The library wasn’t exactly the place for a chat. After hearing William’s discourse on history, Edward thought of him as having a unique perspective on history, but he didn’t realize that the person standing in front of him had actually lived through that era.
“If you’re interested in history, how about we head over to Cozy Book Haven? I’ve left some books there, and I was planning to pick them up. Would you like to join me?” Edward found William intriguing. He had just sold the bookstore to Alice the day before, and many of his personal treasured books remained there.
Among those books were ancient volumes, some of which were the only known copies in the world. Naturally, they weren’t for sale. These historical documents, being anecdotal and hard to verify, were of interest to Edward, and he was curious to know if William had any unique insights on them.
William smiled, “Sure.”
He had explored Cozy Book Haven the previous night and found many of the books there quite interesting.
Edward got up eagerly, feeling that William might have something surprising to offer.
At Cozy Book Haven, Alice’s hand was tired from copying.
She had started copying the previous night. Although the two volumes of parchment books from Celsus didn’t have a lot of content, copying them a thousand times was quite the task.
At first, she didn’t think much of it, but by the five hundredth time, her hand was already sore.
Still, she was determined and had been industrious since childhood. She said she’d copy it a thousand times, and she meant it.
By now, she had copied the text 860 times, and the content seemed to be imprinted on her brain, unshakeable.
If you read a book more than a hundred times, you will gain new insights!
It was a simple truth, and she could now vaguely understand William’s intention.
Continuously copying the text was good for her too.
The only thing that puzzled her was that the content William had written for her was not small. Yet, after just one reading, she had not only memorized all of it but also fully grasped the medical and scientific principles and the specific operating methods.
In terms of difficulty, Celsus’s two parchment books were concise, but after copying them more than eight hundred times, she didn’t get the same effect.
This was something Alice couldn’t figure out.
“Alice, what are you writing?” Edward Taylor walked into the bookstore and saw Alice sitting up straight, writing something. There were several stacks of paper beside her, and he asked curiously.
Alice slowly looked up, saw Edward and William, and stopped writing. She got up and smiled at Edward, “Hello, Mr. Taylor. I’m doing homework assigned by my teacher.”
Edward, who had known Alice for some time, asked with curiosity, “Which tutor assigned you so much homework?”
Alice came from a prestigious family and had started reading medical books at a young age. She had read extensively and wasn’t a typical student. After high school, she continued studying at home.
Charles Turner had hired top-tier teachers for Alice.
Alice glanced at William and smiled, “This tutor is quite strict. I did something wrong and got punished.”
“Anyone you deem strict must be something special,” Edward Taylor nodded and turned to introduce them, “This young man is William. I’d like you two to meet. William, this is Alice. You young people can get acquainted.”
Before Alice could respond, William said, “She’s my cousin!”
“…” Edward Taylor’s eyes widened as he looked at William, then at Alice.
He was confused.
William was Alice’s cousin?
How did he not know?
When William came to Hudson University, Anthony Carter had called ahead, and Lila had personally arranged it.
Edward Taylor had always thought that William had a close relationship with the Carter family. He hadn’t expected him to be Alice’s cousin.
This made William’s social connections rather complicated.
“Since you two already know each other, I won’t bother introducing you,” Edward Taylor said with a laugh. “Alice, I’m taking those books I left in the attic today. William, take a look and see if there’s anything you like, and feel free to keep it.”
William followed Edward Taylor up to the second floor, where there were also bookshelves filled with neatly arranged books. There was a large oak desk over three meters wide, with a fountain pen and fountain pen ink set on top.
Edward Taylor pulled down a dozen or so books from the shelves. The books looked old and carried the air of history.
“William, take a look,” Edward said, presenting the ancient texts like precious treasures on the table, hoping William would be interested. “Here we have important historical materials from various countries around the world.”
William picked up a book from the Renaissance period that described Charlemagne. The writing was still legible, chronicling Charlemagne’s life. He then flipped through an ancient book from the Roman Empire. Even if one were to disregard their academic value, these ancient texts would still be valuable as antiques. However, William only briefly looked through them. While others might see them as precious historical documents, they held no meaning for him. He knew a great deal about monarchs from different periods but didn’t really care about them. There were only a few historical figures that he truly admired.
As William browsed through the books, Edward Taylor remained silent. But suddenly, someone called out from downstairs. ．
“Mr. Taylor! I knew I’d find you here again. You didn’t show up at the historical association today, and those old professors at the AHA were arguing incessantly.”
In addition to the loud voice, heavy footsteps echoed up the staircase.
In no time, an elderly man with white hair appeared on the second floor. His name was Kelly Watson, the vice president of the Historical Association and a renowned professor.
“Hmm? You have a student here?” Kelly looked surprised, assuming William was Edward’s student.
Edward quickly clarified, “He’s not my student! Though William is only a freshman, I’d gladly call him my teacher when it comes to historical research.”
“What did you say?” Kelly thought he had misheard. Edward Taylor was a towering figure in the field of historical research. Any young scholar who could catch his attention would likely consider it an honor. And now, Edward was saying he wanted to call this young man his teacher?
Edward repeated, “I’ve actually considered asking William to be my mentor, but unfortunately, he didn’t agree.”
“Have you gone mad?” Kelly scrutinized William, who appeared to be in his early twenties at most. He couldn’t fathom how William could be qualified to be Edward Taylor’s mentor.
And he hadn’t even agreed to Edward’s request?
Kelly was more inclined to believe that Edward had lost his mind.
While it’s true that learning is an endless journey and anyone can be a teacher, studying history is a gradual process that cannot be rushed. Success in historical and cultural research doesn’t come overnight.
At the age of twenty or so, how much could one possibly learn, even if they started studying from the womb?
Even if William were a genius, there were many aspects of archaeology that one couldn’t learn without direct experience.
“I’m not crazy! If you don’t believe me, so be it,” Edward said, not daring to reveal that William had translated an ancient inscription. But he still hoped to praise William in front of others, just in case William might reveal something else in a moment of goodwill.