Chapter 137

"What I mean is, Yuzaoqian went to such great lengths to alter history not just to show it to future generations—that's certainly true—but I think her goal wasn't merely to show it to them, but to make sure future generations learned the history and spread it far and wide, until certain specific people heard it."

Certain specific people?

The others weren't foolish—they immediately guessed Professor Zhongtian's meaning.

"You mean… Yuzaoqian altered history to let the Supernaturals know?"

"Specific people" must refer to a rare, exceptional kind of person—someone who could prompt Yuzaoqian to alter history couldn't possibly be ordinary; only a Supernatural could draw her attention, and not just any Supernatural…

"Ancient Supernaturals?"

Professor Beishan had barely finished his guess when he added again.

"No, it could be someone on the level of Abe no Nakamaro."

Professor Zhongtian nodded: "Yes. I believe Yuzaoqian altered history not to make future generations know history was that way, but to make them believe history was that way—and then spread it, until it reached the ears of certain people, who would then learn of this history."

Everyone's hearts skipped a beat.

Conspiracy?

Trap?

Yuzaoqian altered history just to make certain people know? No—there must be some secret here.

Because if it were merely to let certain people know this history, it would be bizarre—what purpose could it serve?

Everyone thought carefully.

If Yuzaoqian altered history as Professor Zhongtian suggested, then the focus must be…

Why make certain people know this history?

Why make certain people know this history?

Merely knowing the altered history? No—that makes no sense. If that were truly the goal, there would be no need to twist history into something negative.

For a moment, everyone became conspiracy theorists, psychologists, wildly speculating.

"The truth must lie within this altered history," said Director Takahashi, the police officer, calmly.

In solving a case, a detective can't just wait for the criminal to stand still and be arrested—he must trace clues from the smallest details, find the evidence, identify the culprit, and solve the case.

Deduction is an essential skill for every detective.

Feeling all eyes on him, Director Takahashi didn't drag it out.

"If Yuzaoqian truly wanted certain people to know this altered history, it couldn't be just about them knowing it—she must have wanted them to learn something from it after knowing the history."

Put simply, Yuzaoqian wanted to use this history to convey something to these people.

What exactly she wanted to convey could be a meaning, or an object, or some kind of message—anything is possible. The specifics lie within this altered history."

Also a police veteran, Minister Saito added his view after Director Takahashi finished.

"It might not be about conveying something at all. I think it could also be that she wanted certain people to know this history in order to achieve some purpose."

"That's also possible," Director Takahashi agreed with Minister Saito.

One cannot think of Yuzaoqian's kind by ordinary logic.

By conventional thinking, when someone hears Yuzaoqian wanted certain people to know this altered history, the first assumption is that the history was meant to convey something.

After all, when a normal person hears a story, they naturally wonder: "What meaning is this story trying to convey?"

And most stories are indeed meant to convey something.

For example, the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs conveys a principle: good people are rewarded; kindness will always find help.

But hearing a story doesn't always mean the story was meant to convey something.

It could also be meant to achieve a purpose.

For instance, parents tell their children bedtime stories not to make them understand the story's message, but simply to help them fall asleep.

The purpose is clear.

The story isn't the point—the point is to get the child to sleep.

"Altering history to make certain people know it—could it be to achieve some purpose? Or to convey something? What purpose? What message?"

Professor Beishan smiled bitterly and continued.

"If it's to achieve a purpose, that purpose may not be hidden within the altered history itself. The altered history might merely be a medium, or just a trigger. We have too few clues to judge what the purpose might be."

At this moment, Professor Zhongtian paused, then spoke up.

"Leaving aside the content of the altered history, the only two clues I can think of are: the stone formed from the jade fan, and the fact that Yuzaoqian came from China."

Everyone nodded.

The stone formed from the jade fan was precisely the most puzzling point—Yuzaoqian, of her stature, had no need to use the jade fan to alter history. That was a mystery.

As for Yuzaoqian's origin in China, it seemed unrelated to the history alteration—but it wasn't.

It's like parents telling their child a story: why is it different from stories told to others? Because the purpose isn't to convey meaning—it's the parent's identity that matters.

Different identities mean different perspectives.

Considering this, Yuzaoqian's identity might be the key to understanding her purpose.

Moreover, Yuzaoqian's identity isn't entirely unrelated to the history alteration.

Yuzaoqian came from China, and her experiences in China were similar to the content of the altered history.

"I think we should still first consider whether Yuzaoqian meant to convey something," Professor Beishan said, pointing ahead—his meaning was clear: "We haven't reached the place of the Killing Stone yet."

It's still unknown whether the stone formed from the jade fan is truly the Killing Stone. With one less clue, we're left only with Yuzaoqian's origin in China—too few clues to analyze.

Also,

Yuzaoqian's origin in China relates to the history alteration. If Yuzaoqian intended to use the altered history to convey something, studying its content would inevitably tie back to her Chinese origins—perhaps combining both could yield insights useful for analyzing whether her goal was to achieve a purpose.

"Let's discuss whether Yuzaoqian altered history to achieve some purpose once we reach the Killing Stone."

"I think if Yuzaoqian really wanted to use the altered history to convey something, we just need to find the altered history's content—it'll become clear."

"Professor Beishan, that sounds easy—but how do we find it? The altered history seems brief, but it holds immense information."

"Indeed quite a few, for example why Tamamo-no-Mae altered history, it would whitewash Emperor Toba. Just from this point I thought of Tamamo-no-Mae's experience in Hua Country. Legend has it that during the Shang Dynasty of Hua Country, King Zhou was bewitched by Su Daji. Now Tamamo-no-Mae altered it to Tamamo-no-Mae bewitching Emperor Toba — the two are essentially the same trick."

Suddenly.

Director Takahashi blurted out a line.

"Could it be that Tamamo-no-Mae's altering of history has something to do with Hua Country? Think about it — Su Daji's history, and the history after Tamamo-no-Mae altered it, are almost identical. It can't be a coincidence, and moreover—"

At this point in his words, he paused and looked at everyone.

……