The chapters of The Analects varied in length and in the depth of their meaning. Since this was also Fang Yun's first formal attempt at annotating the Classics of the Sages, he often stopped midway, unconsciously stroking the Stone Fetus Blood Egg as though handling an antique, while consciously savoring and weighing the text again and again, revising his draft several times.
When he reached "On seeing a worthy man, think of equaling him; on seeing an unworthy man, examine yourself within," Fang Yun suddenly froze. Rather than immediately providing pronunciation guides and explanations of the words, he lowered his eyelids slightly and fell silent for a full four hours before continuing his interpretation. Unlike before, a keen light shone in his eyes, as though he had gained another insight.
At first, Snake Mian Emperor could still maintain his independent awareness, but later he became completely absorbed, just like the other Demon Barbarians. Even when Fang Yun stopped, no other thoughts entered his mind; he kept pondering the contents of The Analects.
The Analects contained only a little over ten thousand characters, but every word was a pearl. Fang Yun's annotations ran to dozens of times the length of the original, and with all the revisions and deliberation, he had written only a third of it after an entire day.
Only after three full days did Fang Yun reach the final chapter of The Analects.
As important as the opening chapter, "To learn and practice it at due intervals," this final chapter emphatically highlighted Destiny, the gentleman, ritual propriety, standing, words, understanding, and people. Beginning and end echoed each other from afar, while a single word ran through the entire book: "learning."
Fang Yun repeatedly recited the final chapter in a low voice.
"Confucius said, 'Without understanding Destiny, one cannot