Prefectural City Crisis

Zhen Shopkeeper returned to the Auspicious Restaurant at lunchtime. At this hour, the place would ordinarily be packed with customers and buzzing with noise, but now, in the vast dining hall, only two tables were occupied. There was not a single scholar in sight, much less anyone wearing a Scholarly Robe or even an academy student's robe.

Only one day had passed.

At that moment, a waiter rushed over and said anxiously, "Shopkeeper, this is bad! Master Su has given the word: no one from the Su Household is allowed to eat at our restaurant, and none of the Su Household's businesses may deal with us. The other two great families have followed suit. Think of something! I heard from a friend at the county office that County Magistrate Cai also gave orders today. From now on, the county office will no longer choose our Auspicious Restaurant when entertaining guests. If that happens, none of the clerks, officials, or their relatives will come here either."

Zhen Shopkeeper stared blankly at the empty hall for a long time, then sat on the threshold and burst into wailing tears.

"I shouldn't have looked down on people with dog eyes..."

Unlike their usual lunches, the Fang Household's meal today had both meat and vegetables. Yang Yuhuan no longer begrudged herself food either, eating whatever she and Fang Yun felt like having.

As she ate, Yang Yuhuan chatted about trivial matters: more people had come bearing gift money, and several wealthy households had sent invitations asking Fang Yun to attend evening banquets.

After lunch, Fang Yun wrote several brief letters in reply to those who had invited him. He first expressed his boundless gratitude, then explained that he needed to go to County Magistrate Cai's home to study Classic Interpretation and hoped for their understanding.

After a short nap, Fang Yun restored his energy, then ground ink and spread out paper.

"The Sacred Way of the scholars is long and arduous. I must move forward one step at a time. Even with the Strange Book World, I still need to work hard—or rather, to avoid failing the Strange Book World, I should work even harder!"

"First, I need to practice calligraphy. As a man of letters, handwriting is extremely important. On the Saint Origin Continent, a fine hand is more important than a handsome face."

"Second, I need to memorize and understand the Classics of the Sages. The Strange Book World can help me understand all things, but it cannot make me omnipotent. Knowledge gained from paper always feels shallow in the end. This Strange Book World is my staircase, not the key that opens the Sacred Way! The key to the Sacred Way can only be myself! If I rely on the Strange Book World for everything, I will never be able to walk my own Sacred Way, much less attain Saint Enfeoffment!"

"Third, I must read the Literary Gazette, published every ten days. It reports all the political, cultural, economic, technological, and other news from the Ten Kingdoms across the entire Saint Origin Continent over the previous week. It is my best means of understanding this world. The monthly Sacred Way journal is also indispensable. Its poetry and prose are the essence of the Ten Kingdoms, representing the development trends and fundamental ideas of the whole world. I also need to finish all the past issues of the Literary Gazette and Sacred Way."

Fang Yun took a deep breath. With a thought, one calligraphy copybook after another appeared. In the end, he chose Liu Style—the Regular Script style of Liu Gongquan, the great calligrapher of the Tang Dynasty. Liu Style did not yet exist on the Saint Origin Continent.

Yan Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan were the two great calligraphers of the Tang Dynasty. Their attainment in Regular Script was no weaker than that of Wang Xizhi, the Calligraphy Saint, though their running script naturally fell far short of Wang Xizhi's.

Yan Style was too square and forceful, unsuitable for Fang Yun to study at present. Liu Style, on the other hand, was steady and balanced, elegant yet lively, with rigorous character structure. It better suited Fang Yun's temperament and age.

In the Imperial Examination, Regular Script held a higher position than running script, though in calligraphy itself the two were evenly matched. Within the military, however, cursive script was all the rage.

Fang Yun first closed his eyes and silently memorized a copybook of Liu Gongquan's famous work, the Stele of the Divine Strategy Army, engraving it deeply into his mind. Then he lifted his brush and began copying it.

"The emperor inspected the Left Divine Strategy Army..."

Fang Yun wrote stroke by stroke. One sheet, two sheets, three sheets...

He wrote ten entire sheets without the slightest improvement, but he did not lose heart and continued.

After finishing the twentieth sheet, Fang Yun set down his brush and examined it closely. A faint smile appeared on his face. His handwriting had improved a little.

"As expected of a world of Literary Qi. Now that I have Literary Qi, not only has my body grown stronger and gained Night Vision, but my mind is sharper too. I learn everything faster than before."

Fang Yun gained confidence, and his writing became smoother.

After practicing calligraphy for an hour, Fang Yun strolled around the courtyard for fifteen minutes, then returned to his room and continued practicing.

Once he had finished, Fang Yun burned all the copybooks. The Stele of the Divine Strategy Army recorded such matters as the surrender of various kingdoms during the Tang Dynasty and could not be seen by others.

Fang Yun rested for a while, then took a slightly worn copy of the Book of Changes from the bookshelf and began reading.

The original text had no punctuation whatsoever, and even its paragraph divisions were chaotic. Yet it bore marks Fang Yun himself had made with a brush, resembling periods—the so-called sentence divisions.

Fang Yun began reciting the Book of Changes. After reciting the first chapter, Qian, he was astonished to find that he remembered it completely, though it had not been clear in his memories before.

"This is photographic memory. Metropolitan Graduates undergo multiple Literary Talent Infusions, making their bodies and minds extraordinary, which is why they can remember at a glance. I'm only a mere Licentiate, yet I can do the same. Could this be a power granted by the Strange Book World?"

Joy filled Fang Yun's heart, and he began again from the start, continuing to recite the chapter of Qian.

Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will reveal itself.

When he reached the third recitation, Fang Yun found his mind growing clearer and clearer. The words before his eyes seemed to come alive, and segment after segment of information that could be sensed but not spoken appeared in his mind, helping him understand the Book of Changes.

Fang Yun immediately guessed that this was another function of the Strange Book World: helping him digest knowledge, turning what was inside and upon the Strange Book World into his own, turning the dead into living.

Fang Yun continued reciting. The most essential meanings hidden within the words swept through his mind, gradually becoming understood and absorbed by him.

After reading it ten times in all, Fang Yun felt a slight fullness in his stomach, as though he had just eaten a meal.

"No wonder Confucius said that for three months he did not know the taste of meat. He must have 'eaten' the most fundamental things in this world, so naturally he no longer cared about the taste of meat."

Fang Yun did not recite the next section of the Book of Changes. Instead, he picked up his brush and wrote down what he had just recited.

After writing the first chapter, Qian, the fullness in Fang Yun's abdomen vanished. Moreover, the characters he wrote this time had improved enormously over before. Every character drew closer to perfection, every character seeming to contain true meaning.

Fang Yun picked up the sheet and discovered that it weighed ten times more than the calligraphy sheets he had written earlier. The ink was condensed without dispersing and remained wet for a long time.

Fang Yun reached out and touched the ink. It was smooth and rounded, like glass beneath his fingers.

Ink That Does Not Stain the Skin.

"Ink That Does Not Stain the Skin is the sign that Literary Qi has been fused into one's writing. Even an academy student needs three to five months of practice to achieve it. The next step is 'resonance of words,' and only then can one mobilize the world's primordial energy and fully master War on Paper. If I can achieve Ink That Does Not Stain the Skin while still a Licentiate, then I may be able to use War on Paper as soon as I become an academy student. The paper becoming heavier is nothing unusual. Legend says that every word written by a Saint is Like a Mountain—that is truly terrifying."

Fang Yun had not expected to improve so quickly. Delighted, he was filled with motivation and continued studying while cultivating, reciting ten times before writing it out with brush and ink.

As he wrote and studied the Book of Changes, the Literary Qi within his Literary Palace gradually increased, while the entire Literary Palace became increasingly solid.

Before he realized it, the sun had set and the room had grown dim, but Fang Yun seemed wholly unaware as he continued reciting and writing.

At night, his eyes shone somewhat brighter than usual. As a Licentiate, he possessed Night Vision; even in a pitch-black night where one could not see one's own fingers, it was as though he stood beneath daylight, with everything clearly visible.

Fang Yun finished another sheet of writing and was in the midst of reciting when Yang Yuhuan's voice came from outside.

"Yun, dinner's ready."

"All right, I'll be right out."

Fang Yun ate as usual, but Yang Yuhuan had changed slightly. She had spoken with Fang Yun before, but rarely said much. These past two days, however, she told him every little detail—the process of hiring a maid, matters concerning the neighbors. Whenever she mentioned someone praising Fang Yun, her eyebrows danced with delight. She was especially happy, her face seeming to glow, making her even more beautiful.

Fang Yun listened quietly, occasionally interjecting a word or two. It felt warm. Yang Yuhuan had clearly come to rely on him.

After eating, Fang Yun left with some paper, bought fruit, and headed for the county office. County Magistrate Cai lived in the rear courtyard of the county office.

In the county office's rear courtyard, Fang Yun met Madam Cai. Madam Cai was extremely courteous. After exchanging pleasantries, County Magistrate Cai brought him to the study and taught him how to compose Classic Interpretation essays.

"Classic Interpretation has many structural components: opening the topic, connecting the topic, brief exposition, concluding transition, restating the topic, major exposition, supplementary meaning, returning to the original classic, and the ending. You need not rigidly adhere to this structure, but you must understand every part of it."

Fang Yun already had some understanding of Classic Interpretation. After all, even if one did not learn how to write such essays for the Licentiate examination, one still had to read Classic Interpretation essays and policy essays to broaden one's horizons and lay foundations for the future.

As Fang Yun listened, his brush flew across the paper, recording every important point.

County Magistrate Cai nodded.

"The opening of a Classic Interpretation essay is paramount. To open the topic is to unravel it, to explain the words of the Sages in your own words. If even the opening is mistaken, would not every subsequent step be wrong upon wrong? Whenever examiners mark papers, if the opening is wrong, they immediately discard it as a failed paper."

Afterward, County Magistrate Cai gave several types of questions and analyzed the traps hidden within them. He explained them in simple terms while delving deeply, making everything exceptionally clear.

Generally speaking, teachers who instructed Licentiates were merely academy students. Yet no matter how capable an academy student was, he could not compare with a Metropolitan Graduate. Moreover, Metropolitan Graduates continued studying Classic Interpretation and paid attention to each year's examination questions, because Classic Interpretation was most helpful in understanding the Way of the Sages.

County Magistrate Cai spent an hour and a half explaining the structure of Classic Interpretation in exceptional detail. Although Fang Yun had memorized it all, his lack of experience meant there were many points he did not understand.

When the lesson was finished, Fang Yun was about to take his leave when County Magistrate Cai suddenly asked, "What types of questions did I just explain? Tell me every one in order. You may not look at your notes."

Fang Yun's expression did not change. He answered calmly, "The first type you explained was a 'whole-chapter question,' which uses the content of an entire chapter as the examination topic. Next was a 'cut-lower question,' which takes only the first four characters of a sentence. Third was the highly controversial 'cut-and-splice question'..."

Fang Yun answered every type of question without the slightest error, even adding his own understanding.

County Magistrate Cai was stunned instead. Then his face flushed red with excitement as he said, "Excellent! Worthy indeed of a Double-A Honor Before the Sages. One day, you will have a place among the two ranks of the imperial court! Even if you gain a seat within the Sage Pagoda, I will not be surprised! It is only because I fear that too much instruction would make it difficult for you to digest it all that I do not continue until dawn!"

"Thank you, Teacher Cai." Fang Yun solemnly bent at the waist in thanks.

"You gave me an excellent evaluation and gifted me a County-Exceeding poem. Teaching you some Classic Interpretation is nothing."

The two talked as they walked outside.

After seeing Fang Yun off, County Magistrate Cai stood in the courtyard, gazing at the moon and sighing at length. "This child is good in every way. It is only a pity he is not my son!"

After returning home, Fang Yun continued reading classics and practicing calligraphy. Before going to sleep, he repeatedly recalled what he had learned at County Magistrate Cai's home.

That night, Fang Yun first came into contact with Classic Interpretation.

That night, a pawnshop belonging to the Liu Household of Dayuan Prefecture was burned down, suffering losses of over thirty thousand taels of silver.

That night, Fang Shouye visited the Liu Household's main residence, slapped Liu Zicheng flying, and forced Liu Zicheng to bow his head and admit his mistake. Before leaving, he issued a harsh warning: if Fang Yun was killed, then the next day would be Liu Zicheng's death anniversary!

That night, Liu Zicheng used the Literary Academy's Wild Goose Letter Relay to contact his elder brother Liu Zizhi, who was far away in the capital, and received his reply.

That night, Liu Zicheng took all his savings to visit Academy Head Wei of the Prefectural Academy. He produced Liu Zizhi's letter and bribed this Subordinate Fifth Rank official from Liu Shan's faction.

That night, Liu Zicheng stared in the direction of Ji County and swore an oath.

"I will not kill you, but I will surely stain your literary reputation, sever your literary path, and ruin your future! Not only will you be unable to enter this Prefectural Academy, but on the day you enter it, I will humiliate you before everyone. I will make you kneel before me like a dog and beg for mercy, washing away the humiliation that old dog Fang Shouye inflicted upon me!"