Record of the Missing Sect Master Chapter 14

So I've decided to change Sect Master Ge's title to Academy Master Ge. Previous chapters have also been edited to reflect this change.

The reason is that his son makes an appearance in this chapter, and the text refers to him as either 葛少幫主 or 少幫主 with the 少 meaning “young”. So while it's not confusing in the original text because Dingtian Academy is the only one who uses 幫主 for their leader, I felt that using “Young/Junior Sect Master” might be confusing since there are so many other sect masters. So henceforth, Academy Master. (I considered using “Headmaster” for a while, but “Junior Headmaster” sounds strange, and I thought it might make Dingtian Academy sound more like a traditional school than it really is.) Hopefully a 幫主 doesn't pop up that isn't the leader of an Academy because that would throw this all out of wack.

Since obtaining this book, Academy Master Ge had not had a single night of good sleep.

Originally, he had been frightened half to death by the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison, then he was again frightened half to death by the rush of Jianghu people coming over. He was like a weak old man who fished up a pearl and then happened to end up on the same road as a crowd of robbers. All day long, he was anxious and uneasy, afraid that his treasure would be discovered and that he would end up incurring a fatal disaster.

Afterwards, when a thief appeared in his home, he began to understand the other party's intentions. He felt suspicious of Manor Lord Wei and the others, guilty towards Elder Wang, and tortured by his hesitation about whether to be forthcoming, while anxious day and night about the future. It was only when he had the truth forced out of him by Wenren Heng today that he felt that the incredible burden that he had carried alone on his back for a million miles had fallen to the ground.

With a boom, the burden left, and he felt free from head to toe.

On this earth, the overcautious were probably those who were, in large part, lacking that one push forward, but the moment that first step was taken, they would discover that things weren't quite as frightening as it looked from afar.

Right now, he had no shortage of peace of mind as well as a renewed vigor. His mind was once again turning quickly.

He knew that those present were all prodigies who had already considered the possibility that he had presented a fake in order to deceive them. In an effort to prevent misunderstandings, he straightforwardly brought up the matter himself, “When my son brought home the book, it was already like this, along with the box.”

Everyone glanced at the wooden box.

This box was very small, fitting the book exactly, as if it was made for it, making carrying it very convenient.

Academy Master Ge continued with, “The box uses the best kind of insect-repelling wood, while the paper is famous Xuancheng paper[1] from the previous dynasty, waterproof and extremely sturdy, very difficult to find nowadays. And from the ink marks, one can see it's almost been eight, nine years. Therefore, there's no way I dared to trick everyone. It really is that book.”

Of the people present, there really were some who suspected him and only now had those misgivings dispelled.

Academy Master Ge only recently obtained this rare book, so even if he had the desire to trick them, he wouldn't have been able to produce something that was several years old. If one wanted to claim that he had written this book in a fit of boredom a long time ago and only now coincidentally found a use for it, it was even more impossible. As everyone knows, Dingtian Academy's people held writing tools[2] to be of the utmost importance, so to waste Xuancheng paper like this, they'd feel more pain than death.

Seeing them nod their heads, Academy Master Ge let out an inward breath of relief, feeling increasingly more energized from head to toe. He closed the book to allow them to read the cover. On the black cover, red embroidery was used to stitch in the words Chou Guo, coincidentally identical to the inscription on the first page.

He said, “This is the Chou Guo, the Ugly Fruit[3]. Everyone, not only have you never eaten such a thing before but also even with its unsightly appearance, after peeling off the skin, the interior is extremely delicious.”

The group understood his words.

Manor Lord Wei said, “Does Academy Master Ge think this represents some other meaning?”

“Yes, it made me think that this book has some other secrets, as if it was saying not to be taken in by deception,” Academy Master Ge[4] said, “But these past few days, I've used water to soak it, fire to roast it, and even dripped some blood on it, but none of them did anything.”

He looked at them. “Later, I started thinking that the other party was doing such a thing precisely because he wanted me to keep this book by my side to study it. He knows the people of my Academy loves books and didn't even hesitate to use the priceless Xuancheng paper. And as my son got the book in one moment, the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison returned to Jianghu in the next. After considering everything, felt that it was someone scheming against our Dingtian Academy.”

“This…” The group hesitated.

Manor Lord Wei took the initiative to speak, “It doesn't seem like it. If he really held enmity towards you, using this method to take vengeance, he wouldn't need to wait eight or nine years. After preparing a book, he simply had to wait until he lured you into picking it up and then on the way back, devise some way to show your belongings so that others happen to see the book in your possession. Now, he has both eyewitnesses and physical evidence, and all he has to do after that is simply wait patiently for your luck to run out.”

Academy Master Ge was silent for a moment. He actually also had his own doubts about this matter, but he couldn't help thinking ridiculous thoughts because of these past few days. He said, “If he had previously wanted to scheme against someone but nothing worked, and we had inadvertently provoked him recently, he could have decided to set this trap for us, right?”

Wenren Heng asked, “Then what was the surrounding situation when Junior Academy Master Ge found the wooden box? Could he tell if it was recently placed or not?”

Academy Master Ge stared blankly. In these past few days, he had been extremely anxious and hadn't wanted to let his son know too much, so the only thing he asked his son was why he was at the bottom of that cliff; nothing else had been asked. He didn't hesitate and immediately told someone to call for his son. He carefully asked once all the way through and found that the box truly had been placed there for many years.

Academy Master Ge asked, “You're certain?”

The Junior Academy Master said, “I'm certain. If nothing else, I still have my sight. With one look, it was obvious that it had been there for several years.”

Academy Master Ge gestured for him to leave. Once again feeling a hard stone in his heart weighing him down, he said, “Then this was all a coincidence? He used Xuancheng paper simply to prevent rot, and being picked up by my son was complete chance?”

The others didn't dare to say everything they were thinking and simply said, “It's possible.”

Academy Master Ge frowned. “But why did he choose to do it like this? Why did he purposely pick such valuable paper only to mess with people?”

Ye You agreed, all smiles, “Yes, he really had too much free time.”

The others didn't look in his direction.

Ye You unhurriedly added, “But he probably wasn't tricking people for no reason. What Academy Master Ge said previously was probably right, there most likely are some other secrets.”

The others were finally lured in by his words and turned to look at him.

Up until now, this person had always followed obediently by Wenren Heng's side, and the amount of times he'd spoken can be counted on one hand. Furthermore, every time he did speak was to respond to a question by an elder. Thus, everyone's impression of him was that of an injured, quiet, young Junior Brother, and this was the first time they had heard him put forth a new way of looking at things, so inevitably, some were astonished and some thought it novel.

Wenren Heng also glanced at his Junior Brother, but there was not a trace of surprise on his face.

His Junior Brother had always been clever. In a few years, he had grown the Demonic Sect into one of the strongest sects. Even if he's currently lost his memory, how could he be consciously underestimated?

Academy Master Ge looked at this injured young sir and asked, “How can you tell?”

“I don't know if you've taken note of this box yet.” Ye You turned the wooden box he was holding in his hand to the right. Just now, after Academy Master Ge mentioned the box, he had brought it over to take a look. He pointed at the back of the box. “A praying mantis is engraved here, probably out of fear that you'd throw this box away. There's also one underneath the Ugly Fruit on the cover of the book, embroidered right next to the leaf, right?”

“Right.” After he spoke, Academy Master Ge showed them the cover.

It was an extremely small mantis, embroidered with the same color thread as Ugly Fruit. Unless one looked carefully enough, it would otherwise be overlooked. But in these past few days, whenever he had the time, he would turn the items over in his hands, so naturally he knew about it.

The people crowded around and looked it over once, inwardly sighing that this young sir's eyesight sure was good. They asked, “What does this mean?”

“Where's there's wood, there's trees, and where there's trees, there's leaves. Look, elders, underneath this Ugly Fruit, there's also a few leaves,” Ye You said, “Tree leaves and praying mantises. Academy Master Ge is a scholar. In Huainanzi[5], there's a phrase, ‘Stalking a cicada, the mantis hides behind a leaf and thinks itself invisible'[6]. It's not only Academy Master Ge that's heard this story before, right?”

Academy Master Ge inwardly took a breath. “Are you suggesting that we aren't seeing the forest for the trees?”

Ye You laughingly nodded. “At that time, other than the box, did Junior Academy Master Ge see anything else?”

Academy Master Ge didn't waste words before yet again calling his son back and asking, “You said you picked up this book inside a mountain cave?”

The Junior Academy Master helplessly said, “That's right. It really was placed there for many years.”

“I didn't ask you that,” Academy Master Ge said, “Was there anything in the surroundings? You must've seen it.”

The Junior Academy Master thought back and said, “It was really dark inside and covered in spiderwebs outside. The only place I went was to a corner where I found this box. When I opened it and saw what was inside, I immediately hurried back.”

One thought collectively flashed through everyone's heads, We really did “miss the forest for the trees”!

They looked at Ye You. “You're sure there's still something in the cave?”

“It's highly possible,” Ye You said, “Just think for a moment. If you spent a lot of time coming up with a scheme, and had the patience to wait eight or nine years, would you use as simple a plan as just giving a particularly baffling book? What's more, if they really wanted the book to make such a fuss, they could've embroidered only Ugly Fruit and just threw it out. Why would they go through the trouble of telling people to ‘not miss the forest for the trees'?”

Everyone once again looked in the direction of the box and the book, muttering to themselves wordlessly.

Having had his shadow messed with, Academy Master Ge was still uneasy, asking, “But if we go and the result is that he once again entraps us, what should we do?”

“If he thought so simply of people, would he have waited this long?” Ye You paused for a moment before laughingly saying, “Oh, I suppose it's possible if his disposition is really just that extraordinarily nasty. But seeing how he has the patience to wait for people to come and pick up the book, I think he probably counts as one of those who has a very sincere nastiness.”

Everyone couldn't help but ask, “How can you tell?”

Ye You said, “I mean that he would treat those who come to investigate sincerely. Since he took the time to plan this trick, he probably wouldn't cheat someone. And since Ugly Fruit is embroidered, then what we'll obtain in the end must be something even better than this book Pursued Until Scattered. Naturally, this is only this young one's way of thinking. Another possibility is that right after he set the trick, he encountered an unrelated mishap and passed away, which might be why we have the current situation. So, to go or not is still a question best left up to all of you elders.”

Manor Lord Wei looked towards Wenren Heng. “What does Xiao Heng think?”

Wenren Heng smiled. “I trust Junior Brother's judgment.”

Everyone thought over the matter once more and then collectively turned to look at each other.

Academy Master Ge was the first one to say to go. He wasn't a fool. Amongst these people, only his son knew the exact place, so if they didn't go this time and, in the future, one of these men catches some evil intentions and decides to go investigate, the one in trouble would be his son.

The group then quickly decided on a good time to set out before dispersing.

Before leaving, Ye You looked at Academy Master Ge and laughingly told him to add some more guards for the next few days. Academy Master Ge stared before immediately realizing that if the thief no longer appeared, then it would be clear that the poisoner was hiding amongst them. Since the other party was probably not this foolish, people were still probably going to be sent over.

He nodded, watching them leave. When they were far enough away, he let out a sigh and said, “How worthy are the disciples that Elder Yu brought up, every single one is this incredible…”

The Junior Academy Master didn't hear the words clearly. “Dad?”

Academy Master Ge looked at him and all his anger came rushing out. “Look at them and look at yourself! Why don't you learn from their examples!”

The Junior Academy Master knew that his dad had been extra irritable recently and so immediately ran away.

The party had already left the gates. Wenren Heng intentionally slowed his pace and waited until there was a sufficient enough distance from those in front before looking towards his Junior Brother. “You didn't forget that you have to go see Miracle Doctor Ji at certain times.”

Ye You said, “I didn't forget. But don't you think this situation is quite fun?”

Wenren Heng said, “Speak the truth.”

Ye You said, “I'm really very interested in this.”

Wenren Heng knew the moment that he heard this that there was no stopping the other, so he began considering the possibility of pulling Miracle Doctor Ji along with them on the road. As he slowly walked on the stone bridge, he saw an aunt carrying a basket making straight for his Junior Brother.

A certain Elder of the Demonic Sect took a flower out of the basket and, with a pitched voice, asked, “Young sir, want to buy a flower?”

[1] 玄城紙 lit. “Mysterious city paper”. I don't think this is a real thing.

[2] 筆墨紙硯 lit. pen, ink, paper, and ink-stone.

[3] 醜果 I didn't explain it in the last chapter since the text said it was a name, and everyone probably would have read/heard it as a name until this moment. The 果 in this is “fruit”, and the 醜 in this is “ugly”, so very literally “ugly fruit”. But since the simplified is 丑, which is an actual surname in traditional (so the simplified -> traditional conversion didn't catch it), I didn't realize the fruit was actually 醜果 until just now. I'll be referring to it was “Ugly Fruit” from now on.

[4] The actual text actually says Manor Lord Wei here, but it's an obvious typo, so I changed it.

[5] 《淮南子》This is an actual Chinese text, so I left it in pinyin since that's how it's often written in English. It consists of famous Daoist and Confucian discourses/debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan. (淮南子 literally just means “Writings of Huainan”.)

[6] This is a really well-known Chinese fable. Kind of like the equivalent of the western story of the ostrich sticking its head in the sand and thinking it can't be seen. You do not have to be a scholar to know it lmao.

So I've been kind of switching pronouns willy-nilly for this hypothetical poisoner and/or book-leaver. It's probably Ye You huh. But I just wanted to point out that the pronoun used in text is actually 他, meaning they think it's a single person but they're unsure of the gender. I started out using “they” because singular-they is something folks use a lot in English when they aren't sure about the gender of the person they're talking about. But then I occasionally slip into just “he” because I suck at consistency I wanted it clear that they think it's a single person. I'll probably streamline this in later edits, but for now I hope my inconsistent pronoun usage isn't too confusing.

Also, in case it wasn't clear, everyone thinks that the Ugly Fruit refers to the book itself, but Academy Master Ge thinks it means “ugly on the outside but delicious on the inside” (so the book is hiding some undisclosed secrets), while Ye You thinks that it's more straightforward — the book is the Ugly Fruit and the true treasure is something still inside the cave.

Chapter end