Chapter 1300: and ===GLOSSARY===

Hu Xiaotian was quite interested in Ren Tianqing; he had long heard the great name of the master of Xuantian Guan, yet they had never met. From Qin Yutong's medical skill one could infer that this teacher's medical art was unrivaled under heaven. If Li Yuncong's guess were correct, then Ren Tianqing would be the one who cured Bu Wu's eyes. Given Hu Xiaotian's understanding of medicine in this era, that seemed unlikely. Remembering that Li Yuncong once thought he had stolen the Heaven-Man Myriad Forms Diagram, it appears that in this world not only he understands human anatomy.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Li Eunuch, how did the Heaven-Man Myriad Forms Diagram you mentioned earlier get lost?"

Li Yuncong's gaze grew somewhat dazed as he fell into reminiscence of the past; after a while he said: "If you hadn't brought it up, we almost would have forgotten this matter."

Hu Xiaotian said: "You still suspected me of stealing the Heaven-Man Myriad Forms Diagram back then."

Li Yuncong laughed upon hearing this: "Indeed, that happened."

Hu Xiaotian said: "The reason you think that is because Meng Zizai leaked the news to you; if I'm not mistaken, you have a good relationship with Meng Zizai of Xuantian Guan."

Li Yuncong said: "It's fine; we just don't keep in touch much on ordinary days."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Qin Yutong took the diagram I drew to consult Meng Zizai, and upon seeing it Meng Zizai thought it was the one you lost, so he leaked the news to you."

Li Yuncong sighed: "In life, there are always too many coincidences; we never expected that at your young age you would understand the Heaven-Man Myriad Forms Diagram."

Hu Xiaotian corrected: "It's an anatomical atlas, not some Heaven-Man Myriad Forms Diagram."

Li Yuncong said: "Come with me!"

Hu Xiaotian followed Li Yuncong into the Cangshuge, along the wooden ladder to the locked seventh level; Hu Xiaotian's heart involuntarily stirred with excitement, for Li Yuncong had at most taken him to the sixth level before, never to the seventh level of the Cangshuge. This place is the most mysterious spot within the Cangshuge.

The seventh level, however, was a bronze door; atop the gate was a pattern lock. Li Yuncong moved the pattern, unlocked it, and the bronze door creaked open sideways, the bronze door about a Chinese foot thick and impregnable. After opening the bronze door, there was still a stone door; after opening that, finally there was a wooden door, which was not locked, and Li Yuncong gently pushed it open.

Inside, a musty smell rushed forth.

Hu Xiaotian furrowed his brows, yet saw Li Yuncong take out a Night Pearl. A soft glow illuminated the interior.

At first glance, this place seemed no different from elsewhere, but given the tight security, it must store extremely important classics.

Li Yuncong said: "The reason we chose to come to the Cangshuge is that years ago the Tianlong Temple had some scriptures copied by the imperial household. They are likely stored in the Cangshuge; the Heaven-Man Myriad Forms Diagram is of no use to us, and the imperial family never regarded it as a treasure, yet there is someone who takes great interest in the Heaven-Man Myriad Forms Diagram."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Ren Tianqing?"

Li Yuncong slowly shook his head: "Meng Zizai. He is Ren Tianqing's senior apprentice brother, and we owe him a moderate favor. Thus Meng Zizai proposed borrowing the Heaven-Man Myriad Forms Diagram from us for a look; we thought it was hardly a matter of importance, so we agreed, but we stipulated that he could view it for only one day and must remain here under our constant supervision."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Where does the Heaven-Man Myriad Forms Diagram come from again?"

Li Yuncong said: "The one who drew this diagram is the ghost physician Fu Zhuo; his best friend is Gong Wuxin, who is a eunuch of this Cangshuge and jointly manages the Buddhist scripture archive with us, but later he stole from his post, and the Heart Sutra of Prajnaparamita kept in the Cangshuge was likely stolen by him."

Hu Xiaotian still remembered that Li Yuncong had previously said the Heaven-Man Myriad Forms Diagram and the Heart Sutra of Prajnaparamita were stolen at the same time, and he had also suspected Liu Yuzhang of the theft; now he speaks of Gong Wuxin, which seems contradictory— which of his statements are true and which false?

Li Yuncong said: "We only later discovered there was more to this matter; the Ghost Doctor Guiyi Fulou once saved Crown Princess Ling Jiazi by performing a caesarean, which is why the Yongyang Princess survived; the Emperor was grateful and asked what he desired, Guiyi Fulou said he wanted to borrow the Heart Sutra of Prajnaparamita for three days in the Cangshuge, the Emperor readily agreed, and the one assigned to accompany him was Gong Wuxin, thus their friendship began then. Guiyi Fulou kept his promise; after reading Buddhist scriptures for three days in the Cangshuge, he not only took nothing, but personally drew the All Phenomena of Heaven and Man Diagram and left it; the diagram he left was complete, and Gong Wuxin later traced a copy."

Hu Xiaotian nodded, finally understanding why the All Phenomena of Heaven and Man Diagram depicted only eunuchs, with a missing anatomical part; presumably Gong Wuxin on his own initiative erased that part.

Li Yuncong said: "After Guiyi Fulou left that book, he departed Dakang; we originally didn't think much of it, but later the news that the palace housed the All Phenomena of Heaven and Man Diagram gradually spread; we didn't tell outsiders, and Gong Wuxin rarely left the palace, so this matter likely concerns Guiyi Fulou. Many imperial physicians, via various connections, wanted to see his true face, but we refused them all. Afterwards few mentioned it; over ten years ago, Guiyi Fulou died in Da Yong, and Meng Zizai then requested to borrow it for a look; we found it hard to refuse, after consulting Gong Wuxin we lent it to him, under our full supervision, and he viewed it for one day."

Hu Xiaotian knew Meng Zizai's medical skill was superb, yet he absolutely did not believe he could master all human anatomical knowledge in a single day.

Li Yuncong said: "Three months after Meng Zizai left, we accompanied the Emperor to the summer palace to escape the heat; during that period, the Cangshuge suffered a shocking theft, Gong Wuxin stole from his post, and after our inventory we found he had taken the Heart Sutra of Prajnaparamita and the All Phenomena of Heaven and Man Diagram."

Hu Xiaotian furrowed his brows, yet grew more perplexed; if Gong Wuxin did it, why had Li Yuncong earlier suspected Liu Yuzhang?

Li Yuncong said: "We avoided suspicion because we attended the Emperor; the Emperor flew into a rage, not over the All Phenomena of Heaven and Man Diagram, but because of the Heart Sutra of Prajnaparamita personally copied by Emperor Taizong; he ordered everyone in the Cangshu Lou, from top to bottom, to be executed, and not a single Guard responsible for patrolling around the Cangshuge was spared."

Hu Xiaotian silently lamented Long Xuan'en's brutality, for a single Buddhist scripture had caused so many deaths.

Li Yuncong said: "Later the Emperor himself copied one and stored it in the Cangshuge; we thought this affair would implicate us, but unexpectedly the Emperor pardoned us and even put us in charge of the Cangshuge; three years passed, and we then discovered the secret beneath the statue of the Sage of Literature: the Cangshuge actually has a secret passage leading outside; the Zajia followed the passage to search—guess what we found?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "A corpse!" Upon first entering the Cangshuge via the secret passage, he discovered a corpse there.

Li Yuncong laughed eerily: "Not bad! It is indeed a corpse; although rotted and deformed, we still recognized his identity—it was Gong Wuxin, struck by a single palm that shattered every bone in his body."

Hu Xiaotian was already captivated by his story, meaning Gong Wuxin had an accomplice inside the palace, possibly Liu Yuzhang.

Li Yuncong said: "We found where the secret passage leads; we first ruled out the Zilan Palace, then the Jade Pool, and also the Office of Imperial Gardens; after consideration, the most suspicious person is Liu Yuzhang. Yet Liu Yuzhang is meticulous, leaving no trace; from his appearance we see nothing abnormal, and since the Cangshuge theft years ago he has remained in the Office of Imperial Gardens, never leaving."

Hu Xiaotian still constantly recalls Liu Yuzhang's many kindnesses toward him; emotionally he finds it hard to accept that Liu Yuzhang could be so scheming, yet he cannot deny that everything Li Yuncong said might be true.

Li Yuncong said: "We almost regularly go into the underground cavern to inspect, quietly marking each passage; if Liu Yuzhang or anyone else sneaks in through the tunnel, they will surely not escape my notice."

Hu Xiaotian secretly admired, these senior eunuchs—each more crafty than the last, each more sinister than the last; contending with them absolutely cannot be taken lightly.

Li Yuncong said: "We underestimated his endurance; a full seven years have passed since the theft, yet he has never once come through this secret passage, and the other entrances are the same; we even began to suspect we had wronged him—just then," One-eyed fixed his gaze on Hu Xiaotian's eyes: "We discovered the secret passage suddenly became lively."

Hu Xiaotian discovered the secret passage beneath the wine cellar because he found that map on Wang Desheng; yet if we follow Li Yuncong's account, all this was prearranged by others—could Liu Yuzhang's scheming really be so deep? His earlier kindnesses toward me were merely to draw me into his layout.

Li Yuncong said: "After Gong Wuxin was killed, those two items were likely hidden somewhere in the secret passage; his accomplices never produced them, so to be safe they deliberately leaked the news of the passage, then created chaos to seize the two items hidden for seven years." The accomplice he referred to was Liu Yuzhang.

Hu Xiaotian said: "If he is so capable, why didn't he leave then, instead waiting seven years to go?"

Li Yuncong sneered: "An innocent man who carries a jade invites guilt; if he had left then, he would surely have been hunted down, so he must find a suitable opportunity to depart, making everyone think he died—shedding his cicada shell, vanishing without anyone knowing."

Hu Xiaotian said: "But what for? Just for those two books—this reason is too far-fetched."

Li Yuncong said: "Although we show no outward reaction, we have seen many things: Wang Decai belongs to Ji Feihua, Baobao belongs to the Heavenly Secret Bureau; it now appears Liu Yuzhang has no connection with Ji Feihua, but rather this matter should be his collusion with Hong Beimo. Yet they likely each harbor ulterior motives, so Liu Yuzhang chose to disappear; although we do not know for what purpose, we can be certain that what Hong Beimo wants is in his hands."

First Update delivered, Monday, please vote for recommendation! (To be continued~^~)