I held up two fingers. "Two. The other one had something to do today and couldn't come."
Upon hearing that I was a living Yin emissary, Cai Lun clearly became more attentive. He dispatched four more scribes to assist the previous two scholars in their search for information, which was likely so vast and difficult to find.
We continued to chat and waited for a full hour. I was starting to get hungry when the scholars finally returned, each carrying several bound volumes. It turned out that Li Yuanba and Liang Shidu were not just single individuals, but the names belonged to at least thirty different people.
The scholars were mere tools; many of them were from before the Tang Dynasty and had no knowledge of Li Yuanba or Liang Shidu, so they couldn't discern which person we were looking for. They had brought them all back.
"That's fine," I said. "Li Yuanba was from the late Sui and early Tang Dynasties, as was Liang Shidu. We can find them by their years."
We painstakingly filtered through them, finally isolating the information on the real Li Yuanba and Liang Shidu.
Li Yuanba's information was very brief, recording his birth and death dates. His life's significant event was summarized in one sentence: he killed Yuwen Chengdu.
After his death, he was marked as "Jing Zu" and served as a "cao kou" in Mangshan.
"A 'cao kou'? Why use the term 'serve'?" I asked, confused. "Isn't a 'cao kou' just a bandit?"
"Not at all, Lord Wu, you are mistaken," Cai Lun chuckled. "Here, 'cao kou' means a prisoner who makes paper using straw. Mangshan is a part of this... what you called it earlier, library. I will personally take all you lords there shortly."
Ah, so that's what 'cao kou' meant. That made things easier. A paper-making worker probably wouldn't be too short-tempered, right?
I then perused Liang Shidu's records. They were much the same as those in history. After being defeated and killed, he was sent to the sixth level of hell due to his past transgressions. Later, his performance improved, and he was gradually promoted, eventually reaching the first level of hell. He also served as a 'cao kou' for a period before being paroled and becoming a strategist for the King of Bei Hai, who was a rebel leader!
I had my own methods for dealing with kings, but unfortunately, they wouldn't be applicable here.
Cai Lun instructed a scribe to fetch Li Yuanba. Liang Shidu, however, was a different matter. I asked Cai Lun if I could take Liang Shidu's records with me. Cai Lun replied that it was against the rules, and he didn't have the authority. He added that even if His Majesty the King of Hell himself came, he could only examine the documents on-site or even make rubbings, but he couldn't take the volumes away.
"Even His Majesty can't?" Zheng Baobao frowned. "Wasn't this system established by His Majesty himself?"
"No," Cai Lun shook his head. "This system has existed since ancient times, and no King of Hell in any dynasty has dared to change it. If the lords don't mind, I can transcribe Liang Shidu's biography for you."
"That would be wonderful, thank you for your trouble," I said.
Cai Lun found a piece of high-quality Xuan paper and wrote down Liang Shidu's biography, about three to four hundred characters. I saw his personal seal on the desk and asked if he could add it.
"Uh, this is my private seal," Cai Lun said with a smile.
"That's exactly the private seal I want!" I exclaimed. Private seals were more valuable. If he used the seal of the First Level Hell's Archives, people wouldn't know what unit it was and might think it was a fake!
Cai Lun didn't know I intended to take his calligraphy back to the mortal realm to sell, but he didn't ask. He signed and sealed the "Biography of Liang Shidu" on the lower left.
Without boasting, this piece of paper alone was worth at least twenty to thirty million.
Just as Cai Lun finished sealing it, the scribe returned, followed by a short man with bandages on his limbs and face, his hair long and disheveled like a wild man. His face was also sooty black, not from paper making, but as if he had just emerged from a coal mine.
I activated my Qi-sensing technique. Yes, it was the aura of a "Jing Zu," though I couldn't gauge his strength. However, his aura was potent.
"Are you Li Yuanba?" I asked.
"I am indeed, this humble one," Li Yuanba immediately knelt on both knees and kowtowed to us "lords," his attitude exceedingly humble.
"Li Shimin's brother, Li Yuan's son?" Zheng Baobao confirmed.
"Yes."
"Are you willing to come with us?" I asked.
"Go? Go where?" Li Yuanba asked me, bewildered. After two seconds, he muttered to himself, "My sentence is one thousand eight hundred and forty years, and there are still quite a few years left."