After leaving the inn, it was getting dark. There was a carriage waiting at the door. Nan Dao thought it was waiting for someone else here, so he was about to go around it. However, he saw Yunhu get on the carriage without knowing it, and then sat in it and faced Nan Dao. The island beckons. Only then did Nan Dao realize that he was here to pick up Yun Hu Zhizhi.
Getting on the carriage with some embarrassment, Nan Dao sat across from Yun Huzi. The latter put the book box aside, then folded his hands in front of him and closed his eyes as if he was resting.
Nan Dao thought so at first, but when he saw the beads of sweat on Yun Huzhi's forehead and the slightly trembling fingers on his legs, he realized that he was not resting, but nervous.
Nan Dao thought for a while and asked, "Brother Yunhu, are you nervous?"
Yun Hu opened his eyes, smiled awkwardly, and said, "Yes, it's the first time after all..."
Nan Dao leaned against the carriage and said: "This is also my first time. I used to stay in a small town outside Nanyi City. I just came to Nanyi City yesterday and shamelessly went to the Human Sword Sect. .”
Yunhu looked at Nandao in surprise and said, "What are you doing in Jianzong?"
Nan Dao suddenly fell silent, pretending to smile casually, and said: "I went to see the master of the Sword Sect, Cong Ren, who is said to be one of the three swordsmen in the world. Well, it must be because of some personal matters."
Yun Huzhidao was in awe, looked at Nan Dao and said: "So you are a sword cultivator. Seeing that you are so young, you must be a genius of the generation. In the future, we can take care of each other in Xuansheyuan."
Nan Dao thought to himself that I still don’t know what Xuanxuyuan is for, but he still raised his hand to Yun Hu and said, “Where is it?”
Yunhu didn't know how to return the gift, but sighed and said: "I don't know what Nanyi City thinks. There are a lot of Taoist practitioners in Huai'an, but they want to invite me to teach "The Five Thousand Words of the Green Ox". Anyway, It feels a bit overwhelming."
"?" Nan Dao sat up upright, looked at Yun Hu and asked cautiously, "Are you Mr. Xuanshuyuan?"
Yun Hu looked at Nan Dao in confusion and asked, "Aren't you?"
"..."
Only then did the two realize that they had misunderstood.
Nan Dao sat upright, scratched his head and said, "No wonder I said there would be carriages and horses to pick up and drop off students for spring recruitment."
Yun Huzhi held back his laughter and said, "I thought you were invited by Xuanxu Academy to teach swordsmanship at such a young age."
Nan Dao smiled bitterly and said, "I have never even touched a sword."
"Hahaha."
Nan Dao opened the curtain, looked out the window at the bustling street scene, and then asked Yun Hu I wonder what the question was.
"By the way, Mr. Yun Huda..., what does Xuanxuyuan do?"
Yun Hu looked at Nan Dao in surprise and said, "You don't know?"
Nan Dao shook his head and said: "Yes..." Nan Dao wanted to say that it was Senior Cong Ren who asked him to go, but he remembered what Cong Ren said yesterday not to call him Senior, and did not want to involve cause and effect, so he changed his mind. Said, "Someone said that it might be able to answer my questions."
Yun Hu looked Nan Dao up and down, his eyes resting on his black umbrella that had not been put away in the carriage for a long time. He pondered for a long time and said: "Xuanshuyuan is actually simple, it is just an academy, but because of its It is related to all major places of practice in the world. For example, senior Cong Ren was invited to serve as a teacher in the main courtyard of Xuanxuyuan for ten years. Therefore, Xuanxuyuan can also be called a place of practice. Huai At present, only Nanyi City has Xuanxuyuan, but in Huangliang, there are more than 300 Xuanxuyuan in total, which is almost the same status as Wuguishen Sect."
Yun Huzhidao said, paused, looked at Nan Dao and listened carefully, and continued: "As for what you said and the answer to your question, I don't know, but this Xuansha Courtyard in Nanyi City is, in addition to Apart from the Huangliang General Courtyard, it is the place with the largest collection of human classics among all the Xuanshu Courtyards. If you have any questions, you might as well go to the library and have a look."
Nan Dao gratefully bowed to Yun Huzhi and said, "Thank you, sir."
The carriage drove for a while and then stopped.
Nandao followed Yunhu down the street. It was a long and quiet street in the south of the city. There were only some houses on both sides. Not far away was an archway with the words "Nanjingfang" written on it. The carriage stopped on the street. Next to it, ahead is a small wooden bridge. The wooden boards have turned dark brown due to age. This may be the reason why carriages no longer cross.
It was still early and it was raining lightly, hazy.
Yun Hu got out of the car without knowing it, and walked under the umbrella with Nan Dao. From the bridge, a man in his fifties wearing commoners came over, holding an umbrella and ran over diligently, stopping in front of the two of them. Seeing Yun Huzhi bending down, he said politely: "Why are you here so early, sir?"
Yun Huzhi raised his hand in salute, smiled and said, "It's my first time coming to Nanyi City. I'm afraid I'll miss the time, so it's better to come earlier."
The man nodded and said yes, then turned to look at Nan Dao aside, and asked hesitantly: "Who is this?"
"He is a student I met on the road who came to participate in the spring recruitment. Thinking that he was on the same journey, he simply brought him with him, so as not to cause any trouble, right?"
"It's okay, it's okay." The man smiled, welcomed Yun Huzhi under the umbrella, and then looked at Nan Dao who was standing there and said, "The Spring Festival has just begun, but since you are here, come with us first. .”
Nan Dao imitated Yun Hu Zhi Zhi and raised his hand to salute and said, "Thank you very much, sir."
The man in civilian clothes held an umbrella for Yun Huzhi, and as he walked, he said mockingly: "I am not a gentleman, I am just a janitor in Xuansheyuan."
Yun Huzi said softly: "It's better to soak in the courtyard for a long time than the gentlemen outside."
The commoner man smiled and said, "Mr. Yunhu, what are you talking about?"
...
Nan Dao followed the two of them across the small wooden bridge. The water under the bridge was quite clear, not like a tributary of the Nanyi River.
After crossing the bridge and walking along the long street to the end, and then turning a corner, Nan Dao saw a gate. There were two lush ancient trees on both sides of the gate. The courtyard wall was very high, a green wall, covered with There are many green vines, some withered and some just regenerated.
The door was open, and the two doors opened inward. The gap between the stone tiles on the floor and the door was already covered with moss.
This is a door that has not been closed in many years.
Opposite the door is a green bamboo forest. In the middle of the bamboo forest, there is a glowing bluestone path that winds deep into the depths. I don't know what is behind it.
There is a small brown room behind the door, which is probably where the man lives. There is a brazier in the middle, a lounge chair next to the brazier, and a heater on the chair for hugging.
The man welcomed Yun Huzi into the door, put the umbrella in Yun Huzi's hand, then trotted into the room, took out the heater, handed it to Yun Huzi, and said politely as before : "The weather is a bit cold. This is for you, sir. The other gentlemen are already waiting inside. Please go slowly."
Yunhu thanked the man, turned to Nandao and nodded with a smile, then walked in along the path facing the door with an umbrella.
Nan Dao stood at the door, somewhat unsure of where to go. After the man watched Yun Hu leave without knowing, he looked at Nan Dao and said kindly: "The gentlemen inside are still preparing for spring recruitment. You can walk around or come to the room." Let’s warm ourselves over the fire.”
Nan Dao cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, sir."
The man patted Nan Dao on the shoulder and said with a smile: "No need to call me husband, my name is Li Taimei, just call me Uncle Li."
Nan Dao nodded and said sincerely: "Okay, Mr. Ji."
The man nodded with satisfaction, then walked into the room and lay there for a while before he came to his senses.
Was this guy called the wrong guy?
When he looked outside the door again, he saw that Nan Dao had already walked far along the courtyard wall, so he had to give up.
Nan Dao walked around curiously along the courtyard wall. The road directly opposite the gate obviously led to where the gentlemen were. Nan Dao decided not to go there. On the right side of the gatehouse was a white wall. The moon gate has two weeping willow-shaped garden lights standing on both sides of the gate. Through the gate is another courtyard. On the left, there was a cobblestone path extending under the courtyard wall, with many willow branches hanging on both sides. It looked very peaceful, so Nan Dao walked to the left.
After walking along the path for a long time, a forest full of white magnolias appeared in front of me. The paths in the forest were crisscrossed, leading to the deep depths.
After walking along the forest path for a while, the entrance to a corridor appeared in front of me. The corridor was quiet and full of white flowers. Nan Dao walked to the steps and wanted to step on them directly. He glanced at his feet, looked around, rubbed the mud on the grass in the forest, and then walked up. cloister.
Nan Dao held an umbrella and walked in the corridor while looking around, then suddenly stopped.
At the corner of the corridor in front, there is a woman in a white dress sitting on the edge of the corridor, holding a book in her hand and reading quietly.
Nan Dao didn't expect to see anyone along the way, but he suddenly met a student or gentleman from Xuanxu Academy here - Nan Dao was very cautious now because of Yun Hu's unknowing loss.
After thinking about it, it was better not to go over and disturb him, so Nan Dao turned around carefully and planned to return the same way.
"Why are you leaving?"
The woman's cold voice suddenly sounded in the corridor.
"Uh." Nan Dao turned around. The woman in the white dress was still sitting there, looking at the book in her hand without raising her head. This scene made Nan Dao think that he heard wrongly.
"Today is the day for spring recruitment in the courtyard? I don't remember very well." The woman looked down at the book and asked without raising her head.
Nan Dao scratched his head and said, "It should be."
"Are you here to study? Or are you the gentleman invited from Huangliang?"
"I'm here to study."
"what do you want to learn?"
The woman raised her head and looked at Nan Dao and asked.
The moment he looked up at the woman, Nan Dao stood there as if something had hit his heart.
The magnolia flowers in the forest seem to be blooming just right.
Nan Dao said in a strange way: "I will learn whatever the teacher teaches me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Nan Dao realized that he had said the wrong thing and stood there holding the umbrella uneasily.
The woman in the white dress showed no emotion at all. She just put away the book in her hand and sat there calmly looking at Nandao. Nandao glanced at it. The title of the book was a little weird - "A Brief Talk on the Differences in Internal Characteristics between Monasticism and Witches and Ghosts" 》, the signature is Yunhu I don’t know.
Then that cold voice sounded in Nan Dao's ears.
"You can't learn what I teach you."
After the woman in the white dress said this, she stood up and walked deeper into the corridor.
Nan Dao stood there, looking at her back, and asked softly: "What did you teach, sir?"
"sword."
Nan Dao stood there and whispered: "Then I'll learn to sword."
The spring rain seems to be a bit heavier.
The chill got worse.
Nan Dao looked at the sky through the edge of the umbrella.
Inexplicably, it felt like it was afraid of something.
