After everyone exited the courtyard, Li Yong said to Jiang Shuo, "Shuo'er, come with me." He led Jiang Shuo through the waterside pavilion and into the study. At this moment, the sun was setting in the west, the sky was already dim, and the room became even darker.
Li Yong lit a candle. Jiang Shuo saw that there were many lamps in the house and said, "Mr. Ruxiang, I will light all the other lamps to make them brighter."
Li Yong said, "Shuo'er, stay here. This candle is enough. Take out the bronze mirror."
Jiang Shuo was confused, but he still took out the bronze mirror from the cloth bag in his arms. This bronze mirror was exactly eight inches according to the Han ruler. The back of the mirror was already covered with patina. After years of erosion, the patina had changed from emerald green to green. It has turned black, its luster has faded, and it looks unusually ancient. There is a button in the center, and there are animal-face patterns surrounded by clouds and thunder patterns engraved around it. The decoration is simple, but the lines are strong and powerful. It is obviously an ancient artifact from the three generations before the Qin Dynasty.
Turning it over and looking at the mirror, it is a clear yellow surface. Not only is it polished extremely smooth, but the surface is also shiny and has no trace of time. Although it is an ancient object thousands of years ago, it can still be used to dress up in the mirror.
The contrast between the front and back is so strong, I don’t know why.
Li Yong took the bronze mirror handed over by Jiang Shuo, rubbed it in his hand, and said: "Shuo'er, the leader of the Jianghu Alliance came from the Dongting Bandit Chief. The first bandit chief began in the late Qin Dynasty. He called himself the "Thief Saint", and he was everywhere in heaven and earth. No, there is also the unique skill of holding one's breath, which allows one to stay underwater for more than a moment. When the First Emperor was touring Dongting, the Thief Saint led a group of Dongting thieves to swim to the bottom of the boat and use a chisel to dig holes in the boat where the Emperor was sitting. Even if there was no wind on the lake at the time, the boat would swing violently due to the uneven draft on the left and right sides. The First Emperor thought it was the water god causing trouble. He ordered people to throw the bronze mirror into the lake to worship the gods, and then the stolen saint was able to escape. "
Jiang Shuo said: "Master Zhao told me that the chief thief stole the imperial seal of the First Emperor on Dongting Lake, but it turned out that he got this bronze mirror."
Li Yong said: "Dong Yanzi is indeed knowledgeable. Indeed, getting this bronze mirror can only be regarded as an unexpected gain. Kong Konger's real target is the emperor's jade seal. Taking advantage of the chaos and chaos on the ship, he sneaked into the ship and stole it in broad daylight. He took the jade seal away, but he didn't expect that when he boarded the boat with his front foot, the First Emperor threw the bronze mirror down with his back foot."
Jiang Shuo said: "This senior is truly amazing. He was able to steal the jade seal that was guarded by a heavy army. He truly deserves the title of Saint of Thieves."
Li Yong smiled and said, "Yes, this senior's real name is no longer known. He only has a name left, which is called "Kong Konger", which means "Kongkong Miaoshou". "
Kong Konger? Isn't this Beimingzi's pseudonym? Jiang Shuo couldn't help but blurt out "Ah".
Li Yong asked curiously: "What's wrong with Shuo'er?"
Jiang Shuo knew that talking about Beimingzi would be a step too far, so he could only play it off and said, "No...it's nothing...I just think the name is a bit strange."
Li Yong knew that Jiang Shuo must be hiding something from him, but it was not convenient to ask at this moment, so he continued: "The Thief Saint Kong Kong'er obtained the national jade seal and the ancient mirror at the same time that day, which can be said to be a great victory. When the First Emperor understands, When soldiers were sent to search the mountains and lakes, the Dongting bandits had already escaped. A few years later, the world was turning against the Qin. Kong Kong'er knew that drastic changes were coming, so he returned the jade seal and left a letter on Pingshu Road in Huayin, with a curse. The first Yellow Emperor waited for the virtuous to obtain it. But he kept the bronze mirror himself, and from then on it became the treasure of the Jianghu Alliance Leader."
Jiang Shuo said: "In this case, it seems that this bronze mirror is just a legend, and there is nothing special about it."
Li Yong shook his head and said: "No, no, Kong Kong'er originally thought that this was just an ordinary bronze mirror, but it was a little older, but when he was playing with it, he discovered the big secret of this bronze mirror! "
Jiang Shuo asked curiously: "What's the secret?"
At this moment, the skylight outside the house had completely darkened, and the candlelight in the house could only illuminate one corner of the room. Li Yong held a bronze mirror and faced the candlelight. The front of the bronze mirror was as bright as new, and he immediately cast the candlelight. On a white wall, the resulting light spot is brighter than the warm light cast by the candle itself on the wall.
Even a three-year-old child understands the principle of using a bronze mirror to gather light. Jiang Shuo really doesn’t know what’s so special about it. Looking at Li Yong’s hand holding the bronze mirror and moving slowly, he is already an octogenarian. He seems to be holding the bronze mirror. It was quite strenuous. Jiang Shuo saw him trembling.
As his hands kept moving, the light spots on the wall suddenly became larger and smaller, gathered and dispersed, bright and dim. He felt strange in his heart and said, "Mr. Ruxiang, what are you going to do? Let me help you get the mirror."
Li Yong said nothing and continued to adjust the position of the mirror in his hand. Suddenly, Jiang Shuo saw a faint shadow in the circular light spot cast by the bronze mirror on the white wall. As Li Yong moved his hand, the shadow gradually became clearer. , Jiang Shuo exclaimed: "Is there a ghost in this mirror?"
However, Li Yong showed no sign of panic. Jiang Shuo must pay attention and look carefully again. As Li Yong's hand moved back and forth, the shadow in the light spot became clearer and clearer. It seemed to be a human figure!
Li Yong finally adjusted the position of the bronze mirror and gasped: "It's useless, Shuo'er. You can hold it up, but don't move it."
Jiang Shuo saw that Li Yong was struggling to hold the mirror, and even the light spot on the wall was trembling. He hurriedly stepped forward to hold the mirror. He had great internal strength, and a small bronze mirror was as light as nothing in his hand. It was as if it were made of copper and iron, motionless, and the shadow on the wall no longer swayed. Jiang Shuo looked carefully and saw that the shadow turned out to be a vague and slender figure!
Jiang Shuo was full of doubts and said: "This is my shadow! But how can this candlelight penetrate the mirror and reveal the figure behind the mirror?" He held the mirror in one hand and raised it in the office with the other, but the figure in the light spot on the wall was He didn't raise his hand, and it seemed to be no different from when Li Yong raised his hand before.
Li Yong said: "This mirror is one of the eight mirrors of the King of Qin. It is called the "Bone Mirror". It is said to be able to reflect the bones of people and identify loyal women. That's why the First Emperor considered this mirror to be a magical artifact. There is no wind on Dongting Lake. When the waves started, he thought of throwing the mirror into the lake to scare the lake god. "
Jiang Shuo clicked his tongue and asked in wonder: "Is there really such a treasure in the world?" He carefully looked at the figure reflected in the light spots on the wall. It was just a figure that looked slightly slender than himself. His facial features were not visible, so how could he see Zhong? How much sex does a woman have?
Li Yong laughed and said: "The theory of identifying loyal women based on their bones was just used by the alchemists of the Qin Dynasty to deceive the First Emperor. You see, the figures on the wall are just a little thinner, but you can't see the human bones. Even if you can see the human bones, , how can we tell the difference between loyal and female ministers? Do loyal ministers and female ministers in the world still have the same body shape?"
Jiang Shuo couldn't help but said confusedly: "Then what's going on?"
Li Yong said: "The so-called "bone mirror" is actually just a mirror with extremely subtle uneven changes on the surface. A slightly convex human figure is pre-made, and the surface is plated with gold. It is always bright and shining, so the human eye cannot distinguish this. The surface of the mirror is actually not flat. As long as you hold the mirror up to look at it at a specific distance and angle, it will be like your own shadow passing through the mirror. If you don't believe it, look at it. "
As he spoke, Li Yong stood sideways to the side of the mirror, holding up the mirror to ask Jiang Shuo to move away. Jiang Shuo also moved to the other side of the bronze mirror. At this time, there was no one in front of or behind the mirror. Logically, there shouldn't be any more human figures on the wall. , but the blurry black shadow was still projected on the wall, and then I realized that what Li Yong said was true.
Jiang Shuo couldn't help but said in disappointment: "So that's it. There really is no magical mirror that can transmit light in the world. This Qin King's bone-penetrating mirror is just a trick passed down from ancient times."
Li Yong said: "If this were true, the leaders of the Jianghu Alliance would not regard this mirror as a treasure and pass it down from generation to generation."
Jiang Shuo said, "Mr. Ruxiang, does this bronze mirror have other features?"
Li Yong said: "Shuo'er, look again..."
He once again carefully fine-tuned the distance and angle between the bronze mirror, the white wall and the candlelight. The figure in the middle slowly dimmed, while the other pattern gradually became clearer. Several twisted thin lines could be seen intertwined with each other. Jiang Shuo hurriedly stepped forward to take the bronze mirror from Li Yong's hand. His hands were strong and steady. After a while, the patterns in the light spots on the wall became clear - there were several undulating lines that seemed to be mountains, and several A long curve passes through the mountains. I don't know whether it is a river or a road. There is a large closed irregular ring in the middle of the pattern, which seems to be a huge lake. In the center of the lake, there is a small black spot projected by the mirror button.
Jiang Shuo said: "This is a map!"
Li Yong nodded and said: "Yes, this is a map, but throughout the ages, there have been many intelligent people among the bandits. Some people say it is a treasure map, some people say it is an overseas fairy mountain, but no one has ever been able to find this map. The place where it was painted.”
Jiang Shuo looked at it for himself. Although he had been to many more places than his peers at his age, the places he had been to were limited after all. After looking at the map for a long time, he couldn't figure out why. , had to give up.
Li Yong continued: "Actually, the "Eight Mirrors of the King of Qin" were not cast by the King of Qin. According to legend, the second concubine of the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, his mother, once cast twelve mirrors to represent the twelve months of the year, the twelve o'clock on the day, and the twelve geographical directions. Twelve States in the World... The first mirror is one foot and five inches wide, and the subsequent eleven mirrors are one inch smaller in turn. The smallest twelfth mirror is only three inches. If this is true, this eight-inch bronze mirror should be the eighth of the Yellow Emperor's Twelve Mirrors. "
Jiang Shuo secretly calculated in his mind that the one-foot-five-inch mirror was a bit too big, but if you don't carry it with you and keep it in the house as a standing mirror, it's not bad. As for the three-inch mirror, it was too small. I didn't know how to use it. What's the use?
Li Yong said: "It is said that the twelve bronze mirrors of the Yellow Emperor have their own merits. They can ward off evil spirits, kill demons, illuminate the internal organs, and can be used for diagnosis and treatment. However, they are mostly similar to this "bone mirror". Do the trick. The Twelve Mirrors of the Yellow Emperor have been owned by emperors of all dynasties since Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, and Tang Dynasties. They were only passed down to the hands of the First Emperor. Legend has it that the first, second, eleventh, and twelfth mirrors are the most powerful, and the largest and smallest are the four. The mirrors were all lost, and eventually they became the "Eight Mirrors of King Qin". "
Jiang Shuo sighed: "That's such a pity...then where are the other seven bronze mirrors?"
Li Yong said: "I don't know about this anymore. The other seven bronze mirrors have never been born. Maybe they are in the hands of Emperor Tang now, or maybe there are no other seven ancient mirrors at all."
