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Here is the translation, rendered in an epic, archaic, and solemn style to reflect the gravity of an ancient existence.
📜 The Chronicle of the Gate and the Void
Ningzhou University of Science and Technology. The Grand Hall.
Notwithstanding the air-conditioning toiling at its zenith, it could not dispel the stifling heat radiating from the congregation of two thousand souls.
Xiao Lin sat amidst the throng, hearkening to the elder upon the dais who held forth:
"On the seventeenth of July, a calamity befell the Ren'ai Hospital in Ningzhou—a resurrection of the deceased. The resurrected, their flesh flayed and minds beset by madness, commenced to devour the corpses."
"And that hospital lies but five li from this place. Five li—that is the slender veil betwixt thee and the encroaching mystery."
"Our realm grows strange; how shall we brace ourselves against such tides?"
He rapped upon the blackboard. "Modern Occultism—this discipline is our newfound instrument..."
The elder's voice was steady and puissant. Beside him, Yang Qi flushed crimson with fervor. "By the Heavens! 'Tis magnificent! I hearken unto the oration of Yue Taizhou! Great Gods above!"
"Is such agitation truly warranted?" Xiao Lin cast a glance, calm as the wind and clouds.
"Warranted? Aye! Elder Yue is the very cornerstone of Modern Occultism! He assumed command in the face of peril to shield all mankind from the mystical incursion. He is deemed the likeliest savior of our world!"
"Were I granted but a solitary audience with him, I could die content."
Beholding Yang Qi's fanaticism, a shudder of revulsion coursed through Xiao Lin. He half-suspected that were Yue Taizhou present, Yang Qi would embrace and kiss the man. Yet, he harbored a pang of pity for his companion; for no matter how he yearned, the opportunity would likely never come. Such a scholar belonged to a realm entirely distinct from their own. Had Yue Taizhou not chanced upon their academy for this inauguration, Xiao Lin's entire life might have passed without a glimpse of him.
The oration endured but forty minutes, yet it stirred the hearts of many scholars, Yang Qi included. Scarcely had the ceremony concluded ere he hastened to the registry, proclaiming his intent to devote himself to the "sacred cause of saving humanity." Watching him jostle amidst the crowd like a sardine, Xiao Lin, speechless, resolved to return to his quarters.
Stepping forth from the hall, the sun shone in its glory. The campus lay in tranquility, as if the spectral threat besieging the world were but a phantom. Pondering the matter of his midday meal, Xiao Lin descended the steps with the flow of people. Halfway down, a voice hailed him from behind.
"Student Xiao Lin, tarry a moment."
He turned. A youth clad in a suit stood upon the steps, his countenance rigid and severe. The face was familiar, yet Xiao Lin could not recall the place. "Pray, who art thou...?"
"I am Qi Haisheng, attendant to Professor Yue Taizhou," the other replied, his voice serene.
Memory struck Xiao Lin with force. Aye, 'twas he who adjusted the microphone ere Yue Taizhou ascended. But how came he to know his name?
"What business have you?" Xiao Lin inquired.
Qi Haisheng regarded him with a scrutinizing gaze, and after a pause, spake: "The Professor desires an audience."
Bewilderment seized Xiao Lin. He recalled no acquaintance with Yue Taizhou; in the late oration, he had been but one head amongst two thousand.
"He hath come specifically to seek thee, to discourse on the matter of that Gate," Qi Haisheng continued.
A sudden chill detonated within Xiao Lin's heart, flowing to his every limb.
Roughly a moon's turn ago, Xiao Lin had encountered a mystical incursion. His dreams had become fixed; each time he slumbered, he beheld a colossal stone gate standing amidst the darkness. It stood slightly ajar, from whence poured forth dazzling, iridescent hues. This vision he had never uttered to a living soul. How, then, could Yue Taizhou possess such knowledge?
Five minutes hence, Xiao Lin stood before Yue Taizhou in a provisional office. The elder was buried in a dossier, wherein the corner bore Xiao Lin's likeness. Judging by the thickness of the scroll, the man likely knew the very number of his undergarments.
Yue Taizhou spake not, merely gesturing for him to be seated, remaining absorbed in the archives. Xiao Lin held his peace, contemplating in silence.
"Thou must wonder why I know of thy dreams, dost thou not?" Yue Taizhou s
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pake not, merely gesturing for him to be seated, remaining absorbed in the archives. Xiao Lin held his peace, contemplating in silence.
"Thou must wonder why I know of thy dreams, dost thou not?" Yue Taizhou suddenly asked.
Xiao Lin started, then nodded.
"If thou seekest to know, thou must answer me three queries."
"Speak," Xiao Lin replied, neither humble nor arrogant.
Yue Taizhou closed the folder, interlacing his fingers atop the papers. "The first query: What deemest thou lies beyond the Gate?"
Xiao Lin knew not how to answer, for he had never pondered it.
"Speak only of thy intuition," the Professor said.
After a moment of deliberation: "A presence... of immense power. A thing of ultimate finality."
Yue Taizhou gazed at him, his eyes tranquil. "The second query: Dost thou believe there exists a singular entity capable of shaping the world and influencing the course of civilization?"
"I am a man of reason; I believe in no gods." This time, Xiao Lin's reply was swift and absolute.
Yue Taizhou neither affirmed nor denied. He paused before posing the third query: "The final question: Dost thou desire to become a Transcendent and save the world?"
Had this been Yang Qi, he would by now be weeping tears of ecstasy.
But Xiao Lin was the antithesis; he intended to refuse.
Xiao Lin was a man without kin; his family had long ago forged new households. For the sake of survival, his life had been exceedingly narrow. He scarce wasted a moment, spending every coin with prudence, pursuing neither dreams nor romance, choosing the cheapest of diversions. Yang Qi oft jested that he lived like a beast. He felt the metaphor apt. He was a beast wandering the city, aimless, merely existing.
To ask such a "beast" to save the world? For what cause? He had received little from this world... Should not those who are happier undertake such a burden?
"Forgive me, Professor, but I fear I cannot accept." Xiao Lin rose, offering a slight bow to Yue Taizhou.
"Wilt thou not inquire as to the details?"
"I deem it unnecessary. Saving the world holds no allure for me. My bond with this realm... is tenuous."
"Very well. Let us shift the perspective, viewing it from thine own vantage." The Professor looked at him, his eyes profound. "Hast thou considered what refusal signifies?"
"What signifies it?" Xiao Lin was baffled.
"It is akin to... the year 1969, when thou hadst the prospect of becoming the first astronaut to tread upon the moon, yet thou didst forsake it."
Xiao Lin's frame trembled violently, as if something within his mind had exploded.
The chamber was silent; faintly, one could hear a song playing from the school's broadcasting room. 'Twas David Bowie's Space Oddity. Xiao Lin knew the ballad.
In 1969, when the first manned vessel bound for the moon took flight, Major Tom also boarded a ship bound for the void. His feat drew the world's gaze, yet unlike the former, he achieved no glory. He lost contact with the Earth, forever lost in the boundless cosmos.
"To rush toward a grand adventure is a romance that transcends life and death," Professor Yue murmured softly.
"Major Tom and Armstrong... I would accept either fate. What I cannot abide is never having set foot upon that path."
In a trance, Xiao Lin fancied he beheld a colossal rocket ascending amidst raging flames, trailing fire as it sped toward the azure dome. Yet he was not upon the rocket, but standing on the earth, gazing upward.
"I shall behold things that others can never imagine, shall I not?" Xiao Lin slowly seated himself.
"Aye," Yue Taizhou replied in a whisper.