Chapter 645: Careful Calculations
By then, they had already entered the second courtyard. The academy’s main buildings were all located here, each more imposing and solemn than the government office. There was even an exquisitely crafted halberd gate[1]. Sun Fuling said Panlong City had spent great effort building the academy so that every student who entered would understand the weight of knowledge.
“I didn’t expect there to be so many people in the academy at this hour.”
In the past, the academy had always closed promptly at dusk. Later, after Panlong City reached a trade agreement with the burrow spiders, the glowspores from Guizhen Stone Forest were also sent into the academy. From then on, the academy began offering evening classes. As it turned out, nearly all the students who signed up were adults. They worked by day, then hurried to the academy at night to attend lectures.
As a result, even beneath the night sky, the academy remained brightly lit, with teachers and students coming and going in an endless stream.
Sun Fuling smiled and said, “This is nothing. I heard that the academy in Beijia’s capital gathers students from all directions, and sages lecture, debate, and conduct studies there every day. The place is bustling with voices from morning to night. I truly want to see it for myself someday.”
Lingxu City was famous throughout the world. Every day of every year, talented scholars came there in admiration, seeking knowledge and worthy teachers.
He Lingchuan gave a dry chuckle. “Its reputation is greater than the reality.”
That said, during his time in Lingxu City, he had been so busy with schemes and struggles that, apart from visiting three or five scenic sights and taking a look at its pleasure quarters and places of indulgence, he had never had a real chance to observe the capital properly.
Teacher Sun’s words reminded him. Since he had finally walked into the greatest city under heaven, how could he leave empty-handed?
After standing for six hundred years, Lingxu City surely had more than deep-rooted flaws. It must also possess many strengths, or it could not have continuously attracted talent from across the world.
Sun Fuling said seriously, “There is no need to malign an enemy’s strengths.”
Belittling an enemy’s advantages would not make oneself stronger. It would only make one more blind.
He Lingchuan said sheepishly, “You’re right.”
After passing the bell and drum towers, they arrived at the third courtyard. This was the academy’s administrative area, and outsiders were not permitted.
Once they entered this place, the air suddenly grew quiet.
Sun Fuling led him into a teaching office and said, “The meeting hall is ahead. I’ll go find the headmaster. Wait here.” With that, she passed through the rear corridor and hurried away.
Beside him was the ancestral courtyard, which contained a lotus pond, cedars, and all kinds of sculptures.
One of the sculptures was a large-mouthed monkey. One hand covered its ear, and it grinned at everyone passing by. It was even missing a big tooth.
Glowspores hung from the treetops in the courtyard, and their soft light shone over the monkey sculpture.
The moment He Lingchuan saw it, he felt it looked familiar. After taking a few more glances, he suddenly remembered.
When he had entered the ancient city ruins in the Panlong Desert with Sun Fuping, Nian Songyu, and the others, he had seen this very monkey sculpture!
At the time, he had found its grin lewd and wretched and had even kicked it. That was why the impression was so deep.
So back then, the place where I’d been was Shumin State Academy!
Today, the place was full of clear reading voices and peaceful years, but more than a century later, only lonely yellow sand and the wailing wind would remain.
He Lingchuan exhaled slowly and lifted his head toward the night sky.
The Tianluo Star was right there, shining down at him.
Before long, Sun Fuling returned, followed by a scholar wearing a tall crown. It was none other than Xu Shichu, the headmaster of Shumin State Academy.
He Lingchuan had attended his public lecture at the Hall of Inquiry, so he went forward and cupped his fists. “Headmaster Xu!”
“It’s you!” Xu Shichu looked at him in surprise, then smiled. “We’ve met before. Mm, at... at...”
“The Hall of Inquiry.”
“Yes, yes, the Hall of Inquiry. You even asked me about Juju!” Xu Shichu nodded repeatedly. “There are many children who enjoy waving blades and spears around, but few who can quietly seek the Dao. Little Sun says you have something to ask me?”
Sun Fuling cut in then, “You two can talk first. I still have an evening class to teach, so I’ll be going.”
“Go on, go on.” Xu Shichu waved a hand. Sun Fuling smiled at He Lingchuan, then turned and left.
He Lingchuan did not beat around the bush and asked directly, “Headmaster Xu, may I ask whether the Tianluo Star’s path can be calculated?”
“The Tianluo Star?” Xu Shichu paused, then looked up at the night sky. “Hm? Why has the Tianluo Star appeared tonight?”
“If one wants to calculate its path in real time, what method could be used?”
“That has always been a hidden star. As long as it remains concealed in the night sky, there is no way.” Xu Shichu shook his head. “The Tianluo Star has appeared only a handful of times. From the documents I have read, research into it has never gone very deep.” If something could not easily be observed, then no data could be compiled, and if there were no data, it was naturally difficult to study.
He Lingchuan’s heart sank as he listened.
If he could not take the aerial route, did that mean he would have to find a way to infiltrate Star-Plucking Tower?
There should be a teleportation array there that led directly to the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array’s array eye, but under the eyes of the heavenly gods and the cloud envoys, the difficulty of sneaking in was probably beyond five stars.
“What if the Tianluo Star keeps shining in the night sky?” He Lingchuan thought for a moment. “Could you calculate its position and distance relative to the Big Dipper’s nine stars?”
“Relative to the Big Dipper’s nine stars?” Xu Shichu smiled. “What’s difficult about that? It’s only a bit of calculation. However, if your reference points are the Big Dipper’s nine stars, then that is equivalent to changing perspective. You would no longer be observing from the ground where we stand, correct?”
“Exactly!” As expected of the headmaster, he grasped the key point at once. “It would be like standing on the Big Dipper’s nine stars and determining the Tianluo Star’s distance and position from there.”
“Then it will require some calculation.” Xu Shichu pondered. “Since the nine stars are separate, they are equivalent to nine different starting points, and each must be calculated carefully. In truth, the method is the same. If the Tianluo Star were replaced by any other star, the same formula could be applied. What use does this question have, specifically?”
“During a mission, I encountered an array. The other party arranged it according to the Big Dipper’s ten stars, setting the Tianluo Star as the array eye.” He Lingchuan’s expression turned serious. “If we want to break the array, we have to find the Tianluo Star’s position.”
“Quite sophisticated, but how do you know when the Tianluo Star will keep shining?”
He Lingchuan lowered his voice. “I can’t say too much, but the Red General has a way.”
“Very well, I understand.” As soon as He Lingchuan used the Red General as a shield, Xu Shichu indeed asked no more. He only looked up again at the stars. “Since it is shining now, I’ll take the chance to try deriving it. Including the time needed to check for errors... Mm, in a few days, once I write out the general formula, I’ll have Little Sun bring it to you.”
He Lingchuan was overjoyed and bowed to him all the way to the ground. “Headmaster Xu, you are truly a man of vast learning and unfathomable depth!” Then he offered the gifts he had brought.
The moment Xu Shichu saw the cloud-slice cakes and aged tangerine tea, he smiled. “Little Sun told you to buy these?”
“Er, yes.” Sun Fuling had said Academy Head Xu had recently become utterly obsessed with this new tea.
“She is quite attentive when it comes to your affairs.” Xu Shichu looked him over again.
Even a mild and refined old scholar like him is this gossipy? He Lingchuan straightened his chest, but then he remembered something else. “Headmaster, I have one more question. If a defensive array were designed by the heavenly gods and could draw upon a massive amount of spirit qi or profound crystals, would there be any possibility of breaking it?”
“Designed by the heavenly gods?” Xu Shichu smiled. “Compared with arrays designed by humans, it would only be a little more thorough. But no matter how profound an array may be, its strength is ultimately limited. In today’s environment, the great ancient arrays are difficult to recreate. Heaven and earth spirit qi has declined and can no longer support the spiritual energy they require.”
“What if this formation is critically important? Could profound crystals not be used to make up the difference?”
“Perhaps for a short time, but the materials used to build arrays are also far inferior to those of the past, even if you have a vast quantity of profound crystals. For example, when the ancient immortal sect, the Ethereal Sect, built its mountain-guarding array, it used barbaric dragon bones. Where would you find such materials now?” Xu Shichu smiled. “How many rare treasures from the Ancient Era still remain today? Look across the whole world. Which of those famed ancient arrays still exists?”
“If the heavenly gods want to build arrays in the mortal realm, they must obey the laws of the mortal realm,” Xu Shichu continued. “They may be able to destroy heaven and earth in their own world, but here in the mortal realm, they also have to consider practical conditions. In my view, there is nothing impressive about using the finest materials to build the finest array. True ability lies in using limited materials and controlled costs to create a stable, sustainable array. Therefore, there is no such thing as an unbreakable array in the mortal realm.”
He Lingchuan’s expression turned solemn. “Thank you for your guidance!”
Xu Shichu was very busy, so once the proper matters had been discussed, he bade farewell and left.
He Lingchuan then slowly wandered around the academy until Sun Fuling finished class.
By now, the bright moon hung high overhead, and the night had deepened. Before He Lingchuan even drew near, he heard another teacher say to Sun Fuling, “Teacher Sun, shall I escort you home?”
It was a man. He was quite tall, fair-faced, and smiling very eagerly.
Before Sun Fuling could reply, He Lingchuan appeared beside her with a whoosh and stuffed an oiled-paper packet into her hands. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we go?”
It was warm in her hands. Sun Fuling looked down and saw a soft, white piece of Poria cake, with several plump dates sitting on top.
“I asked the fatty’s wife for the piece with the most dates.”
Sun Fuling smiled.
“Teacher Qian, see you tomorrow.” She nodded to the teacher, then turned and headed out.
Poor, helpless Teacher Qian stood frozen in place.
Seeing Teacher Qian stare straight at him, He Lingchuan waved goodbye, then flashed him a grin full of bright white teeth, exaggeratedly broad.
Little fellow, you shouldn’t have had those thoughts in the first place!
Teacher Qian could still hear him saying to Sun Fuling, “Share one of those dates with me.”
“Take one yourself.”
Teacher Qian could also see the brat grab a huge piece of Poria cake and put it in his mouth.
“...” Sun Fuling looked down, only to find that only a third of the soft cake remained. Even the plump dates had been reduced to one, lying miserably in the corner. “Why don’t you eat the rest too?”
Teacher Qian discovered that Teacher Sun, who had always been cool and distant and drawn clear boundaries with others, was acting completely different with the man beside her!
* * *
The next day, before the sky had even brightened, He Lingchuan woke.
He was woken by the Soul-Stealing Mirror. The thing was screeching at high volume beside his ear, “Hey, hey, hey! Stop sleeping! How can someone your age sleep this long?”
He Lingchuan blocked his forehead with an arm and slapped a hand against the mirror’s surface. “You’d better have a reason!”
His eyes were still bleary, and his morning temper was very bad.
“Look outside the window! Look at the sky!” The mirror was so excited that its voice had gone a little distorted. “It’s shining, it’s shining! The Tianluo Star is still shining!”
Shining?
He Lingchuan froze, then scrambled to his feet, pushed open the door, and went outside.
It was nearly dawn, and most of the stars had already faded. But the Big Dipper still held its place in the night sky. He Lingchuan counted them, one through ten.
1. This refers to ancient, guarded entryways designed to protect emperors or kings, or ceremonial gates guarded by polearm-bearing troops. ☜