camouflage salted fish

Chapter 20 "The Name is Drunken Begonia."

the next morning.

Outside the Sheriff's Mansion, there were more people watching the excitement than yesterday. The peddlers sensed the business opportunity and took up positions before dawn to sell some melons and fruits and sour plum soup for relieving summer heat. Rentou collected money and made a lot of money.

Song Yifan and his team took a front row seat in the arbor, bought cold drinks and snacks, and waited for the game to start.The refining masters participating in the competition climbed onto the balcony one after another, and each came to their seats.

"A total of twelve craftsmen signed up for the competition this time, six from Pingyuan County, and some from Qingfeng County, Luoye County and other places." On the judging seat in the middle of the building, Zhang Junshou said to Qiuming beside him .

Qiu Mingyuan looked at the craftsmen climbing up the stairs one by one, smiled elegantly and said: "Your county is really full of talents."

"Master Qiu was joking." Zhang Junshou laughed, "It's far worse than you."

Qiu Mingyuan's smile deepened, before he could speak, his face froze suddenly, the previous smile was completely frozen on his face!

How can it be?

That person... how could he appear here! ?

He stared at Qiu Wanran as if he had seen a ghost, his face was faintly blue, Qiu Wanran passed in front of him, but he didn't even give him a look, and went straight to his refining table to prepare.

"Master Qiu," Zhang Junshou saw Qiu Mingyuan's strangeness, "what's wrong with you?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Qiu Mingyuan forced a smile, "The refiner just now looks very young."

Zhang Junshou followed his gaze to see Qiu Wanran and Shen Budu, and nodded: "Yes. Heroes are born as teenagers. Didn't you do the same back then?"

Qiu Mingyuan was no longer in the mood to accept his flattery.He couldn't understand how Qiu Wanran, who had disappeared for four or five years, suddenly appeared in Pingyuan County.What is he doing here?Did you come here specifically to find yourself?

The most important thing is, will he interfere with his own affairs?

Qiu Mingyuan looked down, and looked up to the far right of the refining seat.There was a forty-year-old craftsman, stocky and slightly short, he raised his head calmly, exchanged a look with him, and nodded almost imperceptibly.

Qiu Mingyuan had no choice but to temporarily suppress his uneasiness and wait and see what happened.

"Everyone," the middle-aged man who presided over the competition cleared his throat, "the refining time is two hours, and the materials for refining are provided by us, and you can choose to use them freely. There is no limit to the direction of refining. The quality of the utensils is judged."

"Now, the game begins."

Twelve refiners started to move.Some selected materials first, while others lit the furnace with burning stones.Only when Qiu Wanran waved his hand, the stove instantly lit up with a dark purple flame.

In an instant, everyone's eyes were attracted.

"Hiss—that person actually has a natal flame!"

"Not only that...the fire seems to be...it's...heavenly fire!"

Even the craftsmen on the judging table widened their eyes in surprise: "It turned out to be Zilin Tianhuo! I didn't expect such a person to be hidden in Pingyuan County!"

Facing the shocked, envious, and jealous gazes around her, Qiu Wanran remained motionless, but turned her face slightly, looking at Shen Budu involuntarily.

Shen Budu blinked at him quickly and showed a thumb.

Qiu Wan laughed, her heart suddenly became quiet, and she carefully selected the materials.

Shen Budu lit the stove with burning stones.Without the assistance of Tianhuo, it is indeed a bit difficult to refine the sacred weapon... although it is not impossible to refine it.

But this time he didn't intend to steal the limelight from Qiu Wanyan, and he already had something he wanted to practice.

It's just the material...

He fumbled through the materials with his fingers for a while, with an undisguised disgust on his face—I don't know if the sheriff is too stingy, or he intends to test the level of the craftsmen present, and the materials he provided are really shabby , poor quality.If a beginner smelter were to use this material, he might not even be able to make a stronger pot lid.

He looked up and looked around, and everyone's materials were exactly the same.

Just the one on the far side...

Shen Budu narrowed his eyes.

The color of the turquoise in his hand seems to be a little different from his one?

"Ahem, don't look around!" The middle-aged man who presided over the competition walked up to him, obviously treating Master Shen as an ignorant bastard who planned to cheat, and said with a straight face, "You must think independently and have your own creativity. !"

"Okay." Shen Budu withdrew his gaze obediently, touched a few stones and threw them into his stove, and a large puff of black smoke came out instantly.

Middle-aged man: "..."

He had a toothache all over his face, obviously thinking that the young craftsman was messing around, shook his head and walked away resentfully.

The other refiners also caught a glimpse of the black smoke, and couldn't help showing ironic, mocking and gloating expressions on their faces.We all know that the black smoke during the refining process will declare the failure of the refining device, but I didn't expect someone to screw it up so soon!

They were hit by the Zilin Tianhuo that lit up in the autumn evening, but now they have regained their motivation - at least they are at the bottom, so what are they afraid of!

As for the late autumn burning, don't worry at all.

What's wrong with the black smoke?He is not afraid of taking black soil!

Is the big brother's intentions something a mortal like him can guess?Just do your thing and you're done!

After some enlightenment last night, Qiu Wanran's mood has been completely cleared up.Although Qiu Mingyuan, whom he had hated for so many years, was close at hand, it was strange that he no longer had any influence on him.

At this moment, he only wanted to practice something that he really liked and could make him feel proud of.

what to do?

He suddenly thought of the ring that Shen Budu gave him—it was the ring that made the mighty Wild Wolf Gang obediently bow their heads, and made the bullied Zhenshanzong find peace.

There may be other dangers in the future, and weapons alone will not suffice.

He also needs something that can protect the Zhenshanzong firmly and tightly, even when necessary, even people can't find it!

Fragments of light floated in Qiuwan's eyes, and he devoted himself to refining without distracting thoughts.

On the other side, Shen Budu waited patiently for the black smoke to end, and then took out a few crystals the size of fingernails from the stove.

The few stones just now had too many impurities, so Shen Budu used fire to remove the useless impurities to extract the essence.The amount is small, but enough.

The sun moved a little bit, and soon there was only time left for a cup of tea.Among them, seven or eight refiners have finished refining. Because the materials are too common, what they refine are basically ordinary and high-grade treasures.

At this moment, a strong orange-red light suddenly burst out from the scene!

Qiu Mingyuan showed joy, and said with a smile: "Excellent, someone made a treasure!"

Sure enough, the short and strong craftsman at the farthest side of the refining table wiped the sweat from his forehead, and proudly held up the precious treasure he had refined.

Someone immediately presented the precious artifact to the judges' seat, and several craftsmen tasted it one by one:

"It's an attack-type concealed weapon. It is skillfully refined and practical. Not bad, not bad."

But there are also people who disagree.

"Although it's a good treasure, since it's a hidden weapon, isn't it too big? I'm afraid it's not easy to hide and carry." A female craftsman observed carefully and said, "And only three hidden weapons can be placed at a time. , I'm afraid it's not practical as expected..."

"It's already very good." Qiu Mingyuan glanced at her indifferently, "In order to test the real level of the craftsman, the materials provided this time are some very common materials. It is already very good to refine treasures under this premise." Rare."

But if there are shortcomings, there are shortcomings... And a truly powerful craftsman will not be overly restricted by materials.

The female craftsman was upset, but she knew that Qiu Mingyuan was famous, and she might not be able to argue with him, so she simply shut up and stopped talking.

"The time is coming soon." Qiu Mingyuan cast a glance at the busy Qiu Wanran, "In my opinion, the few remaining craftsmen probably won't be able to finish their works. The leader of this competition must be this craftsman." Those who produce treasures-"

Just as he was talking, a burst of crystal-clear orange light burst out again in the arena!

"Another treasure has appeared!"

Qiu Mingyuan's face changed violently, and he suddenly looked up!

Shen Budu was fiddling with a pink gadget in his hand, with a satisfied expression.

This little thing is in the shape of a heart, transparent and bright pink, flashing crystal streamers in the sun, it's hard to tell what it's for, it seems to be just a beautiful decoration.

Several judging craftsmen studied the thing for a while, but they didn't see anything: "This craftsman, can you introduce your work?"

"This thing is called 'Xiangxin'." Shen Budu said.

His gaze changed for a moment, as if recalling something long ago.

But only for a moment, he continued with his usual expression: "You can try to put it on your heart."

One of the oldest gray-haired craftsmen curiously did it, and found that the "Xiangxin" automatically stuck to his heart as soon as it was close to his heart, sticking tightly to his body through his clothes.Just feeling surprised, he heard Shen Budu ask: "What do you want to do most now?"

He subconsciously replied: "The weather is too hot, I want to drink sour plum soup."

Immediately, he was stunned, and the others were also stunned.

This refiner was notoriously solemn and strict. At the beginning of the competition, the maid asked him if he wanted a drink. He shook his beard and said with a straight face that children like sweet and cool things.

Why did you change your mind now?

Shen Budu smiled, didn't continue to ask, and explained to everyone: "This is the function of mutual understanding - it can detect the truth in a person's heart."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

"Really? Impossible!"

"That's right, this person must be bragging! How can there be such a powerful treasure?"

Zhang Junshou was also a little disbelieving, and took the pink carefully and stuck it on his chest: "Is it really so mysterious? Let me try it!"

Shen Budu asked the same question: "What do you want to do most now?"

Zhang Junshou blurted out: "Hurry up and end the meeting, and go to Wanhualou immediately. The mother-in-law at home is very strict, and I haven't been able to get close to Xueniang for several days!"

Everyone: "..."

Zhang Junshou finished speaking as if waking up from a dream, coughed loudly a few times, and laughed nonchalantly: "It's pretty accurate, it's pretty accurate..."

Everyone: "..."

Although the scene is funny, it also proves the effect of love.The female craftsman said with surprise on her face: "With this thing, wouldn't it be easy to interrogate the prisoner? The time for solving the case will be greatly shortened!"

This reminded Sheriff Zhang, he immediately forgot the embarrassment just now, and said with a blushing face, "That's right! It's wonderful, it's really wonderful!"

He pointed at Shen Budu: "This is amazing, I will give you a big reward!"

Everyone was amazed at the wonder of Xiangxin, only Qiu Mingyuan's face was not very good-looking: "Although this thing is novel, it is only a treasure. I think it is comparable to the hidden weapon just now..."

"How could Master Qiu say such nonsense?" The old white-haired craftsman looked at him inexplicably, "Mules and horses are similar, do you think they are the same thing?"

Qiu Mingyuan: "..."

Except for Qiu Mingyuan, the other craftsmen unanimously praised Xiangxin's ingenuity, and had decided that Shen Budu would be the winner of the competition.

"Okay. The time is up soon. If there are no objections, this conference..."

Things are always in twists and turns.

Stuck at the last moment of time, Qiuwan's burning noodles sank into the water, and poured the quenching water on the treasure just out of the oven!

In an instant, the golden light flourished, illuminating the entire building!

A smile appeared in Shen Budu's eyes.

At the same time, everyone on the scene stood up in shock!

"Holy Artifact!"

The beard of the white-haired craftsman was trembling, and he rubbed his eyes vigorously: "I never thought that I would be able to see the holy weapon with my own eyes in my lifetime..."

How many master craftsmen can there be in the entire Northern Wilderness?

Not to mention looking so young!

Qiu Wanran took a long breath of relief, seeming to let out all the stagnation, regret, and self-doubt of so many years.

He looked at the golden maple leaf in his palm and smiled from the bottom of his heart.

"This is a protective enchantment." Qiu Wanran said, "The area can cover hundreds of square kilometers, and it can withstand the full blow of the masters of the Tianbang. It also has purification and gain effects, which can increase the richness of the aura in the enchantment. Make cultivation more effective. The most important thing is that it has a hidden attribute, once it is opened, people outside the barrier will never find this area."

Not to mention the others, even Shen Budu couldn't help showing a look of amazement when he heard it.

The most important function of a barrier is defense, but no matter how strong and solid a barrier is, it cannot be indestructible forever.The hidden attributes created by Qiu Wanran ingeniously became the finishing touch.

Once the guarded area disappears from this world, even if the masters of the Tianbang visit in person, they will not be able to find their way.In this sense, this enchantment can be said to be truly indestructible!

The eyes of many people present were red.Where is this just a barrier?It's clearly a life-saving talisman!

Several judges announced the final result without any objection - Qiu Wanran was selected as the leader of this competition.

The middle-aged man handed over an exquisite and precious wooden box to Qiu Wanran: "This is a reward for the winner."

Qiu Wanran thanked in a low voice, but did not open the box.

He had already made up his mind that if he could win the competition, the prize would naturally be given to Shen Du.

Without Shen Du, there would be no him now.

The audience downstairs also watched to their heart's content and applauded one after another.Zhang Junshou smiled cheerfully, and was about to announce the successful conclusion of the meeting, but suddenly heard Shen Budu say: "Everyone, please stay."

Zhang Junshou was very fond of this young man who had refined the magic weapon for judging cases, so he asked kindly, "What else do you need?"

Shen Budu played with "Xiangxin" between his fingers, and said with a smile: "I have been fascinated by His Excellency Qiu Mingyuan for a long time, and I have a few questions I would like to ask him for advice."

Qiu Mingyuan's expression has been very ugly since the results of the competition came out. Although he was not in the mood at all at this time, it was not easy to save face in front of so many people, so he could only ask patiently, "What do you want to ask?"

With a flick of Shen Budu's fingers, Xiangxin flew out from his fingertips, and stuck to Qiumingyuan's heart as if he had eyes!

Qiu Mingyuan was startled, and subconsciously stretched out his hand to pick it up, but he couldn't pick it off no matter what!

Shen Budu was holding something in his other hand, it was too far away for everyone to see clearly.He only heard him ask: "Did you make the household puppet?"

Qiu Mingyuan was terrified, his scalp went numb, as if he had been struck by lightning in an instant.He tried his best to restrain himself, but he still opened his mouth under an invisible force: "No. I stole it from Autumn Evening!"

As soon as this statement came out, the audience was startled, and then there was an uproar!

Qiu Wanran didn't know that Shen Budu had such a skill, so she turned her head to look at him in shock!

Shen Budu continued to ask: "How did you steal it? Tell me in detail."

"Qiu Wanran is my younger brother, because he is not valued because he is a concubine, but since he was a child, he has a very high talent for refining, so I deliberately approached him to deceive his trust. Later, he developed a household puppet and told him the idea and method of refining without reservation. After leaving me, I had a crooked idea in my heart, declaring to the outside world that I made the puppet, and my father and the others were all on my side..."

Qiu Mingyuan was eloquent, telling the story of the theft in full detail, even including a very delicate psychological description.Everyone on and off the stage was stunned, and it was the first time that they understood the exact meaning of the word "shameless".

"So for so many years, he has been falsely claiming the honor of Qiu Wanyan!?"

"Is this something that humans can do? It's shameless!"

"If you ask me, everyone in the Qiu family is not a good guy! Just because Qiu Wanran is a concubine, he deserves to be squeezed out and stolen? What kind of black-hearted father and brother are these!"

"Qiu Wanran is too miserable. He is a master figure who can refine holy artifacts! But he has been replaced by an impostor for so many years!"

"Thief! Disgusting! Shameless! I really want everyone to recognize his face!"

The overwhelming cursing swept towards Qiu Mingyuan, he couldn't stop the fear in his heart, his legs went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

It's over, it's over...

His face was pale, and he was trembling all over, and for a moment he wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.But he changed his mind, what happened today is only known to those present, even if it is spread, it will not spread too far.Qingfeng County is far away on the other side of Huzhou City, as long as he goes home immediately, he can pretend nothing happened.

That's right, as long as he returns home, he will still be the aloof Master Qiu, a genius for refining weapons admired by everyone...

"Your confession just now, I have already recorded it." Shen Budu opened his palm and shook the photo stone that he had been holding in his hand all the time. Well, I will send this photo stone to the post station and hire people to travel from place to place. Every time I go to a county or a city, I will take it to the largest local restaurant and teahouse to broadcast it, and broadcast it in a loop, day and night. .”

"Just start from your hometown Qingfeng County. How about it?"

Qiu Mingyuan was shaken all over, this time there was no luck, his face turned from blue to red, he opened his mouth suddenly to spit out a mouthful of blood, rolled his eyelids and passed out.

-

"It's a joy, it's a joy!"

In the inn room, Song Yifan patted his thigh and sighed fiercely: "It's really too much to relieve hatred!"

After finishing speaking, he said angrily to Qiu Wan: "Good boy, you have kept such a big matter from us for so many years!"

Qiu Wanran was a little embarrassed: "I just let you bother and worry for nothing. Fortunately, everything is over now."

He sincerely said to Shen Budu: "Brother Shen, thank you very much."

Returned his reputation and fulfilled his long-lasting dream.

Nie Weiyu couldn't stand this kind of sensational scene, so she cheered up the atmosphere: "Brother Qiu, didn't you win a big prize? Open it up and see what it is?"

After being reminded by him, Qiu Wanran remembered, and quickly brought the wooden box over to Shen Budu, with a firm tone: "I know you may not be rare, but I don't have any other good things for you, you must accept this! "

Shen Budu was not polite to him, took the wooden box, and opened it under the expectant eyes of everyone.

"Yo," he raised his eyebrows and smiled, "it's really a good thing."

There is a golden elixir in the wooden box.

Others didn't recognize it, and asked curiously, "What is this?"

"Golden Wudan." Qiu Wanran also recognized it, quite surprised, "There is a chance to stimulate the natal flame in the monk's body."

There are very few monks in this world who are born with natal flames, and Qiuwanyan is one of them; there are also some monks who, due to physical reasons, have kept the flame seeds hidden in their bodies and have not been activated, and can only be awakened with the Golden Crow Pill.

But the cultivator himself does not know whether he has the natal flame, so taking the Golden Udan is completely a gamble, if not, it is equivalent to eating a jelly bean, and nothing will happen; if there is, it is equivalent to winning the bet .

Among them, the probability of winning is about one in [-], because there are really very few monks with the flame of life.

"Ruan Ruan." Li Xingyu pushed a certain little koi in front of Shen Budu with a serious face, "The time has come to play your part!"

Ruan Ruan hurriedly swallowed the dessert in her mouth, wiped the fine residue from the corner of her mouth, plunged into Shen Budu's arms, hugged him tightly with her chubby hands, and shouted: "Come on!"

Under the intense staring of several pairs of eyes, Shen Budu swallowed the Golden Crow Pill.

Everyone unconsciously followed him and swallowed, Xie Yun gently held his breath.

Shen Budu closed his eyes for a while, then opened them, and stretched out a finger.

With a soft "噗", a cluster of flames rose at his fingertips - the flames were gradually changing in color, the center was slightly white, and the outer layer was golden yellow and rose red layer by layer, and the outermost layer was like the sunset glow in the sky, gentle and gentle Romantic, beautiful enough to make people lose their minds.

Looking carefully, there is actually a small, rotating flower pattern in the very center of the flame.

Qiu Wanran stared straight at the flame, but Nie Weiyu yelled at him several times without responding, then he suddenly took a deep breath and collapsed back into the chair.

"Brother Qiu, what's your reaction?" Nie Weiyu tugged at him anxiously, "How is this fire? Didn't you always talk about the difference between ordinary fire, real fire, and sky fire... What kind of fire is this? With your purple Is Lin good?"

Qiu Wanran shook her head and laughed, looking at Shen Budu with sighs.

He said: "My Zilin is in front of this fire, I'm afraid I won't be able to let it go."

Everyone was shocked: "So powerful? What kind of fire is this?"

Even Shen Budu couldn't help being dazed for a while looking at the flames jumping happily at his fingertips.

He touched Ruan Ruan's head in his arms, and murmured: "Although there is no evidence, this koi of yours must be pure-blooded."

Nie Weiyu scratched her heart and lungs: "Brother Shen, don't play tricks, what the hell are you doing!?"

"Top Divine Fire." Shen Budu said.

"It's called Drunken Begonia."