CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 9 A GLIMPSE OF LIFE

Tang Tian was a public account writer, yes, one of those flexible employment folks.

He managed a public account with over seven thousand followers, where he usually posted small articles on emotions and marriage, teaching people how to date and how to detect if their other half was cheating.

Although he had never been married or in a relationship himself.

Fortunately, his articles were free of charge and he didn’t accept any business promotions, so the most his readers could get was an unhealthy perspective on love.

But in Tang Tian’s own words, love was blind and irrational by nature, so there couldn’t be such a thing as a healthy perspective on love.

Even if there was, the world was full of unhealthy things — smoking, drinking, parents who report video games; everyone was living just fine, so one more emotional public account wasn’t a big deal.

You might find it strange how a small public account, followed by just seven thousand people, more than half of whom just clicked on a whim and then completely forgot about it, left to mold in a corner, could support Tang Tian’s livelihood.

The answer is quite simple: he had a good father.

Mr. Tang left Tang Tian an apartment with three bedrooms and one living room along with two street-facing shops before he passed away, ensuring that his only son wouldn’t end up homeless or starve to death.

With Tang Tian’s physical needs taken care of, he naturally started to explore the spiritual beyond, and thus embarked on the path of creation.

As a wordsmith, Tang Tian always held himself to strict standards, striving for improvement.

In addition to publishing an article every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (because too frequent posts on the public account could lead to losing followers), Tang Tian would recharge himself in the library on Saturdays and Sundays.

Beyond reading books, Tang Tian also enjoyed people-watching.

By observing a person’s age, attire, and the books they were borrowing, he could deduce their profession or the goals for which they were striving.

For example, the girl with glasses writing furiously in a mathematics book at the table to Tang Tian’s right was clearly preparing for graduate school entrance exams.

Then there were the two high school students, a boy and a girl, seated behind the glasses-wearing girl, with their homework spread out before them yet making slow progress, lingering on the same page for a long time.

Their bodies were very close, and there would be occasional unintended physical contacts. Clearly, they had come here under the guise of studying to enjoy their youthful romance.

Then there was the elderly man wearing presbyopia glasses and a mask, flipping through an "Ancient Chinese Dictionary" and occasionally giving a light cough, most likely a retired Chinese teacher from some school.

The middle-aged man in a cheap shirt, with a furrowed brow, had a "Guide to Civil Legal Documents and Litigation" in front of him, which indicated he had recently encountered some thorny issues that could only be resolved through legal means.

The young woman in a floral skirt, with quite white legs – Tang Tian couldn’t help but look for an extra two seconds before shifting his gaze to the laptop beside her. She was there to write her resume, nothing unusual, clearly job hunting.

As Tang Tian was immersed in the strange pleasure of catching fleeting glimpses into the lives of others, he saw a man with a pile of seven or eight books in his arms heading his way.

The man’s age ranged from twenty to thirty, a bit younger than Tang Tian, dressed in a Uniqlo plain T-shirt and layered with a Converse sports jacket to buffer against the library’s vigorous air conditioning.

The attire resembled that of a graduate student from the nearby university, but Tang Tian quickly dismissed the assumption, as the man’s expression did not possess that student-like innocence.

It seemed that he was already working. Was he here to study in preparation for a professional title or some qualification exam?

Tang Tian’s gaze lowered to the stack of books the man was carrying.

"Moses and Monolatry", "Essentials of Christianity", "Ancient Israelite Moral Laws", "Comparative Study of Indian Brahmanic Philosophy and Buddhist Philosophy", "Celtic Mythology", "Illustrated Buddhist Book of Life and Death: Deciphering the Truth of the Cycle of Life and Rebirth", "Fifteen Lectures on Taoism Culture".

Tang Tian took a sharp breath. Was this person stacking buffs here? Was faith something like a Spirit Root that one could cultivate more of?

This piqued Tang Tian’s interest in the man before him instantly.

Since the man was already working, he shouldn’t be a researcher gathering material for a paper in related fields. What was his job, and why was he borrowing so many books on myth and religion? It couldn’t possibly be that he was...

Thinking of a certain possibility, Tang Tian felt a chill in his heart. To maintain social harmony and stability, he felt it was necessary to keep a close watch on this person.

And as it happened, there was an empty seat at his table, so the man came over and sat down opposite Tang Tian, opening the topmost book, Freud’s "Moses and Monolatry", and began to read.

Tang Tian could see clearly that the man was genuinely reading these theological works, which would be dry and dull for others, instead of putting on airs to stand out.

He also had a notebook with him, a black leather one, and sometimes he would write something down when a particular passage struck him or sparked an idea.

One could say he was very earnest.

But the more earnest he was, the more concerned Tang Tian became. He spent the morning restless, unable to concentrate on his book "Silent Separation".

It wasn’t until close to noon that Tang Tian found his chance when Li Yu got up to use the restroom.

Ignoring the surprised looks from those around him, he reached out and snatched the black notebook Li Yu had left on the table, flipping to the first page.

He first checked the title on top—How to Write a Creation Myth.

Tang Tian scanned the page, ten lines at a glance, and sure enough, the content below revolved around this theme. He flipped to the second section.

—Creation of Doctrines and Commandments.

This section mainly discussed what to advocate, taboos in daily life, and so on. Most of it seemed quite positive, especially the part about commandments, which clearly took inspiration from the Ten Commandments format, creating ten rules of their own.

It was just that the tenth rule looked a bit odd.

Saturday is the deity of rest and entertainment. For the first five days, you shall work hard. On the sixth and seventh days, unless there is an emergency, you must lay down your hoe, sword, and needlework. Regardless of race, nobles, commons, servants, or foreign travelers, all are equal and need not work. They may rest and feast to their heart’s content.

The destitute who lack food may receive communion from the Church, and those without a home may rest in a church.

Physicians, Night Watchmen, Sailors, and other such special occupations, if they break this rule, should make amends promptly.

This is the basic commandment of our Lord Saturday, which not even the kings and lords of any nation may break. Open violators should be punished by all the faithful the world over.

While Tang Tian was still in shock, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him.

"Have you finished reading?"

It made him startle so much that the notebook in his hands dropped onto the table.