ATPnovel Chapter 16 Dancing Under the Moon
Chapter 16 Dancing Under the Moon
"It's half done."
"this..."
Lei Long looked at Wei Ziheng anxiously, his expression full of urging.
"Then why did you stop?"
"It's not that I don't want to continue, but the time is not right."
Lei Long only had a vague understanding, but he didn't want to push him too hard.
He still hoped that Wei Ziheng could successfully solve the puzzle, since saving a lot of explosives would be important for Qianlang Village.
"Then I, Lei, will also wait here with Island Master Wei."
The group waited in the valley for a while longer, until it was completely dark, when Zhang Qianyou returned to the valley.
"Chief! Those villagers want to invite us to dinner, saying they'll treat us to a lavish meal!"
"Have a meal?!"
Lei Long and Su Qing exchanged a glance, and the latter immediately asked:
"Were you caught poisoning people when you passed through the village today?"
"No!"
Lei Long denied it categorically.
"The person who led us into the village followed us closely; I didn't even have a chance to make a move!"
That means...
Su Qing's eyes, like those of a venomous snake, scanned the crowd.
"Did someone leak the information to the villagers?"
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged wary glances.
Seeing this, Xiao Xuan immediately said:
"What are you saying, Madam Lei? You're just implying suspicion about me and Brother Gu and Brother Zhang. I, Xiao, cannot tolerate unfounded accusations. I'd better withdraw now!"
After speaking, Xiao Xuan raised his cold steel sword and looked coldly at everyone.
"Or is it that Madam Lei, seeing that things have succeeded, wants to find a reason to silence me? Why bother? You took a knife for me on the ship back then; I'll repay you!"
Lei Long snorted coldly, clenching his fists and squeezing the fat on his face together.
"Wait!" Wei Ziheng suddenly spoke up, "If we want to solve the puzzle, I still need this kid."
Everyone fell silent; they could even hear each other's heartbeats.
Lei Long suddenly relaxed, spread his hands, and chuckled.
"Hey, what are you doing? We're all in the same boat, how can we fight over outsiders?"
Su Qing also looked aggrieved and said in a coquettish voice:
"I was just saying it casually, Brother Xiao, why are you being so petty!"
"Exactly! This isn't a place for you to throw tantrums like a child!"
Wang Hong also shouted repeatedly. He had been keeping a close eye on the thunder dragon, ready to strike at the first command.
But seeing how everyone's attitude changed so drastically because of Wei Ziheng's words, she couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
"Sect Leader Wang, please say less. Brother Xiao is new to the martial world, and coming from a prestigious family, so it's understandable that he's arrogant. Weren't we the same when we first started out?"
After weighing the pros and cons, Lei Long finally decided to speak up for Wei Ziheng.
All of this was within Xiao Xuan's plan.
His tactic of retreating to advance not only cleared him of suspicion but also created a rift in this already uncoordinated team.
However, the risk was too great. If it weren't for his good relationship with Wei Ziheng, who was quite capable, Xiao Xuan really wouldn't have dared to do this.
"Chief, we did indeed pay too much attention to that well in the village today, so it's understandable that they were testing us."
Zhang Qianyou also spoke up for Xiao Xuan, which surprised Lei Long, since this man had been silent and taciturn for several months since entering Qianlang Village.
"You're right."
"Should we send a few people to dispel their suspicions?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xuan frowned slightly and looked at Zhang Qianyou. Among the group, he was the last to return. What had he been doing for almost the entire day?
Now that they've just returned, they're already trying to get a chance to go out. Does this mean McDonald's is planning something?
"Forget it! So what if they have doubts? We'll have to deal with it eventually."
Lei Long's tone was icy, as if he had already figured out how to deal with the villagers.
Xiao Xuan saw this, but his heart began to pound.
During this day, not only did I change, but everyone else on the island also took their own actions.
Perhaps the information I received before is already outdated.
Xiao Xuan pondered for a moment, then used his hint ability to look at everyone, only to find that the information was basically the same as before.
"As expected, the hints don't predict the future, but rather give you a push when you're almost there, and pull you back when you're about to fail."
Just as everyone was looking at each other in bewilderment, a ray of moonlight shone into the canyon.
"Bang!"
As a muffled thud was heard, everyone immediately became alert and looked around.
"Bang! Bang!"
After several consecutive sounds, it turned into a crisp tapping sound, like striking a stone slab.
"It's a stone wall! The time has come!"
Wei Ziheng spoke excitedly, and everyone looked at the stone wall in response, only to find that the stone slabs on it were moving on their own.
Those fallen stone fragments were all squeezed off during the movement.
Moreover, even the patterns on the stone slabs are changing.
Although the stone fragments are scattered and disorderly, by observing the key parts, people can see that it is a woman dancing gracefully in a painting.
"The woman in this painting can actually move!"
"A god! Truly a god!"
"Nandez...how is that possible..."
Everyone was shocked, because this was beyond their comprehension.
Wei Ziheng was extremely excited, as if he had found himself from more than 20 years ago.
Xiao Xuan sighed, thinking that this time-traveling senior was really too idle. With so many things to study, he actually spent so many years creating a raster card version of Huarong Road.
A lenticular card is a toy found on Earth; it's a card on which different images can be seen depending on the angle of light.
The ingenious immortal used this principle to create a unique effect on the mural under the moonlight. Several paintings overlapped and switched, appearing lifelike, as if real people were moving.
In addition, the sudden movement of those magnetized stone slabs could be due to either moonlight triggering some mechanism, or the night or temperature affecting the magnetic field.
However, Xiao Xuan was too lazy to think about these things, since he hadn't studied them himself, so he might as well ask someone who really knew the stuff.
"Senior Wei, what's the next step?"
"First, stick these fallen stone pieces back on, otherwise we won't be able to move the ones on the stone wall."
There weren't many stone fragments that were pushed off, only a few pieces. Wei Ziheng immediately compared them with the stone statues and found their corresponding positions.
Once all the stone pieces are attached to the stone wall, the solution to the puzzle, known as the Huarong Road puzzle, will be required.
Wei Ziheng had the most in-depth research, so everyone naturally followed his orders.
Moving an image is much simpler than recognizing coordinates, so anyone other than Xiao Xuan can help.
As time passed, Wei Ziheng was responsible for instructing everyone on how to move, while the others leaped up and down, one after another, operating on the stone wall.
"Without Island Master Wei's more than twenty years of painstaking efforts, Lei and the others would be completely lost."
Lei Long and his wife stood aside waiting for the result, both of them smiling quite contentedly. But as soon as they turned their heads, Lei Long revealed a fierce and murderous look in his eyes.
Meanwhile, three large ships were slowly approaching from the north of the nameless island.