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墨書 Inktalez
The eastern sky was beginning to lighten, and I felt utterly exhausted. After a night filled with terror, the sight of dawn brought me a slight sense of calm. The old man and Lu Jianguo appeared to be bleary-eyed. In our efforts to deal with the Ghost Infant, we had all overlooked Zhou Daming. However, he was sleeping soundly, snoring loudly at this hour. We dragged Zhou Daming onto the sofa while the old man and Lu Jianguo returned to their rooms to rest.
When the alarm rang the next morning, it was already eight-thirty. The sunlight streamed in, and what usually felt blinding now gave me a sense of security. I called the producer to request half a day off, intending to have a serious talk with the old man. As I walked into the living room, I prepared to shake Zhou Daming awake; he was sleeping so deeply that no amount of shaking seemed to rouse him! I thought to myself, "What if I told him about last night? Would he be scared enough to wet himself?"
The next day, the old man came downstairs into the living room. He rummaged through his backpack and pulled out a bronze seal, handing it to me as if urging me to take a good look at it first. I accepted the bronze seal and began to examine it closely.
The seal was not very large, about seven-tenths of an inch thick and three and a half inches long—roughly the size of a matchbox. It was coated in gold over a brass surface. Judging by the wear on its four corners, it must have dated back to the Eastern Han period. The outer layer had developed a patina that made it appear ancient.
Despite its age, this bronze seal showed no signs of verdigris, indicating how many generations had handled it. Although I wasn't an expert in artifact appraisal, I could still accurately determine its basic age.
The top of the seal was engraved with a proud dragon knob. The dragon was an ancient mythical creature resembling a dragon but without horns; it was said to bring good fortune and ward off evil. Flipping the seal over, I noticed a red inscription on its base that read: Yangping Governance Seal.
I toyed with it for quite some time; after all, I wasn't someone who specialized in this field and couldn't figure out exactly what kind of seal it was.
The old man chuckled and asked, "Xia, do you know where this seal comes from?"
"I have no idea! But that inscription looks familiar!" I had read several ancient texts about inscriptions and artifacts before. I vaguely remembered seeing something similar but couldn't recall where; all I could deduce was that this seal must be at least seventeen or eighteen hundred years old!
The so-called "fire gas" refers to the phenomenon where large amounts of gas produced during the solidification process of metal condense rapidly into a shell on the surface and cannot be expelled immediately. Over time, as more fire gas accumulates, it eventually disappears completely. Both porcelain and bronze can be dated using fire gas as an indicator; however, this requires a keen eye and is considered a somewhat risky method.
"Dating back to the Eastern Han period is quite impressive! In fact, it's not hard to trace the origin of this seal!" The old man looked at me and seeing my confusion couldn't help but laugh. "Do you know Zhang Master?" At that moment, everything clicked for me; no wonder that inscription seemed familiar.
Wasn't this the demon-slaying seal of Longhu Mountain's Zhang Master? Zhang Master possessed two Yangping Governance Seals along with three major artifacts: the Three-Five Evil-Slaying Sword and Jing Fu. The Mastery was divided into twenty-four jurisdictions; Yangping governed an area similar to today's central district under Zhang Master's authority—this seal belonged to Yangping's jurisdiction. Later on, Zhang Master replicated twenty-four bronze seals of similar size for each jurisdiction's officials—essentially regional managers—to verify documents and prevent forgery. Each jurisdiction's seal bore inscriptions like "Seal of Such-and-Such Jurisdiction."
"Old man! Although this seal is rare, what does it have to do with me?" I thought it was unlikely that he would waste his time showing me such things for amusement. So I decided to ask directly.
The old man pushed Zhou Daming aside and reclined comfortably on the sofa, lighting a cigarette and puffing away leisurely. "This seal actually belongs to your family!"
"What? My family's?"
I looked at him in disbelief, my expression a mix of terror and confusion.
"Actually, this bronze seal was given to me by your grandfather!" Hearing this made my heart ache. I increasingly felt that my grandfather was not an ordinary person. I bombarded him with questions in rapid succession.
"Xia! You have potential, but it's not convenient for you to know too much about your grandfather!" Looking at the old man, he didn't seem to be lying on purpose, so I stopped pressing and decided to change the subject. "Sir, are you going to take me to meet that person? Who exactly is he?"
"I haven't formulated the answer yet; why don't you ask something else?" The old man puffed on his cigarette, looking utterly relaxed with his feet propped up high, lacking any semblance of a master’s demeanor. I nearly burst out laughing at his words. So, I moved on to the next question.
"Old man, what do you plan to do about that Evil Spirit?"
"Your Ali, of course! I'm going to marry you!" The old man said it with a straight face!
"Oh wow! That sounds like fun; old man, introduce me then!" Zhou Daming, still half-asleep and dazed, seemed to suddenly wake up. Upon hearing this, Lu Jianguo let out a laugh.
"Half Immortal, if you're interested, Ali will be yours!" I said half-seriously and half-jokingly. He had seen that Evil Spirit, so naturally, he felt uneasy.
"Well..." Before Half Immortal could finish his sentence, the old man suddenly interrupted him!
"What do you mean 'well'? Your fate is against you; your luck is low! If you can survive until next month, it will be a blessing!" The old man said sternly to Zhou Daming.
"Ah! No wonder I've been getting toothaches even from drinking cold water lately!"
"You have an extremely yin constitution; you're prone to attracting Dirty Things!"
"Master, is there any hope for me?"
"Just hold on for a moment, young one. You talk big, but when something happens, you get all flustered!" The old man scolded me. In an instant, he switched to a smiling face and asked,
"Xia, what else did that Demon Child say to you?"
I closed my eyes and thought carefully. That Demon Child was once a good person in the Two Realms Completion, and returned something unique to me. These were the very things I had been pondering over, unable to understand.
"Old man, are there really good people in this world who have achieved Two Realms Completion?"
"There are!"
"So what exactly is a good person in Two Realms Completion?"
"I once heard from a master that Xuanzang from the Tang Dynasty was a good person of the tenth generation of Cultivation!" Lu Jianguo said earnestly. I didn’t mind his interjection; the topic of Xuanzang was unavoidable.
"The next line still has some essence left! Simply put, he's a thousand-year-old bachelor!" Zhou Daming seemed particularly interested in this statement.
"You don't know anything! Tang Xuanzang is the reincarnation of the Golden Cicada in Buddhism, reincarnated ten times to provide food for people!" The old man straightened his back and flicked the ash off his cigarette! He coughed a few times, clearly agitated. "No investigation means no right to speak, understand? Buddy!!"
The old man didn’t directly explain what "Two Realms Completion" was but started with "Three Realms Completion." I began to grasp what the so-called Three Realms Completion entailed! According to the Karma Sutra of the Three Realms, past life, present life, and future life constitute the three realms. Confucianism refers to these as the seen realm, the heard realm, and the transmitted realm. The old man's three realms referred to the horizontal three realms: Earth, Human, and Spirit. A person who has attained high cultivation can alter fate, reverse destiny, and guide spirits. By upholding earthly order and maintaining justice in the human realm while transcending vengeful spirits, one can achieve Three Virtues Completion and be reborn as part of the so-called Three Realms Completion.
Individuals with such character are called Living Buddhas in Buddhism, Masters in Taoism, and Sages in Confucianism. These three types of people all harbor aspirations to save the world and help others.
However, achieving Three Realms Completion is quite challenging. It is closely related not only to fate and ambition but also to one's lineage. The so-called lineage includes both verbal teachings and personal experience; verbal teachings can come from reading their works or listening to their words, while personal experience must come from being a direct disciple. If any condition is lacking, it implies that one cannot achieve Three Realms Completion and will need to make up for it in their next life.
The old man lacked earthly virtue; he had not guided enough vengeful spirits! In his previous life, he must have been an impressive Taoist who swept through the Underworld, slaying countless demons and monsters. Therefore, in this life, he must deal with Demons not only to eradicate evil and promote good but also to guide Lost Souls to compensate for his incomplete Three Realms.
"You are a good person of Two Realms Completion!" The old man declared firmly. "Your birth date is Year of the Fire Snake, Yihai Month, Xinmao Day, Yi Hai Time!" I was taken aback; I had never shared my birth date with him before.
The old man noticed my confusion and did not hide it. "All of this is recorded in your grandfather's notebook!" I found this absurd; my grandfather passed away before I was born, so how could he know my birth date? Although I thought this way in my heart, I said, "Perhaps the birth date was added later?" I believed this reasoning was irrefutable. To my surprise, the old man's next words nearly dropped my jaw.
"At first, I didn't believe it either; I thought it was just a coincidence! Later, I asked Old Zhang to investigate you. The results were completely accurate; every year's prediction from one to twenty-four years old was incredibly precise! However, the predictions after twenty-four were torn out. Inside, there was a note that suggested revealing too much could bring disaster." Hearing this made me absolutely disbelieve it. The old man insisted that I take out the notebook to verify. I retrieved it from my bedroom and flipped through just a few pages before my eyes nearly popped out in shock.
"This is why I want to help you!" The old man said meaningfully. I took a deep breath, and some of the doubts in my heart were finally resolved. However, two more questions surged to the forefront of my mind!
"Why did that meteorite activate my Spirit Yang Body?" This question had been on my mind for a long time. "Could it be that the mysterious runes inscribed on the meteorite coincidentally helped me break the seal of the Spirit Yang Body? If that's the case, did I gain the Eye?"
The so-called Eye refers to the Yin-Yang Eye, which can see Dirty Things. Taoist masters with magical powers can use cow tears and Willow Leaf water to see Dirty Things!
"You still haven't answered my question!" I interrupted the old man, though I knew it was impolite; I couldn't help myself!
"I know about the meteorite because your grandfather entrusted it to me; beyond that, I know nothing! As for your Xia Family matters, come back and ask me when you are strong enough!" Later, I tried to throw away the meteorite multiple times, but each time it inexplicably returned to my bedside, leaving me resigned to my fate!
"Ghost Infant, why do you want me and Evil Spirit Ali to become its best Mother of Ghosts?"
"Indeed! Your question is quite professional, but I cannot answer you. This is also one of the reasons why I want to take you to meet him; do you understand?"
Upon hearing this, I felt even more bewildered. My curiosity about this 'him' grew even stronger!
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