The tea room of the acting headmaster is deeper in the Daozang Hall.
According to what he said, non-distinguished guests or close friends would never be allowed in. Of course, only what kind of guests are considered expensive and what kind of friends are true friends will only count if he says so.
The angle of the tea room is just right to see the side of the ancient ginkgo tree in the garden.
The warm sunshine in the afternoon reflects on the leaves of the ginkgo tree that have not completely fallen, and then shines in from the teahouse window, revealing a simple and warm atmosphere.
A set of exquisite tea sets are neatly placed on a short horizontal table.
The acting headmaster supported the tea pet in the center and said:
"This tea pet has been with me for many years."
Zhao Rang saw that this tea pet was indeed unique.
The base is a complete foot, with a singing cicada lying on the instep, which means "contentment and lasting happiness".
"It seems that the acting headmaster is also a nostalgic person."
It is already very difficult to keep an object after being used for many years. It would be even more difficult if you are not only there but also like it very much.
However, the acting headmaster was not very happy about Zhao Rang's compliment. He just smiled softly and ignored it without further explanation.
Zhao Rang doesn't know how to drink tea.
His drinking of tea is similar to that of drinking. He always picks up the cup, tilts his neck and drinks, like a whale swallowing a cow.
As elegant as the headmaster, but it cannot be compared...
However, the acting headmaster did not correct Zhao Rang in any way.
Everyone has their own habits, and drinking tea ultimately comes down to the word "drink." As for how to drink tea, who can say that you are definitely right and others are wrong?
After two cups of tea, Zhao Rang saw that the kid in blue who had just "joked" with him appeared in the yard again, stabbing the falling ginkgo leaves with his sword.
Just as a gust of wind blew up, the sky and the ground were filled with gold, which made him have a great time.
Zhao Rang looked at it for a while and then withdrew his gaze.
But he saw that the teacup in front of him was empty, and the acting headmaster had forgotten to refill it.
When he looked around, he realized that the Acting Headmaster's gaze was also firmly fixed on the kid in blue outside.
Unlike Zhao Rang who saw him as envious of the child's innocence and liveliness, the acting headmaster's eyes were mixed with a little love and guilt.
Before he thought too much, he saw that the headmaster Dai also looked away, picked up the justice cup again, and filled the teacup in front of Zhao Rang with tea.
After three courses, the tea soup has begun to fade.
If you want to continue drinking it, you need to replace it with new tea leaves.
Zhao Rang would not drink it endlessly, not to mention that he felt that drinking tea was dispensable.
"When will Mr. Zhao plan to come down from the mountain?"
The acting head coach Leng Buding asked.
Zhao Rang didn't understand what he meant for a while, so he didn't answer.
The acting headmaster did not continue to ask questions, but poured another hot water into the tea that had become weak.
This time he specially placed the brewing cup in the middle of the two of them, and even the tea pet moved aside.
In the brewing cup made of colored glass, the tea leaves inside kept rolling when the hot water was poured into it, and it continued to rise and fall after a long time without stopping.
"Life is like tea!"
Zhao Rang said something cliché.
No matter who sees this scene, he will definitely say this, even if he does not agree or understand this sentence at all, he will say this.
But the acting headmaster shook his head, obviously not recognizing what Zhao Rang just said.
This is the first time Zhao Rang has met a person who loves tea, but does not agree with the four words "life is like tea".
But thinking about it carefully, he drank too little tea and saw too few tea drinkers. Drinking, the more you drink, the more confused you become. Drink tea, the more you drink, the more awake you become.
If a sober person has a middle finger, many people may come up with strange thoughts and logic. It is the most normal thing for someone like Mr. Dai who does not think life is like tea.
"The Acting Headmaster doesn't agree with this statement?"
Zhao Rang asked.
The acting headmaster shook his head and said:
"I call this more of one thing than one less of it."
Zhao Rang frowned and asked:
"What does it mean?"
The acting headmaster explained:
"Obviously, all the flavor has been squeezed out of the tea leaves, and the tea leaves have become weak and worthless, but I still add water to it. What's the point? All I can do is make the tea leaves messy in the cup, just like when the wind blew just now. Just like the ginkgo leaves. Now that a cup of tea is filled again, it tastes bland when you drink it, and it’s a waste if you don’t drink it. Isn’t this just asking for trouble? So this is not about life being like tea and tea being like life, but that it is better to do less than to do more. .”
After the acting head teacher finished speaking, he pressed the brewing cup against the bucket under the tea table and poured all the tea soup and tea leaves into it.
This was already a sign of seeing off guests, but Zhao Rang sat motionless and said:
"The Acting Headmaster is telling me not to ask for trouble?"
The acting headmaster smiled and said nothing. But combined with his previous question "When will we go down the mountain?", it is not difficult to see that this is what he meant.
Following his hand, Zhao Rang saw that there was a crack at the mouth of the teacup used by Dai Dai.
For a tea lover, tea sets are as important as tea.
In such a warm tea room, Zhao Rang never expected that the tea cup he used for himself would be a defective one.
The acting headmaster also saw Zhao Rang's eyes paying attention to his tea cup, but he just put it on the table without any explanation.
This tea cup must have a story behind it, just like the tea pet.
He was willing to say a few more words about his tea pet, but he didn't mention the teacup at all, which already explained a lot of problems.
"Master Zhao?"
The acting headmaster took out a towel from the drawer of the tea table and wiped the table clean. Seeing that Zhao Rang was still lowering his head, not knowing what he was thinking, he suddenly became anxious.
For a person who has always been calm and calm, showing such an expression shows that there are still very important things in his heart and he is almost unable to suppress them.
"Does the Acting Headmaster have anything else to do?"
As soon as Zhao Rang said these words, the acting headmaster looked a little stiff, but he quickly turned around and said:
"Senior brother is not here, so the trivial matters in the mountain gate are all on my shoulders. It would be a lie to say they are not important, but to say how important they are, there is no end to the trivial matters."
What he said was true, and Zhao Rang had no room for refutation.
Nodding, straightening his sleeves, Zhao Rang stood up, gave the acting headmaster a fist, and said:
'I'll take my leave now. If the weather is good in the afternoon, I will go to Jiuchongtian to make a deal with the great uncle. If everything goes well, I will go down the mountain tonight. '
After finishing speaking, he walked towards the tea room.
When I came in just now, the door of the tea room was not closed, and there was still a gap.
But when Zhao Rang walked out of the tea room, he saw that the entire Daozang Pavilion hall was completely dark.
It's still bright outside.
When I entered Daozang Pavilion earlier, the hall was very bright.
At this moment, all the doors and windows were tightly closed and covered with black cloth, so that no light could penetrate.
Zhao Rang took a deep breath.
What should come will eventually come. All he has to do is open his eyes wide and adapt to such a dark environment as soon as possible.
Suddenly, a faint light came from behind him.
Looking back, I saw the acting headmaster holding a candlestick and walking slowly.
The candle gave off a dim yellow light, similar to the color of the sunlight in the tea room just now, but it did not produce any warmth.
Even after the acting headmaster approached, Zhao Rang saw clearly that there was a white candle stuck in the candlestick.
White candles are used for worshiping the dead.
No one would use white candles when studying and living. That would be too unlucky.
But the headmaster Ke Dai was holding such a candlestick with a white candle on it, and approached Zhao Rang step by step.
The strange thing is that the flame of the candle did not tremble at all due to his steps, and always burned straight.
This showed that not only was there no wind in the hall, but even his walking did not cause any tremors.
The acting headmaster walked to a place more than three feet in front of Zhao Rang and stood there, putting the candlestick in his hand aside.
It wasn't until the moment the candlestick came into contact with the table that the flame swayed slightly, but soon returned to its straight appearance.
"I told you just now, it's better to do less than to do more."
The acting headmaster had a tone of regret.
It seems that it is not Zhao Rang who is in front of him, but his child, his disciple, who got into great trouble because he did not listen to the advice of his father and master.
"Listen to others and eat enough. But do you think I look like a well-fed person?"
Zhao Rang said helplessly.
The acting headmaster stared at Zhao Rang and looked at it carefully from top to bottom.
It was too dark in the hall, so Zhao Rang couldn't see clearly what the look in his eyes was, but he also knew that it must be completely opposite to what he saw in the tea room just now.
"You went down the mountain last night and did such a big thing. I choose to forget about it."
It seems that the Acting Headmaster did not say these words to Zhao Rang, but to himself.
He felt very unwilling...
He was unwilling to accept that Zhao Rang did not understand his "good intentions".
"The reason why you don't pursue the matter is because of that child, right? The child in red."
Zhao Rang said.
The acting headmaster suddenly raised his head, then laughed and said:
"A smart person like you should listen to others' advice."
Zhao Rang pursed his lips and shook his head:
"Smart people are often overconfident. Just like me, I feel that my two hands and one head are enough to smooth out everything in this world, so it's hard to listen to advice."
The acting headmaster responded.
It was obvious that he agreed with this.
"How did you find out?"
At this moment, the two of them had omitted their directions when talking.
What did you discover? Is it a person, a thing, or something?
The acting headmaster didn't say it, and of course there was no need for it.
Because he knew that with Zhao Rang's intelligence, he would definitely know what he was asking.
"From the first time I met you."
The acting headmaster's expression became a little serious.
After a long time, he sighed and said:
"It is a good thing for young people to be smart, but bragging is not. Bragging is a bad thing. If you get used to bragging, you will lose your self-knowledge."
"Once you lose your self-awareness, you will probably kill yourself one day!"
Zhao Rang took over the acting headmaster's words and continued.
"That's right, so you still want to stick to what you just said?"
The acting headmaster put his hands behind his back and said condescendingly.
Zhao Rang nodded.
This made the other party a little angry.
"It was the first time in the tea room, and now it's the second time. It's only three things!"
There is a strong hint of threat in these words.
But the truth will not be compromised because of threats, so Zhao Rang will not change his words.
As a last resort, the acting headmaster took a deep breath and asked:
"When was the first time you mentioned?"
Zhao Rang replied:
"That's when I just came down from my uncle in the Nine Heavens and was in the courtyard where the three girls lived."
The Acting Headmaster carefully recalled what happened at that time.
For those who can memorize all the classics in the entire Daozang Pavilion, there is no pressure to recall what happened not long ago.
After thinking about it carefully, the Acting Headmaster felt that there was nothing wrong with his performance, and he became even more certain that Zhao Rang was talking nonsense.
But he is no longer in a hurry, and he doesn't want to worry about whether Zhao Rang is bragging anymore.
Even if it was nonsense, he wanted Zhao Rang to tell him something to see how many clever ideas this young man, who was favored by his senior brother and uncle, had.
"Although you are dressed plainly, I can tell at a glance that the Taoist robe you are wearing is made of Xiangyun gauze."
Xiangyun yarn is known as one tael of gold and one inch of yarn. The production process alone requires three washes, nine boils and eighteen sun-dries, not to mention the rare and exquisite materials used.
"As expected of Young Master Zhao, he is well-informed!"
The acting headmaster did not deny it.
His Taoist robes are all custom-made with Xiangyun gauze. It's just that it's not dyed. Except for the people wearing it who can feel the difference, only a young man like Zhao Rang who comes from a wealthy family can tell the difference.
"With such luxurious clothes, at best, you are a person who is very particular about life and not careless at all. At worst, you are a person who lives a luxurious life. But you also say that you are a scholar, a scholar I only have books from sages in my eyes, as long as my clothes can cover my body, I don’t care about the material at all. This is the first time I have doubts about you."
Zhao Rang explained.
The acting headmaster asked:
"It seems there will be a second time?"
"The second time was that night when I went to your house and you stayed with me for supper."
The acting headmaster asked:
"Is it possible that a fish is considered a luxury in your eyes?"
Zhao Rang shook his head and said:
"Of course not a fish."
"The problem is the way you cook the fish."
"You are so skilled at cooking fish and it tastes so good. And you actually keep live fish in your own yard so that you can eat fresh ones at any time."
"What does this mean? Food is the most important thing for the people, and everyone wants to become an immortal. Why can't we eat something fresh?"
Zhao Rang paused and continued:
"It means that you are very greedy. You want to eat good and fresh food. The dishes made by ordinary craftsmanship have long been out of your mouth, so you take the time to think about it."
The greatest motivation that drives a person to do something is always for himself.
In order to wear better clothes for myself, I work hard to make money. In order to eat better food for myself, I studied cooking skills.
These two points would not be a problem for ordinary people, but if they were placed on him, they would be the biggest doubts.
Because to enjoy both of these, you want a lot of money!
However, the acting head coach was not Ximen Dazhuang, and he did not have a rich father to back him up.
He is not even as good as Zhao Rang. After all, the Zhao family relied on their military exploits in their early years to acquire a lot of property, and they also have the only Zhao family sword in the world as their signature.
Before Bai Hezi came down from the mountain, he was just a Taoist priest who studied Taoism. The title of master disciple does not bring him any tangible benefits.
And the things learned in Daozang cannot be taken for the academy examination.
Although it is written in black and white, there are really no Yan Ruyu, golden houses, or many chariots and horses in Tao Zang.
If he wanted to support his luxurious hobby, he could only use other means.
Finding a new path often means taking risks. After all, wealth can be gained through risk.
After speaking for the second time, the acting headmaster was completely silent.
He already knew that Zhao Rang was not talking nonsense, nor was this a random act, but that he had really noticed him a long time ago.
Compared to his disguise, Zhao Rang's character is more frightening.
Because of his age!
He is too young.
So much so that the acting headmaster felt that he could hold a bowl of water at most.
How can you think that he has so much beauty in his chest that he can drink the whole rivers and lakes?
"Since you have noticed it a long time ago, why didn't you take action and instead just stayed with me like this?"
The acting headmaster asked him the biggest confusion in his heart.
This is also the question that Zhao Rang wants to avoid the most.
But now, he also has to face it.
The first step is to speak out openly. Zhao Rang is obviously not ready yet...
After about a quarter of an hour of silence, Zhao Rang finally opened his mouth and said:
"Although you cover it up very well, I still find that your martial arts cultivation level is the highest in the entire Baihe Mountain!"
