Snail Senior Brother

Chapter 341 On the Yin-Yang Theory of The Schemer

Lin Han betrayed me; she confessed first. The simple explanation was that it was to deal with enemies. Moreover, that bronze short blade was not a genuine artifact, but a replica made by older generation archaeologists.

Among the older generation, who possessed such craftsmanship? Lin Han unceremoniously attributed this "honor" to Xun Chong.

A person who had been dead for twenty-one years—no one could extract the truth from him. However, Lin Han resolved the experts' doubts by pointing out the discrepancies in the inscriptions of the two short blades. Based on the excavation records from that time, she proved that the one we held was a replica.

Concurrently, Lu Yao also confessed, saying that I had instructed him to deliberately confuse the public. Lin Han was released early as a reward for her cooperation. Lu Yao, however, did not get out; Director Lu probably had him do some work.

Just as the prisoner's dilemma describes, betrayal is the method to achieve the greatest benefit. Lin Han was fine and left the detention center. I, however, was kept here. My alleged offenses were confusing the public, concealing the truth, and harboring the intent to steal national treasures.

Ye Qingcheng came to see me. She still exuded the aura of an elite female lawyer, proud and aloof. Perhaps she was so immersed in her role that, in my eyes, she was Ye Qingcheng herself. Even if she were right in front of me, I couldn't tell if she was acting or if this was genuinely her personality.

"Is your wife really that different?"

"What does she do?"

"What makes her different is that she did nothing, she perfectly executed your intentions."

"You think she should care about me? Or willingly stay at the police station for me."

"Yes!"

"This is what makes Lin Han unique. Her self-care ability is terrible, but her execution is divine. Once she's decided on something, she'll carry it out without hesitation."

"What has she decided on?"

"She believes I can solve this problem."

"Even if there's no clue at all, she trusts you."

"Even if there's no clue at all, she trusts me."

Ye Qingcheng fell silent, a hint of sadness in her eyes. I guessed this conversation reminded her of some past events. When it came to trust, hadn't she risked her life to trust Li Jiu back then? Unfortunately, fate is hard to come by, and she wasn't the first woman Li Jiu met.

"By the way, Teacher Ye, about the bronze short blade I asked you to inquire about, did you ask Lin Han?"

Ye Qingcheng nodded, "I did. Lin Han said she had never seen identical antique artifacts in the world, nor had she heard of anyone who could forge cultural relics to such a lifelike degree. The current problem is that between two impossibilities, only one can be true, and the other is a fabrication. You can only choose one." Choose?

Even Lin Han couldn't tell the difference, which showed that this bronze short blade had indeed become a tough nut to crack. This was just one bronze short blade. If the general's terracotta head were to surface, wouldn't the antiquities world be thrown into utter chaos?

Seeing my silence, Ye Qingcheng asked me seriously, "Sect Leader, you don't trust Director Lu?"

"It's not that I don't trust him; I just feel that the development of events seems to be under someone's control. Kuaiδugg

"You mean your confusion of the public and Director Lu's confession of long-held secrets are all under Cao Qian's control."

"Yes, it's just a feeling, without any evidence."

Ye Qingcheng nodded, "I can understand, because we've encountered something like this before."

"Encountered what?"

"Not the same kind of thing, but a similar feeling. Back then, we followed Teacher Li Jiu to deal with Cao Shi. Cao Shi's approach to handling matters felt like this: although Cao Shi and the people we interacted with had no direct connection, at crucial moments, those people strangely became Cao Shi's pawns. Teacher Li Jiu said this method is called 'All things under heaven are not possessed by anyone, but are used by me,' which is the highest realm of a schemer."

I understood Ye Qingcheng's meaning. Cao Qian had nothing to do with this incident, but since Cao Qian could give me the password to the old-fashioned briefcase, she must have understood this matter more than I did. She drew me in because she wanted to use my hand to kill without wasting her own resources.

This somewhat resembled the meaning of "All things under heaven are not possessed by anyone, but are used by me." But this was merely a literal interpretation. I thought this way for a period, but I no longer do. "Dao" comes before "Fa" (method). My senior sister understands the method, not the Dao. Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, and Three gives birth to all things. All things are different, yet share the same origin. Therefore, Old Ghost used the method Sister is using now, but his understanding is entirely different. I still believe that Old Ghost has transcended the highest level of understanding for all schemers. He understands all things, and he understands the Dao, standing above us, looking down on the causal relationships of the world.

"Sect Leader, how do we break this situation?"

"When Li Jiu dealt with Cao Shi, what method did he choose?"

"I don't know. He usually didn't say, he just instructed us to do things."

Li Jiu didn't trust these people. He might have needed to maintain his authority to awe them. Therefore, Li Jiu would present himself as more mysterious. I don't need to. Because of Li Jiu's relationship, I have deeply trusted these people from the beginning. Trust and don't doubt those you employ.

"I won't assign you tasks, but I will tell you the method."

"Sect Leader, you mean you're going to teach me?"

"Teacher Ye, it's mutual learning. I'm not teaching you. Let's put it this way: if schemers truly have a lineage, then we need to draw upon the wisdom of the ancients."

"The Art of War by Sun Tzu?"

"No, the best strategist in historical records should be Guiguzi. Sun Bin was also a disciple of Guiguzi, it seems. Guiguzi once said: 'Observe the opening and closing of yin and yang to name things, know the gates of existence and destruction, strategize the beginnings and ends of myriad things, comprehend the principles of human hearts, and see the signs of change.' This sentence contains a lot. Old Ghost's 'all things under heaven,' Teacher Wang Ren's 'Dao before Fa,' Teacher Li Jiu's 'underlying logic,' and Zhu Guang's 'theory of victory and defeat.'"

"I don't quite understand."

"Do you understand metaphysics?"

"Not really either!" Ye Qingcheng looked embarrassed, which was rare.

"Then let me put it this way: schemers' strategies also have yin and yang. Yin refers to the infinitely subtle world, such as psychological effects and extreme game theory. This knowledge is static and hidden. Yang refers to the infinitely vast realm, such as situational acting and the Stanislavski system. These things are all visible in our daily lives. That is to say, the four systems you summarized earlier already encompass everything about schemers."

Ye Qingcheng was bewildered, but vaguely understood.

I continued, "If we compare the four systems to the Four Symbols, the situational acting system is Lesser Yang, the Stanislavski system is Greater Yang, the psychological effects system is Lesser Yin, and the extreme game theory system is Greater Yin. We can then find the relationships of mutual generation and restraint within these systems. As long as we continuously try and learn within this framework, we can eventually reach the realm Guiguzi spoke of: judging things by observing the changes of yin and yang, knowing the principles of existence and destruction, calculating the development process of all things, understanding the laws of human thought, revealing the signs of change in things, and thereby controlling the critical points of their development and change."

Ye Qingcheng looked at me with a solemn expression, "This is what Guiguzi said: 'Observe the opening and closing of yin and yang to name things, know the gates of existence and destruction, strategize the beginnings and ends of myriad things, comprehend the principles of human hearts, and see the signs of change.'"

"Yes!"

I nodded seriously. This was my understanding. When I defined my own realm as "Do good deeds and ask not about consequences," I had actually started researching how to grasp the laws of causality. Later, I discovered that the wisdom of the ancients and the wisdom of modern people are interconnected, as are the wisdom of Westerners and Easterners.

For example, my "do good deeds and ask not about consequences" would likely be seen by Westerners as all high-scoring strategies stemming from benevolent choices.

Now, I am sharing these thoughts, or rather, these summaries, with Ye Qingcheng and the others, to help them become more formidable schemers.

Just as I was feeling a little smug, I suddenly felt awkward. I saw Ye Qingcheng take out a small notebook and write everything down.

"Teacher Ye, Teacher Ye, we are just discussing."

"This is not discussion; thank you, Sect Leader, for your guidance."

"This~"

"Can I share this with the others?"

I knew that the "others" Ye Qingcheng was referring to were the four elders of the king card, oh, no, they should be called the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse now. In short, those four people in my mind.

"Of course."

"Then I'll ask one more thing, Sect Leader. Regarding Director Lu's situation, can I find the answer by understanding the laws of human psychology? I know this is unfair to you, and you are in prison and in danger."

"It's fine, go ahead," I said.

After I said this, I could feel Ye Qingcheng's genuine smile. Such a smile was truly rare for Ye Qingcheng, who was accustomed to controlling her emotions. This was probably the emotional resonance produced by trust.

After Ye Qingcheng left, I sat alone in a corner, facing the wall, thinking: The biggest scam in this world is metaphysics. Tang Nan, you have finally become a qualified schemer.

Just then, I suddenly felt that the prison was too quiet. I turned my head and saw someone lunging at me with a makeshift weapon.