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墨書 Inktalez
In the "Classic of Mountains and Seas," it is recorded: "There was a woman dressed in blue, named Huang Di Nu Ba. Chi You waged war against Huang Di, and Huang Di commanded Ying Long to attack in the fields of Ji Province. Ying Long summoned water, and Chi You invited Feng Bo and the Rain Master to unleash a great storm. Huang Di then sent down Nv Ba to stop the storm, and subsequently defeated Chi You. Nv Ba could not return to her place due to her diminished divine power, and where she resided, it did not rain. Shu Jun informed the Emperor of this matter, and later placed her north of Chi Shui. Shu Jun became Tian Zu, the God of Agriculture. However, Nv Ba was restless and often fled, causing drought wherever she went, leaving the land barren and the people suffering greatly. The people wished to drive her away, saying: 'God, please go north!' They also needed to clear the waterways and dredge the ditches beforehand."
I have followed my master to study the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams since childhood for nearly twenty years. Yet I have only scratched the surface, and with each passing day, I realize my shortcomings more deeply. In my earlier ignorance, I was like a frog in a well, thinking that what I saw was the entire world. I quickly grasped concepts such as earth, yin and yang, the five elements, Bagua, and the endless changes of the universe and nature. I felt quite proud of myself. However, as my studies deepened with age and exposure to more knowledge, it was as if I had climbed out of the well only to discover how vast the world truly is; knowledge is far deeper than I had imagined. What I had learned was merely the tip of the iceberg or a grain of sand in the ocean. Thus, I no longer dared to boast carelessly.
As the old saying goes, "Read a book a hundred times, its meaning will naturally reveal itself." Having grown up in that environment, I inevitably formed a conditioned reflex—this is not mere bravado but an instinctive reaction within me. Just as one chews food before swallowing or closes their eyes when tired—when Old Qiao reminded me that this indistinguishable entity was Nv Ba, my mind instantly recalled her mention in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas."
Nv Ba governs fire and resides in the Southern Palace; thus in the "Classic," to chase her away means commanding her to head north. The north corresponds to Kan Palace, which governs water; water extinguishes fire and leads to balance. Balance signifies righteousness. Moreover, from the perspective of Qimen Dunjia, North Kan represents a resting gate while Kai, Xiu, and Sheng are three auspicious gates. Therefore, heading north is undoubtedly a path of brightness that must be pursued with perseverance and unwavering determination!
At that moment, Nv Ba's forehead was right beneath my palm; fortunately, my attention was diverted by my junior brother. In that fleeting moment of clarity, I quickly deduced that heading north led directly to where the Ancient Guge Silver-Eyed Buddha was located—no wonder Nv Ba revealed herself at Ancient Guge Silver Eye.
However, what was even more urgent now was the transparent baby drooling on my junior brother's shoulder. While my mind raced in confusion, the baby had already stopped crying. My heart sank—this was bad! It might soon turn into a pool of venom!
In desperation, driven purely by instinctive reaction, I reached out with bare hands to pinch my junior brother's shoulder. My hands still bore remnants of Brown Spotted Civet blood—perhaps even some of my own blood—but I didn’t care; I was too frantic to think about it.
Just then, a thunderous crash echoed above us; both he and Nv Ba were startled as we looked up to see dozens of shattered black bones raining down—arms, legs, ribs, skulls—all tumbling toward us like scattered flowers. At that moment, a mass of Black Demon Cloud mingled among them and dove rapidly downward.
I inwardly cursed; with wolves ahead and pursuers above us, this might be our end! But better to advance one step into death than retreat one step into life! Regardless of whether conditions allowed or time permitted—I pressed down on my junior brother's shoulder and rolled on the ground with him. He cursed loudly in pain as his back hit the ground just as those fiery-hot bones crashed down upon us.
Through half-closed eyes, I saw that Black Demon Cloud dive toward Nv Ba's head but suddenly veered sharply in our direction.
My junior brother shouted angrily: "Damn it! This bully only picks on the weak! Just because you think I'm an old sick cat!"
I kicked him hard in the backside and, using that momentum, rolled away in the opposite direction. The Black Demon Cloud exploded between us with a thunderous roar, creating a massive crater in the ground and sending up a dark, ominous mushroom cloud.
I wiped the sweat from my brow, my heart nearly leaping out of my throat. If I hadn’t caught a glimpse of the Black Demon Cloud changing direction, that blast would have surely sent both me and my junior disciple back to our hometown!
I pressed my hand against my chest, gasping for breath as I quickly summarized my thoughts and strategies: “Nv Ba is the Fire God; this Black Demon Cloud must be her doing! We need to lure her towards the northern waters of Kan Palace to contain this Old Demon!” I pointed at the Ancient Guge Silver Eye. “That giant Buddha—let’s climb up there!”
In the meantime, Nv Ba didn’t give us a moment to catch our breath. A sound like chopping wood echoed from her throat, and in this eerie environment, it felt particularly chilling, sending shivers down our spines.
Seeing that we had narrowly escaped being blown to bits by the Black Demon Cloud, she raised her backside and prepared to flee. Her screeching became even more deafening. With a loud hissing sound, she spat out a dozen transparent thumb-sized infants, their wails instantly filling the Buddha Cave. My junior disciple and I were taken aback and hastily rolled away in opposite directions.
In the chaos, no one noticed that one of the infants landed on my arm. At first, I didn’t feel anything; surrounded by cries, it was impossible to pinpoint where they were coming from. But when the wailing ceased and transformed into a bubbling pool of black venom, an agonizing sensation like being cut by a red-hot knife surged through my body. I couldn’t help but scream.
Looking down, I gasped in horror—was that really my arm? On my left forearm, a patch the size of a size six shoe had been completely burned away; flesh had been seared off! Charred red flesh surrounded a stark white bone that jutted out in the center. (To be continued.)
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