Chapter 39: An Unexpected Discovery

The Jiwen Studio was situated just outside the main gate of the Danyang Academy.

Xie Jinhuan had assumed it was a bookshop, but upon actually arriving, he discovered it was the official library of the Danyang Academy—a three-story building housing no fewer than ten thousand volumes, with chess rooms, tea rooms, and other facilities upstairs.

On the first-floor hall there was a long counter, where a few students were borrowing and returning books, and behind it sat an old man in a scholar's robe.

The old man wore a pair of ivory-framed spectacles, held a magnifying glass in his hand, and was even leaning close to the pages of a book—judging by his appearance, his nearsightedness had already reached the supreme realm of "no one before me"!

Linghu Qingmo, who knew the academy quite well, carried Meiqiu over to the counter, waited until a few young students who had been sneaking glances left, and only then greeted him:

"Mr. Wu, I am Linghu Qingmo of the Prefecture Guard. I've come to ask you about something."

The old man's name was Wu Zheng, junior fellow disciple of Muyun Ling, who had once taught at the academy and only came to the book hall in his old age to enjoy his remaining years. He now set down his magnifying glass, squinted as he looked Linghu Qingmo over, and finally let his gaze settle on Xie Jinhuan:

"So this is Miss Linghu. The students often speak of you—meeting you today, you truly are extraordinary in bearing…"

"Goo?" Meiqiu was taken aback.

"Oh my, this black chicken of yours is quite plump…"

"Goo-ji?!"

Linghu Qingmo was also dumbfounded, and hurriedly held down Meiqiu, who was cursing in embarrassed fury:

"Mr. Wu, I'm right here. I came because I want to ask you about a person—someone who should have bought a book here recently."

Wu Zheng naturally shifted his gaze back to the correct target, his smile warm:

"Is that so? Anyone who comes here to buy books, this old man never forgets. Miss Linghu, please go ahead."

Never forgets…

Xie Jinhuan and Linghu Qingmo were deeply skeptical, but since they were already here, Linghu Qingmo replied:

"We don't know the person's appearance or age, only that they bought a copy of *Yangchun Yan* here. Do you happen to recall such a person, sir?"

Wu Zheng took on a thoughtful expression, and after a pause replied:

"This is a Confucian book hall. In principle, we do not sell that sort of erotic literature."

"Ah?"

Linghu Qingmo didn't understand what he meant.

Xie Jinhuan shook his head subtly and cut in:

"*Yangchun Yan* was written by the former dynasty's great scholar Qingping Jushi. Through the protagonist's rise and fall, it depicts in detail the extravagant indulgence of the era's officials, country gentry, and wealthy merchants, as well as the helplessness of poor folk forced into servitude. On the surface the book is steeped in carnal desire, but it also lays bare every shade of worldly evil. To call it mere erotic literature is far too one-sided."

"Oh?"

Wu Zheng looked faintly surprised. Though his gaze was fixed on Xie Jinhuan's ears, his approval was quite evident:

"A woman's beauty lies in the bone, not the skin; a book is the same. Young Master, those words of yours show you've truly seen through the book. Your constitution is holding up, I hope?"

"Never read one with pictures before, but the constitution is holding up."

"That's good. Young men should practice restraint, or by the time you reach my age, sigh…"

?

Linghu Qingmo's eyes were full of bewilderment, quite unable to fathom what reading books had to do with one's constitution, but he still didn't ask, simply watching Xie Jinhuan converse.

After Xie Jinhuan had chatted on at random for a while, he asked again:

"The buyer was either an old man of some fifty years, dressed like a merchant, rather mercenary; or a young master of about twenty, possibly carrying an umbrella on his person. Hmm… sir, can you see the weapons hung at my waist?"

Wu Zheng looked at the pair of crossed weapons at Xie Jinhuan's waist and stroked his beard with a smile:

"I can see them. Using such enormous scissors as weapons is, I must say, quite a refreshing sight for an old man like me."

Holy sh*t…

Xie Jinhuan took a deep breath, truly not expecting there to be an even more outrageous old man in Danzhou than Steward Hou. Clearly there was no point in continuing the inquiry:

"I still have urgent matters to attend to. If you don't know, sir, I'll take my leave…"

"Oh~"

Wu Zheng raised a hand to stop him: "I said 'never forgets'—how could I deceive a young man like you? I've taught all my life. Whether a person is an unworldly student, a frivolous street idler, or a worldly-wise veteran of the jianghu, I can tell at a glance. Miss Linghu falls into the first category, while the Young Master here falls into the latter two."

?

Xie Jinhuan was slightly taken aback, feeling this assessment was both flattering and unflattering, and glanced down at himself:

"You think I'm not proper? What gave it away?"

"Heh, with so many proper historical records from the former dynasty, what decent person would use *Yangchun Yan* to learn about the customs of the time?"

"…"

Xie Jinhuan truly had no comeback, but obviously couldn't admit it either, so he changed the subject and asked:

"Both of them are veterans of the jianghu. Do you happen to remember anything else, sir?"

Wu Zheng thought carefully: "Jianghu folk who come here are extremely rare. I recall, at the start of the month, a young man just past twenty came to buy *Yangchun Yan*. His speech and manner were slick and glib—I saw at once he was no scholar!

"We chatted briefly. He called himself He San, said he had come to Danyang with his father's generation to deal in the spice trade. He also asked about Mr. Mu and several of the instructors' usual movements, saying he had long admired them and wished to pay a visit…"

Linghu Qingmo, hearing this, knew the man's suspicion was very high:

"Do you have any other leads on this person, Mr. Wu?"

Wu Zheng's gaze drifted to the empty space at the side, his smile warm:

"If he were truly a bandit, he wouldn't have spoken so openly with a stranger. I chatted with him for a while, and all I gathered was that his surname was real—everything else was nonsense."

"Surname He…"

Linghu Qingmo felt the scope was rather too broad, but it was still better than nothing. He stepped forward, cupped his hands, and bowed:

"Thank you for the tip, Mr. Wu. I'll look into it properly when I get back."

Wu Zheng nodded with a smile, then turned his gaze back to Linghu Qingmo:

"I saw at a glance that the young master is also a fellow connoisseur. I have quite a few treasures here—would the young master like to take a look?"

Linghu Qingmo was covered in black lines!

Xie Jinhuan had already grown used to the old man's eyes being mismatched with his words. After chatting for so long, it wouldn't do to leave without buying something, so he asked:

"Oh? Could you recommend a book?"

"You're a man of the Jianghu—you'd surely enjoy these."

Wu Zheng spoke, stepped sideways several paces, and lifted a panel on the counter.

Whoosh~

The two people and the bird leaned forward to look—and realized the space beneath the counter was also a bookshelf, but laid horizontally.

Dozens of finely bound volumes stood neatly side by side, their titles reading: The Passionate Swordsman: Shang Lianbi, The Wanderer Lu Wu Zhen, The Erotic Chronicles of Master Sikong, Tales of the Lustful Heroes, The Legend of the Golden Orchids…

An entire wall of Jianghu scandal and ancestral gossip—and nearly every major figure from all sects except the Ru Sect was listed here!

"Hss..."

Linghu Qingmo drew a sharp breath inward; just seeing these blasphemous titles made him feel he ought to wash his eyes in Lei Chi before even opening them.

Xie Jinhuan was equally awestruck; he pulled a silk handkerchief from Mo Mo's waist, wiped his hands, then picked up one of the books.

"You have a sharp eye, Mr. Who wrote these, and what became of them?"

Wu Zheng's brow brimmed with pride.

"Our Ru disciples would never fear heretical paths. Most of these authors met peaceful ends."

But surely some died violently?

Xie Jinhuan had never seen such "forbidden books" in Jingcheng; to see just how wild these histories could be, he picked up one with a relatively normal title: The Legend of the Golden Orchids.

But after just a few pages, he realized he'd vastly underestimated the audacity of these scholarly fools.

The female lead was Lady Xixia, whose real-life prototype was none other than the former Abbess of Mount Zihui a century ago—the Great Master Qixia, True Person of the Danding Sect!

According to the book, Lady Xixia had once been a pure, untainted novice nun on Mount Zihui, who accidentally entered a secret realm and obtained the divine Dao scripture The Supreme Response to the Spirit's Decree.

After outwitting her fellow disciples, she eventually ascended to the position of Abbess.

The story was still reasonable so far, and moved swiftly.

But one day, Lady Xixia suddenly developed worldly desires—and fell hopelessly in love with a demoness!

The demoness was breathtakingly beautiful; Lady Xixia became utterly obsessed, even surrendering half her celestial paradise.

By day, she ruled as Abbess; by night, she handed Mount Zihui over to the seductive female demon, who plunged the mountain into debauchery, leaving the common folk sleepless with chaos…

He was just about to probe deeper when the book was suddenly pressed down by a hand.

Xie Jinhuan flipped through the book carefully, his brow knitting tighter—this demoness looked suspiciously like his ghost bride…

He was about to dig deeper when the book was suddenly slapped shut.

"How dare you! Who is this petty scoundrel fabricating lies? Ancestral Master Qixia made immense contributions during the Wu Sect Uprising; how can he be so wantonly slandered..."

Linghu Qingmo, who had been sneaking glances, saw the book contained scandalous gossip about her own ancestral master—her eyebrows shot up.

"How dare you! Who dares fabricate such lies? Master Qixia rendered great service during the Wu Sect upheaval—how could you slander her so recklessly…"

"The author of this book was also a veteran elder who earned merit during the Wu Sect Uprising; back then, he faced national peril alongside Ancestral True Person Qixia and other seniors. As a junior, Miss, you have not experienced that catastrophe and should not presume to comment rashly."

Wu Zheng raised a hand, his expression distinctly displeased.

"The author of this book was also a veteran who earned merit in the Wu Sect upheaval—he once marched alongside Master Qixia and others to face the nation's crisis.

You, as a junior, never lived through that catastrophe, so you have no right to judge lightly."

Linghu Qingmo hadn't expected this trashy book to be written by a senior contemporary of her ancestral master—she could no longer rebuke it outright, but she certainly couldn't let Xie Jinhuan read it.

She snatched the book and hid it behind her back.

Xie Jinhuan felt he'd finally found the source of his ghost bride—he took this seriously and asked: "Who wrote this book? The Sword and Book Twin Saints? Master Sikong the Old Demon?"

Among the greatest meritorious elders of the Wu Sect upheaval were the Sword and Book Twin Saints, Ye Ci; the Buddhist Jade Mind Bodhisattva; the Daoist Master Qixia and Master Ziyang; and the Wu Sect's Sikong Shitang.

These five were the sect leaders of a century ago; nearly every current head of every sect today is their disciple.

For example, Mu Yunling was a disciple of the Twin Saints Ye Ci; Lu Wu Zhen was a granddisciple of Master Ziyang; the current head of the Gu Du Pai is Sikong Shitang's son.

Of these five, only the last Ru Saint, Ye Ci, could have written such trash—and had it secretly circulating in the Imperial Academy.

But to protect his master's reputation, Wu Zheng did not name him outright; he only said: "Read the book thoroughly, cross-reference it with the historical records of that era—you'll naturally know who wrote it."

Xie Jinhuan already suspected the author—but asked again: "Is everything in this book true?"

Linghu Qingmo's eyes widened, about to defend her ancestral master, but Wu Zheng spoke first:

"Fictional tales? How could they be history? Mount Zihui lies just twenty li outside the city—many elderly residents of Danyang still remember Master Qixia.

If a demon had taken control of Mount Zihui at night, causing chaos and keeping the people awake, don't you think someone would've noticed?"

"If you truly wish to know the truth of those days, consult the official histories. If you believe these wild tales, you might as well think the founding emperor of the Northern Zhou dynasty started his rise by selling hooks on the grasslands…"

Linghu Qingmo nodded quickly: "Yes. Mount Zihui has complete records of Master Qixia's birth and her entry into the Dao. If you wish to see them, I'll fetch them for you when I return."

Xie Jinhuan knew wild histories couldn't be trusted—but his ghost bride was too mysterious. He'd searched for days and found only this one clue in The Legend of the Golden Orchids—he couldn't possibly ignore it.

Wu Zheng said nothing either; he reached under the counter, pulled out another copy, and handed it to Xie Jinhuan, thoughtfully pairing it with a hardcover illustrated edition of "Yangchun Yan," the second copy half price...

But Mo Mo, who revered her ancestral master too deeply, shoved the book into her chest, slapped silver coins onto the counter, and bolted out the door—clearly afraid he'd snatch it away.

【111】 Xie Jinhuan sighed helplessly; once Mo Mo had vanished outside, he quietly pulled out silver and slipped it to Wu the old man.

【112】 Wu Zheng said nothing, reached beneath the counter, and pulled out another book, handing it to Xie Jinhuan—along with a beautifully illustrated, deluxe edition of The Spring's Lustful Bloom… second book at half price…

【113】 (End of Chapter)