SES Chapter 162 Part 1

Chapter 162

Luban? Of course, he knew him—the legendary master craftsman, said to have invented the ink-line tool and the Luban ruler. There’s even a saying, “Showing off an axe in front of Luban,” mocking people who overestimate themselves and flaunt skills before true experts.

The Mystic said, “He wasn’t just a carpenter. Have you ever heard one of his legends? They say he built a wooden kite that could fly for three days and nights without landing.”

Luo Ren laughed. He’d heard the story, sure—but wasn’t it only a legend? A wooden contraption flying in the sky for three full days? Even modern airplanes can’t do that.

The Mystic was actually offended. “Little Radish, you people have no culture and no imagination. Tragic! Truly tragic!”

He demanded that Luo Ren admit to being shallow. Otherwise, he refused to continue.

Leaning against the car, Luo Ren couldn’t help smiling. People milled around the busy street; the mobile service center was filled with customers; and in the distance, Cao Yanhua was bargaining with a vendor over a chicken. The Mystic really wasn’t someone who lived in the practical world—yet he wanted Luo Ren to apologize over a baseless legend.

Luo Ren humored him. “Most of the time, yeah—I am pretty shallow.”

The Mystic seemed mollified and snorted before continuing.

“That’s why people later said the wooden kite became Luban’s symbol. Many ingenious devices he built afterward would carry that emblem.”

He then told Luo Ren what he had discovered in the beam of Yin Erma’s house.

The information was a lot to take in: an object supposedly created by Luban over two thousand years ago, found hidden in a beam in Yin Erma’s home, and made of wood. How had it survived all these years without rotting?

Luo Ren had many questions but held them back. Otherwise, the Mystic would accuse him again of foolish ignorance.

When talking to the Mystic, best to just listen.

“Luban was a real historical figure, living after Laozi and roughly during Mozi’s time. Some called him Gongshu Ban or Gongshuzi. In my opinion, calling him a mere carpenter undersells him… Have you heard the story of Mozi stopping Luban from attacking a city?”

Luo Ren had. There were even TV dramas based on it: Luban designed siege ladders for the State of Chu to attack Song, and Mozi came to prevent bloodshed. After debating strategy and demonstrating defenses, Luban was impressed, and the two eventually reconciled.

“After that,” the Mystic said, “Luban achieved enlightenment. He immersed himself in mechanisms and devices, and from them, he understood the workings of the world. To him, everything in existence was a mechanism.”

He paused. He claimed his mind had been consumed by this matter for days—“thinking,” as he put it—and he wasn’t sure he could explain it clearly.

“Let me put it this way: A flash flood dislodges a boulder. The boulder falls and kills someone. Because that person dies, their chickens go unfed. One of the chickens wanders off, gets caught by a passerby, and ends up roasted for dinner. Every event in that chain began with the flood knocking loose the stone… Do you understand, Little Radish? I’ve simplified it as much as I can.”

Luo Ren was confused, but the logic made sense. “Isn’t that like the butterfly effect? A butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazon, and two weeks later, Texas gets a tornado. By your logic, the butterfly’s wingbeat is also a kind of mechanism.”

The Mystic inhaled sharply. “Exactly!”

How had he not thought of the butterfly effect before? Maybe this Little Radish wasn’t completely uneducated.

Clearing his throat, he continued: “Take tides, for example. The moon’s distance from Earth changes the movement of the sea. That’s a hidden mechanism too.”

Luo Ren frowned. “Gravitational pull? Western scientists discovered that, right? Luban already understood something like that?”

The Mystic’s brief appreciation evaporated. “That’s why I asked you whether you believe ancient wisdom could surpass modern understanding. Luban didn’t need to know the term ‘gravity.’ He knew the heavens had invisible mechanisms! Mechanisms!”

Fine—mechanisms it was. Luo Ren apologized again: “I lack imagination. I’m shallow.”

The Mystic wasn’t stupid and could hear the forced tone. “Have you heard this old folk rhyme? ‘Cangjie created a full measure of characters; Confucius mastered only nine-and-six-tenths. The last bit wasn’t passed down—reserved for Taoists to write talismans. Confucius taught nine-and-six-tenths to his disciples, who learned eight full measures. Since then, scholars are said to know equal to five cartloads, and true talent is called eight measures.’”

Luo Ren had never heard it. “What does it mean?”

“It means your so-called ‘great scholars’ have only learned eight measures of characters. Cangjie created far more—Confucius only mastered nine-and-six-tenths. You people haven’t even learned all the characters, yet you dare to question the ancestors’ wisdom!”

That was a heavy accusation. But Luo Ren could tell the Mystic had exhausted himself over this, mentally overheated, and grown irritable.

So Luo Ren spoke gently. “I wouldn’t dare. Even things passed down to us—like the Eight Trigrams, Zi Wei astrology, and the Book of Changes—we still haven’t fully understood.”

Admitting fault restored the Mystic’s good mood. “Good. Now, back to the tides.”

Why tides again? How did that relate to their current situation? Luo Ren’s mind drifted—thinking he should take Mu Dai to the beach someday, let her watch the ebb and flow…

The Mystic said something Luo Ren didn’t catch. “What?”

“I said, the human body is about eighty percent fluid. If the moon’s gravity affects the ocean, it also affects people. Studies show that during full moons, emotions run higher—crime goes up, medical emergencies increase, even the risk of certain accidents rises.”

Luo Ren blurted, “You’re talking about science?”

The Mystic exploded. “Why not science? I’m going to be a department chair someday! There’s a famous saying: supernatural phenomena and science are sisters. Haven’t you heard it?”

“No. Who said it?”

“I did.”

Luo Ren covered his face.

Finally, the Mystic reached the key point. “Yin Erma’s letter said that Luban spent nearly his whole life studying these universal mechanisms. He discovered one vast mechanism that, once formed, left no path of survival. Luban called it the Seven-Star Killing Pattern.”

Seven stars? A chill shot through Luo Ren. Instinctively, he straightened.

“Is it related to the seven deadly slips?”

The Mystic chuckled awkwardly.

“What comes next should sound familiar. After discovering this secret, Luban was deeply troubled and sought help from an old friend—the Mohist leader, Mozi.”