Chapter 73. Moon Rabbit Story (2)

Meanwhile, Longhuaqing hurriedly ran to the main hall and, without even catching his breath, shouted in front of the branch master,

"Brother, it's a serious matter! The Crown Prince is trying to steal the sect's treasures!"

"Calm down. What are you saying all of a sudden without any context?"

The branch master scolded him softly.

Longhuaqing immediately corrected his rash attitude.

There's a saying that the more urgent it is, the more you should take a step back. He reminded himself that there was still time to deal with the situation.

"I apologize. The content was so shocking that I acted rashly."

"Tell me what happened."

"The Crown Prince has already deciphered the documents and wanted to enter the Library because the treasures are there."

The branch master frowned.

"Source?"

"Thiengongdan."

"Thiengongdan?"

"Yes, Thiengongdan, having seen through the Crown Prince's intentions, pretended to agree but was actually waiting for the right moment."

As he spoke, Longhuaqing explained in detail the secret message sent by Jinjixian and the atmosphere within Thiengongdan.

"Hmm... So that's how it is."

The branch master nodded, muttering to himself.

Indeed, that's how it is.

He thought he had a general idea of what was happening, but now it became clear after hearing his brother's words.

"Documents and the Library... The Crown Prince is far more exceptional than I thought."

"Yes, he deciphered the documents in just three days, which is truly astonishing."

"Yes, he is indeed remarkable."

The branch master understood almost all the situations.

'How could such an outstanding genius be seen through...?'

How could Thiengongdan know his inner thoughts? Even if they forced his mind open, they wouldn't be able to read what was written inside.

The fact that Thiengongdan knew,

means the Crown Prince must have explained it in detail.

"But brother, although he has a brilliant mind, he is also a devious and sinister person."

"Hmm... I see."

The branch master nodded.

"Still, I am very grateful for Thiengongdan. The way they made the wild boar hunt look sloppy surprised me."

"Yes, it's a fortunate and grateful thing."

The branch master stroked his chin.

Was Thiengongdan feeding false information to his brother?

'Just for amusement, probably.'

In the same vein as the wild boar hunt.

If the Crown Prince and Thiengongdan had a falling out?

'It would have been a chaotic fight long ago.'

The members of Thiengongdan,

lack the patience to wait for the right moment.

They just...

Thiengongdan has been faithfully following the Crown Prince's intentions from the beginning to now.

And,

the warmth and kindness he feels from the Crown Prince.

Not only did he protect Mokgongja of Nanhuaxuan from a potential mistake by Yaowangmen, but he also entered the Library to find his father's treasures.

With the documents deciphered, it's understandable to be tempted.

It's also understandable to suspect evil intentions,

and to think they might incite Thiengongdan,

but there's none of that.

'Why?'

Questions arise.

He needs to hear it directly to understand.

The branch master looked intently at his brother.

His brother's eyes were bloodshot from fatigue, and his under-eye circles were dark. For his brother, today was a long and tiring day. It's not surprising that he couldn't notice everything, given the chaos of the day.

"Huaqing."

"Yes, speak."

"You've done a great job. Finally, we can see the end. The dark cipher documents and your father's treasures."

"Yes, finally. We will also see the Crown Prince's flustered face."

The branch master smiled.

"Yes, we will. Your contribution is significant."

"I am embarrassed."

"No, you did well."

"Thank you."

Longhuaqing bowed.

"Is the Crown Prince expected to come out around midnight?"

"Yes."

"Gather the elders and the heads. Tell them the story and we will all go together."

"Yes!"

***

At that moment,

Hou Gong was walking around the Library, taking a large circle.

The Library was spacious.

Almost 300 square meters.

The ceiling was high, and the walls were lined with bookshelves. There were also bookshelves placed intermittently, so the pathways were between the bookshelves.

Hou Gong, while looking around, first checked for any formations.

He activated the Ziling Eye.

He observed the reaction of the qi.

Formations are combinations of qi.

They create qi by harmonizing the Five Elements based on Yin and Yang. In more detail, the direction, soil, and even the influence of the seasons can add more diverse effects.

Among them, there are life and death, illusions and reality, and the realms of shadow and light.

'A Dark Formation series.'

He could see a wavy reaction at certain points. It connected from the corners of the walls to the center of the ceiling, and down to the lower part of the left bookshelf.

The installed formation was only to hide the path leading to this floor with illusions.

In the past, he might have been able to sense the formation with the Ziling Eye, but he wouldn't have been able to understand its characteristics. However, with his current mind, finding the answer was not difficult.

'Now, let's see what the treasure is.'

A treasure more remarkable than the Jin Gong Dan.

It was said to be incomparable to anything else. Although he had no intention of taking it, it was natural for Hou Gong to be curious.

The books on the shelves were well-maintained.

The organization was in top condition.

As expected, the numbers of the books were engraved on the lower part of each bookshelf.

<The shadow of the medicine room under the moonlight points to a place. There, 'One' and 'Three Hundred and Seventy-Five' are written.>

He followed the numbers.

'Two hundred thirty... Two hundred fifty-nine... Three hundred sixty-seven...'

Soon, Hou Gong found the marking for 'Three Hundred and Seventy-Five.'

He immediately took out the book.

On the cover, the words 'Moon Rabbit Story' were clearly visible.

'Hmm?'

Moon Rabbit Story.

A story about moon rabbits?

Not only the title, but what puzzled Hou Gong was the illustration.

Two rabbits were depicted.

They were even holding mallets and pounding a mortar, drawn in a simple and cute style.

He checked the bookshelf number again, thinking he might have picked the wrong one. It was correct.

Was it swapped with another book?

He examined the nearby books.

But the surrounding books were all about herbs and plants.

Most importantly, the numbers on the front of the surrounding books matched the bookshelf numbers.

Only the Moon Rabbit Story book had no number, only the bookshelf number 'Three Hundred and Seventy-Five.'

It seemed he had found the right one, but why rabbits?

'Might be a preconception.'

Indeed.

What if it's rabbits, or tigers?

The important thing is the content.

Hou Gong shook off his preconception, sat down, and opened the book.

The first sentence was,

"Once upon a time, there were two rabbit brothers living in the Moon Kingdom."

"..."

The preconception he had shaken off quickly returned.

'Really... a fairy tale?'

Despite his initial skepticism, the first sentence with "once upon a time" and "Moon Kingdom" left no room for doubt.

The Moon Rabbit Story was about two rabbits living in the Moon Kingdom.

Hou Gong's lips dried.

He had entered the Library, vowing to find the treasure...

He looked at the Moon Rabbit Story again.

There was still hope, as the story of the Moon Rabbit Story was just beginning.

"Brother Rabbit and Little Brother Rabbit.

Every day, they had a task to do.

It started when the Sun returned home. After the Sun said goodbye and the dark night arrived, they began their task.

They pounded the mortar until the Sun woke up the next morning. Every day, every day, every day."

"..."

The more he read, the more his hope faded.

The repetitive words clearly indicated a story for children.

"To make the moon shine, they had to pound the mortar.

With each pound, the moon gained strength."

He tried to focus, thinking it might be a cipher, but nothing changed.

"Brother would pound once, then Little Brother would pound once. Thump, thump, thump."

"..."

"Thump, thump. The mallet was heavy, and they could never stop."

'Too many thumps. Just pounding the mortar until morning... '

"One day, Little Brother was curious.

Why does the moon have to shine? It's just tiring, thump, thump, every day."

'Hmm, that's true.'

Hou Gong nodded.

"Brother Rabbit answered. Little Brother, look over there.

Where? Thump, thump.

Even while talking, the brothers' hands didn't stop.

Look over there. Can you see the people making wishes to the moon?

Yes, I can see them."

"..."

"Listen carefully.

Little Brother perked up his ears.

Strangely, he could hear the people's voices. Someone had a sick family member. 'I wish the moon would shine brightly so they can get better.'

Someone was singing about love.

Someone was longing, and others were just looking and smiling. Thousands, tens of thousands, like the stars, people were looking at the moon every night."

"..."

"Brother, people are making wishes.

Yes, that's why the moon has to shine.

Yes."

'This kid agrees too quickly.'

Hou Gong chuckled.

Little Brother was naive.

Meanwhile, the story was racing towards its end.

"Thump, thump.

Brother Rabbit and Little Brother didn't feel tired.

They gained strength from hearing the wishes.

And the next day, people were happy because their wishes came true. Seeing their smiles gave them more strength.

Brother and Little Brother, thump, thump.

Together, thump, thump.

So the moon shines brightly today.

Because Brother Rabbit and Little Brother in the Moon Kingdom are always on good terms."

The story ended there.

"Ha ha ha..."

The treasure, more remarkable than the Jin Gong Dan, ended with countless thumps, leaving Hou Gong rubbing his beard awkwardly and letting his hand fall.

'Where did it all go wrong?'

Was the cipher decoding wrong?

No, the document decoding was accurate.

Hadn't he already cross-verified it? If it was wrong, even a single error would have been pointed out by Mok Ying of Nanhuaxuan.

Was there a possibility that the medicine room's shadow didn't point to the Library?

No, he had already confirmed that there were no other buildings around or behind the Library.

Thus, he felt even more at a loss.

Sighing deeply, Hou Gong closed the Moon Rabbit Story and stared at it.

"Huh?"

His eyes widened at the inscription on the back cover.

"My treasure, Huayun, Huaqing."

'Treasure...'

It was written in small letters.

"Ha ha..."

Hou Gong, feeling absurd in a different way, brought the book close to his eyes to examine it again. Nothing had changed.

"My treasure, Huayun, Huaqing."

"Ha ha ha..."

So that's why it was written.

The question of whether it was possible.

Hou Gong recalled the content of the document.

- I, the Master of Yaowangmen.

Show your heart, and the humble will listen.

People think my greatest masterpiece is the Jin Gong Dan, but it is not.

My greatest and most shining masterpiece.

My greatest and most magnificent treasure is

not the Jin Gong Dan.

It is incomparable to anything.

It is absolute, special, and unique.

- If you ask when I was happiest in my life,

it was when I saw the treasure,

and when the treasure smiled at me.

The Moon Rabbit Story he read to his young sons.

That treasure-like time.

And as a father, not as the Master of Yaowangmen,

his treasure is

- Huayun, Huaqing.