Ji Zhibai got off the oxcart, feeling excited, he looked at the gate of the Zuo Xiang residence, and knocked on the door knocker as usual, saying, "I am here to see my teacher."
Under normal circumstances, the doorman would have come running over and even called out "Master Ji", but today, no one opened the door for a long time, and finally an impatient voice was heard from inside.
"Who is it?"
Ji Zhibai frowned, slammed the door knocker, and said loudly: "Student Ji Zhibai, hello to my teacher!"
"Wait a minute!"
After a long while, the door creaked open, revealing the head of a middle-aged man, who asked impatiently, "Who is it? Oh? It's Master Ji. Look at me, I'm getting old and confused. It's so late, what are you doing?"
Ji Zhibai clenched his fists, his eyes filled with humiliation and anger. He wished he could punch the doorman on the nose. As the favorite student of the Left Prime Minister and the top scholar of Jing State, how could he be looked down upon by a doorman like this!
Ji Zhibai did not argue with the doorman, but bowed coldly and said, "I want to see my teacher."
The doorman sighed and said, "The master has been very busy recently. It's getting late. Sir Ji, why don't you go back first and talk about it tomorrow."
Ji Zhibai felt a fire burning in his head and almost turned around to leave, but he suppressed his anger with reason. He then took out a piece of silver from his purse, handed it to the doorman, forced an ugly smile, and said, "Please be flexible. I have something important to discuss with you."
The doorman put the silver in his mouth and bit it, then smiled and said, "Since Master Ji said so, I can't stop you. Please go in!"
"Thank you very much."
Ji Zhibai entered the room, suppressed his anger, and walked slowly towards Zuo Xiang's study. Along the way, his mood was up and down, and he kept wondering what his mentor would look like when he saw him.
Along the way, he kept encountering servants and maids from the Zuo Xiangfu. These people were respectful in front of him, but there was something else in their eyes. Before Ji Zhibai walked away, they started to discuss in a low voice.
"Well, of course I wanted to be his concubine and showed my affection to him, but he ignored me. Now? I'm not paying any attention to him!"
"It's a pity. He had a chance to become the Prime Minister."
"Just him? Apart from our master, who in Panorama Country can compare with Fang Xusheng? He is just hitting a rock with an egg, so he can't blame others!"
"A few days ago, the housekeeper forbade us to discuss Ji Zhibai, but these days he has been too lazy to care."
"A Jinshi who cannot be an official and whose literary courage is broken. Can he still be called a scholar? Just wait for retirement..."
Ji Zhibai felt a sharp pain in his head and an infinite sadness in his heart. He had held back in Ning'an County and on the road, but facing the contempt of these servants, he almost couldn't control his emotions. However, he was the top scholar in the country after all, and with red eyes, he walked out of the study.
The light in the study was on, and Ji Zhibai was about to knock on the door, but the door opened automatically, and a gentle voice came from inside.
"Master said that you don't need to knock when you enter Liu Mansion. That gatekeeper will be beaten to death tomorrow."
Ji Zhibai couldn't hold back any longer, and big tears rolled down his eyes.
"Teacher, I am incompetent!" Ji Zhibai walked into the study and saw Liu Shan's kind face. Looking at the many white hairs he had grown in just one year, tears flowed like a curtain, covering the sky and the earth. Then he knelt down heavily.
Liu Shan stood up, quickly helped Ji Zhibai up, put his hands on Ji Zhibai's shoulders, looked him up and down, nodded, and said with a kind smile: "Well, you have suffered a lot, but you are still my Liu Shan's most outstanding student!"
“Mr. Teacher…” Ji Zhibai’s tears flowed like a flood, and then he burst into tears like a child.
Liu Shan gently patted Ji Zhibai's back, his eyes slightly red, but the redness soon faded away.
"Victory and defeat are common in the military. Back then, your master was also punished by the late emperor and almost lost his life, but he managed to survive, didn't he? It's not your fault, it's that Fang Yun is too monstrous, it's not an exaggeration to say that he is the greatest genius in a thousand years. If your master had met him back then, he would have been defeated. What's the big deal about losing to a virtual saint?"
"Um… "
Liu Shan tried to persuade him kindly, and his voice contained the power to calm people's hearts. In just a moment, Ji Zhibai vented all the negative emotions in his heart and cheered up.
"Master, I have joined Juwen Pavilion..." Ji Zhibai recounted what had happened.
Liu Shan laughed in silence and said, "I was thinking of telling you in a few days. Since the young Duke has come to me, I will tell you in advance that you are suitable to go to Bakong Mountain and make a comeback!"
"Yes!" Ji Zhibai perked up. Although there was a decadent look on his face, he was much more excited than when he entered the room.
Liu Shan smiled and said, "But if you want to leave, you have to leave after September."
Ji Zhibai couldn't hold back his excitement and asked in a low voice, "Master, can you tell me what kind of person is the one who took action against Fang Yun?"
Liu Shan hesitated for a moment and said, "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't reveal a single word. But since it's you, I'll reveal some. Two Semi-Saints, please take action!"
"What!" Ji Zhibai screamed in shock. He was overjoyed at first, but then his smile faded. "Master, this is impossible! If a half-saint from another race dares to attack Ning'an City, it will certainly force the original bodies of the saints in the Holy Academy to take action. If the full power of the Spring and Autumn Annals is activated, it will probably directly kill billions of lives in the entire Caoman! Even if the Wolf-Slaughtering Demon Saint is from the Ancestral God clan, he will surely die."
Liu Shan smiled without saying anything, sat back in his seat, and looked at the bright moon outside the window.
Ji Zhibai showed a puzzled look, thought for a long time, and suddenly realized, "I understand..." Then he looked at the full moon outside the window like Liu Shan.
We share the beauty of the moon even though we are thousands miles apart.
In the backyard of Ning'an City, Fang Yun and his family were watching the moon.
Ao Huang, Nu Nu, Yangui, Mo Nu, Wu Die and Xiao Liuxing were running around the yard like they were having fun.
"The weather is a bit cool. If you feel cold, go back to the house." Fang Yun said to Yang Yuhuan.
Yang Yuhuan smiled and said, "Thanks to you and Ao Huang, I have been taking nourishing food all the time. I haven't been sick for many days. It's not a big deal if I'm blown by the autumn wind. But you should pay more attention to your health and go to bed at dawn every day."
"It's OK for me. I have enough energy, even if I don't sleep for years."
"The matter of Ji Zhibai is settled. You should be able to peacefully go through the upcoming palace examination. As long as the palace examination is over, you will be the top scorer." Yang Yuhuan said.
"I hope everything will be safe and sound." Fang Yun smiled, looked up at the full moon in the sky, a hint of worry flashed across his eyes.
Yang Yuhuan was completely focused on Fang Yun. She vaguely sensed that Fang Yun seemed to be worried, so she asked in a low voice, "Could they try to stop you again?"
"Don't be afraid of ten thousand, just be prepared for the worst. It's always better to be cautious." Fang Yun said.
"Too."
Fang Yun looked at the full moon in the sky and thought of last year's Mid-Autumn Festival. Now the Holy Ruins were shattered and the Comet Corridor collapsed. From now on, no one could enter the Holy Ruins and the Comet Corridor.
"I wonder how Niu Shan and Quan Xi are doing." Fang Yun thought.
The same sky, the same bright moon.
The Nuzhi tribe of the Wu State was home to hundreds of thousands of naturalized barbarians. If one ignored their faces and only listened to their accents, many of the barbarians were indistinguishable from the people of the Wu State.
Every time the moon is full, it is the time for some barbarian religions to worship, and the Moon God Cult attaches the most importance to this day.
The Moon God Cult was originally an ordinary religion in the Nuzhi tribe. After receiving the grace of God in Niu Mountain, the Moon God Cult grew rapidly. Now it has more than 30,000 followers, becoming the largest religion in the Nuzhi tribe.
After worshipping the Moon Goddess, the powerful Niu Shan looked at the full moon and muttered to himself.
"It's still too little..." (To be continued...)