was adept in both Taoist Arts and Gu Arts.