Chapter 34: All Wonders Take Shape and the Mysterious Female Rises
February 10th day, not yet arrived
Seeing that the time was almost right, Xu Chong decided to take action and beckoned a leader.
"Captain Cui, has anyone come in or out since yesterday?"
"So far, only one person has come in and out. Yesterday at noon, when 'Shadowless Suanni' and 'Fast as a Donkey' Zhai Tongxian came here to investigate, they saw a tall man in a bamboo hat coming in. The hat blocked his face and we couldn't see his features clearly, but we saw that he was quite tall, about six feet one or two inches tall, wearing a gray and white straight robe, and carrying a large red lacquer basket on his back. The basket had a lid and looked heavy. He wore a pair of hemp shoes on his feet, and there was some wet mud on the shoes, as if he came from the countryside. The big man didn't knock on the door, but just stopped at the stone lion outside the door and fumbled for the stone ball in the lion's mouth, and then the door opened. No one was seen walking in the yard. A moment later, the big man came out, but he didn't see the red lacquer basket." Cui Bao, the divine judge, spoke in an orderly manner and observed very carefully.
"Didn't you ask anyone to follow that big guy?"
"At that time, the donkey Zhai Tong was coming back to report the news, and only Wuying Suanni was left to watch the yard, so he couldn't follow. He could only go to the roadside to take a footprint of the man, which was eight inches and three points long."
"What's going on in the yard?"
"There must be someone inside. Since the evening hour yesterday, smoke from the kitchen rose two or three times. In the morning, chickens and dogs were running and chasing each other. There is something strange in the attic of that wing room. Every hour when the small window above is opened, you can see a two-foot-tall wooden man sliding out, holding a cymbal, a gong, a stone chime or a bronze gong and hitting it a few times, then retreating back to the small window and closing it tightly."
"So weird?" Xu Chong asked in surprise.
"The water-powered astronomical observatory in the palace is the same. It's just bigger?"
Shen Kuo interrupted and said that he had never been to the palace, but he knew the size from the drawings, and it was obviously bigger.
"That's not all. Each time the wooden figure comes out, it's different. The one that comes out to play the cymbals at Mao time is a rabbit with long ears and armor. The one that comes out to play the chimes at Chen time is the Dragon King wearing a crane cloak and a crown. If I'm not mistaken, the one that comes out to play at Wu time is a human-shaped horse-headed one..."
Before he finished speaking, the sound of a bell rang in the courtyard at the foot of the mountain. A group of people hurried to watch, and saw that the small window in the attic of the wing room had indeed been opened. A horse-faced god in a Taoist robe and a mustache was standing outside the open window, holding a small bell in his hand and ringing it. He stopped after the eighth ring, retreated, and closed the small door. The attic window was very small, and it should be impossible for a person to stand inside. The horse-faced god who was ringing the bell was only two feet tall.
"The Yu family's skills are truly exquisite and unparalleled. They should not be underestimated."
"Brother Shen, is there someone down there manipulating these puppets?" Xu Chong asked.
"I saw it slide out from the wooden track. Its movements were stiff, not like anyone was manipulating it. Besides, they didn't know there was anyone outside. Who were they manipulating? It must be a mechanism that operates automatically at a set time. Maybe... it's connected to the waterwheel on the stream. The Hun Tian in the palace also uses water to move back and forth. As for how it works inside, we'll go in and catch the people later and study it."
"Well, we'll tear it apart and see what's going on. Captain Cui, how many people are there in the yard?"
"We have been watching from a high position all morning, but we didn't see anyone coming in or out of the house. Only the big man went in yesterday, and no one else was seen. I guess there aren't many people inside. There are no long weapon racks in the yard, and it seems that there are only some short blades at most. As long as we sneak open the door and everyone goes in together, we will be able to capture him in one fell swoop."
"I saw a small river to the north of the manor, and there seemed to be a wall beside the river. Will there be any support? Will the thieves escape from there?" Shen Kuo interjected.
"Don't worry, sir. We have checked the surroundings and found that there is indeed a river. The wall beside the river is not a house, but just a dilapidated wild grave. We have surrounded the yard. Even if the thieves rush out of the wall, they will never reach the river." Judge Shen Ji patted his chest and said.
"It seems that this yard is not small. There should be a few people doing odd jobs and sweeping the yard. There is smoke rising, so why is there no one in sight?" Shen Kuo was still a little confused.
"It's a little strange...you'll know once you go in." Xu Chong said eagerly.
"In any case, the Yu family is very skilled in mechanical techniques, so we should be careful. The gate mechanism may be in the lion's mouth, but we don't know how to break it."
"Sir, my brothers and I have been in the world for a long time. I am not bragging. We can see through the ordinary activities at a glance, and opening the door is no problem." It sounded that the Judge Shen Ji was a little dissatisfied with Shen Kuo's cautiousness. He probably felt that he doubted their abilities.
"Thank you very much for that."
Shen Kuo quickly stepped back and caught a glimpse of the hook hanging around the waist of the silent Wang Qiaoer. It was quite thin and connected to an ordinary rope instead of an iron chain. It was indeed different from the Western Qiang hook that Xu Chong had just introduced. Although it was a dark and windy night he did not see what the Western Qiang hook that Wang Sheng threw looked like, Xu Chong said that it was a hidden weapon that could penetrate armor and was quite heavy.
"Look, someone's moving around."
Xu Chong said in a low voice.
Everyone looked together and saw a man walking out of a side room and hurriedly walking into the big room in the middle.
"I said that the wooden figure above is manipulated by someone. Most likely this person is pulling the strings, right?"
"Is this person Yu Silang?" Shen Kuo asked.
"I can't see clearly, but everyone says Yu Silang has a hunchback, so he looks a bit like him."
Xu Chong just made a gesture and Wang Qiaoer, the mountain kite, appeared in front of him in a flash.
"Be careful with the dog, don't alarm the people inside."
"Just relax and look at my perfect plan." Wang Qiaoer patted a bulging pocket on her waist.
He disappeared into the bushes in a flash, and when I saw him again, he was already at the wall of the manor.
But he took out the hook, hooked it on the top of the wall, and then jumped up and rode on the wall.
As expected, the dog in the courtyard was alarmed. Shen Kuo could see clearly from his high place that the dog heard the noise and came towards Wang Qiaoer, first passing through the rockery in the garden and then bypassing the screen wall. If he looked up at this time, he would see someone on the wall. Wang Qiaoer took something out of her pocket and threw it on the ground.
The dog didn't even raise its head, it pounced on it like crazy and swallowed it in one gulp. After a moment, it lost balance and fell to the ground.
"What is this?" Shen Kuo asked.
"I don't know. Wang Qiaoer was born a thief. She probably doesn't have any good means." Xu Chong said.
Wang Qiaoer lightly jumped down from the wall and tiptoed towards the gate. After a while, she was behind the gate, only a few steps away from the bolt, and the task was almost complete.
But when he walked up the stairs, he did not walk in the middle, but deliberately walked around the slope on the side. Judging from his sneaky figure, no one would believe that he had never been a thief.
Shen Kuo was secretly admiring the caution of the mountain-climbing kite, but he saw him step on the flap on the ground, and one of his feet was stuck in it and couldn't get out. Almost at the same time, the small door of the attic on the wing room in the courtyard suddenly opened, and the horse-faced god who had just retreated came out and kept knocking on the small bell in his hand, clanging and clanging non-stop, and the sound echoed throughout the courtyard for a while.
Wang Qiao'er couldn't get out, and Xu Chong was secretly worried, so he had to get up and rush down the hill with his men. When they reached the door, they knew that Bao's plan to sneak in without alerting the enemy had failed, so they didn't care about the trick to open the door, and they could only knock on the door together, and the scene became chaotic.
When Shen Kuo rushed down the hillside, the door had been knocked open, and there was quite a lot of noise. Wang Qiaoer's foot was caught by the flap, and someone rescued her. The others followed Xu Chong to the yard. The door of the side room was half-closed, and the horse-faced god in the small window above was still ringing the bell, with no intention of stopping. Xu Chong got angry and threw a short knife with all his strength, which unexpectedly knocked the bell off. The blade pierced into the chest of the wooden statue, and the horse-faced god slid backwards after being stabbed. However, when the small window on the attic was closed, it was stuck by the handle of the knife and could not be closed. Everyone rushed in. There was a shrine with dozens of tablets, but no one was there.
Shen Kuo also went in to take a quick look. Under the caisson, there was indeed a circular track with complicated gears, ratchets, and connecting rods twisting and turning in the middle. The twelve zodiac statues, each holding a different musical instrument, stood on the track in twelve places, and it was obvious that they could rotate over and over again. However, at this moment, the short knife was stuck, and the whole machine could not rotate, creaking and making a restless sound before collapse.
This was obviously some kind of timekeeping mechanism. He was very interested in this kind of machinery, but now was not the time to stop studying it.
The shrine in the middle seemed to have a secret, but there was no one in the house. A group of people hurried to the big house in the middle. Someone had clearly entered this house just now. They had wasted a lot of time since they ran into the door, and they didn't know if the person had escaped.
Seeing that the door of the house was tightly closed, Xu Chong was not in a hurry to go in. He waved his hand and several people immediately surrounded the house from both sides. However, the people who surrounded the house came back soon and told him that the house was very strange and had no doors or windows at the back. Another person from the mountain came to report that the door of the house was not opened and the person who entered did not come out after they had been banging on the door. Xu Chong could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. Today was a bit messed up, but fortunately the person had not escaped. But he was afraid that he had died in there, otherwise why was there no movement at all?
"Lord Xu, I'm afraid this is not the place where the Maitreya sect's altar is located." said Lei Laoliu, the three-legged toad.
"How do you say it?"
"It is written in the religious rules that once you join the sect, you are not allowed to take shortcuts to enter or leave the sect for the rest of your life. Therefore, all the main temples only have the front door and no back door or window, which is in line with the religious rules."
Xu Chong pondered for a while, then looked at the couplets on both sides of the door, with the words: All wonders have form, the mysterious female arises. All demons have no form, the Holy Mother begins.
The strange context and the alarm system installed at the door indicate that this place is definitely not simple and we must have found the right place.
"Brothers, we must capture him alive this time."
He looked around and saw that everyone looked frightened. Perhaps the atmosphere created by the couplets on both sides was a bit scary. These constables probably knew that the hat monster was causing a lot of trouble in the capital, and they were probably afraid that if the door was opened, some monster would rush out.
Seeing everyone hesitating, Shen Kuo walked to the front and did not dare to push the door. He was not afraid of the hat monster, but he was afraid that a knife would come out from inside when the door was opened.
But I smelled a burnt smell coming out of the window frame, and then I saw smoke coming out of the gaps in the doors and windows.
"Oh no, there's a fire going on inside. The thief burned himself."
He shouted and forgot about his own safety, kicked the door open and rushed in. Xu Chong no longer had any weapons in his hands, so he turned around, grabbed a knife from the sheath of someone next to him, and followed him in.
The room was pitch black, with no visible flames, but filled with choking white smoke.
When the smoke cleared a little, one could see that the room was empty, without any tables, chairs or human figures. In the middle of the huge room, there was only half a stone tablet standing. The tablet was broken in the middle, and on it was vaguely engraved a headless person.
Everyone covered their mouths and noses and walked around the small room, but they didn't find anyone or where the smoke came from.
Xu Chong was the first to calm down, remembering that he had found a pile of ashes when he searched Yu Silang's house in Tokyo.
"Oh no! The thief must be hiding somewhere dark and burning the evidence. Since he hasn't left, there must be a tunnel. Let's find the entrance."
Everyone woke up and started looking for the entrance to the tunnel. The ground was paved with bluestone slabs. Everyone pulled out their magic swords and inserted them into the gaps between the slabs to pry open the slabs. However, they could not pry open the slabs. Obviously, they did not find the entrance. However, it can be seen that the smoke is seeping out from the gaps between the slabs. Xu Chong should have guessed correctly that someone was burning paper below, and a lot of evidence was being burned.
Shen Kuo remembered something and pulled Xu Chong outside. He saw smoke coming out of the chimney on one side of the wing room.
"Master Xu, quickly block the chimney. If the thief is hiding underground, he won't be able to hide."
"Understood." Xu Chong immediately ordered someone to go to the kitchen to find some grass and climb up to block the chimney.
Shen Kuo returned to the main altar, covered his mouth and nose, and walked to the stone tablet. He choked and cried, but he opened his eyes wide to look at the broken tablet. The upper half of the ancient stone tablet was gone. He could vaguely see the lower body of a bare-chested woman sitting on a lotus pedestal engraved on the stone tablet. Is this the god they worship? Shouldn't the Maitreya sect worship the big-bellied Maitreya Buddha?
His thoughts raced: If there was a mechanism, it would n't be here? Instead, there were many mechanisms in that wing room, and the power of the water transport was also transmitted there. If there was any spring to be driven, it should be there.
He returned to the side room, where there was no smoke, but it was convenient to observe the shrine in the middle. However, he saw that the tablets in the shrine each had a name, and they were not gods, but people with extraordinary powers in folk legends.
The first one is Lu Ban. There are about 30 or 40 people behind Lu Ban, including Sun Simiao, Li Bai, and Kong Ming. But in an inconspicuous corner, there is Yu Hao's tablet. Although Yu Hao's tablet is very far away, the two sides are particularly smooth and round, unlike the square sides of other tablets, as if they are often grasped and pushed and the corners are worn away. There is also a strange slide under it, leading to the side of Lu Ban's tablet. He remembered that Master Huailiang said that Yu Jing always compared his family's learning with Lu Ban, and felt that he was not inferior.
"Could it be Yu Silang's trick?"
He didn't have time to think about it, so he grabbed the piece and pulled it forward along the lower slide until it was almost flush with the Lu Ban tablet. He heard a click, as if something was touched, but nothing happened.
Xu Chong had just returned from outside to the smoking main altar after directing the blocking of the chimney. At this moment, he was circling around the ancient stone tablet, poking the ground with his sword. Each strike was quite powerful, probably because he was anxious to poke a way out.
Suddenly, a row of bluestone bricks against the wall sank one by one, and Xu Chong fell down without stopping. Fortunately, the bluestone slabs sank in a certain pattern, and actually formed a downward staircase. He was not injured, but just rolled into a cloud of smoke, and his knife dropped from his hand.
When he stood up, he heard a coughing sound in front of him. It was obvious that Shen Kuo's strategy of blocking the chimney was effective. The smoke could not be discharged from the underground, and the thief who was burning something was probably trapped and almost choked to death.
Xu Chong had no time to look for his lost weapon, so he just crouched forward. He saw a shadowy figure in front of him moving books into the fire, but the fire was almost out.
