The mysterious bronze mirror

A small tower.

Chen Ping lay on the embroidered couch. The greenish tinge had faded from her face, only to reveal an unnatural gray pallor. The poison had invaded her organs; even if she woke, she would be plagued by illness and pain for the rest of her life.

"Nanny Chen..."

The girl sat beside the bed, shedding sorrowful tears. Her flowerlike face was haggard, with a quality that stirred pity in anyone who saw her.

Not yet thirteen, she already possessed beauty that could topple cities and kingdoms. What she would become in a few more years was easy to imagine.

Before seeing such a person, one always doubted whether history truly held foolish kings who loved a beauty more than their realm.

Having seen her, the realm weighed little.

Mu Wanqing's feelings were complicated. Unable to bear the sight, she turned away and looked at the man beside her.

"Let's go over there."

The two walked to the other side of the room. The ornaments were elegant, antique paintings hung on the walls, and several hefty volumes of the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government rested on the desk, along with paper from Xuancheng, ink from Hui Mountain, and brushes from Huzhou... At a glance, it was plainly a man's study.

"What is it?"

Mu Wanqing tilted her head to look at Li Yu. A gauze veil covered his face, leaving only those lovely peach-blossom eyes exposed. She wondered inwardly, Could she really see something in his eyes? Why couldn't I...?

"What's wrong?" Li Yu asked curiously.

"Don't move."

Mu Wanqing was quite tall, only half a head shorter than the man. Suddenly, she raised both hands and pulled the veil on either side of his face toward the middle, completely covering those trouble-attracting peach-blossom eyes. She gave a slight nod.

That was much better.

Li Yu looked puzzled.

Mu Wanqing said solemnly, "The martial world is treacherous, and people's hearts are hard to fathom. Although we saved her life, there's no guarantee she'll remember the kindness rather than hold a grudge. If she secretly memorizes your features, it'll be a great deal of trouble in the future."

"Oh, so that's it."

Li Yu smiled and nodded, then suddenly stepped half a pace closer. Reaching out, he caught her black veil and lifted one corner slightly, revealing the snowy curve of the girl's chin, like a jade disc. Her cherry lips were slightly thin, their corners turned up with a hint of slyness.

"You should be careful too. Your master's orders may weigh like a mountain, but they still don't outweigh your own life."

They stood so close that they could hear each other's heartbeats.

Mu Wanqing's cheeks flushed red. "I know," she said softly.

He smiled and let go, and the black veil stirred in the breeze.

"You two..."

When Wang Yuyan approached with graceful steps, she looked momentarily startled. The pair stood facing each other, seemingly with words left unspoken, and the atmosphere was strange. She stopped where she was and wondered whether she should come back a little later.

Li Yu turned to her with a smile. "Miss Wang, can you take us to the Langhuan Jade Grotto now?"

Wang Yuyan nodded and took a few steps forward. Her gaze fell on three antique paintings hanging on the wall. In the middle was Wang Mojie's Fusheng Receiving the Classics. Behind the old man stood a boy holding a staff, its head protruding.

"The entrance to the grotto is right here."

She pressed the head of the staff. A muffled rumble came from within the tower, and two floorboards, each four or five inches thick, slowly shifted apart, revealing a pitch-black opening. Steps descended into it, leading who knew where.

"Someone's here!"

Mu Wanqing looked toward the door and signaled with her eyes.

Li Yu heard it too: the faint sound of knocking.

Both practiced martial arts and had keen eyes and ears. They were also closer to the door, so they could hear it. Before Wang Yuyan noticed, Mu Wanqing hurried forward, caught her wrist, and led her down the secret passage.

Rumble...

Another faint rumble sounded. The bluestone slabs closed together without a gap, restoring the tower to its original state.

Drip, drip...

Moss covered the stone walls, and droplets slid down them. The farther they went, the damper it became, with water streaming down the walls like brooks. The secret passage ran very deep. Li Yu counted a full six hundred steps before they reached a tunnel, then walked another two or three li before seeing a glimmer of light.

"Langhuan Jade Grotto."

Someone had carved those four characters into the stone wall beside them using finger strength alone. The strokes were iron-bold and silver-hooked, three inches deep. Li Yu was secretly astonished. Anyone with such martial attainments had to be a first-rate master whose name thundered through the martial world.

As they entered the grotto, an entirely new sight opened before them.

There was none of the tunnel's gloom and dampness. Above, below, and on all sides, it was built from marble as white as jade, spotless and polished like a mirror. An elevated octagonal platform stood in the center. The surrounding walls resembled scripture cylinders, divided by steel plates into densely packed compartments like bookshelves.

At that moment, all these compartments were sealed.

Seeing this, Wang Yuyan said, "Someone has activated the mechanism."

"What do you mean?" Mu Wanqing asked.

"The entire cavern was built according to mechanical blueprints," Wang Yuyan said. "Once an intruder is discovered, activating the mechanism from the waterside pavilion drops the steel plates, protecting the martial arts manuals inside."

Mu Wanqing drew her snow-white curved saber and said coldly, "You deliberately tricked us into coming here so you could shut the door and beat the dogs! Didn't you?"

"No, I didn't expect this either... The only entrance to the Langhuan Jade Grotto is the one in my room..."

At this point, something seemed to occur to Wang Yuyan. Her eyes reddened slightly, and she suddenly gave a bitter smile. She let the cold curved blade rest against her neck, a measure of weariness with the world appearing on her face.

Mu Wanqing frowned. "Don't act pitiful. That won't work on me..."

Li Yu drew his dagger, gathered his strength, and thrust it at the steel wall. With a bang, it snapped in two.

It truly was a seamless whole. Unless they destroyed the entire cavern...

A mountain of treasure lay before him, yet he could think of no way to reach it. The feeling was unpleasant.

He glanced at the girl in white, yet could find no inclination to blame her.

Madam Wang knew something had happened at the manor and first sent someone to the waterside pavilion to activate the mechanism. She values the Langhuan Jade Grotto more than her own daughter. How could such coldness not chill her heart?

He stepped between the two and took Mu Wanqing's hand. "Forget it. Since it's come to this, getting out comes first. Miss Wang, sorry for the trouble, but please show us a way out."

"All right."

Wang Yuyan nodded numbly, turned, and walked to the wall on the left. She pressed the mechanism, and the formerly seamless marble wall rumbled, revealing a hidden door directly opposite the opening through which they had entered.

"How did you know there was a way out here?" Mu Wanqing asked curiously.

Li Yu was about to answer when his gaze suddenly dropped to his feet. In the middle of the octagonal platform where the two stood lay a bronze eight-trigrams mirror, its reflective face turned inward.

This is a little strange. Could there be something on the front...?

He took a few steps forward, crouched, and tried prying it up with the broken blade. With little effort, he removed the bronze mirror intact. Turning it over, he found the back equally rough, with nothing on it.

"Neither side has been polished," Mu Wanqing said. "Most likely, the craftsmen who built the Langhuan Jade Grotto cut corners and passed off inferior work as proper quality. It was only being set into the floor as a feng shui decoration, after all."

Li Yu stared blankly at the bronze mirror in his hand. "Neither side has been polished?"

"That's right."

Women used bronze mirrors more often, after all. Mu Wanqing explained, "A bronze mirror has to be carefully polished before it can reflect a person. This eight-trigrams mirror has only its initial shape and hasn't been polished smooth. Of course it can't reflect anyone."

"Can't reflect anyone... Can't reflect anyone..."

By then, Wang Yuyan had opened a hidden door. A faint breeze drifted in, carrying the scent of the lake outside. Li Yu murmured to himself, as though he had guessed something, and swiftly tucked the bronze mirror into his robe.