Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 151 Four Spirit Beasts
In front of me stood a Stone Gate intricately carved with many patterns, featuring birds flying in the Heavenly realm, beasts running on the Ground, fish swimming in the Water City, and images of Fuxi, Nüwa, and the Ox-Headed Human Deity. Of course, there was also the image of a Fierce Evil Spirit right in the center of the two doors. Among these carvings, the most striking on the left Stone Gate was a dragon, while on the right Stone Gate, it was a tiger. The reason these dragon and tiger carvings were so eye-catching was that they were positioned in the very center of their respective gates and were larger than the other birds and beasts, even larger than the images of Fuxi, Nüwa, and the Ox-Headed Human Deity. From a distance, the first thing one would notice were definitely the dragon and tiger on either side of the gates.
Initially, I didn't find anything wrong with these various divine and beast carvings. However, upon closer inspection, I noticed another divine beast carved above the door frame—a turtle!
Seeing these three divine beast images carved on the Stone Gate, I suddenly realized something; these were not just any dragon, tiger, or turtle but rather the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Xuanwu from the Four Directions Spirits.
I had previously mentioned the Four Directions Spirit. They represent four divine beasts corresponding to the four cardinal directions: East, South, West, and North. The Vermilion Bird is the god of the South, Xuanwu is the god of the North, Azure Dragon is the god of the East, and White Tiger is the god of the West. However, on this Stone Gate, there was an Azure Dragon on the left, a White Tiger on the right, and Xuanwu above the door frame. Yet I searched all over this Stone Gate and could not find any sign of the Vermilion Bird!
The Azure Dragon, also known as “Azure Dragon,” represents blue in color; thus, it is considered the god of the East. The dragon is a totem of the Chinese Nation. Since its mandate from the Yellow Emperor, it has been revered across all directions, becoming a symbol of both the Chinese Nation and all of China. The Azure Dragon resembles a long snake with a qilin head, koi fish tail, long whiskers on its face, antlers like those of a deer, five claws, and an imposing appearance.
The White Tiger is known as the king of beasts. Its ferocity and legendary ability to subdue evil spirits have made it a yang divine beast that often accompanies dragons. Clouds follow dragons while winds follow tigers; thus, Azure Dragon and White Tiger become an excellent pair for subduing evil spirits and devouring malevolent entities, regarded as western divine beasts.
The Vermilion Bird can also be referred to as Phoenix Man or Xuan Bird. Vermilion represents red like fire; since it belongs to fire in the south, it is named Phoenix Man. It also possesses characteristics of rebirth from fire similar to that of a phoenix in Western mythology; hence it is also called Fire Phoenix. As king among birds, ancient people referred to males as Feng and females as Huang. Later on, they collectively became known as Phoenix Man. Subsequently, when dragons and phoenixes are paired together, phoenix became synonymous with Imperial Consorts. According to mythological legends, phoenix evolved from bird totems of the Yin clan in Eastern China. The "Classic of Mountains and Seas" mentions a colorful bird with three names: Imperial Bird, Vermilion Bird, and Phoenix. In ancient times, Vermilion Bird's influence was comparable to that of dragons; it became an important element in divination practices and metaphysics representing southern divine beasts.
Xuanwu resembles a turtle but has snake scales; it is a fusion of turtle and snake. The original meaning of Xuanwu is Xuanming, where "Wu" and "Ming" are phonetically connected. "Xuan" means black; "Ming" refers to darkness. Xuanwu lives in rivers and lakes; thus, Xuanming became associated with water deities. Turtles symbolize longevity; therefore, Xuanming became a symbol for immortality. Initially located in northern realms associated with darkness, oracle bone divination during the Shang Dynasty indicated that “its divination must face north,” which further established Xuanming as a northern deity.
The Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Xuanwu are known as the Four Spirits. They typically do not appear alone; for instance, in Feng Shui practices there are considerations such as having left side as Azure Dragon and right side as White Tiger. Now before me stood this Stone Gate featuring both an Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Xuanwu—how could it possibly lack a Vermilion Bird? That seemed too strange!
Seeing me staring intently at the patterns on the door, Cao Qilong asked what I was looking at and urged me to join him in searching for mechanisms. I pointed at the patterns above the door and said to him: “Senior Brother, don’t you think these patterns on the door are odd? With an Azure Dragon, White Tiger, plus Xuanwu above—why is there no Vermilion Bird?”
"No way, that's the Four Directions Spirit. Which stone carver would only carve three spirits?" Cao Qilong frowned upon hearing my words and began to examine the patterns on the Stone Gate. After a while, he also found it strange and muttered, "It really is missing the Vermilion Bird. Could it be that the stone carver made a small mistake and forgot to carve the Vermilion Bird?"
Hearing this, I shook my head and said it was impossible. The carvings on the Stone Gate were intricate and lifelike; that stone carver must have been quite skilled. How could such a craftsman make such a mistake?
Seeing me shake my head, Cao Qilong realized it was unlikely, so he said, "Maybe there just wasn't enough space on the Stone Gate to carve the Vermilion Bird. Look, that Xuanwu is even carved onto the top of the door frame."
I shook my head again and said, "That's not it at all; it definitely isn't what you're thinking."
After being denied twice, Cao Qilong couldn't help but feel deflated and said, "Shidi, how can we guess what a stone carver from a thousand years ago was thinking? We should hurry up and find the mechanism to open the door; otherwise, we'll really be stuck."
I didn't heed Cao Qilong's words but continued pointing at the patterns on the door, saying, "Don't you find it strange at all? The Four Directions Spirit is missing only the Vermilion Bird; isn't that odd?"
When I brought up this issue again, Cao Qilong appeared somewhat impatient. Just as he was about to turn around to search for the mechanism himself, he suddenly turned back in surprise and exclaimed, "Shidi, are you suggesting that the mechanism to open the door might very well be related to the Vermilion Bird?"
I nodded and gave him a thumbs up, saying, "That's exactly what I mean. Think about it: people from a thousand years ago were more concerned with the five elements and metaphysics than we are today; they were likely more superstitious. They could carve the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and Xuanwu, so they clearly knew about the Four Directions Spirit. How could they have intentionally left out the Vermilion Bird? Therefore, there must be a reason for not seeing it; perhaps the Vermilion Bird is where the mechanism to open the door is located."
Cao Qilong slapped his forehead excitedly and said, "Shidi, you know what? Your brain really works better than mine! You managed to find these clues from those patterns; that's amazing."
I smiled but then shrugged my shoulders and said, "But I've looked for quite a while and still haven't seen where the Vermilion Bird is. I've examined everything above on the door carefully; there's no trace of it at all."
Cao Qilong said, "Don't worry; let's take our time searching. Now that you've mentioned it, I also think that since three spirits of the Four Directions Spirit are carved here, there can't possibly be no Vermilion Bird. So there must be one hidden somewhere intentionally; as long as we search carefully, we might just find it."
With that, Cao Qilong began looking around. I thought similarly and followed his lead in searching. Since there was no Vermilion Bird on the Stone Gate, I shifted my attention to other areas within the Stone Chamber.
Stone Chamber is really large, with the ground covered in Bluestone Slab, devoid of any patterns. However, the stone walls of the Stone Chamber are engraved with many designs, mostly depicting birds and beasts, so we focused our attention on the stone walls on both sides of the Stone Chamber.
On either side of the stone wall stood many Corpse, which were the Corpse affixed with Control Corpse Talisman. I and Cao Qilong each took care of one side of the Stone Chamber, carefully moving the Corpse in front of the stone wall to avoid blocking some of the lower patterns on the wall. While I was working on my side, Cao Qilong suddenly called out to me in panic. I hurried over and asked him if he had discovered the Vermilion Bird.
Cao Qilong shook his head and pointed to a Corpse at his feet, saying, "You need to look at this Corpse. It doesn't have a Control Corpse Talisman!"
Upon hearing this, my brows furrowed sharply, and I quickly checked that Corpse. Indeed, as he said, there was no sign of a Control Corpse Talisman on it. I became anxious; previously, four Corpse had their Control Corpse Talisman torn off, resulting in four Furry Zombie, nearly costing us our lives. If another Furry Zombie were to emerge now, it would be disastrous. So I immediately asked Cao Qilong: "Did you tear off the Control Corpse Talisman again?"
Cao Qilong shook his head vigorously and said, "I wouldn't dare tear that thing again. This Corpse just fell in front of the corpse wall; I just flipped it over but didn't find a Control Corpse Talisman, so I called you over, worried it might turn into a Zombie."
I realized that I had been overly worried and misunderstood Cao Qilong, so I said, "Since you didn't tear off the talisman, it means this Corpse never had one attached in the first place. If it never had a talisman before, it should have turned into a Zombie long ago; logically, it shouldn't change now."
I comforted myself and began examining this particular Corpse. Upon inspection, I noticed something different about this Corpse. What was different? Mainly, this Corpse was dressed differently from the others because it was wearing a complete set of Daoist Robe.
Seeing this, I understood; this Corpse must have been a Gravekeeper, while the other Corpse affixed with Control Corpse Talisman were likely driven here by him.
I voiced my speculation, and at that moment, Cao Qilong said: "If it's a Gravekeeper, how did he die here?"
I sighed: "Who knows? Perhaps he couldn't open the Stone Gate, just like us, and got trapped here. Or maybe he encountered something else that led to his death."
The cause of death for the Gravekeeper was irrelevant to us, so I didn't want to speculate further. However, what caught my attention was a Bloodstained Bag slung across him. I opened his Bloodstained Bag and found it filled with items we needed: a Bagua Mirror, a Copper Coin Sword, a Compass, a Soul Bell, a Small Yellow Flag, a bunch of Copper Coin, and numerous Control Corpse Talisman.
Comment 0 Comment Count