AWB Chapter 326 The Mirror of Heaven and Earth
Chapter 326 The Mirror of Heaven and Earth
On the winter solstice night in the Nanzhao Kingdom, the underground heating in the Jiaofang Palace was burning brightly, but Xiao Qicheng was shivering and stamping his feet in the cold under the eaves. Clutching the newly completed mechanical lock, he breathed out white puffs of steam and ran towards his great-grandparents' courtyard. The lanterns under the eaves swayed in the cold wind, casting a warm yellow glow on the snow.
“Great-Grandpa! This lock uses the mortise and tenon joints you taught me…” The words trailed off. Pushing open the carved wooden door, the room was empty. The bronze hourglass on the desk was stopped at three-quarters past Chen Shi (7:45 AM), and the ink in the inkstone was frozen solid. Nine-tailed cats perched on the window lattice, their nine tails unusually drooping like frost: “They’re gone, at midnight.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the spacetime rift, a light rain was falling in a city in the 21st century. Xiao Jingchuan helped the dizzy Gu Liuli out of the void vortex. The familiar neon lights before them were blinding. Electronic screens along the street displayed advertisements for the "2025 Science and Technology Expo," and driverless cars moved silently across the slippery road, creating an absurd contrast with the Nanzhao Kingdom of his memory.
“Welcome home.” Xiao Jingchuan’s voice trembled slightly. Gu Liuli touched the metal fence by the roadside, her fingertips feeling its cold touch. When they left, this was a construction site; now, a hundred-meter-high glass curtain wall building stands tall. Her phone slipped out of her pocket, the screen lighting up—among countless unread messages, the most prominent was an email from the “Time and Space Administration Bureau”: “Abnormal energy fluctuations detected. Both of you must report immediately.”
Amidst the roar of the subway trains, they found the apartment they had once rented. The combination lock still had the original numbers. Pushing open the door, they saw the unfinished manuscript of "A Study of Ancient Mechanical Arts" on a dusty bookshelf, and a framed photo on the table showing them smiling in their graduation gowns at the age of twenty. Gu Liuli suddenly covered her mouth; the image of herself in the photo overlapped with that of a woman in the phoenix coronet and wedding robes of the Nanzhao Kingdom. Tears streamed down her face, splashing onto the glass.
Late at night, a special investigation team from the Time and Space Administration arrived. The young researcher in charge adjusted his smart glasses: "According to energy tracing, the two of you have been stuck in a parallel universe for approximately eighty years?" He activated a holographic projection, showing the landscape of the Nanzhao Kingdom shimmering in blue light. "However, it's strange; there's no record of your existence in the historical data of this timeline."
Xiao Jingchuan and Gu Liuli exchanged a glance. They knew the reason, of course—when Jiu Li Mao used her last bit of spiritual power to reinforce the spatial rift, she had erased all traces of them in the Nanzhao Kingdom from the annals of history. Qi Cheng's academy of institutions, Su Mingyue's girls' school, Xiao Chengjun's prosperous reforms... all of these became unrecorded "non-existent events."
"Can we...see them one more time?" Gu Liuli asked softly. The researcher operated the data terminal, and suddenly the image of the Nanzhao Palace appeared on the projector: Xiao Qicheng was running in the snow, holding a newly made mechanical firework in his hand; Xiao Chengjun was standing on the city tower reviewing memorials, his temples already streaked with white; Su Mingyue was teaching at the girls' school, and on the windowsill were magnolia flowers given by Qicheng.
Tears blurred Gu Liuli's vision. She remembered the night before she left, when she secretly went to see Qi Cheng, who was fast asleep. Beside the child's pillow lay unfinished blueprints for a mechanism, with the words "Wait for Great-Grandma to come back and teach me..." written crookedly beside them. Suddenly, Qi Cheng in the picture turned his head, as if sensing something, and looked into the void.
“This is just a data simulation,” the researcher explained. “Observations in parallel universes are delayed, and…” He trailed off, “according to recent research, frequent observations may lead to instability in the spacetime anchor point.”
Back in his apartment, Xiao Jingchuan turned on his dusty computer. He instinctively searched for "Nanzhao Kingdom," but instead found discussion threads on a gaming forum about alternate history. One popular thread's author wrote, "If such a dynasty really existed, how prosperous would it be?" In the comments section, someone joked, "Maybe a time traveler really did change history there!"
Gu Liuli buried her face in Xiao Jingchuan's arms: "It feels like we had a very long dream." The rain outside the window was pouring down harder, and the neon lights blurred into colorful patches in the rain. Xiao Jingchuan hugged her tighter, suddenly remembering the starry sky of the Nanzhao Kingdom—the Milky Way there was more dazzling than on Earth. Qi Cheng had once pointed to the two brightest stars and said, "Those are our great-grandparents watching over us."
In the days that followed, they cooperated with the Time and Space Administration to complete all the tests. A researcher asked curiously, "If you were given another chance, would you still choose to time travel?" Gu Liuli looked out the window at the rain, raindrops meandering down the glass like a river: "Yes. Because some bonds cannot be severed even by a time-space rift."
Three years later, a holographic game called "The Chronicles of Mountains and Rivers" appeared at a technology expo. Players could build their own dynasties in the virtual world, and the most popular NPCs were a mysterious couple who taught mechanical arts. It was discovered that when game characters arrived at a certain location on the winter solstice, a hidden event would be triggered: two semi-transparent figures would appear in the air, smiling at the starry sky, and then gradually disappear into a dazzling display of fireworks.
Meanwhile, in a corner of the real world, Xiao Jingchuan and Gu Liuli sat by the bay window, gazing at the myriad lights of the city outside. A freshly brewed cup of Biluochun tea sat on the coffee table, its fragrant aroma wafting through the air, while a plush toy of Nine-Tails lay quietly. Suddenly, their phone vibrated; a news notification announced that an archaeological team had discovered the ruins of a mysterious ancient city in Yunnan, with strange mechanical patterns engraved on the unearthed bronze artifacts.
"Shall we go take a look?" Xiao Jingchuan asked.
Gu Liuli shook her head and rested her head on his shoulder. In the distant night sky, two stars shone exceptionally brightly, as if echoing each other across time and space.
A mirror reflecting mountains and rivers: a distant view of peace across generations.
In the Jiangnan region during the plum rain season, puddles of varying depths accumulated on the bluestone slabs. Xiao Jingchuan was wiping the celadon teacup on the table when he suddenly heard a soft creak at the window. The nine-tailed fox, soaking wet, leaped into the room, its nine tails flicking away glistening water droplets. The ancient bronze mirror it held in its mouth gleamed with a faint, eerie light—it was the Qiankun Mirror, a secret treasure of the Nanzhao royal family.
"How could you..." Gu Liuli's embroidery frame fell to the ground with a thud, the silk threads meandering like a river on the sandalwood floor. Since their return to the 21st century, the Nine-Tails had never appeared again, and the Time and Space Administration's monitoring equipment showed that the energy fluctuations of the Nanzhao Kingdom had completely subsided. At this moment, the runes flowing on the surface of the ancient mirror were exactly the same as those at Xiao Chengjun's coronation ceremony in her memory.
"Come and see the Nanzhao you've all been longing for." The Nine-Tails twitched its ears, and its tail hooked onto the mirror's button, turning it gently. The mirror surface instantly churned with mist, revealing the majestic outline of the Nanzhao royal palace. In the Golden Palace, Xiao Qicheng, dressed in a dragon robe with twelve imperial symbols, was bent over his desk reviewing memorials. His vermilion brushstrokes were vigorous and powerful, and neatly arranged on his desk were the "Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Green Sprouts Law" and the "Regulations for the Reform of Girls' Schools."
“Qi’er has grown up…” Gu Liuli covered her mouth, her fingertips trembling slightly. The boy in the mirror had shed his childishness, but his eyes still retained the liveliness of his childhood. As the scene changed, she saw Qi Cheng teaching at the Academy of Mechanical Arts, personally instructing his disciples on how to adjust the newly made “Cloud Boat”; or he was making an incognito visit on the street, and when he received a osmanthus cake from an old woman, his eyes and brows were full of smiles.
The tail of the nine-tailed fox swept across the mirror, and the scene abruptly shifted to a water town in Jiangnan. The former wasteland had been transformed into a water conservancy hub, with a huge bronze waterwheel slowly turning in the river channel, diverting river water into crisscrossing farmland. Children laughed and chased each other on the banks, holding up paper kites with mechanical beast patterns designed by Qicheng.
"Your Majesty! The canal is completed!" Amid cheers, Xiao Qicheng ascended the newly completed Wangbo Tower. Behind him followed several female officials, the head of the group carrying a scroll of blueprints—undoubtedly the "Study of the Canals of Nanzhao," revised under the supervision of Su Mingyue. Gu Liuli recognized her as a former student, now capable of handling matters independently. Merchant ships crisscrossed the canal, their prows adorned with lanterns that formed a dazzling galaxy, illuminating the bustling night markets on both banks.
The mirror suddenly rippled, and the scene shifted to Miao territory. The once desolate site of an altar now stood a magnificent academy. Girls dressed in Miao embroidery sat around a pavilion, their recitations mingling with the melodies of the lusheng (a traditional Miao reed pipe instrument). Nine-Tails' voice chuckled, "Qi Cheng adapted the fragments of the *Tai Su Gui Lu* into a textbook on mechanical arts. Now, the children of Miao territory fold paper cranes that tell the time using incantations and talismans."
When the scene of the Jiaofang Palace appeared in the mirror, Xiao Jingchuan's teacup slammed heavily onto the table. Su Mingyue was leaning against the carved couch, a pearl hairpin, a tribute from Qicheng, adorning her white hair, as she flipped through the newly revised "General History of Nanzhao." Suddenly, she turned her head, as if sensing something, and looked into the void, a familiar gentle smile curving her lips. Outside the window, eighty-year-old Xiao Chengjun was teaching his great-grandson archery and horsemanship, his black iron sword gleaming warmly in the setting sun.
"This is..." Gu Liuli's voice choked with emotion. The Nine-Tails' tail gently encircled her wrist: "What the Qiankun Mirror reflects is what the heart desires. After you left, Qi Cheng set up a cenotaph in the forbidden area of the palace, with the inscription 'Inheriting the ancestors' will, safeguarding peace for ten thousand generations.' The mirror reflected the scene of the imperial mausoleum, with small mechanical objects spontaneously offered by the people in front of the huge stone tablet, including bamboo windmills, wooden auspicious beasts, and children spelling out 'Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma are well' with flower petals."
Xiao Jingchuan reached out and touched the mirror, the icy touch causing ripples to appear on the screen.
Nine-Tanuki suddenly said seriously, "This is the last time we will activate the Qiankun Mirror."
Before the spacetime rift completely closes, let me show you... Its voice faded.
An aerial view of the entire Nanzhao Kingdom appears in the mirror. From the snow-covered northern border outposts to the rice paddies of the Jiangnan region; from the brightly lit academies to the workshops with roaring machinery, every place radiates a warm glow.
"They remember you." The nine-tailed raccoon's tail coiled around the edge of the ancient mirror.
"Although there is not a single word about it in the history books, every Nanzhao person knows that two immortals devoted their lives to this land."
"The mirror shone brightly, enveloping Xiao Jingchuan and Gu Liuli."
In a daze, they heard Qi Cheng's childhood laughter, Su Mingyue's gentle teachings, and the songs of the people of Nanzhao living in peace and contentment.
When the light faded, the Nine-Tails and the Qiankun Mirror had disappeared.
The rain outside the window had stopped sometime ago, and a rainbow stretched across the sky.
Xiao Jingchuan held Gu Liuli's hand and found that the warmth of the mirror still lingered on her palm.
Cheers of children drifted from afar; several kids with schoolbags were gathered around a vendor selling sugar paintings.
The sugar strands stretched into shimmering arcs in the sunlight.
In a daze, it seemed to overlap with the flying fireworks of the Nanzhao Kingdom.
Late at night, Gu Liuli found her dusty diary in the study.
Tucked between the yellowed pages was a dried magnolia petal—
—That was the night before he left Nanzhao, when Qi Cheng secretly tucked it into her hair.
Moonlight streamed through the window lattice, illuminating the writing. The last line read: "If there is an afterlife, I wish to be the night watchman of Nanzhao again."