Heaven's Formula

This also explains why a fox demon is so familiar with the Privy Council.

The master used to be Qingjian, so Na Li can at least be regarded as half of Qingjian's apprentice. If she wasn't a monster, her seniority might still be higher than the invigilator in charge of the examination!

"Why did your master escape from the Privy Council?"

"She didn't say why."

"Did she teach you everything you know about the Privy Council?"

Li nodded weakly, "It's not just that, she taught everything I know."

Xia Fan's heart suddenly moved, "Including alchemy-related knowledge?"

"I have taught a lot, and the so-called so-called techniques that only humans can master are nothing more than that, and they are not so esoteric." She squinted at Xia Fan, "Why... Do you feel offended?"

It's such a time, and I still don't forget to sneer, her master is really a good disciple.

"You don't think I'm so arrogant that I think my talent in magic is unparalleled in the world, do you?" Xia Fan spread his hands, "Even in Qingshan Town, there are a bunch of candidates who are better than me, so it's not surprising to be surpassed by the fox demon. "

"You...don't feel disgusted?" This time it was Li's turn to be surprised.

Xia Fan was a little confused for a moment, "What's the problem?"

"Are you really ignorant or are you just pretending?" Li stared at him and said, "The Privy Council stipulates that all magic in the world belongs to people, and no other kind of magic is allowed to touch it. Now the things you are proud of have been learned by demons, which are even more powerful than yours. You're better at it, don't you have any ideas?"

"None of my business." Xia Fan blurted out.

"what?"

"Uh..." Realizing the damage to his image, he hastened to make amends, "I mean, standing still will not bring you any benefits, not to mention that there is no difference between teaching and learning. Learning from each other is the best way to improve yourself."

At the same time, he was slandering in his heart, "I didn't teach you, what can I do?"You learn fast because you have the ability, is it because your ability is not as good as a monster, you have to move out of the Privy Council to threaten the other party?That's too self-deceiving.There is also the bullshit rule of the Privy Council, but the fact is that the knowledge of spells is all controlled by them, and ordinary people have no way of accessing it.Otherwise, he wouldn't have to take the scholar's exam first for the sake of seeking knowledge and solving doubts.

Li was also looking at Xia Fan.She frowned slightly, which was due to the pain of the wound, and also the incomprehension from the bottom of her heart - she couldn't tell whether the other party was lying, but she could feel the indifference in the other party's tone.This is really unbelievable. Even her master showed a little hesitation when teaching her alchemy. After all, it is the basis for alchemists to surpass ordinary people.But the other party didn't seem to realize this at all—this gave Li even an illusion that in Xia Fan's eyes, he was no different from him; not only that, he was no different from those who couldn't perceive Qi .

How can this be?

The perceptual confusion left Li speechless for a long while.

She found that the more she got in touch with the other party, the less she could see through what kind of person he was.

"How about this?" Xia Fan's words interrupted her thoughts, "Let's re-discuss the matter of cooperation—the chat part remains the same, I will help you find out the whereabouts of your master, so it will be no problem, right?"

"You want... help me?"

"That's right, but correspondingly, you have to tell me what you have learned." He said bluntly, "After all, as a fox demon, it is not easy to know the whereabouts of a green sword, but if With someone in the Privy Council to take care of him, the situation will be much better. How about it, there will never be a second time this kind of opportunity is missed."

Li couldn't help opening his mouth. Most of the alchemists who wanted to join the Privy Council were either seeking power or fame, so they would unconsciously maintain the prestige and rules of the Privy Council.And this person in front of him seemed to have no loyalty to the Privy Council, and he wanted to poach his corner before entering, which was unheard of.

"Can I ask you a question?" She couldn't help asking, "Why did you take the examination?"

Xia Fan thought for a while, "Probably to step into a field I have never been to, and to see scenery I have never seen before."

An absurd answer, Li Xin thought, but for some reason, there was an inexplicable sincerity in the words.

After a long silence, she sighed softly, "If you insist on this."

"You agree?"

"The premise is that you can really pass this exam and become a member of the Privy Council."

She knew that she shouldn't agree. There was never a good end to monsters and alchemists getting too close, but the other party was right. If she wanted to challenge the Privy Council alone, the possibility of finding her master was very slim.What's more, the other party saved her life, and she has nothing else to pay for it. This may be the only choice.

"This..." Xia Fan showed a slightly embarrassed smile, "Can I pass the next examination?"

Li was stunned, and suddenly he said in a bad mood, "You dare to say big things even in the Privy Council, but you are not sure how to pass the exam?"

"The current situation is quite special," he reluctantly recounted the general situation of the examination, "No one knows what the situation is like in the Great Desolate Night in the Qingshan Formation. I can say it alone, and it may not guarantee safety if I bring you with me. "

"I see." Li Ruo thought thoughtfully, "No wonder there are so many wells under the town."

"Well?" Xia Fan asked curiously, "Is there any connection between the two?"

"Could it be that you don't know anything about Da Huang Sha Ye?" The fox raised her eyebrows, and she began to wonder if it was a mistake to cooperate with the other party.

"Hey, my situation is quite special... Has your master told you about this?"

"Of course, it will not only affect the local people, but also involve many concurrent problems. If it is not handled properly, it can easily lead to a thousand miles. It is one of the most closely monitored evil phenomena in the history of the Privy Council."

Sure enough, the fox demon's knowledge in this area far exceeds his own, Xia Fan thought, she was a disciple of Qingjian after all, even if she can't compare with the Luo family who knows everything, she must be much better than other candidates.Originally, he only wanted to learn about monsters through the other party, but he didn't expect that she would also have a lot of accumulation in spells, which can be said to be a pleasant surprise.

"Tell me about it in detail—about the Great Desolate Night."

Li took a deep breath, "Forget it, just treat it as your medical expenses for treating me."

……

Two quarters of an hour later, Xia Fan finally had a comprehensive understanding of Da Huang Sha Ye.

According to Li, it is not a rare phenomenon. Shaye appeared in many places in the last few years of Yongguo's fall.Whether it is war, famine, floods, or changes in the sky, as long as there is a sudden increase in abnormal deaths, it is possible to cause a great famine and a night of darkness.

Since the period of yin and prosperity is different in each place, it needs to be monitored by the Privy Council separately. The scale of a great wilderness night vision can last for several years to decades, until all the accumulated resentful souls are dissipated.The "resentful soul" here is also different from what he imagined. It is not the residual consciousness of the deceased, but the vision caused by the strong and rich Qi.

When this special qi spreads, it will produce an effect similar to what Wei Wushuang said, "the living die, and the dead live".The recombination of Qi and dead matter—that is, accumulation—will create chaos.This kind of matter at the beginning of the universe is not compatible with any order in the world, and its essence is beyond human comprehension.The specific manifestation is that the corpse crawls out of the ground, the dead pierces the coffin and attacks the living.Wherever they go, howling is everywhere, which is what the so-called "Great Wilderness" means.

This reminded Xia Fan of a word: zombie siege.

He also specifically confirmed to Li whether the only remaining bones could move, but he got a blank stare. The answer was that not only the bones could not move, but also the damaged and decayed corpses could not move.They just provide a shelf, and what really makes them move is the "qi" and the "accumulation" attached to them. The latter can be the surrounding objects such as soil, sand, gravel, and dead branches.When the resentful soul is strong enough, it can form itself even without a skeleton.These things are powered by qi and will disintegrate when they are exhausted, so the qi of the living is the best supplement to them.

This also made his zombie perpetual motion machine experiment shattered before it even started.

The Privy Council calls the small and medium-sized monsters in Shaye "Mei" and the big ones "Mo". However, no matter whether it is a Mei or a Mo, they have no intelligence at all and are slow to respond. Therefore, there are large cities with strong walls, or terrain. Narrow arteries have strong defense capabilities against these evil spirits.What makes it really difficult to guard against is that no one knows how many bones are buried under the town, and where new enemies will emerge.

This also caused the Privy Council to ask the Ministry of Industry to re-establish construction regulations after it became independent. The most important thing was that the cemetery should not be located in the city, at least one mile away from the outer city wall, and prisoners, unjustly deceased, and people of unknown origin were not allowed to be buried.Animal carcasses must be incinerated centrally, and those who discard them at will are considered a crime, ranging from fines to imprisonment.

Li's story opened Xia Fan's eyes, and he understood why the other party mentioned the well. Not only did the town have no city walls, but even a wooden fence could not be seen, so the secret passage under the dry well became relatively easy to defend. place.Once the advantage in numbers cannot be exerted, the threat to the fighters is not too great. If they are on the defensive, there is still hope for only one night.

"If it's really not possible...you don't have to force it." Li whispered, "I have also stayed in the underground of the town, and the area available for accommodation is limited. At most, five or sixty people can go in. If there are more, there will be a risk of suffocation. Since you haven't won the top spot, if you want to go now, the big place is probably already occupied by the aristocratic family... If you compete with Sanmen, you may not be able to win the opponent. And some wells are too deep... No one knows what is hidden inside What... If you only pursue concealment and narrowness, you may put yourself... in danger. If you wait another three years..."

Her voice became smaller and smaller, and even her breathing became weaker.

Only then did Xia Fan notice that the hair tip on Fox Demon's forehead was soaked with sweat, and it felt a little hot to the touch.

In order to finish his sentence, this guy actually braced himself for his physical discomfort and didn't even say a word...

He gently covered her mouth, interrupted her whispering, then got up and pulled down the window panel, returning the room to darkness again, "This information is enough for me, you have a good rest first, I will come back later Change your medicine. And don’t worry about the exam—I don’t need to wait three years, I’ve already found a way to pass.”

Chapter 23 撤离计划

At the same time, in the large tent outside Qingshan Town.

A sand table had been placed on the long mahogany table, and the proctor Shen Chunzheng adjusted the deployment of the flags on the table according to the constant information from the town.

"I saw the commotion on the other side, what happened?" With a thick question, Ba Xingtian and the short inspector walked into the account—these two people will come to inspect every afternoon these days, and never Shen Chun has long been used to not arranging his subordinates to report.He was about to salute and answer, but was stopped by a big hand.

Ba Xingtian looked at the sand table for a while, and then said "Oh" with great interest, "Did they find out where they are?"

"Return to my lord, that's right."

"Not bad, it's only the fifth day, nearly two days faster than the one 12 years ago." The guard praised.

"Why 12 years ago?" Another person asked, "Scholar exams are held every three years. Even if the Qingshan Formation is in a special situation, it should be once every six years."

Even though he already knew that his boss was very tolerant of this young man, considering the difference in grade between the two, Shen Chun was secretly astounded by the other's straightforwardness and casualness.It's just that he also wanted to know the answer to this question, so he continued to play with his sand table as if nothing had happened.

"Because the pass rate was too low that time, the superiors had to stop once."

"The pass rate is too low?"

"My memory is not very good. There should be more than 140 references, and only nine of them passed the test in the end." Ba Xingtian smiled, "The Privy Council spent a lot of effort back then to keep the total admission rate at about [-]%. .”

Shen Chun couldn't help raising his eyebrows, this was the first time he had heard of this inside story.This means that the pass rate of other examination rooms has been greatly increased, which in disguise is cheaper for those candidates who are not in the mountains.Thinking about it this way, he himself seems to be a qualified candidate 12 years ago. Could it be because he borrowed the light of this place?

"Isn't that unfair?" the short man questioned.

"Scholar's examination room is adapted to local conditions, so how can they all be the same?" Ba Xingtian shook his head, "If there are difficulties, there will naturally be easy ones. Of course, this will also be taken into consideration when assigning duties in the government. Alchemist, the starting point is higher than other places."

"Oh? This is a way."

"In addition, the low pass rate is not the only reason for the suspension of this place. In fact, unnecessary losses are another key." Ba Xingtian stroked his beard and seemed to be a little emotional, "That year, there were more than 30 Candidates suffer losses here, which is beyond the normal range. In other examination rooms, they may all become excellent alchemists, this is the fault of the Privy Council. Of course, this year will not repeat the same mistakes."

More than 30... The loss rate reached [-]%?Shen Chun's heart skipped a beat. After so many years, is the Great Desolate Night on Qingshan still so threatening?No wonder the Privy Council has set up so many demon-sealing posts in the town. It was probably closed six years ago to test the effect, and it was reopened only after it was sure that everything was safe.

"How many people do you think will be qualified this time?" The short man looked at Shen Chun.

"That depends on how many hiding places they can find." He quickly replied, "Some of the restricted openings will dissipate over time. The longer they persist, the greater the chance. According to the plan, if all the places are used, it can be guaranteed 100 qualified people. Considering that it is impossible for candidates to find all the places, the final result should be around seventy or eighty."

"It seems that our busy work was not in vain." Ba Xingtian stroked his beard in satisfaction, "One of the major reasons for the problems in the last session was the lack of guidance. Most candidates didn't realize the existence of the wild night until the last night. A lot has happened.”

"Your Excellency is right." Shen Chun knew clearly that the guards were talking about those people in the mansion who pretended to be townspeople and traded information with the candidates - they could not only influence the direction of the exam, but also obtain first-hand information in the town to grade the examiners. Provide evidence. "This kind of examination room is also closer to the real environment, and the proposer is undoubtedly a genius."

"However, there is still something strange." Ba Xingtian pointed to the location of the broken bridge on the sand table, "The amount of information obtained by each candidate or group should be different, but why do these people seem to know all about their actions?"

"According to my subordinates, Luo Qingqing from the Luo family took the initiative to tell all the candidates about his discovery." Shen Chun took out a note and handed it to the guard, "Not only that, but now their evacuation is also organized by Luo Qingqing .”

"And this thing?" The latter glanced quickly, then raised his head and laughed loudly, "Young people are awesome! She already regards herself as an alchemist in the Privy Council, and is dealing with local evil incidents!"

"That's right, this person must have a promising future." Shen Chun also smiled appreciatively, "This time, she will be the first in the examination."

The inspector didn't smile, he took the note and looked at it silently for a while, "The Luo family..."

"Why, dissatisfied?" Ba Xingtian grinned, "It's been a long time since I saw a little girl with such strong mobility. The Privy Council has no shortage of people who are proficient in alchemy and powerful in battle, but they lack people who take the lead in planning. She If you go to Gyeonggi, I can guarantee that it will attract competition from all sides. You have to think about it, there are not many opportunities to be close to the water."

Think about... think about what?What the hell is the guard talking about?Shen Chun faintly sensed that something was wrong, why did his immediate boss say such things to a supervisor whose rank was much lower than his?

"But the disciples of the aristocratic family..." The short man put down the note, picked up the roster on the table again, and looked through it again-this time, he simply skipped the first dozen pages and started from the part of the door. "Proctor Shen, Ma Ruxue... what do you think of this person?"

"I'm proficient at inquiring about clues, but the level of alchemy is unknown. Judging from the current performance, it is very likely to choose to quit." Shen Chun answered, while quietly looking at the other party.He could hear that the Procurator seemed to be quite prejudiced against the children of the aristocratic family, and seemed to prefer the Sanmen.But the problem is that these aristocratic families have grown up and formed by relying on the Privy Council, which is far from the real clan. As an official in the palace, his attitude is really strange.

After the other party asked several people in a row, he suddenly let out a soft "Huh".

"Didn't you say that this guy will be eliminated soon? Why is he still in the town... and not only has the money been multiplied several times, he even got the source of the spiritual fire?"

Shen Chun squinted and found that the person the short man was referring to was Xia Fan.

"This person is really lucky. According to the summary information, he raised a lot of money from the eliminated candidates and survived the crisis of being eliminated in the early stage. As for the bottle of spiritual fire, it is still unclear how he got it. But... …He didn’t have much to show for it other than luck.”

"You don't think he can pass the test?"

"Yes. A big indicator in the test is the ability to negotiate, and the only one who is close to him is a fellow countryman. The fewer people you associate with, the lower your ability to resist risks. Especially high-risk people like Dahuang Shaye The possibility of one person getting through the incident safely is very small. Of course, the possibility of him withdrawing with other candidates is also very high, which is also a wise choice."

Speaking of this, Shen Chun secretly sighed in his heart. He had to say that this candidate named Xia Fan was really weird. He spent money like water when he only had five taels of silver in the front, but he became more cautious when he got more than 20 taels later.If these money were spilled and more candidates were recruited to form a small team, the ranking would not be what it is now.

The short man turned a few more pages and finally lost his patience.He threw the roster back on the table, patted the silver mask on his face, "The family is the family...it's better than nothing."

For some reason, Shen Chun felt relieved.

Suddenly, the other party put his hands on the table, leaned forward suddenly and said, "By the way, I almost forgot to ask you—Proctor Shen, have you noticed any signs of someone who might be a listener these days?"

Shen Chun couldn't help taking a step back, "No...Of course not, if the officer finds any clues, he will definitely report it to the two inspectors as soon as possible!"

"Ah, is it?" The short man withdrew his hand as if in a state of disenchantment, and said to Ba Xingtian, "Master Ba, I have no other questions."

The latter nodded, and walked out of the big tent side by side with him, leaving only the invigilator in the tent with an inexplicable expression.

Shen Chun couldn't figure it out for a long time, why when the other party asked those words, the tone was not a reminder or a warning, but a little... Expectation?

……

"Senior Sister, this is the list for evacuation tomorrow. I filled it out in the order they reported it."

Luo You'er put a paper full of names on Luo Qingqing's desk.

"Thank you, remember to let them leave the town in this order tomorrow morning. The most important thing about this kind of thing—"

"It's order, I won't forget it." Luo You'er interrupted her, "You've said it many times."

"That's good." Luo said helplessly.

"Then keep busy, and I won't bother you." The junior sister smiled and left the bedroom.

She rubbed the slightly sore corners of her eyes, stood up and extended the wick, the fire in the room suddenly became much brighter, and it was pitch black outside the window at this moment.

The assembly of the wooden kite was not smooth today, probably because it was stored for too long, and there were several problems with the skeleton, but it did not affect its use.For the sake of safety, she decided to postpone the release date until early tomorrow morning. As long as there is no strong wind and heavy rain, it will not be difficult to fly the distance of less than five feet with people and ropes.

Of course, flying over is the beginning.To send so many candidates out of the town, a few wooden kites alone are definitely not enough, they have to make a simple "bridge" with hemp rope.This kind of rope bridge will certainly not be able to support too much weight, so every time you climb the bridge, you must strictly control it. In addition, there are time issues and accident handling... It can be said that the planning, preparation and execution required for this operation are the same as in the past. It's very different from the small fights.

As the initiator, she must not make any mistakes.

Looks like I'll have a sleepless night today.

Luo smiled wryly, but then felt a little relieved - at least tonight she didn't have to worry about being sneaked into the bedroom after she was asleep.

To be honest, when she found out that the room had been invaded in the morning, she felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

Fortunately, the infiltrator didn't really do anything to her, otherwise she really didn't know what to do next.

This also made Luo Qingqing just close his eyes for a period of time, and the appearance of the other party would involuntarily appear in his mind.