Chapter 1028 The Fall of Qin Began Here
"Golden light?"
"Well, the other light orbs were far away, and this golden light was quite special, so I went there specifically to take it first before going to find the source of the blood droplet sound."
Before the pitch-black door, the brother and sister exchanged questions and answers.
At this moment, all eyes were on the square bronze mirror in Ouyang Rong's hand.
Miao Si rode the white sturgeon closer, curiously observing the mirror. Coincidentally, the fluorescent light on the fish made the mirror in Ouyang Rong's hand even clearer, so Ouyang Rong didn't stop her from getting in the way.
He listened patiently to Huang Xuan's description, then looked down and examined her closely.
This ancient mirror is square in shape, but not perfectly square. Each of its four corners has an inward-facing bend, making it easy to hold in one hand... but overall it is square.
This type of mirror is quite rare, and it is obviously an ancient mirror, because most mirrors in the Great Zhou Dynasty were round or oval. This kind of square mirror with folded corners was used more often by the ancients, which is in line with the aesthetics of certain dynasties... Ouyang Rong seems to remember seeing it in a book.
Furthermore, the back of the angled square mirror is covered with patina, indicating its age. It is also decorated with a ring of small golden pebbles, which do not appear to be artificially inlaid but are naturally present, giving it a seamless and natural feel.
Besides, the front of the ancient mirror was so shiny it could reflect a person's image.
Ouyang Rong saw that the light emanating from the white sturgeon and the yellow light from the surrounding torches were all captured by the angled square mirror and reflected onto the ceiling above the circular hall.
He turned it over again to check, and then the white sturgeon moved closer, the increased light allowing him to see more details.
Ouyang Rong discovered that the back of the angled square mirror had a beautiful patina, with what appeared to be faint small seal script characters, engraved in intaglio. However, due to the mottled patina, these characters had been worn away and the strokes were no longer legible…
The ancient mirror retrieved from the dark door piqued Miao Si's curiosity.
"Little Rongzi, let this fairy maiden take a look. This fairy maiden is very knowledgeable! Maybe she can recognize some kind of treasure."
She scratched her head, itching to speak.
"Don't move."
Ouyang Rong gently waved away the fish and the spirit.
He examined the back of the mirror for a while, then picked it up and weighed it in his hand, finding it rather heavy.
It is made of typical copper.
They are currently still inside Lu Changgeng's tomb, and due to limited resources, they cannot use too many things to test each item individually.
Ouyang Rong tried it out briefly. He gathered spiritual energy from his dantian into his palm, and a flash of blue light appeared on the back of his hand where it touched the angled square mirror.
The spiritual energy of a mid-grade Qi Refiner was instantly injected into it.
The angled square mirror did not respond.
This is not blood bronze or mithril; Ouyang Rong is certain it is simply copper.
Having figured this out, he flipped the mirror over so that the mirror surface was facing up, held it with one hand, and stretched out his other hand to make some gestures on the mirror.
At the same time, Ouyang Rong glanced down.
This ancient mirror was used by people from the pre-Qin period. The polishing technology for bronze mirrors was very primitive, and it is far less clear than the bronze mirrors used by high-ranking officials and nobles in this era.
The smooth mirror surface reflected the general shape of his hand... Upon closer inspection, there was nothing unusual in the smooth mirror surface, nor was there anything unusual in the hand reflected in it.
Some of your worries are unfounded.
At first, he thought that the object reflected in the mirror would undergo some changes inside and outside the mirror...
Ouyang Rong picked up the square mirror again and looked around. It reflected his usual appearance everywhere. After repeatedly verifying, he took a deep breath, lowered his head, and used it to look at his face.
In the mirror, the young man's blank face was somewhat blurry, but the general outline of his eyes and nose could still be seen.
The "young man" inside and outside the mirror looked at each other, their expressions and movements were identical.
Huang Xuan looked closely and found that the young man's face in the mirror was normal.
Miao Si, who was standing to the side, had already spun around with the white sturgeon more than a dozen times, and couldn't wait any longer.
"Little Rongzi, it's my turn, it's my turn, this fairy maiden also wants to take a look..."
Little Mo Jing grumbled and started fighting with Ouyang Rong.
Ouyang Rong ignored her, withdrew his gaze, and prepared to put away the angled mirror as well. At this moment, the white sturgeon, driven by the ingenious thought, approached and its body swept across the back of the mirror. The light shone directly on a certain part of the angled mirror. From its angle, it happened to see this scene, which also made a certain blurry word clearer.
"Wait, what is this...?"
Ouyang Rong murmured something, then ordered the white sturgeon to stop and approach the back of the mirror. Ouyang Rong changed his angle, squinted at the writing on the back of the bronze mirror, and read it aloud softly:
"Qin..."
"What Qin?"
Huang Xuan and Miao Si asked him curiously, noticing a strange change in Ouyang Rong's expression.
Ouyang Rong pointed to the back of the mirror, gesturing to the man and the spirit:
"This character looks like the character for Qin, and it's in the Small Seal script."
Huang Xuan, out of curiosity, took the angled square mirror back from Ouyang Rong and looked down at it. Miao Si also came over to peek.
After a short while, Huang Xuan slowly nodded:
"It does resemble the character 'Qin'. Could it be its name?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head. "I'm not sure. There's no custom of engraving the name of a mirror on its body. Any inscriptions on mirrors or similar objects usually have a special meaning or purpose."
“That makes sense,” Huang Xuan affirmed. “And it’s not just this one word.”
Miao Si also stared at the back of the mirror and muttered:
"This is the character 'Qin'. It's in the first position, followed by... two, three, four, five... there are five characters in total."
Huang Xuan frowned: "What does this mean?"
"I don't know, I need to take a closer look. But we don't have the facilities to clean bronze mirrors here, so we'll talk about it when we get back."
Ouyang Rong shook his head. He had just tried to wipe the rust on the back of the mirror with a handkerchief to make the characters clear again. However, the copper rust had corroded the back of the mirror for too long, making it difficult to see the inscription clearly again... It wouldn't be possible in a short time.
Ouyang Rong rubbed the line of words again with his fingertip, then looked away and shook his head.
Huang Xuan glanced at Ouyang Rong's focused, downcast face and asked softly:
"Brother Tanlang, have you seen it clearly?"
"No, whatever Qin is, we'll talk about it when we get back."
Huang Xuan also said with a smile:
"Hmm, I didn't see anything strange about it either... But, Brother Tanlang, from the perspective of the Spirit Eye, the golden light of this thing is very dazzling."
Ouyang Rong had no doubt about her at all and nodded emphatically:
"I trust Xiaoxuan. This thing still needs further investigation, so let's not rush it."
At that moment, he noticed that Xiao Xuan in front of him seemed to be silently rubbing a certain spot on her waist, which appeared to be the spot where he had just gripped her tightly.
Ouyang Rong felt a little embarrassed, mistakenly thinking that Xiao Xuan had been hurt by his rubbing, and dared not bring it up at the moment, his gaze returning to the ancient mirror.
But he said it seriously:
"Xiaoxuan, you've worked so hard. This trip has really gone to a lot of trouble for you."
"Brother Tanlang, what are you saying? Don't be so polite."
Huang Xuan lowered her eyes slightly: "I'm also very happy to be able to help Brother Tanlang."
She then pointed to the ancient mirror that had been attracting most of Ouyang Rong's attention and asked:
"Brother Tanlang, is there anything strange about this item?"
Ouyang Rong, however, put away the ancient bronze mirror and said to Huang Xuan:
"Let's go out first, we can't stay here any longer... Wait for me, Xiaoxuan, take a rest."
As he spoke, he went to the surrounding murals and put away the torches.
Huang Xuan subconsciously followed him and couldn't help but ask:
"Brother Tanlang, shall we go now? Why don't we go in and explore a bit more?"
She asked again, "Is something urgent?"
"Nothing urgent."
Ouyang Rong glanced at the pitch-black door and asked, "Xiao Xuan, are you sure there are a few more similar light sources inside?"
"Um."
Huang Xuan said confidently, "I can't be wrong. They're just a bit far away. I wasted some time just now searching for the source of the blood droplet sound... Brother, let me rest for a bit before I go in to look for things again."
"Xiaoxuan, don't go in. You don't have the strength."
Ouyang Rong said softly:
"You were already exhausted inside the door, you can't force your way in."
Huang Xuan paused, remained silent for a moment, then followed Ouyang Rong, who had already turned and walked towards the door. On the way, she asked softly:
"How did you know, brother?"
Ouyang Rong, who was walking in front, was silent for a while, then turned around. Under the somewhat surprised looks of Miao Si and Huang Xuan, he raised his hand and rubbed Huang Xuan's head.
"I bumped into Xiaoxuan by the door just now. She was already exhausted, I could tell. Xiaoxuan said she had been walking inside for a long time, and I had been waiting for a long time too. Although the wait was agonizing, I knew that it was even more agonizing for Xiaoxuan inside. She could only see a general light source, but it was actually pitch black. The most crucial thing was that she had to endure the claustrophobia in the dark..."
Huang Xuan stared blankly at the young man who was patting her head.
The young man's face was expressionless, but his eyes were surprisingly bright.
"Moreover, after spending so much time, Xiaoxuan only took out a mirror and a handkerchief. If Xiaoxuan's body hadn't been so weak, she wouldn't have only brought so few things. She must have been exhausted. Although I'm not sure what Xiaoxuan needs to consume to use the Innocent Eye, it certainly wasn't easy. Sometimes, talent is not a blessing, but a burden, and the Innocent Eye is even more so."
"Tan, Brother Tanlang..." Huang Xuan's voice trembled slightly.
Ouyang Rong waved his hand, interrupting her:
"Alright, that's all for tonight. Let's go back together and come again next month. Xiaoxuan, get some rest and recover your energy. You did a great job tonight."
Huang Xuan whispered:
"It does consume some spiritual energy and physical strength, but I recover quickly..."
She wanted to persuade him further, but found Ouyang Rong's expression resolute, refusing to listen to her. Huang Xuan had no choice but to change the subject and continue:
"Actually, I wasn't too scared when I first went in, but there was an array inside the door. Even though the ball of light was clearly not far away, the way to get there was winding and troublesome... So, I did get a little worried and scared when I got to the second half. However, when I thought about how you, my dear brother Tanlang, and the fairy lady were both at the entrance, and that the ball of light of the white sturgeon was still in place, and I could see it every time I looked back, I wasn't so scared anymore..."
After a pause, as if remembering something, the aloof young Taoist nun, who appeared cold and reserved to outsiders, suddenly smiled at the young man listening intently ahead:
"I bumped into Brother Tanlang at the door just now. Although it hurt a little, I felt relieved. However, I still have to say that Brother Tanlang must calm down next time and not rush in. Of course, I was also wrong. I went in too fast and was a bit reckless. I underestimated the door and made Brother Tanlang worry outside... I almost hurt Brother Tanlang."
“No.” Ouyang Rong looked somewhat ashamed and said softly, “In the end, it’s because I lack the ability that I need you to risk going in. It’s a last resort.”
Huang Xuan couldn't help but correct him:
"Brother Tanlang, you..."
Ouyang Rong suddenly smiled, as if he had figured something out.
"Alright, let's stop being so sentimental. Come with me, let's get out of here first. We can't stay here any longer."
"Okay, sure."
...
At dawn, before the sky had brightened.
On the top floor of the Red Dust Inn, in the corner of a room, a dull young man sat alone at his desk, his hands busy at work.
A square mirror with folded corners lay quietly on the table, its back facing up, being repeatedly wiped by a pair of hands with a wet handkerchief.
It was Ouyang Rong who had returned, and the folded square mirror he brought back from Lu Changgeng's tomb.
After leaving Lu Changgeng's tomb, Ouyang Rong and Huang Xuan returned to Taoyuan Town by small boat, leaving the white sturgeon near Lu Changgeng's tomb again to lie in wait.
When parting with Da Bai, the female immortal was quite reluctant to leave, turning back every few steps.
The group originally rented two guest rooms at the Red Dust Inn. One room was previously for Xiufa, but Xiufa did not come this time and went back to Donglin Temple, so there was an extra guest room, which was specially reserved for Ouyang Rong.
Right now, the Fang sisters are resting in the courtyard they stayed in this afternoon. It's a good opportunity to let Ouyang Rong and Huang Xuan stay in the two rooms of the Red Dust Inn.
After returning to the inn in the dead of night, Ouyang Rong told Huang Xuan to go wash up and rest first, while he took the mirror and went to the next room to study the newly acquired ancient mirror.
The guest room was quiet, with the bed neatly arranged, waiting for the young man at the desk to get in. However, at this moment, he was clearly engrossed in the mirror in his hand.
Miao Si wasn't in the guest room; she had gone to Huang Xuan's room next door and was sleeping on the little Taoist nun's bed. The little nun and the little Mo Jing had a deep bond and hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they were very talkative. They might even be whispering behind the curtain right now.
Ouyang Rong rarely had such peace and quiet, and he secretly wished for it. Now, he could concentrate on his work without the nagging of Miao Si.
Right now, the upside-down square mirror on the table has a much cleaner bronze back, and Ouyang Rong is carefully wiping it.
He had a basin of water beside him, and a damp handkerchief was slowly rubbing the patina on the back of the angled square mirror.
The patina gradually faded, revealing the inscription at the bottom.
At one point, Ouyang Rong finally saw something clearly. He threw the handkerchief aside, grabbed the lamp on the table, and made sure the flickering light fell as much as possible on the back of the angled square mirror.
Under the warm yellow light, the four small seal characters, besides the character "秦", were also revealed.
Ouyang Rong squinted at the words and read them aloud softly:
"The Qin dynasty... began its demise from this point."
(End of this chapter)
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