Queqian Meter

[Your attention has caused a certain possibility for a recorder to deviate from its track; obtained Soul Quality: Knock.]

[Name, memory, the parts that remain.]

[You have successfully collected a Fragment of Inside and Outside!]

The sudden prompt left Ye Yan stunned.

He had been preparing to go out to mail a letter and had not yet stepped out of his room, yet for some reason, he had unexpectedly received a reward from the prompt.

At the same time.

A cool sensation spread from his temples, as if someone had lit a bright Lamp within his mind.

The books he had read in his past life were all vivid before his eyes.

The content he had once read but long since forgotten was now awakening in the depths of his memory as if by magic, the words as clear as if he had flipped through them only yesterday.

He no longer had to worry about forgetting his past memories!

This was simply an unexpected joy.

Ye Yan joyfully sensed the Compass and discovered that the third silver thread pointing toward "Home" was glowing faintly upon it. Through his perception, he also understood who that silver thread originated from.

"Does the recorder refer to Joseph Darmans?"

He lowered his head, looking at the letter in his hand that had yet to be sent, and fell into deep thought.

So that is how it is.

Someone had done something to Joseph Darmans in his name, thereby influencing his future?

Who could it be?

Was it Uncle Jules?

But Uncle Jules had been busy with fieldwork lately; where would he find the time to go to France to visit Joseph?

Unable to make heads or tails of it, Ye Yan chose to stop thinking.

He tore open the sealed envelope, added a line of greeting about his recent situation at the end, and tactfully asked if anyone claiming to be his friend had come to visit.

After mailing the letter, he arrived at Baker Street.

The bookstore was almost finished with renovations; Ye Yan entered the storage room downstairs and used the key to open the door once again.

The path of statues was as silent as ever.

When he approached the Door of Guidance, the revised manuscript stored in his conscious space flew out automatically.

[Sherlock Holmes Casebook]

[Category: First-Order Book (Incomplete)]

["My friend was as cold and ruthless as a machine during the investigation, but he is undoubtedly the best detective, for I have never met a man wiser than him." -- The Doctor]

[Aspect: Lamp, Knock]

Ye Yan used a naming qualification on the manuscript given to him by Watson, successfully deriving a book.

It is worth mentioning that the Sherlock Holmes Casebook in his hand was different from the original; the opening was no longer A Study in Scarlet, but rather Seal of the Four-Colored Horse as Holmes's first case.

It was equivalent to a fantasy version of Sherlock Holmes Casebook.

And besides "Knock," this book now possessed a new principle attribute—Lamp.

Like "Knock" and "Forge" that had appeared before, Lamp was also one of the principles.

This principle contained multiple meanings; it encompassed the detached "inhumanity," the "rationality" of logical thinking, the insatiable "thirst for knowledge," the "radiance" that illuminates all things, and the "enlightenment" that inspires wisdom.

Furthermore, this principle was closely related to foreseeing the future and divining the will of heaven.

This made Ye Yan think of the "Radiance" of the Sanctum.

Looking at it this way, the Church must be following the ladder of the "Lamp" principle, just using a different name for it.

[Welcome back, Administrator.]

As the copper bell above the door chimed crisply, the greetings of Sam and Sara emerged leisurely in Ye Yan's mind.

[You have brought another interesting book this time; shall you present it to the Tree of Wisdom in exchange for knowledge?]

"Yes."

Ye Yan replied.

[Then, please close your eyes and listen.]

Ye Yan gently closed his eyes, and the world before him sank into boundless darkness.

In the darkness, seven lamps lit up one after another.

He saw the first pass through the door of radiance, burning bright all night; the second, however, quietly vanished behind the door.

Two stood guard in silence, like watchers from an eternal age;

The other two slowly dissolved into the gloom.

And the final, seventh lamp.

It flickered in and out of existence, appearing as if it were barely there.

Suddenly.

The sound of a prayer being chanted resonated in his ears.

It whispered confessions one moment and belted out grand hymns the next. The poem was contradictory and incoherent, sounding like ravings scribbled down in a rush.

Amidst the chaotic noise, Ye Yan caught a peculiar rhythm.

Nine ways, nine horizons.

It was the verbal key to opening the paths of the masses.

Queqian Meter.

Ye Yan's eyelashes fluttered, and he suddenly snapped his eyes open, a look of pleasant surprise washing over his face.

[Have you obtained satisfactory knowledge this time?]

"Yes, I have learned the Queqian Meter, a marvelous rhythm used for opening doors."

There was a note of excitement in Ye Yan's voice.

"In the future, I won't have to clumsily probe for doors with the Shell-Opening Blade. By simply applying the Queqian Meter, those hidden portals will become clearly visible."

"And what's more..."

He paused, his eyes gleaming with eagerness as he withdrew the Shell-Opening Blade from his consciousness space.

"Solid things always have flaws."

Ye Yan recited the opening incantation of the Shell-Opening Blade, but this time, he infused the newly learned Queqian Meter into his voice.

The once rigid incantation transformed into an ethereal melody, like the singing of a songstress heard through a thin veil, or a spring breeze brushing against one's cheek in a dream.

You could feel its gentle touch, yet wake up having forgotten it entirely.

The listener would find that they couldn't even recall a single complete word of the incantation, with only a faint, lingering resonance remaining in their ears.

As the final syllable dissipated into the air, familiar purple ripples spread outward.

Layers of ripples stirred in the void.

However, unlike the previous time he opened a door, no portal appeared in the center of the ripples this time.

Ye Yan exerted force from his wrist, and the Shell-Opening Blade shot straight toward the rippling waves. The moment the tip touched the ripples, it sank into them without any resistance, as if piercing through tofu.

A subtle distortion rippled through the air.

Like a ghost manifesting, the Shell-Opening Blade eerily reappeared less than a meter in front of Ye Yan.

It carved a sharp silver arc in mid-air before returning steadily to Ye Yan's outstretched palm, as if guided by an invisible thread like a boomerang.

"Just as I thought."

Ye Yan looked at the Shell-Opening Blade in his hand with a smile: "I can now precisely control the opening of doors."

The reason the Shell-Opening Blade required such a heavy price to use was rooted in its uncontrollability. Those who used it rashly without the corresponding abilities would not only fail to achieve the desired effect but would also suffer a backlash.

"But it's different now."

Ye Yan's mind was already racing, contemplating how to combine the Queqian Meter with the Shell-Opening Blade to slay enemies.

"With the guidance ability of the Luck Compass, coupled with the newly mastered Queqian Meter, I can now make the Shell-Opening Blade cross the boundaries of doors without paying with my lifespan."

[Congratulations, Administrator, you have learned one of the most important techniques of the Illumination Art. Perhaps after submitting knowledge one or two more times, you will be able to learn a Great Art.]

"I hope so too," Ye Yan sighed softly, "but the mystical knowledge in this world is far too scarce..."

He suddenly thought of the New Continent in this world.

Perhaps the ruins there held the targets he was looking for, but with the Diary in his hand, he didn't need to risk exploring those dangerous, hidden islands.

However...

Once he was well-prepared in the future, he might go and explore them a bit.

Ye Yan's intuition told him that the New Continent held some of the deepest secrets of this world.