致克利欧学士的一封信 A Letter to Scholar Cleo

一位博识学会成员写给弟子的信件。他希望弟子收到信后，可以立刻来罗浮见他。 A letter written by an Intelligentsia Guild member to his disciple, instructing them to immediately come and meet him at the Luofu.

克利欧，见信安好：

Cleo,

首先我声明，鄙人主动放弃以本文向克利欧学士索取任何稿酬的权利。

I hope this letter finds you well.

请立刻办理手续、申请经费，赶来罗浮仙舟。

First and foremost, I hereby declare: I voluntarily relinquish any right to claim remuneration from Scholar Cleo regarding this article.

如前面几封信所说，我已经在自己能力范围内研究了仙舟人和狐人，但却未能从其中找到合适的「长生」。于是我将视线转向了持明族。

Please go through the necessary formalities, apply for the allowance, and come to the Xianzhou Luofu immediately.

如你所知，持明有着极为特殊的生理结构，他们的生命周期会不断循环往复，彻底断绝了衰老、死亡与魔阴身的困扰。一些研究认为持明的长生并非来自于「丰饶」，我也认同这一点。也许正是因为我总将视线聚焦于「丰饶」的力量上，才长期忽视了这种足以突破困局的方向。

As mentioned in my previous letters, I have tried my best to study the Xianzhou natives and foxians, but I can't seem to find a suitable long-life individual. So, I have turned my attention to the Vidyadhara.

不过也没什么好说的，就算咱们一早找准了这个方向，也没有什么获取样本的机会。毕竟持明极少离开仙舟本土，按照他们的生理与习俗，蜕生轮回需要返回特殊的水体——他们称之为「古海」的环境里完成。

As you know, the Vidyadhara has a unique bodily structure. Their life cycle will keep going, thus they are free of the problems of aging, death, and being mara-stricken. Some researchers point out that the immortality of the Vidyadhara is not due to Abundance, with which I agree. I have probably put too much focus on the Power of Abundance that I miss out on the clue that can lead to a breakthrough in my study.

在经历了一系列麻烦之后，我终于成功在鳞渊境得到了持明族的生物学样本，而这件样本包涵的价值完全是我此前所没能预料到的。简单来说，它直接为我指明了一条通往「长生」的道路。

There's no point in dwelling on this, actually. Even if we could have gotten things right sooner, we would have had little chance to collect samples. After all, the Vidyadhara rarely leaves their Xianzhou ship. Based on their physical needs and traditional customs, they need to return to a special region, called the ancient sea, for their hatching rebirth.

我猜想，我的老师贝尼尼正是为了独自占有这个秘密，才彻底销声匿迹的。但「长生」的诱惑如此之大，我没有理由责怪他。

Having overcome a series of obstacles, I finally found a biological sample of the Vidyadhara in the Scalegorge Waterscape. The value of this sample was beyond my expectation. To put it simply, it showed me a clear direction toward immortality.

技术细节言尽于此，事关重大，不适合在信件中说明。等你到了罗浮，我会当面和你讲。

I reckon that my teacher, Bernini, went into seclusion because he wanted to keep the secret to himself. I don't blame him, seeing how tempting immortality is.

你我师徒二人踏上「智识」之道，加在一起也要及近百年了。随着年龄的增长，我的脑力逐渐衰退，能够研究出的新成果也越来越少…可银河还是如此广袤，还有那么多值得我们探索的，还有那么多需要我们创造的，可留给我们的时间却没有那么多。

I won't include too many technical details here, as too much is at stake. I'll explain it to you face-to-face when you reach the Luofu.

但现在一切都不一样了。

The time we have spent on the Path of Erudition has been nearly a century, and my age is starting to catch up on me. As I start to think slower, I become less efficient in my research... Yet, the cosmos is still vast, and there is a lot more for us to explore and create. Yet, we're running out of time.

如果我的研究是正确的（它八成是），那么我们将得到的绝不仅是财富和名望，而还能为自己争取来无穷无尽的时间，去探索这片隐藏着无数智慧宝藏的浩瀚苍穹。

But now, everything is different.

另：我准备给你招一位脑子聪明，踏实肯干的师弟/师妹，叫做开拓者。等你到了罗浮，很多事情还要麻烦你和他/她通力合作。

If my research is heading in the right direction (which I am 80% sure), we will not only be entitled to wealth and fame, but also an unlimited supply of time to explore the boundless space in which countless intellectual treasures are hidden.

你的老师，陶德•雷奥登

P.s.: I'm thinking of recruiting a smart and reliable junior frater/junior soror, named Trailblazer, for you. Please work with him/her when you arrive in the Luofu.