Chapter 159 Dark Pawn

Xiang Chen stood outside, his expression somewhat complicated.

The "mind control" he had suffered was lifted by Gu Shen in the main hall. The sentence, "The more fanatical, the easier it is to make mistakes," directly awakened him.

And Gu Shen's "dream" began to unfold at that time.

In fact, what Xiang Chen did afterward was very simple –

That was to stay outside and wait for Gu Shen to resolve the trouble.

So he stood outside the door, watching his disciple, like a puppet on a string, enter the "secret chamber" that isolated signals with Gu Shen.

The feeling of watching this scene unfold was very subtle.

Perhaps before the "mind control" was lifted, Gu Shen looked at himself in the same way... dreaming but unaware.

"Mr. Gu, thank you for your help."

Xiang Chen said in a hoarse voice, "Without you, I don't know how long I would have been kept in the dark..."

"You're welcome."

Gu Shen smiled slightly.

Xiang Chen entered.

The first thing he saw was Li Bing, "nailed" to the wall of books.

This student... this student he was once so proud of!

Pain, helplessness, self-blame surged in Xiang Chen's eyes... all kinds of emotions intertwined, and finally these emotions dissipated, leaving only some faint sadness.

In the duel just now, Gu Shen did not completely shield him from it.

Standing at the door, he heard most of the conversations inside.

If Mr. Gu hadn't been more skilled and opened the dream ahead of time... he would have died today. He didn't understand what Guangming City promised that could make Li Bing so willing to give his life for it?

"I didn't kill him directly."

Gu Shen said, "But I erased his 'loyalty' to Guangming City. When he wakes up, he will become a 'sleeper agent'."

He did not completely shield him from the conversation in the secret chamber.

But some important content, naturally, could not be spread, such as his "three times of transcending realms."

However... Gu Shen didn't plan to hide the fact that he had "brainwashed" Li Bing.

"Your choice is correct..."

Xiang Chen took a deep breath and said, "Killing him may not be a good thing."

Li Bing was a chess piece placed by Guangming City.

Sometimes, discovering a chess piece and immediately removing it is not necessarily the best thing to do.

Silently incorporating it for one's own use is also a good choice.

Cultivating a garrison in Dongning City is not simple. For Beizhou, killing Li Bing would instead arouse Guangming City's vigilance.

"This matter is no small matter. Just now, outside the secret chamber, I have reported it to the Pavilion."

Grand Duke Xiang Chen took a deep breath and said, "Mr. Gu, this 'spiritual seed' that you have planted..."

"It doesn't matter."

Gu Shen smiled and said, "I don't want to get involved in this mess. Even if you don't report it, I will tell Zhu Xue to handle it. The Holy Adjudicators infiltrating the military is your Beizhou's private matter, and how to deal with it is a problem that you should be concerned about. When Her Majesty sends someone over, I will naturally transfer the control of the 'spiritual seed'."

Hearing this, Grand Duke Xiang Chen breathed a sigh of relief.

He was still worried about how to talk to Gu Shen... Now it seemed that this Mr. Gu was a man who "knew the big picture."

"Zhu Xue will send someone over soon...." Xiang Chen quickly reached out to invite Gu Shen, saying, "While we wait, please allow me to introduce you to... the 'ancient texts' that I have collected."

...

...

About an hour later.

A zeppelin flew to the outside of Xiang Chen's manor.

Grand Duke Zhu Xue personally rushed over.

Due to Xiang Chen's report, he deliberately brought several strong men with him, and the manor servants who had received Xiang Chen's orders had already opened the gate and were waiting for Zhu Xue's arrival.

He rushed straight to the secret chamber, covered in dust.

"Lord Xiang Chen! Mr. Gu!"

Before the person arrived, the voice came first.

However, Zhu Xue didn't expect to see a very warm scene after entering.

Soft light洒落, inside the secret chamber, everything was peaceful.

Grand Duke Xiang Chen and Gu Shen were sitting at the desk, talking happily.

A stack of ancient characters was placed on the table.

Before Zhu Xue pushed the door open –

"Mr. Gu's talent... is truly astonishing, it can be said that it is rare to find in a hundred years. The number of 'ancient texts' in Qingzhong Mausoleum is so vast that even if I resign from all official duties and concentrate on studying, I am afraid it will take ten years to understand."

The two sat and talked, leisurely and casually.

After a conversation, Xiang Chen became more and more fond of Gu Shen.

He learned that this young man had only spent a little over a year studying all the ancient texts in the mausoleum!

What kind of concept was this?

Describing him as a gifted genius was an insult to Gu Shen.

In the Five Continents, for so many years, countless geniuses have tried to understand the "ancient texts"... Unfortunately, transcendent cultivation and ancient text comprehension are completely two different paths. Even a genius rated as "S-level" may not learn ancient texts faster than an ordinary person.

In the past, the most talented ancient text learner that Xiang Chen had seen was Master Qianye.

However...

Qianye was not from the Five Continents.

He knew this secret. When Qianye was brought back by Gu Changzhi, he happened to be traveling there. The earliest "ancient texts" were taught to Qianye by Xiang Chen... Before long, the two were studying together. Qianye learned faster and faster, as if he had a natural understanding of "ancient texts."

And Xiang Chen was quickly surpassed, and he could only sigh at this point.

"You are worthy of being the disciple that Qianye values."

Gu Shen smiled helplessly.

He never felt that his ancient text learning speed was so fast.

One was because Gu Shen's cultivation was basically alone, without comparison...

Secondly, it was because he had seen a true "monster."

Chu Ling!

It only took Chu Ling a few hours... or maybe even less! ...to comprehend all the ancient texts in the entire Qingzhong Mausoleum.

Gu Shen didn't dare to tell Xiang Chen about this, for fear that the Grand Duke's mentality would be unbalanced.

"No wonder Qianye thinks so highly of you."

Xiang Chen said with emotion, "Her vision has always been better than mine... Speaking of which, she also took in a second student. According to rumors, it seems to be a woman?"

"That's right."

Gu Shen nodded.

With the help of White Bishop, Chu Ling's information was well concealed.

So far, no one in Changye has doubted the identity of the "tombkeeper" of the Mausoleum...

"What kind of woman is she to become a 'tombkeeper'? Could it be that her ancient text talent is even better than yours, Mr. Gu?"

Xiang Chen sighed and said, "If I have the opportunity to go to Dongzhou again, I must pay a visit."

Chu Ling's ancient text talent was indeed better than his... and much better, Gu Shen also sighed inwardly.

He only heard Xiang Chen murmur, "Now that White Bishop is stationed in the Mausoleum, I'm afraid it won't be so easy to enter the Mausoleum..."

Gu Shen quickly smiled and said, "If the Grand Duke sets off, please let me know, I will be happy to welcome you at any time."

He dared not say anything else.

He could still arrange for the matter of entering the Mausoleum.

Xiang Chen was slightly startled when he heard this, and his original depressed mood was swept away.

He smiled and said, "I'm just saying... I've heard a little about what happened in Changye... You two should live a good life, and when the happy day comes, I will send a congratulatory gift."

Gu Shen: "???"

"These ancient text arrays... you can take them."

Xiang Chen pushed the ancient text arrays on the table forward and said sincerely, "These 'ancient characters' recorded on special materials are related to the ancient text patterns in Qingzhong Mausoleum. You can take them back and slowly comprehend them."

Gu Shen looked at the talismans on the table, and although he was tempted, he did not accept them directly.

"There is no need to have any burden. This is 'making the best use of things'."

Xiang Chen smiled and pushed them forward again, saying, "Originally, these 'ancient text talismans' would have been handed over to you today... You may not believe it, but when I see you, I always think of some old friends."

"...Old friends?"

Gu Shen did not dare to ask more questions, but only repeated these two words with some confusion.

Grand Duke Xiang Chen was old.

He lived in the Pavilion for a long time and liked to study "ancient texts."

These two clues linked together... inevitably made people's minds wander...

"Many years ago, there was a guy who was also like you, with extraordinary talent in 'ancient text research'..." A look of reminiscence appeared on Xiang Chen's face, and he said with a chuckle, "I remember back then, he and I traveled together, wandering around the Five Continents..."

He stopped here.

Hearing this, Gu Shen felt complicated and hesitated to speak.

How could he not know that Xiang Chen was talking about Turing?

It would take another week for Chu Ling's "list statistics" to come out.

Could it be that Grand Duke Xiang Chen was also... a remnant?

Although he didn't want to use this word.

But if Xiang Chen was really a member of the Ancient Text Society, then there was no more appropriate adjective than remnant.

"Unfortunately, this guy died too early."

The darkness in Xiang Chen's eyes was very strong.

He smiled mockingly and lonely, and said, "Even now, I don't want to believe... that this guy who pushed the world into a 'new era' with his own strength would leave so suddenly."

No...

He was not a member of the Ancient Text Society.

Xiang Chen's own transcendent cultivation realm was low, and Gu Shen could sense the strangeness of his spirit.

This kind of sadness was not faked.

The "remnants" of the Ancient Text Society knew the truth about the Council's persecution of Alan Turing.

"My condolences."

Gu Shen's expression softened. Whether Xiang Chen was a member of the Ancient Text Society or not, he had to cooperate in acting at this moment.

"Let's not mention it."

Xiang Chen took a deep breath, pushed out the stack of ancient text talismans, and said solemnly, "In short... you take this thing. If you can comprehend anything, you can tell me."

"Gu... Thank you for your kindness, sir."

Gu Shen was no longer polite.

He accepted the ancient texts, and at this moment, the wooden door outside was pushed open.

Someone politely knocked twice.

"Sorry—"

Zhu Xue looked around at the scene inside. The books were intact, a sleeping person, and a pair of congenial "old friends." Everything seemed to be under control.

He raised his eyebrows, smiled, and said, "It seems that I have come at the wrong time and interrupted your conversation."