PS: I put this note at the beginning. After thinking it over, I agreed that the previous version of Chapter 31 wasn't very good. Perhaps I was too intent on showing how extraordinary Yi Shuyuan was, and ended up taking the inferior approach instead. So I retrieved the first discarded draft from the recycle bin, revised it, and uploaded it. Huang Hongchuan is now the one who brings up "a thread of hope." This should read much better.
Within the County Office, Yi Shuyuan's absence of more than three days had indeed had some impact, though not nearly as much as he had imagined. After all, apart from those first few days, few people had continued paying attention to the Library, and he had requested leave before departing.
When Yi Shuyuan returned, he naturally saw no missing-person notices or anything of the sort. Some bailiffs even greeted him as usual, and so he returned to the Library without the slightest complication.
When he walked through the door, everything inside was arranged exactly as it had been when he left that morning.
The corner of Yi Shuyuan's mouth twitched. Ah, have I been taking myself a little too seriously?
"How bleak! How bleak!"
Poking fun at himself, Yi Shuyuan walked over to the desk, set down his umbrella and bundle, and pulled over the inkstone he had never used before, preparing to grind ink.
Lately, Yi Shuyuan felt he had been neglecting his work somewhat. He was here to compile and revise the County Gazetteer, after all. Though no one was pressing him for progress, and he had not deliberately dragged his feet, he reckoned he had fallen quite far behind. Yet even as his hands ground the ink, his eyes kept straying toward the bundle beneath the desk, his eagerness becoming almost unbearable.
I'll just read for a little while. Just a little!
With that thought, Yi Shuyuan finished preparing his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, then eagerly opened the bundle and took out the book the Mountain God had given him.
The book was clearly made from no ordinary material. Merely touching it gave Yi Shuyuan a sense of remarkable solidity. Neither the cover nor the title page bore a title or any unnecessary description; it went straight to the subject.
Yi Shuyuan had only read a little before his mind became immersed in it.
From Huang Hongchuan's perspective as a Mountain God, Mountains and Rivers and the earth were a convergence of might. Drawing upon their weight and substance to connect with the spirit of the land was also the principal way Mountain Gods and earth gods cultivated, apart from divine incense offerings.
In a certain sense, if one could ultimately cast off incense offerings entirely and command the great mountains and lofty peaks, then the mountains would be oneself, and oneself the mountains. Bearing the might of the earth, Mountains and Rivers, one would live as long as heaven and earth and shine alongside the sun and moon, standing no lower than the foremost immortals.
Unfortunately, it was hard! Far too hard!
Some Mountain Gods and earth gods, in particular, had originally been ghosts. Through mortal worship and an orthodox Divine Investiture, they formed golden bodies and gained the ability to cultivate. Such Mountain Gods were already too deeply entangled with incense offerings. Incense brought their rise, and incense brought their downfall. They had already become what the incense and fire prayer power wished them to be, making a breakthrough through their own cultivation even harder.
Following that reasoning, Yi Shuyuan could roughly imagine the circumstances of the deities in the various Celestial Courts. They would only be more dependent on mortal incense offerings, having already become gods purely sustained by incense. Yet they could not intervene too deeply in the great currents of the mortal world, lest the backlash become unbearable.
Of course, the various Celestial Courts also checked and balanced one another to some extent. This was probably shaped by the differences reflected in the faiths of different regions.
These things seemed somewhat contradictory, but that was simply how matters stood. They merely sought a balance for their own circumstances amid growth and restraint, hoping for that faint possibility of a breakthrough.
The reality would naturally be far more complicated than Yi Shuyuan imagined, but he felt this principle probably did exist. Whether deliberately or not, Huang Hongchuan had also revealed some similar thoughts.
Yi Shuyuan read onward little by little, finally reaching the actual insights into cultivation. In Huang Hongchuan's words, the most obvious outward abilities of Mountain Gods and earth gods were commanding earth, controlling metal, and growing wood, while their inward ability was mastery over the might of the mountains.
Yi Shuyuan had no intention of becoming a Mountain God. He read through the broader material first, then carefully savored whatever seemed potentially within his future reach.
Before he knew it, morning had turned to dusk. Yi Shuyuan had spent the whole day sitting at the desk, even forgetting to go out for lunch.
Just then, hurried footsteps approached. Yi Shuyuan looked toward the doorway, hastily set down the book, pulled over the reference material from the corner of the desk, and picked up the brush beside him. Dipping it in ink, he began writing on a blank sheet while consulting the references.
A few breaths later, County Registrar Wu Minggao hurried over. Upon reaching the doorway and seeing Yi Shuyuan inside, he immediately sighed in relief.
"Ah, Mr. Yi! You were gone for three whole days, and you didn't make things clear when you requested leave. If you hadn't returned soon, I'd have thought something had happened to you! If someone hadn't just told me they'd seen you, I would have sent people to West River Village to check!"
Yi Shuyuan felt both embarrassed and a little comforted. At least someone still cared about him.
"Lord Lin mentioned yesterday that he wanted to see how the County Gazetteer was coming along!"
As soon as Wu Minggao said this, the faint smile that had just risen on Yi Shuyuan's face froze awkwardly. Damn, did retribution have to come so quickly? I'd rather no one cared about me at all!
"When does Lord Lin want to see it?"
Wu Minggao walked over to the desk and looked at what Yi Shuyuan was writing as he answered his question.
"He originally wanted to see it yesterday, but I put him off, saying you had family matters to attend to and needed to return home for a few days. Now, Mr. Yi, you do know which part of your progress he wants to see, don't you?"
How could Yi Shuyuan not know?
"Thank you for the reminder, County Registrar. Of course I understand. With a little more polishing, it will be ready for Lord Lin to read. But this case isn't over yet, so the account certainly can't be complete."
There was an implication beneath Yi Shuyuan's words. In his mind, a true conclusion would at the very least require Jia Yuntong to be cut in half at the waist, and those behind him could not be allowed a good end either.
Of course, if it was merely a matter of inclusion in the County Gazetteer, then regardless of the outcome, the nighttime trial alone was more than worthy.
"Ah, as long as you understand!"
"Rest assured, Lord Wu. There shouldn't be any trouble!"
Yi Shuyuan spoke with genuine confidence, for this was precisely something that interested him. He had already written most of it that very night.
"Good, then."
As he spoke, Wu Minggao stood beside the desk, lowering his head to study Yi Shuyuan's handwriting. He could not help stroking his beard and marveling inwardly. Such artistry seemed born of nature itself.
"Was there anything else, County Registrar?"
"Oh, nothing else. Mr. Yi, do remember to have a seal carved. It's inconvenient not to have one, after all!"
Yi Shuyuan smiled.
"I won't forget!"
The two chatted casually for a few more exchanges, then Wu Minggao took his leave, no longer disturbing Yi Shuyuan as he caught up on his work.
Yi Shuyuan watched Wu Minggao leave the Library. Once his footsteps had gradually faded, he immediately put down his brush, took out Huang Hongchuan's book again, and resumed reading.
The book did not merely record insights into the scope of a Mountain God's abilities. It extended from earth, wood, and metal to the five elements way. After all, the five elements generated and restrained one another; even a single path had to be considered within the whole to gain a complete understanding.
Time rushed by, and soon it was night. Even when hunger began stirring in his belly, Yi Shuyuan could not bear to move. He merely lit the oil lamp and continued reading, reaching some material on illusion techniques.
The so-called illusion techniques in this section were actually a category of illusion arts, either presenting illusory scenes through illusion magic or disturbing people's minds through external methods.
The Ghost Walls people sometimes encountered in the wilds also belonged to this category. Though they seemed false, they were not all minor tricks. In theory, at the highest reaches of cultivation, illusion and reality, truth and falsehood might become impossible to distinguish. It might well be possible to advance from simply borrowing objects to conceal one's form to Steal Heaven and Swap Sun.
"No art should ever be underestimated."
Yi Shuyuan murmured aloud. A measure of reverence settled in his heart, and he devoted even more attention to this section. He wanted to develop his own Dao and manifest it, and this material would certainly be extremely important, at least during the early stages of cultivation.
The night grew deeper. Yi Shuyuan set down the book for the moment and gazed blankly at the lamplight. He had not put on the lampshade tonight, so the flickering flame was clearly visible.
Huang Hongchuan's book also showed him just how rare an affinity with immortality was, and how unfathomable the immortal path could be. Yi Shuyuan felt that, if things continued as they were, there was no telling how long it would take him to truly encounter the fundamental wondrous methods of immortal cultivation.
Are immortal cultivation methods really my only shackles? Perhaps my lack of knowledge and ability, along with other external difficulties, should be counted too?
That night, when Magistrate Lin faced his own dilemma, how had that change in his thinking come about? Perhaps things weren't always so complicated. It might have arisen from some tiny cause.
At that moment, Yi Shuyuan remembered the Hwamei, and the distracting thoughts in his heart gradually faded.
Perhaps I've been making too many things too complicated. With that thought, Yi Shuyuan rose and looked around the Library. The interior was fairly spacious. He rolled up his sleeves a little, stood in the center, relaxed his body and mind, and gently closed his eyes. Rather than thinking so much, I should try!
I'll start with martial arts!
Yi Shuyuan recalled how A Fei had practiced his punches in front of him.
That feeling, that momentum, that strength, that trembling of muscles and bones-everything seemed to unfold before Yi Shuyuan once more.
The opening movement of the first form was a forward palm thrust, but Yi Shuyuan only pushed his hand out slowly.
Yi Shuyuan's movements were not fast. They were extremely slow, in fact, and not even particularly accurate. Yet however wrong his physical movements were, the feeling in his heart drew ever closer.
Gradually, Yi Shuyuan's movements became correct as well. At a certain moment, every muscle and bone in his body shuddered. In an instant, his motion shifted abruptly from slow to swift, as though a punch had shot out from overlapping afterimages.
Chasing the Moon!
Bang!
A short, sharp report cracked through the air. The entire Library seemed to tremble faintly, and as the force scattered, dust rose from numerous shelves and even the roof beams.
After throwing that punch, Yi Shuyuan felt like someone who had spent too long sitting in an office and then overexerted himself exercising. Every muscle and bone in his body began to ache, making him grimace.
"Martial arts, huh? Rather interesting!"
The feeling was right, but his physical condition was still lacking.
Then how did the immortal cultivators of this world cultivate?
The immortal Dao is difficult to put into words, but what about spirits nurtured by heaven and earth, or creatures that gain sentience on their own? However their methods differ, surely they still draw in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and gather the essence of the sun and moon?
Thinking this, Yi Shuyuan moved his arms a little and returned to the desk. With spiritual inspiration stirring in his heart, he ignored the dust in the room. He simply sat down, propped up his right arm, rested his cheek on his fist, and began to doze.
As Yi Shuyuan gradually slipped into a half-dreaming, half-waking state, his awareness seemed to spread continuously outward, sensing everything around him through a haze.
Why is it so hazy? Is my mind not still? As Yi Shuyuan pondered this, his awareness seemed to become more finely focused under the influence of that uncertainty. A faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. So it's the dust in the Library...
At that moment, Yi Shuyuan's thoughts stirred slightly, yet his mind instead followed nature, free of any unnecessary notions. He merely observed the dust floating throughout the room with his awareness, watching its rise and fall, examining its details. The more closely he looked, the calmer his mind became.
The dust slowly settled onto the floor, onto the desk, and onto Yi Shuyuan himself. As everything around him gradually became clearer, his inner world also began to brighten.
That light illuminated the darkness within his awareness, gradually giving rise to myriad colors, then even the earth, Mountains and Rivers. His heart held heaven and earth within it, reflecting nature.
Recalling the moment when he had taught A Fei the Clear Heart Art, Yi Shuyuan compared the two experiences, and an understanding arose within him: even without a method to follow, he could still temper his own true self.
From this day onward, I, Yi Shuyuan, shall step onto the path of cultivation!
"Draw together the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, gather the essence of the sun and moon..."
Yi Shuyuan softly murmured the words, his indistinct whispers sending out wave after wave of Dao sound.
In and around the Yuanjiang County Office, beyond ordinary people's perception, a gently revolving Dao resonance formed in utter silence, gradually drawing wisps of spiritual energy into motion.
Before you continue