The Iron Hook – Part One is the one-hundred and twenty-third chapter of Mo Dao Zu Shi.
Synopsis []
The chapter begins with an exposition on the White Room of the Bai Residence, a place named for the ghastly plaster walls inside. When the family first moved in, further decoration of the room was not continued due to strange supernatural activity: for instance, no matter how hot the summer is, cold air always surrounds it. According to the owner of the Bai residence, when his father was a child once, he peeked through the door and stood there for a long time, until his family had to drag him away. He then developed a high fever that left almost no memories behind.
Past midnight, the occupants of the Bai residence still hear the floor creak with footsteps, despite the fact that no one is allowed to walk around after midnight. They also report a noise that sounds like a hemp rope slowly being tightened to strangle something.
A few days ago, however, a servant noticed a hole poked through the paper windows. They discovered an unfortunate thief who had apparently broken in and died of a heart attack.
The head of the Bai clan thus approached the nearby Lanling Jin Clan, and Jin Ling made plans to investigates alongside Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, and several other juniors from the Gusu Lan Clan. Wei Wuxian has accompanied them.
As they examine the thief's body, Lan Jingyi suggests summoning the man's spirit to know what he saw. Jin Ling replies that he has already tried it, to no avail. Moreover, there have been no strange deaths in the Bai family.
As the Gusu Lan Clan juniors go to speak with the family again, Jin Ling enters a tea shop. Wei Wuxian follows, as this is the first time he has seen Jin Ling since their departure at the Guanyin Temple.
Wei Wuxian asks how Jin Ling is doing as leader of the Lanling Jin Clan, and although Jin Ling declines to give details, to himself he reflects that Golden Carp Tower is in a state of "utter pandemonium." Ever since Jin Guangyao's death, other members of the clan have tried to challenge his authority. In fact, the leader of the Bai clan was nearly sent away on orders from an elder before even consulting Jin Ling.
Wei Wuxian advises him to ask Jiang Cheng for help, but Jin Ling retorts that Jiang Cheng is not a Jin. Wei Wuxian strikes him before realizing that Jin Ling is afraid that Jiang Cheng's interference will cause his uncle problems.
As they drink their tea, Wei Wuxian compliments Jin Ling's maturity, and Jin Ling blushes furiously. He decides to investigate the White Room again instead of staying for tea.
Wei Wuxian cryptically suggests that they ask around if anyone knows a strange figure: a person whose face was sliced apart with a dozen-or-so knife incisions, losing both their eyelids and lips.
Having evidently overheard them, a maid approaches to tell them the legend of the Hook Hand. Although he was poor blacksmith, the Hook Hand was skilled, honest, and good-looking, and he married a beautiful woman. However, despite his kindness to his wife, she fell for another man. The men fought, and she killed her husband by accident.
Worried that someone would recognize was her husband’s corpse, the wife removed his eyelids and made several dozen cuts on his face. To ensure that he could not reveal her misdeeds to the Judge of the Underworld, she used an iron hook to pull out his tongue. The blacksmith's mutilated body was tossed into a mass grave west of the city, yet not even the crows dared to peck his face.
Unfortunately for the wife, her husband was not entirely dead. The Hook Hand crawled out of his grave, traveled home, and slit his wife's throat with the iron hook. He then cut her face and pulled her tongue out, but his resentment did not subside.
For a couple years, the Hook Hand killed every beautiful woman he saw. Although women did not dare walk alone the moment the sky darkened, nor did they dare sleep without a man nearby, he continued to kill. Every so often, a female corpse without a tongue would be tossed out onto the streets.
No one could find him, despite the searches. It took many years to stop him.
Lan Sizhui suggests that the Hook Hand is related to the White Room, and Wei Wuxian agrees. He brings the juniors back to examine the body of the burglar, showing them that there is a face reflected in the eyes of the thief that was not his own. This indicates that he had died of fright after witnessing the ghost's memories.
Everyone splits up to investigate more. Wei Wuxian accompanies Lan Sizhui to investigate the west city graves. When they finally return, Lan Sizhui enters the east courtyard with a rusted, bleeding iron hook. The juniors' Talismans fail to suppress its resentful energy, and Lan Jingyi attempt to remove the energy with salt. When even that fails, Lan Sizhui successfully melts the hook in the hearth.
Wei Wuxian insists that someone should stay outside the White Room to ensure that the problem is truly gone. Jin Ling volunteers to stay.
The next morning, Wei Wuxian enjoys breakfast with the juniors. Apparently, Lan Wangji's ordered the juniors to ensure that Wei Wuxian ate breakfast every day.
Jin Ling approaches, explaining that he used a mirror to safely observe any spirit. To his dismay, he witnessed a chair, which did not exist in the White Room, very close to his head.[1]
Characters[]
In order of appearance:
- Jin Ling
- Wei Wuxian
- Lan Sizhui
- Lan Jingyi
- Jin Guangyao (mentioned)
- Lan Wangji (mentioned)
- Jiang Cheng (mentioned)
- Hook Hand (mentioned)
Events []
- Confrontation in the Guanyin Temple (mentioned)
Locations[]
- Bai Residence
- Golden Carp Tower (mentioned)
- Guanyin Temple (mentioned)
Creatures[]
Cultivation Tools[]
Trivia[]
The original translation by Exiled Rebels was similar to the official version, naming this series of chapters "Iron Hook."[2]
References[]
- ↑ Novel, Chapter 123
- ↑ Novel, Chapter 123 [Exiled Rebel Trans.]