Taiji Generates Two Forms, Yin and Yang
As Mei Lin heard a soft click followed by a series of grinding chains and gears, the stone pillars before her slowly descended, forming a taiji pattern with the area where the jade coffin rested. At that moment, her reverence and admiration for Murong Jinghe reached its peak.
Time rewound to when she had presented Murong Jinghe with the challenge of approaching the jade coffin.
Upon hearing her inquiry, Murong Jinghe shifted his gaze from the coffin to survey their surroundings. Standing atop the stone forest, they could now see the entire cavern layout, which differed from their initial assumptions. The seemingly central stone forest wasn’t a circular island, but rather curved like a large-headed fish along one side of the cavern, forming a massive taiji pattern with the roaring flames. Another passage did exist, directly connected to the stone forest.
Murong Jinghe furrowed his brow slightly as he observed this marvelous sight. After a while, he turned his attention back to the nearby jade coffin and the irregular clearing before them. His phoenix eyes narrowed in contemplation, making his eye lines appear even longer and more graceful.
Mei Lin refrained from disturbing him, aimlessly examining the strange cave while carefully sniffing the air to gauge how long they could linger.
Suddenly, Murong Jinghe’s eyes lit up as he looked towards the opposite end of the stone forest from the jade coffin.
“If there’s a cavity there, I might find a way for us to leave,” he said.
They made their way over, unexpectedly discovering a deep well that contrasted starkly with the surrounding stone pillars. The well was about the same size as the stone coffin, its bottom invisible and any presence of water uncertain.
“What now? Jump in?” Mei Lin asked bewildered, unable to fathom how this dark, dizzying pit could lead to their escape.
Murong Jinghe gave her a withering look, not even bothering to chastise her.
“I don’t believe those who carried that massive coffin up here had to carefully avoid traps with each step,” he calmly expressed his thoughts, revealing his focus remained on the jade coffin.
As he spoke, his eyes scanned the well’s perimeter, searching for possible mechanisms.
Mei Lin had a sudden idea. She asked him to sit against a stone pillar, then used her dagger to chip off a piece of stone and toss it into the well. To their dismay, they heard no echo even after a long wait, sending chills down their spines.
The change in perspective allowed Murong Jinghe to notice the Eight Trigrams pattern carved on the well’s outer wall, piquing his interest.
Following his instructions, Mei Lin approached and felt the pattern. It was indeed raised from the well wall, but neither twisting nor pushing budged it as if it were part of the wall itself. While he continued to ponder, she kept examining the square carving, turning and pushing it. Though she held little hope, a casual pull suddenly caused it to click and protrude slightly. Startled, she stepped back and waited, but when nothing else happened, she relaxed, though wary of further tampering.
Seeing this, Murong Jinghe’s face brightened. After some thought, he said, “Try pulling them out in this order: Qian, Dui, Li, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Gen, Kun.”
Mei Lin, unfamiliar with these terms, required Murong Jinghe to point out each one individually. As she pulled the last one, they heard a click followed by the slow, heavy sound of chains and gears grinding. Whether due to the noise or not, she felt the ground subtly trembling. Holding her breath, she stiffly retreated towards Murong Jinghe, hoping to escape together if danger arose.
Just as she helped Murong Jinghe up, they heard a muffled gurgling from the well, as if water were pouring in. The sound grew louder, becoming a thunderous roar, and the ground shook violently.
Mei Lin’s face turned ashen, uncertain of what would happen next. As she considered asking Murong Jinghe if they should flee elsewhere, she noticed the surrounding stone pillars slowly sinking at a visible rate.
Moments later, the noise and tremors ceased. Their standing area had transformed into a white stone plain, while the space where the jade coffin had been inexplicably changed color, flowing with the light of a night. Black and white were delineated yet interconnected, forming an endless cycle. Even from ground level, they could discern a taiji pattern. The jade coffin and water well perfectly represented the spots of opposing color within pure black and white—yin within yang, and yang within yin.
Stone pillars still encircled them, separating the inner and outer taiji patterns.
“What… what do we do now?” Mei Lin asked Murong Jinghe, struggling to process these changes. Even the stones had sunk—could they still walk safely?
Though Murong Jinghe had anticipated mechanisms, even he hadn’t expected this scene. However, his reaction was less dramatic than Mei Lin’s. With a slight smile, he suggested, “Perhaps we should explore a bit.”
After taking the first step and finding the ground as solid as before, Mei Lin’s immediate focus was the well. As they had heard, it was now filled with water, level with the rim but not overflowing.
She wiped away cold sweat, increasingly unnerved by this eerie place and eager to leave. Without further hesitation, she supported Murong Jinghe as they walked towards the jade coffin.
As they approached, the coffin’s emanating chill made both shivers involuntarily.
“Is it made of ice?” Mei Lin muttered with furrowed brows, though she realized it couldn’t be, given that it showed no signs of melting despite the surrounding flames.
Murong Jinghe didn’t respond.
The jade coffin reached about Mei Lin’s nose height. It had no lid and exuded a lustrous glow, with faint cyan light seemingly flowing within.
Unable to see inside, Mei Lin noticed Murong Jinghe staring into it for a while without comment. She couldn’t help but ask, “What’s inside?” She knew coffins typically held bodies but wondered if there might be other items, perhaps clues to their escape.
After a moment of silence, Murong Jinghe replied flatly, “A person.”
Mei Lin hesitated, then decided to investigate herself. She set Murong Jinghe down and, supporting herself on the coffin’s outer edge, lightly leaped up. Her martial arts training lent her agility, and she managed to hang from the outer coffin. Had she not worried about damaging the remains inside, she might have landed directly in the coffin.
The moment she glimpsed the person inside, Mei Lin froze, forgetting even to blink.
No matter how she had imagined it, she hadn’t expected to see a living person. At least, she had never seen anyone maintain such a vibrant appearance after death. The skin showed no paleness; instead, it had a faint, pinkish hue.
Of course, this was just one reason for her shock. The other was that this man was more handsome than anyone she had ever seen.
He appeared to be in his early twenties, with hair like black satin and skin like white jade. His features were exquisitely beautiful, yet his brow exuded wisdom, carrying the clear, noble air of pine and bamboo, without a hint of effeminacy.
Surprisingly, in this grand tomb and magnificent coffin, he wore only a simple hemp garment. His hands and feet, white as jade, were exposed, and aside from the jade pillow beneath his head, there were no ornaments or burial goods.
No burial goods! Mei Lin finally snapped out of her daze, noticing this shocking detail. She looked carefully once more to confirm, growing anxious, and was about to jump into the coffin.
Just as she was about to lift her foot, Murong Jinghe, sitting against the coffin wall, noticed.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I want to check if he’s dead and see if he’s hiding anything…” Mei Lin paused in her explanation, then couldn’t help adding, “This man is truly handsome. I’ve never seen anyone so good-looking before.”
Murong Jinghe, of course, knew how handsome the man was, but hearing Mei Lin say it out loud left him feeling somewhat uncomfortable. He coldly replied, “Go ahead, but I won’t be able to save you if you trigger any traps.”
At this, Mei Lin quickly withdrew her extended foot. After experiencing the various oddities within, she had become as skittish as a startled bird, even fearing that sitting on the edge too long might trigger something. She hurriedly jumped down, crouching beside Murong Jinghe outside the coffin.
“So what should we do?” she asked.
Glancing at her coolly, Murong Jinghe suddenly felt irritated. “Can’t you think for yourself?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he had gone too far, but having long been accustomed to his lofty position, he wouldn’t easily apologize to a woman who wasn’t even considered a concubine, even if he knew he shouldn’t have spoken so harshly.
Mei Lin was taken aback, perhaps because it had been a long time since she had heard him use such a malicious tone. She was momentarily stunned before reacting with a forced laugh, “I do… of course I do.” As she spoke, her hand, hidden within her sleeve, trembled slightly.
Without another glance at Murong Jinghe, she abruptly stood up and once again vaulted onto the coffin, then jumped inside.
The coffin was spacious enough that she didn’t risk stepping on the man when she landed, yet somehow she still twisted her ankle. The pain made her grimace as she slowly sat down against the inner wall, closing her eyes to wait for the pain to subside.
Her hand was still shaking slightly.
“Hey, have you found anything?” came the inquiry from outside the coffin, the tone less impatient than before.
Mei Lin opened her eyes and began searching the coffin interior with a wooden expression.
The coffin was empty, with nothing to be found, and it didn’t take long to search thoroughly. She looked up and replied in a calm voice, “Nothing.” Then her gaze fell on the jade pillow.
After a moment’s hesitation, she leaned over and carefully lifted the man’s upper body, reaching for the jade pillow with her other hand. To her surprise, she couldn’t move it, which greatly puzzled her.
“The pillow won’t budge,” she reported. As she spoke, she caught a faint scent of pine and bamboo, causing her head to spin. She almost fell forward but hastily laid the man back down and retreated to sit far away.
Biting her tongue, the pain slightly cleared her mind, just in time to hear Murong Jinghe’s words. His voice, muffled by the thick coffin walls, sounded somewhat dull.
“Try pressing it down,” he suggested.
Mei Lin turned her face away and took a deep breath, feeling slightly better. She crawled back over. This time, she dared not touch the man’s body or even look at his face, fearing he might suddenly open his eyes. Instead, she placed her hands on either side of his head and pressed down.
As she did this, she held no real hope, yet to her surprise, the jade pillow slowly began to sink, along with the man. Startled, she quickly withdrew her hands. However, the pillow and the man didn’t stop descending with her retreat; they continued to sink, accompanied by tremors around them.
“Get out quickly!” Murong Jinghe’s urgent call came from outside, tinged with anxiety.
Mei Lin’s expression changed slightly. Disregarding the beautiful man and jade pillow, she grasped the coffin wall and leaped upward. However, just as her body was midair, her head suddenly felt dizzy, and she fell back down. Fortunately, the dizziness was brief, and her quick reflexes allowed her to grab onto something when she saw the bottom had inexplicably become a pitch-black hole. However, whatever she had grabbed not only failed to stop her fall but was dragged down with her.
Her mind is hazy, she didn’t know how long she fell. When she realized she was clutching Murong Jinghe’s foot and that he had fallen below her due to the weight, she only gripped tighter. Just as she thought the fall would never end, there was a loud splash. Water sprayed everywhere, and a violent pain shot through her chest and spread throughout her body. Cold water engulfed her, and darkness instantly surrounded her.
As Mei Lin regained consciousness, she was greeted by the chirping of birds and the warm sensation of sunlight on her skin, along with an indescribable stinging pain.
She coughed, sending a sharp pain through her chest, but couldn’t suppress the urge to clear her water-clogged throat. Slowly rolling over, she coughed repeatedly, expelling the obstructing fluid until she tasted a sweet, metallic flavor, and forced herself to stop.
With effort, Mei Lin opened her heavy, gritty eyelids. The long-absent bright daylight flooded her vision, causing her to shield her eyes with her hand. After a moment, she lowered it, a smile tugging at her lips.
They had… made it out!
Just when she thought death was certain, they had somehow escaped. She couldn’t describe the feeling in her heart, only that the sensation of her still-beating heart and the sight of the sun seemed wonderfully miraculous.
However, she didn’t dwell on this feeling for long. Immediately remembering Murong Jinghe, whose whereabouts were unknown, she hurriedly got up to search for him. To her surprise, she discovered her right hand still firmly grasping something. Looking down, she realized it was Murong Jinghe’s foot. She hadn’t expected to maintain her grip even while unconscious.
Murong Jinghe lay face-down beside her right hand, still unconscious. His hair was spread wet on the ground, and his hand was ice-cold, leading one to fear the worst.
Turning him over and seeing his ashen face, Mei Lin hesitated. Instead of checking for breath as before, she immediately began pressing the water out of his abdomen. She then loosened his soaked clothes and vigorously rubbed his chest, which had no trace of warmth, until it gradually warmed and she could feel a faint but unmistakable heartbeat. Only then did she stop.
Mei Lin hastily gathered some firewood and reached for her tinderbox, only to find it soaked through, making it impossible to start a fire.
Pressing her lips together, she felt for her dagger, which was miraculously still there. Without hesitation, she picked up a very hard stone nearby, placed a small pile of dry moss and dead leaves around it, and struck the stone with the back of the dagger. Sparks flew, and soon the dry materials caught fire.
The fire started, with a layer of pebbles beneath it.
She gathered dry grass and spread it near the fire, stripped the unconscious man, hung up his clothes to dry, and dug a hole about half a person deep near the shore. She lined it with stones, filled it about four-fifths full with river water, and then blocked the flow. After finishing all this, he still hadn’t woken. Even after being warmed by the fire for a long time, apart from a slight warmth in his chest, his body remained cold.
She didn’t waste energy trying to wake him. Instead, she moved the fire to the other side and used wooden sticks to transfer the heated pebbles from under the fire into the water-filled hole. Soon, the water was steaming and hot to the touch.
Placing Murong Jinghe in the water, she also undressed and got in, holding him from behind and rubbing his chest and back.
The hole wasn’t small, but it was a tight fit for two people. The water rose, lapping at Murong Jinghe’s neck. Mei Lin, being a head shorter, would have been submerged if she sat, so she had to kneel.
At that moment, despite being naked and holding a man in her arms, she felt neither romantic thoughts nor disgust or reluctance. She was simply determined to save his life.
Perhaps due to the hot water’s effect, or in response to her persistence, the man in her arms finally let out a barely audible sigh. Though he didn’t wake, it was enough to be encouraging.
Mei Lin instinctively tightened her arms, resting her forehead against the back of his neck as she slowly exhaled. Only then did she realize how tense her chest had been, so tight it ached slightly.
When the water-cooled, she took him out. The clothes drying by the fire were ready, and she dressed him. After tidying herself up, she sat beside him and surveyed their surroundings.
They were in a river valley, with steep mountains on both sides and dense forests behind them, seemingly still deep in the mountains. The river made a big bend here, creating a triangular shore where they lay. The wide, slow-flowing river explained how they had been washed ashore and survived.
Mei Lin sighed, looking up at the cloudless blue sky and the sun nearing its zenith. After the initial excitement and subsequent worry and bustle, she suddenly felt lost in this moment of calm.
Before being trapped in the stone forest, her plan had been simple: find a secluded place to hide, and figure out how to cure the poison in her body. Although she had promised Yue Qin, it was just a pretense; she hadn’t intended to find him. In fact, according to Mu Ye Luo Mei’s rules, Yue Qin would be free once they left Zhong Mountain, but it was different for her. Not only Mu Ye Luo Mei and the others, but even her people would likely not forgive her betrayal easily. She didn’t want to implicate that naive young man.
But now… now she felt confused as if something had changed.
This man… ah, this man…
A crackling sound from the dry firewood interrupted Mei Lin’s thoughts. Suddenly realizing she had been pondering a jumble of useless ideas, she laughed self-mockingly. She stood up, intending to enter the forest to look for useful herbs or food.
After just two steps, she suddenly felt something was off. Her heart began to race. She stopped to calm herself, then, somewhat disbelievingly yet hopefully, tried to circulate her inner qi. She felt an extremely thin flow of energy slowly rising from her dantian. Though far weaker than before, it was thin but continuous, weak yet perceptible, undeniably present.
Mei Lin’s heart tightened slightly as she tested her qi circulation again, confirming it wasn’t her imagination. She felt dazed, almost doubting if everything was a dream. How could her qi have suddenly returned? No wonder she hadn’t found it too strenuous to move Murong Jinghe earlier.
Shaking her head, she decided not to dwell on this strange but fortunate development. Instead, she focused on gathering necessary supplies. This time, due to their fall into the water and unknown collisions, she had several new injuries in addition to her reopened old wounds. Despite being in worse shape than before entering the stone forest, she felt more confident than ever.
During their escape, she had often longed for her lost martial arts skills, never imagining she’d regain them. This seemed like a blessing from heaven, giving her greater courage to face the uncertain and perilous future.
Two days later, Mei Lin, carrying the still unconscious Murong Jinghe on her back, arrived at a remote village. The village, called Lao Wozi, was nestled in an almost isolated mountain valley. The land was barren, and the villagers were poor. There was only one road leading to the outside world, but the village had an old man who knew about herbs and could treat illnesses.
Mei Lin was brought there by a hunter she had encountered in the forest. The hunter had slipped and was hanging from a cliff when Mei Lin, who was gathering wild fruits, chanced upon him and saved him. The hunter, a resident of Lao Wozi village, noticed her injuries and that she was carrying an ill person, so he led them back to his village.
The village had only twenty to thirty households, most living on the flat land in the valley’s heart, with a few scattered in the mountains. The old man lived alone at the village’s edge in two dilapidated, drafty thatched huts. When the hunter brought them there, Mei Lin was truly shocked.
The old man could only treat minor ailments. He provided some herbal remedies for their external wounds, free of charge, but was at a loss regarding Murong Jinghe’s internal injuries and didn’t detect the poison in Mei Lin’s body.
Mei Lin hadn’t held high hopes, so she wasn’t particularly disappointed. However, the hunter who had brought them felt responsible. When he heard that she wanted to stay in the village, he actively helped arrange everything. He spoke with the village head and all the villagers, then called some people to help clean and repair a long-abandoned house. Within a day, Mei Lin and Murong Jinghe had their place to stay.
The house was quite nice, with a stone foundation and wooden beams. Though the walls were made of earth, they were extremely solid with no visible cracks. It had three main rooms, a kitchen, a firewood room, carved wooden windows, and a courtyard. Despite being somewhat dilapidated, it was still better than most houses in the village. Initially, the hunter had discouraged them from living there, offering to help build new rooms if they wanted to stay.
The house’s original inhabitants had all died over the past few years, leaving no survivors, and villagers blamed the house itself. Thus, for a long time, no one had wanted to touch it. Mei Lin wasn’t particularly concerned about this; she was grateful to have a place to stay and even felt fortunate that others avoided the house, otherwise it wouldn’t have been available to them. Seeing her insistence, the hunter could only offer some final words of caution before they moved in.
Upon entering, Mei Lin felt another wave of gratitude as she saw the previous occupants’ belongings still inside.
From pots and pans to bedding and clothing, everything was there. Though old and dusty from disuse, items were neatly arranged, clearly untouched. This demonstrated how deeply the villagers feared the house.
Mei Lin didn’t mind. She had no money and couldn’t have acquired so many things quickly on her own. The hunter and kind villagers were already poor; even if they wanted to help, they couldn’t spare much.
Mei Lin felt her luck was slowly improving.
She spent the next few days busy cleaning the rooms, washing bedding and old clothes, and airing out quilts in the sun. She burned mugwort to remove dampness and odors. She also hunted deer and some pheasants in the mountains, which sustained them for several days. Compared to furnishings, food was less of a concern.
By the time she had everything in order and could finally catch her breath, Murong Jinghe still hadn’t woken, though his breathing had stabilized as if he were merely in a deep sleep. This worried her, so she went to consult the old man again.
After long consideration, the old man suggested that ginseng might help. He sighed deeply, knowing his advice was impractical. The villagers, let alone Mei Lin and Murong Jinghe who seemed to have nothing, could barely afford even ginseng roots.
Indeed, Mei Lin looked stunned for a moment before asking, “Is there ginseng in these mountains?”
The old man shook his head.
“Where can I find ginseng?” Mei Lin then asked.
“The medicine shops in the city should have some,” the old man replied, sighing again.
Mei Lin thanked him and slowly walked back. On the way, she met the hunter and learned that the city was dozens of li away, requiring a two to three-day round trip for villagers.
“Is it the capital?” Mei Lin suddenly realized she didn’t know where they were or how far from Zhaojing.
The hunter looked surprised for a moment, then laughed, “Of course not. I’ve heard the capital is hundreds of li from here. It’s Anyang City.”
Mei Lin was dumbfounded. Only after returning home did she recover, rushing to Murong Jinghe’s side and whispering in his ear, “We’ve reached the outskirts of Anyang.”
Though pale, Murong Jinghe’s expression was more peaceful than ever. His external injuries from their escape had mostly healed, yet he remained unconscious.
Mei Lin didn’t know what the problem was. She would have preferred facing the sharp-tongued but lively Murong Jinghe to this quiet, lifeless man before her.
“If you keep sleeping like this, I’ll throw you to the wolves in the mountains,” she grumbled unhappily, gently pinching his straight nose before tucking him in and leaving the room.
Mei Lin wasn’t someone with a strong sense of right and wrong. To her, nothing was more important than survival, so when necessary, she could do things others might consider inappropriate. She understood that concepts like propriety and shame only mattered when one was alive; they had little relevance to someone who constantly faced death like herself.
Regarding Murong Jinghe, if she had followed her initial thoughts when they first partnered up, she wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to save him. Having escaped, his death might have been more beneficial than detrimental to her. But now she wanted to save him, regardless of the reason. Once she made this decision, she was determined to revive and awaken him. This confidence wasn’t blind arrogance but stemmed from her tendency to pursue her goals relentlessly once she set her mind to something.
So, she made a trip to Anyang, visiting every pharmacy in the city. When she returned to Lao Wozi village, she brought back a bundle of ginseng. She figured it would be enough to last Murong Jinghe for quite some time. She bought so much partly because she feared it might be harder to obtain after the first purchase raised suspicions, and partly because the poison in her body was nearing its active phase, and she might not have the energy for another trip to the city.
However, she never expected that when she stepped through the door, Murong Jinghe would already be awake.
He was staring blankly at the wooden window beside him. Hearing the noise, he turned his head. His face was still pale, his expression as calm as when he was unconscious, showing no reaction to seeing her.
“Get me something to eat,” he said, asking nothing else, his tone as commanding as ever.
A flash of joy appeared in Mei Lin’s eyes. She had taken two steps forward but suddenly stopped, nodding slightly before taking the ginseng she had brought to the kitchen. Soon, she returned with a bowl of steaming millet porridge.
“This is from yesterday. Eat some first,” she said, ignoring his slightly furrowed brow. She helped him sit up on the kang bed, propping him up with bedding and began feeding him with a smile.
Murong Jinghe seemed somewhat displeased but said nothing, silently finishing the bowl of porridge. He had woken up in the early hours of the night while Mei Lin was on her way to Anyang. Everything around him had been dark, with only occasional glimpses of starlight through the window cracks. Faced with unfamiliar surroundings, he couldn’t help feeling afraid, yet there was no one to ask. This feeling persisted until Mei Lin’s return.
He had to admit that the moment he saw Mei Lin, his heart, which had been in suspense all night, instantly settled back into place.
(End of Chun Hua Yan – Chapter)