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Ancient Tales: Curse of the Blood Jade
墨書 Inktalez
The torrential rain pounded against the Glazed Tile, producing a sound like popping beans. I clutched my Oil Paper Umbrella and crouched beneath the Colonnade by the dry well, my knuckles turning white from the cold. The sound of Bangzi echoed for three quarters of an hour, mingling with the thunder, tearing apart the screams of the night watchman, Old Sun.
Suddenly, crimson mist surged from the bottom of the well, as if someone had mixed blood into ink. The scent of Cinnabar mixed with Rusty Iron made my tongue bitter, and in a daze, I caught a glimpse of a half-visible golden feather gliding through the mist, reminiscent of the Phoenix Lantern that melted on Empress Imperial Carriage ’s carriage during the Shangyuan Festival.
As Fifth Watch struck, the rain abruptly ceased, revealing a three-foot Jade Platform emerging from the Pool Bottom. Blood-red Silk Thread wove through the white jade, forming a Phoenix Weeping Diagram, with the phoenix's head facing towards Cining Palace.
I instinctively pressed down on my Left Wrist Birthmark, which throbbed in sync with the patterns on the Jade Platform. "Be careful!" Head Matron Aunt Huang's Gilded Armor jabbed into my spine. She snatched the small eunuch's Bamboo Pole and prodded at the Jade Platform, but her pearl-embroidered shoes suddenly slipped on the slick moss.
At the moment Bamboo Tip touched the jade, her well-maintained fingertips turned porcelain white. "Mamma's hand!" The new eunuch collapsed onto the ground. The jade color began to creep up Aunt Huang's fingers, and in an instant, her entire Right Arm became translucent white.
I watched as her Golden Thread Embroidered Peony sleeve slowly stiffened, until even the emerald square on her Hair Bun melted into that jade hue. The head physician's hand trembled violently as he held a Golden Needle. When the Sandalwood Medical Chest crashed to the ground, I distinctly saw Aunt Huang's Eye Socket begin to ooze Brilliant Fine Sand.
Those Jade Fragments gathered in mid-air to form an Ancient Seal Script character for "pardon," swept away by a gust towards the imperial study. At Mao Time’s third quarter, an assassin clad in Black Brocade with Silver Sparrow Embroidery brushed past Donghua Gate.
I lowered my gaze to watch a Red Ant crawling through the crevices of Azure Brick while my nape felt chilled by Morning Dew. The Shattered Jade Pieces I had discovered during yesterday’s cleaning still burned in my Belt’s Dark Bag, eerily synchronized with my heartbeat. During Midnight’s inspection shift, the Bloodline beneath the Jade Platform suddenly writhed as if coming to life.
The burning pain on my wrist was unbearable, and I faintly heard someone reciting the Amitabha Sutra through the curtain of water.
As I reached into my bosom for Shattered Jade, a sudden crack echoed from the north, like the shattering of a glass lamp. The window frame of the Prime Minister's study was splattered with dark stains resembling ink plum blossoms.
I stepped over shards of porcelain and made my way to the desk, where fresh vines still dripped blood from the zitan pen holder. A high-ranking official lay sprawled in a grand chair, his face a grayish hue, like a dried persimmon.
The officials from the Dali Temple had sealed off the courtyard. Through the gap in the moon gate, I caught a glimpse of Coroner's linen gloves reflecting light; two nine-inch corpse-quieting needles were clearly missing from the silver needle pouch at his waist.
When the shroud was lifted, Zhu Bu's heel crushed down heavily on the corpse's right hand, leaving charred knuckles scraping against the bluestone bricks like snake skins.
The night wind swept past my ears, carrying a scent of blood as I retreated into the shadows with Shattered Jade clutched tightly.
Suddenly, a cat in the southeast corner of the imperial garden puffed up its fur and screeched, while faint hoofbeats echoed from beyond the palace walls, rushing like an urgent message over eight hundred miles.
The burning pain on my wrist intensified suddenly, and I hazily saw tears from the phoenix on the Jade Platform winding toward me...
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