Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 552 Cold Moon (Part )

This was probably the first time Pei Ye saw such an expression on this philosopher's face. Even though it was very subtle, it quickly faded away. However, when his eyes fell on the note he received, he was indeed silent for three full breaths.

"...Thank you." Zhu Wen nodded.

There was no fluctuation in his voice and tone, but Pei Ye inexplicably felt that the shadow under the lamp was a little lower. The nearly fifty-year-old philosopher lowered his head, carefully straightened and folded the note, and put it into the ceramic jar containing dried flowers.

He wrapped himself in a cotton cloak, bent down to wipe off the ink stains that had dripped onto the wooden board. Pei Ye was about to move the desk back, so he turned around and said, "No need. We've made up for two hours today. Tomorrow afternoon after you practice sword, you can come here to make up for another half an hour in the evening. You can do the same for the next two days."

"okay."

Pei Ye glanced at the desk: "...I'll wash your pen for you."

"No, I still need it." Zhu Wen sat down in front of the old table with the dried flower pot again, and turned his serious expression to him, which was now somewhat familiar. "Thank you, it's okay, don't worry about it, you can go back and rest."

"……it is good."

"Pei Ye."

"Hmm?" Pei Ye stopped.

"Now that you're in school, is there anything you want to learn?" Zhu Wen looked at him. "I see you don't really like reading Yili. I can teach you in the next two days."

"Who would like to read "Yili"--" Pei Ye blurted out for a moment, and quickly shut up the next moment.

But Zhu Wenzhi just continued to look at him solemnly and quietly, without showing any sign of anger.

"So what do you like to read? I'm afraid I can't teach you sword manuals, I can only teach you some things from books and literature."

"Things from books and articles... maybe poems." Pei Ye was a little embarrassed. "I think poems are beautiful."

"Poetry..." Zhu Wen was slightly stunned. "This is something that needs to be accumulated slowly. I can't teach it anymore."

"Oh, I think so." Pei Ye touched his head and smiled, "The teacher asked and I answered... In fact, I have learned a lot from reading "Yili" with Mr. Zhu, so there is no need to teach me anything extra."

Zhu Wen nodded, and the two said goodbye.

Pei Ye took the sword and went downstairs. When he reached the courtyard gate, he looked back again and saw that the figure was still sitting at the desk, but he was not sitting upright. Instead, he was leaning back against the window, looking up at the sky quietly.

And in the east where he was looking, the cold and silent moon was rising high in the sky, as beautiful as a piece of white jade.

……

……

The next morning seemed to be even colder. Insects and ants disappeared, and birds flew across the cold sky. When Pei Ye got up to take a bath, the water he had drawn last night was already covered with a thin layer of ice.

Pei Ye crushed them in the water, washed his hands and face, and when he put his sword on his back, he was still the first person to wake up in this old house.

Today, his practice of sword form touched some loose bottlenecks. It was not because his hard work and the girl's creative ideas finally paid off, but because he was distracted and inexplicably remembered the cold and lonely white moon in the cold sky last night. Suddenly, a distant sadness seized him, and at that moment he seemed to feel the beating of his own heart.

Pei Ye was not quite sure where this feeling came from. He told Cui Zhaoye about it. Cui Zhaoye asked him to think more about the moon, but he no longer had that feeling. The two of them frowned and looked at each other in silence.

"Why do you think of the moon?" Cui Zhaoye held his chin up and looked at him seriously. "Young Master Pei, close your eyes and think carefully. In your heart...what does the moon remind you of?"

"..."

"Ok?"

"Miss Ming?"

"...I think that's a state of mind, and it has nothing to do with people." The girl tilted her head and thought slowly, "You can't just imagine it. You have to be in that state of mind and body to touch it again."

"Well."

"It's okay, that's great, we've finally made some progress!" Cui Zhaoye's bright eyes showed no sign of discouragement, "We've only known each other for a month, and we've already made some progress. We'll definitely be able to create more achievements in kendo in the future!"

Pei Ye didn't really want to create more sword-fighting achievements with her. In fact, he already felt that one tael of silver a day was a bit too little. He lowered his head in silence, packed up his sword, and left the sword field with the girl's wave of "see you tomorrow".

When it comes to spiritual enlightenment, Pei Ye still believes in himself more.

When he arrived at Tianliyuan, the moon was indeed hanging in the east sky again. The atmosphere was just as peaceful as last night. The only difference was that there were no lights on the second floor of the library. The whole courtyard was immersed in the darkness of the night.

Pei Ye walked towards the library, and after passing through the main hall, he saw a figure leaning against a pillar, sitting alone under the eaves in the backyard looking at the pond - it was Fang Jidao.

Pei Ye came to him in surprise. Fang Jidao looked up at him with a sleepy smile: "Brother Pei is here - I missed a day of class, so I have to make up for it for four nights."

"Why are you here?" Pei Ye patted his thin military uniform. His shoulders were already a little cold. "Are you not afraid of the cold?"

"I wanted to put on a robe first, but for some reason I just wanted to come and take a look." The scholar's smile was always quite warm. "Brother Pei, I just took a nap here. Guess what I dreamed about?"

Pei Ye opened his eyes wide: "Sleeping here? You are still dreaming, I didn't freeze you to death."

"I felt sleepy while leaning against the pillar. Anyway, I was confused...you guess."

"I dreamed that Qi Zhaohua kissed you."

"..." Fang Jidao wrapped his clothes and said, "I dreamed that an old me was talking to me."

"How old?"

"About forty or fifty." Fang Jidao looked at the pond in front of him. "He said the pond is about to freeze over. What do you think will happen?"

"Ah."

"I said of course I don't know. Master Zhu relies on it to determine the answer." Fang Jidao began to feel cold and shrank his legs. "He asked me what I hoped the result would be."

"What's your answer?" "I... naturally want to seek the truth first, and hope for the next day second." Fang Jidao raised his head. "He smiled but didn't say anything. I was about to ask him, but was woken up by a gust of wind."

Fang Jidao turned around and looked at the boy: "Yes, he was standing right next to you just now."

Pei Ye glanced down at him: "What a boring dream."

"..." Fang Jidao sighed softly, "It's true that I was a little worried and couldn't sleep these past few nights. I actually fell asleep sitting here. But I think this dream is just like the real thing - can a person dream about what he will look like in 20 years? It's really amazing."

Pei Ye knew why he was worried. This was something Qi Zhaohua had been working on for a long time. This was Zhu Zhezi's ten years of hard work. This was the focus of the five surnames in the literati circle... The scholar was determined to take up this banner, but he was not the kind of person who was not afraid of disappointing others' expectations.

Pei Ye gave him some warming Qi: "Okay, go back and have a good sleep - let me ask you first, where did Mr. Zhu go?"

"After class today, the teacher said he would go to the Imperial City and would be back in the evening." Fang Jidao looked at him, "But I didn't ask much about what he was doing. I'll wait with you."

"No need, go back to sleep."

Pei Ye sent the scholar away, and he was the only one left in the yard. At this time, the young man naturally would not want to read two more pages of the book. He held his sword and looked at the backyard below the steps... Suddenly he had an urge to go down.

The "realm" that Cui Zhaoye talked about seemed to be at his fingertips. The cold moon was reflected in the pond. Pei Ye stared at it for a while, and finally looked away.

Zhu Wen did not strictly forbid them from entering the courtyard, nor did he put up a fence, but Pei Ye still did not want to cause any trouble. He strolled quietly in the small courtyard in front of the library. Strangely, as he walked here with his sword, he did feel as if he was... closer to heaven and earth.

The pines, cypresses, the moonlight, and many other things seemed to become clearer. The boundaries between things seemed to disappear, and people seemed to be integrated into them.

Pei Ye was wandering in this realm in a daze. He didn't know when he could not help but draw his sword. With his eyes closed, he started dancing freely in the courtyard without any regard for any sword moves.

The sword was like a silk thread, pulling the boy's body. Pei Ye didn't know whether he was dreaming, but at this moment he really felt very clearly what people called "the control of heaven and earth over man."

How can one escape from the universe when living in it? The sword and the man should be integrated into it, following the moonlight and the shadows of the cypress trees, and only by shedding their forms and searching for their origins can they touch the eternal "Tao" deep in the universe.

For countless practitioners, this should be an enviable enlightenment. Ninety percent of the practitioners in the world seek the Tao throughout their lives, but do not know where the "Tao" is until they die. If a young man has the opportunity to see it at this age, his path of cultivation will be clearer for many years to come.

However, for Pei Ye, who gradually came to his senses and stood in a daze with the sword in his hand, this was an encounter that made him somewhat depressed and silent.

He had been studying and pondering in the sword training academy for twenty days, working hard with Cui Zhaoye and the guards, not to tell himself that your sword should follow the will of heaven.

He could learn such a sword, and he would certainly be able to use it as well as anyone, but at this moment, in the Shenjing City in the twelfth month of the Xinsi year, he wanted another path.

And it must break out from the vast sky in front of it!
Pei Ye was silent for a while. He now understood Fang Jidao's deep pressure and worry.

Then he suddenly turned around and saw that Zhu Wen had been standing at the edge of the yard at some point. He was holding a book in his hand, standing close to the corner with a solemn expression, as if he didn't want to disturb him.

"...Mr. Zhu." Pei Ye subconsciously hid the sword behind his back, feeling embarrassed as if he had been caught cheating. "I... saw that there was no one in the courtyard, so I just practiced swordplay... I've reviewed the book I read this morning."

Zhu Wen nodded, and said in a normal tone: "I remember that you want to learn the Four Qi Jade Candle Sword, right?"

"Ah... yes, I asked Master Xu to ask Lu Dingzhezi, and he said that it would take some tests before we can see whether he will pass it on."

"Your sword talent is indeed rare, but your true energy doesn't seem to have fallen too much when you focus on the sword. Is there something wrong with the meridian tree?"

Pei Ye was surprised and stunned for a while, but still said truthfully: "My Dantian Pulse Tree is called "Binglu", also known as "Dantian Seed Immortal", which can absorb Lingxuan and grow on its own - Lingxuan is..."

Zhu Wen nodded, and his tone was instructive: "The Immortal Power is a divine object, but its origin is unknown. You must be cautious when relying on it."

"……Oh."

Zhu Wen raised his hand and coughed twice, motioning upstairs, "Let's go. It's a little late today, but we can make up for it in half an hour."

It was still on the balcony of the second-floor building, and all the furnishings were unchanged, except that the philosopher seemed to have taken the jar of dried flowers back into the house last night to prevent it from being damaged by frost and cold. He brought it out again and placed it steadily on the corner of the table. He wiped the jar with a handkerchief and swept the dust off the stems with a whisk.

This action was very common. Zhu Wen came to the desk and sat opposite the young man. Zhu Wen still opened the medical book that he had just finished halfway through, while Pei Ye was still reading the Book of Rites. Tonight passed like this.

……

Outside the Tianli Academy, the storm brewing in Shenjing City was like dark clouds on the sea.

There is still no news about the Ertian theory, and many people have been spreading rumors that the Tianli Academy is actually unable to complete the argument. The reason is of course very simple - ten years have been wasted, so can it be accomplished today?
Even those voices of firm belief could not help but feel uneasy in their hearts, because there had never been any words that could reassure people, and the walls of Tianliyuan were as silent as the pines and cypresses.

Public opinion is raging and people are in panic now. If it can be confirmed, can't we just leak some rumors out?
However, nothing happened. The eager anticipation of millions of scholars seemed unable to touch the silence of Zhu Zhezi. In fact, the scholars had long lost trust in this name, and many people denounced him as a treacherous villain.

While the Ertian Theory was silent, the "Haotian Chuanyi" that had ruled the Tang Dynasty for hundreds of years had been showing its fangs.

In the national newspaper, in the court, in the Imperial College, article after article was pouring down. This time, the aristocratic families did not need to whitewash anything. History, astronomy, fortune... there was evidence everywhere at their fingertips. Those who needed to prove that the imaginary "Heaven of Life and Death" did exist were the supporters of the Theory of Two Heavens. They were the ones who needed to challenge a system that had stood for hundreds of years.

What really hit the scholars hard was that in the Tianli Academy, which claimed to uphold the orthodox tradition of the Tang Dynasty, Zhu Wen was not the only one who was advancing his quest.

The "Tian Yi" that Nan Xiu and Lu Chunshui have devoted twenty years to write was announced to be completed today.

This is what the Tang Dynasty is truly trying to establish itself above the world, just like the sword to Yun Lang.

The legendary Fourth Prince was born under the watchful eyes of a unicorn, raised under the personal instruction of two philosophers, has unicorn blood in his body, and knows his destiny. From the day he was born, he was called the child bestowed by God to the Tang Dynasty.

Tianliyuan placed his heart and soul on him, and entrusted him with the Book of Changes in a wild and imaginative way. As this fourth prince really became the first person in a thousand years to master the Book of Changes, it may represent the completion of the construction of the "Tian-Lin-Yi" path of observing the world in a dreamlike way.

It is certainly enough to prove that "Haotian Transmission" is as solid as a rock, and it also means that the spear of the Tang Dynasty has become sharper.

It also means that... when the Ertian Theory was still struggling to hatch, its opponent had already put on divine armor.

This is exactly what countless people are more worried about at this time - even if Tianliyuan has completed the argument of "Two Heavens Theory" with great difficulty, how many constraints and loopholes are there in it?

Can it really stand firm in front of "Tian Yi"?

But this uneasy worry did not last long. The news first came from the Ministry of Rites, and then the Ministry of Personnel notified every official in the capital who was qualified to enter the court. It was Zhu Wenzhe who had an audience with the saint. He said that it would be extremely cold in three days and all the ponds in the capital would be frozen. The result would be known in "Two Days", and the grand court meeting would be held on that day.

(End of this chapter)