But when they saw that dim, lifeless, cratered moon in the field, they couldn't help but feel a surge of shock.

The reason was simple.

Because it is the moon!

As everyone knows.

In ancient Huaxia.

Due to a lack of rich entertainment options, composing poetry became a mainstream pastime.

And in the various poems and verses.

The moon is undoubtedly a very common 'supporting actor'.

Whether it's 'the sun and the moon march on, as if rising from within; the starry Milky Way, as if emerging from it'.

Or 'lifting my cup to invite the bright moon, with my shadow we become three'.

Or even 'the sea brings forth the bright moon, we share this moment from afar', all are famous and well-loved pieces.

Meanwhile, in myths and legends.

The moon is also the dwelling place of Chang'e, who stole the immortal pill and fled to the moon, raising a bunch of Jade Rabbits, and would occasionally munch on spicy rabbit heads...

Although Old Su did not believe in tales of immortals and gods, he too held a fairly positive expectation of the moon.

But unexpectedly...

Through the telescope, there was neither the celestial Chang'e nor the starlit jade trees.

The only things visible were the grey soil and a mass of pockmarked craters.....

Across from him.

Seeing the look of horror on Old Su's face, Xu Yun, uncharacteristically, chose to remain silent.

For ancient people encountering the surface of celestial bodies for the first time, shock, even panic or fear, were inevitable psychological reactions.

The first person on Earth to observe the lunar seas, Galileo, was no different.

Upon first seeing the lunar seas, he was feverish for two days before he accepted this fact, then continued his observations of the craters.

This is a hurdle that must be crossed independently, with little help from external forces.

Earlier, Xu Yun had already imparted a lot of cosmic knowledge to Old Su. If even with this, Old Su couldn't understand, then there wasn't much else to say.

Just like that.

The scene suddenly fell into an eerie silence, and even the donkey, which had been grazing nearby, quieted down and looked curiously at the two-legged creatures not far away.

A few minutes later.

Old Su took a deep breath, gently closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, his gaze was filled with determination.

"Xiaowang, the moon..... no, or rather the Moon, though far removed from what I imagined, has nonetheless resolved a question of mine and proven the correctness of the 'planet' concept you spoke of....."

Old Su paused for a moment, then turned to Zhang Huaimin, saying:

"Wu Quan, record it as such."

"On the night of August 3rd, in the Third Year of Yuanfu, Crown Prince's Grand Protector Su Song, male... ahem, Guest Wang Lin, Xihai Governor Wang Hou, Assistant Minister Li Gefei, and his daughter Li Qingzhao, as well as... King Jian Zhao Si, Mr. Tongyu Jia Xian, and others, twenty-three in total, gathered outside Bianjing City at Xiaolianzi Mountain, using the 'Celestial Palace' telescope for an initial glimpse of the moon."

"What we saw..."

"Countless depressions, grey-white soil, devoid of water and life, silent as the void, its shape like an egg, standing amidst the ether....."

Zhang Huaimin recorded everything one by one.

After saying these words, a sense of relief washed over Old Su's expression.

Then he suddenly remembered something and said to Xu Yun:

"Xiaowang, over forty years ago, a guest star appeared in the east at dawn, remaining bright even at night.

In the First Year of Zhihe, on the twentieth day of the fifth month, it appeared several inches southeast of the Celestial Gate, lasting over twenty days before it faded away.

At the time, I was serving as an associate at the Imperial College of Rites and witnessed firsthand the guest star crossing the sky, even outshining Taibai.

Do you know... what this star was?"

Xu Yun blinked:

"Over forty years ago?"

It is currently the year 1100, so over forty years ago would be around 1055.

And at that time....

Indeed, an extremely spectacular celestial event occurred.

Which was...

"The supernova explosion that created the Crab Nebula!"

........

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