049 Wen Xin was stolen and replaced (Part 1)

Wait...

Her three taels of silver?

Shen Tang's mind raced, combined with her usual tendency for flights of fancy, and she came up with countless speculations. Could she be the legendary chosen one? In a world where science ruled, being unscientific was the epitome of science. But considering her luck and the hellish start she'd had—losing her family and being robbed upon arrival—she couldn't help but shake her head at her own delusions.

She was far from being the chosen one.

She was simply an unlucky soul, plagued with misfortune at every turn.

"Is there some kind of story or secret behind this?" Shen Tang tried to make her tone less narcissistic, but her lips couldn't help but curl up slightly as she asked Chu Yao, "Does the person who gives the three taels of silver have to be me, or can it be anyone, but it must be three taels of silver?"

Chu Yao's unexpected answer caught her off guard.

"I don't know."

Chu Yao's unconventional response left Shen Tang with a big question mark hanging over her head. She raised her voice in disbelief, "You don't know???"

"This matter is complicated... and I'm not entirely sure myself."

Shen Tang: "...I have time to listen to you explain."

Just like Qu Shan, who liked to end conversations abruptly with a casual remark about the complexity of the matter, leaving her curious and scratching her head.

"Is Wu Lang really curious?" 

Shen Tang admitted honestly, "Very curious!"

"In that case, let's start with the year of my enlightenment..."

Chu Yao began to adopt the posture of a storyteller, preparing to narrate the tale, but Shen Tang wasn't one to sit quietly and listen to a story. As soon as he began, she interrupted, "The year of your enlightenment? What happened?"

Although Chu Yao wasn't as fond of leaving people hanging as Qu Shan, the timeline of the story was too early, so it was no wonder it would be complicated.

"Nothing happened that year."

Shen Tang: "..."

The silence behind her made Chu Yao smile wryly. Even without turning around, he could imagine the puzzled expression on the boy's face on the mule's back.

Chu Yao continued casually, "I simply sensed the qi of heaven and earth during my literacy enlightenment year, and in the same year, I cultivated my literary talent."

Shen Tang asked, "What grade is your literary talent?"

Chu Yao replied, "Upper middle grade of the second rank."

Shen Tang was speechless, "So high???"

Qu Shan could only drag himself to the lower middle grade of the sixth rank.

The upper middle grade of the second rank was just below the highest rank of the first rank.

Possessing a literary talent of the upper middle grade of the second rank was like holding a royal flush. How did Chu Yao manage to get to his current position?

It was truly mind-boggling.

Hearing Shen Tang's unvarnished amazement, Chu Yao's tone turned somewhat desolate. "High? It's quite high... but if I could choose, I'd prefer it to be lower—fourth rank, fifth rank, or even the lowest rank of the ninth rank. Having this literary talent is a curse rather than a blessing for me."

Shen Tang couldn't understand. "But isn't this a symbol of good innate talent?"

Why would someone wish for a lower innate talent?

Chu Yao chuckled bitterly, "Wu Lang, did your teacher not tell you that the grade of a scholar's literary talent does not represent everything?"

"Yuan Liang did mention it, but I thought it was just his personal opinion and didn't necessarily represent the views of the general public..."

Unexpectedly, Chu Yao shared Qu Shan's views.

Could this be the consensus among experts?

"What's the general public? Is it a rare language?"

Chu Yao's focus was as perplexing as Shen Tang's. Based on the context, she understood that "the general public" was similar to "the masses" or "ordinary people's opinions," but she had never heard of this term.

Shen Tang was taken aback, at a loss for words. "I don't know... I just said it casually, but that's not the point."

Indeed, it wasn't the point.

Chu Yao didn't pay much attention to this detail, but he was more interested in Shen Tang's mention of "Yuan Liang": "Is this 'Yuan Liang' the young scholar I encountered on the street before?"

Shen Tang confirmed, "Yes, that's him."

Chu Yao nodded appreciatively, "He is indeed a good mentor. So, did he tell you about the talent of literary hearts?"

Talent of literary hearts?

What is this again?

(╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻

Why are there so many confusing things!

Although Shen Tang was confused, she replied, "Talent of literary hearts... I don't know about this. Yuan Liang never mentioned it. He only talked to me about the principles of the princes... Speaking of which, I'm not afraid of Senior laughing at me, although I have literary hearts, I don't know much about it. Occasionally, I ask Yuan Liang questions, but he always evades them, either saying 'I'll tell you later' or 'You don't need to know'..."

She strongly suspected that he was just being lazy and didn't want to answer.

Chu Yao said, "Perhaps Brother Yuan Liang is doing it for your own good. The more you know about certain things, the more detrimental it may be to your future growth..."

Shen Tang was curious, "Is there such a saying?"

Chu Yao nodded, "Yes."

Shen Tang scratched her head in confusion, "...!!!"

Should she continue listening to the story or not?

Chu Yao made the decision for her, "The talent of literary hearts is specifically divided into two types: one is the way of the princes, and the other is the way of the scholars. From the names alone, you can tell the identities represented by these two talents. The way of the princes, I believe your teacher has told you about it, so I won't say much about it. What I want to talk about is the way of the scholars. This is a special ability possessed by a few seekers of literary hearts, which can be activated without any specific words."

Shen Tang silently remembered, "Senior also has it?"

Chu Yao fell silent for a moment, "I used to, but before I could fully develop it, my literary heart was 'switched.'"

Shen Tang was astonished, "Switched?"

From a literal interpretation, wasn't this...

Chu Yao smiled bitterly and shook his head. He said in a shocking tone, "Yes, your teacher didn't tell you that literary hearts can be stolen?"

Shen Tang: "...!!!"

Qu Shan really hadn't mentioned it.

"My literary heart of the upper middle grade of the second rank was swapped like this. At the most spirited age, I fell into the mud overnight, never to have a chance to turn over again." Chu Yao said indifferently as if it had nothing to do with him, then added, "Your teacher didn't tell you about the 'way of the scholars' because perhaps he had his own reasons and considerations. Because the 'way of the scholars' is not only a special ability, but also a self-examination for scholars. It is related to who the scholar is, his personality, and what path he seeks. Even a saint wouldn't want to expose such privacy to the public, right?"

Not every seeker of literary hearts would have the way of the scholars, but for those who did, ninety-nine percent would choose to conceal it.

Not concealing it felt like being stripped naked and thrown into the crowd.

Shen Tang's expression flickered for a moment.

She didn't expect literary hearts to be played like this.

With her low-grade literary heart and the talent to steal others' literary hearts, she would steal others'...

No wonder Chu Yao said that his upper middle grade of the second rank literary heart was a curse rather than a blessing. Wasn't this like "a child holding a thousand gold pieces in a bustling marketplace"?

1. "The general public" isn't an idiom; it's transliterated |ω`)

2. Talent of literary hearts = Way of the princes + Way of the scholars, simply put, it's a special talent possessed by people of two different identities, and it can be used without specific words. And because it's related to one's personality and other factors, scholars generally don't proactively mention it or tell others about it, it's like having an ace up one's sleeve.