Chapter 18: 18 The Thing Rising from the Water

18 The Thing Rising from the Water...

A patch of light appeared in his field of vision.

Tang Zhao looked toward the light and discovered it was actually a washbasin in the corner of the room, suddenly shining brightly. That basin was just a washbasin; after washing his face in the evening, half a basin of cold water remained, and there wasn't even a bar of soap.

The last time he saw glowing water was at the ruined temple, the desolate garden, and the water well.

The fairy had risen from that well.

At this moment, is it just like that moment back then?

Just kidding, it's not even close, okay!

What was the atmosphere back then, and what is the atmosphere here?

In deep mountains and old forests, in desolate gardens and abandoned wells, it wouldn't be strange at all for a fairy, a spirit, or a Ghost Fox Sword to crawl out.

What could be in this basin of cold water?

Could a fairy crawl out of a washbasin?

Tang Zhao's mind was filled with snarky thoughts, but he couldn't help but cautiously lean in.

It was indeed the water in the basin that was glowing; Tang Zhao reached his hand over, and the brilliance reflected onto his arm, casting a halo of light upon his skin.

As his fingers entered the water, his hair stood on end, as if entering cold water...

Nonsense, it was just cold water.

With a flick of his fingers, water droplets splashed and scattered, each one shining with brilliance like broken jade, like scattered pearls, like a dream-like bubble.

What on earth is...

Tang Zhao pondered, recalling the story he had told that night.

That story was the beginning of everything. So, it seemed he should also look for the key there.

"To make the fairy rise, you must first throw the axe down."

Should he throw his Glasses too?

Tang Zhao hesitantly took off his Glasses, then was greatly shocked—

Before his eyes was total darkness; the light was gone!

The washbasin was still before him, quiet and pitch-black. Where was any brilliance?

Putting the Glasses back on, the light shone once again!

After taking them off and putting them on several times in succession, he finally confirmed that the light only existed within the field of vision of the Glasses; when taken off, it was not there. And what he saw after taking off the Glasses was clearly the real world. That light was merely an illusion.

That also makes sense.

Ultimately, it is the Glasses that are supernatural, not the washbasin.

Although it was a dream, Tang Zhao stubbornly insisted that this was definitely not his own hallucination. At the very least, he should throw a few things in. Since he couldn't go without wearing the Glasses, it certainly wasn't about throwing the Glasses into the water; he could try something else.

A teacup—

No reaction.

An inkstone—

Thump, it sank to the bottom.

A brush—

It floated.

A candle...

He patiently tried one thing after another, but never triggered any reaction, and he sighed in his heart. It wasn't disappointment; he had actually guessed long ago that perhaps only that thing would be useful, he just hadn't made up his mind until now.

After hesitating for a long time, he finally steeled his heart, carefully picked up the Sword Law, and gently dipped it into the water.

His movements were light and slow, his fingers not leaving the paper so he could pull it out before it became soaked through.

Gurgle...

The paper touched the water surface, ripples spreading out; the light, flimsy sheet of paper entered the water as if it were a thousand-jun heavy Mount Tai stone, and the water waves parted on all sides...

A fairy with golden eyes, silver hair, Luse armor, and wearing a Treasure Sword... rose from the water.

Tang Zhao stared blankly, his lips moving.

He seemed to want to say:

"Long time no see!"

It really is you.

This fairy was much smaller than the one under the water, only about a foot tall, which actually matched the washbasin. Although the fairy's temperament remained noble and her appearance peerless, she truly could no longer bring about the shock and awe from the bottom of his heart.

The fairy had no worldly aura, her smile elegant, one hand holding a ball of golden light, the other holding a ball of silver light:

"Young man, did you drop this Golden Flower Attracting Phoenix Art, or this Silver Flower Attracting Phoenix Art?"

What the hell...

A thought flashed through Tang Zhao's mind: "Is this thing an idiot?"

Can the golden axe and silver axe story be adapted like this?

His "Tong" (Sword Law) isn't that "Tong" (copper) either.

"You... Fairy sister, can you hear me speak?"

"Are you the fairy from back then? Are you real or an illusion?"

"Where are you? Are you still in the well, or are you residing within the Glasses?"

"Why did you appear to give me the Glasses back then? Do you have any requirements for me?"

However, no matter how Tang Zhao asked incessantly, the fairy stopped after speaking, floating quietly on the water surface; it seemed that if Tang Zhao didn't continue, she would float there until the end of time.

There was no other way, so Tang Zhao had to answer first:

"Neither, what I lost was... the Paulownia Flower Leads the Phoenix Art."

As he spoke, his face burned, as if he were playing a clumsy game of house.

But, wasn't that something only six or seven-year-old children played?

He hadn't played it for five or six years.

"You truly are an honest person," the fairy smiled, "I shall give you both the Golden Flower Leads the Phoenix Art and the Silver Flower Leads the Phoenix Art."

Two spheres of gold and silver light flew toward Tang Zhao simultaneously.

Tang Zhao was stunned; when he first saw the fairy, there had been no gold or silver, she had merely returned his Glasses to him. This action was unexpected, and he scrambled to reach out and catch them—

The gold and silver spheres of light intertwined before his eyes, and before his fingers could Touch them, they suddenly burst into dazzling radiance, rushing toward his face—

A vibration, the heavens and earth changed color, and suddenly everything opened up!

The surroundings began to burn; there was fire in every direction.

A fire that reached from the heavens to the earth; between heaven and earth, there was nothing but fire.

Or rather, heaven and earth were originally fire, and fire was heaven and earth.

The fire was of five colors and ten hues, with auspicious colors flowing and shifting.

All kinds of vivid, brilliant, and magnificent colors intertwined and flowed.

Those were not the colors of the Human World, not the colors of flowers, not the colors of insects, and certainly not the frivolous and shallow dyes of silks and brocades.

Those could only be the colors of the heavens.

They were burning clouds, mist and rosy clouds, fog and haze, frost and sleet...

And they were the spirits between heaven and earth!

He saw it, the five-colored, mottled shadow within the brilliance of the flames.

It was the Vermilion Bird!

It was a phoenix!

It was a divine bird within the raging flames!

That divine bird was clearly right before his eyes, yet it was exceptionally blurry; no matter how he looked, he could not see it clearly.

He tried hard to look, tried hard to look, and only saw...

A feather!

It was a golden feather, so brilliant in its gold that it seemed as if fire were flowing within it.

He stared at it obsessively, following the barbs of the feather one by one; the more he looked, the clearer it became, and the firelight flowing upon it seemed to be burning...

It was burning, it was burning!

Boom!

Tang Zhao was like a withered leaf, bursting into flames as he bathed in the fire!

"Ah—"

——

"Brother Zhao—"

"Hm?"

Tang Zhao suddenly returned to his senses and opened his eyes.

Before him was a massive crack, splitting the world in two; all scenery appeared skewed along the fissure.

? Am I blind?

"Brother Zhao?" Wei Zhangle's voice was right by his ear.

Tang Zhao glanced sideways and saw Wei Zhangle's face on one side of the gap.

Phew, I thought I was blind; it turns out the Glasses are cracked.

The Glasses are cracked?

Tang Zhao snatched off the Glasses and sure enough, there was a crack in the middle of one lens.

"Ah... my Glasses!"

Tang Zhao groaned, his heart bleeding, and he stroked the lens with trembling hands. The lens was broken in a truly shocking manner; a crack running horizontally from left to right split the lens in two, almost severing it completely. It was only held together by the frame, and it seemed that with a little force, two Fragments could be snapped off. Tang Zhao had always cherished his Glasses, and at this moment, he was so heartbroken he nearly wept.

What happened? What did I do last night for my perfectly fine Glasses to crack like this?

As this thought occurred to him, the memories of last night immediately surfaced in his mind: the letter, the Qianziewen, the annotations, the fairy, the gold and silver, the cultivation Law...

These memories made his heart race, and then his skin felt the cold, hard floor again.

Tang Zhao was lying flat on his back on the floor.

Dreams and reality constantly intertwined; he crawled to his feet and saw that he was lying in the corner of the room, no more than three feet from the water basin. Behind him was the desk where he had been writing last night, with the letters scattered in a mess, and gold faintly showing through the gaps in the paper.

Oh no!

Tang Zhao was even more flustered; he hurriedly gathered the things together in a scramble, not knowing where to stuff them in his hands, and when he turned his head, he saw Wei Zhangle standing quietly to the side.

By now the sky had brightened, and the morning Sunlight shone into the room through the window paper. Wei Zhangle was bathed in the Sunlight, his expression blurred.

Tang Zhao thought of the scene where Wei Zhangle had entered the door to find the room in chaos and himself lying splayed on the ground; he was so embarrassed his toes curled, and he explained, "I was sleepwalking last night... uh... my Glasses are broken; they are a very important heirloom from an elder."

The events of last night were linked one after another, and were extremely strange; he didn't know where to begin.

Wei Zhangle's expression became even stranger, and he asked softly, "What are Glasses?"

Tang Zhao showed him the Glasses in his hand and said, "It's this; it's very rare, isn't it? It might be the only one in this world."

Wei Zhangle was silent for a moment, looked back at the doors and windows, and seeing they were tightly shut, he moved a little closer and whispered, "So you really were holding something in your hand?"

Tang Zhao was stunned, then suddenly realized what was happening; a chill shot straight up his spine, and he blurted out, "You mean..."

Wei Zhangle shook his head slightly, his voice growing lower, and said, "Actually... it's not strange to see things that others cannot, right? We have both experienced it. It is nothing more than you being more powerful than I; I can see what others cannot, and you can see what I cannot."

At this moment, the events of the day flashed through Tang Zhao's mind like a revolving Lamp—ever since the Glasses were fished out of the water and made whole again, he had been wearing them, yet not a single person had spared this novel object a second glance, as if the thing did not exist. He had not been without a vague sense of strangeness, but he had not thought much of it.

In that case, did no one see these Glasses at all?

That's not right; these Glasses had long been in his hands, he had worn them at home, and besides himself, others could see them too—his father could see them, and the uncle next door could see them!

Could it be that that night...

That night, in the dry well, had his Glasses already been lost?

What about the fairy fishing them out of the well, what about the gold Glasses, the silver Glasses, what about being made whole again, and last night... were those strange events last night all just delusions from him falling ill?

Tang Zhao shuddered, and beyond the fear, a sense of sorrow welled up.

Because of the repeated encounters and the emotional turbulence, had he reached the point of a split Spirit?

No...

That's not it!

As he lowered his head, he still perceived that there was something extra in his mind.