Chapter 1: Diǎn Zhēn Zhī Zhú
""According to ancient sources, there was once a prominent land in the Central Plains called Hóng chéng [1]. It was a very prosperous land on the Central Plains, thus the name was chosen accordingly. People are claimed to have been unaware of its existence until a cultivator arrived to cultivate there in solitude. It was nestled in beautiful valleys and surrounded by majestic mountains, and the spiritual power in the air was shockingly strong. The cultivator soon fell in love with the location and decided to settle there. But no one could be selfish enough to keep this location hidden from their fellow cultivator brothers and sisters. However, word spread like wildfire, and soon, not just cultivators, but regular people, came to settle there. It quickly transformed into a small village, then a town, and finally a city. The city was particularly famous with cultivators due to its abundance of spiritual strength. As a result, numerous sects arose there. There were numerous spirit caves and abundant spiritual stones and medicines. Initially, this territory was known as Bùxiǔ zhī chéng [2]. This city's population and popularity were both at their highest. The harvest was the best, and seeing the scenery made one's heart skip a beat. Every major force or king at the time had their sights set on this plot of land. But It is stated that they never succeeded in invading this territory. Regardless of how hard they tried, they always failed. The cause was unknown. This land existed for four centuries before inexplicably disappearing later."
A lad dressed in crimson rubbed the area between his brows while holding the book down on the rectangular wooden table. He secretly cursed the author of those ancient manuscripts for providing insufficient details. People have recently gone missing in the area where Hóng chéng was originally located. This was once a prosperous region, but what happened centuries ago has left not a single grass remaining. In a single night, the entire country vanished, as if it had never existed. The place stayed where it was, just the ones living in it vanished. Not a single text of that time contained what calamity made the country that way. It was a very big problem. After all these years that once flourishing city had turned into a barren land as if there was never a sign of life in it. The air there turned toxic and there was no sign of even wild animals or insects there. The lush scenery is long gone and spiritual power? It would be better if one said evil Qi was everywhere.
However he himself never entered the place, this is what he heard from the survivors. Yeah, survivors! The land was avoided by everyone until a month ago some brave caravans passed through that land. While passing through the land, that had turned into a deserted place they came across a spiritual cave. It was the only way to enter Hóng chéng. The cave's damp outer wall was rusty yet mossy. It was an ancient cave that had existed for ages and was a good resource of spiritual stones. They had walked a lot in scorching heat during the daytime and ice cold night before reaching here. So all of them were pretty exhausted and decided that it was still a long way to go and that they would rest in this spiritual cave for the night. The first few caravans went inside to check the place while others waited outside.
But the few people outside noticed something strange. Was it an earthquake or a hallucination, they didn't know but the cave looked as if it was moving on its own and as if it was breathing. But before they could say or do anything, they heard long and painful blood-curdling screams. Their screams alone were so horrifying to hear that the ones outside were flabbergasted. They couldn't move and stood still like stone statues with cold and horrified expressions. Soon the guttural cries were devoured by the deafening silence that followed next. Suddenly the earth started quaking and this time it wasn't a hallucination. They found themselves unstable and some even fell to the ground. Then they saw something indescribable.
But the actual trouble is that after saying this much one of the survivors that was telling the incident fainted while white fluid came out of his mouth and his body started to shake like crazy. Other survivors were scared dumb and acted like mute. They were all suffering from huge trauma. So he decided not to take the interrogation any further and sent them to a reliable doctor.
If someone needs to know about the current situation of any place then they must go through its past first. And maybe because he somehow could not go there and maybe because the history of this place is stranger than it is in itself, he thought it is better to know the place like the back of your hand before knocking on the door of the unknown. But what back of the hand? It was like someone erased everything about it just like the land itself.
Feeling both exhausted and distressed about everything, he sat on the chair nearby. His temples were throbbing in pain and his whole body was giving up. He wanted to sleep like a dead log. So what was stopping him!? He could just sleep, after all, he was his own master. Who dared to control him? The soft mattress was on the bed, the pillow was right there and what could be better than blankets on a cold night? So what was he hesitating for?
As he was about to go to his chamber, where the soft bed called out for him, a thought bumped into his head and he stopped in his tracks. When he came out of the daze he could finally understand the side effects of not sleeping for a good long while. He was going to rest when he had the study filled with scrolls, files full of cases and books with no end. He turned back to where his world lies and sat on the chair again.
Hóng chéng was really a place of great mysteries. It kept luring people towards it. It was when they faced it that they could see what great trouble they had brought upon themselves. If he needed to solve the case he needed more information. More than that he needed to be a part of the case. But maybe the city didn't lure him towards it because what he lacked the most was information. All of a sudden something popped up in his mind and with a jolt he stood up and with the speed of light he ran towards the huge bookshelf. Books of different kinds, sizes and colours were arranged there neatly.
These books were merely about literature, history, poems, paintings, novels or other affairs. Whenever he found any book interesting enough, he would buy it without thinking twice. He always has had great taste in old books. So since the age of five, he has collected them up until now. It was one of his collections that couldn't be considered abnormal. Or else only he and the people close to him knew what kind of weird stuff, his place was filled with. Although he liked cleanliness because of the lack of time and energy, the books and their shelves were all covered in a thick layer of dust. There were a few cobwebs too. Quite all of the books were a hundred years old and the covers were in a quite sorry state, some were even torn. If it weren't for the fact of his love and care towards these books, then they must have gotten up until now.
Still, only one book among them didn't match these features. It had a bright red cover with a bit of beautiful design on it. It was the book whose name he thought was pretty interesting, when he visited the bookshop a month ago. It was rotting in the corner of the shop and even the shop owner left hope of it being sold, so he reduced the price. But when nobody was still willing to waste their money, he prepared to burn it with some useless scrap and paper. He was just taking all of them away to be used as fuel for the furnace when a young lad appeared in his shop like a ghost. This lad was none other than the clad in red who was silently checking the shop. The old man was quite startled but seeing a customer, the owner let go of that useless trash on his table and out of habit rubbing his hands he greeted him. The lad however was indifferent to his acts. He only mouthed a few words.
"Got any books about ancient lands?"
The shopkeeper looked at the lad from head to toe. He looked like a young master of a prestigious family from his clothes. The old man didn't know much about today's young generation's taste. But it was definitely not on old, boring books based on 'that' topic. From any angle, he looked too young to be a scholar or a master or even an immortal to have such tastes. It was his age to play around. But the old man didn't question any further. He just needed to do his work. On top of that the cold stares from him made him move faster.
The old man's eyesight was not that good, there were even times when he mistook a young man for a lady, thus he picked up his glasses which were resting on the table and started searching for the required book. But even after searching for a long time, he didn't find any. With no hopes of earning a profit, he turned to tell the young master the disappointing news when he nearly had a mini heart attack.
All this while he just saw a bit of a blurry feature of this young lad. It wasn't until he put on those glasses that he realised how the person in front looked like a walking dead. He had dark eyebags under his eyes. His eyes were red and puffy. He looked like he was gonna faint from hunger. His hair was dishevelled and his clothes were a huge mess. It was as if his whole person could collapse at any moment. If he just silently appeared in front of someone, they would probably say goodbye to the world out of fear.
This was actually the result of studying the case in Hóng chéng day and night without any rest. He studied when it was a day, he studied when it was night, he studied when it was midnight and studied when it was dawn again. All he did for the last few days was study this case while pushing his limits. But yet the details in each book were not enough. There were very few books with the information he needed. So he searched through every possible book that was written about ancient lands and every bookstore that might contain that sort of book. While doing so he was careless about tying his hair, wearing his clothes or eating his food properly. This had become a daily habit in his life for the last few days. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't have enough time to look in the mirror to know his current state, he wouldn't know what to feel about himself anymore.
While the shopkeeper was still dumbfounded and didn't know what to say, the boy noticed the tower of scraps on the table lined over each other. It was so messily arranged one over another that it was shaking and looked like it was about to fall.
Yet only one book looked outstanding among those trash. It had a bright red cover and It had its upper half squeezed out. Thus the name of the book couldn't be read. Only the first two characters of the book name reading 'ancient' could be seen.
If it is about ancient things then it is impossible to not attract his attention. As long as it is affordable and usable, he would buy it.
"How much are you selling this for?" He pointed at the red-covered book as he said.
The shopkeeper was still in a daze and was blankly staring at him. Being asked a question, he was at a loss for words. However, he still opened his mouth and said he was going to throw them and if he wants it he can have it for free.
There was no need for this kind of generosity. The owner was far from being generous. He was actually a stingy old man. He knew how to make the most out of things. He was the best at making money and never left a single chance of earning it. If someone were to bet with him over selling a yī dá [3]of rotten eggs in the market, then they would surely lose the bet money.
So how could he let go of such a golden opportunity of selling that useless book? If it weren't for the fact that finally someone came to buy this book, then he would have really questioned his ability and experience. Then why didn't he use this opportunity and let it fly away !?
The reason wasn't because he felt that he should work honestly or because he felt a bit too generous today. It was because of the fear of Kuángzào méng miàn zāi [4]. This was a group of bandits with their faces hidden with a weird crying-laughing mask, who were wreaking havoc everywhere. They were not easy to catch and had nothing in common to identify them. They would appear anywhere at any time and commit crimes without any hesitation. They created an image of terror in the people's minds about them. It was not an exception for the old man as well. At first when these sinners showed up, the old man was not that scared. He took them lightly as ordinary thugs until his neighbour a business rival, died an awful death under them. He had his throat slit open and for some reason, he didn't die until all the blood drained from his body. Although this sounds tragic, the old man was quite happy over his tragic death but also scared, in case he was the next target of the group. He was not that scared because his life could be in danger but cared more if his money was robbed. After all in this world dying is better than living in the streets.
But what did it have to do with the lad? Well, his current appearance was scary enough. If anyone could take him as a walking death then why not as a member of Kuángzào méng miàn zāi? On top of that the rumours said that the group members were ugly, thus they hid their faces with masks. And about His face...it was...ahem...indescribable. On top of that, the boy was in a bad mood thus of course he didn't look like a flower that just bloomed. He looked rather grim and scary. So the old man was quite suspicious. He even thought beforehand that after he left, he would run to report the authorities in charge of the case. Whether it was a golden opportunity or not, he didn't dare to ask for a price. After all the loss of trash books can't compare to the loss of a person's life or wealth.
The lad thought it was weird but he was not in the mood to ask much. He just nodded his head and after thanking him he left the book shop. Before he left, the old man stood at his spot with a face full of smiles and then after he left he went to check if he was really gone. After the way was clear, he called his son from inside the house to take care of the shop and he left.
On his way to returning home, he felt something strange. People passing near him were staring at him, laughing and whispering to each other. He simply didn't understand what was wrong. While walking the lad heard old people talking outside the tea shop. They were not too loud but it was enough for a passerby to hear. He slowed down in his tracks and tried to listen.
"Ah...what would become of this country? These masked bastards are causing trouble everywhere" A man in his early forties with a huge round belly in front said with an angry expression. He looked at the table. The tea ordered a long time ago had already become cold. He picked it up and took a sip. The man was a huge deal in the locality. He had a huge business of silk and success was under his feet. Money was worth dust to him. But this is what became the reason for his misery. As expected of that rotten gang, they made this man their first target in this city. Taking advantage of the dark, they broke into his mansion and before dawn everything valuable was gone. People found the man tied with a post half naked with a bulbous belly exposed, his eyes had sorrow written in them, his mouth closed shut with a piece of cloth and he was making ugly noises. Turned out he wore expensive robes sewed with golden threads. Knowing that they even stole that before running away. He was lucky that they didn't take his bottom half as well. His house was robbed and not even a copper coin was left. Of course, he felt grief. He even cursed them and wished them to be born disabled in their next life. The man's wife even left him saying that it would hurt her pride to live with a ruined person all her life. After losing everything he swore that until he teaches those scums a lesson, he won't be able to rest in peace. He even shook hands with the resentful people of the city, who experienced more or less the same thing, to get rid of them. He was the leader of their group. Since he had nothing to lose except for his life, he wasn't scared. But since he knew that he was alone with some normal people wouldn't be able to do this alone. They sought the help of the local authority as well as 'Diǎn zhēn zhī zhú' [5].
'Diǎn zhēn zhī zhú' was actually a large and ancient organization famous in all regions. Nobody knows when this organization formed and who was the establisher. But it gained popularity in just a few years after being built. The organization's purpose and structure matched that of a sect or a detective agency. Solving the unsolved, maintaining the balance of Yin and Yang, mending the fabric of fate, and preventing reality from unravelling were their main job. Even the highest and most noble sects, organizations, detective courts or the Emperor himself were not allowed to meddle in their business. They were the helpers of humanity and the guide to morality but the Organization had a thick veil covering itself and the deeds being done inside, thus it wasn't really necessary that what the outsiders see is the actual truth. So it remained one of the most mysterious wonders in the immortal realm.
Yes, in the immortal realm. Diǎn zhēn zhī zhú's main building was in the land of immortals but it also had many branches, spread in every region and each was given to the most trusted and reliable employees to take care of. Be it in the mortal or immortal realm, this organization was everywhere. It was merely for the convenience of both the employees and the folks. In short, it was a popular and successful organization that sought justice and was efficient in its job. Even the lowest-ranked employee could match the power and intelligence of an Immortal.
The man thought to himself 'Just wait! You lowly scums. You can escape from the eyes of normal people but not from the eyes of Diǎn zhēn zhī zhú. God can be blind but they can't. Wherever you hide, you will have to pay for the sins.' The man had a sinister smile on his face while he was cursing them inwardly to extinguish the hellfire in his heart. This even scared his companions. Some even resembled him with an evil spirit full of resentment.
A youngster, who didn't fit between those old men, chewed on the crispy watermelon seeds. He was quite inexperienced in these elderly gossips but since he had nothing to do, he just followed his uncle and joined them for a time pass. Although he had no knowledge, he still wasn't an empty kettle. He kept information hidden in his stomach until it was time to spill it. He spoke in an idly manner while picking and chewing on another watermelon seed, to the man " Master Zhao, don't worry, I heard that the head lord of Diǎn zhēn zhī zhú has returned from the alliance with the Dì sān zhīzhù,[6] Hóng Bǎoshí [7]. They will surely help us with the matter at hand. "
The organization of Diǎn zhēn zhī zhú had three hundred employees. They each were divided into a few common sections with each categorised under those sections having different jobs, uniforms, rights and facilities. The highest and the most valuable position in the organisation was being a Zhīzhù. Among the three hundred chosen employees, only nine were a part of this section. Being one costs a person years of hard cultivating, improvement of skills and experience. Then only, one could reach this position which people only dream of. So others might be thinking how hard it must have been for these nine employees to get this position. Not even a little, they all were selected for that position on the day of selection and till now they were still in that position. It needed eyes and experience to choose a gem among northern goods and Diǎn zhēn zhī zhú had both. The nine gems, the nine Zhīzhù, of the organization who shone like a crown in its head, were very precious to it. They were the pride of the organization and they refused to take this crown off.
Sadly for the last few years, no one has achieved it. Many selection tests were arranged every year but either no one participated or no one was selected as the tenth Zhīzhù. The last one achieving it was probably Hóng Bǎoshí. But people say they somehow were a bit too progressive and thus climbed up in seniority. From being the ninth zhīzhù to being the Dì sān zhīzhù in just a few days. So they were quite famous. From Mortals to Immortals, from junior to senior, from men to women, everyone knew about them. Although there were still two people higher than them in position and power and there were many interesting employees to talk about, people always got their eyes on someone different and liked to discuss them as if they were some sort of deity. Although they never saw them with their own eyes, they had a strange sort of trust over them which was weird. Anyway, there were many rumours about this person going around in all regions. Some of those were pure truths, some were half-truths and some were just made up. Some believed they were a powerful and mature immortals who had lived for hundreds of years, some believed they were a very old man with God-like power and intelligence, some thought they were a very beautiful goddess like woman or a cute girl with extraordinary skills, great charisma and knowledge and others thought they were a handsome and moral man who mastered martial arts and deduction and had women dying over them. But there was also a rumour which said that this person was merely a mysterious teenager with a mysterious background who liked to keep a low profile but only friends and foes knew what sort of magic was hidden inside. But after all no one knew how this Hóng Bǎoshí looked and who they really were. So they could just live on their own belief and hope to see this person once.
The man whose name was Zhao, had heard about the unbelievable legends of this person. So be it man or woman, immortal or mortal and young or old, he didn't care as long as they could come in handy. So just like others he also started trusting in this person blindly and believed that this time he would be able to let those sh*less cunning b*starts have a taste of mud with their help. With pleasure, he stroked his beard with a face full of arrogance, slapped on his thighs and continued " Old Pei, looks like your nephew, this boy Pei Xiao, is not that stupid. He is a grown man now. For the first time, he is right! We will surely win against those low-life dogs and show them that they messed with the wrong ancestor."
The boy, whose name was Pei Xiao, pouted his mouth for being called stupid. He wanted to say some more but the old master Zhao kept rubbing his head and laughing out loud as if he had won the greatest war.
The lad on his way back, didn't find it that exciting to keep standing there and listening. The sun was scorching and except for a few hawkers and those old farts, he saw none on the road, not even a fly. So he quickly rushed home to make himself comfortable. After walking for a long while he came across an alley and entered there. A huge wall was there at the end, separating the wild from the city. He stood before the wall with the red book in hand. He looked behind, only dust flew along with the wind, and not a single person could be seen at the entrance of the alley. Finally turning back he chanted some sort of weird verse and touched the wall with his palm. Then as if a miracle, bright light emerged out of the wall and just as it did he walked through the wall and disappeared as if the wall swallowed him alive. Soon the light started disappearing and finally faded The next moment the alley was left as deserted as before.
This was not any simple wall but it was a spellbound door stopping anyone from trespassing. But trespass to where? What was behind the wall was not a forest but a little green garden and in a nearby distance stood a huge tower. However, if normal people were to see from both sides of the wall they would find nothing. Since this garden couldn't stop animals or birds from entering, one could see birds, butterflies or squirrels roaming around the trees. The garden had the most beautiful green grass floor that was like a carpet covering the earth. The birds on the high branches sang their most comforting song on the high branches of the tree. The butterflies flew everywhere with their colourful wings, embracing the air. They roamed around the elegant flowers that bloomed across the garden. The Iris, Chrysanthemum, Rose, Peony and many other herb trees increased the beauty of the garden with their presence. The sweet smell they produced was carried through the wind, spreading it far beyond nature. Before the building that stood high, there was a huge pond that circled the whole building, bounded with pebbles. Over the pond, there was a wooden bridge that connected the garden with the entrance to the building. Before passing the bridge there stood a very beautiful orchid tree. It was young, tall and proud. The tree's light purple-shaded orchid flowers swayed in the air. It was alluring and eye-catching. If someone passed under it, it would shower the person with some of its beautiful flowers. The lad passed under it and naturally, the flowers that were originally on the branch dropped over his hair and clothes. Before him was the wooden bridge. He took his time and stepped on the bridge. The cold and lonely bridge finally heard the footsteps of a passerby after a long time. His steps were light and they were slowly but carelessly taken as if he was in a daze. From the bridge, one could see the pond closely. The water was clear like glass and colourful Koi fishes swam in it with their companions. Inside the pond, there were many blood-red lotus that resembled the colour of his clothes very much. On the other side of the bridge stood the great building that touched the sky. It looked marvellous from the outside. In front was a huge wooden door with outstanding carvings on it. That was the entrance to the building. On both sides of the door, there was one white and black jade statue of door lions on two pedestals. They were beautifully carved. The craftsmanship was professionally done. The right statue was as white and mesmerizing as snow and the left one was as dark as ink. Before the lad could enter, a voice came from somewhere:
"Where do you think you are going?" The voice was really deep and heavy like that of a buff man's. But the voice wasn't that of a human's.
Something was wrong, it looked like the lion on the right pedestal moved a little. But not only did it move, it spoke as well. A door guard lion made of jade, spoke? Yeah, this was also one of the miracles of this spell-protected place.
"N-no one except for the owner is allowed."
Another shaky, weak and a little high-pitched voice was heard as well and doubtlessly it was the lion on the left pedestal. It was the complete opposite of the right-side lion made of white ice jade. It was made of black jade that shone in the sunlight. They both were guardians protecting the building entrance.
They were spiritual power-possessing guard lions made of jade that cultivated enough to be able to move and talk. After receiving enough spiritual power from their owner to turn into spiritual beasts, they could be used as guards protecting the door to ward off weak demons, ghosts and other unwanted guests. But who would have thought they would forget the owner who fed them? Yes, it was the truth. The owner of this place was him and those two ungrateful spiritual beasts were his door lion guards.
" Guāng[8], Yīnyǐng [9] looks like you two had been truly negligent and indolent while I was away. Where are your manners?"
The lad had travelled back from a place very far away this morning. Before returning to his place he casually made a trip to a few bookstores. Sadly he had to go through every one of those bookstores just to find the book he needed. After having bought the book which was quite similar to the one he needed, he had to walk in the scorching heat before he could reach home. He was drained and didn't have the strength to even stand there and listen to their nonsense. He was in a hurry to climb up on his bed.
"Ah it is the Boss, the boss is back. We bow to the Boss. Forgive the servants"
The lion guards respectfully bowed to the lad. They looked a bit scared and worried about upsetting their master. The fear on their jade face was clear. But how can anyone blame them? When the lad first stepped out of the residence, he looked like a god who had fallen on earth straight from heaven. The red silk cloth was fine and perfectly dressed, flowing in the air with his ink-like black hair tied up into a high ponytail. The silver jewels increased the charm of his attire. A bright and refined aura was everywhere around him. But now looking at him it looked the complete opposite. His appearance looked worse than that of a beggar's. It was as if he had gone through a disaster. The previous charisma and elegance were completely gone. The horrible dark circles messed hair like the nest of some bird and clothes that were torn in some places, if it weren't for the fact that his voice and face resembled the one they saw off a few months ago then they wouldn't have been able to recognise him as their master.
Still having their heads bowed to the ground, they took a peek at the lad and just what they feared, a cloud of thunderstorm could be seen hanging over his head. This was a sign of a perfect bad mood. Eventually, the place between his eyebrows wrinkled and irritation was all over his face. He mouthed only three words:
"I am Tired"
"..."
This meant only one thing which they could translate into their stone heads. This meant:
'Stop your trash talk and scram.'
They didn't even wait a second and opened the door of the residence for him with magic and went back to being a lifeless statue. This was because of pure fear. They knew their master very well. They knew how he was when he was exhausted. That was the time one should save their tongue before saying something. One mistake and you are doomed. At times like this, one should keep a minimum distance of two meters from him. So they didn't bother to bother him anymore. They were not tired of living yet.
The huge entrance door that was about thirty yīng chǐ[10] opened with a screeching noise. Inside the residence, it was very dark and barely anything was visible. Yet the lad walked in without any trouble and at a certain point he stopped. The door behind closed with a huge thud and the least bit of light that was entering inside disappeared.
"Elevate"
Suddenly the piece of wooden tile he was standing on started to float up in the air. At normal speed, it soared high. The surroundings were covered in a thick veil of darkness thus nothing could be seen. Suddenly the voice of a woman sounded. It was melodious and kind of mechanical at the same time.
"Where would you like to go, Master?"
The voice ended with a halt. Rubbing the place between his eyebrows, he closed his eyes and with irritation answered," Take me to the usual place, Héxié[11]."
After a little silence, the voice sounded again:
"Understood. As the lord wishes."
This usual place was his study. He spends half of his time in his study. He reads there, eats there and sleeps there as well. Even though he said that he was tired back there, he had his priorities straight. He needed to read the book in his hand first and then he could think about rest. The voice followed the instructions and the wooden tile soared high until it reached the study. On the way one could only see the height increasing and the floors that one passed. The tile dropped him on his destined level and just now the huge square gap that he came up through was filled by the tile as if it was never there.
The tower was huge and it kissed the clouds in the sky and talked to the air. With each floor pierced by a vast square void at its centre, it stood marvellously hidden from others. Upon this tower's unique tile, one must utter the magic spell" elevate." In response, the tower awakens, transporting you to your chosen destination after recognising you as the owner. You simply declare the desired floor, and the tower soars skyward, swiftly arriving at the specified level. Once there, it seamlessly fills the gap, integrating the elevator into the floor as if it were always a part of it. This marvel of engineering repeats its elegant dance across all floors, a symphony of form and function. On top, the building had no stairs. So if anyone were to break into it after going through all the trouble then they wouldn't be able to reach any floor because they would need the magic spell for that and if by any chance they got their hands on this magical spell then they would be having a lot of trouble in finding the right tile and if by any chance one could find the tile and both the magical spell then they must be eager to break a spinal cord. It would be simply because of the voice just now that authorised him the residence's master. It was to check if the person in the building was the owner or an intruder. Héxié only accepted his voice as the original owner's voice. So if anyone else's voice was heard during the authorization process then they would be taken to the highest place of this building with the help of the wooden tile and without any mercy be thrown on the ground floor. This was yet another system to keep the building safe. Thanks to his intelligence and cruel mentality.
After reaching, he walked into the dark and silent study. His footsteps one after another echoed in the empty room. He then sat on a chair and kept the book which he carried all the way from the book shop to here on the table in front. Maybe it was because it had become a habit, he could see better in the dark than normal people and thus didn't face any trouble roaming around the building in darkness. However one sees it, one could not read a book in the dark. So what did he do at a time like this? Open the window and let sunlight come inside. but thinking again there was no window to start with and neither was there any door except for the one to enter with, which also disappeared after entering through it The house only had one entrance but several ways to exit out. In this building, there were many doors at odd places that kept changing their places. Yes, they could walk. These doors were to confuse intruders. Except for the owner it was impossible for a normal person to remember which door was the right one and which was just a trap. They could be taken to a different place, country and if unlucky a different dimension and yes it was another way to deal with the trespassers. So naturally there was no way for the sun or moonlight to enter the residence or for him to light the candles. So there was no light. Whoever had a place to live would try to keep the place bright and beautiful. But this young master kept the place as dark and gloomy as possible. Was it because he was short on money to buy lamps or candles? No, he had the money and there were many candles and lamps in his place. There were many reasons to keep the residence dark. One of them was to secure the treasures hidden inside. These treasures were not precious gold, silver, gems or money. These were the secret scrolls that hid the sort of knowledge harmful to humanity. Precisely there were some forbidden arts, dangerous rituals and some demonic magic recorded in scrolls. They were created by some powerful supremes of this world over decades who tried to rule the three realms. Each time these arts were used, the world was near destruction. But thankfully some powerful elites didn't let it happen and skillfully stopped them. But stopping them was not easy. They died but their spirits didn't. After practising demonic arts for many years, they were strong enough to roam in this world with spiritual bodies. They were known as Zǔ shī[12].On top of that the scrolls on which these forbidden demonic arts were recorded somehow couldn't be destroyed and thus started to remain in this world. But to prevent it from reaching the wrong hands again, they and their owner, who created the art, were both sealed by magic and entrusted to someone loyal for generations. They were the guardians of those scrolls and even they didn't have the permission to see or use it. They before receiving this shoulder of great responsibility, would oath over their life and till death would take care of it and won't let it end in wrong hands. The last and the youngest guardian was him, who was handed the scrolls. So it was important to keep them safe. The tower had many dangerous levels protecting this even more dangerous hidden treasure. The more dark it was, the harder it was to reach the exact location and the easier it was to run into those traps that he planted.
So how could he read in such a dark environment? There was a solution to everything. With his hand resting on the table and his chin resting on his palm, he snapped his fingers once very leisurely. Suddenly a very small ball of blue light appeared floating in the air. This was a truly horrifying scene. He looked no less than a vengeful spirit with a ghost fire near it. The light illuminated only a bit of the room and his face. It was so little that it didn't even illuminate the pages of the book. With a neutral expression, looking at the book he showed his hand to the light which represented the gesture of a pinch and then he separated both his index and thumb, one upwards and one downwards, slightly.
" Bigger. This is not enough."
The light changed its shape and increased double in size. It now produced light and warmth both. Just as he was about to read suddenly everything started to black out. There was a very sharp and piercing pain in both his head and eyes and then? Then everything blacked out and he forgot everything after. He probably collapsed because of exhaustion. He couldn't even read the first page. Maybe he then forgot about reading it and somehow it ended up in this bookshelf.
Holding the book, he read the name of the book written with black ink on its cover. The name read 'Gǔlǎo tǔdì shǐ'[13]. He swiped his palm from the top left corner to the low right corner of the book while reading every character with great attention. Just as he was about to open the book cover, he heard the sound of a thousand golden bells across the building. There were two kinds of spiritual bells in this building. The golden ones sound when they sense the flow of pure yang energy and if the silver bells sound that means that they sense the evil yin energy. However, it could not sense the energy of those with very weak or no spiritual energy and spiritual core or of those who were extremely powerful and could hide their energy. Since the golden ones sounded then this meant he had visitors with strong yang energy, who came to visit him. However, if the person was a friend or foe was unknown to him because he was not informed about the guest visiting him. So he decided to carefully go down and check.
The weather outside was pleasant and the breeze was light. The sky was cloudless allowing the moon to spread the moonlight on earth. The garden in front of his eyes, illuminated by moonlight, looked even more beautiful. The bushes and tree leaves made rustling noises after being teased by the wind. They danced with the flow of the wind. The fragrance of the flowers once again flowed in the air and the sound of the ripples made in the pond because of the colourful little fish could be heard. The sound of his footsteps echoed as he walked on the wooden bridge. The orchid tree near the bridge stood tall with its leaves rustling against the wind. The flowers all swayed back and forth showing their mesmerizing dance and once again showered him with flowers when he passed under it. The fragrant purple flowers clung to his clothes and hair but this time they were brushed away by the wind and with extreme grace they fell on the ground. The flowing crimson-red robes suited in his body touched the glass floor and swept across it until it reached the other side of the magical wall that hid this place. From the other side, he heard a person's voice:
"Greetings my lord. I am the messanger employee of Diǎn zhēn zhī zhú,Jīn mèi[14]. I am here because of the Head lord's orders. He asked me to bring you to the organization immediately my lord, Dì sān zhīzhù, Hóng Bǎoshí."
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[1] Hóng chéng(红城), it translates to red City. Red is a lucky colour in Chinese culture that indicates happiness and prosperity.
[2]Bùxiǔ zhī chéng (不朽之城) translates as Immortal city. Since the number of immortals living there was high, it was named that at first.
[3]yī dá (打) translates to 'dozen' in Chinese Measurement(测量 cè liáng).
[4] Kuángzào méng miàn zāi (狂躁蒙面灾) translates to manic masked disaster. The naming is this way because of their unique face mask
[5] Diǎn zhēn zhī zhú(点真之烛) Translates to the sentence Light the candle of truth. It is the name of the organization
[6] Dì sān zhīzhù(第三支柱) translates to third pillar. It means that they are the senior third-ranked employee. Dì sān(第三)means third while Zhīzhù 支柱 means pillar.
[7] Hóng Bǎoshí (红宝石) translates to red gemstone or Ruby.
[8] Guāng(光) translates to the word light. It is a name for the right lion door guard
[9] Yīnyǐng( 阴影) translates to the word shadow.It is a name for the left lion door guard
[10] Yīng chǐ (英尺 ) translates to the measurement 'feet'. It means that the entrance door of the tower is thirty feet tall.
[11]Héxié(和谐) translates to the word harmony. He means 'the voice' is harmonious by naming it that.
[12] Zǔ shī(诅师) means curse master or the master of curse.
[13] Gǔlǎo tǔdì shǐ(古老土地史) translates to ancient land history of history of ancient lands. When the MC first saw the book, he saw the word ancient Gǔlǎo(古老)
[14]Jīn mèi(金魅) It means golden charm.
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GuanHua
GuanHua This is my first time writing a novel. please support me with your votes and comments if you like it~
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