Chapter 63: Scroll Document

At that moment.

Yong Hwaeun, the branch leader, narrowed his eyes at his brother's report.

"Indeed, today's events are quite unexpected. Are the Thousand Silk and the Great Scholar truly strangers to each other?"

"Yes, there's no doubt about it. The genius of the Thousand Flowers Archive becoming a cripple is a story known to all. Moreover, the Great Scholar's expression of surprise was genuine."

"Hmm..."

Yong Hwaeun let out a sigh.

It was difficult to shake off his doubts.

Why did the Great Scholar deliberately speak harshly?

The dangers of the martial world are unpredictable.

Strong individuals can be found anywhere.

Minor disputes often turn into deep-seated grudges.

Even if the Thousand Silk has a just cause, conflicts are bound to arise, and they rarely end well.

While many would develop patience when thinking of the Thousand Silk, others might be so enraged that they would see red.

Therefore, what the Thousand Silk Six Paths need to understand is the reality and harshness of the martial world. The Great Scholar of the Thousand Flowers Archive, encountering this for the first time, was willing to endure the risks to enlighten them.

"He's not just being pedantic... Does this mean the Great Scholar is a person of deep sentiment?"

"He's a complex individual, hard to describe simply."

"Yes, that's true. Just by seeing how he naturally leads the Thousand Sky Sect, including the Golden Adversary and the Three Tribulations of the Demon, it's clear..."

Seeing how the Thousand Silk handles things reveals a deep understanding of the martial world's nature and dynamics. His ability to manage people, as seen in the Thousand Sky Sect, confirms that the genius of the Thousand Flowers Archive is a multifaceted individual.

Moreover, his brother's mention of being intimidated by the Inner Law suggests that his martial arts are not to be underestimated.

'The more I think about it, the more mysterious he seems.'

But for now, the branch leader put his doubts aside.

If the Thousand Flowers Archive's abilities can produce results for them, that's all that matters. The important thing is to decipher the document.

"Are you going now?"

"Yes."

"Go and come back."

"I hope to bring good news even by tonight."

Yong Hwaeun picked up the scroll on the table and said.

The branch leader laughed.

"Tonight? Even the Thousand Flowers Archive can't decipher it in a few hours."

"For some reason... I have high hopes."

"Of course, if it works out, that would be perfect. Good. If it takes longer, come to me anyway. I'm curious about the results. In the meantime, I'll go to the Yin Yao Hall to see Father."

"Yes."

***

Rustle.

Yong Hwaeun unfolded the scroll and handed it over.

"This is it."

The room contained only the two of them.

Hou Gong, upon receiving it, smiled bitterly.

The condition of the scroll and the traces of the brush strokes are recent. There was no need to examine it closely.

"It's not the original."

This scroll was likely created within the past month, at most. It was a rough estimate. It had been transcribed before.

Was it difficult to temporarily remove the original from the Ink Prince of the Nanhua Academy? It's hard to accept. This is unfair. The difference between a copy and the original is significant.

"Respected Sir, if the original is an ancient document, the material and patterns of the paper are also part of the code."

When he politely requested the original, an unexpected response came.

"It is a transcription, as you said. However, there is no difference from the original. You need not worry about this."

Yong Hwaeun's voice was calm and steady.

There was no sign of hesitation.

'...?'

A calmness that was neither excessive nor lacking.

And it was filled with confidence.

Hou Gong immediately revised his thoughts.

This means,

'It must be certain.'

No one needed the document deciphered more than the Medicine King Sect. There was no reason for them to make things difficult. For the Medicine King Sect, it didn't matter whether the solver was the Nanhua Academy or the Thousand Flowers Archive.

The reason for their confidence in the lack of difference between the original and the copy was a matter to be investigated later.

"Then let's take a look."

Hou Gong spread the scroll on the table, taking in the whole at a glance.

Now was the time to use this brilliant mind.

He focused intently.

What he saw were characters.

But they were completely unfamiliar. Symbols and marks were scattered throughout. There seemed to be some pattern, but he couldn't discern it immediately.

'Are these ancient characters?'

Hou Gong relaxed his body and gathered his thoughts.

With Fan Hang's knowledge and intellect, deciphering ancient languages should not be difficult.

He stared at it for about an hour.

Hou Gong's face turned red.

Even though he was aware of the redness, he couldn't do anything about it.

His pupils dilated and began to tremble.

Yong Hwaeun, who had been watching silently, was elated.

"Great... Great Scholar, have you found the answer?"

Hou Gong couldn't respond.

'This... What is this...?'

He understood nothing.

His eyes were so sore from staring.

So,

pretending to be deep in thought, he closed his eyes firmly.

"Ahem, please be quiet."

Yong Hwaeun, who had been excited, felt embarrassed and became dejected.

Hou Gong, inwardly sighing, found himself in a difficult situation.

'Is it not working? Ah... My Duyang Chong...'

The Duyang Chong was moving away.

Did he need more time? Or was he not using this mind properly? He hoped it was the former, but the lack of any sensation made Hou Gong increasingly anxious.

But he couldn't just remain anxious and stop.

He opened his eyes and focused on the document again.

This time, he concentrated his vision, tracing each character as if drawing it.

After one trace, then two, and as he began the third,

Twitch.

'Huh?'

While emptying his mind and tracing the characters, one of the characters he had passed over twitched and moved. Hou Gong quickly looked back at the twitching point, but the movement had disappeared as if it had never happened.

Was it an illusion?

His disappointment was brief.

This time, a character at the upper right corner twitched.

He quickly shifted his gaze, and the movement stopped immediately.

Now he was certain.

It wasn't an illusion.

'It stops when I look at it.'

The bottom twitched.

This time, he didn't focus his gaze but loosely kept it in his awareness. He didn't concentrate on each character but looked at the entire scroll vaguely.

Before long, an unexpected situation unfolded.

The characters began to move like worms.

They wriggled and sometimes scattered and disappeared.

'What is this...?'

Rearrangement.

The characters were changing their arrangement randomly.

The twitching intensified.

The shape of the characters broke and changed, and characters that were intact suddenly disappeared, with other characters filling the gaps.

The phenomenon continued.

They scattered, pulled other characters to form new arrangements, and sometimes returned to their original form.

Even when he focused, they didn't stop.

On the contrary, they accelerated, scattering, forming, and merging in all directions. Hou Gong watched in amazement. It was a spectacular sight.

He could sense what this meant, making his amazement even greater.

'Analyzing the rules.'

No matter what characters or codes, there must be inherent rules.

To grasp the fundamental rules, numerous trials and errors, combinations, and separations were necessary to find common factors.

Fan Hang, a genius, could do this to this extent.

To accomplish this in such a way.

Hou Gong marveled at his own body.

The remarkable aspect of this mind was that

it was solving the problem by visualizing and analyzing it in his head, like mental arithmetic.

The characters on the scroll were not actually changing.

The rearrangement and structural analysis were happening solely in his mind. The current situation was a visualization of Fan Hang's mental processes, invisible but visible.

Once this type of analysis was complete, it would not only decipher the code but also allow the code system to be used in other ways.

The speed of rearrangement became increasingly astonishing.

Then, in an instant,

all the characters scattered before his eyes.

Nothing remained, and all he could see was a white expanse. He had been so engrossed that he no longer heard the surrounding sounds.

Although he couldn't see anything, Hou Gong was not worried.

He knew why.

'They will appear now.'

Sure enough,

characters began to float in the white expanse.

A rather long sentence.

'...?'

It spoke of a treasure.

The coordinates of a 'definitive' treasure.

But what surprised Hou Gong was not the word 'treasure.'

The author of the document was the issue.

Now he understood why they said there was no difference between the original and the copy.

It was a person he could never have imagined.

At that moment,

a faint voice reached his ear.

The sound grew louder and clearer.

"Great Scholar, Great Scholar... Are you alright?"

His hearing and surroundings returned.

When Hou Gong looked at Yong Hwaeun, he saw a worried face.

"Respected Sir, what's the matter?"

"Ah... The Great Scholar's eyes turned a purple glow..."

"..."

It seemed that the Lingyan Eye had revealed itself unconsciously while he was engrossed.

"Ah, you were worried. I'm fine. But it seems you worry a lot, Respected Sir."

Yong Hwaeun, who couldn't stand the wait, looked at him with a pained expression.

"Of course, anyone would worry if there was no movement for half an hour."

"Ah... It's been that long."

To Hou Gong, it felt like only an hour, so he let out an absent-minded remark.

This made Yong Hwaeun's eyes light up with renewed hope.

"If you were so engrossed, you must have deciphered the document already."

"Hmm..."

"..."

"I'm sorry. Unfortunately, I only have a clue. Even that clue is uncertain, so I'm embarrassed. I'm ashamed."

Yong Hwaeun's eyes dimmed, matching his disappointment.

"Of course... It wouldn't be that easy."

"Don't be too disappointed. I can give you an answer in ten to fifteen days. I will definitely solve it within a month."

"..."

Yong Hwaeun, now more disappointed, was barely listening.

Naturally, Hou Gong didn't care about his reaction.

"By the way, Respected Sir, who is the author of this document? This complex code system is so impressive that I feel a deep respect."

"We obtained it from outside, so I can't tell you much."

While speaking, Yong Hwaeun subtly avoided eye contact.

Hou Gong pretended not to notice and nodded carefully.

"From outside? Heh, if you knew who the author was, you would have solved it through that channel. My apologies. But, on a different note..."

"Please speak freely."

"I would like to meet and greet the Medicine King Sect's leader when I have the chance. Is there an opportunity?"

"The leader is currently in seclusion. Even we can't see him."

"Ah, I have no luck. Then, when will the seclusion end?"

"I can't say for sure. It will likely be at least a few months."

"Heh... It seems I don't have the fortune to meet a noble person."

A forced smile appeared on Yong Hwaeun's face.

He couldn't hide his loss of interest and stood up.

"Then, I'll leave it to you. I'll come again."

As Yong Hwaeun opened the door, the Thousand Sky Sect members quickly stepped back.

They pretended to be doing something else, but it was clear they had been eavesdropping on the door.

Yong Hwaeun bowed and turned to leave.

As he moved away, the Thousand Sky Sect members eagerly entered and began examining the scroll.

"This must be an incredible treasure!"

"It could be the ultimate martial art."

"Let's decipher it quickly."

"I'll do it, I will!"

"Sister, we'll tear it if we keep this up."

Hou Gong was uninterested in the commotion.

He simply watched Yong Hwaeun's retreating back with a slight smile.

'What a joke.'

The Medicine King Sect's leader is in seclusion?

The author of the scroll was the Medicine King Sect's leader.

And the coordinates of the 'definitive' treasure were,

a location within the Medicine King Sect.