On the fourteenth day, at the eighth hour, Fuyun Temple in Fuyao Mountain.
A chessboard was laid out in the room. Kong Yuzi, holding a black piece, had been playing for quite some time. Suddenly he glanced at Meng Rui across from him and said with a smile: “Half a year has passed, and Hero Meng’s chess skills have become much more sophisticated.”
“The Daoist master praises me too highly. The heart is like a chessboard—hold more pieces within it, and naturally one sees through it more clearly.” Meng Rui spoke with wisdom, greatly pleasing Kong Yuzi: “Kong Yuzi saw long ago that Hero Meng is a person of great wisdom. However, during these few days at the temple, Hero Meng has constantly worn a worried frown. I don’t know what troubles you. Perhaps Kong Yuzi could resolve one or two matters.”
“Thank you, Daoist master, but some things one can only face alone. Telling others would only add to their troubles.” Meng Rui politely declined. Kong Yuzi nodded, his gaze suddenly glancing toward the door: “The benefactor outside the door, if you have business, please come in.”
Meng Rui seemed to have anticipated the identity of the person outside. He cleared his throat and called out: “Niu Sao, wait a moment. I’ll come out right away.”
“Yes.” Someone outside answered—it was indeed Niu Sao.
Meng Rui stood up. Kong Yuzi said with a smile: “This game of chess, I will keep it for Hero Meng, looking forward to an ultimately satisfying conclusion.”
Meng Rui bid farewell to Kong Yuzi and went outside to meet Niu Sao. The two didn’t speak, walking one after the other back to the front hall of the side room where the red coffin was kept. Niu Sao’s eyes fixed on the red coffin: “These past two days, my heart keeps pounding. It feels like something bad is about to happen. Young master, how much longer must we stay here?”
Meng Rui surveyed the interior of the hall, then sat beside the red coffin and said: “Don’t worry, Niu Sao. It won’t be much longer. Once we leave here, I’ll take you all to Dingshui City. Dingshui City is one of the three great cities of Qingzhou, adjacent to the vast and boundless Eastern Sea. The city has no shortage of Eastern Sea mystic practitioners and renowned physicians of our age. There, we may gain something.”
A glimmer of hope flashed in Niu Sao’s eyes, but it quickly sank into the dark depths: “I hope everything goes as the young master wishes.”
“I’m entrusting this place to you. I’ll head to Jinxia County now.”
Niu Sao silently nodded.
When Meng Rui arrived at Jinxia County Yamen, it was already the end of the eighth hour. He didn’t go find Tu Jinxiong but first summoned Qiu Dadan. He whispered a few words in his ear. Qiu Dadan nodded with a surprised and doubtful expression on his face, then rushed out of the yamen. Afterward, Meng Rui went to the dark room of the county yamen and pushed open the stone door. Inside, the coroner was preparing incense to cover corpse odor, using premium red oil mixed with Swallow Return Grass, Cold Knowledge Seeds, Cloud Powder, and seven other medicinal herbs to create the corpse-odor incense. This method was something Meng Rui had learned from his old friend Lao Sitou, the world’s foremost coroner.
The coroner put away the incense and stood to bow. Meng Rui said: “No need for formalities. Where is Meng Chuan’s corpse?”
“Meng Chuan?” The coroner hesitated slightly but still pointed toward the third stone bed at the eastern end.
Meng Rui lifted the corpse cloth. Underneath was the gradually rotting body. Meng Rui turned to the coroner and said: “You may leave first. I’ll stay here alone for a while.”
“This—does Chief Tu know?” The coroner didn’t dare leave his post without permission.
“He knows.”
Only then did the coroner turn and leave. Once the stone door of the dark room closed, the surrounding temperature seemed to suddenly drop considerably. Meng Rui could even feel the cold air condensing bit by bit on his exposed skin. He shook his hands, took a silver knife, tweezers, and long needle from the silver tray, his pitch-black eyes locked on the corpse’s neck area, and began.
More than half a shichen later, Meng Rui walked out of the dark room exhausted. The coroner was still waiting outside. To Meng Rui’s surprise, Tu Jinxiong was there too. Tu Jinxiong’s bushy beard kept trembling—he only displayed this behavior when excited or nervous.
“What is it, Chief Tu?”
“There’s movement on An’wa’s end.” Tu Jinxiong said urgently. “Lord Meng, let’s go right away.”
Meng Rui looked at the twilight hanging low on the horizon and nodded: “Very well.”
The river water flowed gently, yet he felt a bone-piercing cold. From the lower reaches of the Qin River, he traveled upstream to the middle section of the entire waterway. In this open expanse of heaven and earth, the river widened and the water slowed, accompanied by cotton-like white clouds and jade-like blue sky. The mountains, waters, and forests in this painting—everything seemed to stand still here.
But he broke this moment of stillness. He stepped into the shallow water, his gaze wandering back and forth as if searching for something lost. He stopped and started countless times. Suddenly he halted before a smooth, large bluestone. He bent down and touched the bluestone, his tone slightly tense: “This is the stone. Then the item should be in the thorn-wood forest to the east.”
He rushed into the forest in three quick strides and soon found a lush, elegant thorn-wood tree. Behind the tree was a hidden hollow. With trembling hands, he reached into the hollow, and in just a moment pulled out a man’s long robe, gauze boots, a belt, and a pouch. Seeing that all these items were there, he finally exhaled, crouched down, and carefully put the items away one by one. But when he touched the pouch, he suddenly froze—there was something else inside the pouch.
He opened the pouch. Inside was actually a small, exquisite bronze mirror. The bronze mirror reflected his pale cheeks, dark and unfamiliar eyes, and trembling lips. He murmured: “How could there be an extra mirror?”
“A mirror—it shows people their form but cannot reveal their shadow. Many things are like this mirror; one can only see the surface layer but cannot observe the inner heart. This mirror is a gift for you.” A resonant and powerful voice came from behind. Like a startled deer, he whirled around abruptly. Meng Rui was standing two zhang away.
Meng Rui looked at him and said slowly: “Gong Le, it’s time to see yourself clearly.”
He smiled in a twisted manner. The face in the mirror was none other than Gong Le’s. Gong Le gripped the mirror tightly, his eyeballs rolling: “I was relaxing when I accidentally found these things—my lord, why have you come here too?” Gong Le offered a reason. Meng Rui looked at him and said clearly: “I came for you.”