The sharpening stone was not very big, with a wooden frame supporting it underneath. It seemed small and clumsy, and it must have been specially used for sharpening mirrors. The old man grinding the mirror sat on the ground, holding the mirror button on the back of the ancient mirror with one hand, and holding the mirror body with the other hand, grinding it on the whetstone.
Jiang Shuo thought that the old man's name as "the grinder" was just a way for him to hide his identity in the city. He didn't expect that he actually picked up a mirror and polished it. Look at him holding the bronze mirror and turning it up and down on the sharpening stone. , draw two circles connected end to end.
The old man's movements are not fast, but his movements are very steady. He presses the mirror and moves at a constant speed on the stone. No matter which moment you look at it, there seems to be no difference in his gestures, strength, and speed, as if he is constantly following an invisible track. The grinding makes a constant, demonic hissing sound. Just looking at it for a while will make you feel dizzy and drowsy.
Fortunately, the old man grinding the mirror only stopped for a while. Jiang Shuo shuddered and saw the old man turning around to look at the mirror. In just a moment, the gray-black rust on the surface of the mirror had disappeared, and it was once again Shows silvery white color.
Jiang Shuo said happily: "Is it polished so quickly?"
The old man turned his head and glared at Jiang Shuo, and said, "Do you think I am fooling you? Look at the blurry figure in this mirror. How can it be called a mirror?"
Jiang Shuo leaned forward and looked into the mirror. He could vaguely see his face and facial features. He thought, isn't that what a bronze mirror is like? When he first got the eight-foot mirror, the face reflected in the mirror was nothing more than this.
The old man who was grinding the mirror moved the bronze mirror away with disgust, and said impatiently to Jiang Shuo: "Go, go, go... wait until I finish polishing it, and you can come and see it again."
Jiang Shuo knew that he was an expert outside the world, and all experts outside the world had some quirks. Jiang Shuo did not dare to disobey, so he simply took a few steps back. Wang Qiyao stepped forward and said to Jiang Shuo: "Young Master, be careful with this treasure..."
Jiang Shuo stopped him and said, "It doesn't matter, can the old man still covet our little broken mirror?"
Jiang Shuo knew that the secret of this bone-penetrating mirror was that it could reveal a simple map-like drawing when illuminated by candlelight at a specific location. However, firstly, outsiders did not know how to illuminate it, and secondly, the picture was extremely blurry and could not be seen. Where it is, Jiang Shuo has an excellent memory and has long memorized the figure drawn with a few strokes. Even if the old man Mo Jing really took the bronze mirror and left, it would not be a big deal to him.
The old man who was grinding the mirror started grinding it again. After listening to Jiang Shuo's words, he burst out laughing and said, "This mirror cannot be said to be a broken mirror. This half ancient mirror is three generations old and can be passed down to this day. It can indeed be called a broken mirror." It’s an ancient artifact.”
Cheng Qianqi said: "This bronze mirror is obviously a whole mirror. How can I say it is half a mirror?"
The old man who was grinding the mirror was still polishing it and said: "The back of this mirror is indeed extremely old. Not only is the shape quite ancient, but the back of the mirror is as tentacled as jade. It is as warm and moist as if it were not made of copper. It is lighter than a newly cast bronze mirror." There are many, it can be seen that the copper has been lost and only the bones are left. It is impossible to become like this without thousands of years."
As he spoke, his hand was still pushing the mirror steadily and slowly without being affected at all. The old man added: "But this mirror surface is newly cast, and it is no more than two hundred years old."
Cheng Qianli said: "Old man, what you are saying is too mysterious. I think bronze mirrors are all black and green on the back and bright on the surface. The difference between the two sides is just because the mirror surface has been polished repeatedly."
After hearing this, the old mirror-grinding old man shook his head, and the few white hairs on the back of his head started to flutter. However, although his head moved exaggeratedly, his hands still pushed the mirror slowly and meticulously to grind it, as if these hands had already interacted with him. The body is detached and goes about its business.
The old man said to Jiang Shuo: "Boy, let me ask you, when you got this bronze mirror, did the mirror look like it could detect people with light?"
Jiang Shuo said: "Yes, but Li Shijun told me that this mirror was polished using a special method, so that it will still look new after thousands of years."
The old man who was grinding the mirror spat: "Li Yong's writing skills are pretty good, but what does he know about the art of bronze mirrors?"
Jiang Shuo said: "I think this mirror is one piece. How could the two parts be stuck together?"
The old man who polished the mirror said: "It's not glue, it's melted together. The person who made this mirror is very skillful, but the mirror making in the Tang Dynasty is different from that in the Qin and Han Dynasties. I can tell at a glance."
Cheng Qianli said: "What's the difference? Aren't they all mirrors?"
The old man who was grinding the mirror talked a lot about the mirror, and he kept talking about his treasures. As he was grinding, he said: "Bronze mirrors are not pure copper, but are made of copper, lead and tin in a certain proportion. The formula of copper mirrors in the world is four, tin 1. Lead is one, and the ancient bronze mirrors of the Qin and Han Dynasties are half gold and tin according to the record of "Kao Gong Ji", which is called the balance of Jiansui. The Qin and Han Dynasties used copper as gold, so this formula means one half copper and one half tin."
Cheng Qianli was confused and said, "What does this mean? What's the difference?"
The old man who polished the mirror said: "Actually, what is recorded in "Kaogong Ji" is not accurate. In ancient times, the tin material was impure and contained lead. Therefore, in terms of six points, the Qin mirror should be four points of copper, one and a half points of tin, Only half a point of lead.”
Jiang Shuo was the first to react and said: "The ancient mirror has more tin than lead."
The old man who polished the mirror smiled and said: "You can teach me. The bronze mirror cast by Qin Fang was golden when it was cast. It was really beautiful, but unfortunately it did not last long and turned green and black in a short time. I cast it by Tang Fang. When the mirror is cast, its copper color becomes whitish, which is not so good-looking, but the advantage is that it can maintain its brilliance for a long time and illuminate people's faces more clearly."
Jiang Shuo said: "So there is such a doorway, but when I looked at the mirror just now, both sides were dark. How could you tell that the formula is different?"
The old mirror grinder smiled and said: "I have been grinding mirrors for a living all year round. What kind of mirror have I not polished? I can tell the difference without using my eyesight."
After saying that, he really closed his eyes, picked up the bronze mirror with his left hand, and flicked its back with the index finger of his right hand. He heard the bronze mirror make a low sound like a dragon's roar. He turned the mirror over again and flicked it again. This time, it made a clear sound. crisp sound.
Jiang Shuo said: "The back is like a bell and the face is like a cymbal. They are really different."
The old man grinding the mirror was very proud. He looked like an old craftsman. How could he look like a senior martial artist?
Seeing him stop, Jiang Shuo stepped forward to look at the mirror again, but the old mirror-grinding old man said, "Now it's just restored to the way it was when you got it. If you think about it, it's still not as good as when you made the mirror."
Jiang Shuo said: "It doesn't matter. Even if this mirror was cast in the early years of this dynasty, it is still two years old. It is reasonable for it to fade a little."
The old man who polished the mirror suddenly became angry again and said: "You guys still look down on me? I want to polish this mirror to the brilliance of when it was cast, no... it will be even more perfect than when it was first cast!"
As he spoke, he took off the gourd from his waist with his right hand, pulled out the stopper with one hand, held the gourd in his right hand, and held the mirror in his left hand, this time with the mirror facing up. The old man grinding the mirror slowly tilted the gourd, and a stream of thick black water flowed out of the gourd's mouth and dripped on the mirror surface.
The black water fell on the mirror but did not flow out. Instead, it slowly spread on the mirror. Jiang Shuo looked closely and found that it was not a liquid, but an unusually fine black powder. This powder was so fine that From a distance, it looks like water flowing.
The old mirror grinder carefully placed the gourd on the ground, placed his right hand on the black powder, and began to rub the mirror surface. This time, his right hand rotated very fast, and his left hand held it very steadily. As his right hand quickly rotated in a circle, the black powder evenly covered the mirror surface, spinning like a vortex, but not a single particle fell to the ground.
Jiang Shuo wondered: "What is this?"
The old man grinding the mirror pursed his lips and concentrated on grinding without answering. Lu Yuxuan said from the side: "This is jade sand. "Poetry" says that stones from other mountains can attack jade. This is what this 'stone from other mountains' means. Jade sand. This product comes from Xingzhou, Hebei Province. It is also called Xing sand and crystal jade agate. They are all ground into tools using this material."
Not to mention Jiang Shuo, even the three sages of Kongtong didn't know about this "Jade Sand Solution". Because Lu Yuxuan was from a wealthy family in Fanyang, Hebei, he only knew about this secret treasure of jade craftsmanship.
Lu Yuxuan continued: "The jade sand comes in various colors including reddish brown, blue and purple, but black is extremely rare. The people of Xingzhou crush the rock and dry it, sieve it through a fine sieve, and then rinse it with water. The jade sand is extremely heavy It will sink to the bottom of the water, while other dust will float on the surface and be washed away. After repeated mashing, fine sifting, and washing, the jade jade sand finally obtained is finer than rice grits. And the jade sand that is as fine as water and oil like Senior Mojian, But it’s unheard of and unseen.”
Cheng Qianli said: "It turned out that the mirror was polished using the same technique as jade, but it turned out to be so weird."
However, Lu Yuxuan said in awe: "It's not as simple as you said. Cheng Lang, please think about it. Only when jade sand is harder than gold and iron can jade be cured. Ordinary jade workers need to cover it with thick leather and use their feet to grind jade." You must not use your hands for grinding, otherwise your skin will be so delicate that if you rub it with the fine sand, wouldn't it be full of blood? If Senior Mojian rubs it so quickly, I'm afraid the flesh and blood will be worn away."
Everyone looked at the old mirror-grinding old man's hand, rubbing the jade sand, which was harder than iron sand, as if nothing had happened. Only then did they realize that he had actually demonstrated a very advanced kung fu, probably no less powerful than Iron Blade Xinnuo. Luo's "golden bell" kung fu immediately made him admire him.
The old mirror grinder twisted the jade sand and rubbed it on the bronze mirror for a long time before stopping. He took the gourd with his right hand and pointed the bronze mirror at the mouth of the gourd. He tilted his left hand and the black sand on the mirror surface formed a thin stream and flowed back to the gourd. Of course, not even a drop of it has been leaked.
The old man who was grinding the mirror raised his hand and handed the bronze mirror to Jiang Shuo. He hurriedly stepped forward and took the eight-foot mirror with both hands. When he took the mirror, he paid attention to the old man's right hand. His skin color was as normal, not to mention bloody. Daozi, not even a little red.
Jiang Shuo was secretly amazed. Looking at the old man's palms, he could see it. Old Mirror Mo said, "Why are you looking at my hands? I told you to look in the mirror."
Jiang Shuo held up the mirror and looked at it, and couldn't help being surprised. At this moment, he seemed to be facing a waveless lake. The reflection of himself in the mirror was perfectly clear, even a trace of messy hair on his head and a speck of dust on his face were extremely clear, as if he was not there. When you look in the mirror, you're still looking at another version of yourself.
When the old man Mo Jing saw Jiang Shuo looking at the mirror without saying a word for a long time, with a look of surprise on his face, he couldn't help but feel proud and said: "Boy, now you know that my name as 'Mo Jian Ke' is not in vain, right? "
Seeing this, Cheng Qianli and Wang Qiyao became very curious and wanted to get closer to take a look. Lu Yuxuan hurriedly grabbed the two of them one by one and said: "The treasure of the leader of the Jianghu alliance contains such a big secret. How can we and others be able to take a closer look?"
The two of them gave up angrily.
In fact, if this bone-penetrating mirror is not illuminated by candlelight at a specific angle, there will be nothing special about it, but everyone will not know it.
Some people died, but not completely...
