Chapter 16 - Heavenly Eye

The three left Liu Iron Mouth’s house, and Chen Shaoxian had Xiao Zhuang drive to his apartment building where he retrieved a wooden box from his home. They then drove to Qianniao Garden.

Qianniao Garden had expanded many times over since its inception, especially after the government promoted the concept of a green city. With numerous health and recreational facilities installed, the park attracted many visitors daily. However, the mound in the park was now surrounded by a fence.

Upon their arrival at Qianniao Garden around noon, there were fewer people around. They walked around the mound and found four stair-laden paths leading to the top, but the lush trees obstructed their view of the stele at the summit. They had to walk farther away to a relatively higher spot to get a glimpse of most of the stele.

Seeing the stele, Chen Shaoxian opened the wooden box and took out a transparent round disc, filled with water and resembling glass, framed by wood engraved with heavenly stems and earthly branches¹.

Liu Baodong, seeing what Chen Shaoxian had taken out, asked uncertainly, “Is that the Qian-Kun Mirror your grandfather has?”

Chen Shaoxian replied to Liu Baodong, “Yes, but Uncle Liu, don’t tell Grandpa Liu when he returns.”

Liu Baodong nodded and said, “I heard from Grandpa Liu that there are two types of Qian-Kun Mirrors. The first type, called the Celestial Mirror, is made from the first tear a person sheds after birth, collected in crystal. The second type, called the Ocular Mirror, is made from the tears shed during the first cry after birth. But Grandpa Liu never told me the difference between these two.”

Chen Shaoxian explained, “Actually, humans have three eyes. Besides the two eyes, there is also one at the forehead, known as the Heavenly Eye. As one ages, the Heavenly Eye gradually closes, which is why children can see things that adults cannot.”

Younger children possess a heightened sensitivity in their heavenly eye, and in many customs, on the midnight of the seventh day after a person’s death, the youngest child in the family is asked to gaze at their home’s chimney to see if the deceased’s soul has departed. The first tear shed at birth, which emerges from the heavenly eye, is the purest and hardest to collect. We call it the celestial tear, while Buddhists refer to it as the worldly tear or suffering tear, symbolizing the suffering that awaits in life. Through the celestial tear, one can see things invisible to the naked eye. However, collecting celestial tears is exceedingly difficult, and they must be gathered and crafted into the Qian-Kun Mirror within seven days.

I’ve heard from my grandfather that the Qian-Kun Mirror made of celestial tears has only appeared twice: once during the Qin Dynasty, acquired by Xu Fu², and another during the Ming Dynasty, obtained by Emperor Zhu Di³. Since then, it has never been seen again. The second type of tear, the first tear cried, is called the first tear. Though a Qian-Kun Mirror made from these is significantly inferior to one made from celestial tears, it is relatively easier to collect, but there are few left in existence.

Chen Shaoxian lit a cigarette and continued, “Both the celestial tear and the first tear, along with the function of the heavenly eye, serve the purpose of exorcism and ghost repulsion, which is related to the three strands of Yang Fire inherent in a person. These three strands of Yang Fire originate from the mother, as every pregnant woman plays a critical role in the cycle of life and rebirth as a reincarnation envoy. At that time, three strands of golden light protect her body, causing evil spirits to steer clear. After birth, these three strands of golden light descend upon the infant, becoming the three strands of Yang Fire in their body. In childhood, when the Yang Fire is not strong, that’s when the heavenly eye is most active. This piece I’m holding is the ocular mirror. If we had this that day, it would have been much easier with Grandpa Liu.”

Chen Shaoxian adjusted the position of the ocular mirror towards the mound and peered through it, uttering a curious “Hmm?” “Come take a look.”

The two approached and looked through the ocular mirror at the stele, which surprisingly emitted yellow, green, cyan, and blue lights.

Both instinctively shifted their eyes slightly outward; with the naked eye, they saw an ordinary black stele, but through the ocular mirror, it radiated four kinds of light. They rubbed their eyes and looked again, their expressions filled with disbelief.

Chen Shaoxian said to the two, “The colors we can’t see should be red and orange. Indeed, the Soul and Spirit of those people are on the Stele, and the purple missing at the top is the Soul of the Celestial Pivot. We must go up there to understand it clearly.”

Returning to the base of the mound, Chen Shaoxian asked the two to keep watch as he climbed over the railing and walked towards the Stele. As he approached, he felt a pulling force from within the Stele, as if something was trying to be drawn out of him. He steadied his mind, took out the ocular mirror, and placed it above his head, feeling the pulling force dissipate.

Only then, through the ocular mirror, did he look at the Stele. Inside, the darkness seemed like a swirling mass of dark clouds. Removing the ocular mirror, the Stele returned to its ordinary form, engraved with the names of the victims. Moving to the back of the Stele, he saw nothing, but through the ocular mirror, scriptures appeared in red text. Chen Shaoxian read the scriptures, realizing they were from the “Mysterious Scripture of the Blood Lake for Removing Sins by Taiyi, the Savior of Suffering.” He carefully considered the scripture and suddenly thought it might be written with world-cutting tears, which only show red when they meet celestial tears or the first tear.

Chen Shaoxian carefully examined the Stele’s base, which was shaped like the Bagua, with each side engraved with Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui⁴. He meticulously discovered each side corresponded to a different grove of trees. Following the Qian position downwards, he saw regular poplar trees interspersed with peach trees.

Chen Shaoxian walked around this grove, noting that the placement of the peach trees directly corresponded to the trio depicted in the Qian position, while on the opposite end at the Kun position, indeed there were six breaks. With some clues in mind, he walked down the mound.

At the base of the mound, he met the two and said, “Let’s go to the TV Tower.”

The two were puzzled, Liu Baodong asked, “What are we doing there?” Chen Shaoxian then shared his discoveries from the mound. Liu Baodong asked, “Shaoxian, are you talking about the world-cutting tears after death?”

“How did world-cutting tears come up again?” Xiao Zhuang was somewhat confused.

Chen Shaoxian explained to Xiao Zhuang, “The tears shed after one’s death are called world-cutting tears, also known as tears of joy. They symbolize breaking away from the mortal world and escaping the sea of suffering. Only those who have a peaceful end possess them, while those who meet a tragic death do not. Therefore, those who die tragically retain resentful energy and cannot be reincarnated unless they are delivered. However, it is said that world-cutting tears encompass the hardships of the world and the bitter-sweetness of life, which can help the resentful spirits of the tragically deceased to dissolve their karma and reincarnate. My great-granduncle made a grand gesture by using these tears to write these characters, which at that time were worth a fortune.”

He then told the two, “I suspect this is not just any ordinary Soul-Suppressing Stele. At first, I thought this mound was merely a soul mound, but that seems unlikely now. A regular soul mound wouldn’t contain what’s inside the stele, hence the use of world-cutting tears.

So, I want to find a place with a good view to get a better look at the entirety of Qianniao Garden.” Convinced by Chen Shaoxian’s reasoning, the three drove to the TV Tower.

The TV Tower is the tallest building in the city and had caused a sensation nationwide when it was first built. Moreover, it is not far from Qianniao Garden, with no tall buildings in between, making it the perfect spot to view the garden.

After paying the fee, they took the elevator to the top of the TV Tower. Chen Shaoxian located the direction of Qianniao Garden and tried to discern its outline through the haze. After staring intently for a while and rubbing his eyes, he complained, “I can’t see clearly at all; I knew I shouldn’t have spent the money to come here.” Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turned to see Xiao Zhuang, who asked, “What’s up, can you see anything?”

Xiao Zhuang silently pointed to the side. Following his gaze, Chen Shaoxian saw Liu Baodong crouched in front of a high-powered telescope, muttering, “Ah, that’s my home, oh my, that’s my Dongbao Studio.”

Embarrassed, Chen Shaoxian scratched his head and said, “I’ve never been here before.” He walked over to Liu Baodong and coughed to get his attention. Seeing that Liu Baodong ignored him, he asked, “See any beautiful women?”

“Not yet, still looking. But it’s hard to see clearly,” Liu Baodong responded without turning around. Suddenly realizing, he stood up straight, avoiding Chen Shaoxian’s gaze, and repeated, “I’ve never been here before.” Then pointing to the telescope, he added, “This thing is really handy,” and then slipped away to gaze at the sky. Xiao Zhuang shook his head at the two, thinking, “Why is no one in this line of work normal?”

Taking over the telescope, Chen Shaoxian adjusted it to focus on Qianniao Garden and observed it carefully. Surprised, he exclaimed, “Uncle Liu, this mound has a Bagua Pattern Bixi.”

Footnote:

1. Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches(天干地支): The Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches are a traditional Chinese system used to mark time.
2. Xu Fu(徐福):Xu Fu was a court sorcerer during the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE) under Emperor Qin Shi Huang. He is famous for being sent on an expedition to find the elixir of immortality.
3. Zhu Di(朱棣):Zhu Di was the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), ruling from 1402 to 1424. He is known for moving the capital of China from Nanjing to Beijing and constructing the Forbidden City.
4. Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen,Dui(乾,坤,震,巽,坎,离,艮,兑): Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, Kan, Li, Gen, and Dui are the eight trigrams (Bagua) in Chinese philosophy and cosmology.