NOVEL NEXT Ch. 20
Chapter 20: Fortune-Appraising Treasure Mirror
Inside the bedchamber, the candlelight flickered.
Jiang Zhaoming slowly opened his eyes, within which the brilliance of the stars seemed to flow.
He lowered his head to look at the object in his palm—a treasure mirror of pure white jade, emitting a faint, hazy glow in the dimly lit room.
The treasure mirror was no larger than a palm, yet it weighed as heavy as a thousand catties.
Its surface was as clear as water, yet unfathomably deep, as though it could devour all light.
Along the rim coiled nine dragon engravings, each vivid and lifelike.
Tiny blood-colored crystals were inlaid in their eyes, glimmering with an eerie glow beneath the candlelight.
“Fortune-Appraising Treasure Mirror…”
Jiang Zhaoming lightly brushed the mirror’s surface with his fingertips, and ripples immediately spread across it.
Countless tiny golden runes flowed within the mirror, sometimes condensing into mountains and rivers, other times transforming into birds and beasts.
“What a marvelous treasure that can reflect the flow of fortune.”
He turned the mirror over and saw four archaic seal characters engraved on its back:
【Discern the Past, Foretell the Future】
Each character seemed to have been written in fresh blood, with dark red traces lingering at the edges of the strokes. When touched, they even felt faintly warm.
“How should I use this treasure mirror?”
Just as Jiang Zhaoming’s doubt arose, his hand holding the mirror suddenly trembled, and a sharp pain surged through him.
He looked down at his right hand and saw a fresh cut on his finger, blood slowly seeping out.
“Waaah—Master, how long have I slept?”
A childish girl’s voice sounded within his mind. Jiang Zhaoming’s gaze fell onto the treasure mirror in his hand.
“Master, why aren’t you speaking? And why has your strength become so weak?”
“What… are you?”
The young girl’s voice replied in confusion, “I’m Master’s beloved treasure mirror! Master, what’s wrong with you today?”
Confirming his suspicion, Jiang Zhaoming’s expression turned strange.
So, artifact spirits truly existed.
Daoist Tianyan, I really must thank you for this.
Jiang Zhaoming asked, “How do I use you? What can you do?”
“Master, you’re acting so strange today! But since you asked, I shall tell you.”
Through the artifact spirit’s explanation, Jiang Zhaoming learned that the mirror not only allowed one to observe fortune but could also perform divinations.
After understanding how to use it, Jiang Zhaoming infused it with his blood and energy, yet his frown deepened by the second.
“Artifact spirit, what’s going on? Why can’t I activate you?”
The spirit asked in puzzlement, “Master, why are you using blood and energy? Where’s your spiritual power?”
Jiang Zhaoming’s expression froze.
He was merely a cultivator of the Tempering Bones Realm, not one of the Divine Power Realm—where would he get spiritual power?
“Ahem, my spiritual power is depleted today. I only have blood and energy left. How should I proceed?”
“Blood and energy can indeed stir my power, Master, but you’ll need to offer a little more of it.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhaoming continued pouring his blood and energy into the mirror.
Effort always bore fruit—when he had expended about half of his strength, the mirror’s surface suddenly trembled, and countless scenes began to appear within it.
When Jiang Zhaoming looked closely, he saw the interior of Kuqa City reflected in the mirror, where lights of various colors—representing fortunes—swirled around its people.
His gaze swept across them and found that most commoners possessed only white fortune, though the shades differed: some murky, others pure.
Soon, he spotted a thousand-man commander of the city’s garrison, whose body emanated a faint green fortune.
“Interesting.”
After some thought, Jiang Zhaoming adjusted the mirror’s perspective until the scene became an aerial view of Kuqa City.
He then saw several blue lights in the city—emanating from Ma Fei, Qin Wei, and Yan Chen.
Among them, Qin Wei’s was the deepest, a dark blue nearing violet, while Ma Fei’s was merely pale blue.
Yet as Jiang Zhaoming swept his gaze once more, he discovered two other individuals bearing blue fortune—one of whom was no less brilliant than Qin Wei.
He frowned. “Who are these two?”
The mirror shifted again, locking onto a ruined house in the city’s western quarter.
There, a boy of thirteen or fourteen knelt by a sickbed, carefully feeding porridge to an old woman.
His clothes were ragged, his palms calloused, yet above his head spun a dazzling deep-blue fortune.
In another scene, a youth of fifteen or sixteen carried a wooden beam, repairing a civilian house.
A bruise still marked his forehead—clearly a new recruit—but the pillar of blue light rising from him was more resplendent than that of many generals.
Jiang Zhaoming could not discern what was special about these two. If they shared a common trait, it was their youth.
He didn’t yet understand what these colors of fortune signified—but there was someone who did.
Gazing at the mirror in his hand, Jiang Zhaoming asked softly, “Do you know what these colors of fortune represent and how they are formed?”
The treasure mirror’s voice echoed in his mind.
“Master, the fortune one bears is an unseen force woven from the ‘momentum of heaven and earth’ and the individual’s own ‘destiny’. It is not fixed—it constantly shifts with the changes of the world, the will of the people, one’s own choices, and unexpected opportunities.
“As for the two you are observing, they must be either extraordinarily gifted, bearers of great treasures, or on the verge of encountering great fortune.”
Jiang Zhaoming’s eyes filled with curiosity as he looked once more upon the two youths, wondering what kind of fate granted them such fortune.
Regardless, he had already decided to bring them under his command.
The more people of great fortune he gathered, the more fortune he himself could obtain.
At dawn the next day, as faint light touched the sky,
Jiang Zhaoming pushed open his chamber door.
The morning breeze brushed his face, and in the courtyard already stood a tall, burly figure—Qin Wei.
“Uncle, you’re up so early?” Jiang Zhaoming said with a smile.
Qin Wei turned around, his gaze complex as he studied his nephew.
Earlier that morning, he had received an urgent letter from his younger sister, Qin Guiyan, and only then learned that Jiang Zhaoming’s actions in the past two months within Anxi Prefecture had already alarmed the noble clans of the Imperial Capital.
Qin Wei stepped beside him and said quietly, “Do you realize the stir you’ve caused in the Imperial Capital?”
Jiang Zhaoming was not surprised; his eyes gleamed with determination. “Uncle, rest assured. I have long been prepared for this day—it was bound to come sooner or later.”
Seeing that Jiang Zhaoming showed no fear, Qin Wei relaxed a little, though concern still lingered between his brows.
Jiang Zhaoming smiled faintly, then extended his hand.
A tiny bronze insect, no larger than a palm, lay quietly in his palm.
“Uncle, look at this.”
As he spoke, Jiang Zhaoming opened his hand.
The small bronze insect, no bigger than a coin, emitted an ancient and mysterious aura.
“This is…?”
Before Qin Wei could examine it closely, Jiang Zhaoming willed it to move.
The tiny insect suddenly clicked and shifted shape, transforming in an instant into a thin, cicada-wing-like bronze armor that perfectly melded with his skin—almost undetectable to the eye.
Jiang Zhaoming grinned. “Come, Uncle, try cutting me—with your blade energy.”
“Ridiculous!” Qin Wei glared. “What if you get hurt—”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
Seeing Jiang Zhaoming’s insistence, Qin Wei sighed helplessly, then brought his fingers together like a blade and unleashed a strand of blade energy, using only ten percent of his strength.
Bang!
The blade energy struck Jiang Zhaoming’s chest, yet only bronze ripples spread across his skin like wind brushing over water—not even his robes stirred.
“This…”
Qin Wei’s pupils constricted; this time, he used thirty percent of his power.
The result was the same.
Only when he unleashed fifty percent did Jiang Zhaoming take a single step back—without even the faintest wound.
“This armor… only the Imperial Craftsmen of the Divine Workshop could forge such a thing. How did it end up in Di Long’s possession?”
Jiang Zhaoming withdrew the bronze armor with a mysterious smile. “Who cares where it came from? Now you can rest easy, can’t you, Uncle?”
Qin Wei stared at his nephew for a long moment before bursting into hearty laughter. “Good lad! Seems I was worrying for nothing!”