The Supernatural Daily Life of a Magazine

Chapter 20 The Night of the Full Moon

"We're running out of time," Li Shancheng said. "The full moon is in four weeks. If Hanshan Technology activates the first carrier by then..."

He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes: "Tell me what to do."

Bishop Qin set up a protective magic circle around him, and then lit four specially made concentration incense sticks in the four directions. The fragrance was refreshing and helped to concentrate the mind.

"Follow your breath, let your consciousness sink." Bishop Qin's voice became distant. "Do not resist any emerging fragments of memory, but do not cling to them either. You are the observer, not the participant."

Li Shancheng did as instructed. At first, there was only darkness and silence, but gradually, images began to emerge. Not a continuous scene, but fragments: a pair of aged hands writing; a faint incantation being chanted; the entrance to an underground cave; a gem glowing in the darkness...

The images flashed faster and faster, the amount of information increasing dramatically. Li Shancheng felt a splitting headache, but he gritted his teeth and persevered. The Spiritual Imprint emitted a scorching light, helping him sort through and integrate these fragments of memory.

Suddenly, everything became clear.

He "saw" the guardian from three thousand years ago—the old man holding a scroll. Before his death, the old man broke a specially made jade tablet in two, burying one half with him and giving the other half to his son, instructing him: "When the world faces change again, the descendant who holds this tablet must find the relics of Tianquan and decide the direction of the world."

Then there's a thread passed down orally, from generation to generation, but as time passed, it gradually turned into a blurred ballad:

"On a full moon night, starlight guides; where two dragons meet, ancient trees bear witness; a door lies within the stone, and light shines behind the door; what lies within the light is the key to change."

The image disappeared, and Li Shancheng opened his eyes, panting heavily. His clothes were soaked with sweat.

"I saw... a clue," he said weakly.

Xu Qingqing handed him water, and Li Shancheng drank a few sips before slowly reciting the folk song.

"A full moon night, guided by starlight—this refers to a specific astronomical occasion." Bishop Qin pondered, "The place where the two dragons meet... a place in Kyoto City known as 'Twin Dragons'..."

"Double Dragon Bridge!" Xu Qingqing and Liu Wei said at the same time.

Shuanglong Bridge is an ancient bridge in Kyoto City, built in the Ming Dynasty, named for the two stone dragons carved on its railings. But it's a tourist attraction, crowded with visitors during the day; how could it possibly hold clues to relics?

"The ancient tree bears witness... There is indeed an ancient locust tree near the bridge, said to be over 500 years old," Bishop Qin recalled. "There's a door in the stone... a bridge pier? Or a stone tablet under the ancient tree?"

"We need to go and check it out in person." Li Shancheng struggled to his feet, still feeling dizzy, but his mind was clear.

Just then, the vault suddenly began to shake violently. The gems in the dome went out one after another, and the cracks in the walls widened. The Book of Light emitted a warning light:

"External attack... Energy drain enhanced... 60%... Vault structure... Unstable..."

"Cold Mountain Technology has discovered we're in the secret vault!" Bishop Qin's expression changed drastically. "They're accelerating the siphoning process, trying to trap us here!"

"Is the channel still usable?" Xu Qingqing asked.

The Book of Light projects the state of the channel: energy flow is disordered, stability has dropped to 40%, and continues to decline.

"We must leave before it completely collapses," Bishop Qin said. "Quickly!"

They rushed towards the entrance to the passage. The runes on either side of the stairs flickered, some already extinguished. The passage itself was also shaking, and stones were peeling off from the top.

Li Shancheng brought up the rear. As he stepped onto the stairs, he suddenly glanced back at the Book of Light. The ancient book hovered in the center of the hall, its pages flipping rapidly, seemingly calculating something. Then, it made a startling decision.

The Book of Light flew towards Li Shancheng, and upon contact with him, it transformed into a beam of light, merging into his body. It wasn't a physical fusion, but rather a transfer of energy and information.

A vast stream of knowledge flooded his consciousness, but this time it was orderly and organized. Li Shancheng understood—the Book of Light had "backed up" him into his bloodline heritage because the secret vault was about to collapse, and this was the only way to preserve the millennia-old records of the array's core.

"Mountain City, hurry!" Xu Qingqing shouted in the passage.

Li Shancheng turned and rushed into the passage. They ran wildly upwards, the steps behind them collapsing one by one. When the last person rushed out of the passage and returned to the courtyard of Qingyun Alley, the underground cave behind them completely collapsed, and the ground returned to its original state.

But this time, the passage is permanently closed.

The four of them collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Suddenly, the purple dragon tree in the courtyard shook violently, and a large number of purple leaves fell. The runes on the trunk dimmed considerably.

"The Wenshu Secret Treasury... is gone." Bishop Qin's voice was filled with sorrow. "More than 70% of the records from three thousand years ago were not transferred in time."

"But the most important part is with me." Li Shancheng pointed to his head, "The core records of the Book of Light, including the complete design of the array's core, the experience of successive guardians, and... precise clues to the Tianquan relics."

He closed his eyes, searching for his newly acquired knowledge. The image became clear: on the north-facing side of the third pier beneath the Twin Dragon Bridge, there was a special stone brick. Under a specific moonlight angle, the engravings on the brick would project a star map, pointing to a stone tablet three meters beneath the ancient locust tree. This stone tablet required the blood of a descendant to activate it, revealing the hidden portal.

"I've found the exact location and how to activate it." Li Shancheng opened his eyes. "But we need to wait until the night of the full moon, and it must be a clear day so we can see the stars."

Bishop Qin checked the calendar: "The next full moon is in two weeks. But Cold Mountain Technology's target is also the night of the full moon, possibly on the same day."

"That means we'll meet at Shuanglong Bridge," Xu Qingqing said.

"It's not necessarily a bad thing," Liu Wei suddenly said. "Chen's video mentioned that they need 'seven carriers' and 'a specific astronomical timing.' If the clues to the Tianquan relics also require a full moon to appear, then perhaps... all the clues to the relics will appear at that time. Hanshan Technology may be targeting multiple locations at the same time."

This speculation heightened the tension. If Hanshan Technology's plan was indeed so large, then the help and resources they would need would far exceed expectations.

"We need allies," Bishop Qin decided. "Contact the guardians of the other array eyes, if they still exist. The Seven Star Relics concern the entire world, not just the Wen Shu Array Eye alone."

"How do I contact them?" Li Shancheng asked.

"Through the resonance of the ley lines," Bishop Qin said. "The seven array eyes are connected through the ley lines. Although the secret vault has collapsed, the basic connection is still intact. Mountain City, you now bear part of the functions of the Book of Light. You can try sending ley line messages."

"What should I do?"

Bishop Qin instructed him to rearrange a more complex magic array beneath the purple dragonwood. This time, it wasn't to open a passage, but to amplify and transmit information. Li Shancheng stood in the center of the array, immersing his consciousness into the earth's ley lines network.

At first, he could only sense the faint pulsation of the Wen Shu array eye. But guided by the Lingxi mark, his perception extended along the earth's veins. He "saw" six main tributaries of the earth's veins, extending in six directions. Three of them were bright and active, two were dim but stable, and one... was almost completely silent.

He sent a simple plea to the three active tributaries: "Wen Shu needs help, there is a crisis regarding the relics."

Waiting. Time ticked by, minute by minute.

Finally, a response came from a branch in the northeast, faint but clear: "The Kan position formation has been received. We will meet at the Songlin Forest north of Beijing in three days."

Then, a response came from the southeast: "Received from the off-position array eye, crisis confirmed, providing support."

The third active tributary did not respond directly, but conveyed a vague warning: "Beware...of...internal...traitors..."

"An internal traitor?" Li Shancheng disconnected and relayed this information.

Bishop Qin's expression turned extremely serious: "The guardian organization of the seven array eyes, in theory, only a few high-ranking members know of each other's existence. If there is a traitor, it means that Cold Mountain Technology's infiltration is deeper than we imagined."

"The meeting in Songlin, north of Beijing, three days from now may be risky," Xu Qingqing said.

"But we must go," Bishop Qin said. "We can't fight against Cold Mountain Technology on our own. Moreover, we need to check on the other key points of the array—if they are also being drained of energy, then the entire ley line network could collapse."

In the dead of night, Qingyun Lane fell into a silent contemplation. Li Shancheng stood in the courtyard, gazing up at the starry sky. Light pollution in Kyoto City made the stars sparse, but he knew that behind those unseen stars lay an ancient force that determined the fate of the world.