Chapter 126: Chapter 125 Da Yan 50, Tian Yan 49
When Jiang Li and Feng Manlou came out together from the back residence of the county government, the two had become sworn brothers, each calling the other "brother" and "worthy younger brother."
They walked arm in arm, their relationship as close as if they were brothers from different mothers, which made Gongsun Qingyue’s eyebrows twitch.
She had repeatedly warned Jiang Li not to get involved in foolish antics with Feng Manlou; yet, within just two days, the two had joined forces putting Jiang Li in a generational dilemma.
However, Gongsun Qingyue seemed to understand the need to save Jiang Li’s face in front of others and didn’t directly reprimand this fellow attempting to be her uncle, which left Feng Manlou, eager for a spectacle, rather disappointed.
If only his family was as considerate as Gongsun Qingyue.
Jiang Li, who had anticipated this, maintained a composed expression.
Having spent some time with his elder sister, Jiang Li, with his keen ability to read people, had already figured out Gongsun Qingyue’s temperament.
She indeed would compete with Jiang Li, even contemplating hitting him with the Orchid Brushing Acupoint Hand again, but this challenge was private, never to embarrass oneself in front of others.
However, though that was said, when it was time to yield, one must, for Gongsun Qingyue wouldn’t allow others to ridicule them, but if no one was around, Jiang Li had to come forward and yield quickly; otherwise, his elder sister might genuinely become angry.
This was when he should smooth things over with his elder sister, not stubbornly oppose her.
At the moment when Feng Manlou went to prepare the carriage, Jiang Li approached Gongsun Qingyue to first admit his errors.
Unexpectedly, Gongsun Qingyue was the first to speak, "Tell me, what benefit did you gain?"
"Ah?"
"You are never up early unless there’s a benefit," Gongsun Qingyue said cooly, "Unless there’s a tempting benefit, why else would you change your stance so easily? I have told you before, the Princess and our Master have been contending for years, unable to outdo each other. You calling her husband ’brother’ diminishes Master’s standing in her eyes, and you’ll surely not be spared from consequences in the future."
"Given your cautious nature, how could you offend a Fourth-Grade Expert over a mere verbal advantage, unless you had something to gain?"
On hearing this, Jiang Li’s heart skipped.
’I’ve been seen through.’
While he secretly observed Tianxuan and Gongsun Qingyue to understand these two women, they also observed him. Though not transparently, they grasped his fundamental nature.
Otherwise, Elder Tianxuan wouldn’t be playing the "disciple, come to my room" game with Jiang Li.
Realizing this, Jiang Li felt sentimental, thinking that this master-student pair were indeed not to be underestimated, and his path to securing a position in the sect seemed arduous and long.
’But elder sister is wrong, I did receive benefits, but I changed my stance because I was outplayed.’
Who could have predicted that a mere verbal promise could invoke Heaven’s witness?
Now, even if Jiang Li wanted to report Feng Manlou’s actions later, he couldn’t, as opening his mouth would invite Heaven’s Punishment.
Fortunately, it seems that Feng Manlou had also made a promise; before Jiang Li acted against him, he would not harm Jiang Li, and his intentions did not seem hostile towards Jiang Li.
"Elder sister, your insight is illuminating."
Jiang Li, following Gongsun Qingyue’s train of thought, pulled out the bamboo slip that looked like yellow jade, "Brother... no, it is the Prince Consort. The Prince Consort gave me this Scroll, saying it would aid in Divination."
As the bamboo slip with its unique texture unfolded, characters that seemed to be born on the Scroll revealed themselves.
Gongsun Qingyue leaned in curiously to watch, a faint fragrance lingering around Jiang Li’s nose.
She was indeed attracted to the Scroll and put aside her anger.
Jiang Li gave himself a mental pat on the back, then joined Gongsun Qingyue in examining the Scroll.
"Da Yan is the number fifty; its use is forty-nine. Divided into two to reflect duality, suspend one to reflect three, shuffle it with four to reflect the four seasons, return the odds to leap years, five years and then again a leap year, so re-suspend and then hang······"
The content on the Scroll was obscure and difficult to understand; even with Jiang Li and Gongsun Qingyue’s level of knowledge, they could only barely grasp its meaning, but fortunately, there were also small characters annotated bluntly next to the main text.
"Da Yan fifty, the Heavenly Dao is like fifty chairs, Tian Yan forty-nine, the Heavenly Dao has only forty-nine chairs. Now, if there are fifty people and fifty chairs, then each person has a chair, no more, no less, and their positions are fixed, with no changes."
"But if one chair is taken away, then among the fifty people, there will be one who has nowhere to sit. This person can be anyone, and they might also take anyone else’s chair, making another person have nowhere to sit. Thus, changes arise and are endless; the person with no seat is one of the escapee······"
If the original text was profound yet concise, then these annotations were straightforward and could not be more direct, breaking down the meaning completely.
Hence, both Jiang Li and Gongsun Qingyue’s eyes revealed a hint of fascination.
"The so-called Dunjia, the escapee is that person without a chair; the so-called Mathematics, it is all thus. If one can always grasp ’one of the escapee,’ then the changes of Yi Dao are all within one’s control," exclaimed Gongsun Qingyue, "Though this book does not teach the methods of Mathematics, it has fully explained the principles of Mathematics."
"Not only Mathematics, but all the changes in the world also arise because of ’one of the escapee.’ If one can find this ’one,’ one can reach the state of Perfection in one go. If one can add or remove ’one’ at will, then changes can be infinite. In facing an adversary, if one can find the opponent’s ’one,’ success is inevitable." Jiang Li added.
His Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill was already adept at sensing, estimating the opponent, and observing the changes in Three Talents. Having received this Scroll today, he felt his inspiration burst forth, and his thoughts suddenly became clear.
"This book is the ’one’ for my Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill; with this book, my Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill can be perfected."
As Jiang Li reflected inwardly, three types of Dao Fruit Ability patterns emerged in his eyes—Eight Trigrams, Star Battle, and Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches evolved together, seeking the point of convergence.
Finding that "one" would allow him to integrate the three types of Dao Fruit Abilities into a whole, and his Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill could be utterly perfected. Jiang Li even felt he could surpass Li Chunfeng, the former master of Dao Fruit, exceeding the limits of Dao Fruit Ability.
"With this gain, changing your way of addressing was not in vain," Gongsun Qingyue’s anger completely dissipated.
But Jiang Li was thinking even more.
Gongsun Qingyue did not know that He Feng understood Divination as well; she thought he obtained the Scroll from somewhere else. However, Jiang Li knew of He Feng’s profound understanding in this field. The annotations on the Scroll might even be written by him.
If that was the case, He Feng’s origin became even more mysterious.
At this thought, Jiang Li felt a bit of a toothache.
He and Prime Minister Cao were alike, both being suspicious by nature. Having such an unfathomable fellow around him made him feel insecure; he wished he could immediately summon his master to suppress this fellow.
But, unfortunately, the promise he had carelessly agreed to had been witnessed by Heaven.
Now, he could only take it one step at a time.