Chapter 87 - 84: The Well’s Wall, Temple’s Wall

Chapter 87: Chapter 84: The Well’s Wall, Temple’s WallThe diary flipped page by page, initially quite slowly. When the paper reached a vertical position with the desk, it seemed as if an invisible hand held the sheet momentarily before it turned over. Gradually, the speed of the page-turning increased noticeably, and the pause disappeared. The pages flipped more smoothly until the diary was halfway through, then suddenly stopped on a page and refused to turn... The turning of the diary’s pages and Zhou Xuan’s closing his eyes in meditation of the Blood Well were two separate events, yet their rhythms oddly synchronized— —In Zhou Xuan’s mind, the image of the Blood Well did not form easily. Initially, he could hardly think clearly. Though he had seen images of "snow, temple, Blood Well," the pictures in his mind were chaotic, like dozens of inks mixed together, forming no shape, only chaotic patches of color. After passing this phase, the state of the image improved considerably. At least there was a general shape, except for a missing, damaged part of the picture. He needed to focus his mind, like piecing together a puzzle, to retrieve the remaining fragments from the depths of his memory, and fit them into the image piece by piece. At the moment he finished, the image of the Blood Well became bright and clear. The snowy-covered solemn temple, the ancient well, its rim stained with blood, and the falling snow, turning red half a meter above the well’s mouth by the aura of blood. When Zhou Xuan first saw this well, he had an inexplicable feeling of the scene’s eeriness, *After experiencing many things, upon seeing the Blood Well now, he found a sense of beauty within himself.* The contrast of red and white, blood and nature clashing, yet containing an inexplicable harmony through the lens of sensory perception. Zhou Xuan actively had the thought of wanting to get closer to see, As soon as the thought arose, he stepped into the scene—similar to the feeling of entering the Divine Revelation Secret Realm. Unlike the "strictly regulated" feel of the Divine Revelation Secret Realm, the Blood Well Secret Realm felt freer and more tangible. Snowflakes like cotton floated onto his face, his neck, the cold touch blurring the line between this being a mere mental realm or a real place somewhere in the Jing Country. Now he stood at the well’s edge, reaching out to touch the well’s stone rim. The blood was pungent, the stone surface icy and exquisitely smooth. "Boom!" The Blood Well’s interior was restless. The resonating blood struck the well’s walls, creating a drumming sound that hit his ears with a strangely familiar feeling. Zhou Xuan, as if meeting an old friend, stretched his hand over the well’s edge, waiting for a response. "Plop!" Blood hitting the well’s wall rebounded into a flower of blood that landed squarely on the back of his hand. He reached even deeper, and the blood churned again, the rising blood flower wrapping tightly around his hand. Suddenly, Zhou Xuan had a feeling of having formed some tacit connection with the Blood Well. "I’ve sensed your existence." Zhou Xuan murmured, at this moment, the Blood Well ceased to be an intangible concept to him. He took two steps forward of his own accord. Jing Deng had said, to use the power of the Blood Well, one needed to actively embrace it. Zhou Xuan didn’t trust Jing Deng, but now his body instinctively felt a compelling urge to peer inside the well. He laid his hands on the stone rim, peering into the well, and saw that every stone on the inner well wall bore a human face. The faces varied in appearance and expression, but all had their eyes closed—old men, women, men, children, benevolence, anger, compassion, sadness... As if sensing someone at the well’s mouth, they all lifted their eyelids, looking up. Zhou Xuan felt their gaze, but the sensation didn’t come from the faces on the well wall, for they had no eyeballs—only hollow eye sockets... "It feels as if many are watching me from behind?" Zhou Xuan quickly turned around, only to find that the temple’s snow had somehow entirely melted. The inner walls of the solemn temple were grown over with eyes. Their eyelids closely matched the mottled color of the walls, hard to distinguish when not blinking, but the stark color of their eyeballs made them stand out on the wall. These eyes were fixed on Zhou Xuan. *Zhou Xuan had a bizarre thought—the temple perhaps never existed before; it seemed to have grown from the well.* The temple was a part of the Blood Well, covered by snow because the Blood Well didn’t wish strangers to see its truth. Now that the snow had melted, and the temple’s eyes were seen by Zhou Xuan, it indicated that the Blood Well tentatively accepted its connection with him. The eyes on the walls sensed Zhou Xuan’s thoughts, neatly closing and then reopening, to express agreement with his view. Upon perceiving the goodwill of the "eyes," Zhou Xuan recalled his purpose for coming to the Blood Well—Divination. By now, he realized that communication with the eyes didn’t require words. If he thought a question in his heart, they would perceive it. He placed his query in his heart—What does the advancement ritual of lighting two incense sticks look like? The countless eyes on the walls gazed in all directions, some in angles impossible for Zhou Xuan to view, but the ones he could see all carried a profound, distant quality, as if they saw into a dimension beyond reality. Uncertain of the time that passed, the eyes’ gaze collectively withdrew, and they all closed, leaving only a single eye open. This eye was remarkably small, with a round, large pupil, and little white space—a child’s eye. The child’s eye stared intently at Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan returned the gaze. In their exchange, Zhou Xuan saw a scene—he lay on the ground, with two fist-sized bloody holes in his chest, his head tilted, devoid of the breath of life, surrounded by a bamboo grove and a field of gray-white bones. The image lingered for a few seconds before vanishing without a trace, leaving Zhou Xuan with a feeling of suffocation and a complex state of mind. The child’s eye that showed him the scene closed as well, and then all the eyes on the wall began to weep blood, their eyelids rapidly shriveling and withering, The divination had over-exerted them, requiring time to recover. This was also why Jing Deng instructed that divination can only be performed once a week. Though Zhou Xuan felt more disappointment and frustration with the outcome of the divination, he still harbored feelings of "gratitude" in his heart, thankful for the sacrifice of the eyes—he had quite a good impression of the Blood Well Secret Realm. Despite the eerie atmosphere, the contact brought surprisingly much goodwill in return... ...Yet not entirely benevolent. The blood from the weeping eyes outlined numerous tiny runes, shimmering with a bewitching luster. Simultaneously, Zhou Xuan’s mind began to churn with chaotic thoughts. "Ask again, you can ask anything. We can answer your every question." "Bring forth all your doubts!" "If you’re doubtful, ask, and you shall receive an answer. It’s such an advantageous deal, rarely seen in the world." Though the thoughts themselves appeared harmless, matched with the blood runes, Zhou Xuan felt a chilling sense of danger—if he dared to ask another question, he might have to pay a heavy "price." Moreover, Zhou Xuan already knew what that price was, because his body had already subtly developed an urge to jump into the well. "Ask, no matter what you ask, we will tell you..." "Resolve all doubts." The seductive thoughts were like casino promoters luring gamblers: play a few rounds, the casino offers fame and fortune, turning your wealth severalfold, no money is as easily earned in the world... The thoughts had enveloped and controlled him, turning the impulse to jump into action; he turned, placing his foot on the stone rim, needing only a bit more force to take a leap into the Blood Well. In that instant, he somewhat understood the origins of the faces on the well wall and the eyes on the temple’s wall. Perhaps they were all spiritualists who couldn’t resist the Blood Well’s seduction! Spiritualists’ perception was powerful, and once they became part of the Blood Well, it further augmented their perception, so those eyes, under the ultimate perception, looked so deeply as to see into the "unknowable" dimension... "I truly have no doubts, knowing already more than enough." Zhou Xuan solidified his resolve just before leaping. With resolve, the tempting voice diminished, allowing him to seize the moment to clasp a Buddha Hand Seal, and above his hands, another pair—"Ten Fingers"—forming a Buddha Seal. The sudden presence of the Buddha nature suppressed the seductive voice within Zhou Xuan, making it too faint to affect his consciousness. He no longer gave the seductive thoughts an opportunity, severing the meditation of the Blood Well. The Blood Well’s image began to fade, first dimming, and then growing darker... The diary on the desk also flipped backward. At the moment the Blood Well’s image completely vanished, the diary closed. Their rhythm was perfectly aligned. "What a close call!" Zhou Xuan opened his eyes, feeling a surge of post-traumatic fear. If he hadn’t stopped at the brink, he would have become a face on the stone rim or an eye on the temple’s wall, helping the next Blood Well Spirit Communicator resolve their divination doubts, and continuing to seduce them into jumping into the well... "No wonder it is said that the Blood Well is an Alien Ghost! Such powerful seductive traits!" Zhou Xuan rose and went to find Yuan Buyu. ... Yuan Buyu was in the dormitory, reading the newspaper while finding stories to adapt into books from it. When Zhou Xuan entered, Yuan Buyu put down the pen and asked, "Was the Blood Well meditation successful?" "Very successful." Zhou Xuan wanted to tell Yuan Buyu about the faces and eyes in the Blood Well, but as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he suddenly felt the sensation of being watched by hundreds of eyes. "The Blood Well is warning me not to reveal the truth of the well?!" What if he ignored the warning? Presumably, the Blood Well... The Blood Well’s temperament was extremely peculiar, like an ugly gentleman showing goodwill and gentleness, yet with a sharp knife clutched behind. You never knew when it might reveal the knife, stabbing you in the throat. "I need to feel out the Blood Well’s temperament." Zhou Xuan did not want to simply abide by the principle of "You watch me, so I speak naught." Having witnessed the unimaginable power of the Blood Well, and today it merely showed the tip of the iceberg. Having such immense power and not utilizing it would be sheer waste! But haphazard use could lead to being punished and seduced by the Blood Well, becoming part of the "filling well," or worse... Understanding the Blood Well’s temperament, its nature, its limits, was the premise for safely utilizing its power in the future. Zhou Xuan thought of this point and said to Yuan Buyu, "Lao Yuan, the Blood Well possesses a strange power... It seems to perceive... another dimension..." With each segment he spoke, he checked for the "sensation of being watched." If it was absent or very faint, he would continue speaking! This segment did not provoke the Blood Well’s warning. "Another dimension? For instance...?" "Insight into the future!" Zhou Xuan replied. Glimpsing the future was, apart from its aura, the biggest difference between the Blood Well and Divine Revelation... ps: Good brothers, here’s the first update, more updates will come tonight.