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墨書 Inktalez
I took the jewelry box and, following the stroke order, solemnly pressed the three characters “Luo Dachun”.
However, the box did not respond at all.
I was taken aback. Could it be that my deduction was wrong?
After a moment of thought, I realized where the problem lay. What was I thinking? This is the Tang Dynasty; I was using modern simplified Chinese characters, which wouldn’t work here.
So this time, I confidently pressed the traditional characters for “Luo Dachun”.
To my surprise, there was still no reaction!
The box remained unresponsive, but the expression of Guilin standing beside me changed.
“Why would the person in your heart be him?” he seemed to mutter to himself. “I thought…”
“What did you think?” I felt utterly confused.
“Ah, it’s nothing.” Guilin changed the subject. “This… hasn’t opened! It seems your secret is too secretive, even fooling yourself.”
My secret? Suddenly, a light flickered in my mind.
Yes, this is a secret known only to her. So as long as I tell the truth, no one else will see it anyway!
“Turn around!” I said to Guilin.
Though surprised, he obediently turned his back.
Now that no one else was watching, I followed the stroke order for traditional characters and pressed three characters onto the base.
Si-Kong-Ming.
All the squares that were pressed down popped up with a "ka" sound, and the Metal Base suddenly split apart, retracting into the walls of the box on either side.
Beneath the base, in the hollow section, lay a neatly stacked pile of White Silk Paper. Underneath the White Silk Paper was a thin booklet.
Excitement surged within me; I was right after all!
I flipped through the booklet, which was clearly a product without any labels—no cover, no origin, no price. It seemed to be an illegal publication. The pages were densely filled with vertical traditional Chinese characters and various illustrations.
The content inside the booklet was difficult to understand. This was clearly not just any book; it must be one of those legendary items mentioned in tales: a Martial Arts Manual!
Looking again at the White Silk Paper, it also featured illustrations. I was good at interpreting images, so I quickly realized this was a topographic map of Wanzi Mountain. On this map, several locations were marked prominently in Vermilion.
It resembled a treasure map. A thought stirred in my heart; I had once speculated that within Ye Liuhui's suppressed life, there might be some secret hiding places for confessions. I had a gut feeling, as the intuitive inheritor of this body: what I sought was this.
“Secret Hiding Place?” came Guilin's voice from beside me. “Can I take a look too?”
I broke into a sweat. When did this person turn around? Even if I didn’t let you see, you must have already seen everything, right?
“Let’s go; I’ll accompany you to find it!” Guilin said enthusiastically.
“You? Accompany me?” I hesitated slightly.
“Don’t worry; my lips are sealed. Besides, this matter involves ghosts and evil spirits; it’s not safe for you to go alone. With me around, you’ll be protected.”
With that, he flicked a stack of Yellow Talismans in front of me.
"Alright then. But please, Brother Gui, don't mention this to anyone, not even to my two brothers!"
"Of course, of course."
I sighed. How could this Guilin have such a mismatch between his appearance, temperament, and personality? It seemed that good detectives often had some peculiarities in their character.
Without further ado, we immediately began preparing. We designed a route based on the distances marked on the map and packed some essential tools before quietly setting off.
"How about it? Isn't it more convenient for me to accompany you?" Guilin said as he effortlessly used his lightness skill to bypass two sentries without anyone noticing. When he finally set me down, he looked quite pleased with himself.
When he suggested carrying me, I naturally refused outright, but his reasoning was so compelling.
"Do you really want to figure this out? I took a look at the sentries on Wanzi Mountain, and their layout is exceptionally good. There's no way you could get past them without being detected. Besides, in your current state, it's not wise to rely on luck; your mind is getting too agitated!"
"That doesn't mean..."
"You can't let a stranger carry you? Come on, we can't really be strangers anymore! We hugged when we first met, and it was you who initiated it!"
"You! You! You!!!"
I felt speechless. How could this guy be so infuriating?
But he had already squatted down in front of me, offering his back.
"Hurry up! If you keep hesitating, we'll be spotted! I, Jade Balance Bureau, don't have time for someone like you!"
For some reason, I found myself following his instructions. I wasn't sure if it was because his praise for Nie Qiuyuan's arrangement of the sentries at Wanzi Mountain made me feel secretly pleased or if his provocation worked. However, lying on his back felt a bit strange; it seemed like I had fallen into some kind of trap.
The first location on the map was an abandoned cave. Guilin, with the Fire Starter in hand, walked ahead while I quietly followed behind. The cave clearly hadn’t been visited in a long time; cobwebs filled the corners, and it was dirty and eerie. Sigh, if I were alone, I really wouldn’t dare to come here.
The cave wasn’t deep, and soon we reached the end. At the deepest part of the cave, a solitary statue of a benevolent Bodhisattva was carved into the stone wall.
The Bodhisattva’s robe was also covered in cobwebs, yet its expression remained calm and gentle, as if no suffering in the world could breach the beautiful barrier within. Gazing at the Bodhisattva's lowered eyelids brought an involuntary sense of peace to my heart.
In front of such a divine presence, surely evil spirits wouldn’t dare to cause trouble?
But there was nothing in this cave.
Perhaps my somewhat dazed expression amused Guilin, as he chuckled lightly.
“Ah Ying, everything that happens has its reasons. Have you forgotten something? Think about it—what do you always do when we meet?”
What do I always do? Well, it’s strange; every time I encounter Guilin, it seems to be during moments of confusion. When I come to my senses, I find myself…
“Digging!” I blurted out.
He couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Fortunately, this place was very remote; otherwise, we would have surely attracted the attention of the night watchman.
He was right; everything that happens has its reasons. Ye Liuhui was no longer here, and I couldn’t find any memories she left behind in my consciousness. However, I was using her body; the human body not only holds memories in the brain but also in the muscles.
That’s why when I practiced martial arts unconsciously using techniques she had learned, it was muscle memory—a natural reaction rather than a conscious thought. I felt deeply connected to muscle memory; anyone who has practiced martial arts, dance, or sports should understand this well. A movement may seem incomprehensible at first, but if you clumsily practice it repeatedly, eventually you can perform it unconsciously without any errors in amplitude or angle. This isn’t controlled by the mind; it’s a response from the muscles themselves.
If I unconsciously performed a digging motion while dreaming about Luo Dachun, it likely meant that Ye Liuhui had buried something related to secrets in the earth.
She must have realized something was off with her mental state, so she drew a map of these burial locations to prevent herself from forgetting. This map is the piece of white silk cloth in my hand.
"So, we can really dig this time," Guilin said with a smile as he rolled up his sleeves.
We unearthed the first secret beneath the feet of the Buddha, which was a stack of wax-sealed, faded papers.
Then, Guilin accompanied me as we dug at one location after another, uncovering a total of thirteen spots, each revealing several pages filled with writing.
By the time we found all the locations marked on the white silk cloth, the sun had risen, birds were singing, and the sky was a clear blue—truly a beautiful day.
The last stack of papers was discovered beneath a massive Crabapple Tree at the foot of the mountain. It was the season for Crabapple Blossoms to bloom, and the morning breeze stirred up petals that floated down. A nearby mountain stream flowed quietly, petals continuously falling into the water and being carried away, their shades of red varying from light to deep.
No wonder I often dream of Crabapple Blossoms blooming. Perhaps this Crabapple Tree was the only companion for that girl when she sat alone in her sorrowful thoughts.
Crabapple Tree, you must know her story, right? She once thought you were the only one who knew her tale.
The Crabapple remained silent, responding only with the gentle rustle of falling flowers.
I sat on the ground beneath this enormous tree and arranged the papers we had unearthed in order. Indeed, these papers were filled with the daughter's innermost thoughts—the very things I had longed to find.
That is, the story of Ye Liuhui.
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