Chapter 75: Blue Moonlight (Part 4)
After Chen Wenjian turned the book over, he handed it to Chen Yunli and asked with his eyes: Is that it?
Chen Yunli closed his eyes and sensed again. In his consciousness, a ball of golden light radiated out countless rays of light. One of them was connected to the book that was so close to him. There was no room for mistake.
"That's it!" Chen Yunli said confidently, "No one stipulates that historical figures must be linked to 'serious' objects like historical books and ancient paintings."
"That's true."
Chen Wenjian held the storybook tightly, not in a hurry to read it. He walked around the rest of the third floor and confirmed that there was no other related items. Then he found an empty table under the window and sat down to study it carefully.
Dust clouds fell on the top of the opened paper, following his jade-like fingers, through the rows of old words, to glimpse the magnificent world of the story.
This was a somewhat clichéd story; from Chen Wenjian's perspective, it was filled with clichés. But for Chen Yunli, the plot, while not original, was nonetheless fascinating.
The protagonist of the story is a knight. In that world where a brick falling from the sky can hit five out of ten people using swords and five using knives, he is an outlier because his weapon is a bow.
However, unlike the mass-produced bows and arrows used in the army and on the battlefield, his bow was as tall as himself when standing up, and the bowstring was tanned with special materials. It was said that when fully drawn, it had a force of a hundred tonnes, and could easily pierce through clouds and split the sun.
The upper and lower ends of the bow are polished into sharp corners like blades, and like ordinary swords, they also have blood grooves. If necessary, they can be disassembled and used as daggers. The sharpness is even better than those sold in ordinary weapon shops.
Throughout the story, his bow was mostly used for deterrence. He would put it in front of him, and the enemy's courage would be reduced by half. After that, he would just swing the bow, smash or whip, or use the sharp blades on the two corners to kill the enemy effortlessly.
Although he is an archer, the fighting skills he displayed are almost the same as those of a melee fighter, and his strength is terrifying. After all, it is not easy to swing such a big bow to hit someone.
The book never mentions the knight's name until the end, and he is only referred to as "that gentleman". The book begins with his seclusion after becoming famous all over the world, where he builds a house at the foot of Nanshan Mountain by the Yuman River, plants flowers and grass, grows crops and plants trees. From time to time, he helps the younger generations who come to him for help to solve their problems, or occasionally shows off his unparalleled kung fu.
The author has good writing skills and the plot is well-organized, making it very suitable for eating with meals or killing time in leisure time, but it lacks any literary or philosophical quality, and is exactly the kind of book that Chen Wenjian hates to read the most.
Chen Yunli actually liked it. Seeing Chen Wenjian frowning because he couldn't figure it out, he fluttered his wings and patted his eyebrows, saying, "Don't be like that. It's a clue after all."
"Where's the clue?" Chen Wenjian was puzzled. "This seems to be just an ordinary storybook. Are you...sure you really have the ability to identify items related to that person?"
"Of course! I'm more eager to find out that man's life story than you are. How could I possibly fool you about this!" As he spoke, Chen Yunli suddenly had an idea and turned back to the storybook. "Open it! Help me turn to the beginning where the protagonist's weapon is introduced."
"Have you discovered anything?" Chen Wenjian quickly did as he was told.
"You're a cultured person, having read so many obscure and difficult classics that you inevitably develop the habit of looking beyond the surface meaning of a text to ponder its various connotations and implications." Chen Yunli said as he stepped on the character "bow". "But many things often remain superficial, just like a common and ever-changing method when solving riddles - the answer is right on the surface, or rather, the darkest part is the lamp."
He spread his wings slightly, and the shadow cast by it was like adding ink to the word "bow" under him. Chen Wenjian's eyes moved, and a blessing suddenly came to his mind.
There is a sentence in the bamboo slips that gave birth to Jian Ling that describes the "white shadow in the moon" - walking on snow and clouds, with a full bowstring.
"Is it because of this?" Chen Wenjian held up Chen Yunli. "How can you be sure that the bow in the storybook and the bow on the bamboo slips are the same bow?"
Chen Yunli asked in return, "Then how did you confirm that the white shadow in the moon was the person you were looking for?"
A large cloud floated past the window, blocking the sunlight and casting colorful light and shadows in Chen Wenjian's eyes.
"His name isn't White Shadow in the Moon...his name is Yun Li."
As soon as Chen Wenjian opened his mouth, Chen Yunli pretended to listen attentively, but he was unable to finish his first sentence.
“…H-What’s his name?”
"Where the clouds stop, there are brief sorrows and few joys or sorrows. One of his followers was the last emperor of that dynasty a thousand years ago. He collected a lot of information about him, but after the fall of his dynasty, it was burned. Only this sentence was left in the emperor's diary. Based on the mention of him in the diary, people speculated that his name was Yun Li."
Chen Yunli silently curled up his wings.
Chen Wenjian said, "The Diary Records are historical documents that record the words and deeds of an emperor during his lifetime. The Human Emperor's record is incomplete, with perhaps nine-tenths missing. Of the remaining two thousand words, a thousand are related to him. Apart from his name, the Diary Records mention that he liked to wear white clothes and that his secluded place was surrounded by towering peaks, cascading waterfalls, and a breathtakingly beautiful landscape. The Human Emperor also collected a painting depicting him. The painting depicts him, composed solely of a bright moon. He is within the moon, treading on snow and clouds, like a banished immortal."
"It all matches the records on the bamboo slips."
Chen Yunli calmed down and quickly took over the conversation: "According to your standards, there are many things related to him in the storybook."
Chen Wenjian pulled himself out of his thoughts and returned to his usual calm demeanor, unfazed by praise or criticism. "I'd love to hear more about it."
"Look, the protagonist is already living in seclusion at the foot of South Mountain, possessing unparalleled martial arts skills. There's a spring where he farms, at the top of a mountain, with a waterfall nearby. He enjoys admiring the moon and, just as the bamboo slips record, uses a bow. While the author doesn't explicitly mention his preferred color, every time he describes his attire, he uses words like white clothes, white shirt, and white robe—that's a lot of references, right?"
While listening, Chen Wenjian went back to rewatch the plot. The details that he had not paid attention to when he watched it just now matched what he said. After comparing the contents of the bamboo slips with the known information, this story really seemed to be a secondary creation based on the life of "Yun Li".
"Will someone really adapt his life into a vernacular story?" Chen Wenjian murmured to himself.
"Why not?" Chen Yunli was not surprised. He had been in the fan circle before and was very familiar with this kind of operation.
"Listen to those anecdotes from the streets, the wild histories, the fantastical stories, and which of them isn't derived from the deeds of ancient people passed down orally? Besides, your understanding of that... that person is based on cross-references with various, unclear sources. Those materials are no different from this storybook."
"You're right, I was obsessed." Chen Wenjian smiled happily, feeling a sense of relief as if he had suddenly realized something. "Thank you."
"Hey, don't thank me yet," Chen Yunli paused. "Most stories in these novels are fabricated, and we don't know how much of them are credible. We'd better find the author and confirm with him the prototype of the protagonist and the source of the information involved."
"That's exactly what I meant." Chen Wenjian pointed his finger at him and waited for him to fly up before he stood up, holding the book. "Every book in the library has its provenance clearly recorded. Even if it's donated or purchased, it has a precise source. There's a directory of our collection on the third floor, so you can find out easily."
As he spoke, Chen Wenjian strode over to a collection stand, on which lay a thick booklet, which was the "Book Collection Catalogue" he mentioned.
According to the bookshelf number where the storybook was placed, he quickly found the relevant registration:
"The Legend of the Exiled Immortal on the Yuman River" (a fragment) was accidentally written by a student in an academy a hundred years ago. The author died of illness before the book was completed. The current dean of the academy kept it here because the plot was mostly written in a historical style and was quite interesting, so he wanted to provide his students with some fun to relieve their boredom.
"A book written a hundred years ago? The author died before finishing it? And the plot is still written in historical terms?" Chen Yunli was shocked. "The clues are completely broken!"
"Not really, I still gained something." Chen Wenjian was not discouraged. He smiled and nodded at the word "Shibi".
Chen Yunli reacted: "Oh, Shi Bi... Does that mean that many of the plots in the story are true?"
"Well, but I'm very curious, where did the author of the story find the historical materials about Yun Li? Could it be..." Chen Wenjian said, looking up at the floor above.
"It seems the historical materials you're looking for might really be on the third floor or above." Chen Yunli finished the rest of his sentence for him. "Work hard, young man. For your... ahem, try to get into the top three on next month's quiz!"
Chen Wenjian frowned and said in a deep voice, "Not only in the quizzes, but also in every academy exam, I must get a top three ranking. And even after passing the academic exam, I have to stay in the academy to teach. If what I need isn't available here, even with your help, searching outside will be like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Then go review your lessons quickly. I'll accompany you." Chen Yunli said with a smile, and flew to the cover of the storybook. "You're responsible for reading, and I'll be responsible for reading the story again! Let's see if I can dig out any new clues!"
Chen Wenjian smiled, not wanting to expose his secret thoughts, and walked back with the book in hand. A ray of sunlight glided across the title on the cover, and for some reason, it made him pause.
"This title... doesn't seem quite right." He touched the words, "On the Jade Man River, Legend of the Exiled Immortal... Why not 'By the Jade Man River'?"
"Aren't you too picky about words? The book isn't even finished yet, so maybe the name is just random." Chen Yunli said indifferently.
"Is that so?" Chen Wenjian hadn't delved into it before, but now, thinking carefully, he felt something was amiss. "The story has a clear thread, but it seems to be missing a branch. Why did the protagonist live in seclusion by the Yuman River? What happened in his past? Moreover, the book doesn't mention anything about his past at all. He lives in seclusion here, and the only people who come to him are some worthless young men from the martial arts world, but no friends or relatives..."
"Stop reading," Chen Yunli said helplessly. "Aren't the answers to your questions all written in the catalog? The author died before the book was finished. Maybe these are the contents that the later author didn't have time to write?"
"In vernacular writing, there is indeed a method of writing about the present and the future first, and then mentioning the past. However, for the sake of coherence of the context, the author will inevitably lay down foreshadowing in the completed plot. Is there even a single sentence of related foreshadowing in this book?" Chen Wenjian asked.
Chen Yunli was speechless for a moment, then suddenly remembered the two words marked on the catalog: "Oh right, this is an incomplete edition! Incomplete edition doesn't mean the author didn't finish writing it, but rather that the original content is incomplete, right?"
"Yes." Chen Wenjian lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled. "Someone specifically removed the foreshadowing about his past from the text. It seems these foreshadowings are crucial, perhaps hiding something that must never see the light of day. Jian Ling, you've truly found a treasure for me."
"Now you won't doubt my ability anymore, right?" Chen Yunli raised his wings proudly.
"Of course, I was just blinded by one thing." Chen Wenjian tapped his tentacles and asked casually, "By the way, I forgot to ask your name before. I can't keep calling you Jian Ling. You were born not long ago, do you have a name?"
Chen Yunli's wings froze in mid-air.
Uh...should he answer yes or no?
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