vstars Chapter 199 Public Trial at the Academy
Chapter 199 Public Trial at the Academy
The memorial paper, torn in two, still lay in the mud by the door.
A sea breeze blew, flipping the paper over and revealing a crooked red mark inside. Several men who arrived later stood outside to look, but after they finished, they didn't say anything. They just pulled their sleeves tighter and looked into the courtyard one by one.
The courtyard is even more chaotic than it was two days ago.
The newly adopted children are moving logs. One who knows how to read the tides is drawing water lines in the corner of the wall. Over there, Sang Qiniang has three broken abacuses and is teaching two women to recognize beads. Lu Cheng is holding a wooden ruler, measuring the width of the ditch on the ground. Si Mo sits on the threshold, writing names down and answering questions, his voice hoarse.
Chen Fan stood by the well and looked at it for a long time. Suddenly, he felt that if the courtyard continued to be disturbed like this, something bad would happen sooner or later.
The more people there are, the more eyes are watching this side.
If the old list is torn down and a new list is established, those who sell recommendation slips, connections, and reputations will still be able to find a way to slip through.
As he was thinking, Xuanzang came out of the house, still holding a half-finished page of paper in his hand.
"Sixteen more have arrived." Si Mo didn't even look up. "Three want to learn hydraulic engineering, two want to take responsibility, and the rest said they'll see how it goes."
Xuanzang hummed in agreement, but instead of going to the table, he walked to the middle of the courtyard first.
There were originally several bamboo poles piled up in that area, but they were just moved away, making room for a patch of earth.
He glanced down at the footprints on the ground, then looked up at his surroundings.
"That won't do," he said.
Sang Qiniang paused, her hands moving across the abacus. "What won't work?"
Xuanzang folded the half-page in half and slowly stuffed it back into his sleeve: "You're still following the old ways. Recruiting people, dividing them into registers, and assigning names. Once there are too many names, people start competing to see who's the best. Today it's about who gets registered first, tomorrow it's about who's at the top. You can't possibly tear up all that paper out there."
The courtyard fell silent for a moment.
A-Tu stood by the wooden shed, holding a piece of timber, not daring to say a word. A-Chao, who had just returned from the riverbank with his trousers soaked to his knees, also stopped.
Chen Fan looked at Xuanzang and already guessed what he was going to say.
Sure enough, Xuanzang raised his hand and pointed to the open space in the courtyard.
"We won't test on paper anymore," he said. "From now on, we'll test everyone's skills."
"A trial run?" Lu Cheng realized first. "You mean, do it on the spot?"
"Do it on the spot." Xuanzang nodded. "Whatever you learn, do it right under everyone's noses. Plumbers repair canals. Bookkeepers do accounting. Tide tellers identify tides. Copyists copy pages in person. Medicine students prepare medicine. Carpenters build stakes. Who can do it and who can't, it's obvious at a glance."
Someone outside the door gasped.
The man seemed to know a few characters; he had been glancing at Si Mo's desk just now, as if asking if there were any exam papers or something similar. Upon hearing this, his expression relaxed somewhat.
Sang Qiniang put the abacus on her lap, her eyes lighting up: "This saves trouble. Whether you know how to use an abacus or not, you can tell by moving the beads. It's better than sitting there reciting formulas."
Lu Cheng nodded: "The worst thing about carpenters is that they can talk a good game but lack the skills. Asking them to erect a stake is more reliable than asking them ten questions."
Ah Chao came over carrying a bucket: "It's the same with Bian Chao. Take the person to Xitan, watch the backwater, see if he puts his feet in it, and you'll know if he's just bragging."
Seeing that everyone had joined in, Xuanzang's tone became even more steady: "That's not all. We'll test our skills openly, without closing the door. Anyone can watch. People from the countryside can watch, and even those who make a living by the sea can watch. The academy accepts people who are capable, not those who know how to use connections."
As soon as those words were spoken, those who had been crowding at the doorway all took a half-step closer to come inside.
Chen Fan didn't rush to speak.
He gazed at the open space in the courtyard and suddenly remembered how everyone had stared intently at the notices posted a few days ago. The higher the notices were hung, the more people's eyes followed. And if their eyes were raised too high, their minds would easily wander. Now, if he pulled everyone back down to earth, letting them prove themselves in the mud, by the water, and amidst the sawdust, many of the convoluted thoughts would naturally disappear.
"Okay." He patted the edge of the well. "It's settled today."
Si Mo put down his pen: "How do you determine the method?"
"Let's start with the hydraulic engineering and carpentry books," Chen Fan said. "The old ditch behind the courtyard is still blocked. Lu Cheng will take some people to check it out. Everyone who signed up for hydraulic engineering should go over. Give them half an hour. How to dig and how to channel the water, they can discuss it themselves. As for the carpentry side, use old timber to erect pontoon bridge piles. Don't just carve them; they need to make sure they're stable. You can see at a glance who can do it and who's slacking off."
"Where's the accountant?" Sang Qiniang asked.
"You give them the questions," Chen Fan said. "Don't copy from the old ledgers. Take the amounts for bamboo, hemp rope, and rice bought this morning, and have them calculate them on the spot. Write down every single penny that's missing or extra."
Si Mo then asked, "Copy pages?"
Xuanzang said, "We don't need the sutra pages. We'll copy the work register. We'll copy the records for the canal chief, the timber, and the tide times. It doesn't matter if the characters are a little crooked, but it won't do if they're wrong."
"We can also try preparing medicine," an old woman in the corner spoke up. She had just arrived yesterday and used to prepare herbal medicine for people in the fishing village. "Coughs, sores, mosquito bites, each has its own ingredients. If you can't identify the leaves and pick the wrong one, you're out of luck."
Chen Fan turned to look at her: "Okay. You keep an eye on things."
Once the matter was brought up, the chaos in the courtyard gradually subsided.
Lu Cheng first dragged out a few wooden stakes, threw them on the ground, and shouted, "Carpenters, come with me. Those who want to learn mortise and tenon joints, don't rub your feet in the back."
Atu was the first to rush over, but he turned back halfway and shoved the booklet in his arms into Si Mo's hands: "Put this away for me for a while, it's not good if it gets wet."
Si Mo clicked his tongue: "Come back and get it yourself."
Atu nodded, then turned and ran away again.
On the other side, Ah Chao had already led seven or eight people towards the back ditch. When they reached the entrance, he turned back and shouted into the crowd, "Those who can say 'Chao Lu' (a local dialect term), come down with me. Don't just stand on the bank pointing."
The three young men looked at each other and reluctantly followed.
Sang Qiniang simply moved a low table to the center of the courtyard, set up an abacus, poured out some coins, and began to count: "Three bundles of hemp rope, twenty-eight per bundle. Sixty bamboo stalks, four of which are broken. How many are broken? Come on, don't just stand there like an idiot, whoever counts can sit down."
The onlookers burst out laughing.
Despite the laughter, some people actually squatted down.
Xuanzang didn't speak again, but stepped aside, clearing the space in the courtyard. Chen Fan stood beside him, watching the crowd split into several groups and go their separate ways. The sounds of footsteps, abacuses, wood hitting the ground, and the distant rumble of digging ditches assaulted his ears in waves.
The scene was even more lively than when the notices were posted.
It's also more practical.
About half an hour later, an argument broke out on the other side of the ditch. It wasn't a fight, but a dispute over whether the water outlet should be opened to the left or right. Ah Chao squatted on the edge of the ditch, grabbed a handful of wet mud, rubbed it in the water, watched the thin stream veer away, and pointed directly to a spot: "Open it here. Any further to the right, and the tide will come in and flood it."
The man who had been so stubborn earlier refused to give up and tried shoveling the water himself. Soon enough, the water flooded the area, soaking half his shoes. He fell silent and quietly turned the shovel around.
Things weren't peaceful on Lu Cheng's side either.
A burly young man swung his axe with great force, sending wood chips flying everywhere, but the stake tilted terribly when he tried to erect it. A-Tu, thinner than him, didn't say a word, but squatted down to put stones under the stake, and then smoothed the tenon joint little by little until the stake was firmly in place, not even wobble when pushed.
Lu Cheng kicked it and nodded: "Write this down."
Atuergen blushed instantly, but his hand remained pressed on the stake, as if afraid it would collapse now.
The plan in the center of the institute has also yielded results.
Sang Qiniang raised her hand and tapped the edge of the table: "The third one is correct. The first two are wrong. The mistake wasn't that you didn't know how to calculate, but that you were impatient. You wanted to look up at others after moving half of the beads."
The two who were called out were embarrassed and lowered their heads to readjust the abacus beads.
Si Mo sat on the threshold, his pen moving swiftly.
He no longer created a separate list, but simply turned each person's name into their respective register. Following this were a few lines of smaller text: "Can distinguish backflow, not yet stable." "Sharp at tenon joints, but slow at setting up the stake." "Accounting is accurate, but missing lines in copying." "Recognizes three-flavor herb, but not cooked enough."
Someone came over to look and asked, "Why don't you put it up?"
Si Mo dipped his brush in ink, not even looking up: "What's the point of posting it out? So you can take it home and worship it?"
The man chuckled awkwardly: "People need to know who's stronger and who's weaker."
Xuanzang happened to walk over, heard this, and paused.
"Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is enough," he said. "The register only records the individual, not the overall ranking. You might be fast at repairing the canal today, but you might not be good at accounting tomorrow. Even if someone is good at accounting, they might not be good at recognizing the tide. Here, it's about professions, not seating arrangements."
There was a moment of silence by the door.
These words are spoken plainly, but they carry a heavy weight in one's ears.
In the past, everyone wanted to climb the social ladder. Climbing to the top made you valuable. Now, the academy offers a different path. Practice what you're good at. Once you're proficient, write it down. If you're lacking, work on it. No one will pin you to the front and back of a large sheet of paper.
Chen Fan saw that the man who had been tearing up the memorial paper outside the door had returned.
He didn't go inside, but just leaned against the doorframe and peered in. After a while, he nudged a boy of about ten years old behind him and whispered, "Why don't you give it a try? Aren't you good at memorizing web entries?"
The boy was thin, with narrow shoulders, and clutched half a piece of old rope in his hand. He was pushed to the threshold, first looking at Chen Fan, then at Si Mo, his Adam's apple bobbing before he managed to squeeze out, "I can mend leaks, and I can keep track of fish prices. This... which book should I keep track of?"
Sang Qiniang laughed first: "Let's start with the account book. Don't lose the patched net either; we'll add another page later."
Si Mo turned to a new page, dipped his brush in ink, and asked, "Real name."
The child gripped the rope tightly and gave his name.
Si Mo continued writing, blew on the ink, and casually pushed the booklet forward: "Go settle the accounts this afternoon. After that, find Lu Cheng to check on your net-fixing."
The child held the booklet, looking down at it several times, as if he hadn't expected to get two of the answers right away. He didn't dare stand there for long, so he ran into the yard with the booklet in his arms. Halfway there, he turned back and shouted towards the gate, "Dad, wait a minute, I'll come out and explain the questions to you."
The man outside the door waved his hand hurriedly, but didn't move his feet, still standing in the same place watching.
The sun was gradually setting in the west.
The water in the back ditch finally flowed slowly away through the newly opened opening. Three test stakes were erected in the yard. Several sheets of paper covered in calculations appeared next to the abacus. The stack of workbooks beside Si Mo had also thickened.
Chen Fan walked to the door panel and read the large characters again.
"The list is in people's hands, not on paper."
After reading it, he reached down and added two more sentences to the empty space below.
"The trial run is now open."
"No overall ranking."
The ink slowly seeped into the wood grain.
Si Mo looked up and asked casually, "Should we add a few more?"
Chen Fan handed the pen back to him: "That's all for now. Whoever doesn't understand, let them come in and take a look."
Si Mo grunted in acknowledgment, tucked the pen behind his ear, turned, and shouted into the courtyard, "Remember this: from now on, when you enter the academy, you must first try your hand at the paper! Anyone who brings a recommendation sheet again, I'll use it to prop up a table leg!"
The courtyard erupted in laughter.
Atu was squatting down collecting his tools when he heard this and chuckled. His hands were covered in sawdust, so he wiped them on his trousers before carefully taking his booklet back from Si Mo.
Upon opening it, seven new characters were added—
"Understand the mortise and tenon joint, establish a stable foundation, and proceed slowly."
Atu stared at the last word "slow" for a moment, without frowning or asking if it could be changed. He simply put the booklet in his pocket, turned around, picked up a remaining wooden stake, and walked towards the back of the shed.
Chapter 708 The Top Scholar Can't Fix the Canal
The trial session was moved to the salt fields outside the city.
There used to be an old irrigation canal over there. It was dug a few years ago when the government was repairing paddy fields, but a section of it collapsed, leaving it empty. The canal wasn't very long; it connected to a reservoir at one end and a low-lying field at the other, with two wooden sluice gates standing beside it. The sluice gates were old, and the edges were frayed. If you stood close, you could smell the damp wood and silt.
A large crowd had gathered early in the morning.
Yesterday's old list was posted, and this morning another one appeared. The higher-ups have named the top ten on the private list, saying they'll test their skills today. Several families from the city have arrived, their carriages and horses parked along the roadside, umbrellas up in hand. Compared to the musty smell in the academy courtyard, this place seems more like a spectacle.
Si Mo, holding the booklet, stood on a flat stone and called out names.
"Lu Jingsheng".
A voice responded from the crowd.
The boy who came out was about sixteen or seventeen years old. He was dressed neatly, with his trousers tightly rolled up and his shoes new. He first bowed to Chen Fan and Xuanzang, then nodded slightly to the onlookers, as if he had practiced this before.
Someone nearby whispered, "The top spot on the old list."
Another chimed in, "The Lu family hired a water conservancy expert to teach him how to manage the canals; this is a sure thing."
Chen Fan didn't reply, but simply told someone to hand over the wooden ruler, the measuring rope, and the marker stakes.
The rules for the trial run were explained last night.
First measure the width of the canal, then estimate the incoming water, and then determine the sluice gate height. Only fifteen minutes are allowed, and no one else is permitted to assist. After the water is released from the canal head, whichever section overflows or breaks will be entirely the responsibility of the person in charge.
Lu Jingsheng took the wooden ruler and moved quickly. He first walked along the canal, pointing to a few spots with his toes and muttering calculations under his breath. When he reached the middle section, he squatted down, grabbed a handful of mud, rubbed it between his fingers, and then looked at the bend downstream.
Several elders from the city who had come along nodded repeatedly.
"It has a method."
"They're definitely people who've studied visuals."
Atu and Achao stood at the back of the crowd, also watching.
A-Tu couldn't understand water; he only stared at the spot where the boy was driving the stake. A-Chao squinted, watched for a while, and then his brows furrowed.
"He underestimated the middle section," Ah Chao whispered.
Atu turned his head to the side: "Where is it shallow?"
Ah Chao raised his chin and pointed to the bend: "The silt over there is thick. The surface is flat, but there are pits underneath. When water rushes in, it rushes quickly and then blocks the flow."
Just as Atu was about to ask another question, Si Mo raised his hand to signal that the time had come.
Lu Jingsheng inserted the last thin stake into the sluice gate and bowed, saying, "The water can be released now."
Chen Fan glanced at the location of the stake, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and simply nodded to the gatekeeper.
As soon as the wooden sluice gate upstream was lifted, water immediately poured into the pond.
At first, things went smoothly.
The first three zhang (approximately 10 meters) of the canal were perfectly smooth, the waterline running close to the edge of the earth, with barely any waves. Seeing this, the onlookers immediately began to murmur amongst themselves. Someone from the city laughed, "The top scholar is indeed the top scholar; this kind of work isn't something just anyone can do barefoot in the mud."
Lu Jingsheng breathed a sigh of relief, stood by the canal with his hands behind his back, and followed the water downstream with his eyes.
When the water passed the middle section, it first sped up a bit.
A thin stream of white foam rolled past the bend, clinging to the right earthen wall as it advanced. A dozen feet further on, suddenly there was a loud "whoosh."
The lower edge of the sluice gate on the right was pressed too low, and the water in front couldn't be contained, but the water behind was still pushing in. Once the hidden pit in the middle section was full, the water surged sideways and overturned, rushing back to the branch canal in front.
Before anyone could react, a section of mud along the canal collapsed.
"It's overflowing!"
Someone shouted, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.
The initial section of the test channel was already narrow, and with the backflow of water, the waterline immediately overflowed. The wooden stakes were swept away and tilted precariously; the marker stake that Lu Jingsheng had just inserted wobbled twice and then leaned directly into the mud.
Lu Jingsheng's composure vanished instantly, and he ran towards the gate, trying to lower the gate further.
Chen Fan shouted, "Don't press!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Ah Chao had already slipped through the crowd.
He wasn't on the roster last night.
It's not that he couldn't do it, he just arrived too late. Yesterday he went with a boat to haul away some broken nets, and by the time he got back it was already dark. He only managed to stand outside the gate for a short while and look at the new list. This morning, when he heard that the trial canal was opening, he rushed over without even putting on his shoes properly.
At that moment, he rushed to the canal, kicked off his shoes, and stepped directly into the water.
"Get the crowbar!" he yelled.
While a servant was still in a daze, Atu reacted first, grabbed the short crowbar standing by the tree, and ran over. Athao took it from him, but instead of touching the upstream sluice gate, he rushed to the small sluice gate on the right side of the middle section.
Half a piece of old wood was stuck under the door, having just been washed by water and now lying horizontally in the groove.
Ah Chao knelt in the mud and water, reaching out to pry at the wood. The wood was slippery, and he couldn't pry it open, so he simply inserted the crowbar into the crack in the door, braced it with his shoulder, and slowly pushed it up inch by inch.
"A-Tu, press down on the mound on the left!"
Without even asking any questions, Atu grabbed a tattered sack of sand from the side and started pounding it against the floodgate on the left. The first sack wasn't packed properly, so he turned around and dragged a second one. Two even younger children rushed over, smearing mud onto the edges of the sacks with their hands.
Ah Chao's arm veins were bulging, and he gritted his teeth, shouting, "One more person, pull the rope!"
Among the crowd that had been watching the commotion, an old fisherman from Huichaogang ripped off his outer garment, jumped down, and grabbed the door rope. With a pry and a tug, the jammed half of the wooden door snapped open.
The water gate immediately opened half a palm's width.
The water that had been flowing horizontally found an outlet and burst out with a "whoosh," immediately easing the backflow.
The water that had overflowed was still flowing, but it was no longer flowing back.
Ah Chao didn't stop. He wiped the muddy water from his eyelids and stretched out his foot to probe the depth of the channel under the gate. After the second probe, he knew where the problem lay. The bottom of the channel was higher on one side than the other. Lu Jingsheng had just calculated the sluice gate according to the calculation on paper, but he had only calculated the plane and not the wear and tear on the old channel. When the water flow was high, the side outlet would be filled first before it would overturn the entire section of the channel.
"Weak link!" Ah Chao shouted as he turned around.
Si Mo had already run over and casually handed over the marker board next to him.
Ah Chao grabbed it, pressed down with his knee, and shoved the plank into the right-side groove. It wasn't the right size, and the edge was sticking out, but he didn't bother to smooth it out; he just used a stone to smash it. After three blows, the plank was wedged in, and the waterway was immediately straight.
This time the water flowed steadily.
The previously churning white foam dispersed, flowing downstream along the center of the canal. A thin, glistening layer of water quickly formed at the lower end of the field, slowly spreading along the earthen ridges. There was no further flooding on either side.
The room remained quiet for a long time.
All that remained was the soft sound of water flowing through the doorway and Ah Chao's panting.
Lu Jingsheng stood there, his trouser legs splattered with mud, his face alternating between pale and flushed. He looked at the makeshift short plank that had been crammed in, then at the stake he had planted, his lips moved, but he couldn't utter a word for a long time.
Those people in the city who had praised him earlier are now silent.
An old man tried to defend him: "This canal has been in disrepair for years, and the channel is a bit off-center, so it's not entirely—"
Chen Fan raised his hand, interrupting him.
"This is what we're testing," he said, pointing to the sluice gate. "The old irrigation ditch was uneven, the new one is flawed. When you actually reach the field, will the water first ask about your origins?"
The old man's face stiffened, and he didn't take the bait.
Xuanzang walked along the canal to Achao and looked down at the wooden plank that had been driven into the trough by a stone. The black lines that had been marked earlier were still on the plank, crooked and uneven.
He nodded: "First save the water, then talk about the appearance. This order is correct."
Ah Chao was still kneeling in the mud. Only after hearing this did he seem to come to his senses and hurriedly tried to get up. He stood up too quickly, slipped, and almost sat back in the water. The other children all laughed. Ah Tu laughed the loudest, and after laughing, he reached out and pulled him up.
Si Mo opened the booklet, picked up a pen, and asked, "Name?"
Ah Chao wiped the mud off his chin: "Back to Chaogang, Zhou Chao. Everyone calls me Ah Chao."
Si Mo noted it down, then asked, "What can you do?"
Ah Chao glanced at the water gate, his throat still a little out of breath: "It recognizes the water. You can hear the sluice gate. You can tell if the old channel is crooked just by stepping in."
Si Mo hummed in agreement and lowered his head to write.
On the other side, Lu Jingsheng finally spoke: "I want to try again."
Chen Fan looked at him: "You can try. You'll be at the back of the queue."
After speaking, he turned to the crowd, reached out and tore the old notice board pasted on the wooden board, then pressed it directly against the wet mud wall. The edges of the paper curled up immediately upon getting wet.
He didn't tear it up; he just raised his hand and patted the paper.
"I've seen it all clearly," Chen Fan said. "The top two words on the list can't even fix a ditch."
The wind blew from the other side of the salt fields, making a loud slapping sound as it hit the wet paddock.
Ah Chao stood by the ditch, bending down to wipe the mud off his feet onto the grass roots. After wiping them a couple of times, he remembered something and quickly turned to look at Si Mo's booklet.
Si Mo was writing the last line when he stopped and added three more words.
"Entrance Examination Name"
Ah Chao stared at the three words, opened his mouth but didn't say anything. He just picked up the wet shoe and put it on. The shoe was filled with water, and when he stepped in, it made a "squeak" sound, which made the people around him laugh again.
Chapter 709 First Signature in the Register
As soon as it was light, three long tables were set up in the courtyard of the academy.
One blank sheet. One sheet with ink. The innermost sheet is weighed down by a flat wooden board, on which are clipped the new pages that Si Mo wrote last night.
A sea breeze blows, and the corner of the paper trembles slightly.
Atu arrived early, carrying two thin wooden strips on his shoulder. He intended to go to the back of the shed to cut the opening first, but when he reached the courtyard gate, he slowed down and kept glancing at the table.
Ah Chao was even earlier than him, already squatting by the water vat washing the mud off his feet. Yesterday, while repairing the ditch, his shoes were full of sand; after emptying them for a long time, he could still pour out a thin layer.
"Don't crowd around." Si Mo held up his pen. "Today we're distributing the register, so let's start by name."
The people in the courtyard didn't disperse; instead, they crowded even closer together.
The past few days have only recorded trial workers and temporary tasks. Today is different. Today, we need to set the rules firmly, so that no one can shirk their responsibilities.
Chen Fan came out of the house, holding a stack of old yellow paper. The edges of the paper were badly curled, and some were still stained with red ink. Several people in the courtyard who recognized him shrank back as soon as they saw the paper.
Those were recommendation papers and name-guarantee papers I bought outside a while ago, as well as fake name-listing papers that came out of the Two Realms Market.
Chen Fan slapped the paper onto the corner of the table, and before speaking, looked it over.
"Yesterday, when the canal was being repaired, everyone saw who could do it and who couldn't," he said. "From now on, the academy will only recognize the records, not any other kind of paper."
Si Mo flipped the first page off the wooden board and flattened it.
Everyone craned their necks to look out.
There are no rankings or origins listed on the homepage. There are four horizontal columns at the very top.
Name.
The mentor and student signed the petition together.
The project I studied.
Available for workdays.
Two blank lines were left below, one for "Entrance Examination Name" and the other for "Recordation".
Xuanzang stood to one side, holding a small piece of dry cloth in his hand. Seeing that the ink had seeped through, he reached out and pressed the edge of the wooden board.
He looked at the four columns and read them aloud: "Don't remember who's high or low, just remember what they can do."
"That's the idea." Chen Fan nodded. "Write down who taught them, what they learned, and how many days of work they can do right now. From now on, when it comes to connecting dikes, repairing canals, building sheds, going down to the beach, and transporting salt, first look through the book, don't look at faces first."
The courtyard fell silent for a moment.
Ah Chao couldn't stay squatting any longer and stood up first: "What if I learn two things?"
Si Mo had already thought of this, and he pointed to the second page on the board: "Memorize them separately. Waterway is one item, and network repair is another. Write down each step as you learn it. Don't memorize too much if you haven't mastered it."
Hearing this, Atu lowered his head and touched the old booklet in his arms. It was a book he had written when he was just trying it out; it was only a few thin pages, and the edges of the pages were soft from handling it so much.
"What about a joint signature from master and apprentice?" a woman behind asked. "My son hasn't officially become an apprentice yet, can he still receive it?"
"Yes," Chen Fan said. "Whoever is willing to mentor, signs the contract. If they can't write, they leave their fingerprints. If something goes wrong after you mentor someone, go back to your master first. Once they've learned the skills, add a new page. If your master doesn't acknowledge it, the previous page is still there; you can't deny it."
After he finished speaking, the people in the courtyard looked at each other.
In the past, when I mentored apprentices, I mostly just gave them a verbal agreement. Whether they learned it or not depended entirely on their own perseverance. Now that the paperwork has been completed, it's like the responsibility has fallen on my shoulders as well.
Before they could think further, Si Mo called out, "A-Tu, come forward."
A-Tu stood up straight and strode over. When he reached the table, he wiped his hands on his trouser leg twice before daring to extend them.
Si Mo opened a new book and wrote his name first.
"A-Tu".
Then write a joint signature by the teacher and student.
"Wood shed, Luliu, Atu."
Lu Liu stood nearby. He was a man of few words, an old carpenter with half a short ruler tucked behind his ear. After watching Si Mo finish writing, he reached out and took the pen. He held it for a long time and wrote a crooked "six". He couldn't write the rest, so he simply pressed his handprint on it.
A-Tu watched without blinking.
Si Mo continued writing.
The skills learned include: removing burrs, identifying mortises, and establishing stable piles.
He paused here, looked up and asked Lu Liu, "How many days of work can you take on right now?"
Lu Liu didn't answer immediately; he looked at A Tu's hand first.
Both of A-Tu's hands were covered in fine cuts, some new and some old, and his fingertips were thicker. Yesterday, when he was moving the wooden frame, he single-handedly carried half of the crossbeam, walking slowly without tilting it.
"Work inside the wooden shed takes three days," Lu Liu said. "The external scaffolding doesn't count."
Si Mo then put pen to paper.
Available workdays: Three days inside the wooden shed. Scaffolding work not available.
Atu's throat bobbed, as if he wanted to say something. Finally, he only asked one question: "Is that all?"
"It's done." Si Mo blew on the booklet and handed it to him. "Take the first page. We'll revise it again at the end of the month."
A-Tu took it, his fingers resting on the edge of the paper, motionless for a long time. His face was tanned dark, usually unremarkable, but now the tips of his ears were slowly turning red.
Someone shouted from behind, "Next! Don't block the way!"
The courtyard suddenly became hot again.
Ah Chao, Ah Sheng, the little fisherman who knew how to make buoys, and the woman who knew the waterline in the salt fields all stepped forward one by one. Some signed their names, some put their fingerprints on them. Some were assigned to the waterway, some to the mud canal. Some were clearly strong, but Si Mo only gave them two days' work, saying that he would see if they could follow the rules first.
When writing about A-Chao, Xuanzang specifically reminded him: "He has a good eye for backwaters; he was the first to find that sharp bend yesterday."
Si Mo nodded and added a line of small characters after the waterway section.
"Knowing how to navigate water, one can lead a small boat."
Ah Chao craned his neck to look, then grinned from ear to ear. He turned and shouted to the people behind him, "Did you hear that? It's a small boat!"
Everyone laughed and scolded him for being smug too early.
Just as things were getting lively, two people were suddenly brought in through the courtyard gate.
One was a thin old man selling goods at the market. The other was the manager who helped him attract customers; he wore a gray jacket and had a bruise on his nose from the day before.
The two strong men who were escorting the people were borrowed from the Niu family.
The courtyard fell silent instantly.
The moment the manager entered, his legs went weak, and he hurriedly protested, "I didn't force anyone to buy; I was just relaying a message—"
"You charge for relaying messages too," Chen Fan interrupted him. "A fake list costs thirty to fifty coins. The people who buy the list bring the paper, and you even teach them how to move their names up the list."
The manager turned pale, but still tried to move his mouth.
Chen Fan had already spread out the stack of old yellow papers: "These all came from your hands. The writing on the paper looks decent, but when it comes to actually doing it, it's a complete mess. The canal can't be repaired, the shed can't be built steadily, and who's responsible if something goes wrong?"
No one in the courtyard spoke up for him.
The other day, the top repairman damaged the canal, and muddy water flooded the salt pans; everyone saw it. Back then, the cursing was louder than the sea breeze.
Si Mo picked up his pen and posted a new notice on the door.
There are only two.
First, effective today, all old notices, recommendation papers, and forged notices are hereby invalidated. They shall no longer be recognized by any institution, construction site, salt field, or dike.
Second, those who sell, buy, or substitute names on the list will have their past misdeeds cleared before being required to perform public service, once verified.
He finished writing and put down his pen.
Chen Fan looked at the gray-coated steward: "For every fake name you sell, move that many real stones. First, go outside the dike to repair the road, thirty days. Daily roll call. If you miss a day, record it at the entrance of the Two Realms Market."
The steward's lips trembled for a long time before he finally managed to squeeze out, "The 30th?"
"Not enough?" someone nearby sneered. "Try standing in that ditch for half a day."
The skinny old man tried to shrink back, but Chen Fan turned to look at him: "You're old, you don't need to mend the road. You recognize paper. Starting today, go sit by the door, and when you see a fake notice, tear one off by hand. Sit there for ten days."
The old man's face twitched. He tried to put on a brave face, but after glancing at the pile of yellow papers out of the corner of his eye, he lowered his head again.
Ah Chao muttered from behind, "It should have been done a long time ago."
Si Mo heard this but didn't reply. He simply pressed the notice down firmly and added a sentence below it—
"The book is in our hands, and the road is under our feet."
This sentence was written more slowly than the one before it.
After Xuanzang finished reciting it, he found it easy to read, so he asked someone to bring an old basket and place it by the door.
"Those who have paper, put it here."
The first to act was the man who had bought the recommendation papers a few days ago. He took out two papers from his pocket, folded them neatly, as if he was reluctant to part with them. After standing there for a moment, he still put them in the basket. Seeing this, the people behind him also took out their own.
Some of the paper edges were frayed, indicating they had been held for many days. Some even had coin imprints on them, as if they had just been bought.
The basket was half full in no time.
Chen Fan lifted his foot and pulled the gray-coated manager outside: "Let's go, let's familiarize ourselves with the route first. You know best which sections have the biggest potholes."
The man dared not argue further and followed along with his head down. Two burly men flanked him on either side, and he stumbled along, almost tripping on the threshold.
The people in the courtyard watched him leave, then slowly turned their gazes back to the booklet on the table.
Once the rules are written down, many things change.
It's no longer a matter of whoever shouts the loudest or has the most money gets to stand at the front.
Who has work to do? It's written in the register.
The register also lists who can take on the work for a few days.
Atu remained standing there, flipping through his page again and again. Having finished, he suddenly looked up and asked Lu Liu, "Master, when will we be able to memorize the external structure?"
Lu Liu tucked the short ruler behind his ear: "First, straighten those ten posts from today. If they're not crooked before dinner, I'll add a stroke to your mark."
Ah Tu let out a "hey," grabbed the booklet, and ran towards the wooden shed.
He turned back halfway, carefully tucked the booklet into his clothes, and then picked up the two thin wooden strips.
Ah Chao also received his booklet and was squatting on the ground trying to read. After trying for a long time, he was still stuck on the two characters "承担" (to take responsibility), so he simply handed the booklet to Xuanzang.
"Read this once."
Xuanzang took it, pointed to that line, and read it to him word by word.
Ah Chao repeated after him, his pronunciation halting. When he finished, he grinned, patted the booklet on his chest, and turned to run towards the riverbank, shouting as he ran, "Keep the small boat for me, don't let Ah Sheng row it away first!"
Hearing the shout, Si Mo lowered his head, closed the last booklet, tied it neatly with hemp rope, and put it into the wooden box.
Before closing the wooden box, he took out the top book and wrote a small date in the lower right corner of the first page.
Before the ink was even dry, Atu was already shouting under the shed, "Master, look at this stake, isn't it leaning half a finger to the east?"
Chapter 710 The Opening Day of the Academy
As soon as it got light, the riverbank started to get warm.
It wasn't the fishmonger or the salt carrier who arrived first. It was Si Mo, carrying the new plaque, who walked faster than anyone else. The wooden plaque wasn't large, and the edges still bore the fine lines left by the plane. The four characters in the middle were fresh and bright in ink—"True Name Academy."
Atu followed behind, carrying a ladder on his shoulder and two wooden nails in his mouth.
"Slow down," he mumbled. "If the plaque falls, I'm not going to carve a second one for you."
Si Mo didn't turn around, but just hugged the plaque even tighter.
The courtyard gate had been repainted with tung oil last night, and the smell hadn't dissipated yet. As soon as the two doors opened, quite a few people were already standing inside. The bamboo curtains over the scripture hall were rolled up, the benches in the school had been moved into two rows, and half of the timber in the work shed had been removed to make way for people to pass. Even at the riverbank, a new sign had been put up, bearing the four characters "School Wharf." The characters were ugly, but the brushstrokes were strong; it was obvious that Atu had first traced the characters with charcoal sticks, and then the ink master had filled in the details.
Chen Fan stood at the door and looked up at the sky.
The sea breeze wasn't too strong; it was just right.
"Hang it up."
A-Tu propped the ladder against the door, stepped onto it, and first wiped the dust off the lintel with his sleeve. Si-Mo held the plaque below, his palms sweaty. The courtyard fell silent for a moment after the nails were hammered in. Only after the last hammer blow did A-Chao whistle.
"It's done!"
His shout drew the crowd of onlookers to push forward.
After the plaque was securely hung, Atu didn't rush down. He pushed it to make sure it wasn't wobbling before spitting out the wooden nail from his mouth and sliding down the ladder. When he landed, his foot twisted, and he almost fell into the bucket next to him, causing the crowd to burst into laughter.
Si Mo looked up for a while before handing the rolled-up red cloth to A Chao: "Keep the cloth safe; you can use it as a book cover later."
Ah Chao took it, verbally agreeing, but first put his hand on his own shoulder, as if he had snatched something valuable.
On one side of the door, the old and new lists were still posted.
The names on the old list were wrinkled, the edges of the paper curled up. A new page was pasted next to it, without rankings or recommenders, only four columns: Water Knowledge, Wood Knowledge, Number Knowledge, and Road Knowledge. Each column was further divided into names. Who was good at what was clearly written.
Further down is today's new notice.
"Those who enter the palace will not sit in empty classrooms. They will learn to read in three days, practice their skills in five days, and be enrolled in the official register in ten days. The register has no limit; they can go as far as they can and remember as far as they can go."
The characters were written by Si Mo. The last sentence was revised by Chen Fan.
Someone outside read out the words "testing their skills," and muttered to themselves, "You have to put your skills into studying?"
Xuanzang was carrying books out of the library when he heard this. He smiled and put down a bundle of hemp rope.
"All talk and no action, it's like a gust of wind that blows away everything."
The man recognized Xuanzang; he often saw him chanting scriptures. Today, seeing him carrying a wooden box, his sleeves covered in dust, he looked somewhat bewildered: "Does a monk concern himself with this?"
Xuanzang patted the wooden box: "I'm in charge of borrowing books today. Go to the dock for roll call this afternoon."
The man opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time.
Just after Chen Shi (7-9 AM), the first gong was struck.
It's not for the sake of excitement, it's to divide the road.
Chen Fan gathered everyone in the courtyard to the front of the gate. He didn't stand on a high platform or ask anyone to be quiet. He simply placed the stack of books in his hand on the table.
"The academy is open today, but there will be no banquet or celebratory music. Send someone first."
The courtyard fell silent.
Even Ah Chao pulled his feet back off the edge of the stool.
Chen Fan opened the top book: "A-Chao".
"exist."
"Go to the port. Record the tides, the ships, and the cargo with Old Zhou. Write down who secretly docks at night and who leaves without permission during the day. If you don't know how to write a character, ask Si Mo when you get back."
Ah Chao was about to grin when he heard the second half of the sentence and pulled his smile back: "Just watching?"
"Observe for three days first. On the fourth day, you can choose the boat yourself."
Ah Chao puffed out his chest and answered loudly, "Okay."
"A-Tu".
Atu took half a step forward, his hands still covered in sawdust.
"Go to the sea channel outside the work shed. New stakes need to be erected on the East Bay side. You stay with the old craftsman for two days, and then go to the site yourself on the third day. Only one thing needs to be recorded in the logbook: how much the stake is off-center. Write down that number. No sloppy work is allowed."
A-Tu nodded: "You write half a finger too?"
"Write."
"What if it's off-center by an inch?"
"We must write even more."
A-Tu scratched his ear and hummed in agreement.
The dozen or so children behind them all straightened their backs.
Those who could recognize water patterns were sent to the shallows between islands to follow the boats and check the reefs; those who were good at math followed the granary to record the comings and goings; those who were nimble on their feet joined the border patrol team as assistants, first learning to recognize boundary markers and then learning to read footprints; and two of the most inconspicuous people were assigned by Xuanzang to copy books at the scripture hall, simply because their hands were steady and their writing was not shaky.
In the end, even the short guy who had just arrived yesterday wasn't left out.
"Do you know how to make buoys?" Chen Fan asked.
The child nodded vigorously.
"Go to Xitan, with Ah Sheng."
"I can't read."
"First, acknowledge your own name."
Si Mo had already pushed the blank booklet over. The child's fingers trembled as he reached out, as if afraid of damaging the paper. Si Mo didn't urge him, but simply wrote two words on the first page and showed it to him.
"read."
The child's face turned red, and he read very slowly.
After reading it, he clutched the booklet to his chest, his shoulders tensing.
Even more people came to watch from outside the courtyard.
In previous years, apprentices were first taken inside to learn the rules. Today, however, they're sent out as soon as the doors open. Some don't understand, while others gradually grasp it. The academy doesn't confine people indoors; it's like connecting riverbanks, work sheds, sea canals, and outer islands into a network. Those who can read are not merely literate; those who can work are not just blindly toiling away.
Si Mo neatly sorted the remaining travel registers, announcing their destinations as he worked, his hands bound with hemp rope, sweat beading on his forehead. Xuan Zang stood beside him, using an old pen to fill in the missing strokes in people's names. If someone's name was missing a stroke, he would have them read it aloud and then add it. If they misread it, he wouldn't scold them, but simply make them start over.
The library opened before noon.
There weren't many books inside; half the wall was filled with scriptures, and the other half with account books, water maps, and old gongche notation. Several wooden planks were nailed to the wall, holding river and island maps, with small pebbles weighing down the edges to prevent them from being blown away by the wind. Two new apprentices sat behind a long table, registering borrowed and returned items according to the method taught by Si Mo. Who borrowed what, where they were going to read it, and when they would return—all were recorded in the register.
An old fisherman stood at the door, hesitated for a long time, and then asked, "I don't want to borrow books, I just want to see that picture of the East Bay tide, is that alright?"
Xuanzang took the picture down and spread it out in front of him: "Look. If you misread it, you'll have to pay for the paper."
The old fisherman chuckled, wiped his hands clean on the hem of his clothes before daring to reach out.
Meanwhile, the school was not empty.
After sending out students in the morning, a second group of students came for supplementary lessons in the afternoon. They weren't teaching literature, but rather symbols. A few lines represented a certain distance of water, a few circles represented a certain number of boats, and the direction the gap faced indicated which branch canal. Ah Chao came back for a drink at noon, listened to half the lesson, squatted by the window, and used a twig to illustrate for a long time. Suddenly, he slapped his thigh: "Isn't this the way we usually put up straw markers!"
Si Mo didn't look up: "It's about writing down what you know in a way that others can understand."
Ah Chao paused for a moment, then squatted down and wouldn't move.
As the sky began to set in the west, the first group of people who had gone out returned one after another.
A-Tu came back last, his trousers covered in mud. He didn't say anything as soon as he entered, but leaned over the table, opened his booklet, and pointed to a line of crooked words for Chen Fan to see.
"Pile No. 3 in Dongwan is half a finger's width to the east. After the tide recedes, it is one finger's width to the east."
It's poorly written, but I remember it very well.
After reading it, Chen Fan pushed the booklet back: "I'll go again tomorrow."
A-Tu closed the booklet, his lips twitched as if he wanted to laugh, but he held it back.
Ah Chao returned earlier than him. He had already written down four ship names in the register, but made two mistakes, which were scribbled out in black. He knew it was embarrassing, so he scratched his head and asked Si Mo to correct them. After reading it, Si Mo simply circled the mistakes.
"You'll have to admit it tomorrow."
"Aren't you going to write it for me?"
"When you point at a boat, the boat doesn't read for you."
Ah Chao clicked his tongue, but didn't try to cheat. He actually took the booklet and squatted by the wall.
The most lively group was the three lads who came back from the border patrol team.
One of them had lost his shoe while running, and entered the yard barefoot, shouting, "The boundary marker on the north side has been moved! The old pit is shallow, the new soil is loose, it'll collapse as soon as you step on it!"
The courtyard fell silent.
Chen Fan beckoned the man closer, first looking at the blisters on the soles of his feet, then at his booklet. The booklet contained only a few lines of text, but a hole was drawn in it, with a crooked line inserted beside it.
"Who took you there?"
"Old He."
Where are they?
"They went after them."
Chen Fan nodded, then turned to Si Mo: "Make three copies of this page. One for the border patrol team, one for the dock, and one to be nailed to the wall of the scripture hall."
Si Mo responded and had already laid out the paper and ground the ink.
That's the purpose of a logbook. It's not just for show, nor is it something to take home and flaunt. The words you write down today can be put to use tomorrow. If a canal is leaking, a boundary marker is shifted, or a boat is moored incorrectly, someone can find out everything.
As the sun set over the salt fields, the plaque at the entrance was tinged with a dark gold.
Boats were still docked at the riverbank, and the sound of sawing could still be heard from the workers' sheds. The lights in the scripture hall were lit first, and some people were still in the school. A child who had only learned to write his own name two afternoons ago was hunched over the long table, carefully tracing the cover of his book. If he wrote something crooked, he would try to wipe it off with his hand, but afraid of ruining the ink, he would wrinkle his nose and blow on it.
Chen Fan stood by the door, looked around, but didn't go in.
Xuanzang came out carrying the borrowing and returning book and said softly, "Seven books were lent out today. Eleven people viewed the Tide Map and four people viewed the Gongche Map."
"What about the border patrol side?"
"Old He hasn't returned yet. Ah Sheng sent someone to tell him that the new Xitan landmark will be launched tonight."
Chen Fan hummed in agreement.
The nails on the plaque hanging outside the door were still new, and the wood rustled softly in the wind. A-Tu found a short wooden stool from somewhere, placed it under the door, stepped on it, and pushed the corner of the plaque.
"It's safe," he said.
Si Mo poked his head out from inside: "Then don't touch it anymore. If it gets loose, you can nail it back on yourself."
A-Tu snorted and withdrew his hand.
Then, the sound of reading aloud rose from the courtyard again. It wasn't in unison; it was a jumble of words, stumbling and hesitant. Ah Chao was reading the ship's name, and when he mispronounced it, he laughed to himself. The short boy was looking at the booklet, trying to recognize the names, but he got stuck on the second character and frantically scratched at the edge of the paper with his fingernails. Xuanzang walked over and gently tapped the horizontal stroke with the pen.
The sea breeze blows through the doorway, and the old and new notices move together.
The old list is still the same old list.
Those who were inside the gate have all gone their separate ways.
Chapter 711 There was a knocking sound in the stone box
On the third day after the academy opened, a north wind blew at night.
The door creaked in the wind. The newly erected stakes in the yard stood firm, but the old bells on the wooden shed kept ringing softly. A-Tu, who was a light sleeper, turned over when he heard the sound. Just as he was about to cover his head with his clothes, he heard another ringing in his ear.
笃.
Not light, not heavy.
It doesn't look like a bell, nor does it look like a door.
He opened his eyes, initially thinking it was Ah Chao knocking on the window in the middle of the night. After a couple of breaths, there were three more knocks.
Tap, tap, tap.
The spaces between them are very even.
Atu propped himself up and looked out the window. The courtyard was dark, and the moonlight only shone on half of the base of the stele. That was the Zhenyuan Stele, used during the day for people entering the academy to leave their handprints. A new stone platform had been built around its base, and the ash had not yet completely settled.
The knocking started again.
This time, two strokes, a pause, then four more.
A-Tu felt a chill run down his spine. Without even putting on his shoes, he grabbed his wooden stick and headed outside. When he reached the porch, he pressed his ear against a pillar to listen. The sound wasn't coming from outside the door, but from under the stone platform in the courtyard. It was muffled, like someone gently tapping a thick wooden board with their knuckles.
"Master," he called out in a low voice.
No one answered.
Si Mo slept in the back room and never liked to lock the door. Just as A Tu ran over, the door opened from the inside. Si Mo was wearing an outer robe and holding half an ink stick in his hand, as if he was editing some pages before going to sleep.
"You heard it too?" Atu asked.
Si Mo didn't answer, but first raised his hand to signal him to be quiet.
The two stood under the eaves. A breeze swept past the side of the stele, causing the hemp flags used for recording names at the academy to stick to the pole. The knocking stopped for a moment, then suddenly resumed, still muffled, as if muffled by two layers of wood.
Three times, three times, one time, four times.
Si Mo's eyelids twitched, and he walked towards the base of the monument.
Atu quickly followed, holding the wooden stick horizontally in front of his chest. He circled the stone platform, but found no gaps or holes, and his courage returned slightly: "Who could crawl inside? This platform is completely sealed."
Si Mo squatted down and pressed his fingertips against the stone surface.
“It’s not in the stone,” he said. “There’s a cavity underneath.”
Atu felt even more uneasy hearing his calm tone: "How can there be someone in an empty cavity?"
"Go and call Chen Fan first."
A-Tu turned and ran. Halfway there, he turned back and shoved the stick into Si-Mo's hand: "You take this first."
Si Mo glanced at it and accepted it.
Chen Fan arrived quickly, his clothes not even properly tied, and he was wearing wooden clogs. Xuanzang was also awake, carrying a small lamp, the wick not turned up high enough to illuminate only a small circle of yellow light in front of the monument. A-Chao was the soundest asleep; A-Tu had dragged him out of the woodshed. He was still groggy, his first question being whether the tide had come back in.
"It's not the tide," Atu pointed to the base of the monument. "It's knocking."
Ah Chao rubbed his face, listened intently, and his expression changed: "Is someone locked up inside?"
Chen Fan didn't rush to speak, but walked halfway around the monument. He had been here many times and knew that the monument had been moved later, and the stone platform beneath it had also been added in recent years. There was an inconspicuous seam behind the monument, which had been plastered with mud and plaster, and was hardly noticeable in daylight unless you looked closely.
"Pry this up," he said.
Ah Tu had already brought the crowbar. He inserted the end into the crack to test it, but it wouldn't budge. He added a piece of wood as a pad, and the three of them pressed down together. A layer of lime crumbled, revealing that it wasn't solid stone inside, but rather a piece of old iron-clad wood. The wood had been damp for a long time, and the edges were blackened. Just as they pried open a crack about the width of a finger, the knocking suddenly became much faster.
Tap tap, tap tap tap, tap.
Ah Chao's hand trembled, almost causing him to fling the crowbar: "It knows we're driving!"
"It's not that it knows." Si Mo bent down and put his ear close. "It heard the noise and is responding."
Chen Fan looked up at him.
Si Mo's expression was even calmer than the night. He reached out, stopping A Tu from using brute force, and simply held the crack open, counting the seconds himself. After counting, he tapped the ground twice with a stick, paused, and then tapped it three times.
There were three immediate responses from inside.
A-Tu's Adam's apple bobbed: "There really is something alive."
"Being alive doesn't mean you're a person," Chen Fan said.
After the hidden panel was removed, a secondary box was revealed inside.
The box wasn't large, about three feet long and one and a half feet wide. It was covered in black iron, with old rivets at the four corners. There was no keyhole on the front, only a row of tiny ventilation holes, about the size of grains of rice. Fine dust had accumulated around the holes; the knocking sound had come from there. Even stranger, a narrow copper strip was inlaid on one side of the box, with seven shallow scratches on it, as if deliberately left as a mark.
Xuanzang brought the lamp closer, his brow furrowed: "This is not a folk craft box."
"It's not from the academy either," Si Mo said.
Ah Chao mustered his courage and reached out to touch it. His fingertips had barely touched the metal when there was another knock from inside. He quickly pulled his hand back: "If it were a person inside, they'd suffocate long ago. Even a rat couldn't knock like that."
Chen Fan squatted down and looked at the row of holes. There was no fishy or rotten smell in the holes, only a very old medicinal wood smell, like dried leaves that had been stored at the bottom of a medicine cabinet for a long time.
"Take it back inside," he said. "Don't drive it in the yard."
Several people carried the secondary box into Si Mo's study. Once the door was closed, most of the noise was stopped. The list of names for the day was originally spread out on the table, but Si Mo moved it all to one side and placed an inkstone on top to prevent it from being disturbed.
The box was placed on the table, and the knocking stopped.
Ah Chao swallowed hard: "Is it listening too?"
"He's definitely listening." Chen Fan tapped the table with his knuckles. "Give it a thumbs up."
Xuanzang adjusted the wick. The room brightened a bit, and the old scratches on the lamp case became visible. They weren't random scratches. The seven scratches varied in length, four in the front and three in the back, with very even spacing in between.
Si Mo looked at it for a while, then turned to rummage through the wooden box by the wall. It didn't contain the new academy books, but rather the tattered documents they had confiscated from the old storeroom; the paper was so brittle that it would fray at the slightest touch. A Tu usually dreaded him flipping through this, afraid that a strong wind would blow the corners of the pages to shreds, but tonight he didn't care and just stood beside him to shield him from the wind.
Si Mo flipped through the pages very quickly, but stopped when he got to the third stack.
"Move the light closer."
Xuanzang placed the lamp on the corner of the table.
Si Mo pulled out a thin booklet. The cover had no title, only a faded vermilion seal. Tucked inside was a table of contents, with old serial numbers for various boxes, cases, tubes, and cylinders densely written along the margins. At the bottom was a line of small, smudged ink: Seventh Circulation, Internal Delivery, Three Short Sentences and One Pause, Sequence Recheck.
He placed the seven scratches on the secondary box next to the catalog page, compared them three times, and then spoke in a low voice.
"It matches up."
Chen Fan asked, "What is it?"
"It's not a disturbance." Si Mo raised his hand and pointed to the line of small characters. "This is an internal communication code. Used by the Seventh Circular. It's not an external report, it doesn't go through post stations or notice boards. It's only transmitted between sealed documents."
A-Tu didn't understand: "Sealed in a box, it can still be transmitted?"
"Yes," Simo said. "The box contains not only objects, but also a living structure. There's an old record that says 'listening to the wall.' It will echo back when it's shaken, delivering messages in a predetermined rhythm. If someone outside understands the code, they can receive it."
Ah Chao's mouth was half-open: "A living piece of wood?"
"It's like an insect, but not entirely an insect. It's like a vine, but not entirely a vine." Si Mo shook his head. "The old book didn't draw anything, it only said that it was sealed in a hidden compartment, fed with medicinal mud, and could sleep for a long time. As long as the box doesn't break, it won't die."
The room was quiet for a while.
The secondary box seemed to know they had reached an important point, and it tapped it twice more gently.
This time, no one backed down.
Chen Fan stared at the row of ventilation holes: "Can I ask it?"
"We can try." Si Mo turned the table of contents to the back, where handwritten shorthand codes were written, even more messy than the front, with many characters missing halfway. He dipped his finger in water and pressed down the dry, curled corners of the paper. "The seventh cycle commonly uses three types: reporting position, reporting damage, and requesting assistance. I need to listen to that rhythm again."
He raised the penholder and tapped it three times on the box, paused, and then tapped it again.
The secondary box immediately responded with four taps, followed by two more, and finally a long series of rapid taps, as fast as raindrops hitting the bottom of a bamboo mat.
Si Mo closed his eyes, his fingers slowly moving across the table of contents. He stopped halfway through, his breathing becoming heavier.
"It's a call for help," he said.
Atu immediately asked, "Who called for help?"
"It's not anyone." Si Mo turned the page to Chen Fan. "It says here, 'Inner contents not cleaned, do not move, open the secondary layer immediately.' There's also a special code at the end."
What is a special code?
Si Mo glanced at the seven scratches on the side of the box, his voice low: "The seventh operation is an internal communication system. Only those within the same operation can understand it. In other words, this thing wasn't infiltrated later. It's been waiting for someone to open it since the day it was sealed."
Ah Chao felt a chill run down his spine: "Waited until now?"
"Most likely it's not just now." Xuanzang looked at the old rivet on the corner of the box. "The fact that the stele can suppress it means that someone opened it before, but didn't dare to actually open it. They just moved the secondary box under the stele to use its power to suppress it. It's not to suppress evil, but to prevent it from sending out messages."
Chen Fan didn't reply. He placed his palm on the top of the box and slowly pushed it forward half an inch. The bottom of the metal box was cool, but there was a very slight thumping inside, as if something tiny was moving towards him along the inner wall.
Atu's palms were sweating as he looked on, and he asked in a low voice, "Should we open it or not?"
Chen Fan looked up: "Don't dismantle it tonight. First, move all the old files here. The seventh operation's catalog, the torn pages, the notes—don't miss a single one."
Si Mo had already closed the booklet, then took out another bundle of hemp rope and tied the side box and table leg together. He didn't rush when tying the knot, wrapping it three times, with the knot positioned next to his hand.
They knocked on the box again for a while.
This time it's even more urgent.
Si Mo picked up the pen and wrote two rhythmic characters on the box.
stop.
As expected, it stopped inside.
Ah Chao was dumbfounded: "What did you reply?"
Si Mo put down the pen, his eyes still fixed on the box.
"I'll make it wait."
Chapter 712 Open Files
Before dawn, the backyard of the academy was cleared out.
The secondary box from yesterday was still tied to the table leg. The hemp rope had absorbed the dampness of the night and turned a darker color. There was no more random knocking inside the box; only every now and then, it would be gently tapped twice, as if to remind the person outside that it was still there.
Chen Fan stood by the table and looked around first.
Wukong squatted on the wall, his tail drooping, sweeping the cracks between the bricks. Xuanzang carried the stack of old files, with two unnumbered tattered books at his feet. Yang Jian stood the furthest away, his hand on his scabbard, his eyes fixed on the box. Si Mo had already ground the ink, and three brushes, one thick and one thin, were laid out on the table. The tower keeper arrived the slowest, coughing twice as he entered, his sleeves smelling of paper ash. A dozen or so apprentices stood at the courtyard gate; Achao and Atu were both there, and even the short guy who always misread the second character had squeezed to the front.
Chen Fan raised his hand and closed the door.
"No private cases today," he said. "Does everyone understand?"
Ah Chao nodded first, then paused, "What's a private file?"
Wukong chuckled from the top of the wall: "It's about doing it secretly behind people's backs."
Ah Chao immediately shrank his neck and became obedient.
Chen Fan placed his hand on the secondary box and said in a low voice, "There was a sound coming from inside the box last night. According to the old rules, these kinds of sealed items should be left untouched if possible. Especially this one, the beginning of which clearly states that it will never be opened again."
The tower keeper's eyelids twitched when he heard this.
He took two steps closer, pulled a thin wooden plaque from his sleeve, and placed it on the table. The corners of the plaque were chipped, and only half a line of old characters remained on the front.
"I brought the original record from the tower," the tower keeper said. "The seventh level isn't that it can't be opened, it's that it can't be opened by someone alone. If someone tries to dismantle it themselves, they won't remember the later parts, and the earlier parts won't match up. If it's really opened, there must be witnesses, a written record, and verification."
Si Mo nodded and moved the three pens back to their proper positions.
Xuanzang put down the old files he was carrying and opened them one by one. The top volume had a stiff cover, and the seal was covered in old wax with a half-finished stamp pressed into it. Yang Jian reached out and pressed down on the spine to prevent the pages from bouncing. He glanced at Chen Fan: "You said last night to move everything first before starting. Now that everyone's here, how do you plan to open it?"
Chen Fan didn't answer immediately.
He flipped through all the old files on the table. There were four volumes of catalogs, seven pages of notes, and sixteen incomplete pages. Every single one was related to the number seven, yet none of them were complete. Some only had half a column of numbers left, some recorded the time of entry and exit, and one had tea stains on the edge with only five words written on it—"Stopping inside the city gate."
"Don't open the whole file," Chen Fan said. "Just open one page."
The courtyard quieted down for a moment.
A-Tu couldn't help but ask, "What can you read on one page?"
"I can tell which way to go," Si Mo replied first.
Chen Fan nodded: "Break the rules first, then abide by them. With so many people here today, only open the seventh page. Whichever page is opened, that's the page. No picking, no flipping. Seal it back immediately after opening. Si Mo records, Xuan Zang restores, Yang Jian watches the box, the tower keeper follows the old rules. Wukong—"
Wukong flipped down the wall without making a sound as he landed: "I'm watching you. Whoever gets itchy hands, I'll hit them first."
Ah Chao subconsciously put his hands behind his back, causing the people around him to stifle their laughter.
The tower keeper didn't laugh.
He reached out and pushed the thin wooden plaque in front of the box, then tapped the lower left corner of the lid three times with his knuckles. The first two taps were light, the last one heavy. The box immediately responded with two rapid sounds, as if someone was breathing heavily behind the door.
"They still recognize the old password," the tower keeper said. "Then it's not broken."
Chen Fan glanced at him: "Have you driven this before?"
"I saw it once." The tower keeper put his hand back into his sleeve. "I didn't open it. That time I opened three pages, sealed two pages back, and one page was missing. Later, six copyists died in the tower, and the remaining page disappeared as well."
The apprentices at the gate all changed their expressions.
Ah Chao swallowed hard and whispered to Ah Tu, "Is it too late to leave now?"
A-Tu was also scared, but he still stubbornly said, "Try walking one, and don't expect to hear anything after that."
Chen Fan heard it but ignored it.
He untied the hemp rope. The end of the rope had been tied tightly last night, and Si Mo had to use a paper cutter to loosen it a couple of times. The wooden table wobbled slightly as the secondary box left the table leg. The bottom of the box was heavier than expected, and when it was placed on the table, it made a loud thud, causing the ink to splatter.
Wukong held out his hand: "I'll do it."
"No," Chen Fan stopped him. "Today isn't about strength."
He placed his palm on the lid of the box. The wood was cool, not like it had been left overnight, but rather like it had just been pulled from a deep well. The old patterns on the lid, which had looked messy before, now revealed concentric lines when the light shone on them, like neighborhoods or alleyways.
Xuanzang looked down and slowly muttered, "Jia, Yi, Bing... these aren't characters, they're positions."
Si Mo had already picked up his pen: "I've written it down."
Chen Fan followed the grid lines towards the center and felt a raised bump. He didn't use brute force, but simply pressed down.
Click.
The lid popped open half an inch.
There was no golden light inside, nor any strange smell. The first thing that came out was the smell of dry paper, stuffy and astringent from being stored for too long. Ah Chao sneezed and quickly covered his mouth, afraid of disturbing something.
There was only a thin book in the box.
It's really only one page thick.
The cover had no inscription, only a black seal. The seal was square, with a small piece missing from one corner. The tower keeper's face darkened further upon seeing it: "The city seal."
Yang Jian frowned: "Which city?"
The tower keeper shook his head: "All the old names have been deleted. There's only one sentence left in the tower: Paper City."
When the name was uttered, everyone in the courtyard fell silent.
Chen Fan picked up the thin page, and when his fingers touched the edge, he sensed something was wrong. It wasn't ordinary paper; it was more like an extremely flattened membrane—thin, tough, and with a slight springiness. He placed the page on the table without immediately turning it. Si Mo placed his pen across the corner of the table and said in a low voice, "I'll turn the page. You're too heavy-handed."
Chen Fan stepped aside.
Si Mo washed his hands, wiping the ink off his fingertips, before lifting the corner of the page. The sound of the page turning was very soft, like someone tearing a layer of window paper from afar. As the first page was turned, a patch of grayish-white lines appeared on the table. As he unfolded the next page, the lines gradually took shape.
It's not a character.
It's a picture.
The picture begins with a city gate. The gatehouse is square, with double eaves at each corner. There is no river or bridge in front of the gate, only an open space marked with fine lines, one after another, as if the entire land has been divided. Further into the city, there are streets, straight and perpendicular, with houses close together, each row of doors marked with a number: A7, B12, C96…
A-Tu blinked wide-eyed. "The people in this city don't have names?"
Si Mo paused for a moment.
Chen Fan didn't answer; his gaze had already fallen on the lower left corner of the drawing. That was the most detailed area, depicting a well with a tiny figure squatting beside it. Next to it was a line of extremely small notes. Xuanzang leaned closer and read slowly.
"At 3:45 AM, at the 321st of the 11th month, fetch one bucket of water. At 3:55 PM, record the missing information."
Ah Chao's scalp tingled: "You even remember this?"
"Keep reading," Chen Fan said.
Xuanzang continued to analyze.
"B46, repair door paper. A7, patrol the alley. D204, deliver paste. Those who have not reported will be checked in the afternoon."
He stopped there.
Because there is more than one little person in the picture.
Si Mo flattened the paper another inch, making the previously blurry dots even clearer. Every street was filled with people; some carried loads, some stood at doorways, and some walked in a line towards a square. Each person had a number next to them. It wasn't a directory of the dead, but the daily life of the living.
Live a proper and orderly life.
Live like you're in a book.
Wukong, who had been watching the spectacle with his arms crossed, now had a grim expression. He pointed to a spot near the city gate: "This gate is open."
Chen Fan followed his hand and looked down.
Sure enough, the city gate in the picture wasn't completely closed. The right gate was ajar, and a black stroke was drawn in the crack. It wasn't an ink blot, but more like a shadow. The stroke was extremely narrow, yet it went very deep.
Yang Jian suddenly spoke up: "It's not a map."
Everyone turned to look at him.
Yang Jian stared at the crack in the door, his third eye on his forehead not open, but his brow furrowed: "The diagram won't move."
Ah Chao shuddered upon hearing this and almost backed away.
Chen Fan looked down again, suppressing his breathing.
The person who had been drawing water from the well just moments before, near the crack in the door, had somehow moved to a different spot. The little man, carrying a bucket, was walking towards the city gate. His steps were tiny, inching forward one step at a time; unless you were watching very closely, you wouldn't notice him at all.
Si Mo slammed his pen down on the paper and quickly wrote: "The figures in the picture can move."
The tower keeper's throat bobbed, his voice dry: "It's not that it can be moved. It's that it's still alive."
Upon hearing this, none of the apprentices in the courtyard laughed.
Xuanzang pressed his palm onto the scriptures, as if calming his breath. He asked in a low voice, "Where is the city still?"
No one can answer that.
Chen Fan stared at the corner of the page and finally found a line of lighter, older characters at the very bottom. It looked like it had been added later, with very sharp strokes and a trailing end.
"Seven entry levels, only those with public testimony are recognized."
He read the line of text aloud.
The courtyard fell silent for a few moments.
Wukong looked up at the courtyard gate, then back at the table: "That means even if you and I had smashed the box last night, we still wouldn't have been able to get in."
"It's a good thing we can't get in," Yang Jian said. "If it were really possible to open it privately, you would have been the first one to die last night."
Wukong bared his teeth but didn't refute.
Chen Fan reached out and pressed down on the page, not turning any further. Since the rules were clear, he had no intention of trying again. Opening this page today was already enough to pry open the "never to be opened again" door. Any further steps, and who knew what the consequences would be?
He looked up at everyone and said, "You've all seen it clearly. The seventh level isn't a dead level. There's a city inside, people inside, and the entrance is still there. From now on, anyone who touches this box again must report it first."
Ah Chao nodded quickly: "I don't even dare to touch it."
Si Mo had already filled a page with notes. He blew on the ink, then looked up and said, "So, should we put this drawing back?"
Before Chen Fan could speak, the pages on the table suddenly trembled on their own.
The movement was very slight, as if a breeze was blowing out of the painting.
A small black dot appeared through the crack in the city gate.
Xuanzang squinted, not recognizing it at first. Only when the black dot moved forward half a square did he suddenly clench his sleeve.
"There's someone inside," he said.
Everyone bowed their heads.
That's not a point.
There was a person standing behind the door, pressing their face against the crack in the door.