Tang riddles

The carriage continued to drive in the maze, but Zhang Ruohan's guidance still made Wu Ya puzzled.What did San Niang rely on to direct her to turn left or right?What Zhang Ruohan did next also made her feel a little strange.She pulled out a piece of paper from the baggage stored in the carriage and held it in her hand.Wu Ya wanted to ask what it was for, but seeing the thoughtful look on Zhang Ruohan's face, she still didn't open her mouth.

Although Sanniang solved the mystery of the trapped people in the maze, it does not mean that she can solve the maze.Zhang Ruohan didn't know exactly how many secret doors there were in the maze, and there was no pattern for when these secret doors would open and when they would close.After cracking the first secret door, Zhang Ruohan discussed with Shen Jin. Next, they need to take as many different paths as possible to find all the secret doors.

For Wu Ya, this task was simply impossible, but Sanniang started without any hesitation.So far, they have found three other secret doors.However, this labyrinth seems to be endless, and I don't know how much time has passed. It seems that there are still many secret doors that have not been discovered, and new paths are emerging one after another.Even Wu Ya can already gradually distinguish the difference between the roads.

Driving in this way, the length of time is difficult to distinguish, and only changes in the body can reveal the approximate time period.They ate once before entering the maze, and after entering the maze until they were hungry and had to eat, about four hours passed.And right now they have eaten twice due to hunger, the most recent one was about half an hour ago.In other words, they have been trapped in the maze for more than eight and a half hours.

The reason why the clepsydra was not used for timing is because Zhang Ruohan discovered that the clepsydra was broken.I don't know when it broke, they didn't notice it at all, but time stopped when they first entered the maze, it was not completely dark at that time, and their companions were all around.At first, Zhang Ruohan thought that the clepsydra was still dripping regularly, but after half an hour, he checked again and found that the clepsydra had not changed at all. After checking, he found that the water in the clepsydra disappeared at some point.Looking again, Qianhe's trousers got wet at some point, and they are still not dry yet.The clepsydra seemed to have been kicked over by Chizuru's foot, and then it was righted again.

This discovery made Zhang Ruohan and Shen Jin think again as if inspired.

"Qin Nu, I don't know if you know a trick in juggling." Zhang Ruohan asked Shen Jin in a low voice.

[Blindfolding? 】Shen Jin replied.

"It is indeed a kind of blindness, but it is more subtle and deceptive. I once saw a juggler in the market make a rabbit in a cage disappear. Before doing the trick, he must first cover the cage Putting on a layer of black cloth prevents us from seeing the specific changes inside. When the black cloth is uncovered, the rabbit disappears. Then the rabbit is transformed out of thin air. But in fact, whether the rabbit is the original rabbit or not, we have no idea. We don't know what the actor did during the juggling, and we can't see it. Maybe there is a mechanism in the cage, or some other means. In short, this trick must deceive the eyes of the audience. "

[Sister-in-law means... I am currently in the middle of a magic trick? 】

"That's right." Zhang Ruohan nodded, "Illusion combined with some means based on reality can realize the situation we are in now. Do you remember that when the team was still complete, we rested in place for a while?"

Shen Jin nodded, Zhang Ruohan continued:

"At that time, the sky had turned cloudy and dark clouds gathered. We were in a maze, and a strange mist began to diffuse around us, and the smell was a bit choking. We have been walking in the desert for a long time, and our mouth and nose are dry and numb. The ability will decrease. At that time, I felt a little suffocating in the carriage. I guessed that the fog was not an ordinary natural phenomenon. Not long after we inhaled the smoke, we suddenly encountered strong lightning, the team was separated, and the sky was completely dark Come down. If these natural phenomena are not naturally occurring, but man-made, then there must be a dividing point among them. The dividing point between reality and illusion, the dividing point where the real we see with the naked eye becomes false."

Shen Jin thought for a moment, touched his chin, and said:

[I roughly understand what Auntie means, but I'm a little confused about where the dividing line is, and I still need to think about it. 】

Zhang Ruohan nodded.Immediately, they continued to search for a way out of the maze. Not long after Zhang Ruohan was there, she took out the thin piece of paper and held it in her hand until this moment.

"Wu Ya, feel it to see if the paper is wet." She suddenly handed the paper to Wu Ya.Wu Ya was at a loss, but followed her words and stretched out her hand to touch it. Feeling the wetness of her fingertips, she nodded and said:

"It's really wet."

"Do you also feel that the cracked throat is much better?" Zhang Ruohan asked again.

"Well, yes." Wu Ya said in surprise.

"Wu Ya, the labyrinth we are in may have a water source nearby, and the humidity here is very high."

"Ah? Isn't the Kongque River flowing through here?"

"No, just the Kongque River flowing outside the maze is not enough to bring such a humid atmosphere. The desert is severely windy and sandy, and the air is very dry. The wind direction of this season is westerly. The Kongque River located on the east side cannot bring such humidity. unless we are in a confined space." As she spoke, she looked up at the dark sky above her head.

Wu Ya was dumbfounded, looked at Sanniang's profile, and she also looked up.

"San Niang... Could it be that the night sky is not the night sky?"

"Perhaps, it's the top of the cave." Zhang Ruohan said surprisingly.

"Sanniang, aren't we on the ground? When did we go underground?!" Wu Ya panicked and asked hastily. He couldn't control the volume for a while, and the voice echoed in the maze.

"Hush..." Zhang Ruohan hurriedly covered her mouth, Wu Ya was startled in a cold sweat, and nodded with some weakness.

"Perhaps, just after we inhaled the mist, we fainted for a long time, and then were transferred underground. This maze is completely different from the stone forest maze on the ground. But because we are under the control of drugs, the hallucinations are severe, The light was too dim to tell the difference."

"But... I don't remember ever being in a coma. The memories are all connected, and there are no fragments." Wu Ya said strangely.

"That's because the enemy deliberately recorded the position we were in before we fainted, and after the transfer, we placed it as it was. Then, I don't know what method was used to make us forget the fact that we had fainted after waking up. Instead, I continued to walk in the maze. Moreover, the scene I saw before me still remained in my mind."

"Residue?" Wu Ya was puzzled.

"You still remember that after we rested in place, we set off again and walked in the maze for a long time. During that time, what we saw was not the dark scene in front of us, but the desert sky covered with dark clouds and Stone Forest Labyrinth. We saw this scene on the ground before. It is reasonable to say that we should not be able to see it after going down to the ground, but I remember walking in such a scene for a while, and after inhaling the mist. This The phenomenon is obviously a phenomenon of residual memory. Due to the confusion of the sense of time, the previous memory has been moved to the future, resulting in a residual illusion. This illusion has been with us until the outbreak of the strong lightning."

[As soon as the strong thunder and lightning came, we woke up from the hallucination. 】Shen Jin in the carriage patted Wu Ya, and said with gestures.Of course she heard the conversation between Zhang Ruohan and Wu Ya before, obviously she also thought of going with Zhang Ruohan.

[The strong thunder and lightning may be the explosion and strong light caused by black fire/powder, but we mistakenly think it is lightning, because we saw the sky covered with dark clouds before, and our brain naturally made such an associative conclusion.Then, under external stimuli, we gradually pulled away from the strong hallucinations, and found that the team had dispersed and everyone had disappeared.

On this point, my sister-in-law and I have different opinions.I think that after we were moved underground, we were all scattered and not rearranged in the same places where we were originally together.The memory of walking in the maze after inhaling the mist is the remnant of the previous memory on the ground. Our carriage has always been walking alone in the maze, but we thought we had a partner by our side.We didn't discover this fact until the thunder exploded.The best evidence is on the bride.Xiongniang is the driver, she will not leave her post without authorization, and even if she wants to leave, she will tell us.But she's gone, and we don't have any memory of her saying hello before she left.If, before the thunderstorm, she had been with us, then when the thunderstorm broke out, what chance and reason would she have to leave the carriage?This only proves that she was forced to move away long before the thunderstorm happened.And our carriage has been walking alone in the maze.These two horses should have real memories, but horses can't speak human words, and we can't get the truth from their mouths. 】

"The disorder of time and space is the most critical part of this technique. Our clepsydra was accidentally broken, which is the enemy's fault. The time of the clepsydra stops and we rest where we are. When we inhale the mist, it is itself A reminder. Qianzuru’s trouser legs were wet, and she couldn’t move herself. It was impossible to kick over the clepsydra on her own. It all flowed out. The enemy's tricks have been calculated, but they still can't be perfect." Zhang Ruohan concluded.

"However, Sanniang, I am still very confused. Why were we transferred underground? What is the purpose of scattering us and throwing us into the maze? If it is to take our lives, this is too much. And , What was this underground labyrinth built for? It's really strange." Wu Ya asked.

【Yes, Wu Ya has grasped the key point, besides, I am also very surprised why the enemy will keep us in one place, but take away the girl.Could it be that there is something disadvantageous to them if the bride is by our side? 】Shen Jin said.

"Not only is Yingniang not here, Chishi is not here, Hutuo, Congyun Congyu, Huyan Zhuoma, everyone is not here, but the four of us were left together and gave us a carriage..." Zhang Ruohan pondered, "Is it because we are all sitting in the carriage, so the amount of inhaling the mist is weaker than that of people outside. In order to ensure the integrity and effectiveness of this technique, we are divided into one place to prevent us from prematurely breathing." Waking up will destroy the illusions of the rest of the people in advance?"

[This underground labyrinth... I always feel very familiar. In Youzhou, there was a large underground labyrinth underground in Fanyang Yahang where Bai Liuniang was located, and it was arranged according to the Taoist gossip.Now we have arrived at another underground labyrinth thousands of miles away. Among them, it should not be a coincidence...] Shen Jinsi thought.

"What are you talking about, Taoist... gossip?" Zhang Ruohan suddenly opened his eyes and asked.

Shen Jin looked at Zhang Ruohan, nodded, and said: [Sister-in-law, did you think of something? 】

"Wait..." Zhang Ruohan seemed to be thinking eagerly about something, and didn't answer Shen Jin for a while.

At this moment, Wu Ya pointed to the black night sky above his head and said:

"Look, it's really the top of the cave, why can it be seen suddenly now? It's really strange."

Zhang Ruohan and Shen Jin both raised their heads and looked up. The night sky, which looked very realistic at first, really gradually showed the appearance of a rock hanging on the roof.And the spar hanging from the high rock wall, under the illumination of several relatively hidden lights farther away, reflected a faint and transparent light.No wonder they were in such a dark underground, but they could still see.

"The illusion has almost disappeared," Zhang Ruohan said.

"That's right, you are the first to get rid of the hallucinations, congratulations on passing the test." At this moment, in the dark and silent cave, a gloomy male voice suddenly sounded, followed by footsteps, coming towards them.

Zhang Ruohan, Wu Ya, and Shen Jin suddenly turned their heads, and saw in horror that a tall man in a black robe and a pale Asura ghost mask was walking towards them.

"You are..." Zhang Ruohan began to tremble involuntarily.

"Long time no see, Mrs. Zhang San, I miss you very much after leaving the coffin and burying the cliff." The man in the black robe and ghostly face stood not far away, and said slowly, "You are a person with good fortune, and your life is long, so , I hope you can help us poor people."

"What did you say?" Zhang Ruohan asked tremblingly.

"Come with me." As soon as the man in the black robe with a ghostly face finished speaking, he flashed the cold blade hidden in his sleeve robe and rushed towards them.

The author has something to say: the puzzle is slowly being revealed, and the next chapter is tomorrow.