There are nearly a thousand people living in Cuirao Village, and they have lived here for at least six hundred years. It is not that the history of this secret realm of heaven and earth is only six hundred years old, but that there is no record of the longer period. The situation six hundred years ago is not known, and the current owner of the house is Xie Jingzhi.

This place is in the deep mountains surrounded by two rivers. Few people come here on weekdays, but in ancient times, many people were taken in, most of them were fugitives or fugitives who accidentally entered this place.

In the long agricultural society era, the social development speed was very slow, and even for hundreds of years, there was no big change. Once people encounter troubled times, they would be in danger. Cuiraozhuang is a completely different world. Life here is rich and peaceful, without war and famine, and far away from worldly disputes. Of course, people are willing to stay and settle down.

The condition for Cuirao Village to take in outsiders is to make them swear to keep secrets, and the best way to keep them secrets is of course to stay in the secret realm of heaven and earth. Those who escape into the mountains just to survive and will not leave after being able to have enough food and clothing. But over time, in the consciousness of the locals, the rules of Cuirao Village became that outsiders were not allowed to leave again when they came.

Such rules are not unreasonable. At least they have protected the peace of Cuirao Village well, and they have also learned lessons. Many years ago, a team of defeated soldiers fled into the mountains and broke into Cuirao Village. After receiving the help of locals, they vowed not to tell the matter here, but after returning, they reported to their superiors.

In fact, these people do not remember their experiences in the secret realm of heaven and earth, but they still have memories before and after entering Cuirao Village. In less than a month of trance, they recovered from their illness and weakness, and each of them was radiant and full of energy, just like a god showing off.

They knew that there was a pastoral country where people didn't know the richness of the world, and there was a magical secret hidden in it, but they forgot what happened after entering it, and only told them not to say anything.

Later, an army went into the mountains to search, and Jianzi Village almost suffered a catastrophe. The villagers guarding the gateway hid in the secret realm of heaven and earth before escaping. Of course, the army did not find Cuiraozhuang. They could not find the secret realm of heaven and earth. The defeated soldiers were punished for spreading rumors to their superiors, but this incident caused great trouble to Cuiraozhuang.

The last time an outsider mistakenly entered Cuirao Village, which happened nearly 60 years ago. The owner of the village Xie specifically emphasized that in the past sixty years, no outsiders have entered Cuirao Village. So when Yuan Bichuan brought people to him last time, the disciples of Cuirao Village who were guarding Jianzi Village were a little confused and didn't know what to do.

Xie Jingzhi was not in Jianzi Village at that time, and he happened to have something to stay in the secret realm of heaven and earth. Yuan Bichuan led people into the village to ask questions, claiming that he was here to visit Cuirao Village.

The big goose panicked when they heard this. It turned out that the secret from home was known, and they came to the door. Their first reaction was to deny the existence of Cuirao Village. Elder Yuan also felt that the situation was not right and said that since he couldn't find it, he would leave first and go somewhere else to inquire, but he was stopped by the villagers and didn't want to let them go.

In desperation, Elder Yuan took action, but he was the only one of the four people who could beat him. As a result, he was pressed to the ground by more than a dozen villagers led by Daege. There was nothing to be polite after he had already started. The four people were taken into the secret realm of heaven and earth, and according to the rules, they were not allowed to leave again.

Not long after, Yuan Yunzhi and the other three came again. Since they were in the same group as Yuan Bichuan, these three people were also imprisoned into the secret realm of heaven and earth. It was too late to react and could not get out even if they wanted to leave.

Xie Jingzhi had not had time to arrive at the scene to deal with this matter at the beginning, and the conflict had already occurred. He didn't know what to do for a moment. According to the wishes of all the tribesmen here, he had to follow the rules since ancient times.

How could Yuan Bichuan and others be willing to be trapped here? Of course, they didn't dare to do it. The reason for the local people was not understandable, so they had to beg Xie Jingzhi to let them go privately, claiming that the consequences of detaining them might be serious.

Yuan Bichuan introduced the situation of the Fangwai League and described the Fangwai League, especially the leader Ding Qi, very well. They were missing, and the Fangwai League would come to you sooner or later. Only a few people in Cuirao Village knew about this situation, so Daege and others had heard of Ding Qi's name.

In fact, no matter what Yuan Bichuan and others say, they cannot threaten the ordinary local people. Because in the consciousness of the local people, this is a place outside the world. As long as people are in the secret realm of heaven and earth, they cannot contact the outside world, and as long as they have a gateway, no one can find it. No matter how foreign alliances or other forces are, as long as they cannot find Cuiraozhuang, they will calm down.

Xie Jingzhi finally said, "President Ding, I know that you are different from others and come from other secret realms of heaven and earth. But in the eyes of the tribesmen in this place, Cuirao Village is the only one, and the rules here since ancient times are that outsiders cannot go out again when they come."

Ding Qi asked back: "When outsiders come, they are not allowed to walk again? So who built the road to Jianzi Village and who did the power communication engineering? Have you detained the construction workers outside?"

Xie Jingzhi: "Of course it is impossible. They don't know the existence of Cuirao Village. I won't open the door when there are outsiders. But those people are different. Their target is Cuirao Village, and they speak out the secrets that the tribes here have been protected for generations."

Ding Qi: "It is of course their fault to come here to disturb you for no reason. But they also have businessmen outside. Do you want to detain them for the rest of your life?"

Xie Jingzhi sighed and said, "It's not that I plan to detain them, but that they have been detained by the tribe members here. Most of the people here seem to be natural. Alliance Leader Ding has come in now, and he plans to get out and take people away? In fact, I also want to discuss this matter with you."

This owner of the manor is actually more sober than all the tribesmen here, and he doesn't want to cause trouble, but his implication is that he also wants to see Ding Qi's ability. Ding Qi is the leader of the foreign alliance. If he has the means to solve the problem, everything is easy to discuss, otherwise it will be difficult to say.

Ding Qi smiled: "Since you are here, let's have a good tour."

While they were talking, they walked down the ridge and passed through a village. It was noon and many families were having lunch. Ding Qi saw a peaceful scene. Many people raised chickens and geese in their yards, with very old stone mills, and various supplies were not short of... This is a rich countryside, at least in the sense of traditional farming civilization, away from troubled times and famines, and have enough food and clothing to live without worries.

This place has not been influenced by much of the modern industrial civilization, and the traditional rural lifestyle is still retained. Moreover, the locals are very adapted to such a life, and no one needs to deliberately disturb or change them.

Ding Qi: "The people here live a good life like this."

Xian Hao: "The world of Qin Gaotai is not disturbed by external troubles. Wuxin Valley needs to be changed. The situation in each place is different. This Cuirao Village does not disappoint Cuirao's name. The locals can live and work in peace and contentment, and they don't have to go out and make trouble."

At this moment, the two of them frowned slightly at the same time. Because someone saw them, they ran over and asked, "Master, is there another outsider coming in?"

Xie Jingzhi waved his cigarette pole and said, "As long as you give way, you will go to the big tree ground to talk!"

Hearing the movement, more people ran out of the village. For at least sixty years, outsiders have never been to Cuirao Village. The villagers even thought that there would be no outsiders coming again, but it seemed particularly lively recently, with three waves of people coming in a row. Someone was muttering: "That woman is so beautiful, she will stay here in the future. If only she could be my wife!"

Someone said, "You think beautifully, don't you see the two of them coming? The woman and the man are obviously a pair!"

Someone else muttered: "Why have so many outsiders suddenly come here recently? Is it because of the eternal melon?"

After they had passed through the village, there were already a large group of people watching the fun. Ding Qi secretly asked Xie Jingzhi: "What is the eternal melon? Is it the kind of long melon growing on the trees here?"

There is a very strange tree near the village here. It looks like a willow tree from a distance, but it is very different from it when approaching. The trunk is very smooth and the forked place is very high, so most people cannot climb up. The crown of the tree hangs many slender branches and long-shaped fruits. At first glance, I think it is a loofah vine climbing onto the tree.

Xie Jingzhi replied with a divine thought: "That is the eternal melon, it's just that name. It does have some effect of curing diseases and prolonging life, and is a dish commonly eaten by locals. There were rumors that it can make people live forever, but in fact it is spread by rumors. The residents of Cuiraozhuang still have birth, old age, sickness and death."

It turned out that the owner of the manor had an ambush when he introduced the situation just now. He did not mention the matter of the Changsheng Melon at all, but was rumored by the villagers who were unintentionally talking about it. I believe that people here do not want outsiders to know about the situation here, and they are also afraid that the news about the Changsheng Melon may bring disaster to Cuirao Village.

Xian Hao suddenly said, "I'm afraid the owner of the house is not entirely true! These long melons on the trees may be just a dish, with some effects of curing diseases and prolonging life, but the mutated varieties in the melon, the golden little melon, should be a rare spiritual medicine."

The long melons growing on the trees are green, about one or two feet long, and are very shaped like ordinary loofahs, but the skin is relatively smooth. However, among ordinary cucumbers, there is also a very special golden melon, which is only about half a foot long. Due to the obstruction of the tree crown, it is difficult to detect, and even if you see it, it is easy to think that it is a melon that has not grown up and died.

It has very few numbers, and there are not many trees at all. Even if there are, it can be at most one or two. Xian Hao has good eyesight and found this golden melon.

Xie Jingzhi changed his color slightly and said, "That is indeed a mutated variety in the Eternal Melon, and it is indeed a spiritual medicine. Practicing the secret technique of Cuiraozhuang, this kind of spiritual medicine has been needed since ancient times. The local yield is very small and it takes many years to mature, which is often not enough."

Xian Hao saw through the secret of the eternal melon. As an old man, it may not be a wise choice to provoke it in person, but she didn't seem to care. She immediately smiled and said, "People, please rest assured, we don't have the idea of ​​making melons, we just come to find someone. In fact, the members of the Fangwai Alliance have various secret realms of heaven and earth, and there are different spiritual medicines produced. I can introduce you to a few of them..."

While they were talking, they had already walked into the market town in the center of the wilderness, and there was almost a village following them. With such a big noise, the entire Cuirao Village was alarmed. People came from all directions and surrounded the open space in the center of the market town. Judging from this situation, it was almost equivalent to a full gathering.

There is a immortal melon tree next to the open space, which is probably the largest and oldest here. There are three golden melons on the tree. A platform more than half a person tall was built with bricks under the tree, like a stage. Xie Jingzhi brought Ding Qi and Xian Hao to the stage and was watched by all the tribesmen here.

Before the owner could speak, someone suddenly stumbled out of the crowd and ran onto the platform, hugged Ding Qi's arm and said, "President Ding, is it really you? You and Director Xian are finally here to save us!"

This man is about fifty years old, and his temples are a little gray. Although Ding Qi had never seen this man, he recognized him at a glance. He quickly reached out to support him and said, "Elder Yuan, I'm here to find you. I will take you all out this time!"

The visitor was Yuan Bichuan, the elder of Baiyun Cave. After being taken to Cuirao Village, the owner of the village did not continue to make things difficult for him and arranged food and accommodation for them. They were not imprisoned, but they were also inseparable from the secret realm of heaven and earth. According to the logic of the locals, as long as they stayed, they were no longer outsiders and had become members of Cuirao Village.

Someone in the audience heard it and shouted dissatisfiedly: "What are they talking about? I still want to leave after I come here! Do you know the rules of Cuirao Village?"

The scene seemed a bit chaotic, but the people here should be very law-abiding. Although they were shouting, no one was crowded and pushing, and no one was on the platform.

A bronze bell was hung on the tree. Xie Jingzhi raised his tobacco pot and rang the bell. The bell rang very far away, and everyone immediately calmed down. The patriarch said loudly: "My fellow villagers, no outsiders have visited Cuirao Village for 60 years, but recently three waves of people have come one after another. They all come from the same secret realm as here. I heard that the news came to visit and make friends.

I have advised everyone not to detain the guests. They are not desperate to join, but just to be guests. The two who came today are their leaders, who are here to ask for people. Since everyone has arrived, we will discuss how to let people go and not cause trouble for Cuirao Village again."

Someone immediately shouted in the audience: "No, letting people go is a problem! Since ancient times, this is the rule of Cuirao Village."

Xie Jingzhi shook his head and said, "You are wrong. The rules of Cuirao Village are not to detain outsiders. In ancient times, we took in outsiders to prevent them from being destroyed by troubled times, and to protect us from being disturbed by troubled times. Our ancestors were voluntarily left behind. But today's situation is different. They are unwilling to stay here. Even if they know they will be detained, they will come here to find people."

Another shouted: "But they have already come in. As long as they come in, they will be from Cuirao Village. People from Cuirao Village cannot go out."

Ding Qi frowned slightly and suddenly spoke loudly: "Who said that people from Cuiraozhuang cannot go out? When I came, weren't the owner of the manor, Xiaomang, Daege, Xiaodie and others all outside? Xie Xiaomang, the mobile phone you put in your pocket was not bought here, nor was it used here?

There is not even a small shop outside in the village, and it is impossible to sell mobile phones. You can run far enough! There are five cars parked outside your town, two of which were just driven by our people, and the other three are yours, right? Why do you want a car? You haven’t run outside? The nearest gas station is more than 40 miles away, right?”

Ding Qi's voice spread clearly throughout the audience, with a penetrating force and an inexplicable impact, which made everyone unable to speak for a while, and it was a bit like cutting the mess quickly. The occasion in front of him was a headache, and it actually didn't make sense to explain their own principles. The deep-rooted concepts of the locals could not be reversed in a short period of time.

Ding Qi encountered this situation. He was once a psychological counselor. Many of the people who have seen help seekers have different thinking patterns than normal people. Of course, the villagers in front of him are not patients, but their cognitive patterns are different from those outsiders. There is a cognitive correction therapy in psychotherapy, which is also suitable for this kind of occasion.

The so-called cognitive correction is to conduct psychological talks according to the other party's cognitive model. As long as it is abnormal and unreasonable, it can point out its own contradictions. Let the other party recognize this contradiction by itself, and find the cause of psychological conflict, thereby achieving the effect of correcting cognition.

Everyone in the audience stubbornly insisted on a point of view: "When you come to Cuirao Village, you are the people from Cuirao Village, and people here cannot go out." The so-called "not going out" obviously means that you cannot step out of the secret realm of heaven and earth, and Ding Qi seized this flaw.

When he spoke, others couldn't speak. After he finished speaking, Xie Xiaomang blushed and said loudly: "It's different. Our situation is different. We are all guardians of Cuirao Village."

Xian Hao interrupted, "Oh, what's the difference between the guardians of Cuirao Village? Are they not the people here?"

Xie Xiaomang raised his chest and said loudly: "We have practiced local secret techniques to stay awake when entering and leaving the door. The owner of the manor assigned the villager to do business. He always chose guardians. We also guard the door in Jianzi Village on weekdays."

Xian Hao smiled and then asked, "Then how to become a guardian, are there any standards?"

Xie Xiaomang: "To practice the secret method of locality, you can use the owner's cigarette pole to open the door."

Ding Qi also laughed and said loudly: "Then you don't have to fight, I am the guardian."

Many people in the audience shouted together: "This is impossible!"

Ding Qi asked with a smile: "What's impossible? According to you, the person who came here is here, so now I am here too. If the people here can use the owner's cigarette pole to open the door, they will be the guardian. If I do it, then I will be the guardian." As he said that, he turned to Xie Jingzhi's words, "Master, can you lend the cigarette pole in your hand try?"

His words were not loud, just like ordinary conversations, but they could still make everyone hear clearly. Everyone present was stunned, and even Xie Jingzhi was a little confused.

Ding Qi's words have no flaws, at least in theory there is no problem at all, but this has never happened in the six hundred years of history recorded in Cuiraozhuang.

The secret techniques of all external worlds are not so easy to practice, and getting started is a difficult time. The guards here choose good seedlings with excellent talents to cultivate from childhood, and they also need to be assisted by spiritual medicine, and most of them may not be able to practice them.

The outsiders taken in this place in history all fled to famine. After fleeing here, I have never heard of any refugee who can practice secret techniques and become guardians after coming, so the locals have no such concept at all.

Seeing that Xie Jingzhi did not follow up, Xian Hao added: "Borrower, according to the rules of this place, should you let Ding Qi try that cigarette pole?"

Xie Jingzhi showed surprise. According to Cuiraozhuang's rules, he really had no reason to refuse Ding Qi's request. After thinking about it, he handed the tobacco rod to Ding Qi. He was also puzzled, not knowing what medicine was sold in Ding Qi's gourd? However, Ding Qi had never practiced the secret method of Cuiraozhuang, and he was not afraid that Ding Qi would take away the treasure of the world control here.

Ding Qi took the tobacco pole, held it with both hands and took a deep breath, closed his eyes and stared at it for several seconds, as if he was accumulating some strength. After opening his eyes, he held the tobacco pole in his right hand and waved it diagonally upwards, and said loudly: "Look!"

Everyone looked in the direction pointed by the tobacco pole, which was where Ding Qi and others came. Of course, they couldn't see Jianzi Village, because they were blocked by the ridge, but a few non-existent white clouds suddenly appeared in the horizon in the distance, and a pointed cone-shaped mountain appeared out of thin air under the clouds.

The locals have long been accustomed to this change. This is the scene outside after the portal is opened. Then they hear a burst of exclamations. Many people are still saying to themselves: "How is this possible? He is really a guardian!"

Ding Qi put down the tobacco pole, and the scene in the distance became "normal". He handed the object back to Xie Jingzhi, then looked around the audience with a smile and said, "I am the guardian now, right?"

No one answered for a moment, and Xian Hao said again: "Since no one raised any objections, then Ding Qi is the guardian. Xie Xiaomang, you just said that the owner of the manor can send people out to do business. In addition to the guardian, can he also send ordinary manors?"

Xie Xiaomang: "It's OK, but others will not remember what's happening outside when they go out, so the owner of the manor is the guardian."

Xian Hao: "I asked not who the owner of the manor sent, but according to the rules here, can ordinary manors be assigned to do business?"

Xie Xiaomang lowered his head and said, "Only the owner of the manor has this power!"

Xian Hao: "So according to the rules here, how can you become the owner of the manor?"

Xie Xiaomang muttered: "If you want to be a manor, you must first become a guardian, and the guardian with the highest secret cultivation."

Xian Hao and Ding Qi were in harmony. As soon as Ding Qi spoke, Xian Hao knew what he wanted to do. The two cooperated well. Ding Qi turned around and said to Xie Jingzhi: "I want to be the owner of the manor. Please give me advice from the old manor of Xie and have some advice. It will not hurt the harmony. I can give you a cigarette pole."

Of course, the owner of Cuirao Village cannot be produced by selection, because the person must control the treasure of the world. The rules of this place since ancient times are indeed that whoever has the highest secret technique will control the treasure of the world.

Of course, the actual situation may not be the case. For example, the old owner of Xie Jingzhi, who has been a manor for many years and is old, even if his juniors have surpassed him in their cultivation, he will not challenge him. However, after Xie Jingzhi's death, or one day he feels that he is not energetic and wants to voluntarily abdicate, trusting the owner is theoretically the junior with the highest cultivation level among the guards.

However, Ding Qi came in public, which was indeed in line with the rules of Cuiraozhuang since ancient times. It made people unable to find any faults, but it just seemed a little disrespectful to elders.
To be continued...