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After Shi Quan clearly explained the pros and cons of the matter, Shi Jian and Li Meili finally agreed. However, they did not take the Medicinal Pill immediately. Instead, after discussing with Shi Quan, they decided to consume the Medicinal Pill on the journey after leaving Shi Family Village.
With his parents' issue resolved, Shi Quan began preparing for the second matter: the Spirit Bone.
This was also the reason Shi Quan had requested leave to return home early.
That night, Shi Quan bid farewell to Shi Jian and Li Meili, telling them he had some urgent matters to attend to, which might take half a month to a month. They could use this time to say goodbye to the villagers, and when he returned, they could prepare for the move.
The next morning.
Douluo 'Wang Baoqiang' swaggered into Nuoding City. His ordinary appearance quickly allowed him to blend into the crowd.
Shi Quan arrived at Nuoding Academy. After some selection, he chose a hotel room with a view of Nuoding Academy's main entrance. The room's window directly faced Nuoding Academy, offering a panoramic view of most of it.
There were still about two days until the holiday.
He dared not release his Spirit Sense casually now. Tang Hao was likely near the Academy at this time, and he didn't want to attract Tang Hao's attention.
He withdrew his gaze.
He took out the map from his snow jade bracelet and spread it on the bed.
This map was also provided by Xue Qinghe at Shi Quan's request.
This map was a special supply map of the Heaven Dou Empire, drawn by the Heaven Dou Empire's flying Spirit Masters through aerial observation. The complete map encompassed the entire Heaven Dou Empire. Apart from some dangerous and treacherous areas of Spirit Beast forests not being specifically depicted, the other geographical features were drawn with extreme precision.
Furthermore, the map also marked relative distances with accurate units.
However, since it was aerial observation and not a detailed, on-the-ground search by scouts, coupled with the limitations of the blueprint, it was certainly impossible to mark how high a specific mountain was or how many small rivers were in a forest.
If it were truly detailed down to small streams, rivers, and forest embankments, then it wouldn't be an ordinary map, but a military map.
Once it involved military matters, even Xue Qinghe could not give it away casually.
However, since it came from Xue Qinghe, although not as detailed as a military map, the map still provided detailed markings for terrain, mountain ranges, larger rivers, and villages.
"Nuoding City." Shi Quan's fingertip paused, quickly fixing on the location of Nuoding City, and he scanned the surroundings.
"Holy Soul Village is here." Shi Quan quickly confirmed the location of Holy Soul Village and focused his gaze on the mountain range near Holy Soul Village.
"Mountain range, mountain range... and a river twenty meters wide. The outer terrain is steep. From the outside to the inside, Tang San followed Tang Hao for half a day, traversing between peaks, so the mountain terrain is quite rugged. The original text didn't specify the exact direction, and with Tang San's strength, half a day of full-speed travel means a considerable distance..."
Muttering to himself, Shi Quan took out a ruler and a pen, drawing a straight line starting from the head of Holy Soul Village.
In the original text, Tang San said their house was at the head of Holy Soul Village.
And there was only one direction near the mountain range that was also the head of the village, so Shi Quan drew a straight line based on that.
What if the location where Tang Hao built his house happened to overlook where he planted Ah Yin and stored the Spirit Bone?
So, by drawing a straight line from the head of Holy Soul Village, following this line of inquiry, and combining it with the information revealed in the original text,
Before long, Shi Quan's gaze was fixed on the middle section of a mountain range.
"The cartographer is very clever. Although they didn't think of using color differences to indicate mountain heights, using these contour lines is quite convenient."
A smile appeared in Shi Quan's eyes.
A river twenty meters wide, plus a waterfall nearly two hundred meters high—how could anyone not see it from the sky, unless they were blind?
Moreover, the waterfall marked on the map was exactly near the straight line Shi Quan had drawn.
The distance from the waterfall's location to Holy Soul Village was less than two hundred and fifty li. With Tang Hao's strength, if he missed Ah Yin, he could go visit her at night and return home silently by early morning the next day.
From a geographical standpoint and from various human perspectives, this place was highly likely to be where Tang Hao planted Ah Yin and hid the 100,000 Year Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone.
However, to be safe, Shi Quan did not directly confirm it. He still surveyed all the other mountain ranges around Holy Soul Village again.
He ultimately concluded that, based on the various conditions and factors in the original text, only this one mountain range fit.
He had to thank Xue Qinghe for providing such a detailed map; otherwise, he would have to spend a lot of time running from mountain to mountain. Since it met almost all the conditions, Shi Quan was almost certain this was the mountain range he was looking for.
"If I can confirm this is where Ah Yin is, then the location of the Blue Silver King will also be easier to find." Shi Quan couldn't help but think.
"In the original text, Tang Hao took Tang San on a five-day journey, finally arriving at an unknown forest. Tang Hao's exact words were that this forest has Spirit Beasts suitable for you, which can also be interpreted as, besides Spirit Beasts suitable for you, there are other Spirit Beasts. Five days of travel, a Spirit Beast forest, and an 85,000-year-old Blue Silver King—this forest must be quite large."
Shi Quan thought to himself, then shook his head after looking at the marked mountain range.
Although the current mountain range met the conditions, whether it was the exact one remained to be seen. Before confirming it, rushing to find the Blue Silver King's location would be too hasty. The forest where the Blue Silver King resides could wait until he specifically found Ah Yin and the 100,000 Year Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone.
"And now..." Shi Quan's gaze returned to Nuoding Academy, "...I just need to wait for Tang San to leave the Academy and report to Shrek Academy."
In the original text, after Tang San was beaten, Tang Hao appeared that same night and gave Zhao Wuji another good beating.
This means that on the way to Soto City, Tang Hao was actually secretly protecting Xiao Wu and Tang San. Perhaps he was worried about Tang San encountering danger, or perhaps he was worried about them encountering high-Rank Spirit Masters and Xiao Wu's identity being discovered.
Regardless of the situation, only by confirming that Tang Hao was not at the place where Ah Yin and the Spirit Bone were hidden could Shi Quan proceed with peace of mind.
Two days later.
The Academy was on holiday.
At the Academy gate, parents who came to pick up their children stood in a cluster.
Shi Quan in the hotel quietly watched this scene. After the crowd dispersed, he did not see Tang San or Xiao Wu.
He was not in a hurry.
During the day, if he had nothing to do, he would go to a teahouse near the hotel to leisurely drink tea and chat with the owner. With the Illusion Mask's concealment, even if Shi Quan stood in front of Tang Hao, Tang Hao would not realize Shi Quan was a Spirit Master.
For the next few days, Shi Quan spent his days blending in near the Academy like an ordinary person, only Cultivating at night.
Another seven days passed.
Xiao Wu and Tang San finally walked out of Nuoding Academy.
They looked back at Nuoding City, as if bidding farewell. After a moment of pause, they finally departed.
Shi Quan glanced at the direction they left in, then quickly withdrew his gaze. "This direction isn't Soto City... It looks like they're going back to Holy Soul Village first."
"This is troublesome. I definitely can't follow them to Holy Soul Village. That guy Tang Hao must be watching them from somewhere right now."
Shi Quan got up and walked towards the hotel. Back in his room, he reopened the map between Holy Soul Village and Soto City. "They probably won't take any country paths, as those are dangerous. They'll definitely stick to the official road."
"The official road..." Shi Quan's gaze fell on the nearest official road near Holy Soul Village. "If they're going to Soto City, this should be their only route. There are usually teahouses and inns along official roads for travelers to rest. I'll go check it out."
Anyway, there was no rush.
Shi Quan slowly checked out of the room, then went to the street to buy some dry food, packed it into a bag, and walked out of Nuoding City disguised as an ordinary person, strolling leisurely along the official road, enjoying the scenery as he walked.
When he saw no one around, Douluo 'Wang Baoqiang' went offline, and Douluo 'Huang Bo' came online.
Tang Hao was hidden somewhere unknown. If he had seen Douluo 'Wang Baoqiang's' face and then encountered him again on the road later, it would inevitably arouse suspicion, so changing faces was very necessary.
Shi Quan's pace was very slow. It wasn't until the next day, nearing noon, that he looked out and saw a wisp of smoke rising in the distance. His gaze shifted down to a small teahouse and inn, standing at a bend in the official road. This teahouse and inn was very simple: in front was a small tea shed with two tables and a few long benches, and behind it was a single-story house.
Inside the tea shed, besides the owner, there were only three scattered people.
These three were clearly together, occupying one table and chatting happily.
"Owner, a pot of tea." Shi Quan came into the shop and sat down.
"Coming!" The owner's cheerful voice rang out.
This owner was also good at choosing a location for his business. This teahouse was situated at a junction of several official roads, so with people constantly coming and going, business was naturally better.
One of these official roads led in the direction of Soto City, meaning Tang San and the others were very likely to pass by this teahouse.
For the next few days, Shi Quan began to change his identity daily and come to this teahouse, constantly walking back and forth on the official road in the direction of Soto City, then drinking tea at the teahouse.
Since he couldn't go to Holy Soul Village, he would wait here for Tang San and Xiao Wu to arrive.
Another five days passed like this.
"Xiao San, there's a teahouse here. Let's go in and have some tea. I'm so thirsty after walking for so long." Xiao Wu's voice came from outside the teahouse.
Inside the teahouse, hearing the familiar name and voice, Douluo 'Song Xiaobao's' lips curved slightly upward as he drank his tea. He had waited so long, and they had finally arrived.
In a short while, Xiao Wu and Tang San appeared in the teahouse and sat down. Xiao Wu, pulling a carrot from who knows where, munched on it happily while drinking tea.
After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a satisfied Xiao Wu finally nodded to Tang San. "Let's go, Xiao San."
Tang San nodded back at her dotingly, his hand flashing across his waist, and two bronze coins appeared on the table as Xiao Wu got up and left.
And the direction they left in was exactly the direction of Soto City!