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墨書 Inktalez
At that moment, A Li looked at my expression and said, " Brother Qian Yi, this is called Longtail Chicken. It's an ornamental breed of domestic chicken. I once saw it in the yard of a friend when I visited with my grandfather... and my master. It is said that this breed has existed for a very long time, known for its astonishingly long tail and beautifully vibrant plumage. Although it has a delicate constitution, when it walks, it does so gracefully, with its head held high. It embodies both the charm of home and the noble demeanor of royalty, making it highly favored by emperors. At one point, a single chicken could feed an entire village for a lifetime. However, the trend of raising these courtly chickens did not last long before being strictly prohibited. The reason seems to be that one of the emperor's consorts, out of jealousy for the beauty of the Longtail Chicken, monopolized the time that should have been shared with the emperor and his affection for her. She spread rumors that the Longtail Chicken was a transformed spirit that harmed the harem and endangered the heirs. She even went so far as to kill her own child who was less than a month old to frame the Longtail Chicken. Unable to bear the loss of his beloved son, the emperor, in a fit of rage, ordered all Longtail Chickens in the country to be burned alive, leading to dire consequences for those who raised them—some were executed while others fled. From then on, Longtail Chickens vanished from the world."
My junior brother had long forgotten the unpleasantness he had with A Li earlier and chuckled, "So where did Master Sun's friend get this treasure? Get me two to play with!"
I shot him a sideways glance, knowing he was just thinking about money. Why not just ask someone to transfer funds directly into his account?
A Li laughed and said, "I don't know where he got them from, but since he's Master’s friend, he must have his own ways. If you want them, you can go ask him yourself; I’m sure he can get you as many as you want."
"Seriously?" My junior brother's mouth nearly stretched to his ears. "Where does this Caishen Ye live? I'll visit him personally when I get back."
A Li replied with a smile, "No need to go back; you can do it right now." My junior brother responded with an "uh-huh," but A Li raised an eyebrow at his wrist and said, "You need to cut your vein; he passed away last year during Journey to the West."
"You!" My junior brother was so angry he wanted to hit something but couldn't; he could only channel the spirit of the Revolutionary Army—'fear neither hardship nor death'—and continued their banter.
Although my junior brother was mischievous, he knew his limits. Throughout our time together, A Li often bested him in their verbal sparring matches without him ever truly losing out. So I decided to let them be. The deepening of revolutionary camaraderie often lies in these trivial exchanges. If A Li could gradually let go of her obsession with me and find happiness with my junior brother instead, it would be a good deed on my part.
I turned my attention back to the Bronze Square Box in my hands. I was certain that there must be something that fits into this groove on top—something akin to a key that would activate the mechanism inside and open the box. But what could this key be?
I recalled that last time we found a box inside Old Demon’s belly; it also lacked an arched piece that resembled a key. I had a vague feeling that this large arch shape looked somewhat familiar—I seemed to have seen it somewhere before... but where? The more I tried to think about it, the more blank my mind became, and I felt an urgent sense of anxiety.
Just then, as I casually flipped my hand over, my peripheral vision caught sight of engravings on the bottom of the box. To my surprise, there were carvings there too! When I turned it over for a closer look, I was immediately taken aback; I had seen this pattern before—just a few weeks ago!
My memory was instantly pulled back to the dark, sunless chamber of Emerald Villa, where I encountered someone I would never forget—Lao Wantong. The alluring Manjusaka on the Bronze box was identical to the tattoo on Lao Wantong's chest.
The memories surged forth like a floodgate opened, swirling in my mind. Lao Wantong's voice and laughter echoed repeatedly: "Actually, since we are brothers now, I might as well tell you! I practice something called the Turtle Breathing Technique, which can suppress and dissolve the flow and infiltration of poison in the blood... What you just saw—the pale face, the blackened lips—are all effects of my divine turtle emerging from the water!" He continued, "It also has another name, called 'Huangquan Road Flower.' Every master of the Errand Runners has one on their chest, symbolizing mutual support and companionship, sharing both gains and losses, at the edge of the Yellow Springs..."
"Eight years ago, I should have been dead. I’ve barely survived for eight years. Sigh... cough cough, that’s enough! It’s time for me to meet my fellow disciples again. I wonder if they still recognize this old man... Back in the day, Kui Lao Liu was the most handsome among us. So many girls liked to circle around me, spinning... spinning... spinning..."
"Good disciple, good disciple... Call me Master again; let me hear it!"
"Wu Er, oh Wu Er... my good disciple, good disciple..."
My heart raced uncontrollably, nearly bursting from my chest as my mind spun in circles. "I practice this called Turtle Breathing Technique," "Every master of the Errand Runners has one," "Eight years ago I should have been dead," "Wu Er, oh Wu Er, my good disciple..."
I took a deep breath, desperately trying to suppress the chaos within me, but my hands trembled uncontrollably. So much had happened during this time that it had thrown off my rhythm completely; I had no time or energy to think or organize my thoughts. All this information piled up in my mind—I should have realized it long ago!
I took another deep breath and told myself to remain calm. A certain truth was about to be revealed; panic and excitement were of no use now and would only cause me to overlook crucial information. There was no reason to be agitated; I needed to keep my mind clear.
I steadied myself and reassembled Lao Wantong's words into coherent information: his disciple ranked fifth, his skill was the Turtle Breathing Technique, eight years ago there had been a major catastrophe that resulted in heavy losses for Shimen—only Lao Wantong survived. This meant that their generation was the one hundred and first generation of Errand Runners while his disciples and I belonged to the one hundred and second generation... Coupled with what Old Ge provided in his letter—my goodness! Wasn't Lao Wantong Third Granduncle Master's master? And the inheritor of the Turtle Breathing Technique was Xun Wu and A Chen?!
Turtle Breathing Technique... No wonder everyone recovered quickly from poisoning in the underground palace; A Chen not only recovered fastest but also had enough energy left to take care of Third Granduncle Master. I had thought it was just A Chen’s good nature—unlike that rough guy Liu Zi—but it turned out to be due to the effects of the Turtle Breathing Technique!
Suddenly, I remembered that when I poisoned and fled at the end, A Chen had looked at me meaningfully. He seemed to want to say something but ultimately said nothing. Looking back now, he must not have been deeply poisoned or perhaps not poisoned at all; yet he watched me escape without intervening. Did he intend to let me go?
But why would he do that? His master and fellow disciples were intent on killing me; by openly caring for me while secretly helping me, wasn't he going against his master?
That seemed even less likely. We Errand Runners were all unwanted orphans raised by our respective masters; our bond was closer than blood relations. No one who hasn't experienced such feelings could understand this. Therefore, I could never believe that anyone would betray or go against their master.
So what exactly did A Chen intend? What happened eight years ago that caused so many deaths?
Just as I pondered this, A Li suddenly screamed, "Not good! Brother Qian Yi has jumped down!"
...
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