Chapter 62: Chapter 61: Can’t Figure Out

When Shen Luo returned to Song Fan County Town, it was even later than the previous day, and the city gate was once again closed.

“It seems that I and Song Fan County Town are really not in sync,” Shen Luo smirked to himself, turned his horse around, and headed to the nearby town.

Because of his fainting episode from the previous day, the innkeepers in the town naturally remembered Shen Luo and avoided him like the plague, not to mention soliciting his business.

Shen Luo didn’t mind this, and he felt relieved instead.

It seemed that Liu Baichuan and Manager Hou did not reveal his identity. This trip was kept secret from everyone after all. If he were too ostentatious, it was hard to guarantee that the news wouldn’t reach Chunhua County or Spring and Autumn Pavilion, attracting unnecessary trouble.

Shen Luo arrived at the same small inn where he had stayed before. The boy who was attracting customers in front of the door was still Xiao San.

“Master Shen, welcome back to our humble inn!” Xiao San’s eyes sparkled when he saw Shen Luo, and he hurried forward to take Shen Luo’s reins.

Shen Luo nodded, dismounted, handed the reins to Xiao San, and walked into the inn.

Business in the inn was still very quiet, with few people sitting in the main hall.

“Master Shen, your presence truly graces our humble establishment with honor and happiness!” Mr. Hou, who was inside the inn balancing the books, showed an irrepressible joy in his face upon seeing Shen Luo. He immediately dropped the account book and greeted him.

“Mr. Hou, you’re too kind. Please arrange a quiet room for me,” Shen Luo said calmly.

“No problem, please follow me, Master Shen. Xiao San, look after the place.” Mr. Hou agreed and personally led the way, causing the few guests in the main hall to feel surprised and begin gossiping about Shen Luo’s identity.

The two of them walked through a corridor behind the hall of the inn and came to a room at the very back.

In front of this room there was a large, lush banyan tree leafy producing a vast shadow, casting a shroud over the whole room and giving it a sense of tranquility.

“This room is far from the main street and is very quiet. The furnishings inside are the best in our inn. What do you think?” Mr. Hou said, opening the door and ushering Shen Luo in.

The furniture and furnishings in the room were made of rosewood and were carefully ornate, giving an antique feel. They were much higher-end than the room Shen Luo had stayed in before.

“It is good. We will take this one,” Shen Luo didn’t care much for the inside furnishings, but seeing that the place was indeed quiet and secluded. He nodded in agreement.

“May I ask how long you plan on staying with us this time, Master Shen?” Mr. Hou asked, rubbing his hands together with joy.

“Perhaps two or three days. There’s no need for service unless I call for it. Plus, please don’t tell anyone about my identity or my stay here, including Liu Baichuan,” Shen Luo added after a thought.

“Master Shen, rest assured, if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s keeping a secret. As for Doctor Liu, he’s out visiting patients and might not come back for a few days,” Mr. Hou immediately slapped his chest and guaranteed.

“That sounds good,” Shen Luo said.

“Master Shen, you look weary from your journey. Why don’t you rest for a bit, and I’ll send someone to bring you your dinner later,” Mr. Hou suggested.

“There’s no need for dinner, I want to rest early,” Shen Luo waved him off.

Now that his Small Transformation Yang Skill had reached perfection and his Yang Gang power was abundant, he felt very spirited and not at all hungry. Of course, he wouldn’t divulge this to others.

“Alright then, have a good rest, Master Shen. I won’t disturb you any longer.” Mr. Hou nodded with a smile, excused himself, and left, quietly closing the door behind him.

Shen Luo found Mr. Hou’s enthusiasm a bit strange, but after pondering over it he didn’t notice anything inappropriate. He attributed Mr. Hou’s behavior to his mild fame back in Chunhua County and decided not to dwell on it any longer.

After the sound of Mr. Hou’s footsteps faded, Shen Luo immediately locked the door from the inside, secured the windows ensuring that no one could come in, then got down on the bed and eagerly took out the stone box. He opened it and took out the old scroll.

Just as he picked up the book and was about to unroll it, he noticed something odd and took a closer look at the scroll.

There were visible traces of tearing apart at the end of the last page.

When he had previously looked at it, he was mainly concerned with reading the ancient seal script inside and didn’t pay attention to this.

“Could it be that this scroll is only half complete?” Shen Luo slightly frowned.

However, he didn’t dwell on this for too long. If he could only find half then half it would be. If he only found this half, this would also mean that the boatman on the river, who had finally become “Master Yu” according to Yu Yan, could also only find this half.

So Shen Luo steadied his mind and began to read through the scroll page by page, word by word, trying to understand its content.

Time ticked by and in the blink of an eye, half an hour had passed.

Shen Luo, his eyebrows tightly knit, lifted his head from the scroll and gave a sigh. He tossed the scroll onto the bed and laid sprawled out on the bed.

Although he wanted very much to understand the text in the scroll, he knew too little of the ancient seal script; he could only distinguish four or five characters on a page at most.

As far as he knew, this kind of ancient seal script was extremely old and complex. He had only seen a few scattered records of it in some miscellaneous notes. It was impossible for him to guess the words he didn’t know. Wanting to understand the secrets of the scroll with his current level of knowledge was simply wishful thinking.

“Do I need to learn ancient seal script first?” Shen Luo thought to himself.

But where could he learn it at the moment? At least when he was in Chunhua County, he had never heard of any scholars in the city who were proficient in ancient seal script.

Even if he could find someone who knows this kind of script, the content of the book might be leaked. After all, seeing such a good thing that could lead to enlightenment, anyone would likely succumb to temptation.

After thinking it through, he couldn’t think of a safe solution.

“I wonder how ‘Master Yu’ solved this problem back then? He was a boatman on the river who should not have known ancient seal script.”

“Well, worst case, I will spend a year or two learning the ancient seal script. After all, now that my Small Transformation Yang Skill is complete, I can afford to take some time…” Shen Luo sat up, grabbed the scroll, and froze, alertness flashing in his eyes.