Chapter 17 The Moon in the Mirror The well's frame is made of stone, and on the inner wall of the well opening...
"What! You're going to the Ghost Bureau again?!"
Lu Bing had been yawning repeatedly, as if he hadn't woken up yet, but as soon as he heard that someone was going to the Ghost Bureau, he let out a loud shout and immediately became energetic.
Ever since his experience at the Ghostly Office the night before, Lu Bing had become a complete believer in the supernatural. That place was truly eerie, even more so than the rumors suggested. It was a genuine ghostly office, the Hall of Yama, and he vowed never to disrespect ghosts and gods again.
"What are we still going to do? The missing young master Shen has been found, and Sun Xiuniang's body has been brought out..."
Zhou Yaren didn't stop walking and headed straight for the Ghost Office: "Let's go check out the scene."
"No, why did you go to that unlucky place so early in the morning..."
"The reason that place became a ghost town is because the grievances against the people there were too heavy."
"So what if the injustice is deep? Are you going to go and seek justice for those bones?"
Lu Bing couldn't stop him. On the way, they happened to meet Master Fang, who wanted to visit Tingfengzhi. Upon hearing that they were going to the Ghost Office, Master Fang also objected: "The Taihang Sect has set up a restriction, ordering my disciples from the Ancestral Mountain to guard this place. Outsiders are not allowed to trespass at will, lest they damage the talisman array inside. It was already done the night before last..."
“Because of these worms, the deep-seated grievances buried beneath the Ghost Office have surfaced. Shouldn’t we go and see?” Zhou Yaren said solemnly. “Why did Sun Xiuniang go to the Ghost Office’s courtroom to drain her own blood? She sacrificed her life, using her blood to alter the talisman array drawn by Taihang Dao, causing a wisp of Yin energy to leak out. Do you know what she summoned at that time? Master Fang, you weren’t there, so you didn’t see it, but I did.”
"What..." Master Fang listened blankly to his words, somewhat unable to process what he was saying. "You saw it? What did you see? Didn't you say you couldn't see it?!"
As he spoke, he almost pressed his face against Zhou Yaren's, staring intently into her eyes to see if she was truly blind or just pretending.
Zhou Yaren was arrogant and distancing herself from Master Fang.
Lu Bing looked at him in confusion: "Yeah, you can't see, can you?"
Zhou Yaren opened her mouth, but too lazy to explain, she said, "I heard it."
The two nodded in unison, not taking it seriously, and automatically assumed that the other person's "saw" was a slip of the tongue, thus letting the matter drop.
Finally, Zhou Yaren re-entered the Ghost Bureau with the statement, "I know what I'm doing and I won't damage the talisman array inside." Perhaps the rumors in the martial arts world were too realistic, and Master Fang had a kind of deified reverence for Tingfengzhi, so of course he trusted him.
However, Master Fang was left outside the gate: "Was he the only one who went in?"
Lu Bing nodded: "Yes."
Master Fang pointed at you and me: "And what about us?"
Lu Bing crossed his arms and leaned against the doorpost, saying, "Watch the door."
Before leaving, Zhou Yaren had said that he was going to the Ghost Office to listen to the wind, and that he only needed to wait outside the door and not make any noise so as not to disturb his hearing.
Lu Bing really didn't dare to step inside. Even standing outside the door made him feel a chill down his spine. He was now just holding his knife tightly and trying to appear calm.
But what exactly could Zhou Yaren hear? Lu Bing had never known, and he had never quite understood why the current emperor called him "Tingfengzhi" (meaning "Knowing the Wind"). It wasn't just because he was a blind musician whose ears were the royal instruments for tuning musical instruments, but because "Tingfengzhi" could communicate with the divine through his ears.
Therefore, Lu Bing even went to ask him personally, when they had only known each other for a short time: "Are you really like they say, able to communicate with the gods through your ears, able to hear divine pronouncements?"
At that time, Zhou Yaren was taking a nap in the backyard of the Lu family. Upon hearing this, she suddenly smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. She slowly poured the boiling water from the stove into a teacup to cool it down.
Lu Bing asked in confusion, "What are you laughing at? Can you really hear it? What did the oracle say to you?"
Zhou Yaren said, "The oracle says it will rain soon, so hurry up and bring in the clothes on that pole."
Sure enough, a downpour started shortly after noon. Zhou Yaren moved the table, chairs, and tea set under the eaves and drank a whole pot of tea without giving a direct answer to the question.
After collecting the clothes, Lu Bing stood under the eaves staring at the sudden downpour and couldn't help but say, "You're amazing! How did you know it would rain? The sun was shining brightly just now. Did a divine revelation tell you?"
"If I can't even sense when the wind, frost, snow, and rain will arrive, how can I possibly know anything by listening to the wind?" Zhou Yaren said leisurely, holding his teacup and listening to the crisp sound of rain hitting the banana leaves beside him. "As for divine pronouncements... I only know the timing of the heavens."
Knowing the natural order of things, knowing the laws governing the workings of the universe.
Lu Bing never attended school properly and had hardly read any classical Chinese texts: "Don't keep me in suspense, I don't understand."
Zhou Yaren raised the corners of his mouth: "Just like when crops should be sown and when they should be harvested, it is necessary to grasp the timing of the weather. However, before the calendar was truly established, people did not know what year, month, or day it was. Our ancestors used the wind to tell the people the timing so that they could carry out agricultural work."
"To know the time by listening to the wind?"
"That is, to tell the people the time to plant. This can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. Blind masters listened to the wind and observed the weather to observe the local customs and predict the timing of the season. When the wind was favorable, it was the day of the Beginning of Spring. The emperor would hold the Jitian ceremony to announce to the people that it was time to plant. This was very important for farming. Only by grasping the timing could the people plant in time and reap the harvest."
How do we determine if a gust of wind has arrived?
"Through wind direction, and the temperature of the winds from all directions."
This is a long story, and Lu Bing probably wouldn't understand anything too profound, so Zhou Yaren gave a simple example and concluded by saying perfunctorily, "When I listen to the wind, I just want to hear that the weather is good and the crops are plentiful."
Therefore, Lu Bing's understanding of Zhou Yaren was limited to the fact that she could only wish for good weather and a good harvest. Every year, whether it was a prince or a minister, they would offer sacrifices to heaven and earth, all to pray for good weather, a good harvest, and national peace. No wonder she was highly regarded by the current emperor.
Lu Bing leaned against a pillar, lost in thought, while Master Fang kept talking beside him:
"Officer Lu, what's your relationship with this Tingfeng Zhi? You two seem to be on very good terms. How did you meet? And why did he come to our Beiqu?"
"Officer Lu, do you know about the Wind Control Technique? It's a legendary ancient skill that has been lost for a long time. I dare say it's been lost for at least a thousand years. I never expected that Tingfengzhi from Chang'an City would bring the Wind Control Technique back to life."
"Officer Lu, is the 'Listening to the Wind's Way into the Ghost Office to hear the stories of those who died unjustly? I feel like he's particularly concerned about these people who died unjustly."
Lu Bing's heart skipped a beat, and he stood up straight abruptly: "That's right, how could I have forgotten about that?"
"What have you forgotten, Officer Lu? Is it important?"
"It's none of your business, don't pry."
"I understand, I understand. It involves the case, right? I won't pry," Master Fang turned to look at the gate. "I wonder when Tingfengzhi will come out?"
Knowing that Tingfeng wouldn't be able to get out anytime soon, when Zhou Yaren stepped into the Ghost Bureau again, the feeling was exactly the same as last time, as if she were in an ice cave, surrounded by scattered and fluctuating cold currents of yin energy, which were accumulated in some unknown depth within the talisman array.
This yin energy leaked out from the talisman array, surging and overflowing from the cracks in the talismanic walls, forming scattered chilling air in all directions.
Zhou Yaren wasn't sure what she wanted to explore, but she had a strange premonition that there was more than one layer of restrictions here.
It wasn't just the array of runes set up by Taihang Road, Zhou Yaren speculated, but with his current "eyesight," he couldn't see through it.
Zhou Yaren carried the bronze mirror and wandered around the Ghost Bureau, trying to listen with her ears. However, the yin energy trapped in the walls and tiles was suppressed by the talisman array, and the yin winds that blew out were scattered and difficult to discern. It felt as if she was clearly in the middle of it all, but she was always wandering on the edge, unable to touch the core.
What exactly is it?
The Ghost Office was filled with too much resentment.
His strange premonition grew increasingly vague and uncertain. He then spent an entire day alone in the deathly silent and desolate government office, until the silver moon hung high in the sky. A faint silver gleam flashed across the bronze mirror in Zhou Yaren's hand, reflecting off his dark and lifeless vision.
So he picked up the bronze mirror and saw the moonlight.
"The moon is reflected in the mirror, the moon is reflected in the mirror."
Logically speaking, a mirror should be able to reflect all real objects. This bronze mirror not only reflects the moon and the night sky, but also himself and a corner of the upturned eaves.
But he was blind; he could see nothing else, yet at that moment he suddenly saw a glimmer of moonlight, a ray of silvery glow.
Zhou Yaren felt a chill run down her spine, her heart pounded like a rising tide, and goosebumps rose all over her body.
"There must be something hidden here," Zhou Yaren murmured. Could it be what he was looking for?
He decided to give it a try. He forcefully ran his finger along the hard edge of the bronze mirror, and the wound on his fingertip reopened, spilling blood onto the mirror's surface. This was a funerary object that had just been used for a blood sacrifice, and he felt he could test it once more.
And then the silvery glow in the funerary object gradually turned into a blurry full moon, but this full moon seemed to be shrouded in a layer of black gauze, like being coated with a layer of ghostly mist that could not be dispelled.
Zhou Yaren suddenly remembered the words Li Liuyun had sent him: "The Taiyin Black Book imprisons ghosts and spirits."
Taiyin refers to the moon, and here it also alludes to a dark place. Could it be that Sun Xiuniang was worshipping the moon in the mirror?
Thinking of this, Zhou Ya's heart skipped a beat. The back of the bronze mirror was engraved with a picture of the moon palace, which was obviously not just a coincidence. The night before, when Sun Xiuniang offered a sacrifice, the bronze mirror filled with blood reflected a blood-red moon.
When she worships the moon in the mirror, is she actually worshipping the ghost imprisoned within it?
So, did they bring out that woman who carried the death umbrella backwards?
The blood from Zhou Yaren's fingertips trickled across the mirror, staining the moon's reflection crimson. He frowned, sensing the biting wind around him, and at the same time, the faint voice he had heard the night before echoed in his ears, as if murmuring: "...Injustice...Injustice..."
Why did Sun Xiuniang come here to plead her innocence? He had asked Lu Bing the same question yesterday. If Qin Lao Er was not killed by Sun Xiuniang, why didn't she go to the county government office with officials to present her innocence, but instead went to this ghost office that had long been abandoned by the government to plead her innocence?
Zhou Yaren didn't actually ask the second half of her question: Who here can seek justice for her? The officials who hanged themselves in court more than a decade ago?
Lu Bing was stunned at first, then stunned by the question, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "How would I know! I'm not her!" After shouting, Lu Bing was still really confused and wondered, "Is she not quite right in the head, or is she possessed by some kind of evil spirit?"
In Lu Bing's view, it was impossible for a sane person to come to the Ghost Office to commit suicide. Even if she had lost her husband, was wronged, or had nowhere else to turn... well, that's not impossible. Anyway, she did die in the Ghost Office, and her behavior before death was very strange and bizarre.
The night wind grew stronger, leaking out from the sealed talisman array and gathering towards the Moon Palace Mirror held by Zhou Yaren, as if the place he occupied was a natural wind tunnel, causing his clothes and robes to flutter wildly in the air.
Zhou Yaren was completely focused, listening to the wind and sensing its direction. Even though these yin winds were tangled up in the formation, he carefully distinguished and sorted them out one by one.
However, the wind was too scattered to trace its source unless the talisman array was lifted. But it was difficult to calculate the consequences of lifting it, and besides, he had promised Master Fang not to damage the array set up by Taihang Dao. Therefore, Zhou Yaren abandoned the idea of acting rashly and continued to listen to the wind.
Finally, he found a key point and followed the wind. After walking about a hundred steps, his toe lightly kicked a hard stone wall. He stopped and raised his hand but did not touch the obstacle. However, a bone-chilling cold rose from below.
Zhou Yaren bent down slightly and reached out to touch a round well.
The well ring is made of stone, and the inner wall of the well opening is full of deep grooves, all of which are pits and grooves made by pulling the iron rope when drawing water.
Zhou Yaren's hand was covered in wet, green moss on the pitted well wall, but his blind eyes did not notice that a gleaming silver moon was reflected in the deep well.
The man waiting outside the Ghost Gate watched the moon rise high in the sky, but Zhou Yaren did not come out for a long time. Lu Bing was very anxious. He had been waiting since early morning and was already very impatient. He had paced at the door at least a thousand times. Unable to hold back any longer, he urged Master Fang to come in and take a look. As a result, he saw Zhou Yaren lying on the well, half of her body leaning in.
The two were terrified and shouted in unison, "Watch out!"
Their first thought was that Zhou Yaren was blind and had accidentally wandered to the well, about to fall in. They rushed forward, but Master Fang lost his footing and stepped on a crow carcass that had been split in two. He slipped and fell forward.
It was all because Zhou Yaren was too focused and completely absorbed. She was startled by their shouts and before she could even get up, she was suddenly tackled hard by Master Fang and they both fell into the well.
Lu Bing never expected that Fang Zheng'an would suddenly pounce on the man.
Lu Bing's eyes were bloodshot, and he was almost insane. He peered over the well and watched helplessly as the two men plunged into the water, shouting hoarsely, "Ya Ren!"
Water was splashing everywhere at the bottom of the well, making it impossible to see who was splashing around. Lu Bing knew that Zhou Yaren was good at swimming, and such a dog-paddle-like splashing method could only belong to Master Fang.
"Yajin, Yajin, how are you?"
The water was at least five or six zhang deep from the well opening. It was dark and gloomy inside, and the smooth well walls were covered with moss and were very slippery. It was practically impossible to climb out on your own if you fell in. Fortunately, Lu Bing was still on the shore: "Ya Ren, you wait here. I'll go and get someone to bring a rope."
In just a few words, the water in the well gradually calmed down. Apart from the churning waves, no one was floating on the surface. Lu Bing panicked and cried out, "Ya Ren, Master Fang, Ya Ren, Zhou Ya Ren."
Apart from the echo at the bottom of the well, there was no response, only the reflection of a full moon rippling on the water.
Lu Bing felt his throat swell and tighten, and all the blood rushed to his head: "Zhou Yaren—"
A note from the author:
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Lu Bing: "You're amazing! How did you know it would rain?"
Zhou Yaren: "Because I am a weather forecaster, just as ancient meteorological stations knew the weather by listening to the wind."
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