At the Columbia University Observatory, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents cleared out the entire observatory. According to Chen Ang's request, they cleared out a space about the size of three large conference tables in the room where the telescope was placed.
Danny complained, "Do you know how much effort I had to put in to get Columbia to lend us the observatory for a day? I had to ask a lot of people … You better pray that your astrology works! "
Chen Ang glanced at him and said calmly, "You better pray that I don't take what you said to heart!"
The old man with the staff leaned on his walking stick, and the whites of his eyes were rolled back. His face had the unique expression of a blind man, and he did not look young anymore. Even though his body was thin and withered like an old man, the muscles that had thinned out were still filled with energy. The expression on his face was not exactly good.
"It's hard to imagine that S.H.I.E.L.D. called me over to deal with the Shokuwa Society because of your astrology."
The Old Man said to Chen Ang bluntly. He then turned to Danny and said, "If you hope that this liar can destroy Black Sky, I can only say that our cooperation is no longer necessary."
Danny said, "To be honest, I have my doubts too. But this was introduced to me by the former director of S.H.I.E.L.D. He must have some tricks up his sleeve. "
"You have no idea how terrifying Black Sky is." The Old Man was still a little dissatisfied. He urged, "The Pure Truth Society and the Shokuwa Society have been enemies for many years. As early as the founding of the shogunate, we were enemies. Today, we can be called old enemies. Our understanding of the Shokuwa Society is better than anyone else. "
"It's the same for their most powerful weapon, Black Sky."
The old staff man put down his cane and stared blankly into the distance. He sighed faintly and said, "The power of the Black Void is unimaginably strong. It can control a person's life and death. The five fingers of the Hand Society relied on its power to live forever. The ninjas of the Hand Society also relied on its power to become very strong. They are not afraid of death, and their bodies change into the state of evil spirits. Even after they are destroyed, they can rely on the power of Black Sky to bring them back from hell. "
"The Shokuwa Society relied on the power of Black Sky to wreak havoc in Japan. This was because they had yet to fully control Black Sky. If you let them control the Black Void and obtain its power, then you can imagine what you will face in the future. It will be an army of ninjas that will never die. They will control the entire world! "
"Such a powerful force … isn't something that a child's game of astrology can stop."
After hearing his doubts, Chen Ang finally stopped what he was doing and asked curiously, "I remember that the core of the Yin-Yang technique in Japan is the astronomical calendar. In fact, before Abe no Seimei turned the Yin-Yang Technique into witchcraft, the Onmyoji had actually inherited the secret arts of the Yin-Yang Sect from the East. They were responsible for divining the fate of Japan and setting up the calendar … "
"Astronomy, no matter which civilization's mysticism, is a prominent subject. You're just a traditional ninja. Seeing such a high level of knowledge, you don't hurry to worship it. You actually want to fight against feudal superstition? In Japanese tradition, people like me who have mastered astronomy are all like you, Prince Shengde, and have high statuses. He could even be called the leader of the Shintoism. And you, a ninja, are just a dog raised by a daimyo. Your status is even lower than that of a low-level samurai. How dare you question the Yin-Yang Astrology that only priests and monks can master? "
Chen Ang shook his head and said, "Even the professor of astronomy at Columbia University is curious. Why is a ninja like you so dramatic?"
The Old Man was so angry that his face turned green. Although ninjas sounded powerful, their status in Japan was indeed very low. They were basically equivalent to doing dirty work. On the other hand, Onmyoji could enter and leave the palace and mingle with high officials and nobles. Their status was far more prominent than the ninjas. Not to mention, there was a large amount of Yin-Yang techniques in the ninjutsu.
However, since the Song Dynasty, whether it was China or Japan, astronomy had rapidly declined. Not only did it gradually become only symbolic in politics, but it also declined in mysticism. It declined to the point that, except for a few hidden forces, astrology and astronomy had even lost its significance in mysticism.
This situation, on the one hand, was related to the centralization of imperial power after the Song Dynasty. Although astrology was the most profound knowledge in divination, it was also the highest-ranking mysticism. However, because of the unique eastern ideology of the unity of heaven and man, this knowledge had in fact impacted the imperial power and was feared by the imperial power. The Song Dynasty even had a law that, apart from the Imperial Astronomer, scholars who studied astronomy without permission were considered traitors!
This was the case whether it was China, Japan, or even Korea and Annan. After all, they were all part of the greater Chinese cultural circle, and it was difficult not to be influenced by China.
On the other hand, astrology and astronomy had declined in divination. In other words, the collapse of astrology. After a long period of mysticism, the astrology at the time of birth basically had no effect on a person's fate. Astrology could deceive ordinary people, but it was no longer a secret to the experts.
On the other hand, after the glorious period of the Han and Three Kingdoms, the core pillar of astrology, the loyal officials and generals who corresponded to the stars, almost completely fell into silence. There was no one who corresponded to the stars since the Ming Dynasty. After Zhu Yuanzhang learned from Liu Ji that he could not correspond to the Ziwei Heavenly Star, astrology was almost completely abandoned.
If not for that, the Old Man would not have scoffed when he heard that Chen Ang wanted to use astrology to find clues about the hand and the control of the black sky.
As he spoke, Chen Ang had already set up a round table under the telescope. It was a giant Daira compass made up of many movable mechanical structures. It was divided into many layers from the inside to the outside, and there were many small movable copper pieces engraved with astrological symbols and heavenly stems and earthly branches.
Facing this complex compass, the transparency of the atmosphere began to reach the optimal level of observation. Above the observatory, the clear air refracted the starlight from billions of light years away to the surface of the earth. Chen Ang began to observe with his naked eye.
After confirming the current star map of the northern hemisphere, Chen Ang began to take out the files of abnormal deaths and missing people provided by S.H.I.E.L.D. and explained, "Modern astrology usually uses the twelve zodiac signs as the basis for divination … but this is completely wrong and amateurish. In any ancient astrology, the first and most important astrology has always been the nine planets in the solar system … and now there are eight! "
"In the ancient astrology system, India and China both belonged to the 28 Mansions. Europe originated from Mesopotamia, and occasionally referred to ancient Egyptian astrology. But all of these civilizations carried out the first step of astrology, which is the astrolabe of modern astrology. The Chinese cultural circle became the Life Palace, a chart that shows the various innate and acquired effects of the energy in different positions of the stars on living beings …"
"The first ring must be the nine planets, or to use the concept that I'm familiar with — Nine Luminaries."
Chen Ang suddenly raised his head and sneered. "The so-called astral energy is also a concept invented by modern astrology. It's a superstition that pays tribute to science."
"I'll explain the reason later. Now, let me calculate the positions of the Nine Luminaries when these people were born and died."
Chen Ang skimmed through the list of the dead and missing people and quickly selected a name. "This is … Erica, a white woman, twenty-four years old, born on April 23, 1988, died on July 6, 2012. The forensic doctor estimated that the time of death was around 3: 20 p.m.
"Of course, the positions of the nine planets in the solar system can't be the same!
"However, including the tidal force of the moon, the relative positions of the five stars of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, and the sun and the moon, they are astonishingly similar in astrology. According to the analysis of China's Fengshui studies, it's the pattern of the day of the Nine Palaces, the time sequence of the Eight Gates of the Heavenly Disk, and the four gates of the Qimen Dunjia that coincide with each other … "
Chen Ang's hands began to quickly slide the copper pieces on the compass. The complicated Heavenly Stems, Earthly Branches, and Nine Stars began to move with a mechanical speed that was as complicated as a differential machine. Chen Ang casually calculated the orbits and relative positions of the nine planets and the sun on a piece of paper beside him. The series of complicated formulas made Danny and the old man with a staff pale.
The old staff wielding man seemed to have sensed a disdainful gaze. It was just like when he was still a young ninja and occasionally walked past his master's esteemed guest, the Yin-Yang Master, and he would turn his head around to look at him. It was as if he had lost his sight and was getting old. When he walked through the campus and smelled the scent of learning, he would feel the gazes from the people around him.
Right when the Old Man was under tremendous pressure, Chen Ang finally put down his pen and said, "The girl's death was not an accident. She was sacrificed!"
Danny picked up Erica's file and read it carefully. He raised his head and said, "But according to the investigation, her death was an accident! In the file, there are many people whose deaths are a hundred times more suspicious than hers. Why are you so sure that her death is related to the conspiracy of the Hand and the Society? "
"Because of the time sequence of the Eight Gates, I performed the Qimen Dunjia according to the time and place of her death. The Nine Palaces of the Heavenly Disk represent the nine stars, the Eight Gates of the Middle Plate represent the eight gates, and the Eight Palaces of the Territory Plate represent the eight directions. Meanwhile, on the Territory Plate of the Heavenly Disk, each Palace is assigned with a specific six elements (E, E, C, D). Based on the specific time and place, I arranged them according to the six elements, three elements, eight gates, and nine stars.
"In the Qimen Dunjia, time is the most important thing, followed by geography. According to the time and place, I arranged them according to the three plates, and it was found that the time of her death corresponded to the year of her birth.
"Considering her fate, her death at the corresponding time must be a sacrifice.
"This person's fate is unremarkable, and the four pillars are not unusual either. It's impossible for normal people to sacrifice them. To sacrifice such an unremarkable date of birth, the host must be a master of occultism, or a lot of manpower and material resources were wasted on trial and error!
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