Chapter 231: The Youths Embracing the Stele
Watching Chen Changsheng’s hurried figure on the mountain path, Tang Thirty-Six felt somewhat puzzled, and Zhe Xiu was the same. A hint of confusion appeared on his usually expressionless face. He silently wondered if Chen Changsheng was trying to escape something. But thinking back on the storms the National Academy had weathered over the past year, Chen Changsheng didn’t seem like that kind of person.
Gou Hanshi withdrew his gaze from the path below, no longer pondering Chen Changsheng’s intentions. He said to his three junior brothers, including Qi Jian, “Last night, I only let you read a portion of Senior Xun Mei’s notes because I didn’t want you to be distracted. After reading them, you should understand that the Heavenly Book Stele can be interpreted from many angles. So, what are your thoughts?”
Guan Feibai thought for a moment before replying, “In Senior Xun Mei’s notes, there were over a dozen approaches just for the Zhaoging Stele. Upon careful consideration, they all seem quite reasonable. But since our Lishan Sword Sect is located in the southern lands, I’m still accustomed to moving my spiritual sense based on the stele’s intent. Give me a bit more time, and I should be able to fully interpret this stele.”
Qi Jian and Liang Banhu offered similar opinions, but Gou Hanshi said, “If you can ever completely forget the approaches or experiences in Senior Xun Mei’s notes, then you might be able to interpret the stele.”
After saying this, he naturally recalled his conversation with Chen Changsheng the previous night. In his view, Chen Changsheng clearly understood this principle, which was why he chose a novel approach of seeking true meaning amidst change. But this method of interpreting the stele was far too new, and breaking new ground was never easy.
Guan Feibai and the others were startled by his words. Only after calming their minds did they grasp their senior brother’s meaning. They walked to the stele hut, each finding a relatively flat spot on the ground to sit. Gazing at the dark stone stele beneath the eaves, they fell silent, letting the words from Xun Mei’s notes settle onto the stele and then gradually expelling them from their minds. Zhe Xiu and Tang Thirty-Six exchanged a glance and followed them over. Dozens of this year’s top three scholars from the Grand Examination, who had entered the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books to observe the steles, also sat cross-legged before the hut. Only Gou Hanshi stood in the distance, watching the distant mountains in silence, his thoughts unknown.
Time passed slowly, and the area before the stele hut remained utterly quiet. The oil lamp hanging from a tree beside the hut had been taken down at some unknown time. The now lighter branches swayed gently in the spring breeze, occasionally springing up slightly toward the azure sky. Green leaves sometimes fell from the branches, drifting with the wind to the front of the hut.
Qi Jian suddenly opened his eyes. He picked up a green leaf that had landed on his slender shoulder, then stood up. After a moment’s hesitation, he walked into the stele hut.
As the ones living in the thatched hut left by Xun Mei, they were the most watched among the stele observers—hence the title “Seven of the Thatched Hut.” During that silent time earlier, countless eyes had frequently fallen on them. When they saw Qi Jian seemed ready to interpret the stele, a slight stir rippled through the quiet area before the hut.
Zhong Hui had been the first to interpret the stele. Everyone was eager to know who would be the second. Most believed it would be Gou Hanshi, since Chen Changsheng wasn’t present. Next in line would be Zhe Xiu, or perhaps Guan Feibai and Liang Banhu, who had cultivated longer. No one expected it to be the young Qi Jian.
Qi Jian walked before the Zhaoging Stele and glanced back outside the hut. His youthful face was full of uncertainty.
Gou Hanshi stood under a distant pine tree, saying nothing, but a smile appeared on his face. Seeing this, Qi Jian also smiled. The uncertainty vanished, leaving only joy.
He took another step toward the Zhaoging Stele, then carefully extended his right hand, placing it on the edge of the stele without touching any of the lines on its surface.
A gentle breeze swept up from the cliff behind the stele, stirring the strands of hair by Qi Jian’s cheek as they brushed past his clear, youthful brows and eyes. Then, he vanished from the spot.
A dead silence fell before the stele hut. The murmurs that had just started disappeared like Qi Jian’s slender figure. The second person to pass through the Zhaoging Stele had appeared so casually.
Before people could recover from this shock, they saw Guan Feibai stand up and walk into the hut.
Compared to Qi Jian, this member of the Divine Kingdom’s Four Laws, known for his cold pride, was truly casual. Even when facing the sacred Heavenly Book Stele.
His right hand landed on the Zhaoging Stele without him even glancing at where it fell, as casually as patting a railing to chat about the weather.
Another breeze rose, a flash of clear light appeared, then vanished. His figure also disappeared.
What left those still struggling to interpret the stele’s meaning utterly stunned—and even somewhat helpless—was that Liang Banhu also stood up and walked into the hut. This most low-key and silent of the Divine Kingdom’s Seven Laws, a farmer’s son, first carefully adjusted his clothes, then bowed respectfully before placing his hand on the stele with great seriousness.
Without any pause or interval, the three disciples of the Lishan Sword Sect had successively interpreted the Zhaoging Stele and moved on to the second Heavenly Book Stele.
After a moment of silence, several sighs arose before the stele hut, filled with envy and yet a touch of despair.
The talent of cultivators was truly different.
The Lishan Sword Sect was indeed remarkable.
Compared to Zhong Hui’s successful interpretation at dawn, the three Lishan disciples’ interpretations lacked such grand spectacle. No senior sect members guarded them, and no breakthrough in cultivation occurred. They simply stood up, walked into the hut, and vanished from sight—that was true ease and grace.
Of the four who had entered the Lishan Sword Sect, only Gou Hanshi remained. Many instinctively looked at him, finding it strange. His realm, cultivation, and knowledge far surpassed his three junior brothers, so why was he slower to interpret the stele? Some guessed the reason, and when they saw Gou Hanshi finally leave the pine tree and walk toward the stele, they confirmed their suspicions.
Gou Hanshi stood before the Zhaoging Stele. He didn’t close his eyes in meditation or study the lines on the stele. He still gazed at the distant mountains, then let his right hand fall.
Another breeze rose. Birds in the forest flapped their wings and took flight. Beneath the eaves, his figure was gone.
Only then did everyone realize that Gou Hanshi had already interpreted the Zhaoging Stele long ago and was merely waiting for his junior brothers.
If so, as long as he wished, couldn’t he easily have become the first to interpret a stele at the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books this year? Recalling the excitement and pride of the Huaiyuan disciples when Zhong Hui succeeded at dawn, people found those scenes somewhat awkward. The two young Huaiyuan scholars still before the hut now wore genuinely embarrassed expressions.
If Gou Hanshi could interpret the stele but chose not to, waiting for his sect mates, then what about Chen Changsheng? People naturally turned to this question. Had he, like Gou Hanshi, already interpreted this Heavenly Book Stele? If so, who was he waiting for? Or, as Zhong Hui claimed, did he truly lack the talent to interpret the stele?
Murmurs rose, then gradually faded.
Not long after, Zhuang Huanyu arrived before the stele hut. As the strongest student of the Heavenly Dao Academy this year, many recognized him. But for some reason, after entering the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books, he had disappeared. No one knew where he had gone or what he was doing. He hadn’t even appeared when Zhong Hui broke through and interpreted the stele at dawn. Seeing him now, people couldn’t help but be surprised.
Zhuang Huanyu’s clothes were covered in grass clippings and leaves, as if he had spent two nights in the forest. He looked somewhat disheveled, but his expression was extremely calm, with a hint of confidence in his brows.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and said, “You didn’t go to the Green Forest Cottage?”
The Green Vine Six Academies were all in the capital, close to the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books, which offered many conveniences. As the most prestigious academy in the Zhou Dynasty in recent years, the Heavenly Dao Academy naturally made arrangements for its students observing the steles. The Green Forest Cottage was their dormitory near the mausoleum, and other academies like the Ancestral Temple or the Star Picking Academy had similar setups.
“I didn’t go to the Green Forest Cottage because I had no time.”
Zhuang Huanyu brushed the dust and grass clippings off his clothes and walked straight into the stele hut.
Tang Thirty-Six watched his back and said, “Even if you succeed in interpreting the stele now, you’ll only rank sixth. Why bother working so hard?”
Zhuang Huanyu’s right hand paused above the stele. “But at least I’ll be ahead of Chen Changsheng, won’t I?”
With that, his hand fell.
Not long after, Su Moyu stood up and walked into the stele hut, becoming the seventh person to successfully interpret a stele this year.
Watching one person after another succeed, someone as proud as Tang Thirty-Six couldn’t help but feel anxious. Especially since Su Moyu’s ranking on the Azure Cloud List was now below his, which only heightened his urgency.
But the next moment, he came to his senses. He frowned slightly, closed his eyes, and stopped thinking about these things. His mind wandered beyond the stele, and for a moment, he seemed about to fall asleep.
When he woke, dusk had arrived. The sky was filled with evening clouds, and the spring forest within the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books seemed to be burning.
He stood up and walked into the stele hut. Passing Zhe Xiu, he said, “Tell Chen Changsheng not to wait for me for dinner tonight.”
When he reached the stele, he smiled happily and spread his arms, giving the cold stone stele a big hug.
Understanding the Heavenly Book Stele brought indescribable insights. For cultivators, those insights were more delicious than dragon marrow and more enchanting than stars, offering immense satisfaction. Once you tasted that sweetness, you craved more. Most people, after interpreting the first Heavenly Book Stele and arriving before the second, wouldn’t linger in that bliss, unaware of time’s passage.
Tang Thirty-Six knew he couldn’t resist this intoxicating feeling. Tonight, he would surely sleep embracing the second Heavenly Book Stele under the starlight, which was why he asked Zhe Xiu to tell Chen Changsheng not to wait for him for dinner. Like him, Zhong Hui, Zhuang Huanyu, and Qi Jian had all forgotten how to write the word “return” before the second stele hut.
But in this world, there were always some unique individuals with extraordinary talent and astonishing willpower, unswayed by any external temptation.
Gou Hanshi returned to the thatched hut with the evening clouds.
Smelling the fragrance of egg custard wafting from the kitchen and seeing Chen Changsheng sitting on the threshold, staring blankly at the setting sun, he asked, “What exactly are you waiting for?”
(One more chapter.)