Chapter 108: The Secret of the Seven Stars of the Azure Dragon, Ruined by Yan Lingji!
Different positions lead to different perspectives and ways of thinking about problems.
Ordinary officials only see extraordinary stories.
But Zhang Kai sees the extraordinary nature of the written word at a glance.
Similarly.
In the Empire of Qin, another noble person discovered a surprising phenomenon from a different perspective.
In the Xianyang Palace.
Two thick books were placed in front of Emperor Ying Zheng of Qin.
These were brought back by him during his incognito visit today.
As Emperor Ying Zheng has not yet assumed power, many affairs in the court are handled by Lu Buwei.
And as the sovereign, he had some free time.
Therefore, Emperor Ying Zheng often takes his guards outside the palace for a stroll.
Today, he found this novelty on the street.
Ying Zheng spread out the two books in front of him and compared them back and forth. After a while, he suddenly spoke up, “Gai Nie, come and help me take a look.”
He pointed to the contents of the two books: “I always feel that the handwriting on these two books is exactly the same. Is this just my illusion, or is it true?”
It should be noted that the content of the text in this era was all handwritten or engraved.
It can be said that there cannot be two identical characters in the world.
But Ying Zheng looked left and right, and felt that the characters in the two books, whether in size, arrangement, or handwriting, were exactly the same.
This was somewhat unbelievable.
Even if the same craftsman had a steady hand, it would be impossible to ensure that every character was exactly the same as another, right?
Moreover, when buying these books today, there were hundreds of copies in that store.
If these characters were written by people one by one, what a huge project it would be!
Gai Nie stepped forward, his sharp eyes comparing the two books back and forth.
After a moment, he affirmed, “Exactly the same, not a single difference.”
He was a swordsman, able to discern the slightest difference between two things.
However, the handwriting in front of him was identical.
The starting and ending points of each stroke were the same.
Just like when they, as swordsmen, practiced swordsmanship, every sword would pierce the same spot.
Ying Zheng suddenly raised his head, staring at him sharply, “Do you think it’s possible?”
He flipped the papers loudly.
Slowly, he said, “Every word, every stroke on here, is exactly the same.”
Gai Nie shook his head, “Impossible, unless…”
Ying Zheng’s eyes flashed with sharp light, “Unless this wasn’t written by a person!”
But if it wasn’t written by a person, how did it get there?
“And this thing called paper, I just counted it earlier, it’s just a sheet recording text, it’s about the same as a scroll.”
“This thick book, hundreds of pages, has nearly a hundred thousand words!”
He sighed, “Unbelievable!”
“A hundred thousand words, if written on bamboo slips, could fill the table in front of me.”
“But now, it’s recorded in this small booklet.”
“Who came up with this brilliant idea?”
While Ying Zheng praised this thing called “paper,” he casually flipped through the contents of the book.
The appearance of paper quickly caused a sensation among various countries.
Especially when people knew that this thing was cheaper than bamboo slips, almost everyone thought of one thing.
That is to use this thing to replace bamboo slips for recording words!
What a timely idea.
Just as this idea emerged, not long after, paper shops sprang up in many places like mushrooms after rain.
Each sheet of snow-white paper was quickly swept away upon its appearance.
People were amazed to find that after writing with ink, this thing not only dried quickly, but also made writing convenient.
Writing horizontally, vertically, diagonally, upside down, and even backwards!
How much easier it was to write compared to the long bamboo slips from before!
And the key was that it was convenient to carry after writing.
After the ink dried, it folded easily and slipped into the pocket as if weightless!
The method of recording and transmitting text with bamboo slips was quickly abandoned by everyone, and everyone began to use this more convenient and durable thing.
It’s like having a full-screen smartphone. Who would still want to use a keypad phone?
Everyone who used it said it was great!
In the trial stores opened by Sister Zi in Han and several neighboring countries, paper immediately became in short supply.
The price of paper was not cheap.
But compared to bamboo slips, it was still quite cost-effective.
And the cost of this thing was much smaller than bamboo slips.
In just half a month of profits, Liu Sha brought in quite a substantial income!
And this was just the trial sales phase.
If all seven countries adopted it, the income generated would be even more astonishing!
At the same time, people were also curious about the inventor.
Who exactly was able to come up with such a brilliant idea?
And how was this thing called paper made?
They probably couldn’t imagine that the raw material for making it was bamboo trees that could be seen everywhere along the roadside!
Rough and crude tree bark, sturdy bamboo, unexpectedly turned into such lightweight and flexible white paper!
While people were studying and marveling at paper, Li Mo, the person who brought shock to the seven countries, was also at home researching something.
But what he was researching had a bit of a murderous intent!
If it hadn’t been for Jing Ni discovering the Hanguang Sword that Li Mo had thrown in the corner while cleaning the room today, the couple would have almost forgotten that they had such a thing at home!
This was explosive news worldwide!
The Hanguang Sword was one of the famous swords in the world!
Yet, it had been treated like rubbish by this couple and left in the corner for so long without them even remembering it!
Li Mo sat in the courtyard.
The Hanguang Sword in his hand was faintly visible in the sunlight.
The Hanguang Sword was an invisible sword, with the hilt being all green.
And the blade could only be vaguely seen under conditions of light!
But in Li Mo’s perception, this situation did not exist.
As long as it was tangible, it would clearly show its outline in his perception.
Yan Lingji sat on the wall of the courtyard, swinging her delicate white legs with interest as she watched Li Mo in the courtyard.
This guy had been studying the sword for half a day.
You can’t see it, so what can you research?
And Jing Ni, too, just sat there with him all afternoon.
Aren’t you two bored?
“Why are you so curious about this sword?”
Yan Lingji, who was almost bored to death, jumped off the courtyard wall.
Bringing a breeze of fragrance, she came to Li Mo’s side.
And with Jing Ni on one side and Yan Lingji on the other, they sandwiched him in the middle.
“The material of this sword is very special, don’t you think?”
Li Mo’s fingers stroked the sword body as he spoke.
What interested him was the transparent blade of the sword.
This kind of material couldn’t be artificially synthesized.
“Oh~ Have you figured out anything?”
Yan Lingji said with the most serious expression while speaking the most heartless words.
“It’s precisely because I haven’t figured out anything that I’m researching.”
Li Mo was not at all discouraged and said indifferently.
Yan Lingji rolled her eyes dramatically, “Then let me help you by burning it to try?”
Jing Ni was stunned by what she said.
Li Mo’s mouth twitched, “I just want to study it, not destroy it.”
Yan Lingji rolled her eyes again, “Then let me help you study it. What can a blind man like you see? Hand it over!”
As she spoke, she reached out to grab it from Li Mo’s hand.
Li Mo was also afraid she might destroy it, so he let her grab it.
Standing up, he said, “You can study it slowly, but no burning with fire. My wife and I will go cook. Don’t break it.”
Yan Lingji’s big eyes sparkled as she held the sword and twisted it.
“Go on, go on. I won’t break it for you.”
Li Mo nodded. Anyway, he could cover this area with his perception. He just needed to pay more attention later.
But as soon as she and Jing Ni turned around, there was a crisp sound behind them.
All three of them froze at the same time!
Li Mo and Jing Ni slowly turned back.
Yan Lingji’s mouth rounded, holding the hilt in her left hand and the blade in her right.
She looked innocently at the two of them.
The atmosphere became somewhat awkwardly peaceful~~~
“Um~ If I said… it wasn’t intentional, you wouldn’t believe me, would you?”
Who could have imagined that the sword wasn’t sturdy at all!
She just twisted it a few times casually, and the hilt came off!
It was really unbelievable!
The sword had been played with by Li Mo all afternoon without any issue. How come it broke as soon as it was in her hands?
Li Mo pursed his lips, then smiled warmly, “It’s okay. If you’re safe, it’s a sunny day.”
Yan Lingji’s heart skipped a beat.
Such a valuable sword was broken by herself, yet he didn’t blame her. Instead, he cared if she was hurt!
A warmth surged in Yan Lingji’s heart.
“Really… really?”
Li Mo nodded sincerely, “If you’re not safe, I’ll kill you.”
Yan Lingji: “…”
Wow, unexpectedly moved!
She randomly inserted the blade into the hilt and stretched it out to Li Mo.
Li Mo didn’t take it.
Jing Ni, beside her, watched as the sword, turned golden by the sunset, gradually slipped down from the hilt.
With a clatter, it fell to the ground.
Then there was a clang as a small emerald green thing fell out from the hilt.
Yan Lingji’s eyes suddenly lit up, “What’s this? Dropped from here?”
She held the green hilt and peered inside.
Jing Ni squatted down and picked up the thing that fell out.
“Husband, it seems to be a piece of jade.”
She handed the thing to Li Mo.
Li Mo had already “seen” it.
From the hilt, it was a small piece of emerald green jade about the size of a little finger.
It was rectangular and engraved with exquisite patterns on both sides.
“What is this thing? Let me see.”
Yan Lingji leaned over, curiously examining Li Mo’s hand.
“There are also engraved words, ‘Yan Wuji,’ what does it mean?”
Just as Li Mo flipped the jade pendant over, Yan Lingji keenly saw the three characters engraved on it.
Li Mo was suddenly shocked.
“The Secret of the Seven Stars of the Azure Dragon?”
