Martial Saint through Reading

Chapter 384: Chapter 282: Palace Attendant

The two came from prestigious backgrounds, certainly not lacking in wealth or treasures, so the only thing Chu Ming had that could interest Qi Chen and Pei Yi was one thing.

"Senior Brother Qi, Senior Sister Pei, I once studied Ancient Shell Script in Xirong County and summarized a system of Ancient Shell Script. How about..."

"Great, great, Junior Brother, quickly give it to us."

Before Chu Ming finished speaking, Pei Yi eagerly urged, and Qi Chen’s eyes were equally ardent.

Just as expected.

Chu Ming smiled, taking out pen, ink, and paper, and sat down at the desk to write.

Qi Chen and Pei Yi exchanged glances on the side, with victorious smiles at the corners of their mouths.

They had both frightened Chu Ming with Luu Xi and flaunted their family backgrounds to obtain the Ancient Shell Script knowledge that Chu Ming possessed.

Earlier, they clearly observed that even Master Tang needed a lexicon to verify whether Chu Ming’s phrases were correct.

The lexicon of Ancient Shell Script they had seen was a compilation of radicals and various speculations, not a true interpretation of the lexicon, only comprehensible to their Master Tang.

What did this suggest? It suggested that the white-robed Junior Brother in front of them understood Ancient Shell Script that even Master Tang did not recognize.

Though Ancient Shell Script was indeed obscure and complicated, it was fundamentally a form of writing. With their intelligence, once they knew what each character meant, they could easily master this script.

After mastering it, the next time they encountered Luu Xi, they would be able to...

The two remained by Chu Ming’s side, eagerly anticipating a competition with Luu Xi again.

About a quarter of an hour later, three pages of Ancient Shell Script, along with their meanings and several summarized rules, appeared on the desk.

"Let me see." Pei Yi and Qi Chen quickly bent down to look.

Chu Ming knowingly smiled, his white sleeve lightly blocking their view.

"Senior Brother Qi, Senior Sister Pei, I’m quite interested in Ancient Shell Script. Does the garden have any recorded ancient texts or documents on Ancient Shell Script?"

The three pages of Ancient Shell Script were only a tiny portion, but they should be enough to fool Qi Chen and Pei Yi.

"Yes," Qi Chen responded hastily.

"Where?" Chu Ming asked.

"At Master Tang’s place."

"..."

"The fragments of Ancient Shell Script at Master Tang’s are very complex and headache-inducing," Pei Yi said with a flicker of eyes, realizing Chu Ming wanted to exchange the three pages for a chance to access the ancient texts. "Junior Brother, do you really want to see them?"

"Could Senior Sister Pei help me..." Chu Ming slightly moved his white sleeve aside.

"Of course." Pei Yi raised her chin, "But I must first see what you’ve written."

"Alright." Chu Ming took out the first page for them to examine.

Seeing the content on the page, their eyes immediately lit up.

The page contained Ancient Shell Script not found in the lexicon, with detailed explanations.

Some characters they had seen in Master Tang’s fragments, which were previously incomprehensible, now made sense to them.

"Let me see the second page," Pei Yi said excitedly.

Chu Ming pretended to hesitate before handing out the second page.

After reading both pages, they regained their confidence and looked forward to competing with Luu Xi.

"Let me see the third page," Pei Yi glanced at the last page hidden by the white sleeve.

"Senior Sister Pei," Chu Ming casually grabbed the page, as if crumpling it, "What about the Ancient Shell Script fragments from Master Tang?"

"Senior Brother Qi, go ask Master Tang for it."

"Me...?"

"Then I’ll get it myself," Pei Yi seemed to have control over Qi Chen, "Next time, I’ll tell the Minister of the Ministry of Rites about what Senior Brother Qi did before..."

"I’ll go!"

Qi Chen quickly interrupted, reluctantly heading towards the door.

Not long after, Qi Chen returned with his head down.

"Where are the fragments?" Pei Yi asked.

"Master Tang didn’t give them."

"What did you say?"

"I just said Junior Brother Chu wants to see the fragments."

"..."

The two started bickering.

While Chu Ming was contemplating other methods, the Sword Gourd Spirit detected someone armored arriving outside Wenlin Garden.

The visitor was Palace General Tao Long from the West Palace Jingran Hall, whom Chu Ming had met a few times.

"Commissioner of Canal Transport Mr. Chu." Tao Long stood at the entrance of the Hall Garden.

"General." Chu Ming cupped his hands in respect.

"Your Seventh Highness requests your presence."

"Alright."

Chu Ming hesitated for a moment before stepping out of the Hall Garden.

"Wait."

After taking a few steps, an elderly voice came from behind.

Tang Bai approached, holding something, and handed it to Chu Ming: "Qi Chen said you wanted to see the fragments."

Chu Ming turned back, respectfully cupping his hands before receiving the fragments. The Sword Gourd Spirit had detected Tang Bai bringing the fragments.

"General Tao, may I have a word alone with Chu Ming?"

Tao Long nodded.

Tang Bai led Chu Ming to the rear hall.

"This scroll is a fragment of the Mountain and Sea Great Wilderness Scripture·Sea Scripture, likely of the same origin as the Mountain and Sea Great Wilderness Scripture·Mountain Scripture you studied in Xirong County."

"Earlier, the Left Minister mentioned accelerating the research progress on the Sea Scripture, referring to this scroll."

"You have great talent in Ancient Shell Script, and His Majesty and the Crown Prince seem to have high hopes for this scroll. If you uncover anything significant, your contributions won’t be small."

"You, as a First-Grade Cold Scholar, should know what that means. The Crown Prince likely doesn’t want you associating too much with an old man like me."

Tang Bai paused here, momentarily silent.

"When you have time, come to Wenlin Garden and discuss the research progress on the Sea Scripture with me."

He wanted to keep Chu Ming, like treating Qi Chen and Pei Yi as students under his guidance.

But upon careful consideration, the Crown Prince didn’t simply send Chu Ming to Wenlin Garden for nothing.

Upon seeing Palace General Tao Long of the Seventh Prince come to find someone, he confirmed this assumption.

Chu Ming cupped his hands in respect once more.

Setting aside matters concerning the Tang Family’s Tang Xuan and Hoong Ying, Tang Bai indeed exhibited the demeanor of a great elder.

"Go ahead," he said.

Chu Ming returned to the front hall, leaving Wenlin Garden with Tao Long.

...

Imperial City, Eastern Palace, Xuanren Hall, Rear Hall.