Searching the Xuanwen Archives

Searching the Xuanwen Archives

Two days later, the reply from the Profound Residence was delivered into Zhang Yu's hands by a specially assigned courier.

He had thought this matter would likely encounter a few twists and turns, but he hadn't expected a result so soon.

He flipped to the seal at the end of the reply and saw the name "Xiang Chun" stamped there.

After entering the Academy, he had made an effort to learn about the current structure of the Profound Residence. Its true master rarely showed himself and didn't concern himself much with affairs. The ones handling everyday matters were several of his students.

Xiang Chun was the eldest among them, and also the one who effectively managed the Profound Residence at present.

Beneath the seal were several lines of comments. Zhang Yu read them. They began with a few words of encouragement, then stated that the Profound Residence would open its doors on the fifteenth of the month. He could come then to test his affinity with the Dao; if he did not, he could submit another letter of application next year.

The wording contained no ornate flourishes. It was plain and straightforward, and the handwriting was neat and proper. It was clear that the writer was conscientious and practical.

He put away the reply. After thinking for a moment, he called out silently in his heart. Light immediately shone forth, and the Seal of the Great Dao emerged before him.

Four Seal Glyphs now floated above the Dao Seal: "Thunder Voice," "Verbal Resonance," "True Breath," and "Sword Control."

The "True Breath" Seal Glyph was, in fact, the Breath Circulation Technique he had been cultivating all along.

He had never invested any Divine Essence into this technique, yet the moment its Seal Glyph appeared on the Dao Seal, it shone brilliantly. This showed that with his current body, this was as far as he could cultivate the technique. Beyond that, he could only maintain it; further progress was impossible.

If he wanted to advance further, he would have to break through himself and unlock the limits of his body.

Yet the contradiction was that this breathing method itself was meant to break those shackles.

Back then, after he had practiced for two years without success, his teacher had declared that he lacked the talent and could not accept the inheritance of their lineage. The path of the Old Method was thus blocked to him, so his teacher later passed on to him the introductory secret of the New Method.

His teacher had once warned him not to try using the Seal of the Great Dao to improve the breathing method, because it could very likely lead to unforeseeable consequences.

He had kept that firmly in mind and had not carelessly attempted it.

But among these four Seal Glyphs, three radiated blazing brilliance. Only the art of Sword Control remained dim and without light. At a glance, it looked terribly out of place!

He checked himself. After several days of quietly nurturing his essence, energy, and spirit, his Divine Essence had increased by a little. But he had condensed it himself, and if he wanted to recover it, it would take at least several months, perhaps even half a year.

It wasn't as though there were no solution. He simply needed to find more items that could replenish Divine Essence.

Ever since seeing the statue of the Plague God, and combining it with similar items he had obtained in the past, an idea had formed in his mind. It still needed to be verified, however.

With a shift of his thoughts, the light around him receded. He reached for the Illustrated Guide to Strange Beasts on the desk and began reading. He continued until the hour of rest, then entered the meditation chamber to sit in cultivation.

When he awoke from meditation the next morning, he discovered that a fine drizzle had begun to fall outside.

He rose and washed up, took several pills as usual, then picked up an oiled-paper umbrella and prepared to leave. Just then, someone knocked at the door.

Zhang Yu set the umbrella beside the door and opened it. A servant stood in the courtyard, wearing a bamboo rain hat and straw rain cape, holding an exquisite letter case. "Assistant Instructor Zhang? This is a letter sent from outside the Academy."

Zhang Yu accepted it, signed his name on the lacquered plaque the servant handed over, thanked him, closed the residence door, and returned to sit in the meditation chamber.

When he opened the letter case, he found that the sender was Zhao Xiangcheng. The letter contained few words. It merely said that Zhao Xiangcheng had something to discuss with him and hoped he could come out within the next two days to meet at Lu'an Residence.

Perhaps there was news about the Yao Salamander.

He considered that he happened to have some free time over the next two days. If the Academy allowed it, he could find time to meet Zhao Xiangcheng.

As he raised a hand to put the letter back into its case, his movement suddenly paused. For some reason, he felt that something was off. After thinking about it, he brought the letter back before his eyes.

After staring at it repeatedly for several moments, he finally discovered where that sense of discord came from.

The problem lay in the paper and ink!

Zhao Xiangcheng's way of doing things was rather traditional. Everything he ate, wore, and used followed the old customs of Celestial Xia.

There were particular conventions for writing letters to friends or acquaintances. The type of paper required matching ink, and sometimes even a corresponding style of calligraphy. The paper and ink in this letter had plainly been chosen only for their expense, with no concern for anything else. In the eyes of someone who likewise observed the Old Rites of Celestial Xia, that was somewhat disrespectful. Zhao Xiangcheng would never make such a mistake.

Leaving that aside, the letter case before him was far too extravagant. The things Zhao Xiangcheng used were refined as well, but they could never be called luxurious. This object, however, looked as if it couldn't wait to prove its own worth.

Moreover, the letter contained only a few lines. Its contents seemed concise, but upon closer reading, it felt more like the writer was afraid of revealing something if he wrote too much.

As the doubts gradually emerged, he found more and more flaws.

By now, he could determine that this letter had not been sent by Zhao Xiangcheng. Someone had merely borrowed his name.

Then who was it?

Someone who knew of his friendship with Zhao Xiangcheng, who could discover that he had previously lived at Peaceful Lodge, who could forge a letter and send it directly into the Academy—the answer was already about to leap from the page.

The Divine Commandery Army!

Though I don't know what these people are after, it seems I'd better remain in the Academy unless necessary. I'll wait until the storm passes before considering anything else.

He glanced outside. At some point, the rain had stopped. The sky beyond had been washed clear and blue, and it was now convenient to travel.

After thinking it over, he still took his umbrella and left.

The stone-paved road after the rain was wet and gleaming. Golden Parasol Trees stood on both sides. The air was fresh, birds sang in bursts, and the surroundings were clear, tranquil, and secluded, carrying an air that transcended worldly dust.

Walking along these roads that seemed able to cleanse the soul, he arrived before Proclamation Hall, the place where the Academy organized documents and stored books.

Taiyang Academy possessed more records and classics than anywhere else in the entire Protectorate Office. Many records from old times could only be found here. The Illustrated Guide to Strange Beasts he had read before had also been borrowed from this place.

When he entered the main hall, a charming middle-aged man in his forties came forward and greeted him courteously.

This man's name was Qu Gong, the steward of Proclamation Hall. When Zhang Yu had previously come to borrow the illustrated guide, they had spoken before. He found Qu Gong humorous, widely learned, and quick-witted, someone who easily inspired goodwill. He would have been more than qualified to serve as an instructor, yet for some unknown reason, he merely remained here managing the books and documents.

He asked Qu Gong for a private meditation chamber. With the servants' help, he then had a great stack of documents brought over.

After dismissing the servants, he sat behind the desk and began carefully going through the records one volume at a time.

He had not forgotten that someone had appropriated his records. Even though he had now become an assistant instructor at the Academy, that did not mean he intended to let the matter go.

The most likely time his records had been stolen was three years ago. If that deduction was correct, the other party might still be studying within Taiyang Academy. He could therefore begin with the enrollment records for students from the year 370 of the Great Xuan Calendar.

As he looked through them, he saw that a total of three hundred and twenty-seven people had entered the Academy that year. Checking them one by one would waste time and offer too few clues, so he decided to begin with their places of origin.

Over the past twenty years, he had been the only person from the small town where he was born to pass the Selection Examination. Thus, there could not possibly be another person of the same origin in the records. If there was, that person was highly likely to be the one who had stolen his documents.

But after checking through the records, he found nothing. He expanded the search to five years, but still obtained no result.

He turned the matter over in his mind. There were two possibilities. First, the person was no longer a student, but had become an instructor at the Academy.

Because the records and credentials of assistant instructors, academic rectors, and even Academy officials were not public, he could not access them with his current status.

But after considering it, he dismissed that possibility.

Aside from people like himself who had risen through recommendation, anyone wishing to become an assistant instructor or even an instructor first needed sufficient learning. Since the other party had needed to steal someone's documents to enter the Academy, it showed that they possessed little genuine ability. Otherwise, there would have been no need to do such a thing.

That left another possibility: after the great fire at the Literary Institute, the other party had changed their place of origin along with everything else.

And if they could change their place of origin, they could naturally change other details as well. If that was the case, there was no way to continue verifying it through normal means.

He set down the documents. It seemed the trail ended here. Fortunately, he had never expected to obtain an answer in a single attempt. Since he could not verify it at this stage, he would wait until he possessed sufficient power before dealing with it.

When he walked out of the meditation chamber, he found that heavy rain had begun falling again outside.

Then his gaze shifted, and he saw a girl of thirteen or fourteen standing near the entrance. She was slender and slight, dressed in shabby clothes. She must have been very cold; she hugged her arms tightly and trembled faintly, occasionally stamping her feet. Yet she seemed afraid of disturbing others and did not dare stomp too hard, producing only soft tapping sounds.

At that moment, she looked anxiously at the torrential rain outside as if she had some urgent matter to attend to. The servants around her only went about their own work, and no one paid her any attention.

Zhang Yu noticed a faint hint of gold in her pupils. She likely had An people blood. Some people in Taiyang Academy discriminated against the An people, so it was no wonder no one bothered with her.

But beneath the girl's skin was an unnatural flush. She had clearly caught a chill. If she rushed out into the rain now, she would be throwing away her life.

He called over a servant and instructed, "Get her an umbrella."

The servant said awkwardly, "Assistant Instructor, it's been raining for quite some time. All the umbrellas have been borrowed out."

After a moment's thought, Zhang Yu said, "Then take the umbrella I left downstairs and give it to her." Having given the instruction, he did not wait to see the result. Instead, he walked toward the other end of the corridor, intending to look through more books that interested him.

Downstairs, the girl grew more and more anxious. She bit her lip and looked at the gloomy sky outside. Just as she was about to rush out regardless of everything, the servant came panting over with Zhang Yu's umbrella and shoved it into her hands. "Here. Assistant Instructor Zhang told me to give this to you."

The girl was somewhat at a loss. Once she recovered, she hurriedly looked around, but saw only a departing figure from the side. She bowed deeply in that direction, then opened the umbrella and rushed into the curtain of rain.