In the early morning, after washing up, Zhu Ping'an opened the window. A fresh air, as if filtered by water, carrying with it a hazy mixture of raindrops or mist, rushed into his arms, sweeping away last night's fatigue and making him feel refreshed.
Zhu Pingan took the copybook and a handwritten book from the desk and put them into his schoolbag, then took out the fried cakes made by his mother Chen from the package. After more than two days, the fried cakes had a faint sour taste. However, thinking of his mother baking fried cakes overnight, Zhu Pingan still wrapped the remaining two fried cakes and some pickled vegetables in paper, sandwiched them with a black wooden board, and brought them downstairs.
I ordered a bowl of porridge in the lobby and ate it all with some fried cakes and pickled vegetables.
After breakfast, Zhu Ping'an, with his schoolbag slung across his shoulder and a black wooden board between his arms, walked slowly towards the bank of the Qinhuai River as usual.
Because of the heavy rain in the past few days, the water level of Qinhuai River rose a lot, flooding the first step of stone steps. Zhu Ping'an took a bamboo tube from his schoolbag to collect river water, and walked to the woods where he usually practiced calligraphy and read.
A girl with a bun on her head and gorgeous clothes on the other side of the Qinhuai River got up and opened the window. She suddenly became excited and stretched out her delicate hand to pull the seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl who was dressing up beside her. She pointed to the other side of the Qinhuai River outside the window and said excitedly, "Sister, is that the figure you see the benefactor?"
The girl who was putting on makeup nearby put down her rouge and looked out the window, but all she could see were the pleasure boats coming and going, and no one in sight.
"Good sister, please stop lying to me. We were wrong the first two times. We can't dream of having a gentleman as gentle as jade." The girl turned away from the window with some disappointment and advised the girl next to her.
"But, but sister. I seemed to have really seen it just now." The girl with a ponytail pouted.
"You said the same thing the last two times..." the seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl said angrily. She then pulled the girl with the bun to sit in front of the dressing table and started to do her makeup.
The entire forest was covered with fallen leaves, and the ground was invisible. Even the stones where I used to practice calligraphy were covered with fallen leaves. However, the air in the forest was excellent, fresh and mixed with the fragrance of soil, which was refreshing.
Zhu Pingan picked up a branch and cleaned the stone. He placed the black board on top, put a thick piece of coarse cloth on the small stone on the other side, and sat on it to practice calligraphy. Zhu Pingan's calligraphy now has its own style. If it were put in a calligraphy competition now, it would definitely be the first prize.
Slowly, a red glow appeared in the east and the sun rose.
The sunlight shone through the gaps in the woods and onto Zhu Ping'an, who was bending over to practice calligraphy, giving him a faint golden edge.
"Good words, good words."
A sudden voice beside him startled Zhu Pingan who was practicing calligraphy. He looked up and saw an old man dressed as a Taoist priest standing beside him, praising the words he wrote on the black wooden board.
Although the old man had white hair, his face was ruddy and his demeanor was elegant. He wore a purple scarf and a Bagua robe. His sleeves fluttered in the gentle breeze... He exuded the aura of an old charlatan.
Damn, when did this old charlatan come
Zhu Pingan was so frightened by the old charlatan's sudden shout that he almost threw away the brush in his hand. After recovering from his shock, he looked the old charlatan up and down. He curled his lips slightly, thinking that the old Taoist priest was dressed quite realistically.
"Hiss..." The old Taoist made this sound after Zhu Ping'an raised his head.
Are you a Taoist priest or a snake spirit? What the hell! Bad review!
Zhu Pingan complained in his heart, and looking at the surprised expression of the old Taoist, he thought to himself, the next sentence of this old Taoist will not be, young man, I see that you have a surprised face and a full body, you must be an ordinary person... .
The next second, the old Taoist's voice sounded
"My dear, I think you have a very extraordinary appearance..."
It's true, why has it been the same routine for hundreds of years
Zhu Pingan couldn't help laughing, "How much does it cost for a divination, Taoist priest? I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. I'm short of money, but I can't pay you for a divination."
"I only care about fate, not money."
The old Taoist looked at Zhu Ping'an and shook his head with an unfathomable look. He stroked his long beard, and the aura of a charlatan emanated to the extreme.
"This young man doesn't seem to believe what I say?" the old charlatan asked calmly.
Zhu Pingan stood up, bowed his hands, nodded sincerely and said, "To be honest with you, I don't believe in this. I only have a few copper coins with me, so I'll just treat you to breakfast. I still have to study for the exam, so I'm sorry."
As Zhu Ping'an spoke, he took out a dozen copper coins from his schoolbag and handed them to the Taoist priest in front of him, indicating that the Taoist priest should take the money and have breakfast and not disturb him from reading.
Then, something happened that was beyond Zhu Ping'an's expectations. This old Taoist priest was quite professional. He actually shook his head and refused. He didn't even look at the copper coins Zhu Ping'an handed over, and he kept muttering:
"The head is the master of all yang, the face is the ancestor of the five elements, the spirits of the hundred meridians are located, and the divine roads to the five internal organs are connected. Only the formation of the three talents can determine the gains and losses of a person. The young man's face is extraordinary. I have only seen two people with such faces."
As the old Taoist said this, he held up two fingers with a charlatan look on his face.
Zhu Ping'an was not interested in the two people the Taoist priest was talking about. He just wanted to get rid of this old charlatan as soon as possible so that he could read books earlier.
"Master, please don't reveal the secret."
According to common sense, Zhu Ping'an would definitely ask the Taoist who the two people were, but Zhu Ping'an was only thinking about reading more books at this time and did not play by common sense at all.
Zhu Ping'an had said so much, but the old Taoist still had that calm and composed aura, not feeling awkward at all. "It's okay, young master, it's okay if you don't believe me. To be honest, I don't quite believe it either. Your appearance is even more extraordinary than the two people I saw before."
This old Taoist is still relying on me
Zhu Ping'an looked at the book he was copying in his hand and was speechless.
The old Taoist noticed the book in Zhu Ping'an's hand, but shook his head with a smile, and his words sounded like a charlatan.
"This book is not worthy of your appearance."
Hearing this, Zhu Pingan was even more speechless. The book he copied was Zhu Xi's version of the Four Books and Five Classics. He was a poor man, and he relied on this to take the imperial examination. Just now you said that my face was extraordinary. If I didn't rely on this to take the imperial examination, how could I be extraordinary? It was self-contradictory... ...
By the way, this old Taoist is not trying to trick me into buying a book, right
Zhu Ping'an had just come up with this thought when he saw the old Taoist took out two wrinkled thick books from somewhere and handed them to him in a mysterious manner.
It's true! Zhu Pingan was speechless.
"These two books are worthy of your appearance." The old Taoist said, and put the two books in Zhu Ping'an's hands.
Forced sale
However, what happened next was beyond Zhu Ping'an's expectations. Before Zhu Ping'an could say anything, the old Taoist put the book in Zhu Ping'an's hands and floated away.
"I saw two people, one named Yan, the other named Zhang... There are already tigers in the famous mountains, and the young tigers have entered the mountains. Young master, take care of yourself." (To be continued...)
ps: I am so tired these days...
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