"This is a cookbook…" Li Xuan said helplessly, watching Yae Sakura flip through a book in front of him. It seemed Sakura was a foodie, just like Kiana…
"There are so many dishes in later generations… especially in China…" Yae Sakura murmured.
"..." Of course there are. It's the nation of foodies, after all… Li Xuan lifted his head and gazed out the window. Outside, the world was still filled with Honkai Zombies and Honkai Beasts. He wondered how Kiana, Mei, and Bronya were doing…
"Let's go… Sakura, the book I'm looking for isn't here…" Li Xuan started walking towards another room, calling to Yae Sakura, who was still engrossed in reading the Complete Collection of Chinese Recipes.
This bookshelf was filled with nothing but cookbooks… utterly useless… There wasn't a single animal left in this city. Even if he had the recipes, he couldn't cook anything. He couldn't possibly kill a Honkai Beast and eat it… He definitely wouldn't be human the next day if he did…
"Flicker~" The wall lamp above Li Xuan's head began to flash on and off, likely due to a malfunction…
"What was that?" The sound of the flickering light startled Li Xuan. He looked up, his right hand already starting to glow red. In this world filled with Honkai Zombies, he had to be on high alert… otherwise, he might get eaten in his sleep one day.
"Phew~" Li Xuan let out a sigh of relief and patted his chest. It was just a wall lamp. He thought it was some strange creature born from the Honkai. That had scared him half to death.
"But… this library still has power…" Li Xuan mused, stroking his pale chin. It seemed the city's power supply was still partially functional, though much of it had been destroyed…
"Wait!…" An idea flashed in Li Xuan's mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it…
"Mmm…" Yae Sakura followed him, still holding the Complete Collection of Chinese Recipes. She reluctantly handed the book to the dejected black fox trailing behind her for safekeeping…
"If only I could watch someone cook it live… ooh~" Yae Sakura sighed wistfully.
"Watch someone cook it live… unless you watch it on TV or a computer…" Li Xuan said.
Wait… a computer?! That's right, there are still computers! As long as I can use a computer, I can find it! Li Xuan finally caught that fleeting spark of inspiration in his mind.
When in doubt, ask Baidu!… Well, he didn't know if Baidu existed in this world, but there should be some kind of search engine, right?!
'I remember there was a computer in the main hall on the first floor of the library…' Li Xuan thought, recalling the places he had passed through.
"Let's go!" Li Xuan excitedly grabbed Yae Sakura's hand and pulled her towards the main hall. The floor was covered with the bodies of the Honkai Zombies they had killed, and patches of the ground were stained dark red with blood, interspersed with purple crystals.
The two of them quickly ran through the sun-drenched corridor and soon arrived at the library's central hall.
"We're here!" Li Xuan shouted excitedly, having already spotted the computer from a distance.
"..." I hope I can turn it on. Please don't let the internet be down… Li Xuan prayed silently as his finger pressed the computer's power button…
"..." The computer screen remained black, without any reaction.
'No!…' Li Xuan screamed internally. Didn't the wall lamps have power?! Why doesn't the computer have power?! Utterly defeated, Li Xuan slumped to the floor… Life was just too full of setbacks… he chose to be a salted fish.
"Uh…" Then Li Xuan noticed a black cord under the computer desk… one end was wrapped around the ankle of a Honkai Zombie that had fallen beside the desk… It looked suspiciously like a power cord.
"…It really is the power cord." Li Xuan reached out and picked it up, revealing the computer's power plug… no wonder there was no power… it wasn't plugged in at all…
"Alright!" Li Xuan plugged the power cord into the power strip on the floor.
"Whirrr!~" The old, dust-covered desktop computer started up with the sound of its internal fan, and the screen began to light up.
This time, Li Xuan successfully turned on the computer and entered an unknown search engine called Tianzhi Search… Miraculously… although there was no internet, Li Xuan found that he could directly search the library's collection…
"Mmm…" After a roller coaster of emotions, Li Xuan finally relaxed. Fortunately, this was a parallel world that also used Pinyin; otherwise, if he couldn't type today… that would have been very awkward.
"'Four Symbols', enter!" Li Xuan pressed the enter key on the keyboard. The library computer began to work, quickly pulling up all the information about the 'Four Symbols' from the library's database.
Unlike the snail-paced internet speed of his original world, the computer screen quickly displayed various interpretations and explanations for the term 'Four Symbols'…
Li Xuan leaned closer to the screen to read…
'In ancient Chinese mythology, the Four Symbols first referred to Old Yang, Old Yin, Young Yang, and Young Yin. The Taiji gives birth to the Two Principles, and the Two Principles give birth to the Four Symbols. The Taiji is one, meaning chaos. The Two Principles refer to Yin and Yang, and the Four Symbols are derived from Yin and Yang. In traditional Chinese culture, the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise are the representative creatures of the Four Symbols. The Azure Dragon represents Wood, the White Tiger represents Metal, the Vermilion Bird represents Fire, and the Black Tortoise represents Water. They also represent the four cardinal directions: East, West, South, and North. In the Twenty-Eight Mansions, the Four Symbols are used to divide the celestial constellations and are also known as the Four Gods or Four Spirits.'
This means… the yin-yang fish on the back of my right hand is no longer the Taiji! It's the Two Principles! Li Xuan thought in shock as he stared at the pattern on the back of his hand. After all, the Two Principles give birth to the Four Symbols!
Li Xuan quickly continued to read the remaining text on the computer screen…
'The Daoshu states: The Four Symbols are the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise. The Yizhuan refers to the Four Symbols as Young Yang, Old Yang, Young Yin, and Old Yin. Traditional Chinese orientation places South at the top, unlike the modern convention of placing North at the top. Therefore, when describing the directions of the Four Symbols, it is often said: Left Azure Dragon (East), Right White Tiger (West), Front Vermilion Bird (South), and Rear Black Tortoise (North). This corresponds to the Five Elements theory in terms of direction (East-Wood, West-Metal, North-Water, South-Fire).'
'To make it easier to understand, the ancients used four common things to represent the above Four Symbols. These four common things are "Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water." The specific substitutions are: Wood—Young Yang; Fire—Old Yang (Sun); Metal—Young Yin; and Water—Old Yin (Moon).'
'"Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water" later became the "Four Elements" in the Five Elements theory…'
"So that's how it is…" Li Xuan finally understood why he could use fire. It was because of the Fire Feather sigil, the Vermilion Bird's power of Fire… This also meant… he could also use the Dragon sigil's power of Wood from the Azure Dragon; the Tiger sigil's power of Metal from the White Tiger; and the Turtle sigil's power of Water from the Black Tortoise…
"There are three more abilities…" Li Xuan was overwhelmed by this sudden wave of good fortune… Each of these abilities could be as powerful as a four-star weapon…
'Why not ride the wind and soar ninety thousand li straight up…' This was the line that suddenly popped into Li Xuan's now-blank mind.