Only then did Dipper Mother turn to look at Wen Ning.
"I already know why you're here. That Zhou Ming really is the Star of Literary Excellence incarnate."
Wen Ning stood in the middle of the Dipper Department's great hall, watching Dipper Mother slowly return the strand of light floating in midair to the star chart.
Hearing Dipper Mother confirm his suspicions, Wen Ning spoke.
"Actually, I didn't think of the Star of Literary Excellence at first. It was only when I saw Zhou Ming's report card that I realized something was off. Three hundred in combined sciences, a hundred and fifty in math—those aren't scores a carbon-based life-form can get.
"Then I remembered that Xu Shilin in the Legend of the White Snake was the Star of Literary Excellence incarnate, so I dared to guess along those lines. I never imagined the Star of Literary Excellence really would descend to the mortal world."
Seeing how little of the world he had seen, Dipper Mother wore that smile of hers again, the one that left him speechless.
"Of course the Star of Literary Excellence descends to the mortal world. But his mission in ancient times was different from his mission today.
"In ancient times, his descent heralded a flourishing of literature. Poetry, songs, classical texts, histories, philosophical writings, literary collections—a leader would emerge to guide the literary spirit of an entire generation.
"Xu Shilin was the Star of Literary Excellence, but he was only one of his incarnations. Several of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song dynasties were his incarnations too. Mortals simply didn't know."
She raised a hand and lightly brushed the star chart. Countless strands of light lit up at once, weaving into a brilliant web of stars.
"Now, the Star of Literary Excellence's