The Book of Songs is one of the classics compiled by Confucius himself and is the source of poetry. Confucius called it "pure thoughts". The whole book is flawless. Reciting it in this gloomy place is neither too upright nor too weak, but just right.
Yan Chixia seemed not to have noticed the person coming. He put his hands behind his back, looked up at the sky and continued to recite "The Fat Rat".
Yan Chixia stood in a relatively flat small square. Both sides of the square were piled with rocks and dead trees. On the north side was a big gate with a plaque hanging crookedly on it. The four characters "Nanruo Academy" could be vaguely seen on it.
There are few trees here, and the evening light falls on them, making it less eerie and more quiet.
When he got closer, Fang Yun stretched out his arm and used the marching signal, then stood quietly outside the small square without disturbing Yan Chixia.
After reciting the entire poem "The Fat Rat", Yan Chixia turned around and looked.
Yan Chixia had a square face, a straight nose, a wide mouth, and a dignified look. When he saw everyone, he nodded slightly and said, "Would you literary friends like to visit Nan Ruolin?"
Fang Yun bowed and said, "Junior Fang Yun, nice to meet Jinshi Yan. We do have important business to attend to in Hangzhou City."
"Oh? Do you know my name?" Yan Chixia's tone softened a lot, and the majesty in his eyes dissipated, becoming kind.
Fang Yun smiled and said, "Brother Yan is generous and kind. He doesn't like the current left-handed prime minister's abuse of power. He also knows that the tree demon is causing chaos in Nanruo Forest, so he vowed to clear all the demons in Nanruo Forest. This place is also close to the border. If there is any danger at the border, we can quickly rescue them."
Yan Chixia's eyes showed a hint of warmth, and he nodded and said, "Since we are both scholars, let's stay here. The tree demon's strength is average during the day, but once it is night, its strength will increase greatly. It also has the ability to control ghosts. If we continue to move forward, we will surely die."
Fang Yun said: "I also know about this, so I want to lead others to stay at Nanruo Academy."
"You just go in. As long as I'm here, no demons or ghosts can get close." Yan Chixia's words were filled with a hint of arrogance.
A scholar from Mingli Academy whispered, "Mr. Yan, I heard that there are ghosts here. Is it true?"
"Of course, I don't know how many ghosts and monsters I have killed. But there are too many monsters and ghosts here, and it will take three to five years to kill them all. You have been tired all day, so take a rest quickly. I will send you out of Nanruolin tomorrow." Yan Chixia said.
Everyone was delighted and expressed their gratitude together.
Fang Yun said: "Brother Yan is very righteous."
Yan Chixia smiled and said, "I see that there are students and soldiers among you, so there must be something important. As we are all human beings, I will naturally lend a hand."
"Thank you, Brother Yan." Everyone thanked him again and entered Nanruo Academy together.
Yan Chixia's clothes and bed were in the main hall of Nanruo Academy, so everyone looked for other houses to live in.
This place has been in disrepair for a long time and no one cleans it, so it should be dirty. However, there is almost no dust in the academy, and the doors and windows are extremely clean, but there are many holes on them.
"That's strange. There is someone here to clean the yard? How could Mr. Yan have the time?"
"It's really strange. It looks like someone cleaned this place two or three days ago."
Fang Yun walked towards the first room and said, "Mr. Yan's verbal sparring skills have reached the level of breaking the sky. He often practices verbal sparring here. Wherever he passes, dust is scattered. This place is naturally clean. You will know that it is still not clean when you enter the room."
After Fang Yun finished speaking, he pushed the door and saw dust falling from the door lintel immediately, and the room was filled with dust.
"really."
When everyone saw Fang Yun chose the first house, the others left and went to other houses.
Fang Yun stretched out his hand, and with the power of the dragon ball, he condensed a fist-sized ball of water and threw it forward. The water ball spread out like a transparent cloth, sweeping across the dusty places in the house, rolling up a lot of dust, and moving forward continuously. After a while, it absorbed enough dust and gathered into a ball again, but it became black.
Fang Yun waved his hand, and the dirty ball flew out of the yard carrying dust.
Fang Yun kept summoning water balls, and in less than half a minute, he had sucked away all the dust from all over the house. Then he took out a wooden bed from the Yinjiangbei, set it up, and covered it with bedding. Finally, he walked out the door and put away everyone's luggage.
There were cries coming from the forest in the distance, and the silence of the forest was completely broken.
Everyone hurriedly prepared for battle. Fang Yun said, "Don't panic. With Brother Yan here, those monsters can't come in. Unless the tree monster comes in person."
"Who exactly is this Jinshi Yan?"
Fang Yun naturally understood, so he said: "This scholar Yan's name is Yan Chixia, he is..."
Fang Yun then told everyone the identity of Yan Chixia in the book, and everyone was in awe.
"It turns out that Mr. Yan is a noble man, and is good at killing monsters. We will naturally feel relieved."
"Then we can get some good sleep tonight."
"Quickly clean up the room and then have dinner. After dinner, please ask Mr. Fang to arrange someone to take up the night duty." said the scholar soldier.
The crowd dispersed again.
Fang Yun walked out of the main gate of the academy and walked towards Yan Chixia. Yan Chixia had already stopped reciting the "Book of Songs" and was looking into the distance.
"Brother Yan, those monsters came because of me and want to kill me as soon as possible. If there is any danger, Brother Yan can just run away first." Fang Yun said.
Yan Chixia smiled calmly and said, "I am not a pedantic person. If you are being hunted by the demon king, I will be powerless and will have to protect myself. But none of the demons in Nanruolin can let me abandon my human friends and escape! Even if that old demon woman comes in person, I can escort you out of Nanruolin safely."
"Thank you, Brother Yan." Fang Yun said.
"I'm not a talkative person. Today, the entire Nanruo Forest is a little different. Is it all because of you?"
Fang Yun sighed softly and said, "I'm afraid so. I passed out accidentally, and a snake demon from the Star Demon Clan who I knew risked his life to go to the demon world and steal the Ganoderma lucidum from the Moon Tree in order to save me. He brought me back to life."
Yan Chixia was moved and said, "Although humans and demons cannot coexist, the Star Demon Barbarians are not one of them. This snake demon is so affectionate and righteous, no different from our human race. If you have a chance, please introduce one or two to me. When you mentioned Ganoderma lucidum, I understood. Is it the tree demon who wants to eat you?"
"Yes." Fang Yun thought to himself that in the eyes of the demons, he was nothing more than Tang Monk's flesh. Suddenly, Fang Yun had an idea that he could give "Journey to the West" a new look if he had the chance in the future.
"Then this matter is more serious than I thought. Do you have urgent business to go to Hangzhou City?"
Fang Yun said, "Yes. Lady Bai... the snake demon was afraid that I would not be able to recover, so she went to the demon world and stole half of the Moon Lotus to extend my life. I don't know if it aroused the greed of some people, or someone misunderstood her, so that the governor of Hangzhou, Cai He, trapped her. Lady Bai's life is in danger, and she is my lifesaver. I must reach Jinshan Academy tomorrow to persuade Governor Cai He to show mercy."
Yan Chixia snorted coldly and said, "I know the name of Cai Fahai. He is greedy by nature and is in cahoots with Zuo Xiang. Needless to say, he must be coveting Yue Lian! Knowing that Bai Niangzi came to save you, you still snatched Yue Lian. It's so shameless. Kill Nan Ruolin, I will go with you!"
Fang Yun didn't expect Yan Chixia to be so straightforward, and immediately said: "I won't refuse in order to save people, thank you Brother Yan."
"You're welcome. Scholars like me can not only speak for justice, but also take action! Based on my understanding of the tree demon, since it knows that you have passed by here, it must have moved to the Half Moon Canyon today. The canyon is only a hundred feet wide. If it takes root in it, even I can't get through. Since you know me, you should know the Half Moon Canyon. Why did you go through here?"
Fang Yun smiled slightly and said: "I am going to Hangzhou City. As for the obstacles on the road, I will just step over them. Why should I know about them?"
Yan Chixia was stunned, then laughed loudly and said, "What a great idea! Just step over it! I just like straightforward people like you! You're right, since the old lady has taken root in Half Moon Gorge, just step over it! Although I have never defeated the tree demon old lady, I will go all out tomorrow and have a good fight with her!"
The two chatted with each other with smiles, and they felt a mutual admiration for each other as they talked. In the end, they both showed curiosity towards each other.
Yan Chixia was curious about how Fang Yun, at such an old age, could be so talented and could even talk to him, a Jinshi, without being outdone.
What Fang Yun was curious about was that this Yan Chixia was much more powerful than what was written in the books, and was exactly the same as the real person in every aspect. He had been to the illusion land and still remembered the people there. They were very different from this Yan Chixia, and he felt that the Sixth Mountain of Books was more and more unusual.
At first, Fang Yun only regarded Yan Chixia as a scholar, but now he regarded him as a scholar like himself. The two of them stood there discussing poetry, classics, and policy papers.
The scholars who had finished cleaning the house came over one after another, but no matter whether they were the experienced scholar, soldier or the well-read academy teacher, they could not get a word in, and the two of them seemed to speak faster and faster in order to save time.
Later on, it seemed like the two of them were talking at the same time, each with a smile on their faces.
The strangest thing was that the tones and voices of the two people had a peculiar rhythm, with ups and downs in an orderly manner, and a feeling of being seamless.
An ordinary veteran asked in a low voice: "Are they arguing? Scholars are different. They can argue even when they are laughing."
"Hush, this is 'sound and tone', which can only be achieved by those with great talent, ability and literary courage. Even though they are talking about different things, they can actually understand what the other person is saying during the conversation, and they can answer the other person after explaining their own reasons."
"Why aren't you eating?"
"Nonsense, it's very difficult for Jinshi to have the same pronunciation. Generally, only Hanlin can do it, and they have to be good friends. Now a Jinshi and a Juren have the same pronunciation. If you don't pay attention and listen carefully, you will regret it for the rest of your life! Even if we can only understand a little bit, it's worth it!"
“Shh…” Several scholars were displeased.
The crowd didn't even bother to have dinner, as they just kept listening to the two people's conversation and learning from their harmonious harmony of voice.
It was late at night when the sounds of the demons outside became more and more frequent. The two stopped their literary conversation and noticed that the student next to them had a strong light of desire for knowledge in his eyes, and his night vision was several times brighter than usual.
The two smiled at each other, and Yan Chixia suddenly became heroic and said, "All of you go to sleep today. I will guard this place and will definitely not let any monster escape!" (To be continued...)