Chapter 686
: If You See the Hidden Words in the Ink, My Son Jihui Will Help You
There was silence in the main hall of the Firearms Institute.
The brass candlestick in the shape of a lion stands quietly in the hall.
The lion-like figure was lifelike, with its mouth open and a thumb-sized honey candle firmly in its mouth.
When the honey candle burns, it emits a soft, dim light.
Everything in the hall was shrouded in this warm yet somewhat mysterious halo.
The candle wax slowly slid down the corners of Suanni's mouth, and gradually accumulated under the beast's claws to form a warm amber pedestal, like a work of art that had been accumulated over the years.
Gongshu Qi was immersed in thinking about the current situation, his eyes fixed on the remaining volume of "Essentials of Fire Attack" on the desk.
This fragment was an important reference for his years of research on firearms, and every page was filled with dense annotations.
Just when Gongshu Qi was concentrating, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the candlelight in the beast's pupils shaking slightly.
The shaking was so slight that if he hadn't been so sharp-minded, he probably wouldn't have been able to detect it at all.
Before Gong Shuqi could raise his eyes to take a closer look, he heard a crisp "crackling" sound and the wick suddenly exploded.
In an instant, countless sparks flew everywhere like flowers scattered from heaven, and several of them landed directly on the spread rice paper.
Xuan paper is thin and light in texture, how can it withstand such torture?
In the blink of an eye, a few charred spots were burned out, as if they were mysterious marks left by fate in this silent temple.
This sudden change made Gongshu Qi feel nervous.
Almost subconsciously, he immediately protected the real gun map in his arms with both hands.
That is the core secret of the Firearms Institute, which embodies the countless efforts of Gongshuqi and everyone else, and there must not be any mistake.
When his fingertips touched the oilcloth wrapping the gun map, Gong Shuqi felt the uneven outline of the ink stick on the oilcloth. That was the Hui ink that Lin Miaoyin gave him three years ago.
At the moment when the fire burst into bright light, words seemed to float in the shadow cast by the ink stick in Gongshuqi's palm.
Gongshu Qi widened his eyes and stared at the shadow, with countless questions in his mind.
Then he held his breath and brought the ink stick close to the candle.
The light of the honey candle was reddish, making the ink body look dark blue as iron.
There were indeed very fine knife marks between the three thunder pattern decorations on the side.
One had to squint and use the gaps between the flickering flames to make out the seven words "Remnants of the Zhejiang East Salt Permit Case"; they were carved smaller than a fly's head.
The strokes were filled with silver powder, which glowed slightly in the firelight.
The pine-patterned porcelain jar is sealed with wax and still has a faint scent of pine smoke after three years.
That unique breath seemed to bring Gong Shuqi back to the scene three years ago.
Gongshu Qi still remembered that when Lin Miaoyin handed him the ink, there was a hint of mystery and expectation in her eyes.
In Wenmozhai in the West Market of Yingtian Prefecture, when her fingertips brushed against the wax sealing surface of a porcelain jar, her nails were stained with indigo, as if she had just painted a fine brush painting.
"Mr. Gongshu, you know that to distinguish the authenticity of pine soot ink, you need to roast it with crab shell green furnace fire."
As Lin Miaoyin spoke, the Boshan incense burner on the desk was emitting the scent of agarwood.
"It's just the ink sent from East Zhejiang"
The last sound suddenly became lower and was covered by the sound of camel bells outside the window.
At this moment, as he stroked the dark patterns on the ink ingot, Gongshu Qi felt a chill on the back of his neck.
The Zhejiang East Salt Permit Case was an old case from the tenth year of Hongwu, which involved twenty-three officials from the Liangzhe Salt Transport Commissioner's Office. Even the Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Ben was punished in court by Zhu Yuanzhang.
However, when the case was closed, the main criminal Wang Zhi's deputy "Black Tide" Chen Jiugao was nowhere to be found. Could it be that
Just as Gongshu Qi was staring suspiciously at the floating words in the shadow of the ink stick in his palm, a slight and regular sound of gears turning suddenly came from the corner of the hall.
The sound was particularly clear in the quiet main hall, like a messenger of the night, breaking the brief silence.
It turned out that it was the exquisite self-ringing clock in the corner that was telling the time. As the gears meshed and turned, it made a clear and melodious sound, announcing the arrival of the hour of Xu. Gongshuqi suddenly came to his senses, as if awakened from a trance.
He knew very well that at this time and place, there was no room for negligence or slackness.
So Gongshuqi hurriedly and carefully put the ink stick back to his chest, close to his heart.
It seemed that only in this way could he ensure that the secret hidden in the ink stick would not be leaked.
Then Gongshu Qi slowly raised his head and looked towards the nanmu frame in the corner of the room.
On the nanmu frame, two "parent-submachine gun linkage devices" were placed quietly, softly wrapped in Shu brocade.
The Shu brocade has a delicate texture and a faint luster.
Under the moonlight, it looks even more gorgeous.
However, Gong Shuqi's attention was attracted by the copper mechanism on the device, which had sharp edges and corners.
It glows coldly under the cold moonlight, as if telling of its sharpness and lethality.
These two "mother-and-child gun linkage devices" embody Gong Shuqi's countless days and nights of hard work.
He modeled it after the ancient military book "Wujing Zongyao" and after repeated improvements, it is now in its seventh edition.
The scale marks on the mother gun still bear traces of fresh filing, which were the marks left by Gongshuqi's careful polishing a few days ago.
Every trace is filled with his persistent pursuit of precise shooting.
And on the slot of the sub-gun, there is a striking dark pattern of the word "Jin" engraved.
This not only represents the power of King Jin, but also Gongshu Qi's persistence and responsibility in his mission.
At this time, the night dew gradually became thicker and moisture began to permeate the entire temple.
On the bluestone road, the rhythmic sound of the night watchman's clappers could be heard.
Accompanied by the cry of "the weather is dry", it spread far away in the silent night.
This sound seems to remind people that in this seemingly peaceful night, countless unknown dangers are lurking.
Gongshu Qi became more determined as he listened to the sound of the clapper.
He knew that he had to uncover the secret of the ink stick as soon as possible and make good use of these two devices.
To cope with the impending crisis, guard the Firearms Institute, and protect the forces of King Jin.
When Gongshu Qi went out with the "mother-and-child gun linkage device" on his back, the sole of his boot rolled over a dewy bamboo leaf, and he suddenly remembered the words in the secret letter from Jin Wang Zhu Gang the day before.
"If you see the hidden words in the ink, go to the Holy Mother Hall of Jin Temple at the beginning of the morning, and my son Jihui will help you."
Under the watery moonlight, the outline of the eaves of the Jin Temple appears particularly clear.
From a distance, it looks like a black bird spreading its wings to fly, exuding a lively and mysterious aura.
The moonlight shines on the vermilion lacquer gate of the Holy Mother Hall. The originally bright vermilion lacquer looks slightly mottled after years of baptism.
One of the horns of the beast head with a ring in its mouth on the gate is missing.
In the reflection of the moonlight, the broken part cast a shadow, as if telling an unknown past.
This missing corner was a mark that Gongshuqi had the craftsmen leave when the temple was repaired last year.
At that time, Gongshu Qi was ordered to participate in the repair work of the Holy Mother Hall of Jin Temple. For some special considerations, he asked the craftsmen to retain the defect of the pepper-shaped animal head.
This mark may be just an inadvertent flaw to others, but to Gongshuqi, it has a different meaning.
It is like a key hidden in the years, and only he knows the deep meaning behind it.
Gong Shuqi slowly reached out his hand, grasped the cold door knocker, and gently pushed it. (End of this chapter)