This is what an immortal should be like

Chapter 210 How could I forget!
Old tables and chairs, writing implements and countless documents; outside the window, bright sunshine and lush gardens; the lively chirping of birds.
It was a long-lost feeling, so familiar, so peaceful.

Perhaps it was just a beautiful dream?
As the sun moved, sunlight streamed into the room, becoming somewhat dazzling. Duan Kang, who was lying on the table, slowly opened his eyes. Everything he saw was exactly the same as what he had imagined in his dream, leaving him stunned on the spot.

This is a familiar yet unfamiliar environment, a childhood memory, and also a study in a corner of the ancient building of the Imperial Observatory seventy years ago.

In a daze, Duan Kang looked down and was immediately shocked. What tiny, delicate hands!
The little hands were pressed against the table, one side of which was red from the pressure of her cheek and still had drool on it, while the other little hand was covered in ink, even the gaps between her fingers were blackened, and on the table where she was lying, an unfinished document was pressed into many wrinkles.

"Squeak~"

The sound of the wooden hinges turning as the door opened was like a signal, and Duan Kang almost instantly snapped out of his daze. In a state of panic, he instinctively grabbed the pen on the table and began copying documents as if he were doing something serious.

The old wooden door of the unrenovated old building, the familiar sound of the door opening, when the door is opened to its widest extent, there stands a middle-aged man with a stern face, his long hair tied up in a bun with a wooden hairpin.

The man just watched from outside the door, and Duan Kang's heart began to race, sweat beaded on his face, but he tried his best to keep his hand steady as he wrote down each word.

"Hmph! It's not too late to wipe the drool off your face before you start pretending again!"

Duan Kang thought to himself, "Oh no!" But even though he knew he had been exposed, he didn't dare to move. He continued to write with ink, and didn't even dare to turn his head to look outside the door.

The person outside looked at the child inside with a helpless expression, then walked into the room and said irritably.

"Making you copy thirty volumes is both a punishment and a way to make you learn and read more. Learn as much as you can. The court is going to reform the system again, and the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations has already been reduced to almost nothing. Even the Directorate of Astronomy may not be able to stay in the future."

Duan Kang was secretly delighted. That was great! With the Imperial Observatory gone, he wouldn't have to learn these things or copy these documents all day!
Although young, Duan Kang was not stupid. He knew what his master liked and disliked to hear. At this moment, while writing, he couldn't help but say something.

"People must use a calendar to farm, right?"

"Yes, even if the Imperial Observatory is gone, the calendar still needs to be made, so we're letting you learn as much as you can, as well as things related to the other side."

Duan Kang didn't seem to be listening to what his master was saying. He was just thinking, "So, without the Imperial Observatory, I'll still suffer."
Duan Kang's face immediately fell, and the middle-aged man beside him sighed and shook his head.

"Are you hungry? I'll stop writing now. I brought you some food."

Only then did Duan Kang notice that his master was carrying a basket in his other hand. He had been too nervous to look at it before, but now that his master had picked up the basket and placed it on the table, the aroma of the food wafted out.

Duan Kang's face immediately lit up with joy, and his heart was filled with warmth. His master still cared for him. He had punished him by not allowing him to eat lunch, but as soon as noon was over, he brought him food!

"Master is the best!"

Duan Kang put down his pen and cheered. He couldn't wait to rush to the basket and lift the cloth cover. Inside was a large red bowl with white rice on one side and vegetables on the other. It was stuffed full and had a chicken leg on top of it.

"With meat, Master and Mistress are the best!"

Duan Kang cheered again and picked up his bowl to start eating, while the middle-aged man on the side looked at the documents copied by his disciples on the table.

However, as Duan Kang ate, his eyes became moist, and it seemed that he could not stop the tears, which made the middle-aged man look at him in surprise.

"Why did you suddenly start crying while you were eating?"

"No, it's just so delicious."

"Why are you crying? It's not like we'll starve. If you learn your skills well, even if the Imperial Observatory is gone, you won't starve! And these documents are all very important. While you're copying them, you also need to memorize them. Finish copying the rest in the next two days!"

Duan Kang cried even harder, sobbing incessantly. He felt the temperature drop considerably, the environment become much quieter, and a sense of fear gradually crept in.
"Cough cough cough. Cry, why are you crying?"

A weak voice seemed to be reprimanding him. Duan Kang opened his eyes abruptly. In front of him was a hospital bed, where a withered old man lay, staring at him with wide eyes.

"Why are you crying? You're such a grown-up, don't act like a child."

"Master? What's wrong with you?"

Duan Kang was somewhat bewildered when he asked the question, but as soon as the words left his mouth, he seemed to understand everything at once, and a flood of memories came rushing back. It had been more than thirty years since then.

Looking at his master on the sickbed, Duan Kang could no longer hold back his tears. Although he was so close, it felt as if he was getting further and further away from his master.

The disciple by the bed looked bewildered and panicked, which brought a smile to the face of the person on the bed.

"Everyone must die eventually. This old man's day has come too. Don't cry. I just don't know what will become of you afterward."

Duan Kang reached out and grabbed his master's hand tightly, afraid that the other would leave, but he dared not use too much force, afraid of hurting the frail old man. At this moment, he also saw out of the corner of his eye that there were other people in the ward. Besides him sitting on the stool, there was a group of people standing behind him, all of them secretly wiping away tears.

Information about the current situation naturally came to mind. Now is the time for another round of intense reforms, and the Imperial Observatory has almost been condemned as feudal dregs of the old era!

At that moment, someone rushed into the ward from outside and couldn't help but shout as soon as they arrived.

"Director, the document from above has arrived! The Imperial Observatory and the calendar compilation and supervision system will be retained, but the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics will be completely abolished. All documents and materials will be submitted to the relevant departments for review and retention as appropriate."

The old man on the bed seemed to get agitated.

"The Imperial Observatory is still here. Good, cough cough Kang, Kang'er remembers, remembers to hide, hide, the thirty volumes of the manuscript."

Before he could finish speaking, the old man on the bed became still. Duan Kang trembled slightly, unable to feel the old man's pulse, and tears blurred his vision once more. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the major reorganization of the Imperial Observatory. People were coming and going, there were various handovers, and many of the mountains of documents had been cleared away. The screen flickered wildly, making Duan Kang feel panicked and helpless. It seemed that everything he was once familiar with was changing rapidly, and he felt a strong sense of guilt for breaking his promise.
As dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight began to appear on the horizon, Zhuang Lin and Wuming, standing beside Duan Kang's bed, looked at the old man, whose face was streaked with tears, and sighed softly.

Although the memories presented in the dream had a guiding element, they also allowed Zhuang Lin and Wuming to learn a lot about the history of the Imperial Observatory and the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations. It can only be said that the progress of the times is not subject to the will of any individual.

Of course, the two also understood that the former Imperial Observatory and Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations might have conducted more in-depth research in certain areas than they had imagined, which was a good thing.

When Duan Kang woke up, it was already daylight, and the person beside his bed had long since disappeared.

The old man on the bed slightly opened his eyes, but his thoughts seemed to still be wandering in a reverie.

I dreamt of my childhood again, and I dreamt of my master and mistress again. I've been having these kinds of dreams a lot lately. Is it because the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations has been re-established?
Or perhaps, I am nearing my end?

In the end, I still felt ashamed of my mentor. Many of the documents from the Bureau of Investigation were lost, and even the documents that were transferred were not properly preserved. Many ancient texts and scrolls became moldy and rotten.

Even because nepotism and feudal inheritance are no longer permitted, he himself has not left behind a suitable disciple to succeed him.
"Master, I can only apologize to you in the afterlife. You can punish me however you wish then."

Duan Kang muttered to himself, wiping away tears from the corners of his eyes, but at that moment, he suddenly froze.

Punishment?
Last night's dream seemed to flash back at this moment, and the scene of being punished by his master reappeared. The words his master had not finished saying before his death also reappeared. Although the words were unfinished, Duan Kang knew what his master wanted to say!
That's right! Punishment! My master used to punish me by making me copy thirty scrolls!

Duan Kang sat up abruptly in bed and then slapped himself hard across the face.

Duan Kang, Duan Kang, you're really getting senile with age, you're going backwards as you get older! How could you forget this? How could you forget this?
In his haste, Duan Kang threw off the covers, got out of bed without washing up, hastily threw on some clothes, and rushed out of his residence.
In the underground tunnel connecting many warehouses, Duan Kang, looking somewhat disheveled and still wearing slippers in the dead of winter, led a group of staff members who were originally organizing documents to search everywhere.

"Dean, there's just too much information. Searching like this is like looking for a needle in a haystack!"

"Yes, just give us a general description, and we'll find it. We know this place better!"

Duan Kang was also flustered by his concern. He walked through each warehouse, smelling the musty smell that permeated the rooms, and became extremely anxious.

Clearly, these warehouses were not properly preserved, had been neglected for too long, and were not even dry or well-ventilated!

"A sack, wrapped in several layers of hemp. Sigh, I can't quite remember, but there were several copies. I copied them many times before, more than one copy. Surely one of them could have been kept?"

"Dean, it's really hard to say. You know, we destroyed quite a few in the past because of space constraints and not wanting to allocate extra funds."

Duan Kang felt a chill run down his spine as he listened. Yes, these warehouses were limited in number, but the data from the Imperial Observatory and the Bureau of Extraordinary Investigations back then was far too much, not to mention countless books and materials collected from outside, which had accumulated over hundreds of years!

How can these warehouses possibly accommodate all of them?
Given the circumstances at the time, it was fortunate that the Imperial Observatory was able to preserve the goods; it was impossible to allocate funds for separate storage. Moreover, the person in charge of this matter was not from the Imperial Observatory.

Therefore, a lot of unnecessary data was destroyed!

So what kind of materials were the least necessary in that era? Materials that were too absurd or too feudal and superstitious probably did not escape being destroyed.
Duan Kang walked helplessly through the tunnel, a deep sense of powerlessness welling up inside him. The others could only follow the old man cautiously behind him.

"squeak"

"Ah, the mouse—"

In a warehouse, a female staff member who was organizing documents suddenly screamed, followed by a commotion. Some people were hitting her with sticks, while others were instinctively hitting her with documents. Rats were everywhere, creating a complete mess.

Duan Kang and the others instinctively stopped outside.

With a loud crash, the corner of the wall cracked from being struck by a stick, and one of the men next to Duan Kang outside the warehouse immediately shouted inside.

"What are you doing? Don't you know these are valuable documents? You're making a mess of things. The dean is right here!"

Huh? The dean?

The people inside were stunned. Looking outside, they realized that a group of people had appeared out of nowhere.

Now the mice weren't afraid anymore; they all stood to one side, too scared to utter a sound.

Duan Kang showed no anger. As if guided by some unseen force, he entered the warehouse with his frostbitten feet in slippers and looked at the corner of the wall that had just been poked by a broomstick.

The people inside were trembling with fear, but they did not attract Duan Kang's scolding. He bent down and looked inside. It seemed to be a hole hollowed out by rats. He wondered what kind of rats had the ability to dig a hole in the wall, or perhaps it was a problem with the construction quality back then.

"There seems to be something there? Give me the broom, I'll get it out and take a look!"

"Oh? I'll do it!"

The staff member holding the broom was about to hand it over when he realized something was wrong. He quickly bent down and peered into the corner of the wall. There was indeed a hole, and it looked like there was something inside.

The man used a broomstick to try and reach in, then lay down and reached out to grab it. There were frightened squeaking sounds from inside the hole, but the man didn't care about being scared at this point.

"Caught!"

The man shouted, then pulled out what he had grabbed, along with countless scraps of paper.

Duan Kang stared wide-eyed at the burlap sack in the man's hand, which was riddled with holes from being bitten all over.
(End of this chapter)