The text of "Bu Tian Ge" is quite lengthy and its content is obscure, requiring significant research just to read it aloud.
Yet, Yan Shouyi had once been required to recite "Bu Tian Ge" from memory, and even with his retentive mind, it took him three full days.
These memories were etched into his mind as if branded. As soon as he thought about it, phrases from "Bu Tian Ge" related to the Big Dipper would automatically surface.
"The seven stars of the Big Dipper shine bright, the first governs the Emperor, named Shu Jing. The second and third are Xuan Ji, the fourth is Tian Quan, and the fifth is Yu Heng. Kai Yang and Yao Guang are the sixth and seventh, and to the left of Yao Guang, Tian Quan shines."
"The seven stars form a hook, born beneath the willow. Above the stars, seventeen are shaped like Xuanyuan. Four are level inside to the east of Xuanyuan. Below the level are three named Tian Xiang, and below Tian Xiang, Ji Xing lies across five spiritual points."
"Four stars form a square cabinet. The white one in the center is Ji Shi Qi. Above the ghost are four stars, the Fan Wei. Tian Gou has seven stars below the ghost. Outside the kitchen are six chambers along Liu Xing Ci. Tian She has six positioned to the east, and east of Tian She is a star named Tian Ji."
Yan Shouyi found himself reciting the contents of Bu Tian Ge.
Long Feicheng, listening beside him, was utterly bewildered and had no idea what Yan Shouyi was talking about.
As Zhang Shantong listened, he unconsciously glanced next door.
"In fact, the content recorded in Bu Tian Ge does not mention the Big Dipper's seven stars, but rather nine. It is said that years ago, nine stars could still be seen, but later only seven were visible. Only in certain specific locations can those two hidden stars be seen," Yan Shouyi explained.
Zhang Shantong withdrew his gaze and said, "Interesting. Could this Shou Xin Yu be guiding you to a place where the nine stars of the Big Dipper can be seen?"
Yan Shouyi shook his head. "To see the nine stars of the Big Dipper, one must travel southwest, entering Tibet from Yun Chuan… but the area where the nine stars of the Big Dipper can be observed is vast. Based on this alone, it is unlikely we can deduce much."
"This is too difficult!"
Long Feicheng complained, "Could it be that we are overthinking this? Perhaps this Shou Xin Yu is simply a key to open a door?"
"Even if we have the key, it's useless if we don't know where the door is!" Yan Shouyi replied.
Just as they were at a loss, Zhang Shantong suddenly said,
"I remember! Among the treasures from Bai Mu Yu, there was an ancient book. I picked it up when I was scavenging and took a brief look. It seemed to contain a star chart!"
Yan Shouyi was taken aback. He felt that Li Qing'er's Shou Xin Yu should have no connection to the ancient book from Bai Mu Yu.
Let alone the fact that the ancient book was originally the collection of Bai Shi Xi.
However, given the importance of the matter, he decided to try. He searched through the pile of discarded items that Zhang Shantong had thrown out and found the ancient book.
The ancient book, having gone through so much, felt even more dilapidated than when Yan Shouyi had first seen it.
As soon as Yan Shouyi picked up the ancient book, the cotton thread used to secure the pages came undone, and all the pages scattered on the ground.
"This is an antique, Brother Yan, be careful!"
Long Feicheng was distressed and quickly helped to pick them up.
After collecting all the pages, Yan Shouyi was dumbfounded.
This was already a damaged book, with many pages only half intact. There was no hope of the original author having marked the page numbers in the bottom right corner.
Thus, the remaining twenty-odd pages of the ancient book were out of order, and restoring their sequence would be extremely difficult.
Yan Shouyi blamed himself. "Alas, I can only sort it out slowly when we get back. But… Grandpa, the star chart you mentioned, it should be this page, right?"
"Ah, yes, yes, it's this page. Take a look?" Zhang Shantong nodded and smiled.
Yan Shouyi took out the star chart page and studied it carefully.
The content of this page of the ancient book was indeed a star chart, which also indicated the existence of the nine stars of the Big Dipper. It even had manual markings on the two hidden stars.
It could be seen that the handwriting for drawing the star chart and making the markings was entirely different, leading to the speculation that the ancient book had changed hands many times over the years, and one of its owners had conducted deep research into it.
This was why the markings of the nine stars of the Big Dipper were present.
Unfortunately, no matter how Yan Shouyi studied it from any angle, the ancient book remained just an ancient book, and the Shou Xin Yu was just a Shou Xin Yu. There was no unique connection between the two.
This study lasted for two hours. Long Feicheng was so bored that he even lay on the ground and started using his phone to chat with young ladies nearby.
Zhang Shantong also began to meditate, floating in mid-air, rising and falling.
Only Yan Shouyi found paper and pen, and continuously performed deductions and calculations, occasionally frowning, then crumpling the drafts in front of him and discarding them.
After two hours, Yan Shouyi shook his head.
"It seems we were overthinking it. The ancient book and the Shou Xin Yu really have no connection."
Zhang Shantong opened his eyes, landed on the ground, and said, "Is that so! Then let's put the ancient book aside and continue studying the Shou Xin Yu!"
Yan Shouyi: "..."
So, the one who had to rack his brains wasn't you, you were just watching the show!
Long Feicheng stretched. "If you ask me, why don't we just take both the Shou Xin Yu and the ancient book back and let Uncle Yan study them? He definitely understands these things better than us!"
"My dad will only say, 'Handle your own affairs yourself!'" Yan Shouyi said in a low voice.
"Brother Yan, you don't understand. One must know how to be flexible!" Long Feicheng laughed. "Don't go to Uncle Yan yourself. Give the Shou Xin Yu and the ancient book to your sister-in-law, and let her act cute in front of Uncle Yan. I don't believe Uncle Yan can resist that!"
Yan Shouyi thought, "That makes sense!"
His father seemed to adhere to the philosophy of "raising sons frugally and daughters generously." The more he disliked him as a son in the past, the more he doted on his daughter-in-law, Lin Zitong, now.
Having Lin Zitong take action would surely make it easy to get what he wanted.
So, Yan Shouyi put down the star chart, moved to the side, and opened the window to get some fresh air.
Unexpectedly, it was already dusk outside.
The setting sun hid behind the clouds, casting a spectacular fiery sunset, turning the sky golden.
West Lake reflected the golden sky, making it also spectacular. Accompanied by the vibrant chrysanthemums along the shore, it was a sight of unparalleled beauty.
Tourists gathered by the lake, all taking photos as mementos.
A slightly damp breeze from the lake blew, lifting Yan Shouyi's spirits. He looked back and saw that the star chart he had placed on the table had been flipped over by the wind.
At that moment, Yan Shouyi's pupils contracted sharply.
He rushed back to the table, picked up a page from the ancient book, and examined it closely.
Zhang Shantong and Long Feicheng asked in confusion, "Did you discover something?"
Yan Shouyi pointed to the content on the paper. "This mark! It looks like the mark on that girl's palm!"
"What?" Both of them were a bit bewildered.
Zhang Shantong had never met Lin Zitong and knew nothing about her. Long Feicheng had not participated in the meeting that morning, so he was unaware that Lin Zitong had a skull symbol on her palm.
Yan Shouyi, without time to explain, quickly flipped through other pages, and at the same time, made a call to Lin Zitong.
Lin Zitong on the other end of the phone was wondering why Yan Shouyi was suddenly looking for her so urgently. But as soon as she heard that Yan Shouyi had found the imprint of her palm on an ancient book, she immediately took it seriously. After asking for his location, she said she would be there soon.