Chapter 181 — The Taixuan Canon of Calculation

Shen Wanyun said in a low voice, "The men on this ship are no good -- they are bandits who plunder houses and villages, and their strength is very high; more than half of them are Divine Ability adepts. Erudite Shen's experience of the jianghu is shallow; he has likely fallen into the bandits' snare.

We must be careful on the road, lest we be robbed--" He had barely got that far when the battered ship abruptly surged forward with a shrill, mournful whistle and tore through the air. A violent tremor ran through it. The ship's speed surpassed sound itself, covering a li in the blink of an eye; several wine barrels were flung off the deck and burst apart in midair, swatted open by the rushing air. The others hurriedly steadied themselves and looked about in alarm, only to see the battered ship swiftly overtake one gleaming tower ship after another that had been flying for half a day, leaving them far behind. The ship's speed was beyond belief; at this rate they would reach the Yong River in a day or two.

Shen Mu was long past being surprised -- after all, he had refined the pill furnace himself; there was nothing in it to marvel at. "It's fine, it's fine, it won't come apart.

" Fan Yunxiao reassured them. "I thought at first it would fall to pieces too, but it has carried passengers several times and never has. Most likely it won't this time either.

" Whoosh -- a deck plank was torn up by the gale and went clattering away behind them. Fan Yunxiao said with full confidence, "Don't worry, it won't come apart! Number Two, bring up a plank.

. .

bring another one, another's blown off!

Don't worry, don't worry, I have experience.

" Suddenly the tower ship passed through a stretch of rain; it was raining there, and the ship went straight through the pouring downpour, until Fan Yunxiao's garish body ran with color everywhere. Snow Fox cried out in alarm, "Old Xiao, the rain has washed your tattoos into a smear!

" The other pirates aboard the Cloud-Chasing ship were soaked likewise until their tattoos ran.

One of the hands shouted, "Boss, the rain has washed off my scars!

" Fan Yunxiao looked a little embarrassed. "When we are off the ship we will find a painter to put them back on for us. Though we have all gone straight now, so I suppose there is no need to paint the tattoos again.

Number Two, take off your eye patch -- look, you have frightened the scholars. " The mate took off his eye patch and revealed a perfectly sound eye.

The monk Yunque muttered, "These fellows who look like bandits.

. .

don't seem very reliable. . . " Shen Mu, however, was quite friendly with the bandit chief; he took out an arithmetic classic and asked Fan Yunxiao for instruction.

Snow Fox, meanwhile, found a handkerchief and wiped at the dragon head on Fan Yunxiao's back; the dragon head promptly vanished.

"Fox, stop that.

" Fan Yunxiao waved a hand. Snow Fox pursed her lips. "I thought it was a real tattoo.

So it was only painted on.

" Fan Yunxiao gave two dry laughs and said awkwardly, "How painful that would be!

Our bodies and skin are received from our parents -- how could one go marking them up at will? " Shen Mu said, "Senior Brother Fan, the units, tens, hundreds, thousands and ten-thousands in this Taixuan Canon of Calculation are easy enough, but yi, zhao, jing, gai, zi, rang, gou, jian, zheng, zai, ji -- these numbers are simply too vast.

What are they meant to calculate? Is there any need for numbers so enormous? " "I once asked the Dao Lord that very thing," said Fan Yunxiao. "The Dao Lord said they are for calculations without limit.

Between wan and yi the progression is by ten-thousands; ten thousand times ten thousand makes a yi.

After yi the progression is by yi: yi times yi makes a zhao; yi zhao makes a jing; yi jing makes a gai. Beyond these, for remainders that cannot be divided out, the units below the ones place are fen, li, hao, si, hu, wei, xian, sha, chen, ai, miao, mo, menglong, qunxun, xuyu, shunxi, tanzhi, xuyu, liude, kongxu, and qingjing, descending by tens. A fen is one tenth, a li one hundredth, and so on. ①" Shen Mu was astonished. "And kongxu and qingjing -- what are those meant to calculate? " "The smallest particles of primal qi," said Fan Yunxiao. "The fourteenth chapter of the Dao Sword requires rune arrays to be inscribed upon the smallest particles of primal qi.

Without calculation, it cannot be mastered.

" Shen Mu was aghast.

He looked at the Taixuan Canon of Calculation and felt a headache coming on. "In forging all your various treasures you will need these calculations as well -- an error of a hairsbreadth and you are off by a thousand li.

" Shen Mu agreed, and praised him: "The Daoist sect's mastery of the numerical arts is truly extraordinary.

" He asked for instruction with an open mind, and Fan Yunxiao told him all he knew; Fan Yunxiao had already mastered the fifth chapter of the Dao Sword, and his attainments in the numerical arts were exceedingly high.