"Speaking of which, Brother Yuan, your cultivation aura seems much more condensed. Could it be that you've made yet another breakthrough?" Wulu sized up Yuan Ming and said.

"I overestimated my abilities and took the Foundation Establishment Pill to attempt reaching the Foundation Establishment Stage, but alas, I nearly succeeded yet failed. Let's not talk about it. What are your plans next?" Yuan Ming sighed.

"I have some matters to handle, and will inevitably be busy for a while. We might not be together long and will soon part ways," Wulu said with a smile.

"It seems fortune has smiled upon you on this journey, Brother Wulu. You've made quite the haul!" Yuan Ming joked with a smile.

"It's mutual! What are you planning to do, Brother Yuan?" Wulu raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"I will stay in the city for a short while before planning to leave the Southern Border to return to Da Jin. From then on, you and I will be worlds apart; meeting again might not be easy," Yuan Ming explained.

"This mission in Biluo Cave wasn't short, and I'm also exhausted both physically and mentally. I plan to relax for a while. I intend to leave the Southern Border and check out the scenery in the north," Wulu said with a smile.

"You're going to Central Plains?" Yuan Ming asked, surprised.

"That's right. I've always been fascinated by those coastlines depicted in the tales of knights I read about, wanting to see for myself what's described as 'rocks shattering the clouds, waves splitting the shores, rolling up a thousand layers of snow'!" Wulu nodded.

"Brother Wulu prefers the raging waves crashing against the rocky shores rather than beaches with sunset and palm shadows. The south would not do; you should look towards the north side of the East Sea," Yuan Ming analyzed instinctively.

"I have a target in mind. Once I'm done here, I plan to visit Haiyan City in Yue Country. You're heading north back to Da Jin as well, why not travel together?" Wulu suggested.

Yuan Ming pondered for a moment, recalling that Haiyan City was located in Hua Continent of Yue Country, near the East Sea.

"I'll pass. Going through Yue Country on my way to Da Jin would involve a lengthy detour, not a good choice," Yuan Ming said.

"That's too bad," Wulu sighed.

"How long will you stay there, any plans to come to Da Jin?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Hard to say, the journey is long. Just reaching there may take months, and I might stay a bit longer afterward. Ha, I won't be going to Da Jin; it's a place too fierce for me, with much deeper waters than Yue Country. Since Hua Continent isn't far from Da Jin, maybe you could visit me in Haiyan City?" Wulu said after some thought.

"Alright," Yuan Ming considered and then nodded in agreement.

The two then exchanged a few pleasantries, drank a few more cups, and left with a fist salute to each other.

Yuan Ming's visit to Black Rock City Market was not for any urgent business. Mainly, he wanted to ask Master Huo Lian to refine another set of inner armor with the materials he had accumulated before his departure.

Additionally, there were two old acquaintances in the market he wanted to meet.

Compared to his previous visit to the market, Yuan Ming's mood was much lighter.

Even though he had a purpose, none were pressing matters, allowing Yuan Ming to stroll through the market leisurely, adopting the mindset of a tourist.

In fact, since he'd recovered all his memories, Yuan Ming's mind hadn't been at ease. While the questions about his amnesia were fully resolved, more doubts flooded his mind.

Lin Junsheng was clearly a childhood friend with whom he had grown up. Although they weren't as closely bound as he was with the young Emperor, Lin Junsheng was still one of the few close friends he had.

He couldn't understand why Lin Junsheng would harm him.

In his memories, after Lin Junsheng suddenly struck him, he said, "Yuan Ming, don't blame me, I have no choice…"

Could there be a deeper reason?

Yuan Ming had some guesses in his mind, but without any evidence at the moment, they remained mere speculations.

Returning to Da Jin, back to the capital, would undoubtedly lead to storms of intrigue and conflict.

As Yuan Ming walked among the bustling streets, his gaze was suddenly drawn to a signboard of a modest shop not far away, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"Black Rock Bookstore."

He muttered under his breath with a slight smile and turned into the bookstore.

A bookstore, just a place selling ordinary books without any Cultivation Technique Books. If it were the old Yuan Ming, he probably wouldn't have entered or even noticed this shop.

But now it was different. Once Yuan Ming recovered all his memories, some of his old habits and instincts took over his body again.

As a young boy, he was already well-read in classics and saints' teachings, not because his parents forced him, but out of his inherent love for reading.

Even compared to some of the scholar-official families, General Yuan was more liberal and didn't restrict the genres Yuan Ming read.

Thus, by the age of ten, he had already read books that many scholars criticized as "contrary to traditional values and harmful to customs," like "Jinping Orchid" and "Stone Record," far beyond what ordinary folk knew.

Therefore, in Da Jin, Yuan Ming habitually frequented bookstores.

This shop, "Black Rock Bookstore," wasn't large, nor did it house a vast collection of books. Bookshelves filled both sides of the shop, densely packed with thread-bound books of various sizes and types.

The bookstore obviously wasn't very popular, as it had no customers at all, just a shop assistant leaning on the counter inside, hands propping up his head as he dozed off.

Upon seeing Yuan Ming enter, the assistant barely lifted his eyelids for a glance and didn't even bother to greet him.

Yuan Ming didn't mind, for he was just following his habit of having a look around and trying his luck. If he happened to find some rare and valuable books from ancient times, he would buy them.

If not, he would simply walk around and leave.

The cultural development at the Southern Border lagged behind, incomparable to the Central Plains Region; even in the bookstore, the distinction was stark.

Yuan Ming casually flipped through several books, which used various types of paper of mixed quality.

The better ones were made from bark as the main material, making the paper thick, durable, and somewhat flexible, but also rough and inconvenient for writing.

The inferior ones were made from white hemp paper, produced from flax and other similar materials. These had a dull surface, contained more fiber bundles, and absorbed ink easily, but also suffered from the thickness and too many impurities.

Such paper standards would be deemed unacceptable for book publishing in the Central Plains.

Per the customs of Da Jin, the least acceptable paper would have been the finer and thinner white cotton paper; normally, people used Luo Pattern Xuan Paper, which was not only lightweight but also more durable.

After skimming through some miscellaneous notes, Yuan Ming found them all written in Southern Border script and dealing with trivial matters, which quickly bored him. He swept his gaze around and decided to leave.

Just then, a solitary bookshelf near the counter caught his eye.

It held about a dozen exquisitely thread-bound books with gilded covers, distinct from the others carelessly displayed around, resembling nobles dressed in finery amidst a slum.

"Show me those books," Yuan Ming approached and said.

"Customer, you have good taste. These books have all come from the Central Plains. Each one is a classic that has been passed down through generations and cannot be found elsewhere," the assistant rubbed his eyes, glanced over, and while speaking, pulled down the solitary bookshelf.

Yuan Ming was at a loss for words, suspecting the clerk didn't even understand what "rare and valuable editions" were and was just bluffing him here.

When the assistant brought the bookshelf over and arranged the dozen or so volumes in a row, Yuan Ming saw the titles and couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

Stone Record, Jinping Orchid, East Wing Record, Jade Grass Fate... indeed, all were classics.

Unfortunately, they were favorites of a certain type of person. If a Confucian scholar saw them, they might well declare them "corruptive and indecent transmissions."

However, he couldn't blame the assistant; these books were well-crafted and beautifully printed, all in Central Plains script. A Southern Border clerk naturally couldn't recognize them.

Just as Yuan Ming was about to leave, he spotted a book among them that was quite different.

He picked up the book and looked closely. It was written in the Southern Border script, but the paper used was none other than the "Cloud Flower Paper," exclusively supplied to the Da Jin Royal Family.

Yuan Ming frowned and took a closer look, his attention fixed.

"Children's Storybook... Isn't this the storybook I wrote when I was young? How did it end up here in the Southern Border, translated into the Southern Border script?" Yuan Ming was incredibly surprised.

He quickly turned to the last page of the book and saw a seal in Central Plains script there:

"Tianming Book Society."

That was the publishing house he co-founded with Emperor Liu Tianming. Although it was technically a private organization, it could use the royal exclusive paper. It didn't just publish storybooks but also serial picture books of great quality, renowned throughout Da Jin.

However, Yuan Ming always focused on creation and never on profits. Printing and publishing were handled by the shopkeeper of the book society, and he had no idea there was a Southern Border script edition of his book.

As Yuan Ming stared at the Children's Storybook in a daze, the assistant thought he was interested in the book and immediately began to promote it enthusiastically:

"Customer, you really have a keen eye. This Children's Storybook includes thirteen unique stories, specially translated into our Southern Border script. It was a hit upon release, loved not just by children but also providing a different perspective for many adults. The more than a thousand copies we struggled to ship from Da Jin sold out quickly, and the one in your hands is among the last in stock."

"This book... sold that well?" Yuan Ming was somewhat incredulous.

"I'll tell you this," the clerk said as he thumped his chest. "In this entire bookstore, the only thing that can rival it is the erotic fiction. I won't lie, I am a dedicated fan of this book myself, especially the story about the mice holding a conference."

Yuan Ming, holding the book, looked at the clerk in amazement.

"Don't be skeptical, I really think the person who wrote this book has an extraordinary, boundless imagination and is certainly no ordinary person," the clerk praised sincerely.

In that moment, as Yuan Ming held his own book and listened to the man's compliments, he felt an unexpected lift in his spirits.

"This feeling of being praised isn't too bad at all," Yuan Ming thought, feeling quite pleased.

However, he couldn't possibly tell the man that he was the author of the book; that would truly be making a saint of himself in public.

While it might have been more exhilarating, it could also lead to being considered a madman or a fraud.

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