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墨書 Inktalez
The Peach Wood Comb emitted a dazzling light, reflecting off the Time-Space Mirror. In that moment, Lin Xueqing seemed to glimpse an ancient memory.
It was an image from long before the time-space experiments. A group of elegantly dressed ancients was performing some kind of ritual, holding jade discs as they encircled an ancient mirror.
"I see now..." Lin Xueqing realized, "It wasn't the experiment that created the time-space gate; it was they who discovered its existence..."
The scene continued to unfold. She saw the ancients inscribing words on the jade disc: "Between heaven and earth, there are natural laws. To force a break, one will surely suffer backlash."
"This is the truth," Lang Shining's voice said. "Those scientists' experiments were merely a reenactment of the ancients' discovery. And the outcome..."
"Is the same," Lin Xueqing interjected.
The light from the Peach Wood Comb grew stronger, and the Time-Space Mirror began to tremble. The fragments that had been attempting to reorganize suddenly froze, as if restrained by some unseen force.
"No!" Chen Mingde shouted. "We're about to succeed!"
"You are mistaken," Lin Xueqing replied. "Success isn't about reassembling the mirror; it's about maintaining balance."
She turned to the figure in the mirror: "You understand this too, don't you? That's why you've been waiting for me."
The figure in the mirror fell silent for a moment before finally nodding. "Yes. I have stayed in this mirrored world for too long and have come to understand the truth. The existence of the time-space gate is meant to keep history balanced, not to be altered by human hands."
"So you intentionally guided me..."
"Yes," the figure confirmed. "Only when our two selves from different times meet can we use the power of the Peach Wood Comb to reseal the Time-Space Mirror."
"No!" Chen Mingde rushed forward, attempting to seize the Peach Wood Comb, but was blocked by a Light Wall.
Amidst the brilliance, Lin Xueqing saw more images: in countless timelines, people tried to break the boundaries, yet all ultimately failed. It was an eternal cycle, like the wheel of fate turning endlessly.
"It is time," said the figure in the mirror. "Use the power of the Peach Wood Comb to seal the fragments once more."
Lin Xueqing nodded, gripping the Peach Wood Comb tightly. The patterns on its back suddenly shifted, forming an ancient symbol.
It was the same design as that on the jade disc.
"With my being today, I seal the ancient mirror of the past." Lin Xueqing and the figure in the mirror recited in unison, "The universe is orderly; all things return to their rightful place."
In an instant, the fragments of the Time-Space Mirror began to scatter, flying towards different timelines. Lin Xueqing saw the bronze mirror return to the Palace Museum, witnessed an ancient zither being placed in Changyin Pavilion, and observed the jade disc being buried underground...
Meanwhile, she and the figure in the mirror began to separate.
"Will we meet again?" Lin Xueqing asked.
"In the mirror," smiled the figure. "In every moment that requires guarding the truth."
As the light gradually faded, Lin Xueqing felt her consciousness sinking. In her final moment, she heard Lang Shining's voice:
"Remember, the truth never disappears; it simply exists in different forms..."
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself lying in the storeroom of the Modern Forbidden City. Shen Mo Ting and the Old Curator were looking at her with concern.
"You finally returned," Shen Mo Ting sighed in relief.
"How long has it been?" Lin Xueqing asked.
"Just a few minutes," the Old Curator replied, "but it seems like you've been through a lot..."
Lin Xueqing got to her feet and noticed a bronze mirror on the table. The surface had returned to calm, but she knew that the mysterious world still existed.
"What should we do next?" Shen Mo Ting asked.
"Guard it," Lin Xueqing said, "just like the ancients did."
She took out the Peach Wood Comb, and under the sunlight, the patterns on its back shimmered faintly, as if whispering eternal secrets.
Meanwhile, in the Qianlong period of the Forbidden City, Lang Shining was finishing a new painting. In the artwork, a woman stood before a mirror, the Peach Wood Comb in her hand glowing softly.
"The secrets of time and space will never vanish," he inscribed on the painting, "for there will always be someone guarding the truth..."
...
One year later, at the Palace Museum.
Lin Xueqing sat in the restoration room, carefully polishing the bronze mirror in her hands. Since that extraordinary encounter, she had been appointed as the head of the Cultural Relics Restoration Department, specifically responsible for those unique cultural relics.
"Still working?" Shen Mo Ting walked in with a cup of coffee.
"Yes," Lin Xueqing nodded. "I've recently discovered some interesting things."
She pointed to the patterns on the bronze mirror. "Look at these designs; they tell a story."
Shen Mo Ting leaned in closer and noticed that the engravings on the mirror seemed to form a miniature mural depicting an ancient sacrificial scene.
"What is this...?"
"The earliest record of the Time-Space Mirror," Lin Xueqing explained. "I found it while organizing Lang Shining's paintings. It turns out that as early as the Shang Zhou period, our ancestors had discovered this secret."
She opened her computer and pulled up a scanned document of an ancient text. "Look at this passage—'In ancient times, there was a divine mirror that could reflect a thousand miles, connecting the past and present, reaching both the profound and the bright. The sages deemed it ominous and thus divided it to seal it.'"
"So those cultural relics..."
"Are all deliberately arranged," Lin Xueqing said. "Each one is placed in a specific location, forming a complete sealing array."
She took out a map marked with several special locations within the Forbidden City: Changyin Pavilion, Imperial Storehouse, Yangxin Hall...
"These places form a pattern," Shen Mo Ting said in astonishment.
"Indeed, just like the symbols carved by ancient people on jade discs," Lin Xueqing said, "and our job is to maintain this balance."
She gazed out the window, the setting sun painting the rooftops of the Forbidden City in golden hues. "Sometimes I wonder, in other timelines, are there others doing the same thing?"
"Just like the person in the mirror said," Shen Mo Ting smiled, "at every moment that truth needs to be protected."
Lin Xueqing nodded, her fingers gently brushing over the Peach Wood Comb. Throughout the year, she often saw those images in her dreams: guardians from different timelines each performing their duties, safeguarding the secrets of the world.
"By the way," Shen Mo Ting suddenly said, "we're starting to restore that ancient zither tomorrow."
"I know," Lin Xueqing replied. "Let's see what stories it still holds."
As night fell, the Forbidden City gradually quieted down. In a corner, a bronze mirror silently reflected the moonlight. Within it, countless stories seemed to unfold, or perhaps all of this was merely an endless cycle.
In the distance, the sound of bells rang out. A new day was about to begin, and the mission of the guardians would never end.
For in the river of time, there are always truths that need protection and secrets that must be passed down. Just as Lang Shining wrote on his painting:
"Heaven and earth have their constants; time flows in order. The person in the mirror lives on endlessly..."
(End of the book)
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