"I have a guess, though I do not know whether it is correct..." Lin Su said.
"Guess!"
"They... are not human!"
"Sharp eyes! The ten thousand people of Ink Pavilion came from the fifty Assistant Clerks on the table." A faint smile touched Old Black's lips. "Over a thousand years, they stepped out of the books, gathered the aura of the Sacred Dao, merged with the opportunities of the Ink Sea, and have already achieved physical bodies and independent thought. They look no different from ordinary people, yet you saw through the mystery at a glance. Truly, you possess discerning eyes."
Lin Su murmured, "They have achieved physical bodies and independent thought?"
Old Black nodded. "These pavilions and towers were not transplanted from the books. They built them themselves. These flowers, grasses, and trees were planted by their own hands as well. They left the original works and entered the mortal world, already stained with mortal worldly affairs. To be frank, more than a hundred among them have even developed feelings of love and paired up to live together. It is only that they cannot produce new descendants."
"So... this junior was narrow-minded!" Lin Su was shaken. "They have spirit, awareness, and physical bodies. They are people to begin with! This junior was wrong to say they were not human!"
"Those with spirit and awareness are naturally human! Well said! It was this old man who was narrow-minded!" Old Black sighed. "With one careless remark, this old man led you astray. It is this old man's fault! From now on, this old man will no longer say that Ink Pavilion has only myself!"
"Senior is broad-minded!" Lin Su raised his wine cup in salute to Old Black.
Old Black drank with him, then slowly set down his cup. "You entered