The Wordless Heavenly Book flickered with light. In the end, it ignored their whispered muttering and answered only Yu Qingtang’s original question.
“Yes.”
The two of them stared at that single word.
Ye Chenyan asked, “What did you ask it?”
Yu Qingtang slowly looked up, equally stunned by how honest it had been. “Guess.”
Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow and pointed at the book. “You asked whether it was the one selling the exam papers?”
“Yeah.” Yu Qingtang nodded blankly.
He had certainly asked sincerely, but he hadn’t expected the book to answer with equal sincerity.
Caught completely off guard, he looked toward the doorway.
“Brother Xiao, it admitted it.”
“What do we do now?”
He had an entire arsenal of coaxing, pestering, and shameless persuasion prepared, and he hadn’t even gotten to use any of it.
“Ask why it did it.” Scholar Xiao stepped into the room, cupped his fists toward the Chess School head, and said, “My apologies,” before joining them. “It probably didn’t do all this for no reason.”
“Surely it wasn’t really trying to earn spirit stones for the academy like you joked?”
Dot Star Formation finally caught up.
“You... suspected the Sage’s Book was behind the leaked questions?”
Her expression turned strange.
“And you actually guessed right?”
“This...”
She turned her head and found Wen Changjun looking as though the sky had just fallen.
Slightly surprised, she asked, “Junior Brother Wen? What’s wrong with you?”
“Impossible!” Wen Changjun denied it instinctively. “The Sage’s Book possesses a spirit. It is the foundation of Four Books Academy. If even it stoops to such sneaky, underhanded behavior, wouldn’t that mean our Four Books Academy...”
His gaze wavered.
He stared at Scholar Xiao in disbelief.
“Y-you’ve always been favored by the Sage’s Book. It gives you extra trials every single time. Don’t tell me...”
His voice suddenly rose.
“You two are birds of a feather!”
Scholar Xiao: “...”
He burst out laughing.
“Junior Brother Wen, the extra exam paper is the Sage’s Book picking a fight with me. That is not what ‘favor’ looks like.”
“Oh?” As though only now realizing something, Scholar Xiao deliberately asked, “Could it be that Junior Brother Wen keeps provoking me because he wants to compete with me precisely because the Sage’s Book gives me an extra paper every time?”
He looked mildly surprised.
“In that case, why don’t we ask it to give you one too?”
“You think the Sage’s Book is some vegetable stall by the roadside? Something you can bargain with?!” Wen Changjun’s face flushed red. “If it never chose me, then naturally it believes my ability is insufficient. You—!”
“Enough.” Chi Yantian gave them an odd look. “What is wrong with you people at Four Books Academy? You get fewer exams and you’re unhappy about it? And you call that being favored?”
“Hey, don’t lump us all together.” Dot Star Formation immediately distanced herself. “Most of us in the Chess School are perfectly normal. It’s the Literary School that has more of the strange ones.”
“Some people really do study until they lose their minds.”
“I’m not stupid.” Wen Changjun kept his eyes fixed on Scholar Xiao. “I figured it out ages ago.”
“The reason you don’t want to take over the Chess School is because you want to follow Academy Head Wen’s path, isn’t it?”
“All the senior and junior brothers say the Sage’s Book favors you. Academy Head Wen has only one final disciple—you. So naturally, you’ll inherit the Literary School in the future.”
“I’m simply not convinced.” He raised his chin. “Others may admit defeat before you, but I refuse. Just wait. One day, I’ll beat you!”
Scholar Xiao’s eyes curved into a smile.
“All right. I’ll wait.”
“You!”
It was like Wen Changjun had punched a ball of cotton. His fierce declaration had earned nothing but that light, easy response, leaving him visibly frustrated.
“Though now that you mention it...” Scholar Xiao lifted his chin slightly. “Academy Head Wen and I ultimately walk different Daos.”
“He has already taken his own path to its summit. Why must I squeeze onto that same narrow road and follow in his footsteps?”
He smiled pleasantly.
“Junior Brother Wen, there are countless paths within the literary Dao, and every person’s is different.”
“I never intended to follow behind Teacher, nor have I been waiting to inherit his mantle...”
He shook his head with faint helplessness.
“You say you want to surpass me, but you and I were never walking the same path to begin with. So how are we supposed to compete?”
“You!” Wen Changjun gritted his teeth. “Stop boasting! There may be countless paths within the literary Dao, but how many people can truly carve out one of their own? Even the current school heads all benefit from the foundations laid by their predecessors. How many dare claim they stand alone beneath heaven?”
Scholar Xiao gently waved the folding fan in his hand, eyes smiling.
“That is precisely my ambition.”
“Whether I succeed or fail, I have to try.”
Wen Changjun glared at him through clenched teeth.
“You!”
Then he angrily flicked his sleeves and stormed away.
Dot Star Formation turned toward Scholar Xiao.
“He wasn’t thinking about anything that complicated. He just wants to beat you on an exam once.”
“I know.” Scholar Xiao smiled and gave her a sly wink. “I did that on purpose.”
“Every time he provokes me, if I respond seriously, he gets ridiculously excited and even more motivated.”
“But if I act like this instead...”
He rubbed his chin and made his smile look even calmer and more magnanimous.
“As though I’ve set my sights elsewhere, can’t be bothered lowering myself to argue with him, and no longer care about these tiny little academy exams...”
“He’ll bark fiercely for a while, then quietly retreat and start reflecting on whether his thinking is far behind mine and whether he’s taken the inferior path.”
Dot Star Formation: “...”
She stared wordlessly at Scholar Xiao’s face, then let out a long sigh.
“How many people have been fooled by that face of yours into thinking you’re some good-tempered nice guy?”
“Haha.” Scholar Xiao smiled. “Don’t worry. Junior Brother Wen is clever. He’ll probably realize by tomorrow morning that I was only bluffing to mess with him.”
“But if everything goes smoothly, by tomorrow morning we should have our points too.”
He turned toward Yu Qingtang and Ye Chenyan, who were communicating with the Wordless Heavenly Book.
“Well? Did you get an answer?”
“Huh?” Yu Qingtang finally snapped back to attention. “Oh. We haven’t asked yet. I was watching you two.”
Scholar Xiao sighed helplessly.
“Brother Yu, the spectacle may be entertaining, but don’t forget why we’re here.”
“Why don’t you write?” Yu Qingtang shook out his hand and passed him the Wordless Heavenly Book. “What if it decides my handwriting is ugly again and makes me copy another book?”
“It would be inappropriate for me to ask.” Scholar Xiao laughed dryly. “It doesn’t like me. Whatever I ask, it refuses to answer.”
“Then...”
Yu Qingtang looked at Ye Chenyan, then at Chi Yantian.
“Which of you has nicer handwriting?”
“I’ll do it!” Chi Yantian volunteered with rare enthusiasm. “Let me write. What should I ask?”
Yu Qingtang looked surprised.
“Brother Chi, why are you so eager? Don’t tell me appearances are deceiving—you may have scored badly on the exam, but you secretly have beautiful handwriting?”
“He is the holy son of a major cult, after all.” Ye Chenyan nodded along. “He should’ve practiced calligraphy, right?”
“Not necessarily.” Scholar Xiao gently waved his folding fan and shook his head. “I think he’s simply interested in our academy’s supreme treasure—the Sage’s Book, which can improve itself.”
Chi Yantian had already sat cross-legged in front of the table.
He still hadn’t picked up the brush.
Instead, he had already run his hands all over the Wordless Heavenly Book from front to back.
His eyes burned with fascination as his fingers moved over it inch by inch and he muttered to himself.
“This is a copy, so it should’ve been made afterward. Its materials are different from the true body’s too. Not nearly as durable.”
“It looks like paper, but I wonder whether it can withstand fire...”
Yu Qingtang’s face changed dramatically. He lunged forward and pinned Chi Yantian’s hands down.
“Calm down, Brother Chi! Ask the question first, then burn it!”
“Oh.” Chi Yantian came back to his senses. “What am I asking?”
“Why it leaked the exam questions,” Ye Chenyan reminded him. “Get the spiritual artifact out of your head for a moment.”
“That’s impossible.” Chi Yantian muttered as he picked up the brush. “If you take spiritual artifacts out of my head, there’s nothing left in there except Flamelet.”
He wrote four large characters:
“Why leak questions?”
And honestly, even to Yu Qingtang’s completely untrained eye, those four characters looked pretty good—bold, forceful, the strokes biting deep into the page. Very much like Chi Yantian himself.
The Wordless Heavenly Book remained silent for a moment.
Then a hazy primordial radiance suddenly spread from it.
Chi Yantian’s eyes lit up.
“Hm? Wait, why did its rank suddenly increase? Advancement? No, not advancement. The Sage’s Book must serve as the central hub, with power transmitted between the four copies. The true Sage’s Book just transferred most of its power into this one...”
Still muttering excitedly, he reached out to touch it again.
And was instantly blasted away.
He shot out of the room like a meteor.
Yu Qingtang stared blankly upward as Chi Yantian flew past him.
“Brother Chi—!”
“I’m fine!” Chi Yantian’s distant voice called back. “This book’s got some kick! Oh, hey, I knocked over one of those black-and-white stones in your Chess School. Do I have to pay for that?”
The Chess School head’s weak voice drifted from somewhere nearby.
“...Yes.”
Dot Star Formation nodded calmly.
“Don’t worry. Even if he runs off, I won’t forget to collect damages from the Heavenly Fire Cult.”
Yu Qingtang: “...”
So reliable.
Chi Yantian struggled back to his feet, dusted himself off, and returned to the room, completely unconcerned about having just been smacked by the Sage’s Book.
“Sure enough, first-rank spiritual artifacts all have a bit of a temper. Doesn’t like being touched.”
Ye Chenyan studied the now decidedly mysterious-looking book.
“If you don’t want anyone touching you, then we can’t write on you either... Can you speak?”
“I have guarded Four Books Academy for more than three thousand years.”
A peculiar voice sounded.
It was as though countless voices had merged into one—old and young, male and female, all speaking with the same cadence. The result was strange and uncanny.
“No one is born knowing all things. They must be taught. They must learn. They must grow.”
“I bear the responsibility of guiding and examining the academy’s students. For thousands of years, I have tested countless scholars.”
“In the past, I judged only their studies. But now that my spiritual awareness is gradually awakening and I am beginning to shape a self, I have realized that I should also assess the character and virtue of Four Books Academy’s students.”
Scholar Xiao froze, his expression turning strange.
“So... you considered leaking the exam questions a test of character? And the student who took the bait was the one who failed...”
The Sage’s Book shifted slightly, almost as though nodding.
“Wen Tianxia says I was wrong. I do not believe so.”
The Sage’s Book turned its attention toward them.
“Juniors, how would you judge it?”
Yu Qingtang’s expression became odd.
“I... think people are pretty bad at resisting temptation.”
“You’re the Sage’s Book. Everything you’ve read is the wisdom of sages, and I imagine you want to follow the path of the sages yourself, so naturally you measure everyone by a sage’s standards.”
“But when it comes down to it, most people are just ordinary people.”
He scratched his head.
“Cheating is definitely wrong. But deliberately tempting someone into it... that doesn’t really count as a fair test.”
The Sage’s Book fell silent for a moment.
When it spoke again, its voice carried surprise.
“I thought your head was empty and that the most one could say of you was that you were ‘honest.’ I did not expect you to produce such an argument.”
Yu Qingtang: “...You people at Four Books Academy are really mean when you talk.”
“No person is a sage. Who can be without fault?” The Sage’s Book gave a soft laugh. “I once believed I had seen all the people beneath heaven and that awakening as a spirit would be effortless.”
“Now I see that learning truly has no end.”
It sighed.
“Very well, junior. Since I have learned one thing from you, I shall return the favor with one character.”
“Huh?” Yu Qingtang froze, then turned to look at everyone else. “There are so many of us. How are we supposed to split one character? Can’t you give us two more?”
The Sage’s Book: “...Split what? A character isn’t an orange. If you write it down, that doesn’t stop someone else from writing it too.”
“Oh.” Yu Qingtang gave an embarrassed grin. “Right. My brain didn’t catch up for a second.”
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