Chapter 434: Sunning Book Hall

Chapter 434: The Sun-Drying Book Hall

Until the hour of the guard arrived, the dark clouds shrouding the sky over Edo Castle gradually dispersed, and the torrential rain that had raged through the night finally ceased.

The first light of dawn illuminated the eaves and koi flags along the long street, the neon tubes embedded in the signs having long since extinguished, the thoroughfare washed clean, a scene of cold desolation.

Splash!

The sliding door of the izakaya was pulled open by Nagasaki Masaaki, still clad in the Confucian robes issued by the temple, his gaze somewhat vacant.

"The master said one must constantly reflect and renew one's knowledge. Today, let us revisit the chapter 'On Governance' from the Analects on the road."

Standing beneath the eaves, Nagasaki Masaaki muttered to himself, raising his hand to wave in front of his face, as if searching for the content he intended to review.

As his fingers gestured in the air before him, a figure invisible to others materialized beside him—robust in build, with white hair and weathered features, exuding an aura of Confucian grace tempered by unyielding strength.

"Student Nagasaki Masaaki pays respects to Master Confucius."

Nagasaki Masaaki bowed reverently, his expression unusually solemn.

"To learn without reflection leads to confusion; to reflect without learning leads to danger. Nagasaki Masaaki, do you understand the meaning?"

It was now past the hour of the hare (5 AM), and workshops throughout Edo Castle had already begun their work, so the street was sparsely populated, though many figures huddled on the steps of shopfronts.

All of them, without exception, were vagrants and beggars, scavengers.

Long steeped in the intoxication of low-grade alcohol and perilous yellow-liao dreams, their spirits and bodies had completely withered. Even the officials of the Consolation Bureau, who often worried about where the next batch of recruits would come from, would not bother with such people.

Only the guards occasionally took note of them, for they were a high-risk group for "yellow-liao ghost" possession incidents.

A "yellow-liao ghost" who arrived in this world through possession often harbored rebellious and destructive tendencies due to the distortion of their worldview and the disparity in status.

In the Wō district, where the hawks had been thoroughly expelled, the "yellow-liao ghosts" had escalated from a social problem to a public security concern, now a primary focus of the guards in each city.

To these people, Nagasaki Masaaki couldn't even be bothered to glance their way.

At this moment, his mind was entirely occupied with how to answer Master Confucius's question correctly and comprehensively.

"Learning and thinking must proceed in tandem, lest one fall into confusion from lack of practice. Yet if one merely indulges in empty speculation while neglecting study and diligence, one builds towers upon sand, ultimately gaining nothing."

After much deliberation, Nagasaki Masaaki finally offered what he believed to be a satisfactory answer.

"Your explanation merely rephrases my words from a thousand years ago in literal terms. It remains a simple 'learning,' without achieving the deeper 'thinking'!"

Master Confucius's stern tone sent a shiver through Nagasaki Masaaki, who quickly replied, "Please, Master, enlighten me."

"You must learn to place outdated theories within the context of the present, drawing new insights from them. This is the true essence of renewing old knowledge through learning."

Master Confucius spoke at length: "To learn without reflection leads to confusion—not merely to think, but to break free from the shackles of constraint, awakening dormant genes. If you cannot ascend to the Confucian sequence, even lifelong learning is meaningless, and you will ultimately fall into endless bewilderment."

Nagasaki Masaaki's face showed a dawning realization, nodding repeatedly, his brain-machine-controlled body heading swiftly toward the Confucian temple.

"Then, Master, what of 'to reflect without learning leads to danger'?"

Nagasaki Masaaki turned into a narrow alley. Perhaps due to the heavy rain the previous night, the passage was filled with standing water, various refuse floating and sinking, leaving little room to step.

In fact, there were many wide, spacious roads leading to the Sun-Drying Book Hall, the fourth Confucian temple located in the heart of the southern district. Yet this cramped alley was the quickest shortcut. Having spent considerable time cleaning his shop the previous day, Nagasaki Masaaki had no choice but to take this route to avoid being late.

In such a complex environment, the brain-machine loaded with "Master Confucius" could no longer control Nagasaki Masaaki's body, leaving him to manage on his own.

Nagasaki Masaaki clutched the hem of his Confucian robe tightly, carefully seeking out stable stones and bricks to step on, while asking, "Is it not so that if I seek only to ascend the sequence, yet forget to study the Confucian classics, I shall bring about my own destruction?"

"Teachable youth."

Walking on water, Master Confucius nodded approvingly. "Benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith—these are the core tenets of Confucian thought. If Nagasaki Masaaki wishes to become an excellent Confucian sequence, he must not stray from these five principles."

"You must harbor benevolence toward your fellow sequences, uphold righteousness among classmates and colleagues, and maintain reverence for the Confucian gatekeepers."

"Ah!"

A sudden cry interrupted Master Confucius's words. Nagasaki Masaaki, leaping toward a brick jutting from the murky water, slipped, his form staggering unsteadily.

Fortunately, Nagasaki Masaaki managed to grasp a protruding section of the wall, narrowly avoiding the danger of falling into the water.

"Phew."

Still shaken, Nagasaki Masaaki exhaled, about to apologize to Master Confucius when his pupils suddenly constricted like needle tips.

The towering buildings on either side squeezed the alley's overhead space into a narrow line, and the rising morning light was completely blocked outside. The brain-machine he had recently implanted adjusted his dim-light vision, barely allowing him to discern his surroundings.

Before him, the walls were covered with large patches of crimson characters, their strokes twisted, their hatred evident even to the naked eye, a sight both shocking and horrifying.

【Longwu perished, Jiaqi wiped out!】

【The new regime's butcher knife, slaughtering our Wō people!】

【Red-robed officials are stained with Wō blood; the Confucian temple halls are hells of cannibalism!】

Nagasaki Masaaki felt a chill run through his entire body, quickly severing the course being conducted by the brain-machine, and the "Master Confucius" beside him flickered and vanished.

He turned to look at the "protrusion" his left hand had grasped—a tantō's hilt, its blade embedded in the wall, reflecting a piercing cold gleam.

Suddenly, Nagasaki Masaaki felt as if shocked by electricity, releasing his grip and stepping back, his feet sinking deeply into the murky water-filled pit.

The crimson slogans on the walls were written in Wō script, each character and phrase exploding in his heart like cannonballs.

A cold chill rose from his feet in the water, climbing up his torso until it spread to the spiritual aperture at the back of his skull.

Nagasaki Masaaki shuddered violently, as if an invisible flame had ignited within his heart. The pounding of his heart left him trembling uncontrollably.

"To become a qualified Confucian sequence, you must always remember 'propriety, righteousness, benevolence, wisdom, and faith.'"

From the void, Master Confucius's voice seemed to echo in his ears. Nagasaki Masaaki abruptly tore off the Confucian robe he treasured above all else, and, like a madman, began rubbing against the red-painted slogans on the wall.

The fourth Confucian temple in Edo Castle, named the "Sun-Drying Book Hall," was a vast complex of buildings in the style of the former Ming Dynasty. It primarily consisted of the Sage Hall, where projections of Confucian ancestors were enshrined, and the Academy, where instruction was categorized according to genetic superiority and inferiority.

The sun had just risen, and it was now the hour of the guard.

According to the rules of the Sun-Drying Book Hall, this was the time for morning lessons.

Yet today, there was no sound of recitation; almost all the students had gathered at the academy entrance, forming neat queues by their class.

【Warmly welcome Lord Liu, the Deputy Director of the Edo Consolation Bureau, to the Sun-Drying Book Hall】

A banner hung overhead, and the students in the back row stared intently at the shoulders of those ahead, clapping enthusiastically the moment anyone moved.

Surrounded by the masters of the Confucian temple, Liu Dian, wearing a Confucian cap and indigo silk robes, emerged from the academy.

"Lord Liu, we at the Sun-Drying Book Hall still have many achievements yet to report to you—how can you leave so soon?"

Qin the Supervisor, responsible for operating the entire Sun-Drying Book Hall, followed closely behind Liu Dian, letting out a long sigh.