Chapter 227: The Past, How Much Do You Know (Part 1)
Chen Changsheng finished telling this story.
After a brief moment of silence, murmurs arose around the Stele Pavilion. The gazes people directed at Ji Jin grew somewhat complicated. Earlier, this senior had sternly questioned, from ancient times to the present, among the countless methods of interpreting the Illumination Stele, which one had ever deviated from the vast and righteous path. Now it seemed that the method the Duke of Wei had used to interpret the Heavenly Book Stele had nothing to do with the orthodox methods of the Daoist school. How should this be answered?
Ji Jin at this moment also recalled the legend of the Duke of Wei observing the stele. His expression turned very ugly. He had no way to deny the existence of this legend. Although it was not recorded in historical texts, there were actual records in the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books. As a Stele Attendant, he had personally seen them. The Duke of Wei had interpreted the Heavenly Book Stele to establish the laws, which was why he had spent his entire life upholding the Zhou laws, earnestly admonishing the sovereign, and ultimately becoming a renowned upright minister of his generation. But how could he be willing to be convinced by a junior? He said in a deep voice, “When the Duke of Wei saw the lines on the stele and understood the correct laws, he was still observing its form to grasp its meaning, and grasping its meaning to move his spiritual consciousness.”
Upon hearing this, the crowd stirred slightly. Several young examinees standing at the back shook their heads, thinking that the terms “form” and “meaning” in the three mainstream methods of interpreting steles in the orthodox Daoist school were not the same as the “form” and “meaning” in this statement. The Duke of Wei had never cultivated in his life; he only had courage and insight. Where was there any spiritual consciousness? Senior Ji Jin’s words were far too forced and unreasonable.
Seeing the reactions of the people, Ji Jin became even more furious. However, before he could say anything more in his defense, Gou Hanshi’s voice rang out again.
“I also recall a story. This story is recorded in the *Guiyuan Xiaoshu*, not included in the Daoist Canon catalog. I only read it once when I was a child. If Chen Changsheng hadn’t mentioned the Duke of Wei observing the stele, I probably would have had a hard time remembering it. That story tells of the first generation master of the Daoist school, who once sought the Dao from a woodcutter.”
The crowd was stunned. The founder of the Daoist school had sought the Dao from a woodcutter? How had they never heard of this?
Gou Hanshi continued, “At that time, the world was in constant strife. The Daoist school had not yet been born, let alone become the state religion. But the first generation master of the Daoist school was already a great powerhouse of the highest realm. He had entered the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books several times to observe the steles, seeking to comprehend the true meaning of the Heavenly Dao. However, although he gained something each time he observed the stele, he was still far from reaching the summit of the mausoleum. One day, the Daoist master was leaning against a stele, gazing at the mausoleum’s peak, lamenting the limitations of a cultivator’s life and feeling that he might never advance further in this lifetime. Unexpectedly, he saw a woodcutter walking down from the mausoleum carrying firewood on his back. The Daoist master was extremely shocked. He thought to himself that he could not reach the summit, nor could the several other strongest powerhouses of the continent who were on par with him. How could this woodcutter, who clearly could not cultivate and was old and frail, walk freely within the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books?”
The area before the Stele Pavilion fell silent once more. Everyone’s minds were captivated by this story they had never heard before. They wondered if this woodcutter was the true powerhouse of the Heavenly Dao, perhaps even having entered the legendary state of ultimate freedom.
The Daoist master earnestly sought instruction. The woodcutter said that his family had made a living cutting firewood in these mountains for generations and had never gotten lost. The Daoist master persistently asked how to find the path within the mausoleum. After hesitating for a long time, the woodcutter brought the Daoist master before a stele and said, ‘The paths within the mausoleum are all on this stone stele. Just walk according to them…’ After saying this, the woodcutter went down the mountain.”
Gou Hanshi paused briefly and continued, “The Daoist master pondered bitterly before that stele for dozens of days and nights, but he could never find any path within the lines on the stele. One night, he suddenly had an insight, laughed three times, flicked his sleeve, and flew straight to the summit of the mausoleum. There, he comprehended the Heavenly Dao and founded the Daoist school. Yet, even in his later years, as he returned to the Sea of Stars, he still could not forget: why could that woodcutter see the path on the Heavenly Book Stele, while he himself could not…”
This story was also finished.
A profound silence enveloped the area around the Stele Pavilion.
Ji Jin’s face was ugly as he said, “Not to mention what method the woodcutter used to see the path in the stele’s inscriptions, but this story is recorded in the *Guiyuan Xiaoshu*. What kind of book is the *Guiyuan Xiaoshu*? Since it’s not in the Daoist Canon catalog, how can it be trusted? Are you just fabricating a story at random to prove that I am wrong?”
Chen Changsheng shook his head and said, “The *Guiyuan Xiaoshu* is a compilation of the conversations of the first generation master of the Daoist school in the hundred days before he returned to the Sea of Stars. The reason it is not in the Daoist Canon catalog is that in 1573, when the state religion was first established, the descendants of the first generation master attempted to split the Daoist school and were convicted of high treason. Their ancestor was retroactively implicated, so it was excluded from the catalog. However, it is still an orthodox text. The original copy should now be in the Detached Palace and can be consulted at any time.”
Gou Hanshi indicated that this was indeed the case. He exchanged a glance with Chen Changsheng and gave a slight nod. Both were young men who had thoroughly read the Daoist Canon, and being able to respond to each other in this way felt truly wonderful. Although Chen Changsheng had unresolved troubles, even enmity, with the Li Mountain Sword Sect, Gou Hanshi bore him no hostility. Chen Changsheng also found Gou Hanshi increasingly agreeable, and this was largely due to these reasons.
Everyone knew that Gou Hanshi had thoroughly read the Daoist Canon. After the night of the Green Vine Banquet, Chen Changsheng’s reputation for having also thoroughly read the Daoist Canon had spread widely. Now, with the former narrating and the latter supplementing, and the explanation that the original was in the Detached Palace and could be consulted at any time, those present naturally believed it without doubt. Only Ji Jin’s expression grew even uglier, turning almost livid.
“Enough.” Accompanied by a cold voice, a Stele Attendant dressed in white robes arrived on the scene.
This Stele Attendant had temples full of white hair and appeared quite advanced in years. Some young examinees who recognized him exclaimed, “Master Nian Guang!”
Chen Changsheng asked Gou Hanshi and learned that this Master Nian Guang was from the Zongsi Institute. He had cultivated diligently since childhood and had considerable fame in the cultivation world. For some unknown reason, after taking second place in the Grand Examination one year, he entered the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books, swore an oath to become a Stele Attendant, and never left the mausoleum again.
Nian Guang looked at Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng with an expressionless face and said, “Whether it’s the Duke of Wei or the woodcutter, neither was a cultivator. But you are cultivators. You observe the steles to inquire about the Heavenly Dao, not to seek legal principles or actual paths. What Ji Jin said is not without reason. Of course, if you insist on blazing a new trail, that is also an act of courage and not improper.”
Hearing this, everyone realized that this highly respected senior had come to mediate.
Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng bowed to Master Nian Guang and said nothing more.
Nian Guang then turned to Ji Jin, furrowed his brow slightly, and said with a mix of pity and irritation, “Back then, you took only a few years to interpret the seventeen steles in the front mausoleum. Everyone praised you for having a heart as calm as water. What’s wrong with you now? Even if our sect supports our cultivation, how can we waste time on these mundane matters outside the mausoleum?”
Ji Jin’s humiliation of Chen Changsheng was not entirely due to requests from outside the mausoleum; he also had some personal emotions. Seeing Nian Guang personally intervene, even if he was unwilling, he knew he could not salvage the situation with words. He said coldly, “It seems the state religion really values this young man, even sending you, who has a grudge with the National Academy, to come forward.”
Nian Guang frowned slightly.
Ji Jin looked at Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi and said expressionlessly, “In the end, verbal disputes are meaningless. You can talk until the cows come home, but it might all just be a pile of dog shit. This year, forty-four people entered the mausoleum for the Grand Examination. Let’s see who will be the first to interpret this Illumination Stele and who can interpret more steles.”
Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng had come tonight to read the steles by lamplight, not to engage in arguments. They were not particularly interested in who would be the first to interpret the Heavenly Book Stele, so they did not respond to Ji Jin’s clearly contemptuous and provocative words. But just because they didn’t speak didn’t mean their other companions had such good tempers.
A clear yet particularly flippant voice came from the mountain path.
“A hundred years ago, Her Holiness the Empress, on behalf of the late emperor, ascended the Divine Path to offer sacrifices to heaven. Seeing the names carved on the stele in front of the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books—those who had interpreted the steles and comprehended the Dao the fastest in history—she was extremely displeased. She believed that observing the Heavenly Book Stele was about peering into the Heavenly Dao, and setting rankings and writing lists was vulgar and unbearable. Therefore, she ordered Lord Zhou Tong to personally take an axe and chisel away all the names carved on that stele. Yet tonight, in the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books, there are still people clinging to such vulgar practices from the past, spouting nonsense. Are they dissatisfied with Her Holiness’s decree from back then? Or are they so stubborn and foolish that they don’t realize this act is desecrating the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books?”
Everyone knew this historical episode. But to be honest, although the rankings on that stele had been destroyed, in the hearts of all cultivators, that stone stele still existed. No one could forget the names that had once hung high upon it, such as Zhou Dufu, His Holiness the Pope, and Wang Zhice. What Ji Jin had said earlier was something many people cared about. But the person walking up the mountain path paid no heed to any of this. He raised Her Holiness the Empress’s decree high, speaking with such grand righteousness that it left everyone speechless, let alone daring to refute him. Who would dare?
Hearing that voice, Chen Changsheng shook his head. Gou Hanshi also recognized it and smiled wryly. The two stepped aside, knowing that since that guy had arrived, if there was to be a war of words, it was no longer their turn.
Ji Jin didn’t know who the newcomer was. His face was as dark as water, as if it might drip. Zhong Hui and the other two scholars from the Huai Academy were also furious.
The dim light from the oil lamps on the branches suddenly brightened as the young man arrived. This was because his belt was studded with dozens of precious gems, and the hilt of the sword at his waist was also set with a gem that kept sparkling, just like his handsome face.
The eyes of that senior sister from the Holy Maiden Peak lit up.
Tang Thirty-Six had arrived. Looking at Ji Jin’s gloomy face, he raised an eyebrow and said, “Do you think what I said is unreasonable? Then why don’t you go to the Daming Palace and ask Her Holiness the Empress what she thinks?”
Nian Guang frowned slightly and said with displeasure, “Enough.”
This respected senior Stele Attendant had said “enough” earlier, and Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng had stopped talking. But Tang Thirty-Six was not that kind of person. Instead, he raised his eyebrows even higher and said, “Don’t try to smooth things over, and don’t pull rank with me. This is the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books; we can’t fight. So what do I have to fear from you?”
Nian Guang was choked speechless.
Tang Thirty-Six turned back to Ji Jin and said, “Likewise, you can’t hit me, and you can’t kill me. If I mock you a bit, what can you do about it? Want to have a shouting match? I’m not a silent type like Chen Changsheng, nor a hypocrite who cares about appearances like Gou Hanshi. When it comes to cursing, you’re really no match for me. If you’re not satisfied, when I observe the stele and comprehend the Dao tomorrow, you can have your disciples and followers beat gongs and drums around me. See if it affects me in the slightest. Do you really think I didn’t prepare some very soft and comfortable earplugs?”
(I’m not sure when the third chapter will be written. I’ll try to finish it before 1:30? Also, a while ago, the game project team for *Zhetian Ji* had a master consecrate a batch of game collector’s editions. They were really consecrated in a temple. Although everyone knows I don’t believe in gods or Buddhas, I’m sure many friends have more faith than I do… There are 10 sets of Longevity Prayer Beads to give away. Later, I’ll hold a repost lottery on Weibo and WeChat. Please take a moment to follow. My Sina Weibo ID is Maoni Tai Qiangda Le, and my WeChat ID is mauntll18. The event only lasts two days. For those who need it, don’t miss out. Of course, this is an advertisement, ahem.)