Chapter 62 Breakfast and Morning Meeting, South Jiaodao First…
Two days later, on the first floor of Yunzhou.
The torrential rain of the past two days has forced today's clear skies, but the cold wind still blows. Although there is more sunshine, the temperature has dropped sharply. Everyone on the street is wearing thick clothes, such as linen, cotton, and fur coats—winter is coming to the north.
Qingyu and Fanxiang were drinking porridge; they were the first to get up. Qin Tianshu and Wen Chuan were chatting nearby. The four of them and the chicken were leisurely enjoying themselves until Zhang Xuan, with two big dark circles under his eyes, staggered down from upstairs.
Qingyu: "Wow, what did you do last night?"
Zhang Xuan lifted his eyelids, too tired to speak. Swaying slightly, the young man picked up the vegetables from the seat next to Lin Fanxiang and put them aside before sitting down.
"Coo coo coo!"
Qin Tianshu looked him up and down. "You haven't been staying up all night looking at star charts again, have you?"
Zhang Xuan scoffed and looked up, his expression arrogant, but his eyes betrayed a profound despair. "I watched those ink specks fall asleep last night, I don't want to dream about them..."
Qingyu put down her spoon. "What happened in the dream?"
"I saw those ink specks again!"
Everyone: "..."
"Oh, it's nothing, I just didn't sleep well, I'll be fine after a while."
Zhang Xuan continued, and the boy looked at the breakfast on the table and asked, "Wow, that's quite a feast... Is that all?"
This table is quite abundant, with eight-treasure porridge, steamed egg custard, braised beef, sugar-coated sesame cakes, and red date steamed buns, each dish looking tempting and exquisite, and extremely beautiful.
It's a pity that Zhang Xuan doesn't like to eat these in the morning. He prefers wontons and noodles, which are delicious and filling.
Wen Chuan smiled upon hearing this, "Dr. Lin ordered mutton noodles for you, just wait."
Qingyu immediately added, "A big bowl!"
Zhang Xuan nodded in satisfaction, grinning from ear to ear, his eyes still heavy. Fan Xiang smiled helplessly, then said gently to everyone, "I checked, and it should be sunny for the next few days. I don't know about other things, but I want to go to the pharmacy to buy some herbs that are unique to the north. Maybe we'll need them later."
Upon hearing this, Qin Tianshu tapped her with the handle of his fan, "Doctor Lin is right!"
The scholar suddenly lowered his voice, looked around at them, and said, "We have now become enemies with Shangguan Han. The Shangguan family rose to power hundreds of years ago by cultivating poison. We must be on guard."
Qingyu lowered her voice as well, "Oh, so now we need to protect ourselves from the cold and poison, and figure out the star map?"
Zhang Xuan also lowered his voice, "It rhymes quite well, but no, this is too much trouble."
Lin Fanxiang blinked and lowered her voice, "Actually, there's no need to be so afraid. I'm quite confident in my medical skills."
Qin Tianshu closed his eyes briefly. The scholar, his voice tinged with anxiety, whispered, "It's impossible to guard against them all. Our strength is one thing, but some people are insidious and stupid on another..."
Wen Chuan wanted to speak loudly, but the group had already arrived at this point, so he said in a slightly hesitant voice, "Although it's impossible to guard against everything... do we really have to talk like this?"
Cai Cai whispered, "Coo coo coo?"
"Ouch—"
Qingyu straightened up. "Xiao Zhang, your noodles are here."
Zhang Xuan turned his head, and the servant carrying mutton noodles walked up to them, set out the noodles, stepped back, and silently pulled up the screen, demonstrating extremely attentive service.
Zhang Xuan ate his noodles, while Qin Tianshu leaned back, fanning himself. The scholar clicked his tongue and said, "Let's stay in Yunzhou for a few days first and see what's going on at that auction."
"However, I still want to emphasize one point: as the saying goes, it's not the cunning of bad people that's scary, but the sudden inspiration of fools."
"Oh, I see," Zhang Xuan said after finishing a bite of noodles. "That Shangguan Han is both wicked and stupid, so be careful."
Qingyu was speechless. "Nonsense, whether they're bad, stupid, good, or smart, once you make enemies, of course you have to be careful... But there's no rush. Let's take care of our own business first. Extraordinary City is extraordinary; I still want to see it properly."
Lin Fanxiang nodded, "Then...shall we go for a stroll on the street later?"
Wen Chuan smiled and gestured with his chin toward Zhang Xuan, who was hurriedly eating his noodles. "No rush, wait until Zhang Xuan finishes eating."
Lin Fanxiang smiled and whispered to Zhang Xuan, "Take it slow, there's no rush."
"Mmm, mmm, mmm," Zhang Xuan nodded as he ate.
Everyone stopped eating, leaving only Zhang Xuan to eat his noodles. Taking advantage of this lull, Qin Tianshu said, "The food and scenery in Extraordinary City are actually just average, but there are many strange and unusual things. There's a place called Falling Star Garden on North Street that developed a few years ago. They sell everything, all under the guise of spiritual artifacts. Since we have nothing else to do, we can go and take a look."
Wen Chuan nodded gently, "Go and take a look. I want to buy some animal hides and hay."
Zhang Xuan looked up, "What are you buying those for?"
“I know!” Qingyu said, the girl’s smile tinged with excitement.
"If we continue north from Extraordinary City, we will first pass through Snow Plum Mountain, and then the Lianyun Grassland of Youzhou. There is a section of the journey without any cities, so we need to prepare the necessary items for the horses."
Qin Tianshu looked at her and said, "Not bad, Xiao Qingyu, you're looking at the map."
Qingyu shook her head, her voice cheerful, "Of course! I spent the whole afternoon reading the Chronicles of Kyushu yesterday."
After finishing the last bite of noodles, Zhang Xuan put down his chopsticks and said, "I haven't read the Chronicles of Kyushu in a long time. That book is too long, and I don't even know if some parts of it are true or false."
Qingyu paused upon hearing this, then looked at everyone. The girl asked curiously, "Speaking of which, last night I was reading the Chronicles of the Nine Provinces. On the title page it said that this book was written by scholars from all over the world, a book written by the people of the Nine Provinces, presented by Wang Daoxian of the Southern Alliance... Who is Wang Daoxian?"
Lin Fanxiang smiled at her, "An extreme person... let Brother Tianshu say it."
Qin Tianshu smiled, and the scholar unconsciously shook his head, a rare hint of wistfulness and admiration in his eyes. "To speak of the Chronicles of the Nine Provinces, one must speak of Wang Daoxian; to speak of Wang Daoxian, one must speak of the Chronicles of the Nine Provinces—"
The Chronicles of Kyushu is a monumental work written by several chief editors, covering all the affairs of Kyushu.
Rumor has it that during the chaotic period of the previous dynasty, the nine provinces were in turmoil. Ancestor Zhou wanted to invite Wang Daoxian, the foremost scholar in Nanjiao Prefecture, to come out of seclusion and help him. At that time, Wang Daoxian only said two sentences.
"You've finally arrived."
“I am willing to dedicate my life to helping you. You only need to do one thing for me—I want to write a book.”
A book that everyone in Kyushu can read, a book about Kyushu.
Wang Daoxian loved reading from a young age. It is said that when he was young, he was so engrossed in reading that he would often fall down. One time, while thinking about the contents of a book, he fell flat on his face and became a cripple.
This lame man finally looked up from the book one day and said, "It's not enough."
He couldn't read enough books—not even the books of one state, nor the rumors of the three southern states.
That's too little, really too little. The Jin emperor unified the nine provinces and standardized the written language, enabling everyone in the world to understand the same book. But his kingly way is to make everyone in the world able to read the same book.
He wanted more; he wanted all the knowledge of the world and the history of the Nine Provinces, all contained in one book—In a chaotic world, a fool is rare. Wang Daoxian was assassinated while following his ancestors in battle, and his old foot injury flared up, beyond the reach of medicine. This greatest book lover in the world cursed the sky amidst the endless yellow sands of Xiliang Prefecture, embraced his friend and wept bitterly. Finally, looking at the book, he laughed and entered the cycle of reincarnation.
Heaven was going to take him away. The lame man looked at the book and closed his eyes.
Silently, his soul offered an empty book before the emperor with both hands, awaiting the writings of scholars from all over the world.
After Zhou's ancestor became emperor, he established governors of the nine provinces and invited scholars from all over the country to write about the history, anecdotes, maps, and landscapes of the nine provinces. Finally, these writings were collected from the nine provinces and presented to Shengjing.
Escorted by a general, guided by the words of the imperial advisor, and personally overseen by the emperor, all for this one book, the Chronicles of the Nine Provinces.
This book is so long and thick that it took decades to complete, and only two copies were published—one was sent to Nanjiaozhou, Wang Daoxian's hometown, and the other was buried in Xiliangzhou, the place where Wang Daoxian regretted his life.
The scholars of the world wield the pen, and the people of the land speak their minds, to fulfill one man's lifelong wish, to establish the Way of the King, and to guide the people of the land to the Way of Omniscience.
A century has passed in the blink of an eye. Because the knowledge in the Nine Provinces Chronicle is too complex and extensive, it has been divided into many versions, such as the simplified version and the partial version. Yesterday, Qingyu looked at the partial version of the northern region, focusing on their next journey and the map.
Regardless of the version, every copy of the Chronicles of Kyushu has a sentence on its title page: "This book is written by scholars from all over the world, a book of the people of Kyushu, presented by Wang Daoxian of the South."
Wang Daoxian of Nanjiao was the greatest scholar in the world. For thousands of years to come, generation after generation of students will remember his name.
Qingyu: "What a pity. If I had known that I was passing through Jiaozhou back then, I would have visited the former residence of this greatest scholar in the world."
At that time, they were in a hurry to get to Shengjing, and they didn't even stop to visit Jiaozhou when they passed through. They were heading straight to Shengjing in Jingzhou.
Wen Chuan smiled at her and said, "We can go another day."
Qingyu nodded, then looked at Zhang Xuan, "Have you finished eating?"
Zhang Xuan stood up abruptly, patted the Blood Moon amulet at his waist, and said in a clear, youthful voice, "Alright, alright, let's go!"
Cai Cai: "Gurgle, gurgle, goo gou da."
The boys got up and left the cloud boat. Zhang Xuan even ran up to Qin Tianshu and asked him to read the Chronicles of the Nine Provinces.
They walked and chatted as they went, and eventually decided to go to the Falling Star Garden that Qin Tianshu had mentioned. Although it was a cold day, the sun was shining brightly, and the young people talked to each other as they walked forward.
Zhang Xuan: "I really want to read the Chronicles of Kyushu. I remember the stories in it were quite interesting, and it even has maps."
Qin Tianshu: "I only have the simplified version, all nine volumes of the Nine Provinces... Which one do you want?"
Zhang Xuan: "Really? You have all nine volumes?"
Qin Tianshu: "Do you want it?"
Zhang Xuan: "I want them! I want all nine!"
Qingyu: "What's the rush? I haven't finished reading those three books from the north yet."
Zhang Xuan: "Oh, then I'll read the other six books first. Just remember to give them to me after you finish reading the other three, Sister Qingyu."
Lin Fanxiang: "You didn't even understand the star map, and now you're going to look at the Chronicles of Kyushu?"
Zhang Xuan: "I was so tired from that dream last night. Those stars kept spinning in my head... I looked at other things to calm down."
Wen Chuan: "Alright, let's look at something different. Maybe it can help clear your mind."
Zhang Xuan: "Thoughts? Ugh... Brother Wen, do you think I'll be able to understand that star map in the end?"
Qingyu: "Why do you care about him? If you don't think you can understand it, you'll never understand it."
Qin Tianshu: "The sun is shining brightly. Consider things from near and far. Whether it is possible or not depends on the individual."
Lin Fanxiang: "Just do your best, I believe in you."
Zhang Xuan: "...Oh."
Wen Chuan: "Zhang Xuan, I think you can do it."
Cai Cai: "Gurgle, gurgle."
Cai Cai also trusts Xuan Xuan.
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Author's note: It's quite strange, how come as I was writing, I ended up having already constructed the story and characters of the Zhou ancestors' generation from three hundred years ago? [eating melon emoji]
Ancestors of Yan Zhou, State Preceptor Lin, Wang Daoxian (the only one with a name), General Li, General Murong, Military Physician Cheng...
I've calculated the time, and it seems like Yunzhou was around that time too... Is everything ready?
[Cat's Paw] I originally wanted to write about the Emperor of Jin, but the Emperor of Jin is too far removed from us, and it's difficult to mention him. He was a person from thousands of years ago. (By the way, the timeline of the Sword Immortal Wen Gu is a little earlier, but it's not much different from the Emperor of Jin. However, one is about cultivating immortality and traveling, while the other is about conquering the world. The setting of that era is very chaotic, with many legendary figures, as well as monsters and beasts that roam around everywhere.)
(So please note that Wen Gu Jianxian and Emperor Jin were essentially contemporaries, but people don't deliberately mention them because they are too far removed from each other.)
Ahhhhhh, whatever, that's it. This is the worldview, automatically generated—
(Let me just write down a short story from 300 years ago:)
Back then, the young scholar Wang, limping, said to Emperor Xiaoyan, "You've finally arrived! Hurry up, don't ask any questions. Just tell me I'll help you conquer the world, and you'll have to get me a book. It's that simple [kiss].
Emperor Xiao Yan turned to Xiao Lin and spoke with his eyes, [question mark] This is the first strategist you mentioned?
Master Kobayashi chuckled awkwardly, "Oh, you know, that's what happens when you read too many books. It's normal to be a little crazy." [droopy-eared rabbit head emoji]
General Li: [Go for it!] The top strategist is eager to serve his elder brother! The Emperor! Brother Yan is the Emperor! Ah! I knew it! Brother Yan! Ah! The Emperor! [Heart eyes]
Murong, who loves watching the excitement: Where did you find this bookworm?! What? You want me to talk about Youzhou? It's freezing, what's there to talk about... Hey, how about I play the pipa for you? [laughs]
Dr. Cheng, brewing medicine in the back: [Eye roll] Who gave this Li guy stimulants again?! Oh dear, the newbie's limp, she can't cure him... that guy who's always stargazing!! Stop stargazing!! He just vomited blood last time!! Murong!! No more playing the pipa!! Follow the doctor's orders!! Follow the doctor's orders!!! Does anyone respect doctors?! [Angry] Hahaha [Melted]
Boss Xiaoyun: [Oh oh oh] It's so noisy upstairs... This part has nothing to do with me, but the author dragged me out for a stroll. Hello everyone, are you all doing well? Come over for tea sometime... Oh dear, there's a battle going on upstairs right now... Well, then maybe it's best not to come [eating melon emoji]...
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