Volume 1, Chapter 59: Terrifying
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Zhu Youjian stood in the main hall of the Eastern Depot, a map spread out before him. Twelve red dots were marked on it. With his vermilion brush, he connected them, and a strange symbol gradually emerged.
“This symbol...” He narrowed his eyes. “I feel as though I’ve seen it somewhere.”
Just then, an elderly eunuch shuffled in, trembling.
“Your Majesty...” he said. “This old servant recognizes that symbol.”
“Speak.” Zhu Youjian looked at him.
The eunuch’s voice shook. “It’s... it’s the secret mark of the Donglin Party from back then...”
“Not again!” Zhu Youjian sneered.
The old eunuch collapsed. Wang Cheng’en stepped forward to search him, and sure enough, found that familiar slip of paper.
“Who in the realm? I alone reign supreme.” Zhu Youjian read it aloud. “What are these people trying to say?”
He went back to studying the map. Suddenly, he noticed tiny characters around each red dot, arranged in circles.
“Wang Cheng’en,” he said abruptly. “Bring me that jade pendant.”
Wang Cheng’en soon returned with it. Zhu Youjian placed the pendant on the map and saw that the hidden mark on its back matched the symbol on the map exactly.
“Interesting.” He gave a cold laugh.
Just then, an elderly palace maid entered.
“Your Majesty...” she said with a smile. “Have you figured it out?”
“Figured out what?”
“That symbol...” the old maid began. “It’s actually...”
She fell before she could finish.
He continued studying the map, then suddenly realized that the tiny characters around the red dots could be arranged into a sentence.
If he connected them in a particular order...
An old palace attendant stood in the doorway, watching it all.
“Your Majesty...” he said with a smile. “Do you truly want to know what the sentence says?”
Zhu Youjian looked up at him. “Do you want to die too?”
The old attendant burst into laughter. “No. This old servant has a secret to tell you.”
“What secret?”
“These twelve places...” the old attendant began. “They all have underground chambers. And this symbol...”
Before he could finish, he suddenly clutched his throat.
Zhu Youjian looked at yet another body on the floor and continued studying the tiny characters.
Gradually, a sentence emerged.
“Who in the realm...” he read. “I alone...”
Before he could finish, he heard someone speaking at the doorway.
An old palace maid stood there, smiling at him.
“Your Majesty...” she said. “Do you know what the next word in that sentence is?”
“Do you want to die too?” Zhu Youjian asked.
“What secret?”
“That symbol...” The old maid pointed at the map. “It’s actually a key.”
“A key?” Zhu Youjian narrowed his eyes.
“Yes.” She smiled. “A key to opening the twelve chambers.”
She was about to continue when her expression suddenly changed.
“Not again!” Zhu Youjian said. By now, he was numb to it.
As he watched the old maid’s body crumple to the floor, he returned to studying the map.
Just then, an old eunuch entered.
“Your Majesty...” he said with a smile. “I’ve found what you were looking for.”
“What?”
“An ancient book,” the eunuch said. “It tells the story of this symbol.”
He pulled a battered volume from inside his robe.
“This is...” Zhu Youjian reached for the book.
The eunuch suddenly burst into laughter. “Your Majesty, you will never learn the truth!”
With that, he too collapsed.
Zhu Youjian picked up the book from the floor and was about to open it.
“Your Majesty...” she said with a smile. “You’d best not read that book.”
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“Why not?”
“Because...” the old maid said with a mysterious smile. “It’s a curse.”
“A curse?” Zhu Youjian sneered.
“Yes,” she said. “A curse from twenty years ago.”
She was about to continue, but suddenly collapsed too.
Just then, another old palace attendant came in.
“Your Majesty...” he said with a smile. “Do you know why all these people are dying?”
“Why?”
The old attendant smiled. “Because they’ve all read this book.”
Before he could finish, he collapsed too.
Zhu Youjian stood there, looking at the bodies scattered across the floor.
“Your Majesty...” she said. “Are you really going to open that book?”
“Do you want to die too?” Zhu Youjian asked.
“What secret?”
“This book...” the old maid began. “It’s actually...”
Before she could finish, she collapsed too.
Zhu Youjian looked at the book in his hand, then at the map.
An elderly eunuch stood in the doorway.
“Your Majesty...” he said with a smile. “Do you know why all of this is happening?”
“Do you want to die too?” Zhu Youjian asked.
“No.” The old eunuch smiled. “This old servant is going to tell you the truth.”
“What truth?”
“Actually...” the old eunuch began. “This book is...”
Before he could finish, he collapsed too.
Zhu Youjian had grown used to the sight.
He was about to open the book when an old palace maid came in.
“Your Majesty...” she said with a smile. “Do you really want to know the truth?”
“Do you want to die too?”
“No.” The old maid smiled. “This old servant is going to tell you one last secret.”
She slowly approached, gazing at the book in Zhu Youjian’s hand.
“This book...” she said with a mysterious smile. “It was left behind by the late emperor...”
Wang Cheng’en stood in a secret chamber of the Eastern Depot, holding the battered ancient book. Its pages had yellowed, and the edges were worn.
He carefully opened the first page and examined it by candlelight. Suddenly, he noticed a line of tiny writing along the edge: “Who in the realm? I alone reign supreme.”
“This...” Wang Cheng’en’s hands trembled slightly.
He turned the pages and saw that every one concealed a mystery. Some held symbols, others locations or names.
All this information seemed to point toward a single secret.
Just then, he heard footsteps outside. Wang Cheng’en quickly hid the book and pretended to be sorting records.
An old eunuch came in. “Eunuch Wang...”
Without looking up, Wang Cheng’en asked, “What is it?”
“This book...” the old eunuch said with a smile. “What have you found?”
“Nothing.” Wang Cheng’en replied coldly. “If you have something to say, say it.”
The old eunuch smiled. “There’s no need to hide it, Eunuch Wang. This old servant knows a little about that book too.”
Wang Cheng’en stepped forward to search him, and sure enough, found that familiar slip of paper.
“Who in the realm? I alone reign supreme,” he read. “What are these people trying to say?”
“Do you want to die too?” Wang Cheng’en was growing impatient.
“No.” The old palace maid smiled. “This old servant knows where the book came from.”
“Speak.”
“Another one,” Wang Cheng’en muttered, shaking his head.
He continued leafing through the ancient book, then suddenly found a sheet of paper tucked between its pages.
He unfolded it. It was a map, marked with twelve red dots.
“These places...” Wang Cheng’en studied the map closely.
An old eunuch stood in the doorway. “Eunuch Wang, do you see it?”
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“See what?”
“Connect the dots...” the old eunuch said with a smile. “And you get a...”
Before he could finish, he collapsed too.
He laid the map beside the ancient book to compare them and suddenly saw that the places mentioned in the book matched the red dots on the map exactly.
“Interesting,” he murmured.
An old palace maid entered. “Eunuch Wang, have you figured it out?”
“Figured out what?”
“This book and the map...” she said. “They’re actually a key.”
“A key?” Wang Cheng’en narrowed his eyes.
He continued reading and suddenly realized that the page numbers seemed to conceal a mystery as well.
If arranged in a particular order...
An old palace maid stood in the doorway, watching it all.
“Eunuch Wang...” she said with a smile. “What have you discovered?”
“Do you want to die too?” Wang Cheng’en asked.
Wang Cheng’en looked at the bodies covering the floor and sighed.
Just then, another old eunuch came in.
Wang Cheng’en continued studying the ancient book and suddenly noticed that the punctuation on every page was strange too.
The marks seemed to be hinting at something.
An old palace maid stood in the doorway, watching it all with a smile.
“Eunuch Wang...” she said. “Do you truly want to know the truth?”
“Do you want to die too?” Wang Cheng’en asked.
Wang Cheng’en looked at the ancient book in his hand, then at the bodies covering the floor.
“Eunuch Wang...” he said with a smile. “Do you know why all this is happening?”
“Why?”
“Because...” the old eunuch said with a smile. “A curse is hidden in this book.”
“A curse?” Wang Cheng’en sneered.
“Yes.” The old eunuch smiled mysteriously. “A curse from twenty years ago.”
He was about to continue when he suddenly collapsed too.
Wang Cheng’en gazed at the book in his hands, lost in thought.
“Do you want to die too?” Wang Cheng’en asked.
By now, Wang Cheng’en was used to the sight.
He continued studying the ancient book and suddenly found a strange symbol on the last page.
It was identical to the hidden mark on the jade pendant.
An old eunuch stood in the doorway, watching it all.
“Eunuch Wang...” he said with a smile. “Do you see it?”
“See what?”
The old eunuch smiled. “This symbol is...”
Before he could finish, he collapsed too.
Wang Cheng’en looked at the bodies covering the floor and continued studying the ancient book.
An old palace maid came in. “Eunuch Wang...”
“Do you want to die too?” Wang Cheng’en asked.
The old maid smiled. “No. This old servant knows what the symbol means.”
“What does it mean?”
“This symbol represents...” the old maid began. “The realm...”
Before she could finish, she collapsed too.
Wang Cheng’en looked at the book in his hands and sighed.
An old eunuch stood in the doorway. “Eunuch Wang...”
“Do you want to die too?” By now, Wang Cheng’en was numb to it.
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