Before Xundu was established in Dahuan, the Xun people had already lived here when the Xun tribe was formed. It was built on the basis of an ancient relic, which was the deepest foundation of Dahuan. It can be said that everything in Dahuan came from this relic.
Therefore, even though many changes have taken place in the past hundred years, the capital of Dahuan has remained here and has never changed. However, even though the place has not changed, Xundu is no longer the same as Xundu a hundred years ago.
The ox cart that Fang Xiu was riding in was not a horse-drawn carriage, but a carriage used to pull goods. Fang Xiu just lay on the cargo, with his head resting on his hands, a bamboo hat on his body, looking at both sides of the road, just like when he first left Xundu.
Everything is different now than it was a hundred years ago, including the people, houses and cities.
Things are different and people have changed. The world has changed dramatically.
After a hundred years of recuperation, the land is fertile and there has never been a major natural disaster or war. The world is under the influence of the ever-advancing civilization, monks, strange people, and witches. It's like a carriage that is constantly whipped, galloping along the road.
The thatched huts, mud walls, wide streets, and cattle, sheep, and tied slaves that filled the streets all disappeared, replaced by blue bricks and green tiles, bustling markets, taverns, and shops.
The fine horses neighed and the carriages rolled by. They were no longer exclusive to the royal shamans, but could be found in shops and stores, with cattle and horses pulling goods in and out.
The simple and sallow common people no longer walked the streets with their shirts rolled up or even naked. People wore dark cloth and brown silk, no longer had unkempt hair or tattoos, but tied their hair up with crowns and were very polite.
There are also students wearing wooden crowns. On the streets you can see signs with words on them, cloth banners fluttering in the wind, and walls with notices posted on them.
The text penetrated into every corner. When Fang Xiu saw this scene, for some reason, the corners of his mouth suddenly curled up and a hint of smile appeared between his eyebrows.
The ox cart went up the steep slope and followed the crowd and horses to a stone bridge. There was a dug river under the bridge, connecting with the moat outside the city and leading directly to a branch of the river. This had never happened a hundred years ago.
Standing here and looking back, you can see the scenery of the whole city.
Millions of blue-tiled houses stretch into the distance, with pavilions and terraces everywhere, bustling with people and heavy traffic.
On the bridge, a girl in linen clothes hugs her father's arm with an innocent smile on her face. The boatman under the bridge holds up the pole with ease. An old man in the shop in the distance is sweating profusely as he carries his goods on his back. All kinds of life are revealed in her eyes.
Fang Xiu stood up and looked into the distance. For a moment he felt as if he had returned to a dream a hundred years ago. He had once stood here and looked back.
Fang Xiu's face was blank for a moment. He felt that the years were passing by quickly and he was just a passer-by. No matter his status or strength, he could not keep those years.
When crossing the street in the north of the city, passing by a simple but exquisite academy, it became bustling. The Xundu Academy, which originally had only a large courtyard, has become a large area of continuous buildings, but the architectural style has not changed much from the original, and it is still as simple and unpretentious as before.
There are thousands of students and disciples in it. Over the past hundred years, countless great sages and great men have walked out of here, leaving their names in history and changing the world. This place has long ceased to be a simple academy for teaching and educating people, but a holy place for scholars all over the world.
Various countries founded their own schools of thought and doctrines, and all the wise men who educated the world came from here or had close ties with this place. Every year, countless people come here to visit.
The gate of the academy was open, and no one was prohibited from entering or leaving. However, everyone would bow and salute the stone tablet of Xundu Academy at the door when entering or leaving. It was said that it was a holy relic left by Feng Sheng himself.
It was Feng Sheng who erected this stone tablet here, established the Xundu Academy, and preached throughout the world, which led to their birth.
There were many people gathered in front of the door and in the courtyard, listening to several scholars standing in front of the door, debating the question of good and evil in life. Whoever could speak convincingly would be seen cheering with hundreds of people raising their arms and waving their sleeves like clouds.
The moon tree vines in front of the door and in the courtyard are in full bloom, swaying in the autumn breeze, so beautiful that nothing can compare. As the wind blows, the petals scatter all over the sky, passing by Fang Xiu who is passing by in a carriage, and fall into his hands.
Fang Xiu looked at the familiar stone tablet of Xundu Academy and passed by many disciples and students of Xundu Academy. No one noticed that this young-looking man had preached and taught scriptures here nearly a hundred years ago.
Fang Xiu picked up the fallen petals and sniffed them gently: "It's back again!"
"We're here! We're here!" The sturdy man driving the ox cart turned back to remind the white-faced young man behind him, but found that the figure lying behind him had disappeared, leaving only the scattered moon locust vine flowers.
The current teacher of Xundu Academy is named Yi Yan. After the departure of the Three Saints, all the wise men and sages have dispersed, and the literary fortune of Xundu Academy seems to have been divided up by all the wise men and sages.
The teachings of the various philosophers and sages in various countries flourished and grew stronger. Although Xundu Academy was still a place of literary saints, it was no longer as prosperous as when all the philosophers and sages gathered there.
Yi Yan was sitting in the quiet room next to the library at the back, wearing a master's robe. The robe seemed to have been passed down from the time of the first generation Master Feng and had never changed since then.
Although people are allowed to enter and exit the front yard, no one is allowed to enter or exit the library at the back without the master's permission.
The library contains manuscripts, scriptures and doctrines left by the Three Saints, including "Preaching" left by Zhuangzi, which was a collection of Fengsheng's life speeches, "Boundless" left by Zhuangzi, "Asking for the Way" compiled by Yizi throughout his life, as well as Fengsheng's twenty-four disciples and the scriptures copied by later philosophers and sages. All of these are the most important foundation of Xundu Academy.
Yi Yan carefully read the books left by the Three Saints and other sages. Even though he had read them thousands of times, he still had new insights every time he read them. The scriptures, theories, and principles left by the Three Saints and other sages are worth spending a lifetime to interpret.
Yi Yan is not young anymore, he is fifty-two this year, and he is a disciple of Saint Yi. At this age, he naturally hopes to leave his own teachings and theories to future generations like the disciples of the Three Saints.
Yi Yan spread out the blank paper in front of him, took the brush and rubbed it on the inkstone, and started to write several times but stopped again.
"Not right! Not right!"
Yi Yan pondered for a long time, and finally stood up. He wanted to pick up the jade slip on the table beside him, but when his old hand reached out, he found that the jade slip was no longer there.
"Alas?"
Master Yi Yan looked over in confusion, and saw a man dressed like him sitting on a mat beside the table, leaning against the wall, holding the white jade slip, spreading it out and slowly
"Put it down! The Jade Slip of Teaching is a token of Master Xundu's teachings, and it is used by the academy to teach!"
"Whose student are you? You don't know the rules!"
Even with Yi Yan's skill in cultivating qi, he was furious at this moment. The young man in front of him had secretly broken into the library and read the jade slips of teachings. These were items of inheritance in the academy that only the master could touch. Each generation of masters would pass them on to the next generation of masters of the Xundu Academy before they died.
Fang Xiu looked at the millions of words that kept scrolling across the jade slip. The entire jade slip recorded not only the doctrines and teachings of various schools of thought and great sages, but also official history and the speeches of a large number of historical figures.
Looking at the angry Master Yi Yan in front of him, he said calmly: "I was also a master!"
"Nonsense, where are you from..."
Before Yi Yan finished speaking, his eyes suddenly swept across the portraits of saints hanging on the wall. The three literary saints were high above, like the sun that illuminated the mountains and rivers and ignited human civilization.
The man in the lead was holding a jade tablet of preaching. His eyes were deep as if he had seen through tens of millions of years. There was a line of vigorous small characters in the lower corner.
"In the beginning of ancient times, who preached the truth?"
The writing is like a dragon, full of vicissitudes of life.
Yi Yan turned his head and looked at the man holding the jade slip with a calm and deep gaze.
His appearance and expression were exactly the same as in the portrait.