Chapter 9: Notes on Zhou He

It is still raining in Bai City.

The house is empty.

His father is a history professor at Yuanzhou Academy, a bit of a big shot, neither busy nor idle, with eclectic hobbies and a specialty in losing money. His mother, named Wei Yan, is a lawyer; her work is much busier than his father's, so it is common not to see her, though she earns quite well, which perfectly complements his father.

The parents are rarely seen at home.

"Dinner..."

Chen Shu opens the refrigerator to take a look; inside are only cabbage, eggs, milk, and some jars and bottles.

Too lazy to cook, he simply takes out his mobile phone to order takeout.

The takeout arrives in half an hour.

A steaming bowl of Gouhun Rice Noodles, a clear pork-bone broth with a rich aroma, yet added with plenty of bright red millet chili; the deliciousness and the fresh spiciness present a beautiful fusion, topped with a few slices of pork stewed until tender, providing a multi-layered stimulation to the taste buds.

The merchant even sent a little trinket—

A Jiaojiao Pig slightly larger than a thumb, with a small whistle at the bottom; one squeeze and the little pig goes "squeak-squeak."

"Squeak-squeak..."

A good mood for the day begins here.

After eating, cultivation, analysis.

Busy and enjoying it immensely.

The eighth of May.

The rain in Bai City has stopped.

Chen Shu is sitting in the courtyard of Ning Qing's house; he gives her the Jiaojiao Pig he got from the takeout and tells her that this thing can make a sound when squeezed, and it is quite fun.

Ning Qing takes it and squeezes it twice, squeak-squeak, then expressionlessly stuffs it back into her pocket.

Chen Shu runs over to look at her flowers.

It has been raining for a long time, and this is the season when Chinese roses are most prone to black spot; fortunately, Ning Qing has been applying medicine for prevention, keeping these flowers and plants relatively healthy.

The plant Chen Shu likes most, named 'Morning and Dusk', has already bloomed.

This is a variety newly cultivated in recent years, with a rosette flower shape and gradient colors; once in full bloom, it looks just like the color of the sky at dawn when it is not yet bright, or at dusk when it is not yet dark.

It is a pity it is not a cut-flower variety.

Chen Shu sniffs the flower while turning his head to ask Ning Qing: "What are you doing for summer vacation?"

"Working, what about you?"

"I am going to participate in the opening of the Saint Ancestor Cube and the inventory of cultural relics." Chen Shu smacks his lips, "Chen Jiaoshou is finally of some use, it really isn't easy."

"Just as you wish."

"Hehe..."

"Why are you so interested in the Saint Ancestor?" Ning Qing tilts her head, eyeing Chen Shu.

"None of your business."

"..."

Ning Qing turns her head away and stops talking.

At this moment, Chen Shu receives a call; it is from Chen Jiaoshou. As soon as he answers, Chen Jiaoshou says: "The excavation of the Square Body starts this afternoon. Do you want to come over and join the fun? Clearing the soil and rocks on the side should take until tomorrow."

"Yes."

"Where are you?"

"At Ning Qing's house."

"I'll come pick you up."

"Okay."

Chen Shu stands up and says to Ning Qing: "I'm leaving."

Ning Qing nods faintly.

Jinghai is the second-largest freshwater lake in Yuanzhou, strip-shaped, about 40 kilometers long, with a maximum width of 10 kilometers from east to west, a surface area of 260 square kilometers, and a circumference of 140 kilometers. The urban area of Bai City is located at the foot of the mountain on the west side of Jinghai, while the opposite side belongs to Youlong District. One can only take the road around the lake to get from the city to the foot of Beauty Mountain; there is no expressway, and it is about a one-hour drive.

Chen Jiaoshou drives very properly and is determined not to speed.

One hour later, they reach their destination.

Standing at the foot of the mountain at close range, one realizes how terrifying the power of nature is.

The soil and rocks of half the mountain collapsed, burying at least a kilometer of the road around the lake; the debris must have rushed into the lake with the force of ten thousand tons at the time.

The Square Body is embedded in the upper half of the mountain, revealing a corner; its dark gray, almost black material exudes an extremely ancient and heavy feeling. It has just crossed five thousand years of history to meet the people of this era, giving a magical sense of time travel.

Gazing at it, it feels as if time has been compressed.

Chen Shu sees that the area has long been cordoned off, with fully armed soldiers standing guard and armored vehicles equipped with Spiritual Energy Shields; everyone passing through must verify their identity.

Large-scale excavation equipment is already in place.

The archaeological team has also arrived long ago.

There are also many leaders.

In short, there are many people.

However, Chen Shu basically does not know these people, though he does recognize two historians:

Professor Shi and Professor Liu.

Chen Shu has read their books and watched their programs; the status of these two in the historical circle is about the same as Chen Jiaoshou's, though their primary focus on dynasties differs.

Besides them, there are two other people who are very eye-catching—

A woman wearing a Daoist robe, with an ordinary appearance, lacking any transcendent air, and the Daoist robe is also different from those in his past life.

The other was a man wearing a yellow monk's robe, with a fierce appearance; his face was covered in scars—whether from a knife or a Sword, it was hard to tell—and matted, charred marks. His eyebrows were very thick, and when he opened his eyes to look at someone, it was as if he wanted to eat them. He was, surprisingly, from the Buddhist Sect.

The Daoist and Buddhist Sects were both founded by disciples of the Shengzu in those years; they are evergreen sects in the history of cultivation, and even now, they possess great influence and widespread followers.

Of course, they still have to accept the regulation of the Government.

These two were likely summoned here to maintain security.

At the very least, they are High-level Practitioners, right?

The Saint Ancestor Cube is of great importance; it not only concerns the origin of the Huaxia civilization, but also contains many cultural relics and treasures. Although Yiguo has never had any accidents during the excavation of the Saint Ancestor Cube, the necessary safety measures must still be taken.

"Hello, Professor Shi, I have read your Great Sheng Lectures." After Chen Shu finished speaking, he looked at the other person. "Professor Liu, I especially liked you when I watched the History Forum as a child. You used witty language to explain the history of each dynasty so brilliantly. Really, you are the history enlightenment teacher for many people."

"Hello." Professor Shi was very reserved.

"Hello, little Chen, thank you, thank you..." Professor Liu said, "Professor Chen said that your understanding of the history of the Xia Dynasty is even deeper than his. Truly, heroes come from the youth."

"Not at all, not at all. I am just very interested in the Shengzu. As you know, basically every boy is interested in the Shengzu when he is a child," Chen Shu said modestly. "I still have much to learn from you elders if there is anything I don't understand."

"Do you plan to develop in the history field in the future?" Professor Shi asked Chen Shu.

"I have no such thoughts at all, it is just an interest," Chen Shu answered honestly. "I plan to apply for Spell Principles here."

"Oh..."

Professor Shi was stunned for a moment.

Originally, when they heard Professor Chen say that his son had a deeper understanding of the Shengzu than he did and wanted to bring him along as an assistant, they thought Professor Chen was paving the way for his son's future. It is very normal for the children of well-known historians to continue studying history.

Now it seems that might not be the case.

Professor Shi immediately asked: "The Great Exam is over, right? Have the scores come out?"

"Not yet."

"Do you have a target?"

"I'll see if I can get into Yujing Academy."

"Oh... that's fine, that's fine."

Professor Shi said "that's fine" twice, because he is a professor in the History Department of Yujing Academy.

Professor Liu did not make a sound; he was from the neighboring department.

Someone came to ask the three professors questions, and after receiving their replies, the machines on the mountain immediately started up. The clanging sounds traveled from far away; one would fear they could even be heard on the other side of the lake.

Chen Shu looked up, watching with great focus.

Some people always equate tomb raiding with archaeology, but the two are clearly completely different.

Tomb raiding is for selfish desire, an extremely barbaric, active violation of a tomb to obtain valuable items inside. They cause great damage to the tomb and the items within; many treasures are completely destroyed because of their lack of professionalism. The few that remain are often sold abroad or hidden away in the residences of certain collectors.

Archaeology, on the other hand, is usually passive.

Most of the time, it is only when a tomb or ruin has already been revealed due to natural causes, or already shows signs of being raided, that an archaeological team will conduct a rescue excavation.

Of course, there are also the wise who conduct active excavations, but they were basically all fiercely criticized later.

And what of the results obtained from archaeological excavations?

Some can fill the gaps in history, some can correct the fissures in culture; these are all very important.

Without history, without culture, there is no identity, and there would be no great country or civilization.

As for some substantive items, a few will be preserved, but most will be placed in museums. Everyone in the country can go to appreciate these treasures left behind by our predecessors, and in fact, many museums do not charge fees or charge very low fees.

The claim of 'legal tomb raiding' is pure nonsense.

Even in this world, in this era, the value of items unearthed from ancient tombs or ruins is mostly at the 'cultural' level; there is rarely any practical value. There is no such thing as ancient cultivation methods, Spells, or techniques being more advanced than those of today.

The Saint Ancestor Cube, however, is very special.

First is its appearance:

The Saint Ancestor Cube always appears on its own initiative. Before it appears, no one knows where it is; it will not be actively discovered by people, nor will it be discovered by accident. It might even appear in a mine that has already been riddled with holes. When it appears out of thin air, the mine shafts are all blocked off; it is very magical.

Second is its value:

The things inside the Saint Ancestor Cube, besides their cultural significance, truly have strategic significance.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The outline of the Saint Ancestor Cube gradually emerged.

The gray-black Cold Star Stone is harder than steel and is still a strategic material even now; it can be dug with confidence, without worrying about damage.

This is also the magnanimous nature of the Saint Ancestor Cube.

If it were an ordinary ruin, one would have to use small shovels, small spoons, small brushes, and small graduate students to dig it out bit by bit. It is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and consumes graduate students; it is very delicate.

"Whoosh!"

Water droplets rushed down with a splash, and the patterns on the stone walls of the Cube gradually revealed themselves.

A simple pine branch pattern.

The patterns of every Cube are different; the one in Yujing has an auspicious cloud pattern.

Digging further down, the door of the Cube appeared.

The side facing the lake now is the West Gate; there are a total of six doors—east, south, west, north, up, and down—all of which can be used to enter.

Furthermore, apart from this heaven-defying 'hidden mechanism,' the Saint Ancestor Cube has no other defensive or counter-attack facilities set up; only the main gate requires some time to crack.

The Shengzu had no intention of killing thieves.

The old fellow is benevolent.

The clanging sound gradually stopped, followed by a large amount of water that washed the surface of the Cube clean, revealing the outline of a huge archway.

The sky gradually darkened.

More and more lights gradually gathered at both ends of the blocked lakeside road; these were the citizens who had heard the news and rushed over to watch, and some even drove boats over from the other side of the lake.

The military personnel went up.

Cracking the main gate will take some time, and then air isolation must be carried out; they need to go in to verify safety and transport equipment inside. It will likely be midnight or tomorrow morning.

Chen Shu will have to wait until at least tomorrow to enter the Square Body with Chen Jiaoshou.

Today, he just came over to watch the excitement and broaden his horizons.

Twelve o'clock at night.

Chen Shu had already returned home long ago.

And he had finished his cultivation.

Despite his fatigue, he found himself unable to sleep; all sorts of chaotic thoughts surged up one after another, leaving his mind in turmoil.

Chen Shu carefully examined the Crystal in his hand, and before long, he held it up to the light in the room; the light passed through the Crystal, revealing mists swirling inside that shifted between pink and light purple.

He had once read A Book called the Zhou He Chronicles.

Zhou He was a person from the early Xia Dynasty and the first official historian in the history of Huaxia in this world; he usually stayed in the palace, responsible for compiling history books. But besides official history, he also recorded his daily work notes, occasional reflections, and things he saw and heard that were not significant enough to be included in official history into A Book.

That is this Zhou He Chronicles.

The protective measures for this book were not as good as those for official history books, and later, the Daoist sects were negligent in preserving this book while recording history for successive dynasties, leading to many missing parts. However, in modern times, Daoist masters have collectively restored these books, so the content should be accurate to what it was back then.

This book is often used as a reference for early Xia Dynasty history.

Chen Shu had seen these few lines in the book:

The moonlight in the deep palace is clear, the candlelight flickers in the long corridor.

The white-haired Shengzu is there, sitting idly and playing with a Crystal.

It doesn't count as a poem; it is just a simple record of a small matter concerning Shengzu.

There were many things to do that day, and Zhou He was working overtime in the palace; he didn't leave the palace until very late, and inadvertently, he saw Shengzu. Oh my, at that time the moonlight in the deep palace was cold and clear, very quiet, and the candlelight from the lanterns hanging in the long corridor was swaying; the Emperor was already very old, yet he was not resting in the palace hall, but instead sitting on the palace corridor, sitting idly with nothing to do, playing with a Crystal in his hands.

He must have been lost in thought, right?

What could the Emperor be thinking about at this moment?

Zhou He found it very interesting, so after returning home, he hurriedly wrote it down.

The world believes that this poem describes the desolate scene of the elderly Emperor sitting alone under the moon in the deep palace, showing that even the Emperor who unified the world and founded Huaxia would have a fragile side at night, just like an ordinary old person in need of company; perhaps the higher one stands in front of others, the lonelier one is behind the scenes?

Chen Shu looked at the Crystal in his hand again.