Better to Copy Than Buy

The next day.

Zhang Cheng arrived at the Ministry of Works for his shift with his face glowing, clearly in high spirits.

Ever since Zhou Yi had arrived, Zhang Cheng had completely let himself go, slacking off every day.

As the Ministry of Works' only openly acknowledged expert of the upper three realms, even Chief Clerk Chen had to treat him with reverence, asking after his health whenever they met. He did nothing all day and still drew the highest salary.

Two kinds of people ruled the workplace: those whose connections reached the heavens, and those who could not be replaced.

Often, even the former had to yield to the latter.

Zhou Yi took out a small wine jar and said with a smile, "Brother Zhang, this is ten-year-old Pear Blossom White, a specialty of Peaceful Town. Have a taste."

Zhang Cheng sniffed the wine's aroma and said approvingly, "Butter me up first thing in the morning, will you? What do you want, lad?"

Zhou Yi asked, "Brother Zhang, I've taken an interest in Daoist scriptures lately. You're well-read and widely traveled. Could you recommend a few?"

Daoist scriptures on the market were as plentiful as hairs on an ox, and separating the genuine from the false was difficult. To make money, many publishers hired backcountry Daoists to scribble nonsense, then stamped it with "Written by True Person So-and-so." Great Qian had no copyright laws anyway.

Rather than sort through them one by one, Zhou Yi might as well ask Zhang Cheng directly.

"Daoist scriptures? There are some right here. Let me find them."

Zhang Cheng rummaged through the mountain of books and pulled out several blue-covered volumes.

Verbatim Sayings of the True Person of Serenity, Resolving Doubts and Pointing the Way by True Person Wang of Flying Cloud Mountain, Duke Cui's Annotations, Verbatim Sayings of True Person Fubo of the Eastern Sea...

"These are my handwritten copies. Write down the titles. There should be printed editions on the market."

Zhang Cheng said approvingly, "You did far too much killing in the prison before. Read more works by the sages now. Restrain your anger, curb your urge to kill, cultivate your heart, and nurture your nature. Naturally, you'll live longer."

"Thank you for the guidance, Brother Zhang. Once I finish copying today's catalog, I'll start copying these by hand."

"You're a lad worth teaching! A book must be copied to be truly read. Copying it once beats reading it ten times!"

Zhang Cheng opened the wine jar, tipped his head back, and took a hearty swig. The rich aroma drifted into the office next door.

Pear Blossom White was clear in color, sweet and crisp in flavor, and delicate yet mellow on the palate. During brewing, pear blossom petals were incorporated through a special process, giving it their fragrance.

By the standards of his previous life, Pear Blossom White was over sixty percent alcohol, approaching the strength of hard liquor.

Great Qian had long possessed distillation technology. Other things, such as salt, glass, gunpowder, and cement, also had comparable or even superior methods of production, cutting Zhou Yi's dreams of becoming a tycoon off at the root.

Zhou Yi found Zhang Cheng's advice deeply convincing.

If copying books works so well, and I have all the time in the world anyway, why not copy them over and over?

First, I can grasp the principles in the sages' writings. Second, I can sell the copies. After imitating Zhang Cheng's calligraphy for so long, I've captured eighty or ninety percent of its essence.

Having lived in the Capital for over half a year, he had seen plenty of scholars selling calligraphy on the streets. Compared with theirs, Zhang Cheng's ranked among the finest.

Zhang Cheng might not have possessed a master calligrapher's talent, but he had lived long enough and written enough characters that a distinctive style was already beginning to emerge.

If he devoted himself to calligraphy, perhaps he could establish a "Zhang style."

Slack off at work copying books, gradually comprehend the yin spirit, and make money on top of it...

Three gains with one stroke!

Same Fortune Inn.

Zhou Yi stood straight before the desk, his wrist suspended in the air as he copied Verbatim Sayings of True Person Fubo of the Eastern Sea word by word.

During the day, he had finished reading all twelve Daoist scriptures. The first volume of this book, Counsel on the Dao, explained what a yin spirit was right at the outset.

Essence wanes through lust, qi is exhausted through wrath...

When essence and qi are gone, the spirit's light scatters outward...

One spirit becomes ten thousand spirits, one qi becomes ten thousand qi; from the one arise the ten thousand, gather the ten thousand and return them to the one...

The yin spirit: the soul's awareness, clear and numinous, gathering and dispersing at will, like a dream, like a shadow, akin to a ghost...

The True Person's sayings did not form a complete system. They consisted of assorted sayings, memorials, verses, True Person Fubo's everyday words, deeds, and thoughts, and aphorisms resembling Buddhist gathas. Like a collection of notes, they were somewhat disorganized.

Each time Zhou Yi copied them, he gained a new understanding of their central message.

Books annotating True Person Fubo's sayings were sold on the market, much like later readers' reflections. Zhou Yi selected several to read and benefited greatly.

As a practitioner of the Yellow Court Dao Scripture, Zhou Yi could just barely count as a Daoist cultivator, but his foundational knowledge fell far short of an orthodox Daoist's.

Whatever their cultivation levels, the Daoists who annotated True Person Fubo's sayings and published them in printed form at least had confidence in their understanding of scripture.

Unfortunately, most slipped their own agendas into their works, seemingly praising some while disparaging others, elevating their own factions and belittling their rivals in an attempt to hoodwink readers into becoming devotees of their temples.

Even Daoist True Persons aren't truly free of desires!

Zhou Yi absorbed the essence of these works, then copied True Person Fubo's sayings again, gaining many more insights.

Suddenly.

A fierce gust blew the window open, leaving ink stains on several pages of scripture he had just copied.

Zhou Yi frowned slightly and turned toward the window. Outside, he saw a dozen or so constables searching the nearby shops.

He closed the window and resumed copying.

A little while later, a knock sounded at the door.

Then came the innkeeper's voice. "Are you asleep, Mr. Zhou? The Six Gates is checking the rooms."

Creak!

Zhou Yi opened the door and noticed five constables standing behind the innkeeper.

Their leader wore a standard blue uniform, while the other four wore black. The instant the door opened, they swept their gazes over every corner of the room.

Unlike the temporary yamen runners in local prefectures and counties, the Capital's Six Gates constables belonged to an enforcement agency whose members held official ranks. Its chief was a second-rank court official.

The innkeeper said apologetically, "Sorry to disturb you, Mr. Zhou. This is Constable Li of the Six Gates. A criminal escaped from the imperial prison, so they have to conduct a thorough search."

"Mm. Go ahead and search."

Zhou Yi stepped aside, inwardly musing that the Six Gates even recruited female constables. Great Qian was much more open-minded than he had expected.

Constable Li entered the room to inspect it while her four subordinates rummaged through the chests and cabinets.

"Hey, hey, officers, be careful! That vase dates back to the Yongchang era. How could a criminal possibly hide inside it..."

The innkeeper carefully set the large vase back in place. If Zhou Yi remembered correctly, it was a secondhand purchase from the western market last week.

Standing before the desk, Zhou Yi glanced at the beam overhead.

Constable Li, who had been watching everyone's expressions all along, looked enlightened. She leaped up and landed on the beam.

"There are footprints in the dust. Someone was here just now!"

Just then.

Someone else pushed the door open and entered. He was a middle-aged man dressed as a waiter, his eyes bleary as though he had just woken up.

"Boss, what're y'all doin' in the middle o' the night? I was sleepin' real good."

"A criminal's come here, and you're sleeping soundly! Aren't you afraid someone might steal you away too?"

The innkeeper scolded him, then explained, "He's our newly hired waiter, from Yu Province. He doesn't speak the official tongue very well."

The middle-aged man jumped in fright, his face full of alarm. "Goodness me! Y'all better look real careful and find him!"

Constable Li glanced at the middle-aged man, then continued examining the marks on the beam, trying to determine which way the fugitive had fled.

Zhou Yi regarded the middle-aged man with interest. The skin on his face looked completely real. On closer inspection, there were even pores and patches of unshaven stubble.

The man's exposed hands had broad palms, swollen joints, and rough, dark skin covered in calluses. At a glance, they clearly belonged to someone accustomed to prolonged manual labor.

Unfortunately, no matter how convincing a disguise was, it was useless before the Spirit Eye Technique.

A numinous gleam flashed through Zhou Yi's eyes, and he easily saw through the surface appearance. The middle-aged man with the Yu Province accent was Bai Yutang in disguise.

Exquisite movement skills and a lifelike disguise. No wonder he managed to escape the imperial prison.

You could have escaped today, but you just had to ruin the pages I worked so hard to copy. I'll have to send a marriage your way and let you taste the perils of the mortal world!

Zhou Yi used the Qi-Reading Technique and saw the Heavenly Joy Star shining above Bai Yutang's head, while Constable Li's Red Phoenix Star stirred.

A thin red thread, flickering in and out of existence, connected the two.