Chapter 785 - 784: Entering the Realm
"The three of you may choose a comfortable location to read the books at your leisure. These are each of your respective copies; please take care to preserve them as they are not allowed to be lost or damaged!" declared the man in the Zhongshan suit earnestly.
Although he didn’t mention the consequences of losing or damaging the books, his expression suggested they wouldn’t be good.
Upon receiving the books, Wei Zhongxun immediately wanted to open them out of curiosity, but the man stopped him, "Please find a place where you can sit for an extended period."
His words made Wei Zhongxun pause in his action of flipping through the book, involuntarily glancing at Beisitian, wondering why these words felt so ominous.
Seeing Beisitian nod, only then did Wei Zhongxun begin to search the area. Even though it was underground, the lighting here was sufficient without glare, and quite gentle, making it ideal for reading. Furthermore, different zones offered various environments: some resembled office settings, others park-like scenarios, and still others were akin to home settings, allowing one to choose their preferred space.
With this, the man’s task was complete, and he turned to leave, leaving only the trio of Beisitian.
"Xiao Bei, what do you think?" Rarely was Desan serious when he asked.
Beisitian looked at the book in her hand, "Since we are here, leaving without understanding it would mean its mysteries would haunt me forever. Besides..." Bei Jiale is still here; she must find Bei Jiale to leave together.
Desan nodded in agreement; he felt similarly: not understanding the book would lead to an obsession, whether or not they read it.
The three were now mostly sure that the book was the cause of the others’ obsession. The book appeared ordinary, with its blue cover marked with the large title ’Ghost Doctor Mysterious Scripture,’ beyond which nothing else was written.
The pages inside were new, and the man had mentioned it was a replica. The book was contemporary, suggesting the issue lay in its content.
As a Mystic Doctor across two lifetimes, Beisitian had every reason to read a book like this!
Wei Zhongxun had no objections either; his curiosity about the book rivaled Beisitian’s. Therefore, he intended to read it, knowing that not doing so would leave him restless.
Though considering his mental state before reading, would he end up like Qiao Mu afterward?
Reflecting on this, Wei Zhongxun was somewhat hesitant, not out of fear, but because among the three, at least one needed to stay clear-headed.
Beisitian had this thought too, so after casually finding a soft patch of grass in the park-like setting, she shared her plan with Wei Zhongxun.
"Alright, if it goes beyond three days, I’ll take Master and Desan with me," Wei Zhongxun remarked.
He wasn’t relying on Desan—regardless of his reliability, he wasn’t one of his own and thus couldn’t be entrusted with the task.
Wei Zhongxun believed Master was special and wouldn’t get ensnared, a thought that emerged in his mind without any reasoning, hence his lack of worry.
Beisitian and Desan started flipping through the Mystical Scripture, only about as thick as a thumb.
She had expected the first page to introduce the Ghost Doctor or recount their journey, but it plunged directly into the core subject without any excess.
Thus, upon seeing the first page, Beisitian was instantly drawn in.
Quickly going through the first few pages, Beisitian was secretly amazed; though the book wasn’t thick, its content was vast and profound. Such a book, which stirred the heart with awe, hadn’t appeared in quite some time in Beisitian’s life.
In her previous life, if such a book had surfaced, it would surely have been fiercely contested by many.
Thereafter, Beisitian wholly abandoned other thoughts, immersing herself entirely in the book.
Beside her, Wei Zhongxun continued observing surroundings, noticing that those reading here weren’t entirely enjoying themselves. More accurately, most faces bore expressions of struggle and anguish!
Wei Zhongxun stood up to wander around, realizing the place was indeed very vast; wherever he went, he saw people absorbed in their reading—faces predominantly showing signs of struggle but invariably earnest, even obsessive.
The struggling ones were the majority, followed by those bearing expressions of pain, while others remained impassive though occasionally frowning.
Yet, Wei Zhongxun discerned a common feature: the reading progressing at a much slower pace than anticipated!
The book was only thumb-thick; if read promptly, one could probably memorize it in two or three days. However, looking at these people, some barely flipped a few pages, faces marked with sheer agony, occasionally revisiting the first few pages repeatedly.
Wei Zhongxun thought these people must be newcomers, but after a thorough round, he found no one progressing past halfway, raising his brows. Was the book truly so elusive?
Among those making the quickest progress seemed to have barely crossed half of it, faces overtly pained, as if flipping one more page would be an impossible feat.
More strikingly, some lingered on the first two pages, Wei Zhongxun observed for some time, finally surmising that most of those caught up on the initial pages weren’t Mystic Doctors, but experts from various other fields. Despite their strong professional knowledge, they found the book a challenging read because it didn’t correspond with their specialty.
Couldn’t they set it aside for a bit?
Witnessing two pale-faced individuals clinging to their books with trembling hands but refusing to part with them, Wei Zhongxun pondered.
Those who had flipped past ten pages were mostly Mystic Doctors.
This book surely belonged to the realm of Mystic Doctors; why then were these Western medical doctors summoned here? For them, this should be akin to deciphering a cryptic foreign script!
It wasn’t that Wei Zhongxun belittled Western medicine or its practitioners, but mismatched expertise turned the book into an incomprehensible enigma; asking him to perform surgery, he wouldn’t even know how to hold the scalpel!
He hadn’t found Bei Jiale even after going full circle, so Wei Zhongxun headed back, initially worried about restraints on movements. Yet he soon learned the place was quite free; even wanting to leave, no one would hinder him; nonetheless, over the years, no one had actually left...
Wei Zhongxun’s curiosity about the book grew intensely. With this thought, he hurriedly reined in his thoughts, ensuring he stayed focused since Master hadn’t finished reading, decisively remaining detached.
Thinking of Beisitian, Wei Zhongxun began his return.
On his way, he saw two robed individuals placing a pale-faced, convulsing person onto a stretcher and taking them away, his gaze faltering. Scanning around, he noticed there wasn’t a guard in sight.
Glancing upward, he spotted rotating cameras on the ceiling, clearly everything was monitored by those people, meaning this so-called freedom was limited after all.
Wei Zhongxun’s assumptions were correct; every move here was under surveillance. Hence, when Beisitian managed to flip through over ten pages in just over ten minutes, it immediately drew these people’s attention.