Deep, long, boundless... the ancient temple's corridors were like passages through a tomb.
In contrast, the murals on the walls blazed with rich, dazzling colors: ranks of armored vajra warriors and guardian deities, bodhisattvas and celestial beings in trailing skirts, holding vessels of pure water. They, too, were just like the painted guards and palace maids in ancient tombs.
Baozhu raised her candleholder and studied the figures on the wall, complaining softly, "They were in such a hurry they didn't even color the murals in my Underground Palace."
Wei Xun felt as though his heart had filled with smoke rising from an incense burner, clouds and mist curling through it until he could no longer see into the distance. He noticed her lips, crimson and full, with the tender texture of flower petals, as though painted with rouge. He knew he should not gaze at any part of her body that way, yet he could not control himself or look away.
"Do you remember giving me a Seven-Treasure Glazed Glass Box? That Lacquer Box made by the craftsman from Changzhou?" Baozhu suddenly asked.
"I remember," Wei Xun replied. "It originally held a fake Luminous Pearl. I crushed it."
"The next time you open a coffin and find a woman wearing hair ornaments, pull out a hairpin for me," Baozhu said. "I want to fill that empty box."
Wei Xun froze. "Are you sure? Jewelry from a corpse? You'd have to temper it in fire to get rid of the smell."
Baozhu was unconcerned. "Aren't you often covered in the smell of dead people yourself? I've never turned my nose up at you."
Wei Xun had no answer for a moment. He could think of no reason to refuse-after all, he really was a habitual thief who made his living robbing