Chapter 56 Entering the Imperial Board of Astronomy

"I plan to go to the Imperial Board of Astronomy."

Qin Yuan looked at Li Shoumin and said earnestly.

The Imperial Board of Astronomy was founded nineteen years ago by the leader of the alchemists. By now, it had become the most dazzling presence in all the dynasties.

As the saying goes, minor hermits hide in the wilderness, moderate hermits hide in the marketplace, and grand hermits hide in the imperial court. If he wanted to live in seclusion, he would do so in the most dazzling place of all.

Furthermore, Qin Yuan was preparing to make a move against the alchemists.

"The Imperial Board of Astronomy."

Li Shoumin nodded. "It is a place of boundless prospects. Perhaps you can escape the suffering of this mortal flesh."

Qin Yuan glanced at Li Shoumin.

The inner vitality of the old man was severely depleted; he probably had about ten more years to live. If Qin Yuan intervened, extending his life by several decades would be effortless. But what of it? It would be utterly meaningless.

Qin Yuan turned his gaze to an inconspicuous mound of earth nearby. There was no gravestone. A wave of spiritual sense swept across it. It was the skeleton of a donkey. One could faintly recognize it as his beloved little donkey.

"How did it die?"

"It starved itself to death."

Li Shoumin said it very calmly. So much time had passed that the sorrow in his heart had long since been worn away.

Qin Yuan paused, and that was the end of it. If the death of the fourth donkey by starvation was a tiny ripple, his inner self was a boundless ocean. In other words, he had lost the capacity for feelings such as distress, stifled grief, or sadness.

This was the price of immortality.

"Do you care for donkey meat?" Li Shoumin suddenly asked.

Qin Yuan paused and shook his head. "I do not care for donkey meat."

*I do not care for donkey meat.*

Qin Yuan repeated it in his heart once more. This was a response to that faint ripple within him.

Clatter, clatter... The sound of carriage wheels came from afar, sounding abrupt in the desolate and lonely graveyard.

Li Shoumin looked back and, seeing the Ximen family's carriage, his expression soured. "Have you become Madam Ximen's lover?"

"It is her widowed daughter."

Qin Yuan added, "We only listen to operas together."

Whether the other person believed it or not was their own affair. Qin Yuan walked an upright path and acted with integrity, owing no shame to the heavens, bearing no burden to himself, and fearing no slander from the world.

After a long while, Li Shoumin blurted out, "You truly are Old Qin's grandson."

...

In the blink of an eye, September arrived, and the seventy-five-year-old Yang Huchan fell critically ill.

In the Yang residence, inside Yang Huchan's bedroom, the atmosphere was bleak and desolate. Qin Yuan stood among the crowd, looking at Yang Huchan on the sickbed. He was considered of a younger generation now and had no qualification to step forward.

"Come here."

Calling whom? Qin Yuan looked left and right.

"Come here."

Yang Huchan's withered, stick-like hand made a weak gesture toward Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan stepped out from the crowd and approached the bed, which was already packed with people.

Yang Huchan used a hand that looked like tree bark to take Qin Yuan's hand and placed it into the hand of a young man.

Qin Yuan recognized this person; his name was Yang Youqi, Yang Huchan's grandson. He was a prodigy in the arcane arts and currently a registered disciple of the Director of the Imperial Board of Astronomy, making him the most promising member of the Yang family's third generation.

"From now on, you must look out for one another."

Yang Huchan's turbid eyes held a profound meaning.

Others assumed Yang Huchan was asking his grandson to take care of Qin Yuan out of regard for the late Qin Yuan. However, Qin Yuan suspected that this old fellow was starting to harbor doubts about his identity.

Qin Yuan had known many people in his life, but the shrewdest and cleverest of them all was Yang Huchan. Aside from that one time he almost fell into a trap, his entire life had been smooth sailing.

Qin Yuan felt the back of his hand being patted. Looking at Yang Huchan, the old man's lips formed six silent words: *Take care of him, I beg you.*

Sure enough, he suspected me.

Qin Yuan did not nod. *Forgive me, Old Brother Yang, but I trust no one.*

With a trace of suspicion lingering in his eyes, Yang Huchan permanently closed them.

Yang Huchan was not Qin Yuan's closest friend, but he was the only person with whom Qin Yuan had ever felt an instant, kindred connection.

"Old Brother Yang, I will take care of your grandson," Qin Yuan said quietly in his heart.

By mid-September, it was the time of year for the Imperial Board of Astronomy to recruit new personnel.

In front of the Star-Plucking Tower of the Imperial Board of Astronomy, Qin Yuan, looking slightly more plump, stepped down from the Ximen family's carriage. Over these past days, Miss Ximen had pampered him as if every day were the New Year—it felt like a year passed by in a single day.

Yet, there were also vexing matters.

Over the years, to support external wars of conquest and suppress the Datong Army (formerly the Datong Society), Zheng Sanfa had heavily promoted exclusive banking houses and printed silver notes in vast quantities, leading to a severe depreciation of the currency. A hundred-liang silver note could buy a plow ox or two yellow oxen nine years ago; a year later, it was worth one yellow ox; seven years ago, a pig; five years ago, a sack of grain; three years ago, a chicken; a year ago, two eggs; and this year, it was worth only a single egg.

He calculated his losses: several hundred... liang.

Indeed, just several hundred liang. Before entering his state of pseudo-death, Qin Yuan had converted all his paper money into physical goods and inflation-proof assets. As an immortal being, if he lacked even this basic awareness, he might as well just die.

As these thoughts turned in his mind, Qin Yuan arrived in front of the Star-Plucking Tower.

He looked up.

The Star-Plucking Tower stood twelve stories high, appearing rather abrupt in a world where buildings were generally short.

Just as he was about to step onto the stone stairs, voices discussing a topic drifted over:

"Lü Li died last night."

"Lü Li? Really? You aren't mistaken, are you?"

"It's true beyond a doubt. It seems he went mad from a deviation in his cultivation and died."

Immediately afterward, a wave of suppressed cheers erupted nearby. One could easily tell how deeply hated Lü Li had been.

*Brother Yunfei, your son brought this upon himself; it is not that this brother lacks loyalty...*

Qin Yuan stepped onto the stairs and entered the Star-Plucking Tower of the Imperial Board of Astronomy.

Six plaques immediately caught his eye: Apothecary, Qi-Watcher, Artifact Refiner, Feng Shui Master, Formation Master, and Qi Practitioner.

Qin Yuan walked straight toward the plaque that read "Qi-Watcher."

Sitting behind the table and wearing mourning attire was Yang Youqi, the grandson of Yang Huchan, who held the post of Secretary of the Qi-Watching Department.

"This is my household registration document and my ivory tally."

The household registration was essentially a household booklet, and the ivory tally served as an identity card. Qin Yuan had prepared them before undergoing his transformation.

Yang Youqi showed no reaction at all. Qin Yuan leaned forward to take a look and discovered the fellow was actually reading a history book that Qin Yuan himself had written.

"Ahem."

Yang Youqi took the household registration, flipped through it, paused, and looked up in surprise. "It's you."

He quickly added, "Sit."

After sitting down, Qin Yuan asked a question, and Yang Youqi answered. Anyone watching might have thought Qin Yuan was the one conducting the recruitment.

Qin Yuan was utterly speechless. Yang Huchan's grandson and Yang Huchan were absolute extremes—one was as slippery as an eel, while the other was as dull as wood.

Qin Yuan glanced at the history book Yang Youqi had been reading earlier. The latter explained, "My grandfather instructed me to read more of the history books written by your grandfather, so that I might learn his ways of surviving in the world."

As he spoke, a pure look of reverence filled his eyes.

"Learn?" Qin Yuan was somewhat surprised. Yang Huchan actually held him in such high regard?

"Yes. When my grandfather was still alive, he often praised your grandfather, saying that your grandfather was stronger than him because he never capsized his boat even until his dying day." Yang Youqi wore a very earnest expression.

*So that is how the Grand Director viewed me in his heart...* Qin Yuan felt a wave of mixed emotions.

"Let's not speak of these things."

Yang Youqi put the history book away and explained to Qin Yuan via voice transmission what a Qi-Watcher actually did.

One aspect was testing the truth of words; another was observing the fortune of an individual or the destiny of a nation. When one reached a profound level, they could even tamper with destiny and conceal heavenly secrets.

Just as Qin Yuan was about to marvel at how formidable it sounded, Yang Youqi sheepishly added, "What I just mentioned is still being explored by the Director. Right now, all we can actually do is test the truth of words and perform basic qi-watching."

Qin Yuan was speechless—not because the other spoke nonsense, but because of the "testing the truth of words" part.

The most common application for testing the truth of words was none other than the Ministry of Punishments, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate. In other words, after coming full circle, he still hadn't managed to leave the celestial prison (which was under the Ministry of Punishments).

"The gallstone fluid contained in this bottle, when dripped into the eyes, can open the Heavenly Eye."

Yang Youqi handed over a small white porcelain vial.

Qin Yuan took it, hesitated for a moment, and dripped the liquid into his eyes. Instantly, a burning sensation washed over him. Qin Yuan instinctively closed his eyes, but the sensation came and went quickly.

When he opened his eyes once more, a pale white qi, slightly dimmed, appeared above Yang Youqi's head.

"What kind of qi do you see?"

"White, slightly dimmed."

Yang Youqi nodded and asked solemnly, "Why do you wish to enter the Imperial Board of Astronomy?"

"I was passing by, saw that they were recruiting, and walked in," Qin Yuan replied calmly.

Yang Youqi stared at Qin Yuan in astonishment.

Qin Yuan gazed back at Yang Youqi with equal calm.

Yang Youqi's throat bobbed as if he wanted to say something, but then his ears twitched. He nodded slightly, retrieved a token from his sea of qi, and pushed it across the table toward Qin Yuan. "From now on, you are a Record Officer of the Qi-Watching Department in the Imperial Board of Astronomy."

Someone had just transmitted a voice message to Yang Youqi. In the Imperial Board of Astronomy, there was only one person who could give direct orders to Yang Youqi—the Director.

"Just like that?" Qin Yuan feigned surprise.

"This is an order personally issued by the Director," Yang Youqi answered honestly.

Director: "..."
Qin Yuan: "..."

Was this truly Yang Huchan's grandson? Could it be that the Yang family scion had been cuckolded?