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墨書 Inktalez
Bai Tang recalled the plot of "The Flower in the Mirror" as she wrote. She had read "The Flower in the Mirror" in its entirety during her university years, but before that, she had sneakily read bits and pieces. Her grandmother, who respected the tradition of a scholarly family, had collected many books at home, occupying about one-third of all the books, including old editions of "The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants," "Sword Heroes of Shushan," "The Legend of Ji Gong," "Dream of the Red Chamber," "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," "Water Margin," "Journey to the West," "Investiture of the Gods," and "The Travels of Lao Can," among others. There were also Hong Kong editions of Jin Yong's martial arts novels, covering a wide range. However, there were not many foreign books; those few were classic masterpieces that were either refreshing or grand, such as "One Hundred Years of Solitude" and "Camellia Girl." Books that depicted chaos or courtesans were absent, as her grandmother did not want her descendants to be tainted by these so-called world classics.
“... The owner of the Crying Red Pavilion said: ‘To explore history with a melancholic heart and to lament the beauty that has faded away is to express my own thoughts on obscure historical records. I have seen some things and lamented their obscurity, mourning for the flowers that have not been passed down, hence I record them with my pen. Some may record their beauty like fish sinking and geese falling, while others may speak of their elegance like brocade hearts and embroidered mouths; thus I record the sinking fish and speak of brocade hearts in this order. Following this, Xie Wenjin means that future readers can use this as a record; if they see it as a piece of beautiful writing, then I have failed to write beautifully, so what do I have to do with brocade? Moreover, life and death are not determined by me; with bitterness filling my heart and past events being numerous, I fear I cannot recount them well enough; how can I spare time for writing! Therefore, I can only express my gratitude. And imitating Shi Lan’s words, I present my thoughts clearly and convey them; thus after Xie Wenjin, I continue with Shi Lan’s words, Chen Shuyuan, and Bai Lijuan. To give flowers again to Fang and Bi Quanzhen is to acknowledge that many flowers have fallen into obscurity, almost disappearing without a trace; now thanks to this they achieve immortality, unlike flowers that bloom heavily? The hundred people listed are none other than rare treasures in a jade forest; thus they are all gathered together…’”
Bai Tang continued writing while memories of her late grandmother's appearance surfaced in her mind. Her grandmother was a wise woman; during the Cultural Revolution, she did not burn books and paintings like others but hid them all in the attic at home. On weekends, she would take her grandfather to garbage stations to retrieve many historical books and ancient paintings that had not yet been destroyed. After bringing them back, they were also placed in the attic. Fortunately, the people in the town where her grandparents lived were united, preventing any Red Guards from labeling them as counter-revolutionaries. During that turmoil, her grandmother forbade her great-uncle and Bai Ma from participating directly. She locked several children in the attic to keep them occupied with reading while learning at the same time. As a result, Bai Ma developed a love for reading; meanwhile, Bai Tang's great-uncle self-studied English during that time and went abroad for further studies right after reforms began. The second cousin became fascinated with historical texts and later got accepted into B University’s history department, becoming a well-known historian in his field. Her grandmother's education was undoubtedly successful; she donated some of the most valuable items she had collected shortly after Emperor Taizong ascended to power while leaving the remaining portion for her descendants as family heirlooms, which are now all collected by Bai Tang.
“The mirror can reflect true talents. The old tales are all turned upside down. If you want to know the full image in this mirror, wait for later…”
She put down her brush and handed over her completed manuscript to Floral Fairy. Floral Fairy took the manuscript. In the next moment, the brush transformed back into a flower branch.
“Disciple. Let’s go!”
Hua Manlou returned the bun to Bai Tang and followed Floral Fairy as they soared into the clouds, gradually disappearing from Bai Tang's sight.
“I didn’t expect this journey through time would lead to Lu Feng and Hua Manlou's achievements. Next time we should bring Ximen Chui Xue and Ye Gu Cheng along so they can become recognized ‘Sword Immortals’ and ‘Sword Gods’!” Bai Tang gazed at the bright sky for a while before retracting her gaze.
Moments later, Wild Lilac rushed up to Bai Tang carrying a large bundle.
“What does Liu Agarwood think he is? Does he really think I want to marry him? Bah! I Wild Lilac must be blind to even consider him!” Wild Lilac buried her head against Bai Tang's back angrily. Along the way, she had been hit by cold winds several times and finally learned her lesson.
“If you don’t like him, why do you keep mentioning him?” Bai Tang asked worriedly; she hoped Wild Lilac wouldn’t end up liking Agarwood just like that.
“Absolutely not!” Wild Lilac's face turned red; it was unclear whether it was from anger or embarrassment.
“Really?” Bai Tang remained skeptical.
“Really! Really!” Wild Lilac nodded repeatedly, fearing that Bai Tang would think she still had feelings for him and wouldn’t take her along for cultivation anymore. “I just dislike Liu Agarwood’s arrogant attitude; I have no interest in him at all. Yesterday I already urged my dad to break off our engagement.”
"That's good," Bai Tang said. "Liu Agarwood is currently entangled with a fox spirit, so it's best that you have nothing to do with him. Your master has a nephew who is quite nice; maybe she can introduce you two later."
Wild Lilac's face turned even redder as she stomped her foot. "I don't want a man!"
"Don't stomp! If you drop the sword, we might fall from above."
"Senior, why do we ride swords instead of riding clouds?"
"Because riding swords is cooler than riding clouds!"
When they reached the shores of the Western Sea, Aoxinchin and Wild Lilac were both stunned; facing each other was like looking in a mirror. After the shock, Aoxinchin was very happy to take this girl who looked so much like her as her disciple, and then her thoughts completely shifted to her son. Hearing about her son's experiences with the Li Family made Aoxinchin feel regretful and sad; if only she hadn't sent Xunhuan away.
"I will help Xunhuan find the best family to take care of him. Seven Children can also be sent to the Flower Family to be looked after by his older brother and sister-in-law," Bai Tang reassured Aoxinchin. "Don't worry, this time Xunhuan won't suffer anymore."
The shores of the Western Sea were truly unsuitable for children to grow up in, and after reuniting mother and son, Bai Tang would take the child away.
"Thank you!" Aoxinchin reluctantly placed her son back into Bai Tang's arms. The sleeping bun seemed to sense he was going to leave his mother again and tightly grasped Aoxinchin's sleeve.
Aoxinchin's tears flowed again due to her son's actions. Bai Tang sighed and stuffed the bun back into Aoxinchin's embrace.
"Since the child can't bear to part with you, stay with him for a few more days. I'll come back in five days to take Xunhuan away."
Bai Tang noticed that there were tales of immortals everywhere in this world; perhaps an inconspicuous mountain or tree could be connected to an immortal. Excitedly, she walked while collecting deep myths and "admiring" the remnants of immortals. One day, feeling tired from walking, she took Karen into an inn to rest. Just as they were halfway through their meal, a fight broke out in the inn, ruining all the dishes Bai Tang had ordered.
Bai Tang pinched the ends of her chopsticks and took a closer look. Oh, it turned out to be the main characters! The plot had progressed; the Queen Mother had already discovered the matter of the Three Holy Mothers. Under her instigation, the Jade Emperor decided to capture Agarwood and throw him into the eighteen layers of hell, ensuring he would never be reborn. The Jade Emperor issued an order for soldiers throughout the three realms to hunt down Agarwood. Meanwhile, Agarwood and his companions were unaware of this news and had come to the inn for drinks when they ran into Howling Dog, who was also at the inn. Both sides had lost their powers due to drinking too much and could only fight like mortals, causing chaos throughout the entire inn. Howling Dog transformed into the appearance of Fourth Princess Ao Tingxin from the East Sea and appeared before Agarwood and his group. Agarwood couldn't discern truth from falsehood and fell for Howling Dog's trick, handing over the Lotus Lantern. Once Howling Dog obtained the Lotus Lantern, he revealed his true form and grabbed Agarwood by the neck. In a critical moment, Agarwood used a short sword gifted to him by Yu to save himself...
"Ha ha..." Bai Tang's laughter raised an eyebrow from Karen. Every time Bai Tang laughed like this, someone was bound to have bad luck.
In the next moment, Bai Tang vanished and reappeared with a lotus-shaped lamp in hand.
Glancing at the two parties still in confrontation, Bai Tang said to Karen, "Let's go!"
Bai Tang tossed the lamp up and down with one hand, showing no concern for this precious item that everyone was fighting over. Not even a hint of worry that it might slip from their grasp and shatter on the ground.
"This thing is a hot potato; I can't stand having a bunch of deities coming after me for it," Bai Tang asked Karen in a negotiating tone, "How do you plan to deal with this?"
Karen: "..."
Bai Tang: "I knew your silence was golden. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is often the safest. How about we put the Bao Lian Lamp at Yang Jian's place? Ha ha, let him search everywhere only to find out that it's right under his nose; that would be quite amusing!"
"Decided then, let's go to Guankou." Bai Tang clapped their fists together, a mischievous smile spreading across their face.
There are two legends about Guankou: one states that it is located in present-day Guanyin County (now Dujiangyan), derived from the story of Erlang Shen, based on the ancient site of the Two Kings Temple. The other refers to Guankou northeast of Chenjiagang in Xiangshui County. Bai Tang headed to Guankou because according to some "experts," Wu Cheng'en, the author of Journey to the West, was from Huai'an, and Xiangshui is adjacent to Huai'an. It is said that when Wu Cheng'en wrote Journey to the West, he traveled down the Guan River by boat, crossing the Yellow Sea to Flower-Fruit Mountain while conducting field research. When passing by Guankou, he encountered fierce winds and waves and had to dock for shelter. The next day, he disembarked for a stroll to relieve his boredom and was delighted by the beautiful sunrise over the sea. He spontaneously composed a poem: "The sun rises from the eastern sea, its brilliance shining on the land. Suddenly thrown westward, as if the sea god plays." Guankou and Flower-Fruit Mountain are close neighbors; since Wu Cheng'en wrote about Flower-Fruit Mountain, it naturally involved the Guan River, leading him to write about "Erlang Shen's great battle at Guankou" in Journey to the West. However, Bai Tang did not see Yang Jian's celestial abode at Guankou and recalled that Wu Cheng'en lived during the Ming Dynasty. Long before that, there were already legends of Erlang Shen residing at Guankou; surely Yang Shen wouldn't move just for a book! (To be continued)
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