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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 209 Heavenly Mechanism Mirror
There is a stone arch bridge leading to Painted Immortal Village, with a gentle stream flowing beneath it, crystal clear.
On this side of the bridge, it is the cold winter, with wind blowing and snow falling, while on the other side, the spring breeze caresses the face, and the sunlight shines brightly, as if they are two different worlds.
Kameda and the Japanese Invaders cautiously walked across the stone bridge, seemingly stepping into a beautiful painting.
Along the way, he saw several farmers working in the fields, humming songs; beside the village, a few children were playing a game of catching grass. Those people seemed oblivious to the menacing Japanese Invaders who had barged in, each busy with their own tasks. Even the few large yellow dogs wandering around the village showed no interest in them.
Inside and outside the village, a peaceful and serene atmosphere prevailed.
For some unknown reason, Kameda, notorious for his ruthless killings, seemed to be affected by an inexplicable ambiance upon entering Painted Immortal Village, suddenly becoming cautious.
By a well, two village girls who looked as beautiful as fairies were busy washing clothes. A few Japanese Invaders, upon seeing them, revealed lewd glints in their eyes and shouted about "the work of the Flower Girl," just as they were about to pounce when Kameda shouted loudly to stop them. In that instant, he seemed to believe the story told by Ma Sanli. He approached a few children nearby and asked if there was a Painted Immortal in the village and where that Painted Immortal lived.
One child pointed ahead and said, “The Painted Immortal grandpa lives over there!” Following the direction of his finger, Kameda saw a thatched cottage with a large courtyard filled with flowers at its entrance. He led his team of Japanese Devils over there and saw an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face sitting under a flower rack.
The old man had an exceptionally long beard that dragged on the ground for more than ten feet. Two little girls were even twisting his beard into ropes to play jump rope in the yard. The old man watched them jump happily while leisurely sipping tea. On one side of the wall, there were landscape murals painted; at first glance, it seemed as if the birds in the painting were flying and water was flowing; but upon closer inspection, the painting was still.
Kameda was stunned; he guessed that the old man was indeed the Painted Immortal.
He instructed two Japanese Invaders to guard the entrance while he led others inside.
Approaching the old man, he pretended to be very polite, bowing respectfully and cautiously asking in fluent Chinese, “Excuse me, are you the legendary Painted Immortal?”
The old man looked up at Kameda, nodded, and said: “Indeed I am. If I’m not mistaken, you are Kameda, the squad leader of the Japanese Invaders. You’ve come to my land of Huaxia and have killed many people!”
Kameda was taken aback; he did not expect Painted Immortal to be able to call out his name in one breath.
“Painted Immortal,”
he smiled awkwardly, “Since you can calculate, I might as well tell you directly that we came to the mountains to search for those guerrilla fighters who specialize in opposing the Imperial Army. I suspect those guerrilla fighters are hiding in your Painted Immortal Village. Please, Painted Immortal, cooperate with us and hand over those guerrilla fighters!”
However, upon hearing this, Painted Immortal threw his head back and laughed heartily, saying, “ Kameda, I have no idea what guerrilla fighters you’re talking about. I’m sorry, but Painted Immortal Village is not a place that outsiders can just wander into. Please leave immediately!”
When Kameda heard this, he was about to get angry, but then he thought better of it. He figured that since he had the rare opportunity to meet Painted Immortal, why not take the chance to ask him for a painting first and then force him to hand over those guerrilla fighters?
With this decision made, he forced a smile and said, “Hehe, old man, it wouldn’t be difficult for us to leave. I have long heard of your great name, would you be willing to paint a picture for me?”
“Sorry,” Painted Immortal replied coldly, “I never paint for beasts!”
The words of Painted Immortal instantly provoked the beastly nature hidden deep within Kameda. He swiftly drew his Katana from his waist and yanked a little girl towards him, roaring menacingly at Painted Immortal: “Old man, don’t refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a punishment! If you don’t paint for me, I’ll chop this little girl up first and then set fire to turn Painted Immortal Village into a wasteland!”
The little girl clearly had never seen such a scene before; she was instantly terrified and cried out to Painted Immortal: “Grandpa, save me—”
“You…” Painted Immortal looked at the ferocious Kameda, his face turning pale with anger. He sighed deeply and said, “Fine, let the child go. I… I will paint for you!”
Kameda laughed triumphantly. He released the little girl and grinned maliciously: “Painted Immortal, I want you to paint a ‘Celebration of the Imperial Army’ for me. Paint me as the emperor of your Huaxia sitting on the Golden Dragon Palace, with my subordinates standing beside me congratulating me!”
Upon hearing this, Painted Immortal fell silent. He instructed a girl to go inside and fetch him some white paper while another girl prepared ink for him. Without using a brush, he dipped his beard in the ink and began painting on the white paper with the speed of wind and waves.
In no time at all, he finished painting the Imperial Palace Treasure Hall. After completing the painting, when Kameda looked at it and saw that neither he nor his subordinates were depicted in it, he was momentarily stunned and asked, “Where are my subordinates and me?”
Painted Immortal stood up and hung the painting on the wall beside him. Then he coldly said to Kameda: “You can lead your men into this painting; each of you can take your places. Aren’t you all in the painting now?”
Upon hearing this, Kameda was confused and angrily shouted: “Old man, are you playing tricks on us? This is just a small painting; how can we possibly enter it?”
"Believe it or not!" said Painted Immortal.
Upon hearing Painted Immortal's words, Kameda saw that he didn't seem to be joking. He casually walked up to the painting and tried to lift his foot to step onto the stairs depicted in it.
Strangely enough, as soon as his foot touched the ground, his surroundings blurred, and upon closer inspection, he had seemingly stepped into a palace.
The nearby Japanese Invaders saw their captain truly enter the painting and began jumping around inside it. They found it amusing and rushed in one after another.
Just as all the Japanese Invaders entered the painting, Painted Immortal suddenly blew a breath toward the artwork. The Japanese Invaders within the painting instantly froze as if they had been drawn on with a brush.
Ma Sanli and the two Japanese Invaders guarding the gate were terrified, speechless.
Painted Immortal reached out and took down the painting from the wall, rolled it up, and handed it to Ma Sanli. He said to them, " Kameda and those Japanese Devils are all in this painting. Take it and leave here quickly; don't dirty our Painted Immortal Village!"
Ma Sanli and the two Japanese Invaders dared not utter a word, clutching the painting like beaten stray dogs, hurriedly fleeing from Painted Immortal Village...
After returning to the county town, Ma Sanli and the two Japanese Invaders sensed something was amiss and rushed directly to Galaxy to report to the Japanese Command Headquarters. Commander Ono listened to Ma Sanli's report and looked at the painting. He couldn't believe such bizarre things existed in this world! He shouted at Ma Sanli, "Bagyaru, you're dead!" and swung his knife, striking him down.
Swish, swish, swish...
In a fit of rage, he slashed the painting into pieces. He thought Kameda and his companions had been eliminated by guerrillas, and that Ma Sanli and the two Japanese Invaders had come up with a story to fool him. In his anger, he ordered the two Japanese Invaders to lead him in gathering troops under Colonel Gangchuan to charge toward Panlong Mountain.
However, when the two Japanese Invaders led Gangchuan and others into the mountains and arrived at Hundred Zhang Cliff, they found no trace of Painted Immortal Village.
All they saw were corpses of Kameda and his companions lying haphazardly across a barren ridge; they had all been killed by blades. On the ground lay many pieces of white paper that had been sliced apart.
Seeing this, Gangchuan suddenly recalled Ono slashing that painting. A wave of inexplicable terror gripped his heart, causing him to shiver involuntarily. At that moment, he heard a children's song coming from not far away: "Where is my home? At the bottom of a hundred-zhang cliff, in front of my door are dozens of flowers; beside the green willows is where horses can be tied; beneath the red maple tree, petals fly..."
"Bagyaru!" Gangchuan screamed like a madman, leading the Japanese Devils toward the direction of the singing voice.
However, despite going around in circles, they did not see a single figure, while the singing continued to echo from not far ahead. Angered and humiliated, Gang Chuan ordered the Japanese Devils to raise their guns and fire fiercely in the direction of the sound.
Unexpectedly, amidst a barrage of gunfire, it was Gang Chuan who fell, his body riddled with wounds and drenched in blood. The Japanese Invaders were stunned and hurriedly tried to retreat from the deep mountains, but they seemed to have entered a Maze of Bewilderment, running around in confusion and unable to find their way out of the gorge.
That day, in the county town, Ono was busy preparing for his fiftieth birthday. Someone sent him hundreds of wild rabbits, and he planned to host a rabbit meat banquet, instructing people to take the rabbits to the kitchen. However, just as the chef began to skin the first rabbit, it emitted a human-like cry, startling him into shouting for help. Hearing this, Ono rushed over to see that the half-skinned rabbit and those kept in cages had all transformed into humans—those were the Japanese Invaders taken by Gang Chuan.
On the backs of those Japanese Invaders were two lines of text: "The land of Huaxia does not allow Japanese bandits to run rampant; go back to your homeland!" Below was signed: Wu Daozi. The writing could not be washed away or erased; even if scraped with a knife, it remained. More terrifyingly, when those Japanese Invaders returned home and got married, even their newborn children bore those markings.
It is said that even now, some old men in Japan still have those words on them. Whenever someone mentions the invasion war they waged in Huaxia, a strange fear appears on their faces, and they repeatedly murmur three words: "Heavenly Mechanism Mirror, Heavenly Mechanism Mirror..."
...
The story of the Old Village Chief ended here, and Xiao Yun and Qiu Yue were both captivated.
Xiao Yun asked, "Old Village Chief, this story you told is truly bizarre. I want to ask one thing: Were Duan Zhengyi and those guerrilla fighters hidden away by Wu Daozi?"
"Of course they were hidden away by him. It is said that they were concealed within a painting by Wu Daozi called 'Yanshan Fengshui Map.' Of course, this is just a legend. Later on, I also heard that Wu Daozi gifted that painting to Duan Zhengyi!"
So that's how it is. If what Old Village Chief said is true and this painter is indeed Wu Daozi, then it's quite strange; this old fellow seems to have arranged my fate from the beginning until now. Every step I take appears to follow a trajectory he set.
At this moment, Qiu Yue, who had been silent beside them, curiously asked, "Old Village Chief, it seems you didn't mention anything about the Heavenly Mechanism Mirror in the story you told me before. What exactly is the Heavenly Mechanism Mirror?"
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