Looking at Old Chen's notebook, I found that most of the entries were about research and discoveries concerning antiques and religion.
From the notes, I also learned Old Chen's full name: Chen Shang.
He began researching religion and antiques when he was thirty, and during that time, he published several influential papers.
He spent his life active in the antique circles, getting to know many treasure appraisers and collectors. He himself was also skilled at appraising treasures, his ability not inferior to that of ordinary appraisers.
When he was forty, he met my father. According to the contents of the notebook, he considered my father a highly skilled treasure appraiser, mentioning this more than once in his notes.
The notebook mentioned that my father's writings became more extensive from the latter half onwards. In the third year of his acquaintance with my father, Chen Shang and my father became friends due to their shared interests and enjoyable conversations.
Judging by the dates, this was around the time of my birth. This meant Chen Shang was considerably older than my father.
The contents of the notebook were predominantly subjective narratives. Chen Shang wrote that he believed the Sui Hou Pearl had a strong connection with Taoism.
It also stated that the Sui Hou Pearl was a sacred object of the Jie Sect.
Speaking of the Jie Sect, one cannot avoid mentioning "Investiture of the Gods," as the Jie Sect is a sect that appears in this novel, considered a fictional sect.
Of course, whether it is truly fictional or not is unknown, as descriptions of the Jie Sect have appeared multiple times in history.
The conflict between the Jie Sect and the Chan Sect is the core of "Investiture of the Gods."
If the Sui Hou Pearl truly exists, then the existence of the Jie Sect must be acknowledged.
The notebook stated that after Chen Shang had extensive conversations with my father, they decided to search for the Sui Hou Pearl. It was during this search that they encountered interference from a group of mysterious individuals.
Moreover, this group of mysterious individuals was also looking for the Sui Hou Pearl, and there had been several clashes between them.
It was precisely because of these few altercations that my father's desire to find the Sui Hou Pearl grew even stronger.
Later, Chen Shang was once threatened and lost his nerve, giving up the search for the Sui Hou Pearl. However, my father did not give up and continued to search, even passing on some of the clues he obtained to Chen Shang.
From the notebook, it appears they maintained correspondence for many years.
However, Chen Shang did not keep those letters.
Soon, I finished reading the contents of the notebook, and the information I gained from it was only this much.
As for who those mysterious people were and the clues to the Sui Hou Pearl, everything remained shrouded in mist.
After going in circles, all the answers still pointed to the Sui Hou Pearl.
Given the current situation, to clarify what happened to my father back then and to identify those mysterious people, finding the Sui Hou Pearl is essential!
Just as I was closing the notebook, I noticed a string of numbers written on its side.
Writing on the side of a book was my father's habit. He always liked to write down the page numbers of important parts of a book on its side, so he could quickly find useful information the next time he read it.
I also used this method when I was in school. I never expected Chen Shang to have this habit too.
Looking at the string of numbers, I thought about it and found the page number according to the numbers written. I discovered that the content on that page was nothing special.
Could these numbers not mean page numbers?
Then what was Chen Shang's purpose in writing these numbers?
Or was it just something he wrote casually, without any special meaning?
Impossible. If he wrote it casually, why would he write it on the side of the notebook?
Writing on the side makes it less likely to be discovered, but it is also more troublesome.
If that's the case, then this string of numbers must have a special meaning, perhaps one I haven't discovered yet.
If these numbers are not page numbers, what could they be?
I spent the entire night poring over the notes left by Chen Shang, including many academic notes. Although I couldn't understand some of them, I finished reading them all.
By the time I put down the notebook, the sky was already turning grayish-white.
Fatty was snoring on the wooden bed, while Song Bing sat on a chair, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, resting. As for Ermao, he had spread some dry grass on the ground and was sleeping there.
I pushed open the door and walked outside to the entrance of the Taoist temple, lit a cigarette, and gazed at the scenery not far away.
The mountains were covered in endless white snow. The snow covered everything like a thin veil. The snow on the branches, blown by the wind, formed long, crystal-clear icicles.
The slowly rising sun was exceptionally fiery, casting a golden hue upon the white snow.
I slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, and a question involuntarily arose in my mind.
Chen Shang was not from this place. Why did he come all the way to Mohe?
And why did he come to such a remote Taoist temple?
What was his purpose for coming here?
Was it to escape calamity?
I felt it was unlikely. He must have had another purpose for coming here; otherwise, why would he simply come to live as a hermit without any reason?
Judging from his notebook, he wasn't someone who preferred to retreat to the mountains. If he were, he wouldn't have published papers repeatedly.
Then his coming here must have been for some reason...
With that thought, I flicked the cigarette butt into the snow and turned to go into the main hall of the Taoist temple.
At this moment, the Taoist named Yun He was chopping firewood, appearing to have woken up not long ago.
Upon seeing me, he smiled and said, "Why are you up so early?"
I smiled and replied, "Daoist Yun He, there's something I'd like to ask you."
"Oh? What is it? Tell me."
"When Old Chen came to the temple, did he mention why he came here?" I asked.
"He did. He said the outside world was too noisy, and he needed to find a quieter place to do his academic work. My master received him at the time, and they even discussed Taoism. For the specific details, you'll have to ask my master."
"Then when does your master wake up?" I asked.
He smiled and said, "Probably in a little while, but you'll need to be prepared."
"Prepared?"
"My master suffers from dementia. Sometimes he's lucid, and sometimes he's not. So, if you ask him about Professor Chen later, it will depend on luck. If he's lucid and remembers, he'll definitely tell you. If he's having an episode and doesn't remember, then there's nothing we can do," Yun He said.
I felt a bit helpless. No wonder I thought the old Taoist looked a bit vacant yesterday; it turned out that was the reason.
In this Taoist temple, the three Taoists are named Yun Shan, Yun Shui, and Yun He.
Yun Shan, who is Yun He's master, is the oldest and suffers from dementia.
Yun Shui is Yun He's martial uncle and is a mute.
According to Yun He, his master found him as an orphan when he went down the mountain, and he grew up here since childhood.
Seeing that it was still early, I went back and squeezed in to sleep with Fatty for a while. Around noon, Yun He came to call us for meals, and only then did I wake up.