Chapter 1032: Jinshu

Inside a covered walkway at the Bright Wheel Hall, Zhuge Yuan walked back to his residence, his face clouded with dejection. The old man's words had wounded him deeply. No matter what he said, the old man kept insisting that rules were rules, that everyone had their place and role, and that there was to be absolutely no overstepping of boundaries.

Doing odd jobs was fine; it wasn't that he was unwilling to work. But they weren't teaching him anything! What was the point of him coming all this way, enduring such hardships, just to do odd jobs?

It wasn't just that they taught him nothing; Zhuge Yuan was also deeply dissatisfied with how the Bright Wheel Hall constantly divided people into different classes. He realized that the outside world was completely different from what he had imagined back in the mountains.

“No,” Zhuge Yuan immediately clenched his fists. “I can't just let this go. I can't give up so easily.”

“But… in this situation, how can I break this deadlock?” Standing under the covered walkway, Zhuge Yuan leaned against a square window on the left, gazing out at the green lake, lost in thought.

Suddenly, his green pupils, reflected in the lake's surface, lit up. “That’s right,” he thought, “the Bright Wheel Hall isn't run by just one person. I can go find Li Jinshu!” The young man who wrote erotic poetry had left a deep impression on him.

Compared to the old man's stubborn and sour temper, Li Jinshu's attitude was clearly much better. And he had previously said that Zhuge Yuan could enter the Bright Wheel Hall.

“What’s more,” he recalled, “from the old man’s tone, it sounded like their statuses in this rigidly hierarchical Bright Wheel Hall weren’t too different.” As soon as this thought struck him, Zhuge Yuan immediately put all other concerns aside, turned around, and headed toward Li Jinshu's residence.

Having walked the path once that night, Zhuge Yuan soon arrived at Li Jinshu’s small bamboo courtyard. As he pushed open the gate and stepped inside, he saw Li Jinshu lying on a lounge chair, eating green bodhi fruit and engrossed in a book.

Li Jinshu was reading so intently that he didn't notice Zhuge Yuan until he was quite close. When Zhuge Yuan got to that position, he could clearly make out the title on the book's cover: *Verses from Brothels*.

“Ah, little brother Zhuge, what brings you here?” Li Jinshu said, sitting up. “Nothing to do, perhaps you want to study this 'classic of debauchery' with a fellow student?” He then enthusiastically began to recommend books to Zhuge Yuan, praising the one in his hand as if it were the most unique and valuable book in existence.

“Ahem, Elder Li,” Zhuge Yuan said, his gaze quickly shifting away from the explicit text and illustrations on the book, his face reddening slightly. “I came to discuss something else.”

“Alas, you're still too young to know what's truly valuable,” Li Jinshu sighed, slumping back onto the lounge chair after having half-raised himself. “Alright, what is it?” He continued flipping through his book.

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Yuan immediately recounted his conversation with the old man and explained his current predicament.

Hearing this, Li Jinshu’s eyes widened, and he sat bolt upright on the lounge chair. “What? The Hall not only didn’t admit you, but they’re making you an errand boy?”

“Um… you didn’t know?”

“Of course I didn’t! After Elder Sigong checked you out and found nothing amiss, he told me everything would be handled by him.”

Zhuge Yuan said with a hint of resignation, “It seems Elder Sigong had already planned not to let me into the Bright Wheel Hall. He only said that to temporarily reassure you.”

“Come with me!” Li Jinshu, filled with righteous indignation, instantly put away his 'classic of debauchery' and stood up.

“Where are we going?” Zhuge Yuan asked, a little bewildered.

“To find some people. This matter can’t possibly end like this.” With that, Li Jinshu led Zhuge Yuan out of the courtyard.

Following the figure in front of him, Zhuge Yuan saw more of the Bright Wheel Hall for the first time. He realized just how vast it was, so big that it even had a small lake within its grounds.

Moving continuously through various courtyards and connecting corridors, Zhuge Yuan followed Li Jinshu as they met all sorts of people in the Bright Wheel Hall.

Zhuge Yuan couldn't identify the statuses of these people within the Bright Wheel Hall, but he was certain that Li Jinshu had a reason for seeking them out.

However, as time slowly passed, the confident expression on Li Jinshu’s face gradually faded.

“You say this young man's tutor has old connections with powerful figures in the Hall. What evidence do you have?”

“There is evidence! My tutor wrote a letter for me, but Elder Sigong took it.”

“Words alone are no proof. Bring the letter.”

It was as if they had all conspired, each person demanding to see the letter. They all insisted that they would only discuss anything further after seeing it.

By this point, both of them finally realized that Sigong had had this path controlled from the very beginning. Ever since Zhuge Yuan gave him the letter last time, he had never returned it.

“Sigh,” Li Jinshu sat down on the steps, letting out a helpless sigh. “Elder Sigong really went a bit too far this time.”

“Let’s go find him!” Zhuge Yuan instantly flared up, feeling this was just too much bullying, such deliberate targeting.

But Li Jinshu quickly reached out and pulled him back. “What good would going to him do? If you argue with him, you’ll lose your standing even if you’re right. Don’t forget, this is the Bright Wheel Hall, and you’re just an outsider right now. Besides, you’ve seen his foul temper before. Do you really think you can persuade him to give you the letter back or something?”

“Then what do we do?”

“Don’t rush, let me think,” Li Jinshu said, sitting back down on the steps and resting his chin on his knees in thought.

After leaning against a wooden pillar and thinking for a while, Zhuge Yuan spoke again: “Even without the letter, the Bright Wheel Hall should still have a way to verify my background, right?”

After all, it was such a renowned place; it was impossible they had no means to verify someone’s identity without a letter.

“Yes, there are,” Li Jinshu replied, “but do you think you’re qualified for them to use them on you? Right now, you are asking something of them, not the other way around, with them eagerly begging you to join the Hall.”

Hearing this, Zhuge Yuan couldn't help but let out a deep sigh. He stopped pacing and sat down on the steps alongside Li Jinshu.

“How about you go back again and ask your tutor to write another letter?”

“Let’s not,” Zhuge Yuan replied. “That would take several more months just to go back and forth. Besides, I decided I wouldn’t return until I had made something of myself. Going back like this… how embarrassing would that be?”

After thinking for a while longer, Li Jinshu’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Aha! I’ve thought of a way. No letter, no problem. We can go directly to Wang Changxu!”

Zhuge Yuan was completely bewildered by this. “But isn’t he already dead?”

“Yes, he’s dead, but his memorial tablet is still enshrined in the Hall,” Li Jinshu said. With this thought, he immediately stood up and walked towards the eaves on the left.

Zhuge Yuan quickly followed, his eyes wide with shock. “Is that even allowed?” he asked.

“Of course it is,” Li Jinshu replied. “Don’t underestimate the Bright Wheel Hall.”

Under Li Jinshu's guidance, Zhuge Yuan walked deeper into the Bright Wheel Hall. The further they went, the more secluded and enclosed it became. Paths connected one another, adorned with rocks and strange trees. High walls combined with unusual rocks, making the place seem like a continuous maze.

After walking for about the time it takes two incense sticks to burn (around 20-30 minutes), Li Jinshu’s steps suddenly halted. “Shh! Stop! Duck down!”

Zhuge Yuan quickly stopped, pressing himself tightly against a rockery. He didn’t dare move an inch, but he saw nothing and heard no sound.

Only when Li Jinshu signaled to move again did Zhuge Yuan resume walking forward. “Be quieter, slow your steps, don’t let them discover us!”

Zhuge Yuan was stunned. Lowering his voice to a whisper, mimicking Li Jinshu, he asked, “Elder Li, what are we doing? Why are we sneaking around like thieves? Can’t we just walk in openly?”

“Nonsense, of course not!” Li Jinshu retorted. “The Bright Wheel Hall has so many rules. How could they possibly let an outsider like you see the memorial tablets of the ancestors?”

“But it’s fine, just follow me. I know exactly where people guard, where we can go, and where we can’t! I know this place inside out! Hurry and keep up!” Li Jinshu pressed himself even lower.

Zhuge Yuan glanced back at the path, which was gradually becoming shrouded in a thin mist. He was starting to regret relying on this unreliable fellow, Li Jinshu.

Under Li Jinshu’s lead, they wound their way around for a while longer until a two-story ancient house appeared before them. Its vine-covered roof completely blocked out the sunlight, shrouding the area below in deep shadow.

Li Jinshu approached the ancient house, pulled open a door, and carefully stepped inside. Zhuge Yuan quickly followed.

Due to the lack of light, Zhuge Yuan could only vaguely make out many pillars inside the hall. As he drew closer, he realized that beneath the pillars were rows upon rows of bookshelves.

“Almost there. Just through this Jiezi Zhai,” Li Jinshu explained, lowering his voice again.

“Elder Li, if you had told me earlier that this was against the rules, I wouldn’t have come,” Zhuge Yuan whispered.

“Boy, if I’m not afraid, why are you?” Li Jinshu scoffed. “You haven’t even entered the Bright Wheel Hall yet, so what rules are you upholding? There'll be plenty of time for you to follow rules once you're actually in the Hall.”