A thousand years converge upon one appointed hour,
An ancient seal awakens beneath the stone.
What Heaven has hidden shall one day be revealed,
And those who behold the secret must choose their path.
The Brocade Pouch
The following morning, the elder child returned from the mountain spring. A large water gourd rested against his shoulder.
When he saw Guan and Zhang waiting beside the ancient stone, he stopped. Then he remembered something.
“True Ones,” he said. “There is something Nüwa left for you.”
He placed the gourd on the ground and carefully reached beneath his robe. From within, he brought out a small brocade pouch. It was old—very old. The colors had faded beneath the passage of countless years, yet several golden threads still glimmered faintly across its surface.
“Nüwa instructed us to open it only when the True Ones arrived.”
Guan and Zhang exchanged a glance. Neither spoke.
The child placed the pouch before them.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—a faint golden light emerged from within. The seal opened by itself. Inside lay a folded piece of yellow silk. Beneath it were three ancient scrolls.
Zhang carefully lifted the first. Ancient characters covered its surface in intricate patterns. The title was unmistakable: Tui Bi Tu (Thôi Bi Đồ).
The two True Ones became solemn. This was no ordinary text. Its meaning could not be understood merely by reading its words. It belonged to a prophecy whose secrets would unfold only when Heaven permitted them to be seen.
Guan unfolded the yellow silk. His eyes moved across the ancient verse, then stopped.
Zhang looked over his shoulder. The two remained silent for a long time. The children watched them anxiously.
Finally, the younger child asked, “What does it say?”
Guan folded the silk. “You are not yet meant to know everything.”
The elder child frowned. “But does it concern our master?”
Zhang nodded. “It concerns her.” He looked toward the ancient stone. “And it concerns the mortal realm.”
The Verse of the Ancient Arrangement
Written upon the yellow silk were four lines:
After a thousand years, the Sand Monk shall appear in the East,
Before the Red Dragon rises, Guan and Zhang shall stand.
Shiji's soul has perished, yet her stone body remains,
After a thousand years, the wicked calamity shall fall.
The children listened. They understood only fragments. But Guan and Zhang understood that the verse was not merely describing what would happen—it was describing why the stone had been preserved, why Shiji's body had remained, why two children had guarded it for a thousand years, and why they had been sent here.
The arrangement was larger than any one being.
Zhang slowly rolled the silk closed. “Your master has endured this long for a reason.”
The elder child looked toward the stone. “For the sake of being restored?”
Guan shook his head. “Not only that.” He looked at the children. “When Heaven preserves a being through hardship, it may also preserve a path for that being to make amends.”
The children listened carefully.
“Your master once made a wrong choice. That wrong thought brought great consequences. But Heaven does not close every door forever.” Guan's gaze fell upon the stone. “Sometimes a being is given another opportunity—not merely to escape suffering, but to repay what was lost.”
The younger child looked confused. “How can she repay it?”
Zhang answered, “By helping others choose the righteous path when the time comes.”
The Restoration
The two True Ones took out their sacred instruments. Guan held the Huiyang San. Zhang held the Dinghun Zhen.
“Step back,” Guan said.
The children obeyed.
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The mountain suddenly became still. Even the wind seemed to wait.
Guan and Zhang stood on opposite sides of the ancient stone. Their movements began slowly—one step, then another. They followed the principles of Kan and Li. The Five Elements responded.
A subtle current of energy spread through the valley. The strange grass bent away from the stone. Layers of moss slowly lifted. Ancient roots withdrew from the cracks.
The two True Ones began to chant. Their voices were calm and deep, yet the entire mountain seemed to hear them.
The Huiyang San radiated a deep red light. The Dinghun Zhen answered with a clear blue radiance. The two lights crossed above the stone.
Then—they merged.
Five-colored light erupted from within the ancient rock. The valley disappeared beneath its radiance. The children covered their eyes.
For one brief moment, the mountain seemed to exist outside ordinary time.
The stone trembled. Then it rose—slowly, higher, higher still.
A colossal five-colored stone emerged from beneath the strange grass. Its surface shone like crystal. Red light flowed from the Huiyang San; blue light flowed from the Dinghun Zhen. The five colors within the stone began to merge, illuminating the entire valley.
The elder child fell to his knees. “Master…”
The younger child stared upward. He could feel something within the stone—not yet a body, not yet a returning soul, but a trace of consciousness, a memory, a presence that had endured.
The Six Characters
The enormous stone slowly descended. Its immense form contracted: from mountain-sized to the size of a millstone, then smaller, smaller still, until it became no larger than a walnut.
With a faint sound, it fell into the Huiyang San.
Silence returned.
Guan reached into the vessel and lifted the crystal-like stone. It was perfectly clear. Yet something had appeared within its depths—six characters.
The children leaned closer. The characters seemed to carry their own light:
中國共產黨亡
The younger child stared. The elder child stared. Neither understood.
But Guan and Zhang did. Their expressions became solemn.
This was the true seal of the Heavenly Mandate—not a command, not a weapon, but a revelation that would one day reach the mortal world and place a choice before those who encountered it.
Those who recognized the Heavenly Secret would not be compelled. Heaven would not force their hearts. They would have to choose for themselves—to follow righteousness or to follow darkness.
And those who, after seeing the secret, refused to support evil and chose the righteous path would gain a chance to step beyond the calamity.
Zhang looked at the stone. Now he understood why it had been preserved. It was not merely a remnant of Shiji's past; it was part of the merit that awaited her future.
A being who had once fallen because of a wrong thought would, after a thousand years of hardship, be given an opportunity to help others avoid the same fall.
Her suffering had not been meaningless. Her waiting had not been meaningless. Even the stone itself had been waiting for the appointed time.
The elder child finally asked, “What do the six characters mean?”
Guan did not answer immediately. He looked at the ancient stone, then said quietly:
“Remember them.”
The children nodded.
“Do not ask more.”
They bowed.
The six characters remained silent. But their silence was heavier than any spoken prophecy.
A Chance to Repay
The younger child looked toward the stone. “Then Master can be saved?”
Guan nodded. “If she fulfills what Heaven has arranged.”
“What must she do?”
Zhang answered, “Help preserve the truth when the time comes.” He looked toward the distant horizon. “Some will see the Heavenly Secret and remain unmoved. Some will doubt. Some will be afraid. And some will choose to stand with evil.” His voice remained calm. “No one can choose for them.”
The younger child lowered his head. “Then what can Master do?”
Guan looked at him. “She can preserve the opportunity.”
The child looked puzzled.
“She can help those who are willing to choose righteousness. Every life that turns away from evil will become part of the merit she has accumulated.”
The child slowly understood. For a thousand years, his master had waited beneath the mountain. Perhaps she had not been waiting merely for someone to awaken her; perhaps she had been waiting for the chance to make amends.
The elder child bowed deeply toward the stone. “Master…” His voice trembled. “This time, we will help you.”
The Thousand-Year Arrangement
Zhang turned toward the children. “Your master's hardship will continue.”
The younger child looked up. “For another thousand years?”
“Yes.”
“But why so long?”
“Because some vows require time.” Zhang looked at the crystal stone. “After a thousand years, the Turning Wheel Holy King will descend into the mortal realm. When that appointed time arrives, the old evils will be subdued. Heaven and Earth will be restored. And the opportunity your master has been waiting for will finally arrive.”
Guan continued, “We were not sent here to end everything today. We were sent to preserve the arrangement.”
The elder child understood. He looked at the stone, then at the two True Ones. “We will keep it safe.”
Guan smiled. “That is your part of the vow.”
The Stone Laughs
Suddenly—Crack!
A faint line appeared across the crystal stone. The children startled.
The stone split into two. Then, before either half could fall away, they joined together again.
A clear laugh echoed from within.
The younger child froze. “Master?”
No answer came. Only another faint laugh.
Guan and Zhang looked at one another. The Daoist True One smiled. “She heard.”
The Buddhist True One nodded.
Perhaps, after a thousand years of silence, Shiji finally understood. Her past could not be changed, but her future had not been closed.
The stone had preserved her body. The Heavenly Mandate had preserved her opportunity. And the six characters had revealed the path by which she could one day repay what she had lost.
The children knelt before the stone. “Thank you, True Ones.”
Guan raised his hand. “Do not thank us. Remember the vow.”
The Road Beyond the Mountain
The elder child rose. “Where must we take the stone?”
Zhang looked toward the southwest. “More than two thousand two hundred li from here. To Zhangbu Valley, in Pingtang County, Yungui.”
The child repeated the name. “Zhangbu Valley.”
“Yes. You will take your master there.” Zhang handed him a sealing note. “When you arrive, follow these instructions. Place the stone within the southern cliff.”
He looked toward the distant mountains. “One day, after many centuries have passed, that place will become known to the mortal world.”
The child was puzzled. “Why?”
Guan smiled. “Because Heaven has already arranged it.”
The elder child looked once more at the crystal stone. He still did not understand the six characters. He did not need to. The time for understanding belonged to another age.
For now, he only needed to protect the secret and to carry the vow forward.
The mountain wind rose. The strange grass moved beneath the morning sun. The ancient stone rested quietly within the Huiyang San.
Its secret had been sealed. Its purpose had been revealed. And somewhere beyond the mortal realm, the wheel of Heaven turned once more.
The prophecy had been written. The Heavenly Secret had appeared. And the path of Shiji's redemption had begun.