Chapter 41 Chapter Seven Sources of Ancient Books

Grandpa talked about the origin of this ancient book, which is a relatively long story: "Your grandpa's name is Ma Xintong, and he has an older brother named Ma Wangyue. Grandpa's father was the grain official in this area at that time. He hoped that Ma Wangyue continued his official career and worked hard to educate him." "When Ma Wangyue was 20 years old, his father asked him to take the provincial examination every three years. At that time, because of the inconvenient transportation, those who rushed to the examination had to walk to the Gongyuan in the provincial capital for reference. Ma Wangyue went for half a year before returning. Once he came back He died of blood. Within a few days after his death, the Annunciation Officer sent him a gold list, saying that Ma Wangyue had been admitted to Juren."

"Grandfather's father was very sad, thinking that his son could not afford good fortune, so he simply gave up on it. From then on, he did not allow Ma Xintong to touch the four treasures of the study, and only taught him abacus and arithmetic to calculate the entry and exit of rice in the granary." "But Ma Xintong is much smarter than his elder brother. He knows what he can learn. He is very good at arithmetic. He can put the abacus on the top of his head and fiddle with calculations. Because his father does not allow him to touch the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, he has nothing to do in his spare time. So I turned my interest to Taoism.”

"Later, the Qing government failed, and because Zeng Guofan's Hunan Army often fought wars, hungry people were everywhere. Because my father's father was a grain officer, my family had enough food. Once, a Taoist priest passed by Huamei Village and fell hungry. On the other side of the river. Ma Xintong saw it when he passed by, and took the Taoist priest home to save his life." "The Taoist priest gave Ma Xintong a book when he left Ma's house. This book is "Hundred Skills Exorcism". This book not only teaches people to catch ghosts, but also can teach people to calculate the future and cultivate their health. Grandpa has done his best. He is much better than your grandfather and me."

"Later, during the Cultural Revolution, my father was afraid that people would discover the book, so he tore off the cover and burned it. This cover was added after the wave passed. The words on it were written by my father himself. Look at his handwriting. Okay? From the words, you can see how talented grandpa is." "After I was born, I got a disease that damaged my brain. My grandpa thought I couldn't learn so many alchemy techniques, so he tore the book in half, handed the first part to me, and hid the second part in a secret place." "Grandpa left these seven characters at the back of the book, saying that if I can guess it, it means that I am smart enough to find the location of the book and learn the alchemy in the second part. If I can't guess it, I can give the latter part to me." I can't learn it. But you see, I haven't guessed the mystery yet."

"The content in the latter part is much more powerful than the alchemy in the first part. If you want to get it, you have to guess the meaning of the seven characters by yourself. If you can find the latter part, you will be better than grandpa's ghost hunting skills." .” I didn't expect this ancient book to have such a long history. After listening to my grandfather's narration, I feel that this book is even more precious.But people are always dissatisfied with the status quo. Before reading the first part, they fantasize about getting the second part. Grandpa's ghost hunting skills have already amazed and admired me. If I can surpass grandpa, how cool it would be!I can't help but laugh when I think about it.

But what is the meaning of "moving the chair, leaning on the tung tree and enjoying the moon"? Grandpa guessed for most of his life and couldn't comprehend it. It can be seen that it is impossible for me to guess the mystery in a short time.Put it away for the time being, study it carefully later, maybe you will suddenly realize it in the future.