Chapter 1031: Zhuge Yuan Extra 5: Minglun

Chapter 1031: Zhuge Yuan Side Story 5: The Bright Wheel

As they spoke, they had already stepped into the labyrinth of bookshelves, where the heavy scent of ink rushed to meet them. Just as Zhuge Yuan began to wonder where they were, Li Jinshu grabbed him and pulled him sharply against a shelf. There was light ahead.

This time, Li Jinshu did not even speak; he merely gestured for Zhuge Yuan to remain silent, and together they crept forward, step by agonizing step.

Faint light filtered through the gaps in the shelves, casting scattered specks of illumination. As they drew closer to the source, a muffled, rhythmic chanting of texts drifted into the room. There were others here.

Hidden behind the shelves, Zhuge Yuan could not see them, but observing Li Jinshu’s composed expression, he gathered that the situation was not yet perilous.

As the light grew stronger, Zhuge Yuan noticed that the stone pillars surrounding them were carved with intricate reliefs. The massive columns ahead were obscured, but the one nearest to him depicted someone in the act of creating script.

The figure looked human, yet not quite; he possessed double pupils and four eyes, six ears and eight arms, as if several people had been fused together—a truly grotesque sight.

The next pillar showed a similar scene, though characters had begun to appear on the stone, and the figure now had one less arm.

As he continued to observe, Zhuge Yuan realized that the characters created by this strange being seemed to possess a supernatural power; as the writing grew more prolific, the extra limbs and features on his body began to vanish.

By the final carving, the creator looked entirely like a normal human, save for his double pupils and four eyes.

Then, the pillars shifted in theme. Scenes appeared around the figure, suggesting he was now writing outdoors.

Strangely, apart from the sun in the sky, the mountains and waters were all layered and overlapping.

Other people appeared in the surroundings, but their bodies were like the creator’s had been—sprouting seven arms and eight legs. They crawled on the ground, naked and no different from beasts.

As the man continued to write, the people around him gradually transformed into normal humans, eventually donning clothes.

These people began to follow the four-eyed man in his work of creating script and books. As more was written, the overlapping mountains and rivers began to separate, finally coalescing into a beautiful landscape painting.

Following this painting was the story of two white snakes, but the subsequent pillars were shrouded in darkness, leaving Zhuge Yuan unable to see them.

Zhuge Yuan pondered the contents of the pillars and, aided by the dim light, stole a glance at the shelves. They were filled with historical records.

"Could these pillars be a chronicle of the past? But what does it all signify?" A whirlwind of thoughts raced through his mind.

Before he could dwell on it, a blurred shadow flickered through a gap in the shelves, and Li Jinshu shoved Zhuge Yuan’s head down.

Behind the dense layers of shelving, in a circular clearing, sat eight figures.

They wore black, floor-length robes with straight hems and large white caps that not only covered their heads but were pulled down tightly over their eyes.

Though they were dressed like scholars, they bore no resemblance to such men. Each held a book pressed firmly against their face, while an extra hand protruded from their abdomen, frantically recording something onto bamboo slips spread across the floor.

More chillingly, limbs and heads flickered in and out of their black robes, just like the creator on the pillar.

Seeing this in the gloom made Zhuge Yuan’s scalp prickle.

If it were merely extra limbs, he would not be afraid, but these were not natural growths; they twitched with a bizarre, ethereal instability, appearing and disappearing at will.

Zhuge Yuan glanced at Li Jinshu, only to find the man entirely unperturbed.

Li Jinshu walked two fingers across the back of his hand, signaling that they should slip away at once.

Casting one last look at the book-faced monsters, Zhuge Yuan moved forward with a heavy heart.

As they retreated, the layers of bookshelves gradually swallowed the black-robed figures, the candlelight faded, and the droning chant grew faint.

Finally, with a soft click, a side door opened, and the lush greenery and the chirping of insects outside washed away the atmosphere of the room.

"Haha, we made it." Li Jinshu punched Zhuge Yuan on the shoulder, looking quite pleased. "Once past the Jiezhi Study, the rest is simple. Let’s go."

Li Jinshu had taken two steps before noticing the silence behind him. He turned to see the young man surnamed Zhuge standing motionless before the door, his expression grave.

"Come on, little brother Zhuge, why are you dazed?"

Hearing this, Zhuge Yuan pursed his lips and asked, "Senior Li, could you answer a few questions for me?" He cast a suspicious glance back at the wooden door.

"No harm in that. Ask away."

"What were they doing just now? Why were they so... strange? If I don't understand this, I cannot be sure if I should enter this Bright Wheel Hall."

While it was true that the Master had sent him here, the Master had also failed to foresee many things—including the fact that his old friend had been dead for over a century.

In such a long time, heaven only knew how much the Bright Wheel Hall had changed.

Li Jinshu smiled at the inquiry. "It is not that I won't tell you, but some things can only be revealed once you have officially entered the Bright Wheel Hall. That is the rule."

Zhuge Yuan clearly did not agree. "Senior Li, that is hardly fair. Did we follow the rules of the Bright Wheel Hall when we snuck in here?"

Li Jinshu paused, then laughed. "Hahaha, you have a point. Very well, since we are already here, we need not adhere to their rules. Besides, you are about to join the Hall anyway; it makes no difference whether you know now or later."

Seeing the change in attitude, Zhuge Yuan stepped forward. "Senior, what were those people doing? And what of the limbs on their bodies?"

"It is nothing of great consequence. Those in the Jiezhi Study were merely inquiring into and recording history. As for the limbs and heads, they are not their own; they belong to the 'Inverse Immortals and Compliant Humans.'"

"Ah?" Zhuge Yuan was even more bewildered.

"Don't be impatient. Listen closely."

"Little brother Zhuge, do you know of the Five Directions of Buddhism?"

"I know a little. I have read in casual folktales that the Buddha governs these five worlds."

"That was in the past. The five worlds are no longer under the Buddha's control."

Zhuge Yuan’s pupils contracted. "So, the folktales are true?"

"Naturally. Where else do you think the Inverse Immortals come from? They are simply 'us' from the other five worlds."

"There are five worlds? And in each one, there is another version of us?" Zhuge Yuan felt his head spinning; his past understanding was colliding violently with this new reality.

Li Jinshu continued, "In the beginning, the world was not divided into five; it was total chaos. The ways of the world and the beasts were all jumbled together. There were no rules, nothing was constant, and there was no sequence to anything."

"Our ancestors lived in a daze, until someone decided this was wrong. Is 'the way things are' always the right way? That person was the Eternal Master."

Hearing this, the images from the stone pillars flashed through Zhuge Yuan’s mind, and suddenly, the pieces clicked into place.

"The Eternal Master set down the first stroke, used the script to enter the Dao, broke the chaos, established order, and divided this Jiezhi world into five." Li Jinshu drew a circle in the air, tapping the southeast, west, north, and center. "Five points connected in a circle—that is the Bright Wheel."

"As for the Buddhist claims, listen to them as you will. Their causality is flawed. In their view, it is not that a Buddha did something, but that whoever did something became their Buddha."