A Turn of the Hand Changes the World

A Turn of the Hand Changes the World

Profound Capital City, Number One Scholar Restaurant.

A group of scholars had gathered together, reading several volumes of ancient books that had recently shaken the world.

Ever since the ancient books had come to light some days ago, the city's bookshops had been reprinting them without pause. Even so, the published copies could not meet demand. These scholars had only managed to buy several volumes with great difficulty today, so they had invited a host of friends to admire them together.

"The highest goodness is like water; water benefits all things and does not contend. Wonderful, wonderful!"

"The Dao gave birth to One, One gave birth to Two, Two gave birth to Three, and Three gave birth to all things. So few words, yet upon reading them, one feels boundless profundity. This scripture is truly extraordinary!"

"In my view, these three thousand words alone are worth more than all the writings I had read before!"

"I feel the same!"

"No, no, no. In my opinion, the Yi Jing is even more exquisite than the Dao De Jing. Though its words are obscure and profound, every character is a pearl, as though it contains the ultimate truths of heaven and earth."

"Precisely! 'Heaven moves with vigor; thus does the gentleman strive unceasingly for self-improvement!' It speaks the heart of our generation!"

The scholars discussed fervently over one another, utterly intoxicated by it all.

Just then, one of them suddenly let out a long sigh. "Who would have thought that such peerless writing had been buried beneath the earth for thousands of years, unknown to anyone? Whenever I think of it, my heart aches with grief!"

The others immediately echoed his sentiment.

"Yes. My late teacher loved reading most of all. If he could have read these few scriptures, who knew how delighted he would have been."

"For all the scholars of the world in ages past to have been unable to hear of these scriptures—that was truly a misfortune!"

"But were these scriptures truly written by people of old, lost to war and preserved only as fragments in ancient tombs? I have read the Nanhua Sutra and the Analects, yet none of the people, events, or things within them are recorded in the historical books." A voice among the crowd sounded somewhat abrupt.

The room first fell silent, then everyone reached a firm conclusion.

"It must be so. Writing like this could never have been forged by people of today. The surviving historical records cover only the last three thousand years. Before that, there are basically no detailed accounts. These classics must have originated in that time."

"I heard that when the Antiquity Seeking School had an audience with the Son of Heaven, they said that in Ancient Times, a hundred schools of thought contended, and the classics born from them were as countless as stars in the sky. The few scriptures we read now are merely an insignificant part of them."

The moment those words were spoken, cries of astonishment rose throughout the restaurant.

"Such a thing actually existed!"

"When I think of so many classic works still buried underground, never to see the world, my heart aches beyond measure. I cannot sleep at night!"

"I wonder what the other classics are like."

"But these ancient books are, after all, hidden deep within various tombs. The Antiquity Seeking School's proposal to excavate ancient tombs on a large scale in search of lost classics truly violates human ethics."

The scholars instinctively wanted to voice their agreement, but when they thought of the countless classic works still waiting underground to be unearthed, their tones became far less resolute.

"Didn't the leader of the Antiquity Seeking School say it already? What they are doing is protection—rescue excavation—not destruction."

"Indeed. I heard that whenever they excavate an ancient tomb, they do not wreak havoc like tomb raiders of old, taking only gold and silver. Instead, they carefully remove every object within and preserve them properly one by one. If anything is damaged, there are even specialists responsible for restoring it."

"True. They cannot simply be mentioned in the same breath as tomb raiders."

Yet quite a few among them still opposed the matter.

"That is merely a pretty way of putting it. What is the difference? Who here does not have ancestors? If your ancestors' graves were excavated like this, how would you feel?"

"This precedent must never be set, or it will leave endless calamities in its wake. We must do all we can to stop it."

"Exactly."

Others did not state their opinions, instead playing the peacemaker.

"The Son of Heaven and the court ministers must have already reached a judgment on this matter. There is no need for us to worry excessively."

"Let us wait and see, wait and see."

As the Dao De Jing spread across the realm several times over, fierce debates erupted throughout Great Xuan.

Scenes like the one at Number One Scholar Restaurant today were too numerous to count.

Li Fan knew that trying to overturn the thinking of the world in a short time was bound to fail.

For now, he had merely made a beginning.

But Li Fan was not worried in the slightest that the matter would fail.

After all, in the present world, those who held the power of discourse were scholars.

With countless classics as bait, Li Fan had no fear that these scholars would refuse to fall in line.

Besides, Li Fan did not seek these people's support. It was enough as long as they did not leap out to oppose him.

While secretly scheming for the world, Li Fan was also steadily expanding the Antiquity Seeking School's influence among the common folk.

Anchoring Year Six, the Son of Heaven suddenly fell gravely ill and took to his bed. The Imperial Physicians were all helpless. At that moment, the Antiquity Seeking School sought an audience with the Son of Heaven, bearing a medicinal pill. They claimed it had been found in an ancient tomb and was suspected to have been left behind by an immortal, possessing the power to revive the dead and regrow flesh upon bones. Taking it might resolve the crisis.

At first, the Son of Heaven paid them no heed. But as his condition worsened day by day and he seemed on the verge of entering the grave, he finally swallowed the pill with the mindset of treating a dead horse as though it were alive.

Who could have expected the pill to truly possess miraculous effects? Within mere days, the Son of Heaven had fully recovered.

The court and the public were shaken, and the ministers discussed it heatedly.

That very night, the emperor summoned the leader of the Antiquity Seeking School into the palace, questioning him in detail about immortals. For several days in a row, he did not attend court.

From then on, the emperor firmly believed in the existence of immortals. In secret, he instructed trusted men within the army to cooperate with the Antiquity Seeking School in searching ancient tombs for traces of immortals.

Anchoring Year 9, the Antiquity Seeking School held an exhibition within Profound Capital City, inviting court ministers and the capital's princes, dukes, and nobles to attend.

Though these people were all immensely wealthy and widely experienced, after seeing one peerless treasure after another in the exhibition, every one of them became immersed in it, reluctant to leave.

Afterward, the Antiquity Seeking School lifted its restrictions. Any ordinary citizen could enter and have a look so long as they bought a ticket.

Profound Capital City was immediately thrown into an uproar.

Countless people lined up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the treasures within the exhibition. There were so many that the capital's roads became clogged. Fortunately, the Son of Heaven issued an order, and armored soldiers from the Garrison Camp maintained order, preventing an even greater disturbance.

The grand spectacle continued for more than half a month.

Afterward, the exhibition not only did not stop, but began touring various regions, opening one after another across Great Xuan.

Anchoring Year 11, Jianghuai Prefecture cracked a vicious tomb-robbing case and captured a tomb-robbing gang of more than a hundred people.

This group had recklessly excavated ancient tombs deep in the mountains, causing incalculable losses.

By law, every one of them should have been sentenced to the ultimate punishment.

However, there were too many people involved and the case implicated too wide a range. Li Fan, the Prefect of Jianghuai Prefecture, did not dare make the decision on his own. He wrote a memorial and had it rushed eight hundred li to Profound Capital City, requesting the Son of Heaven's judgment.

Upon hearing of it, some ministers were furious and submitted memorials requesting immediate execution.

Yet strangely, the overwhelming majority of court officials remained silent at this moment.

The emperor also set aside the memorials without expressing a position.

A full month passed before the emperor's decree finally arrived.

They were not sentenced to the ultimate punishment, only condemned to be sent away as slaves and collected in the capital.

Almost none of the court ministers submitted memorials in opposition.

Li Fan looked at the imperial decree and smiled faintly. He knew the tide had already turned.