As soon as the two entered the Jade Tower, a clever young attendant stepped forward to greet them. "Are you two gentlemen here to select wares or to sell? Do you have a preferred manager? I shall go and call them for you."
Ding Weixiang looked around but did not see the person he was looking for. "Is the Grand Manager in?"
There were eight managers in this Jade Tower, each with their own specialty. On ordinary days, they sat in the shop, each displaying their unique skills. However, a group cannot be without a leader; above the eight managers was a Grand Manager. The Grand Manager was the Great Boss, the true owner of the Jade Tower, and the most senior expert among them.
The attendant froze, not expecting the visitors to ask for the owner immediately. He politely declined, saying, "Gentlemen, you may not know, but the Grand Manager is of advanced age and has difficulty moving. He has not received guests for many years."
Ding Weixiang replied, "We have a prior engagement with the Grand Manager. Please inform him that a Master Zhongli is here to see him."
The attendant complied and walked quickly toward the back courtyard.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he returned, supporting an old man leaning on a jade-headed dragon cane. This was the Grand Manager himself.
He was somewhat surprised to see Zhongli Jing. After a long moment, he signaled the attendant to withdraw and personally took up a lantern to lead the two toward the back.
The back courtyard of the Jade Tower was a long, narrow passage lined with low houses. Each door was secured with a massive bronze lock; these were the storehouses for raw jade.
The Grand Manager finally stopped before a small tiled house at the very end and spoke slowly.
"My father caught a chill a few days ago. The physician came to see him and said things do not look well. If you have any final words, Master, let this be the conclusion."
Zhongli Jing bowed deeply. "To be fortunate enough to see the old gentleman one more time is all I ask."
The Grand Manager smiled. "It is rare for you to have such a heart, Master. My father is indeed of a great age; I fear he may not be able to give you the answer you seek."
With that, he pushed open the door.
The room was very small but well-equipped. Though the early summer weather was already slightly warm, the room was cool and pleasant. In the corner was a small pile of ash—the remains of recently burned mugwort.
Passing a simple screen, they saw a warm couch. An elderly man lay upon it, wrapped in a thick blanket. His hair and beard were entirely white, his appearance haggard. A hand resting on the blanket was so gaunt the bones were visible; were it not for the slight rise and fall of his chest, one might have mistaken him for a dried corpse.
The Grand Manager, leaning on his cane, bowed respectfully to the person on the bed and raised his voice. "Father, the person you were waiting for has arrived."
The old man’s tightly closed eyelids quivered and slowly opened. His clouded eyes rolled, finally settling on Zhongli Jing. After a moment of recognition, he slightly moved his fingers.
"I know. You may go."
The Grand Manager glanced at Zhongli Jing and Ding Weixiang, said no more, and withdrew with a bow.
The old man on the couch propped himself up slightly to breathe more easily. "The Master has finally come. I thought I would not live to see you."
"There is no need to rise, old gentleman." Zhongli Jing signaled Ding Weixiang to bring the item forward. "I have brought the object. You may examine it here on the couch."
Ding Weixiang stepped forward and moved a small side table to the bedside. The table was made of ordinary camphor wood, polished to a shine from years of use; over the decades, countless pieces of fine jade and rare stones had rested upon it. Once the table was set, Ding Weixiang carefully unwrapped the object from the soft cloth. Resting on the plain white fabric was a square object, roughly the size of a man’s palm. It looked dull and grimy, its material indistinguishable.
The old man took a breath and slowly rolled up his sleeves. His withered fingers seemed to regain their agility the moment they touched the object. He felt it over, nodding imperceptibly when he found a small hole in the center.
"There is a black jar under that cabinet. Bring it here."
Ding Weixiang followed the instruction, bringing over a jar no larger than a fist. Inside was a colorless, transparent liquid that smelled faintly bitter. The old man tremulously poured the entire contents onto the box. A layer of tiny bubbles rose from the surface. The old man then grabbed a silk cloth and wiped it meticulously. The cloth seemed possessed of magic; wherever it passed, the thick grime and mud vanished, revealing the lustrous, translucent essence beneath.
A moment later, a crystal-clear, emerald-green jade stone encased in a transparent, thin-walled box was revealed. It turned out the jade was housed within a custom-made container.
Such an exquisite object was rare; without seeing it with one's own eyes, a thousand words could not describe its mystery.
"My eyes are failing. Look and see—are there characters on the jade inside?"
Zhongli Jing carefully lifted the transparent case. Through the thin, carved crystal walls, he saw a perfect square of green jade, its eight sides smooth as mirrors, suspended quietly within. It seemed to float in a transparent liquid, a marvel to behold.
"There are no characters."
"Is there a crack in one of the corners?"
Zhongli Jing manipulated the case, letting the candlelight illuminate the four corners. Finally, through the case, he saw a faint crack on the jade.
"Yes."
"Then there is no mistake. This is the item you seek."
Though he had been seventy or eighty percent certain in his heart, Zhongli Jing’s brow relaxed slightly upon hearing these words.
This trip to Huozhou had been unconventional and fraught with danger, but the result made his personal journey worthwhile. Moreover, he had met someone interesting.
His long fingers tapped lightly on the jade case. The contrast between his fair skin and the emerald green was striking, like a deep chasm of time stretching between the young and the ancient.
"How did you come to see this object in the past, old gentleman?"
The air was silent for a moment before the weathered voice spoke again slowly. "A man like me should never have seen such a thing in a lifetime. Consider it all a matter of chance."
The old man coughed twice, but his eyes grew brighter as if recalling the past, and his face regained some spirit. "I was but an apprentice of twelve or thirteen then. My master was tight-lipped. When I followed him into the old imperial palace, I didn't even know what we were there to do. Only when we arrived did I realize we were there to repair the State Seal."
Zhongli Jing gazed at the square crystal box and asked, "The Seal is so precious; how could it have been damaged?"
"I only remember the rumors in the palace saying that the Retired Emperor had taken a fancy to the precious jade used for the Seal. He claimed its purity could preserve a person's soul, and he wanted the Seal to be buried with him after his passing. The Niexuan Emperor of the time naturally would not agree—how could the state be passed on without the Seal? The two argued in the bedchamber, and in the chaos, this Secret Seal fell to the ground, breaking a corner. It was all Heaven's will, I suppose. A damaged State Seal is not a good omen, and indeed, it later came to pass."
Hearing this, Zhongli Jing’s lips curled slightly, though there was no mirth in his eyes. "In your opinion, old gentleman, is there truly a precious jade in this world that can grant immortality?"
The old man laughed, the wrinkles on his face bunching together. "If there truly were, why would I be struggling here on my sickbed? I have worked in the Jade Tower my whole life, and though the finest jades have passed through my hands, I have never seen one turn into a spirit or hold a human soul. A stone is just a stone; it only depends on whose hands it is in."
Time had left its aged marks on that physical body, but it had also endowed him with transparent wisdom. Those clouded eyes could no longer distinguish small objects, yet they could perceive many truths of the world.
"The Master did not come to find me merely to confirm whether this thing is real or fake, did he?"
Zhongli Jing’s expression was calm, and he made no attempt to hide his intent, asking directly, "Does the old gentleman have a way to take the item out?"
To his surprise, the old man shook his head. "Though I know the principles of this case's mechanism, I am powerless."
Zhongli Jing’s voice remained faint, yet it carried a hint of pressure. "Is it that you cannot, or that you will not?"
The old man was someone who had seen the world; his voice was honest, neither servile nor overbearing. "Given your noble status, Master, I dare not hide anything. It is not that I am unwilling to help you obtain what is inside, but rather that you, I, and perhaps the entire world will likely never find anyone who can open it again."
Zhongli Jing frowned slightly. He looked at the small circular hole in the center of the box, where there was a sharp protrusion of unknown purpose. "Do you mean to say the key to this box has been lost?"
"You have likely noticed that mechanism. However, this case has no key. To open it, one must have the blood of the Qiu family."
So that was it.
The hole was not a keyhole but a hidden needle for drawing blood. Zou Sifang had exhausted his efforts to open the case and accidentally pricked his finger, triggering the mechanism and succumbing to the lethal poison.
However, ever since the change of dynasties, the Qiu lineage had been hunted to extinction. If the Su family wanted to sit securely on the throne, they could allow no room for error. Nearly a hundred years had passed; finding a single drop of Qiu family blood would be harder than plucking the moon from the sky.
"What if the outer case is forcibly destroyed?"
"Do you know why the Qiu family went to such lengths to craft this case? It was so that if disaster struck, the Seal would be locked inside, unopenable by anyone but a Qiu descendant. Forcibly destroying the case would mean the jade and the stone perish together. This is the craftsmanship of the former Jingyin Pavilion. If you do not believe me, you are welcome to try."
Jingyin Pavilion was once the largest jade house in Chizhou, and the jade used for the Secret Seal had come from there. Rumor had it that the ground beneath Jingyin Pavilion had been hollowed out for dozens of feet to store countless ingenious treasures. The pavilion was filled with master craftsmen who, besides polishing jade, studied mechanisms and locks, specializing in custom orders for the nobility.
Jingyin Pavilion had vanished into the river of history along with the turmoil of a century ago. Items from its hands rarely circulated on the market and were treasures beyond price. Was the item before him truly as miraculous as the legends suggested?
Having spoken so much, the old man’s temporary spirit began to fail again. His eyelids drooped heavily. "All that I know, I have told the Master. How you decide is your affair."
A night wind rose suddenly, and the jade chimes on the eaves rang clearly.
The person on the couch had already drifted into a stupor, perhaps entering those long-forgotten dreams of the night, unwilling to wake.
The man by the couch rose slowly. Because of his journey, he was covered in the dust of the road, yet he showed no sign of fatigue. Instead, his eyes were dark and bright.
No, things were far from being as simple as they appeared.
In the imperial bedchamber of the Niexuan capital that night, what were the two emperors truly arguing about that caused the Seal—always kept in its box—to fall and be damaged? And why did the Qiu family specifically place this single seal into such a case, hiding it with such effort, protecting it even as their country fell, and choosing to destroy it if it could not be guarded?
The Secret Seal—the Seal of Secrets.
What other secrets did the Qiu family hold?
***
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