Chapter 5: Photographic Memory

Pace Zorn had assumed that once he was born, he would be able to talk and run right away. He never expected that the instant his umbilical cord was cut, his mind would sink into a heavy fog. Sleep dragged at him like a tide, thick and irresistible. For the first three months, he did little besides eat and sleep, and he ate an alarming amount. In his first month, Luna Juggins's milk already failed to satisfy him. By sheer coincidence, Elaine Juggins had just been weaned, so Flora, the beautiful aunt, joined the feeding rotation. Pace did not want to turn into a bottomless stomach and a sleeping idol. He tried to cultivate by drawing in Primordial Energy, but as a swaddled infant, he could barely focus. Worse, the Primordial Energy he managed to pull in overstimulated a newborn's meridians. He had no choice but to stop. Before the third month even arrived, even Luna Juggins and Flora together could not fill him. So the Juggins family hired a wet nurse. That day, Pace woke from a deep sleep with hunger clawing at him. He wailed at the top of his lungs, making it very clear he wanted milk. But the arms that lifted him belonged to a stranger. He thought she was a new nanny. Then the unfamiliar woman opened her clothes to feed him. Pace refused with iron determination. The wet nurse looked too common. Not pretty enough. They coaxed him, teased him, tried to press him to latch. After a long struggle, he still would not take a single sip. Luna Juggins could only take him back from the wet nurse's arms. For two or three days, Pace would rather go hungry than drink the wet nurse's milk. Luna Juggins had no choice but to replace her. Two wet nurses came and went. With the third, Pace finally relented. This wet nurse was still no match for Luna Juggins or Flora, but she was genuinely pretty and gentle, with a warmth that soothed rather than pushed. On his hundredth day, Pace tried cultivating again. If he could not replenish himself with Primordial Energy, then even three women, Luna Juggins, Flora, and the wet nurse, would not be able to keep him fed. Over those hundred days, he had not simply eaten and slept for nothing. He had shot up at a ridiculous pace, already the size of a six- or seven-month-old baby, solid and sturdy. After he woke, he did not immediately make a sound. He lay quietly on the bed, gathered his focus, and began to draw in Primordial Energy. Remembering last time's lesson, Pace carefully pulled in only a thin wisp. When it entered his meridians, he felt a faint swelling, barely there but unmistakable. Enduring the slight discomfort, he refine'd that wisp slowly and cautiously, and a thread of True Energy formed. The moment he succeeded, a rush of excitement surged through him. He pressed on, refine'd three more threads of True Energy, then had to stop. His eyelids grew unbearably heavy, and he sank into sleep. His Spirit Soul had tired out, and his meridians ached with a dull, lingering pressure. A hundred-day infant was still far too fragile. When he woke again and drank his fill, his eyes remained bright and lively. Those four threads of True Energy had taken effect. Luna Juggins noticed his glossy black eyes, dark as gemstones, spinning restlessly in their sockets. She blinked in surprise, then scooped him up against her soft warmth and began to play with him. Pace could only pretend to be a clueless baby. He babbled and responded in the most foolish way he could manage, and it sent his mother into peals of laughter. Joy softened her breathtaking features until her whole face glowed with happiness. Her laughter was so crisp and bright that it did not take long to draw Flora over. Flora joined in, eager to tease and entertain him too. After nearly half an hour of being played with by two women, Pace was utterly drained. He could not hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep. As he drifted off, a sliver of frustration rose in his chest. The four hard-won threads of True Energy had been spent just like that. By five months, Pace had grown as sturdy as a one-year-old child, and he could finally run and talk. Unfortunately, Luna Juggins did not trust him to roam freely. She usually restricted him to playing with Elaine Juggins, his fourth cousin. Elaine was a year and a half old, delicate and pretty, with fair, tender skin. Two adorable little pigtails stuck up like lamb horns, making her look like a porcelain doll. The little girl was lively and energetic, but she loved to cry at the slightest thing. Pace was forced to take on the role of playmate. He had to keep inventing different childish games to amuse Elaine and coax her into smiling. Elaine quickly became his devoted follower, his little shadow. She insisted on sleeping beside him, and she even threw tantrums during bath time, wailing until she was allowed to share the same tub. At six months, Pace was as tall as a one-year-and-three-month boy. Coupled with his mature manner, he looked like a tiny adult. "Mother, I want literacy," Pace told Luna Juggins with solemn seriousness. Luna Juggins thought she had misheard. "You said you want literacy?" "Yes." Pace nodded firmly. "Please teach me." A fierce joy surged up from Luna Juggins's heart. The son she had protected with her life truly was extraordinary. Only half a year old, and he was already asking to learn. "Alright, alright. Mother will teach you." Smiling, she bent and lifted him into her arms. "We'll go to Flora's place and borrow books." Flora had two children. Her eldest son, Justin Juggins, was already over six. He had started learning to read two years earlier, and he had used beginner primers. Both households were within Juggins Mansion, their courtyards neighboring each other. After Luna Juggins married, the Juggins family had kept her maiden courtyard, Laurel Court, for her. When she returned to her natal home, she continued living there. Before long, Luna Juggins carried Pace into Flora's courtyard. They happened to find Flora resting in a small pavilion, sipping tea. "Is Pace hungry?" Flora rose to her feet, her posture proud and inviting. Luna Juggins smiled down at Pace. "Pace, you tell her yourself." She set him down. With his short little legs, Pace toddled up to Flora. In a soft, milky baby voice, he greeted her politely, "Hello, Aunt Flora." "Hello, little Pace." Flora could not resist. She scooped him up with doting affection. "Tell me, what do you want from Aunt Flora?" Pace resembled Luna Juggins by five or six parts. He was handsome and exquisitely made, like carved jade dusted with powder. Flora had fed him for five months. How could she not adore him? Pace said seriously, "Aunt Flora, I want literacy. I want to borrow books from you and Cousin to study." Flora froze, stunned. She turned to Luna Juggins with a questioning look. Luna Juggins smiled back. "He brought it up himself. I was startled too." Flora looked back at Pace. Seeing the earnestness on his pink, pretty face, she could not help leaning in to kiss his cheek. "Little Pace is amazing. Aunt Flora loves you to death." Delight filled her voice. "I'll take you to get a book right away." Holding him, she left the pavilion and went inside. Not long after, she returned with a children's primer, the Thousand Character Classic, and sat back down. She wanted to teach Pace his first character herself, but in the end she handed the book to Luna Juggins. Luna Juggins was his mother, after all. Luna Juggins opened to the first page and carefully taught Pace the first character. Of course, he learned it with ease. Both women were thrilled. Especially Flora. She had personally taught Justin Juggins to read. Justin was already quite clever, but compared to Pace's speed, he did not even come close. More importantly, Justin had been four years old at the time. After Luna Juggins taught Pace three characters in a row, Flora could not hold back. "Let me teach Pace too." Luna Juggins stepped aside with a smile. "Please." Flora happily took over and continued teaching him. After a few more characters, Pace thought he might be able to use the panel to accelerate literacy. So he said, "Aunt Flora, could you read the Thousand Character Classic through once for me first?" "Why?" Flora asked instinctively, puzzled. "I feel like I'll learn faster that way," Pace replied. "Pace, learning requires patience. You can't do it in one leap," Luna Juggins said at once, her tone turning stern. Flora only laughed, indulgent. "It won't hurt to read it once for him." She began to read, character by character, slowly and clearly. Pace stared hard at the text while listening with full attention. When Flora finished the Thousand Character Classic, Pace lowered his lashes and opened the panel in his mind. On the panel, beneath [techniques], a new entry had appeared: [literacy: Thousand Character Classic (1/20)] Seeing that literacy really could be "cheated," Pace did not hesitate. He poured proficiency points into the Thousand Character Classic until it maxed out. He had already accumulated two million proficiency points. Nineteen points was nothing. In an instant, a flood of textual information poured into his mind, forcing him to stay silent and absorb it. Luna Juggins and Flora watched him close his eyes as if digesting something profound. They exchanged a smile. A moment later, Pace opened his eyes, stood up, and faced them. "Thank you, Aunt Flora and Mother. I've already learned the Thousand Character Classic." Luna Juggins and Flora stared, dumbfounded. They blurted out together, "Really? Are you serious?" Pace immediately began reciting the Thousand Character Classic backward, smooth and flawless. After only a dozen characters, Luna Juggins and Flora still listened with uncertainty. Then Flora, who had just read it once herself, reacted. Her eyes widened as she cried, "You're actually reciting the Thousand Character Classic backward!" Still exclaiming, she flipped to the last page to check. It was true, every single character correct. Luna Juggins hurried over to look. It truly was exactly right. Under their stunned gazes, Pace finished reciting the Thousand Character Classic backward without a single stumble. Flora closed the book. She and Luna Juggins turned to look at each other, and both saw the same shock and joy burning in the other's eyes. "Luna, Pace remembers anything he sees and anything he hears. He's brilliant beyond belief!" Flora said, shaken. "He'll become someone great!" Luna Juggins rose and swept Pace into her arms, holding him tight. Tears gathered as she murmured, "My child… Mother's child…" She had given far too much for him. And yet, at only half a year old, he had already revealed a terrifying intelligence that surpassed the common person by miles. In her embrace, Pace thought quietly, *That was a little too flashy, but I had to make Mother happy. I had to let her feel that everything she endured was worth it.* *I could choose to grow quietly, but I can't be that selfish.* *Besides, a mere photographic memory is nothing. Compared to the fact that I'm an Ancient Divine Constitution and I have a panel system helping me, it's trivial. People think a hundred points is impressive. In truth, I'm ten thousand.* That very day, the news that Pace could recite the Thousand Character Classic backward after hearing it once spread throughout Juggins Mansion, leaving everyone in awe. The head of the household, Wade Juggins, Luna Juggins's father, tested Pace personally. He used another beginner literacy book, one with as many as three thousand characters. Under the eyes of most of the Juggins family, along with many maids and servants, Pace recited it backward with calm composure. Everyone present was shaken to the core. After all, Pace was only half a year old. At that age, most babies still wet the bed and could not even tell who their father was. The next day, Pace's reputation as a genius spread beyond Juggins Mansion. Half a month later, the news reached the Southern Marquisate. When Parker Zorn heard it, his brows knit slightly. "Could I have been wrong back then?" Then he snorted, decisive and cold. "No. It's only a bit of petty cleverness. Born deficient, destined for mediocrity." When the matriarch of the Southern Marquisate heard it, she let out a scornful snort. "It must be the Juggins family putting on a show, building momentum for that bastard, trying to force Parker to bring that mother and son back to the Southern Marquisate. Not a chance!" When Gemma Scurr, already pregnant, heard the news, a trace of gravity and unease surfaced on her saintly face.