"Can you make sense of this?" Chen Xi turned to Lu Xun, who was sitting beside him. "If you can, help me decode this. Fengxiao really has too much time on his hands, using such a complex cipher for a letter."
"Uh, sure, I should be able to crack it," Lu Xun nodded and took the letter from Chen Xi. After Chen Xi had skimmed through it, he realized that there was no direct translation information—it was a message that had been encoded, then further encrypted, with no cipher key provided. Though he hadn't fully decoded it, he knew the result would definitely be numbers.
Lu Xun worked through the cipher at a slow pace, unlike Chen Xi, who might have used experience to deduce that the result would be pure numbers. Instead, Lu Xun spent a considerable amount of time on it, eventually deriving the numbers, but he found himself stuck, staring at the string of digits. He looked up at Zhuge Liang, who was resting his eyes nearby.
"Hmm, you've decoded it all?" Chen Xi noticed Lu Xun looking up from the numbers and nodded approvingly. It seemed that Zhuge Liang had taught him well.
"I can't go any further," Lu Xun sighed, scratching his head in frustration. "At this point, it feels like I'm missing a key to decipher these numbers. They seem to be raw data that just need the right key to unlock the meaning."
"Not bad at all, that's more than enough. This cipher doesn't come with a key, and Fengxiao rarely leaves anything out," Chen Xi chuckled. "We'll find the key when we get back to Taishan. It's probably somewhere in Fengxiao's house."
Chen Xi had already guessed that the key to the cipher would be hidden in one of Guo Jia's books, given that Guo Jia had intentionally used silk paper when other more convenient options were available. He figured it was likely tucked away in some bamboo or silk book.
At this point, Zhuge Liang looked up at the pleased Lu Xun and remarked, "You still need to study more. Guo Jia left a hint for the key to this cipher."
Lu Xun looked at Zhuge Liang in disbelief and then turned to Chen Xi, who nodded in agreement. This made Lu Xun lower his head, trying to figure out what he had missed, but he just couldn't put his finger on it.
"Kongming, do you want to take a look?" Chen Xi asked, shaking the improved silk paper in his hand.
"I've seen enough to translate the entire letter. I already know what the key is. When you weren't around, I browsed through Fengxiao's collection, so I know where the key is hidden," Zhuge Liang replied calmly. His photographic memory allowed him to recall exactly what Guo Jia had copied from Liu Ye's silk manuscript.
"Go ahead and translate it then. You're not one to blurt out anything unnecessary," Chen Xi said, handing the letter to Zhuge Liang.
Zhuge Liang shook his head, suspecting that Chen Xi was simply too lazy to search for the silk manuscript back in Taishan. Nevertheless, he took the letter and quickly began translating it. As the decoded message came to light, a look of surprise crossed Zhuge Liang's face.
"What does it say?" Chen Xi asked curiously.
"The letter is all over the place. It mentions Gongsun Bogui, the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans, and the Hebei clans of Zhen and Cui. Oh, and he also advises us to prepare early," Zhuge Liang replied with a wry smile. The contents seemed random and scattered, with no substantive information.
Chen Xi instinctively furrowed his brow.
Zhuge Liang remained silent, pondering the meaning behind Guo Jia's seemingly nonsensical message. He couldn't believe Guo Jia would waste time sending something so trivial to Chen Xi.
Chen Xi rubbed his temples, deep in thought.
It didn't take long for Chen Xi to consider the potential situation.
As he continued to analyze the message, when he reached the mention of the Zhen and Cui clans, he suddenly understood the underlying message and Guo Jia's intentions.
A cold glint appeared in Chen Xi's eyes. Compared to Cao Cao, Yuan Shao was currently the biggest obstacle. If a conflict broke out, it would mean that Liu Bei's faction was ready to face Yuan Shao, Lü Bu, and Sun Ce simultaneously!
Chen Xi quickly compared the current situation, calculating the odds.
After piecing everything together, Chen Xi glanced at Lu Xun, who was still deep in thought, trying to figure out what he had missed. The sight made Chen Xi chuckle as he patted Lu Xun on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it. When we get to Taishan, you'll understand. Sometimes the simplest things are the easiest to overlook."
"Are we ready for this?" Zhuge Liang asked, looking at Chen Xi.
"We've been preparing all along, but we're never truly ready. However, when the time comes to act, we can't afford to hold back. Even if we're not perfectly prepared, we still have the upper hand," Chen Xi said with a smile. "Besides, fate won't wait for us to be fully prepared."