boyutpedia Chapter 172 8 Doors
Chapter 172 8 Doors
Chapter 172 Eight Gates
Ye Ru's words plunged everyone into silence. They seemed to be in a strange world. Thousands of students in the square were all silent and dared not speak. Some of them could not understand and tried to understand but felt blocked. Hua Mufeng and others, on the other hand, had a sudden realization and their eyes lit up.
"The lingering sound..."
Ye Ru finished speaking, but his voice still lingered in everyone's ears, leaving Hua Mufeng in shock. He then murmured to himself.
He knew that as long as the words lingered in their ears, they would surely be of great benefit to them.
As for Kong Hexuan, he was completely impressed by Ye Ru. Now he finally understood why Ye Ru dared to challenge the Hundred Schools of Thought as a student from a poor family—it was because he had the talent!
After a moment, many people snapped out of their thoughts.
"I have merely offered a preliminary explanation of my study methods. I hope you all will continue to encourage me. I wish you all the best in the next imperial examination!"
Ye Ru bowed to the crowd, and in a moment, thunderous applause erupted, like a torrent that resounded through the sky.
"Ye Anshou's scholarship is beyond my reach; I fear that several Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) cannot compare to Ye Ru alone. I have a premonition that the glory of the Chinese nation fifteen years ago will likely return today."
Fang Zifeng sighed, but there was no trace of jealousy or disappointment in his voice. They all knew that first and foremost, they were people of the Yanhuang Kingdom, and only secondly, they were scholars.
Reading knows no borders, but those who read do!
"Today I truly admire Ye Ru to the point of prostration. Despite being questioned by many old scholars, he was still able to express his thoughts without changing his expression. In contrast, the method I proposed was rejected by the Hua family, leading me to angrily retreat to Qingyan Mountain. Now, it seems that compared to Ye Ru, I am utterly ashamed of my own lack of magnanimity."
Hua Mufeng also shook his head. Ye Ru's actions had completely opened his heart.
"Master Ye, why don't you come to my Liufeng Private School to give a lecture tomorrow? I will definitely give you the largest space in my Liufeng Private School!"
The teacher of Liufeng Private School shouted loudly.
'How can you be so shameless, old man? My Peixin Private School has twice the space; it will surely greatly enhance your literary reputation!'
The teacher of Peixin Private School got anxious and quickly spoke up, which made everyone present chuckle.
At the same time, he was extremely envious of the calm and composed young man in front of him. At such a young age, and still a student from a poor family, he had managed to achieve such a level.
"Gentlemen, please don't laugh at me. What merit do I possess? It has taken immense courage for me to presume to show off my limited skills before so many gentlemen."
Ye Ru shook his head and said modestly.
"Sigh, I knew it would turn out like this."
Both gentlemen sighed.
"In that case, shall I head back now?"
Ye Ru asked tentatively.
"Chief Ye, I've heard that you've co-authored a book with someone else. Is that true?"
Master Qin, holding a book in his hand, asked loudly, intending to embarrass Ye Ru.
Upon hearing this, Ye Ru's expression darkened somewhat, then he smiled and said:
"The writing is real, but..."
"Given Ye Anshou's talent and learning, it's unlikely he could co-author a book with someone else, is it?"
Master Qin's words were laced with sarcasm.
"Alright, that concludes the lecture. Students, please return home."
Seeing the displeasure on Ye Ru's face, Fang Zifeng suddenly remembered what had happened before and quickly said something.
Ye Ru glanced at Master Qin, then slowly stepped off the stage.
After Ye Ru finished his lecture, all the students of Wenxing Private School returned to their respective classes, and the teachers continued their teaching.
"Master Ye, this lecture was excellent. If every student possessed your talent, how could our Chinese nation not prosper?"
In Fang Zifeng's study, Magistrate Zhang and Registrar Wen, among others, were all gathered.
"The magistrate flatters me. I am of limited talent and knowledge and not worth mentioning."
Ye Ru bowed and then said softly.
"Now let's talk about something: was your 'Investiture of the Gods' really co-authored with someone else?"
After Magistrate Zhang finished speaking, he took out a book and said to the former in a deep voice.
"No, someone changed the name. I suspect it was the Left Prime Minister who had the strategists or Legalists do it."
Upon hearing this, a chill flashed in Ye Ru's eyes. Apart from the Left Prime Minister and the Legalists, he really couldn't think of anyone else with such ability.
"That would be a big problem. The book is already on sale. It's a popular book that not only scholars can read, but ordinary people can also understand. It's extremely popular, and most people believe that the first author of the book is someone named Lin'an, which has greatly increased Lin'an's literary reputation. But we don't know if this Lin'an is actually a real person or just made up."
Fang Zifeng frowned and said.
"Ye Ru, I asked Chen Ru about this. Lin'an is a person, but that's just his pen name. His real name is Wu Chang'an."
"I never imagined that such a person actually existed..."
Ye Ru's heart skipped a beat, but what Chen Sijun said next sent a chill down everyone's spines:
"However, this person died mysteriously the day before yesterday, without a single wound on his body. But according to Chen Ru's speculation, this matter should have been done by one of the Eight Gates."
"Eight Gates? What's that?"
Ye Ru raised his head, looking puzzled.
Fang Zifeng and the others looked at Chen Sijun with puzzlement.
"You may not know this, but besides the noble families, there are also powerful families, then prominent families, and poor families, etc. But there is an additional organization on this continent, which we call the Eight Outer Gates. These eight gates are different from others, not in the category of legitimate livelihood, and not belonging to the categories of workers, peasants, soldiers, students, and merchants."
Chen Sijun pondered for a moment, then explained to everyone.
"and then?"
Ye Ru asked, "Things are indeed not that simple."
"Since ancient times, there have been three religions and nine streams in the world. But regardless of the three religions or nine streams, people must have a profession to make a living, which has led to countless professions."
"There are 365 trades in the world, but there are also some that are not included in the 365 trades. They exist among the people who have separated from the families of saints and sages, and have organized various trades. Among them, the eight most representative and largest trades are called the Eight Outer Trades."
"These eight gates are the Thief Gate, the Gu Gate, the Mechanism Gate, the Thousand Gates, the Orchid Gate, the Divine Tuning Gate, the Red Handkerchief Gate, and the Life-Taking Gate."
Chen Sijun spoke slowly, then picked up a cup of tea and took a sip.
"Which of these eight schools killed this person?"
Ye Ru took a deep breath, looked at Chen Sijun, and asked again.
"they are……"
Chen Sijun frowned, remained silent for a long while, and then slowly uttered three words:
"The Gate of Death".