Fang Yun frowned, put down his pen, closed his eyes and thought.
Ao Huang was about to speak, but immediately shut up and for the first time in his life, he said nothing.
Fang Yun thought for a moment and finally figured out the reason.
"The biggest reason is that I've been busy in Denglongtai these days. Although it has helped me grow, it has ultimately neglected my studies, just like when I was a kid, I played too much and couldn't concentrate on studying right away. As for the second reason, I'm afraid... I still can't completely ignore the threat of death. It's like a knife hanging over my head and I'm facing the abyss. It's hard to return to my previous mentality of focusing on studying."
Fang Yun sighed softly, realizing that he was only a Jinshi after all and it was difficult to defy fate.
However, Fang Yun did not give up and kept thinking about it in his mind.
"Mencius once said: Those who die after fulfilling their ideals have a proper destiny. Those who die in fetters do not have a proper destiny. To die after fulfilling one's ideals or holy path is to comply with the will of heaven. If one cannot break the external forces that interrupt one's holy path, then it is not a proper death. And then there is a saying 'If you seek, you will gain; if you give up, you will lose', which is to teach future generations to actively pursue the holy path and actively obtain a 'proper destiny'. But now I am just a Jinshi. Facing the punishment of the Moon Tree God, it is not that I cannot do it, but I cannot 'seek' at all. I can only 'lose'. This is the root cause of my unbalanced mentality."
Not reconciled!
"The Analects of Confucius records that Zilu once asked about serving ghosts and gods. Confucius said that if you can't even serve people well, how can you consider serving ghosts and gods. Zilu then asked about death. Confucius said, 'If you don't know life, how can you know death?' Even Confucius at that time didn't understand death, how can I face it calmly now?"
Although Fang Yun understood it in his heart, he became more and more uneasy. He kept repeating Confucius's six words "If you don't know life, how can you know death?" After a long time, his eyes lit up and he immediately began to search for books in his memory.
Since Confucius said, "If you don't know life, how can you know death?", then we should first "know life" and then "know death"!
The "Book of Changes" is the first of the Hundred Schools of Thought, and is divided into two parts: "The Book of Changes" and "The Book of Changes Commentary". The former was written by King Wen of Zhou, and the latter was a work by Confucius to explain the "Book of Changes".
Fang Yun quickly found Confucius' later understanding of life and death in the Yi Zhuan, and recited in a low voice: "The beginning is the end, so we know the theory of life and death; the essence and energy become things, and the wandering souls become changes, so we know the state of ghosts and gods."
A faint smile appeared on Fang Yun's face. This sentence echoed Zilu's questions about ghosts, gods, life and death in "The Analects of Confucius".
"A sage can trace the beginning of all things and explore the end of all things, so he can know life and death. Essence and energy make up the heavens and the earth, and souls and spirits form life, so he can understand the form of ghosts and gods. I dare not talk about ghosts and gods and death, but I can explore the most basic "life". The Book of Changes is the first of all scriptures. Confucius himself said that living beings are composed of "essence and energy" and "souls and spirits". That is a path."
"Xunzi inherited the teachings of Confucius and once said, 'Water and fire have qi but no life. Plants and trees have life but no consciousness. Animals have consciousness but no morality. Humans have qi, life, consciousness, and morality. Therefore, they are the most precious in the world.' He also admitted that humans and all things are composed of 'qi'."
"There is an article in the Book of Rites called Li Yun, which was written by Yan Hui, the second sage. It records the words and deeds of Confucius, as well as Yan Hui's own understanding. It also says that 'man is the virtue of heaven and earth. It is the intersection of yin and yang, the meeting of ghosts and gods, and the elegance of the five elements.' It also believes that man is born by absorbing 'qi'."
"In the works of Zhang Zai, Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao and Zhu Xi, great Confucian scholars in ancient China, all believed that 'qi' was the source of life. It seems that the theory of 'qi' is one of the main theories of Confucianism."
Fang Yun kept looking through the articles of the saints and great scholars of ancient China, deeply studying the theory of "Qi". He also connected the talents of the Shengyuan Continent with the Yuan Qi of heaven and earth, and soon identified a direction.
To know death, you must first know life; to know life, you must first know qi.
Unconsciously, Fang Yun forgot the threat of death and kept thinking in his mind. He would only occasionally speak out loud when it came to texts and theories recorded in the Shengyuan Continent to deepen his memory and understanding.
Ao Huang hovered in mid-air, his eyes wide open, like an elementary school tyrant with an insatiable thirst for knowledge, remembering every word Fang Yun said.
Ao Huang would often become excited and delighted while listening. He had the opportunity to listen to lectures by great scholars or even semi-saints, but lectures at that level directly pointed to the holy way, which was too difficult for Ao Huang. Fang Yun's level at the moment was just right for him to learn.
Fang Yun immediately became fascinated by this research and began to search through the world of strange books.
During the past few months in Shengyuan Continent, Fang Yun has purchased all the works of great scholars and university officials, and included them in the World of Strange Books.
Now, Fang Yun is studying "Qi" and "Life" and has collected all the works from the two worlds. This is a huge project and he has become addicted to it unknowingly.
One day, two days, three days...
It was not until the morning of the fourth day that Fang Yun suddenly raised his head and let out a long breath.
A chaotic and strange airflow flew out from Fang Yun's mouth. The airflow was obviously very thin, but Ao Huang rushed backwards like a mouse encountering a cat, looking at Fang Yun in front of him in horror.
The window in front of Fang Yun suddenly disappeared silently. It did not collapse, shatter, or turn into dust. Instead, it disappeared without a trace, just like the annihilation of matter.
The warm sunlight shone into the house through the hole in the wall and fell on Fang Yun.
"Uh..." Fang Yun didn't understand what was going on. He looked at the big empty hole on the wall at a loss, then turned around and glanced at Ao Huang.
"It's not this dragon! It's definitely not this dragon!" Ao Huang shook his head like a rattle.
"it's me?"
Ao Huang pursed his lips and said, "If it's not you, then who else could it be?"
"What force could make a window disappear?"
Ao Huang rolled his eyes and said, "You probably touched something incredible, or a certain direction, which triggered the mysterious power between heaven and earth, causing the window to disappear. Well, I guess your deeds will be spread among the Ten Nations in a few days. Should it be said that 'after three days of enlightenment, the window was broken by his breath', or 'after reading ten thousand books, the window was broken like a god'?"
"Are your bones itchy?" Fang Yun asked.
"Hmph!" Ao Huang turned his head and looked at the sky.
"Hmm..."
In the yard, Nunu grabbed Yangui's neck and looked at Fang Yun curiously through the big hole in the wall. His two black eyes were particularly endearing.
Yan Gui was grabbed by the neck, with his eyes rolled back, looking like he might die at any moment.
Fang Yun smiled and asked Nunu in the yard: "Did the little turtle run away again?"
"Yingying!" Nunu grabbed the inkstone turtle and jumped to Fang Yun's desk. He carefully put the inkstone turtle away and patted its shell. Then he lay down in front of Fang Yun and looked up at him with a smile.
Fang Yun was about to reach out and touch Nunu when he heard Fang Daniu yelling, "Who the hell stole the window in the master's study? Are all the thieves in the capital crazy? Why didn't they steal the roof as well?"
"Hush, the master is reading, and Madam and Master Huang Long have both told us not to shout!"
Fang Daniu whispered, "Oh, let's go and see how the master is doing. Don't get startled by the window thief."
Fang Daniu rushed to the hole in the wall of the study in two steps and found Fang Yun stroking Nunu's hair. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Master, Daniu is guilty. He had his window stolen in broad daylight. The capital city is really different from our Jiangzhou. The thieves don't even let the windows go."
Fang Yun smiled and said, "You misunderstood. This window was not stolen by a thief. I damaged it accidentally. You can just find someone to reinstall it."
"Oh? Okay, I'll send someone to arrange it right away. But... how are you these days?" Fang Daniu asked with concern, and shouted into the house. "Madam, the master has finished his studies."
"Hey." Yang Yuhuan in the room agreed and ran quickly into the study, wearing a white dress, filling the study with a faint fragrance.
Yang Yuhuan looked at the big hole in the wall curiously, and then looked at Fang Yun with some worry in her eyes. Fang Yun had never been absent for three or four days while studying before.
Yang Yuhuan looked at Fang Yun carefully and found that his face was ruddy and full, and he didn't look like a man who hadn't slept for three days and three nights, so she felt relieved.
"I'm fine. The higher your academic level, the longer it will take to study. You have to get used to it." Fang Yun said with a smile.
Yang Yuhuan's face turned slightly red. Fang Yun seemed to be smiling particularly happily today, which made her heart beat even more.
Ao Huang blinked, but saw the difference in Fang Yun's smile.
December is coming soon, and Fang Yun is about to face the punishment from the Moon Tree God. Fang Yun probably does this because he doesn't want Yang Yuhuan to find any clues.
Fang Daniu, who was outside the hole in the wall, said, "Master, many people have visited us recently, and I have stored a lot of invitations and visiting cards. I have sorted them out by category. Don't forget to take a look when the time comes."
Fang Yun shook his head helplessly. He couldn't have his cake and eat it too. Since he had decided to follow the path of the Saint, he couldn't relax even if he was about to die. He said, "I won't read any invitations or visiting cards. I need to prepare for the exam. Just give me the important documents."
"yes."
"I'll prepare lunch for you." Yang Yuhuan waved happily to Nunu, and then took the little fox to cook.
The inkstone turtle on the table was crawling around on the table angrily, glancing at Fang Yun from time to time.
Fang Yun reached out to touch the official seal, which contained a large number of letters.
Most of these letters congratulated him on obtaining the treasure at Denglongtai and becoming a Saintly Scholar. There were also many well-informed friends who comforted him, saying that the Moon Tree Divine Punishment had not been used for many years and its power might not be as strong as rumored.
However, Fang Yun knew very well that the last time the demon world used the Moon Tree Divine Punishment was against Confucius, which had been over a thousand years ago. Over the years, the Moon Tree Divine Punishment must have accumulated more power.
As Fang Yun read them, he discovered that one letter was different from the others. It was sent by the head of the Meng family.
"Fang Yun! You have three days to return all the things of my Meng family. If you don't, the Meng family will regard you as an enemy and list you as an enemy of the family!"
Fang Yun looked at the time the letter was sent and found that three days had passed.
The enemies of the aristocratic families are not ordinary ones. It is a unique way for the holy aristocratic families to punish non-aristocratic families. The prerequisite is that the punished person has committed an unforgivable crime against a certain aristocratic family.
This means that from now on, all the Saints' families must exclude Fang Yun. Unless the Holy Academy determines that Fang Yun is not wrong, all the industries, power, etc. belonging to the Saints' families will reject Fang Yun, and all the children of the Saints' families are not allowed to associate with Fang Yun. Even any Jinshi from the Saints' families can directly challenge Fang Yun in a literary battle!
This is a right unique to the saintly families, originally intended to protect the privileges of the families from being violated.
Fang Yun reached out and took out the Yinjiangbei from the evil king Meng Lintang. (To be continued...)