The fishing boat's movements soon drew people's attention.
In the past, others had also tried to sail to River Heart Island, but few had managed to reach it.
For one thing, the current grew swift near River Heart Island. Without a certain level of skill, it was impossible to get close.
For another, the island was protected by some mysterious force. Ordinary people who went there would lose their sense of direction and be swept away by the current without realizing it. By the time they came to their senses, they would already be far from the island.
"That's because of an illusion array!" Lou Jingren said confidently. He sat at the bow, speaking to Lu Bai as he observed River Heart Island.
"By working with the terrain and the flow of the water, someone can make certain arrangements, using light, sound, even smells to mislead the senses and create an illusion."
Lu Bai suspected he was making it up, but he had no proof.
In theory, this sort of thing did exist. But only in theory.
Take trompe-l'œil paintings, for example. Paint a huge pit on the ground, and from a certain angle, it could look so realistic that it fooled the eye.
But as soon as you looked from a slightly different angle, you would see what it really was.
It was hard to imagine how much work it would take to use this kind of visual trick on an island this large, let alone how difficult it would be to maintain.
But this was the Martial Forest Dimension. You couldn't treat the martial world as though it had no mysteries.
Astrology and calendrics, astronomy and geography, the Eight Gates and Nine Stars, yin and yang and the Five Elements, the Three Wonders and Six Instruments—these things contained knowledge with a basis in real-world science, but they also held mysterious elements.
If you insisted on judging such mysteries by the standards of science, then you were simply overthinking it.
Lu Bai didn't try to argue. He wasn't good at that kind of mystical stuff, even back on Earth.
He had once asked a senior how to train until he reached the pinnacle of Martial Arts. The senior told him it came down to the heart.
I'm talking to you about Martial Arts, and you're talking to me about philosophy.
In any case, the next time Lu Bai sparred with that senior, the man developed a psychosomatic disorder triggered by the word "heart." His legs hurt whenever it rained. What a terrible stroke of bad luck.
As the boat continued toward River Heart Island, strange things finally began to happen.
At some point, a full moon had appeared on the horizon, and it was astonishingly huge.
The people aboard heard the rushing sound of water. The island ahead seemed to have vanished, and it was as though they were sailing across the open sea.
The waves grew fearsome. The vast, bewildering terror made everyone's hearts quake.
Watching the scene, Luo Chuan even felt that he was about to sink beneath the sea and perish there.
Luo Chuan turned to look back at the shore. It had become a thin line, seeming to drift farther and farther away.
"Turn back! Hurry, turn back!" Overcome by fear, Luo Chuan couldn't help shouting.
In his panic, he even wanted to seize the rudder.
But just then, Lu Bai pinned Luo Chuan down with one hand.
The best way to deal with fear wasn't to face it. It was to set it against another kind of fear.
The moment Luo Chuan met Lu Bai's gaze, his terror of the sea seemed to hit a pause button and abruptly stopped.
In its place rose a deep-seated fear of Lu Bai.
"M-Master!"
"I'm going to teach you a lesson," Lu Bai said, his expression grave.
"You can respect death, but don't fear it."
"No matter what happens, even in the face of death, you must stay calm."
"If you lose your head every time something happens, you'll never get anywhere."
"Indeed, young Luo Chuan. Staying composed even when Mount Tai collapses before you, and not so much as blinking when a deer leaps beside you—that's a very important state of mind," Lou Jingren added with a nod.
"Of course, it's no use just explaining this kind of thing. Knowing the principles doesn't mean you can put them into practice." Lu Bai smiled, picked Luo Chuan up, and lowered him into the water beside them.
"Ahhh! Glug-glug-blub-blub!" Luo Chuan's shouts quickly disappeared once he was underwater.
When Lu Bai pulled him back out, he started shouting again.
"Brother Lu?!" Lou Jingren watched it all and opened his mouth to stop him, but in the end he could only sigh and fall silent.
It was a master disciplining his apprentice. As an outsider, he really had no place to say anything.
They tried to cultivate an unflappable state of mind by reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles. Only after building up both knowledge and experience could they manage it, and even then, only barely.
Lu Bai's approach to Luo Chuan, by contrast, was clearly an attempt to produce that state of mind in a hurry.
All the same, Lou Jingren couldn't help thinking that he and Lu Bai were not cut from the same cloth.
Lu Bai didn't care. He would never change who he was just to win someone else's approval.
He played with the Luo Chuan–style merit-generating release device as he watched the surroundings.
He had to admit, this illusion array had some real tricks.
The sky and sea merged into one, and the bright moon climbed high, its light making everything seem disorienting.
They had been heading toward River Heart Island just moments ago, but suddenly they had lost sight of their destination.
Fortunately, he had come with these scholars from Linjiang Academy. Otherwise, Lu Bai would have had no choice but to dive underwater and see if he could get through that way.
"This sort of illusion array is easy to break, too," Lou Jingren explained.
Though he had some reservations about Lu Bai's behavior, he hadn't let it drive a wedge between them. He remained courteous and friendly.
"For example, the current. If we observed it beforehand, we could tell that we're still moving toward River Heart Island."
"Besides, this full moon has a flaw, too."
"If you Focus, you can see that its light is converging from all directions."
"An illusion array can't account for everything. Some things will always reveal information about the real world. As long as you follow those clues, you can figure out where you really are."
This was really a test of astronomy and geography: the stars, the current, and so on.
After making their calculations, the scholars cried out in delight and steered the boat straight toward the brilliant moon.
And then River Heart Island appeared before their eyes.
The pearl atop Three Moon Pavilion on the island was still shining brilliantly.
Along the beach at the island's edge lay a strip of special sand. It now glimmered in response to the pearl above.
"These are specially treated grains of sand that reflect moonlight. Combined with the pearl, they create the illusion of a bright moon." Lou Jingren exclaimed with exaggerated admiration. "What a clever trick!"
"?" Lu Bai gave him a look that said, "Are you kidding me? But I haven't read enough to know better, so I can only accept it."
"The talented scholars of Linjiang Academy are truly extraordinary!" At that very moment, a woman in flowing gauze drifted down from Three Moon Pavilion.
She was like a celestial maiden descending from the moon into the mortal world. At that moment, even the full moon in the sky seemed to serve as her backdrop.
At least Luo Chuan, who had swallowed his fill of water beside Lu Bai, was completely mesmerized.
This is the second update. It's a little late—sorry.
Before you continue