Qin Shi: I went astray in the Heavenly Sect

Chapter 2 Porcelain Pillow and Yellow Millet: The Beginning of Time Travel

As night fell, Chen Xiuyuan returned home and carefully placed the porcelain pillow he had bought on his desk.

Under the lamp, the porcelain pillow glowed with a faint bluish light. The glaze was mottled, and several fine cracks were faintly visible, as if they were marks of time.

He ran his fingertips lightly over the raised and recessed texture, feeling its coolness yet strangely warm touch. During the day in Panjiayuan, when he first saw this porcelain pillow, he had a very strange feeling, as if a voice inside him was constantly urging him to buy it.

So even after learning that the pine soot inkstone was very likely a fake, he was still arguing with the shop owner. His main purpose was not the pine soot inkstone, but the porcelain pillow.

Judging from the shop owner's final expression, he knew he had overpaid for the pine soot inkstone by spending two hundred yuan. However, in order to successfully acquire the porcelain pillow, he didn't argue with the shop owner. If he really angered the other party and he refused to do business with him, then the porcelain pillow he had his eye on would be gone.

So after weighing the pros and cons, the following situation occurred. Of course, the subsequent development was as he expected. The boss did not refuse to continue doing business with him, and he successfully obtained the porcelain pillow.

Let's talk about Chen Xiuyuan himself. He is a senior student majoring in history at a prestigious university in Kyoto. Because he is used to dealing with antiques, he has developed a fondness for them.

This trip was a spur-of-the-moment decision; he had been feeling restless and wanted to get out of the house. He had been very busy lately, and to graduate smoothly, he still had a graduation thesis to complete. The topic he had chosen was the war-torn Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

However, in the process of researching this history, he felt that it was not as simple as he had imagined. Many things could not be explained, and many things seemed to be predetermined fate. So when he tried to find a starting point to study it, he always came up empty-handed.

Gathering his thoughts, Chen Xiuyuan's gaze returned to the porcelain pillow on his desk.

"The pine soot inkstone from the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song is fake, but this porcelain pillow... must have some merit, right?"

He examined it over and over for a long time, even shining a strong flashlight on the inner wall, but he couldn't find even half an inscription, which made him somewhat discouraged.

Chen Xiuyuan tapped the pillow with his knuckles. The sound was muffled and hollow, but there was nothing wrong with it. He sighed helplessly.

"Tsk, as expected, another scumbag."

Just thinking about his state today made him uneasy again. His state today was very strange, something that had never happened before, yet it was the same in the current situation. He cursed himself inwardly, thinking that he must have been bewitched. He decided to take some time tomorrow to go to the temple to burn incense and get rid of the bad luck.

Outside the window, the shadows of trees swayed, and the moonlight was fragmented by the clouds.

Chen Xiuyuan took a quick shower, looked at the empty beds in the room, and shook his head. It wasn't that he was living alone in a single room, but that the other three people had already moved out.

History is not a particularly popular major at any university. Many people choose it out of necessity. When the new academic year begins, those who have the ability to switch majors will choose better ones, which is only natural.

He has persisted until now because he was originally interested in ancient history, the teachers at the academy treated him well, and his family also arranged a way out for him, so he has persevered.

After quickly scrolling through two more Weibo posts and forwarding a few trending news items that interested him, Chen Xiuyuan reached out and touched his hair, which was almost dry. He then got up from the stool and prepared to go to bed.

Just then, he felt his phone vibrate slightly again. He reached out and picked it up, then tapped the screen lightly. An unread notification appeared on the green bubble, and Chen Xiuyuan's lips twitched.

Based on his experience, news coming at this time is usually not good news. However, he remained calm. In the situation he encountered today, most people would have panicked when the boss started yelling at them. And those underhanded tactics are impossible for ordinary people to guard against.

Of course, this also benefits from his own study of Chinese culture, especially Taoist culture, which he particularly likes. The main ideas of Taoism include non-action, the spirit of valuing life, dialectical thinking, a tranquil mind, and the highest good being like water, etc.

His mentor had taught him that if he wanted to achieve something in the future, the best thing he could do was to "be a Confucian, practice Legalism, and live with the spirit of Taoism."

Confucianism emphasizes benevolence and justice. If benevolence and justice are taken as the moral principles of Confucianism, then people can respect and care for each other, and behave uprightly and impartially.

Confucianism also emphasizes self-discipline and self-improvement. As the saying goes, "Heaven's movement is ever vigorous; so should a gentleman constantly strive for self-improvement." Similarly, "The earth's nature is receptive; so should a gentleman cultivate virtue and bear all things with magnanimity." By holding oneself to this standard, one can continuously improve one's self-cultivation and moral character, establishing good character and reputation, thus avoiding mistakes in both personal conduct and interpersonal relationships.

Legalism emphasizes openness and fairness, adhering to rules and regulations to ensure impartiality and justice. Furthermore, it is pragmatic and efficient, focusing on practical results and avoiding unrealistic fantasies. It utilizes reasonable means and strategies to achieve goals, which is highly necessary in today's society.

As for the last point, the Taoist spirit is mainly because Taoism emphasizes pursuing inner truth and freedom, following nature, not being bound by external fame and fortune, maintaining inner peace and tranquility, having a tolerant attitude towards people and things, accepting differences, not demanding perfection, and facing the ups and downs of life with an open mind.

Of course, these were some reasons that his mentor later told him, which had a very good influence on him. He believed that there should always be some basis for his conduct and dealings with others, and he felt that the standard was good.

"Tomorrow is Dad's birthday, I'll pick you up from school!" Chen Xiuyuan opened the notification and found that it was sent by his sister. After reading the content, he smiled and shook his head.

"She's such a grown woman, and all she knows is to use me as a scapegoat. She doesn't mention a word about what the old man wants most right now."

Chen Xiuyuan has an older sister who is five years older than him. She is almost thirty years old this year. She was born beautiful and did well in school. She was famous in school and had no shortage of suitors. But for some reason, she has never settled down. She is now a senior executive in a company in Kyoto.

Her father had always been bothered by this matter. It wasn't that he insisted his sister get married early, but he hoped she would at least date a few men instead of never having had a boyfriend. He was so worried about it that he almost shaved his head off.

"Roger that!"

Thinking of his older sister, Chen Xiuyuan didn't waste any more words and simply replied "Received".

"Ding!"

Another ringtone sounded. Looking at the grinning face on the screen, Chen Xiuyuan smiled but didn't reply. Actually, he didn't dislike his current life. Everyone has their own choices, just like his sister. A person's life is in their own hands, and she lives a much more carefree life than he does.

He then put his phone aside, pulled the blanket over himself, and was about to go to sleep. Just as he was about to lie down, he caught a glimpse of the porcelain pillow he had placed in the corner of his eye, and he pulled it over as if possessed.

Chen Xiuyuan reached out and touched it, then muttered to himself.

"This thing is as hard as a brick, how could people in ancient times sleep on it..."

However, considering that I spent two hundred yuan to buy this, it would be a waste to leave it aside. I might as well try it out and see how it feels. If it's not comfortable, then I can exchange it back.

He took his own pillow and placed it on another empty bed. Then he put the porcelain pillow where he had previously placed his own pillow, picked up his phone to turn on the light, put on his slippers, turned off the room lights, and finally returned to his own bed.

"Tomorrow is the old man's birthday, and I don't know what to prepare. Maybe I should give him the pine soot inkstone. Anyway, the old man doesn't know how much it cost, so I can just ask for a higher price."

"No, no, the old man is too shrewd! How about we give him this porcelain pillow? Although we haven't figured out what's so special about it yet, it's quite comfortable to use."

Time slipped by unnoticed. Chen Xiuyuan muttered something and closed his eyes, unaware that a chill was gradually seeping into the back of his head, like a thin snake crawling up his spine and covering his entire body.

The coolness was an extremely comfortable kind of coolness, like a gentle breeze blowing across a mountain in summer, carrying a refreshing coolness that didn't make you feel cold.

Gradually, gradually...
Chen Xiuyuan then drifted off to sleep.

A sliver of moonlight shone in through the window, landing precisely on the porcelain pillow. The soft moonlight seemed like a signal, and just then, the porcelain pillow flickered slightly and slowly lit up.

It stood out conspicuously in the darkness, like a piece of luminous jade, emitting a fluorescent glow.

Chen Xiuyuan's snoring gradually rose, his brows sometimes relaxing and sometimes furrowing, as if he were having a sweet dream.

"Ah~~"

At midnight, a barely audible sigh suddenly came from inside the room, and a streak of light streaked across the sky outside the window, leaving a long trail.

In Chen Xiuyuan's bedroom, the fluorescent light suddenly blazed brightly, enveloping his entire body. This process lasted for a full half hour, after which he floated up from the bed.

A voice rang out leisurely.

"The dream of yellow millet, a dream of yellow millet, the ancients do not know the affairs of the later generations, yet the later generations laugh at the folly of the ancients. Now I enter the dream, unaware of the sun and moon in the mountains, forgetting the past, the Tao is without action, a thousand years is but a moment."

The next moment, the space here suddenly froze, and a beam of light pierced through the long river of time, going upstream. Countless magnificent landscapes turned like pages of a book, finally landing on the Warring States period, on this era of war and chaos.

(End of this chapter)