Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In the midst of our conversation, we had already reached the wall, which was engraved with simple yet exquisite runes. I didn't recognize the symbols, so I shifted my gaze to Lime.
"Why did you bring us to this wall?" Xianxian began to ask, but suddenly a stone door appeared on the wall ahead. I watched in amazement as Lime expertly pressed a few spots on the wall, causing the stone door to split in half and retreat into the walls. I couldn't help but admire Lime even more; honestly, with his calm demeanor, anyone who didn't know him might think he was just strolling through his backyard!
At that moment, Xianxian didn't say anything. I was puzzled when I noticed a glint of light flash in his eyes, quick and fleeting. Seeing his slightly furrowed brow, I knew he must be wondering about something.
Once the stone door opened, darkness lay beyond. I casually took out a flashlight from my backpack and turned it on as I stepped inside. The light flickered ominously, and sure enough, it went out completely as the door closed behind us, plunging us into darkness.
"Is this like Ghost Blows Out the Light?" I asked nervously while gripping the dead flashlight. Although I had come to terms with life and death, it was still best to avoid danger whenever possible.
"What do you mean Ghost Blows Out the Light? Your broken flashlight is probably out of batteries!" Xianxian chuckled helplessly. As he spoke, a light appeared before us; he had pulled out a glow stick! Although it was bright, its illuminating range was extremely limited—barely enough to see where we were.
For a moment, I felt a flicker of joy until I saw Xianxian's face illuminated by the glow. With a deep sigh of resignation, I said as we walked, "What good is that thing? We can't see anything!"
"How can you say we can't see anything?" Xianxian shot me a sidelong glance and smugly replied, "You can see my handsome face! This Lord knows you're scared, so I brought it out for you." He then handed me the green glow stick.
As I took it from him, Xianxian pulled out two more from his backpack—one red and one yellow. He kept the red one for himself and tossed the yellow one at Lime. "Tossed" was a generous term; it felt more like he deliberately aimed to hit Lime!
Lime was walking ahead of us with his back turned. However, when Xianxian threw the yellow glow stick at him, he simply raised his hand and caught it effortlessly without even turning around or shifting his body! If I hadn't known how capable he was, I might have thought he had eyes in the back of his head!
Just then, Lime suddenly stopped and turned to us. "Remember, don't light any fires down there," he instructed before continuing forward.
"Why can't we light a fire?" I quietly asked Xianxian from behind.
Xianxian pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps there is methane inside. When organic matter decays in an anaerobic environment, it produces a large amount of combustible gas—methane, also known as biogas. In a well-sealed tomb, especially when the coffin is tightly sealed, gas can accumulate inside for a long time. If the coffin is suddenly opened, the biogas can ignite instantly upon contact with an open flame! This is what is commonly referred to as a fire pit in tomb raiding. Digging into a fire pit is extremely dangerous, but those of us in this line of work are often eager to encounter one because it indicates that the tomb is well-preserved. However..."
But there were no plants or coffins here! The door had just been opened, making it even less likely to be a fire pit! No, perhaps Lime wasn't referring to this place but to the path below? Did Lime know where the next path led or what might appear below? Xianxian and I exchanged glances without speaking; we wanted to know the answer, so we continued downwards.
After walking nearly a hundred meters, eight different stone doors suddenly appeared before us. The eight doors were fan-shaped, and at the top of each door was embedded a glowing pearl the size of a quail egg. The small glowing pearls emitted a faint, soft light, beneath which were two traditional Chinese characters. From left to right, they read: Rest Gate, Life Gate, Injury Gate, Du Gate, Scenery Gate, Death Gate, Startling Door, Open the Door.
"The Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation!" Xianxian's eyes lit up, and her tone became somewhat somber.
"Nine Palaces? I understand the Bagua formation; there are eight doors here, but why add a 'Nine Palaces' in front?" I asked in confusion.
Xianxian had shifted from a serious state back to a casual one and said, "It doesn't matter why it's called Nine Palaces; just know that this Bagua formation is powerful. We must choose one of the eight doors now; after that, it will depend on luck!"
As soon as Xianxian finished speaking, Lime shook his head slightly and explained, "The Bagua formation is formally known as the Nine Palace Eight Trigrams Formation. Nine is the ultimate number; it derives from the six lines of three trigrams. As the Book of Changes states: One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things. There is also the saying that Taiji produces Two Instruments; Two Instruments produce four images; four images produce Bagua; from Bagua arise sixty-four hexagrams, and thus it continues endlessly."
"So you understand this too, Lime," Xianxian said somewhat enviously while looking at him. Not wanting to lose face, she added, "Since you know so much about it, why don't you tell us what each of these eight doors signifies?"
I thought Lime would ignore Xianxian's childish provocation, but he shook his head and said: "Generally speaking, the three auspicious doors are Open, Rest, and Life; while the three ominous doors are Death, Startling, and Injury. The Du Gate and Scenery Gate are neutral. However, when using them, one must also consider which palace they are facing and their auspicious or inauspicious status. The ancients have a saying: If an auspicious door is overcome by an auspicious force it won't work; if an ominous door is overcome by an ominous force it will be worse; if an auspicious door supports another auspicious door there will be great benefits; if an ominous door receives support misfortune cannot be avoided. If an auspicious door overcomes its palace it won't work; if an ominous door overcomes its palace matters become even worse."
"Alright already! Just tell us which door to choose; you've made my head spin," Xianxian quickly interrupted.
"You should understand these things," Lime said helplessly as he shook his head and pointed at the Death Gate. "Death Gate."
"Choose Death Gate?! Although my head is spinning from the Bagua confusion, Death Gate sounds ominous. Just now, Lime mentioned that the three gates of death, shock, and injury are all inauspicious. Now we have to choose this Death Gate, isn't that a bit too...
Perhaps sensing our doubts, Lime calmly spoke again, "Death Gate is located in the center of the Southwest Kun Palace, which belongs to the earth element. Death Gate is opposite to Gen Palace Life Gate. Everything is born in spring and dies in autumn; thus, it is named Death Gate. It belongs to earth and thrives in autumn, especially during the month of Wei and Shen Month. It corresponds to summer, is imprisoned in winter, and dies in spring. In the Kun Palace Fuyin, in the Gen Palace Reverse Chanting, entering the grave in the Xun Palace, being restrained in the Thunder Palace, thriving greatly in the Palace of Departure, and facing great misfortune in the Kan Palace. It has mutual generation with the Qian and Dui Er palaces. Death Gate is a gate of misfortune, unfavorable for auspicious matters; it is only suitable for hanging deaths, funerals, executions, conflicts, and hunting. After a pause, Lime sighed and added, 'It doesn't matter if you don't understand. Actually, no matter which one you choose, it’s dangerous. It might be better to go against the grain; perhaps there’s still a glimmer of hope.'"
"You should have said that earlier!" Xianxian patted Lime on the shoulder and laughed, "Since we've decided, let's go!"
Lime nodded, and we headed towards Death Gate. The moment we stepped over the threshold, I suddenly remembered that when we arrived here before, Lime showed no surprise at all regarding these eight gates, as if he knew there would be a Bagua formation here. When it came time to choose a gate, he also seemed somewhat hesitant. Overall, it felt as if he had been here before...
Comment 0 Comment Count