This time, it took him more than ten breaths to get himself into a state of half-dream and half-awake. Perhaps because of the excitement, I always felt like I could leave my body at this stage, so I tried to stand up. But as soon as he exerted himself, he woke up again.
Finally, after struggling for a while, he gradually fell asleep, his consciousness finally became clear and he left the body.
Then he walked to the courtyard, walked through the wall and wandered around the mansion, but didn't notice anything unusual. He put it back on and walked carefully to the backyard.
He had never been to the backyard, and he didn't know whether a wealthy businessman like Tao Wenbao would ask for a charm to keep his home safe, so he walked very slowly, ready to deal with various situations at any time. But he was not careful in vain - there was indeed a bronze mirror embedded in the lintel of the small door leading to the backyard. The bronze mirror is hidden under the eaves of the door. You usually have to go directly underneath and raise your face to see it. But at this time, this thing was emitting a faint white light in the darkness, like a lamp.
Li Bochen walked over slowly, feeling a slight warmth on his body and a sense of dryness in his heart, but he didn't feel uncomfortable. I don’t know if it’s because the evil-proof bronze mirror doesn’t work, or because my situation is special.
So he went through the door and entered the backyard.
The backyard is more tranquil than the front yard, with rockeries and pools. Tao Wenbao and Tao Dingchen live here.
Li Bochen sighed, thinking that Tao Wenbao had been very good to him so far, and Tao Dingchen had also treated him as a master and disciple, but now he came to visit other people's homes late at night, which was really the behavior of a villain.
Since I felt guilty, I just walked around the backyard and listened carefully. Both of them seemed to have fallen asleep. There was no light or sound in the room, so they went to the back room.
The kitchen servant Chen Sangu lives in the back room and is still awake at this time. Also with her is the handyman Lao Xu. Maybe he picked up the leftover food and wine from the banquet and prepared a table for them. The two of them drank the remaining wine while chewing slowly, relatively speechless, but also quite content.
He stood quietly beside the two of them for a while, but never saw anything unusual about them. He could only vaguely hear a faint "clatter" sound in the distance, like someone playing with a chain. Judging from the source of the sound, it must have come from outside the house, perhaps from someone nearby.
Li Bochen finally felt at ease, walked back to the front yard, found his own place, lay down on his body, and woke up. He forcibly suppressed the excitement in his heart and told himself to fall asleep again.
When he woke up the next day, it was still dark. Then he went to the water room to wash up, punched behind the flowers in front of the house, and had his Qi and blood pumped several times.
After a while, Chen Sangu brought breakfast and went to wait on Tao Wenbao and his son. Lao Xu took a big broom and swept the courtyard. Li Bochen moved a small stool and sat at the door, eating and watching.
After another hour, Tao Wenbao and Tao Dingchen finally went out. The boy was holding a small green cloth bag with tassels across his shoulders, his face full of reluctance. When he saw Li Bochen standing at the door of the house, he called out: "Master, I will come back from school to learn swordsmanship from you!"
Only then did Li Bochen realize that yesterday was the last day of the first lunar month, and it was Tao Dingchen's literary holiday, so he played at home. Tao Wenbao sent his son to study literature and asked his daughter to work in Shuxue, probably because he hoped that his son would become an official in the future.
People with a literary background are very likely to become subordinate officials at all levels of the state government. Although they cannot be chief officials like the people with the national surname, and it is difficult to be promoted, they are still considered to be superior people. Is it just that he wants to pass the family business to Tao Chunxi in the future?
But that's none of his business. Li Bochen nodded and smiled: "Okay."
Tao Wenbao rubbed his son's head, nodded to Li Boxen, and went out. At this time, the genius had just begun to shine.
After struggling for another hour, I finally heard the mechanical clock in the backyard ringing eight times. He immediately got up, said hello to the concierge Lao Xu, and went out into the street.
I asked two people along the way, and spent three yuan at a roadside cake shop to buy four palm-sized black-faced steamed buns. I carried them in my arms and walked for half an hour to Shuxue.
The art of Zhangcheng was built like the earthen forts of some barbarians in the western part of Tianzi Kingdom. It was a perfect circle, five stories high, with a circle of open space in the middle. When he stood on the side of the street, he saw many young men and women with hurried expressions coming in and out. Some of them should be working in Shuxue, while others were studying in Shuxue.
There are long hawker stalls on the street at the entrance, selling all kinds of food and drink. Although Li Bochen had breakfast, he still felt thirsty when he saw the steaming glutinous rice cakes, white sausage, chicken skin, sheep tripe, spring cakes, and charcoal sticks. He thought that when he went back, he should tell Chen Sangu that he should get more for each meal. of.
He touched the black-faced steamed bun in his arms and followed the young men and women into the gate of the academy.
Speaking of which, he is only twenty-two years old and can be considered one of the young men and women. But after spending all those years in Beiyuan, I already felt a little out of place with these people. Fortunately, as he had heard in the army, the art was open to all "people of insight" and no one came to stop him.
After entering the door, I saw that the open space surrounded by the castle was quite large, about the size of a military school field. There are several three-story tile-roofed houses in the field. The exterior walls are painted white and they look clean and tidy.
He only knew that the Wen Guan was in Shuxue, but when he came, he found that the Shuxue in Zhangcheng could accommodate one or two thousand people, so it was difficult to find a Wen Guan. He stood by the door and when he saw a girl walking by who looked not in a hurry, he saluted, "Girl, please excuse me."
The girl looked around and stopped: "What can I do for you, sir?"
"I would like to ask, where is this library?"
The girl smiled and pointed to the field: "Well, it's right there. Sir, walk along this road and go to the water room on the left to wash your hands first, and then you can go in and study."
Li Boxen said hurriedly: "Thank you very much."
The girl covered her mouth and smiled, looked at him again, and walked away gracefully.
It does feel a bit familiar, Li Bochen thought. So I also had a good impression of this art school - when I was in the army, some soldiers joked that men and women were mixed in the art school, which was probably the most immoral place in the world. Now I see, it is really nonsense.
A quarter of an hour later, Li Boxen wiped his hands on his clothes and walked into the library.
This must be a library, he thought. When I walked in, I found that the layout was similar, except that the books were not arranged vertically, but were laid flat on the shelves. Maybe he came early, and the museum was empty at this time, with no one around. I looked towards the door and was stunned again - there was a cabinet table, and a woman was sitting behind the table with books piled beside her. She seemed to be the manager or handyman here.
This familiar feeling was so wonderful that Li Bochen couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Seeing the woman writing something down in the notebook on the table, he waited for her to lift her pen and said, "Excuse me. How should I read the book here?"
The woman was plain-looking, but had a natural smile. She raised her eyes and looked at him: "Of course I use my brain to read it - just kidding - what book do you want to read, sir?"
Li Boxen thought for a moment and lowered his voice: "Is there anything about the ancient secret spirit and spirit master?"
The woman was stunned. After looking at him carefully for a while, he slowly said: "Yes, yes. But sir, do you know the risks of reading this kind of book?"
Li Boxen said: "I know this."
The woman asked: "Does Sir have a teaching position in academics? Or is he a local student?"
Li Bochen answered truthfully: "Neither."
The woman shook her head: "That won't work."
Seeing Li Bochen frowning, he looked at him again: "Sir, if you don't want to know more deeply, there is a "National History" over there. There are also some secret spirits and spiritual masters mentioned in the book. Why not read it? That one."
