Chapter 38: Floating River Lanterns to Honor the Departed Souls

There is a saying: mastering the method without mastering the principle, you grow old with nothing to show for it; mastering the principle without mastering the method, ten years of effort wasted.

Theory is also a very important part of the examination.

If you want to outcompete other minor officials, you have to be more well-rounded. If spellcasting performance is roughly equal, the one with the stronger spellcasting theory will be appointed to office.

Zhao Xing casually pulled a book from the shelf, titled *The Seventy-Two Pentads of the Monthly Ordinances*. It was collected in the ancient agrarian text *Explanations of the Seasonal Teachings*, whose original author can no longer be verified; it was recompiled by Wu Cheng, the Grand Minister of Agriculture during the Taizu era.

"First pentad of the first month: the east wind thaws the ice; the warmth of yang arrives and the hardened frost disperses."

"Second pentad: the hibernating insects begin to stir; 'stir' means to move."

"Third pentad: the fish rise, bearing ice on their backs. 'Rise' means to accumulate, to ascend, to be high. The qi of yang has already stirred, and the fish gradually swim upward, drawing near the ice."

Zhao Xing activated Bright-Pupil Night Vision and began to read carefully.

The sage scholars of the ancient agrarian school, in pursuit of stable celestial phenomena, tried to find stable and enduring patterns of adaptation within them, and thus created many theories.

*The Seventy-Two Pentads of the Monthly Ordinances* is one of them.

It takes five days as one pentad, three pentads as one qi, six qi as one season, four seasons as one year; a single year of the "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" comprises seventy-two pentads in total.

Each pentad corresponds to one phenological phenomenon, called the "pentad response."

Among them, plant pentad responses include the sprouting of buds, flowering, and fruiting; animal pentad responses include the first stirring, first calling, mating, and migration of animals; non-living pentad responses include the first freezing of water, the first rumble of thunder, and the dampness of earth in the sweltering heat.

"First pentad of the second month: the peach begins to bloom; the first pentad, the peach begins to bloom; the warmth of yang arises, and from here grows ever more abundant."

"Second pentad: the orioles sing; they are the yellow orioles."

"Third pentad: the hawk transforms into a dove. The hawk is a fierce bird. At this time the hawk transforms into a dove, and by autumn the dove transforms back into a hawk."

The Seventy-Two Pentads of the Monthly Ordinances records many wondrous phenomena.

For example, the second month's first pentad, "the hawk transforms into a dove."

The third month's first pentad, "the rat transforms into the wild goose."

The ninth month's final pentad, "the sparrow enters the water and becomes a clam."

These are the "species pentad transformations" caused by the changes of the four seasons combined with environmental and primordial qi upheavals.

The above examples are not particularly exaggerated.

The ancient edition of *Explanations of the Seasonal Teachings* also records that in certain places, the fourth month's first pentad brings the "earth-dragon and earthworm transformation."

That is, earthworms transform into earth-dragons a hundred zhang in size!

The eighth month's first pentad, "the suckling swallow transforms into the mystic bird," an ordinary swallow or sparrow can transform into the "Heaven-Mandated Mystic Bird"!

The twelfth month's final pentad, in the lands of the Northern Darkness, brings the "Kun-Peng Transformation"—the Kun fish overnight rides the wind straight up and transforms into the great Peng of the Nine Heavens!

Ordinary "pentad transformations" are measured in years; above them are the "decade pentad transformation," "century pentad transformation," and "millennium pentad transformation."

The version compiled by Wu Cheng only records the "decade pentad transformation" and briefly mentions the century pentad transformation.

As for the near-legendary "millennium pentad transformation," it was cut out.

Because a Minister of Agriculture will never in his lifetime witness a millennium pentad transformation, and after the Great Zhou dynasty was established, the changes in primordial qi were no longer so violent, making the appearance of such examples increasingly rare.

Another reason was that it was taboo.

As in "the suckling swallow transforms into the mystic bird"—"The Heaven-Mandated Mystic Bird descended and gave birth to Yin."

Legend has it that the founder of the Yin dynasty was nurtured by the Heaven-Mandated Mystic Bird. If another household were to produce a Heaven-Mandated Mystic Bird, it would likely cause upheaval.

"In my past life I saw the 'Kun-Peng Transformation' twice in the Northern Sea, but I can't recall the exact timing. As for the Heaven-Mandated Mystic Bird, I've only heard of it, never witnessed it with my own eyes—I wonder if I'll have the chance in this life."

"But this kind of millennium pentad transformation, there seems to have been none during the Jing Emperor's reign—at most only century pentad transformations. When was it, and where did it happen?"

Zhao Xing thought for a moment; his memory was a little hazy, and he only vaguely recalled it seemed connected to certain events.

"When man comes to the earth to thrive, yellow earth transforms into true gold."

"Among the five elements, earth holds the highest rank; it does not vie with fire for fame."

Zhao Xing read a while longer in *The Theory of the Five Elements and the Four Seasons*—another classic work, a theoretical doctrine that unified the five elements with the four seasons to achieve a self-consistent system.

"Matching the five elements to the heavenly stems and earthly branches was easy enough, but matching them to the four seasons truly worried the agrarian sages to death and tormented agrarian examinees as well." Zhao Xing looked at the book and couldn't help but smile.

He had taken many exam questions on the Theory of the Five Elements and the Four Seasons in the past. A genuine Minister of Agriculture who edited the *Ordinances of the Solar Terms* had to master the principles of the five elements and yin-yang; otherwise, the solar terms he commanded and transformed would be neither one thing nor the other.

"The most popular theory right now is the 'Earth Rules Late Summer' doctrine: spring-wood, summer-fire, late-summer-earth, autumn-metal, winter-water."

"This system's assignment of the five elements to the months is still imperfect—the time allotted to fire and earth is too short, and it cannot be self-consistent with the claim that the five elements should occupy equal standing."

"But I'll make do with it for now and see what questions come up, then decide what to do." Zhao Xing thought to himself.

He knew many theories refined in later generations, but the versions were too advanced and might not suit the present.

He was merely a county-level clerk. If he wrote out any earth-shattering theory, it might cause a great stir at the temple examination. Being too conspicuous was not necessarily a good thing; he still had to take it one step at a time.

He studied hard through the night, and only when the golden rooster crowed at dawn did Zhao Xing finally set down his book.

He checked his panel; by now there was already a string of records.

【You read a book in the dark, Bright-Pupil spell proficiency +2】

【You read a book in the dark, Bright-Pupil spell proficiency +3】

【You in the dark……】

The Bright-Pupil spell was very easy to practice; the proficiency increased almost by the minute.

Studying hard without noticing day or night, Zhao Xing focused on the 'Bright-Pupil' spell, and soon saw remarkable results.

After one night, the Bright-Pupil spell had already broken through to the fourth revolution.

Bright-Pupil Night Vision—night vision is only the introductory effect of Bright-Pupil.

To achieve the effect of "Bright-Pupil Night Vision that sees ghosts and gods," the fourth revolution is still not enough.

"Looks like I'll have to take a shortcut." Zhao Xing went out, ran to a pharmacy in the market district, bought a pile of mugwort leaves, and also bought a box of premium tung oil.

At the same time he also purchased 'yellow paper,' 'bright sand,' 'heaven-heart grass,' and other items.

After a big round of purchasing, he returned home.

"The quick-cultivation method for Bright-Pupil—I shouldn't have remembered it wrong. I really don't know which ruthless player came up with this summary."

Zhao Xing muttered to himself as he lit a mixture of mugwort leaves, bright sand, and Heavenly Heart Grass.

A thin wisp of smoke rose like a pillar, dense and refusing to disperse.

Zhao Xing leaned over the smoke and began fumigating his eyes.

"Hiss~"

The smoke wasn't choking, and even carried a faint fragrance, but it really did sting the eyes!

Before long, Zhao Xing felt a sharp burning sensation; he gritted his teeth and endured it for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, then had to pull away.

Afterwards he applied tung oil to his eyelids, and a cool sensation spread through them, which made things much more bearable.

【Bright Eyes Night Vision Spell proficiency 20】

【Bright Eyes Night Vision Spell proficiency 30】

The suffering wasn't for nothing—the spell's proficiency began to surge in leaps and bounds.

Following the procedure above, Zhao Xing began to practice repeatedly.

Every day, aside from going to the Master of Agriculture Office to cultivate the Heaven-Timing Earth-Benefit Nurturing Spell, he would set aside time in the evening to focus on the Bright Eyes Spell.

Finally, before the twenty-second day of the eighth month, Zhao Xing had cultivated the Bright Eyes Spell to the Ninth Revolution stage.

"Tomorrow is the Limit of Heat solar node—river lanterns are released, and the souls of the dead are sacrificed to. I wonder whether I can fish out some benefit."