The passage was dark and narrow. Mu Gesheng, momentarily losing his footing, bumped into something and nearly stumbled. Chai Shuxin caught him firmly by the arm. "Careful."
"I’m fine, keep going," Mu Gesheng said, waving a hand dismissively. "I’m getting old; my eyes aren't what they used to be."
Chai Shuxin said nothing. He drew the Blood-Licking Blade, sliced his palm, and flicked his hand. A string of blood droplets splattered against the walls, spreading out into a red, bioluminescent glow that crawled across the stone like winding totems.
The entire passage was instantly illuminated. Mu Gesheng clicked his tongue. "I’ve said it before, Sanjiutian—you really ought to take better care of yourself."
Chai Shuxin gave a quiet grunt of affirmation. "You as well. Don't fall again."
As they continued forward, Mu Gesheng suddenly spoke up. "I just remembered something."
"The heirlooms of the Seven Houses are passed down through the *Zhuzi*. If a *Zhuzi* dies without a successor, the heirloom resonates with the Mirage Building and automatically returns here. Correct?"
"Correct," Chai Shuxin replied.
"Then what about the Mountain Ghost Flower Coins?" Mu Gesheng turned to look at him. "The coins I received were given to me by the Abbot of Baishui Temple. Why didn't they return to the building?"
"I know of this," Chai Shuxin said. "Before your master passed, he instructed the Mo-zi to retrieve the Mountain Ghost Flower Coins from the Mirage Building and entrust them to the Abbot for safekeeping."
"Why did Master go through all that trouble?"
"Because he knew you had no intention of inheriting the position of the Heavenly Calculator," Chai Shuxin answered. "It was hard enough for him to find a way to force those coins onto you. If you had to travel thousands of miles to retrieve them yourself, you certainly wouldn't have bothered."
Mu Gesheng laughed. "That’s true enough."
At the end of the tunnel lay a room.
It wasn't large. One wall was fitted with mechanical dials and brass handles. One look told Mu Gesheng exactly who had made it. "This is the Second Brother’s handiwork."
"This room was built by the Mo-zi of two generations ago and renovated by the last Mo-zi." Chai Shuxin inserted the Blood-Licking Blade into a slot at the center of the dial and turned the handle.
In an instant, the surroundings brightened as if the sky had suddenly cracked open.
Mu Gesheng realized then that the room they were in was made entirely of glass. Outside the room was a much larger space—surrounded by five massive walls that seemed to stretch from the depths of the earth to the heavens. Every wall was densely packed with drawers and compartments. Some were only the size of a palm, while others were larger than the room they currently occupied.
The drawers were fitted with various rings and handles, looking like a multitude of doors waiting to be knocked upon.
Even with Mu Gesheng’s vast experience, he was stunned for a moment before speaking. "Is this... a five-sided Hundred-Herb Cabinet?"
A Hundred-Herb Cabinet was a specialized chest used in traditional pharmacies to store medicinal ingredients, filled with numerous small drawers. The walls around them bore a striking resemblance.
Except these were countless times larger.
"What were the Mohist decorators thinking? Were they planning to open a pharmacy for a kingdom of giants?"
Chai Shuxin manipulated the dials and handles, and the glass room began to rise slowly through the space. "Five walls, plus the ceiling and the floor—there are seven Hundred-Herb Cabinets in total, each belonging to one of the Seven Houses."
"Master brought me to the Mirage Building once, but we never came to the top floor." Mu Gesheng looked around. "Now I understand why."
"A thief never leaves empty-handed," Chai Shuxin remarked.
"You really do know me best, Sanjiutian." Mu Gesheng snapped his fingers, utterly unashamed. "If I had known about this place back then, I could have hauled away enough treasures to fund an entire army."
"The top floor stores the accumulated treasures of the Seven Houses over a millennium; their value is incalculable." Chai Shuxin shook his head helplessly. "Many of these things do not belong to this era and must not be allowed to surface easily."
The five walls were constructed from different materials, carved with ancient murals. "Penglai is white jade; the Zhu family is cinnabar; the Yin-Yang House is five-colored stone; the Mohists are pine-soot ink."
Chai Shuxin turned a handle, bringing the glass room to a halt before one of the walls. "This side belongs to the Medicine House. Cloisonné enamel."
The massive wall of cabinets was a single expanse of enamel, engraved with gilded patterns. The glaze was solemn and magnificent, shimmering with the luster of precious gems.
Mu Gesheng looked up. "The whole wall looks like a single painting."
"The *Shennong Gathering Herbs* map," Chai Shuxin explained. "Originally, the Medicine House’s cabinet wall was made of ebony. Over two hundred years ago, the head of the Medicine House became obsessed with silver-base cloisonné and spent his life collecting a vast amount of enamel. These crafts had nothing to do with the house’s medical teachings and shouldn't have been placed in the Mirage Building, but it would have been a waste to discard them. The Mo-zi of that generation used them to veneer the cabinets."
He pointed upward. "If we keep going up, you can see that a large portion of the upper wall is still ebony."
Mu Gesheng tilted his head back. "What’s at the very top?"
"The ceiling belongs to the Heavenly Calculators. It is a sky of flowing mercury, also known as the Mercury Heaven," Chai Shuxin said. "The floor belongs to the Rakshasa-zi. That cabinet wall is a solid expanse of bronze."
Mu Gesheng grew interested. "What’s inside the Rakshasa-zi’s cabinets?"
"The floor isn't made of drawers. It’s a single slab of bronze. Only when a Rakshasa-zi dies is a new compartment chiseled into it," Chai Shuxin said tonelessly. "It is used for burial—or rather, suppression. The baleful aura of a Rakshasa-zi is too heavy; ordinary cremation cannot dissipate it."
"However, since the Mo-zi has passed, there is no one left who can chisel that bronze. I likely won't be buried there."
Mu Gesheng fell into a brief silence after hearing this. "It might be a bit disrespectful to say this—but for the first time, I’m glad the Second Brother died early."
"Don't overthink it," Chai Shuxin said. "The Mo-zi said the same thing back then—he said he was too lazy to dig a grave for me, and that we should all be the ones bowing and burning incense for him instead."
"That sounds like him." Mu Gesheng sighed. "And wouldn't you know it, he actually pulled it off."
Chai Shuxin adjusted the dials. The mechanism was exquisite and complex, with a magnetic spoon resting at the center of the dial, like a miniature Si-nan compass.
"These compartments move. To find a specific drawer, one must rely on the dial to guide the way," he explained.
Mu Gesheng’s eyes grew dizzy watching the movement. He pulled out a Mountain Ghost Flower Coin. "How about you stop spinning that and let me calculate the position for you?"
"No need. We’re here." Chai Shuxin pressed a handle, and the glass room opened. They stopped before a massive cabinet door.
Calling it a drawer was an understatement; it was more like a gate. They had risen to a great height, and Mu Gesheng could faintly see the silver ripples of the Mercury Heaven above. As Chai Shuxin had mentioned, this particular compartment was made of ebony.
Mu Gesheng expected his companion to use some secret family technique to open the door—instead, he watched as Chai Shuxin drew the Blood-Licking Blade and jammed it into the central seam with a violent pry. The door groaned and swung wide.
Mu Gesheng was dumbfounded. "I have to say, the anti-theft measures in the Mirage Building are a bit lacking, aren't they?"
Even modern electronic locks required a master program to crack. Who still had doors that could be opened with brute force?
"The Mo-zi told me this method." Chai Shuxin shook out his hand; he had clearly exerted immense strength. "There are three ways to open the Hundred-Herb Cabinets on the top floor. You can be a member of the specific house, or you can be the current Mo-zi—both can use inherited secret techniques. The third way is forced entry, but only a Rakshasa-zi has the strength to do it."
"Aren't you a member of the Medicine House? Don't you know the secret technique?"
"That method requires a blood-drop recognition. I have already struck my name from the family register; I can't fool the mechanism."
Mu Gesheng grabbed Chai Shuxin’s hand, noting the faint veins bulging on the back of it. "Is your hand alright?"
"It’s fine." Chai Shuxin gently pushed him away. "Don't touch. It’s dirty."
His hand was still stained with the blood from his sliced palm.
"The plum blossoms are still blooming at the City God Temple," Mu Gesheng said. "When we get back, remember to soak your hands."
"Alright."
The two stepped into the massive compartment, and the door closed behind them.
The room was empty. Mu Gesheng looked around. "The Pangeng Oracle Bones are kept here?"
A flicker of doubt crossed Chai Shuxin’s face. "I have never been inside this room. I inherited the Pangeng Oracle Bones directly from my father. But according to the Mo-zi, they are indeed stored here."
"Could he have lived so long that he remembered it wrong?"
Chai Shuxin shook his head. "Impossible."
They searched the room once more, confirming it was entirely vacant.
Mu Gesheng suggested, "Maybe there’s something wrong with the way the door was opened. This might be a mechanism room; the Second Brother loved that sort of thing."
Chai Shuxin’s expression turned surprised. "This is exactly how I retrieved the Blood-Licking Blade. The method was identical."
"Let’s head out for now." Mu Gesheng tugged on the other’s sleeve. "We’ll think of something once we’re outside. Maybe the Second Brother left a mark or something..."
He pushed the door open, and his voice died in his throat.
The scene outside was no longer the top floor of the Mirage Building.
Sunlight spilled across the landscape, and the cries of white cranes echoed through the air. Clouds steamed amidst the mountains, and the wind sighed through the pines. A young servant boy, his hair tied in twin buns with red cord, hurried through a bamboo grove carrying water.
From the distance came the clear, sharp whistle of a sword.
Mu Gesheng stared at the pavilions and palaces perched atop the mountain peaks. After a long silence, he asked, "Yuanfang, what do you think?"
"The same as you." Chai Shuxin plucked a bamboo leaf and looked toward the horizon.
"This is Penglai."
Unsure of their situation, they didn't act rashly. Instead, they followed a secluded path toward the summit.
Mu Gesheng chewed on a bamboo stem, speaking indistinctly. "I only visited Penglai once. To be honest, I can't tell what year or month this is."
Penglai was a celestial mountain on the sea; its scenery remained unchanged for a thousand years. Based on the environment alone, it was impossible to tell if this was an illusion or reality.
If it was an illusion, perhaps it was a memory left by a predecessor, or they had triggered some mechanism within the Mirage Building. If it was reality, the implications were profound—why would the Medicine House’s sanctuary lead to Penglai?
Mu Gesheng deliberately chose a path with few people. If this was a vision, it was best to avoid contact with the people inside to prevent becoming lost in it.
Penglai seemed to be hosting a grand event. People bustled along the mountain stairs, and many disciples soared through the clouds on flying swords. In the distance, sword intent surged repeatedly. Chai Shuxin listened for a moment and said, "This is Penglai’s Sword Trial Assembly."
Mu Gesheng had heard the name. It was a grand event held once every decade in Penglai, to which the Seven Houses were always invited. Unfortunately, he had never made it. At first, it was because he was studying abroad, and later... because he had died too young.
"A mere youth, yet I happen upon such a grand feast." Mu Gesheng squinted toward the summit. "How did you recognize it, Sanjiutian? Have you been here?"
Chai Shuxin nodded silently.
They made their way up the mountain. Nearby was the Golden Peak of Penglai. A sea of people gathered before the Great Hall. A master of ceremonies emerged from the hall holding a brocade scroll, his voice carrying across the mountains:
"The first-rank winner of this Sword Trial Assembly—Mo Qingbei!"
The crowd erupted in cheers. Several streaks of sword light shot into the air as disciples on flying swords swarmed a single figure, laughing as they tossed him down from the sky.
The man being thrown held a wine flask in his hand. He took a leisurely swig while falling, then snapped his fingers. A sword flew beneath him, and he soared back up, his posture elegant and unrestrained.
"I knew Senior Brother Mo would win this year!" a disciple shouted excitedly from the crowd. "Senior Brother Mo has only been with the sect for twelve years. He just reached his twentieth year and already took the top rank. A true genius!"
"He’s under the Sect Leader’s tutelage, too. He might very well be the next Master!"
Mu Gesheng completely ignored the chatter around him. He stared wide-eyed at the young man drinking wine in mid-air, his expression one of utter shock. "Sanjiutian... am I seeing things?"
Even in Chai Shuxin’s usually unflappable eyes, a ripple of emotion appeared.
There was no longer any need to wonder if this was an illusion or reality. The two of them were currently standing in the distant past.
As for how far back this past went, no one could be certain.
But it was undoubtedly many, many years ago—a completely different era.
The young man in the sky had a full head of black hair tied loosely over his shoulder. But whether it was Mu Gesheng or Chai Shuxin, neither could ever mistake that face.
Though his aura was still wild and unrestrained, there was no doubt—it was the young Master of Ginkgo Study.
Mo Qingbei.
***
**Glossary**
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 百子柜 | Hundred-Herb Cabinet | Traditional Chinese medicine cabinet with many small drawers. |
| 舐红刀 | Blood-Licking Blade | Chai Shuxin's weapon. |
| 盘庚甲骨 | Pangeng Oracle Bones | A specific ancient artifact/heirloom. |
| 水银天 | Mercury Heaven | The ceiling of the Mirage Building's top floor, belonging to the Heavenly Calculators. |
| 司南 | Si-nan | An ancient Chinese magnetic compass. |
| 莫倾杯 | Mo Qingbei | The real name of the Master of Ginkgo Study. |
| 试剑大会 | Sword Trial Assembly | A major competitive event held by the Penglai sect. |
| 元芳，你怎么看 | Yuanfang, what do you think? | A popular Chinese internet meme/catchphrase from a TV show (Detective Di Renjie). |
***
Enjoying the story? Rate this novel:
Of Weddings and Wakes | Chapter 53 | Echoes of Ancient Penglai | Novela.app | Novela.app
