Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The entire manor was quickly enveloped by a rising plume of thick black smoke.
A group of people moved through the dark mist, finding it hard to breathe. Mings led Xiao Ning and Shao Wen into the back courtyard of the manor.
Upon reaching Guan Tianming's Bamboo Cottage, Shao Wen asked in confusion, “Where is Guan Tianming? Did he escape?”
Mings turned his gaze towards the Shu Qintu where Guan Tianming had always sat: the great wings of the Azure Bird, the lonely wandering soul, the unparalleled beauty, and the shadows lurking in the corners. A thought gradually became clear in his mind.
At that moment, a soothing melody from a guqin drifted in from a distance, like a refreshing tune flowing into the weary hearts of the world. Mings felt a moment of daze but quickly regained his focus and urged the two to leave Bamboo Cottage.
As they approached, the sound of the guqin grew closer, and they noticed more traces of Black Blood spreading across the ground.
Mings' gaze sharpened. He turned and leaped onto the roof of a nearby dwelling, looking down. He saw that the Black Blood traces were converging from afar, forming what appeared to be wings of a flying bird—Bu Dong Mountain Manor was depicted as a massive painting marked by Black Blood, with flames turning it green; at its center was a colossal Azure Bird soaring majestically!
The guqin music suddenly ceased, but Mings and his companions had already followed the sound.
They found themselves in what seemed to be a very simple hall hidden behind the grand and magnificent connected chambers of Guan Ao.
Yet within this seemingly dilapidated hall stood altars honoring the ancestral spirits of the Guan Family.
At the top was Guan Budong, with each successive generation below him, ending with Guan Ao at the very bottom.
Shao Wen looked around the empty hall in surprise and said, “Strange, I clearly heard the guqin coming from inside here.”
Mings walked past the ancestral tablets and remarked, "All the tablets are covered in dust. It seems the Guan Family does not often come here to pay respects to their ancestors, yet only Guan Budong's tablet remains clean and untouched. Isn't that peculiar?"
As Mings turned the tablet of Guan Budong, it creaked open, revealing a dark hole that suddenly appeared before the stand, leading down into a shadowy passage.
Upon entering the secret chamber, a strong smell of blood assaulted his senses. Mings spotted a pair of purple eyes that glimmered faintly.
The owner of the purple eyes smiled and said, "Ming Captain, I have been waiting for you for quite some time."
Mings gazed at Guan Tianming's dreamlike smile, then turned his head and gasped in shock—behind Guan Tianming, in the secret chamber, stood no fewer than a hundred enormous steel needles, each as tall as a person.
At this moment, suspended on these sharp needles were the corpses of countless individuals.
The blood had congealed, and dark blood pooled across the floor.
Guan Tianming sat on a narrow couch amidst this hell of blood and corpses, speaking softly with a smile as his fingers lightly plucked at the Qin Xian resting on the couch.
"You... you ultimately went through with it," Mings suddenly uttered a bewildering statement.
Guan Tianming's purple pupils radiated a chilling coldness: "You see, Bu Dong Mountain Manor, all the estate workers—one hundred twenty-nine people—have perished upon these steel needles. I told you before, the Azure Bird cannot escape; its fate is inevitable."
"Inevitable? That's just a phrase used by charlatans to deceive people. Can so many lives be sacrificed simply because of fate?"
Mings could not contain his anger and demanded an explanation.
Guan Tianming gazed at Mings with dim purple eyes, playing the zither as he spoke, "Captain Ming, do you know how many people have died in the manor over the past five hundred years?"
His fingers trembled slightly on the strings. "There have been two thousand one hundred and twenty deaths. Among these, aside from a few who succumbed to illness or old age, the rest were killed by various generations of Manor Lord s. Among them were servants, maids, and even members of my own Guan Clan. Right here, they perished under the greatest secret of the Guan Family Manor; their blood was drained, they died slowly while witnessing their demise at the hands of their closest kin."
Mings quietly stared at Guan Tianming, feeling as if a massive stone had lodged itself in his chest.
"On days when the sky is blue, the moon bright, and the sun warm—when the world is at peace—here, in Bu Dong Mountain Manor, tragic human dramas unfold. I witnessed Tianshe's mother being killed by my father in this very chamber. At that time, Tian She and I were playing and accidentally stumbled upon this scene.
Tian She did not cry; she smiled at me. From that moment on, I understood that all that remained in her heart was hatred and a lingering grudge until her death. Captain Ming, do you know why all of this happened?"
Mings hesitated for a moment before speaking, "The secret of Guan Budong."
Guan Tianming suddenly laughed. "It's easy for you to say that. Yet it is precisely this white-boned shackle that has imprisoned the Guan Clan Members for five hundred years, soaked in countless tears and blood. The generations of Guan Clan Members have a rule: once you enter the manor, unless you become dead bones and your bones turn to ashes, you may never leave Bu Dong Mountain Manor for even a step in your lifetime. If you violate this rule, you will be pierced by sharp needles until your blood runs dry."
Guan Tianming paused before continuing, "Tianshe's mother could not bear this shackle; hence she died at my father's hands. Over these five hundred years, countless Guan Clan Members have perished due to this ancestral decree. Even those who occasionally manage to escape are recaptured and face even more brutal executions. And all of this is merely to prevent the secret of the manual from being taken out of the manor—just for a manual whose existence cannot even be confirmed—countless lives have been lost. Those who remain suffer torment; each day they live under the weight of the shackle, unable to find peace."
After finishing his words, Guan Tianming looked calmly at everyone and said, "This is fate."
Comment 0 Comment Count