Chapter 98: Blood Jade Tofu

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“I didn’t expect this—there’s actually some skill here. To have thought of this, not easy at all.” I curled the corner of my mouth in a satisfied nod.

Xiao Lianshan cautiously rotated the qilin head on the Nine-Scaled Chengrui Plate, which was engraved with the numbers nine and six, toward the white jade tofu. As for the remaining two idioms, I wasn’t in a hurry. Looking at Yue Qianling, who had just been triumphant but now smiled playfully, I said,

“There are still two more phrases. Brother Ting said you’ve got a doctorate, Dr. Yue. How about trying the last two together?”

“You like showing off anyway, so it’s better to leave such a good thing to you.” Yue Qianling’s mouth never admitted defeat.

“Yan Hui, I’ll try the phrase ‘Five Sons Passing the Imperial Exam.’” Gu Anqi, who had been quiet all along, pursed her lips and spoke.

“Sure.” I nodded. Gu Anqi’s accomplishments in metaphysics were not shallow, and she was intelligent; I believed she could unravel the secret.

Gu Anqi looked confident and said without hesitation,

“‘Five Sons Passing the Imperial Exam’ means five sons succeeding one after another. But Brother Yan Hui said these four idioms should relate to feng shui. ‘Five Sons Passing the Imperial Exam’ refers to making the honor roll and ranking highest. The number three corresponds to ‘Jia’ in the Bagua’s Five Elements, so the third idiom implies the number three.”

“Anqi, you’re so clever; I was thinking the same.” I smiled and nodded.

After rotating the qilin head marked with three, Xiao Lianshan spoke effortlessly,

“Brother, now only the last one remains. No wonder Zhu Yunwen couldn’t become emperor. Zhu Yuanzhang wasn’t that clever—he arranged four idioms in every possible way, and we cracked three in no time. If it were you, you’d already be emperor.”

“The clue to the Ming Dynasty’s Fourteen Tombs is at stake; how could Zhu Yuanzhang not be cautious?” I shook my head, calm but serious. “Although the first three were solved smoothly, the last phrase, ‘Seven Captures and Seven Releases,’ is the key, and also the most difficult.”

“The story of ‘Seven Captures and Seven Releases’ comes from the Three Kingdoms period. Zhuge Liang led troops and captured the local chieftain Meng Huo seven times, releasing him seven times until he truly surrendered and ceased to be an enemy,” Gu Anqi said softly after some thought. “Zhuge Liang was a master strategist who could foresee events—could the last number relate to him?”

“I remember a historical record describing ‘Seven Captures and Seven Releases’: ‘The art of war in nine terrains and nine heavens is not from old teachings; the art of seven captures and seven releases is profound and mysterious.’ It suggests Zhuge Liang’s invincible military tactics may be involved,” Yue Qianling added.

I rubbed my forehead, silent for a long moment before speaking,

“The ‘Seven Captures and Seven Releases’ involve strategies of maneuvering and balancing energies. Each capture and release contains many possibilities, and with seven sets, the numbers that could appear are numerous. I don’t even know where to start.”

“Brother, speaking of military strategy, I know a little. Our captain said Zhuge Liang invented something called the Eightfold Battle Formation. Apparently, the tactics behind the ‘Seven Captures and Seven Releases’ come from this formation. Maybe you can think from that angle.”

I took a deep breath. Now, I could only try my luck. In fact, what Xiao Lianshan said made sense. The first three idioms all related to metaphysics, and Zhuge Liang’s Eightfold Battle Formation evolved from the Qimen Dunjia system. It divides into eight gates—Life, Injury, Rest, Obstruction, Illumination, Death, Alarm, and Opening—with endless variations, capable of holding off a hundred thousand elite troops. The two could indeed be linked.

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After pondering, I spoke steadily,

“If we distribute ‘Seven Captures and Seven Releases’ according to the Eightfold Battle Formation, the seven captures correspond to the Death Gate, and the seven releases to the Life Gate. Death plus Life signifies matters of mourning, seeking wealth, or the revival of the sick or dead—it signifies resurrection. The Three Wonders correspond to this: Death plus Life equates to the Sixth Yi trigram in Zhen, called ‘Sunrise at Fusang,’ which is auspicious!”

“Sunrise at Fusang? Fusang lies to the east, and in the Five Elements and Bagua, east corresponds to the number eight,” Gu Anqi said excitedly after hearing my deduction.

Xiao Lianshan quickly turned the qilin head engraved with eight toward the white jade tofu and then switched off the lights. Everyone stared intently at the jade tofu on the table, full of anticipation.

Minutes passed, and as before, the white jade tofu reflected a pale, lustrous glow. Though breathtaking, nothing else changed.

I furrowed my brow. Obviously, one of these four numbers was wrong.

Just as Xiao Lianshan reached to turn on the lights, Yue Leiting grabbed his arm. Before anyone reacted, Yue Leiting turned the qilin head marked with eight back to its original position and instead rotated the one marked five.

“Don’t touch it! What if it breaks…” I began, but stopped mid-sentence. I slowly opened my mouth, and the expression on my face was shared by almost everyone in the room—shock mixed with joy.

After Yue Leiting turned the qilin head marked five, the light emitted by the white jade tofu changed dramatically. Previously, the glow simply surrounded the tofu, reflecting the light from the luminous pearl beneath.

But now, the tofu projected light like a projector onto the opposite wall, where vague marks appeared.

“Dad, you’re amazing! How did you know it was five?” Yue Qianling asked excitedly.

Yue Leiting, who had been silent until then, touched his crew cut with pride and said,

“You all think too much and complicate things. You wind yourselves up with endless twists, but it’s actually simple.”

“Brother Ting, how exactly did you know?” I asked, curious.

“‘Seven Captures and Seven Releases’—who is captured, and who is released?” Yue Leiting countered.

“Meng Huo!” Xiao Lianshan blurted.

“Who’s Meng Huo?” Yue Leiting pressed further.

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Qiu Nuo, puzzled by Yue Leiting’s meaning, responded calmly,

“Meng Huo was a tribal leader during the Three Kingdoms period. He rebelled against Shu Han but was captured and released by Zhuge Liang seven times…”

“See? You got tangled up again,” Yue Leiting interrupted with a smile. “I’m not as learned as you, but in the play they sing, ‘The might of Heaven is vast! The southern people shall not rebel again.’ Meng Huo was a barbarian, a southern savage! Huo Qian once told me that in the Five Elements and Bagua, south corresponds to the number five!”

I was speechless, bitterly smiling. The answer to a problem that had stumped me was so simple.

Xiao Lianshan approached the wall with the projection and studied it for a long time. Only faint shadows emerged through the white jade tofu’s light; nothing else was visible, and there was no clear meaning.

I sighed thoughtfully,

“Looks like we’ve overlooked something. Though we’ve solved the four idioms, the white jade tofu must hide some secret. It projects this way, but why is the image so blurry?”

“Brother, Brother Ting is right. Why make it so complicated? Since it’s jade, why not have someone cut it open? Whatever’s inside would be clear,” Xiao Lianshan urged anxiously.

“Absolutely not. The craftsmanship is exquisite, dating from the mid-Song Dynasty. It’s called the Linked Jade Set, made from two differently sized jade pieces sealed together through a special technique. Once the outer jade is broken, both pieces are destroyed, and any hidden secrets vanish with them.” Qiu Nuo calmly shook her head.

“Think again, think again. What exactly have I missed?” I paced the room, head lowered. “I recall the burial manual’s description of the white jade tofu and the Nine-Scaled Chengrui Plate: ‘Jade placed upon the Nine-Scaled Plate glows at night, its color crimson red, the brilliance of nine pearls comparable to stars and sun... Crimson red? Its color crimson red?’”

I suddenly raised my head, walked to the table, and examined it repeatedly with surprise.

“Han white jade is creamy and bright like mutton fat. The reflection of the luminous pearl should be white. Why then does the burial manual record its color as crimson red? Red? How is that possible?”

Qiu Nuo considered my words, then approached and took a magnifying glass from her toolkit to re-examine the white jade tofu.

“Brother Yan Hui, it seems we’ve overlooked something.” Excited, she handed me the magnifying glass. “There are very fine tiny holes on the tofu’s surface, extending into the jade’s interior.”

I took the magnifying glass and, sure enough, the surface had nine rows of tiny, orderly holes running horizontally and vertically, cleverly concealed within the tofu’s grain. The holes connected to the interior, seemingly designed to pour something inside.

“Crimson red... Could these tiny holes be intended to inject blood? When the blood seeps into the jade’s interior, under the luminous pearl’s light, the projected light would turn crimson!” Qiu Nuo speculated thoughtfully.