"Later...then I divided my consciousness into several strands, found the weakest part of the formation, and attacked it with my consciousness..."
Fan Dazhi scratched his head and whispered sheepishly.
"You can actually use your spiritual consciousness to attack and isolate the magic circle?"
He An was secretly surprised, this guy was so brave!
"Well... it was just for a while, and then I... I quit. Now that I think about it, it's not fun. Xiao An, you must not tell anyone about this."
Fan Dazhi's face turned red, and his voice became softer and quieter, until his final voice was as thin as a mosquito.
What he didn't tell He An was that after breaking through the isolation barrier in the women's dormitory that night, he probed in with his spiritual consciousness and saw that the room in the women's dormitory was similar to the one he had lived in before. Four female students were lying on the couch sleeping. At this moment, Fan Dazhi felt nervous and scared. After all, voyeurism was considered shameful.
It was a cold winter night, and several girls were tightly covered with quilts. Fan Dazhi approached with his consciousness and was about to take a closer look. Suddenly, his vision went dark, and his consciousness was in intense pain, as if he had been whipped hard by someone. He was frightened. He quickly withdrew his consciousness, covered his stinging head, and worried for a long time, fearing that some teacher would find him and come to his door. Finally, he tossed and turned and fell into a sleep full of anxiety.
When I woke up the next day, I was still frightened when I recalled what happened last night. From now on, I never dared to use my spiritual consciousness to peek into Zhixingyuan.
"Last time, because of me, you ate in the dining hall and was punished with solitary confinement. If someone discovers this peeping, it won't be as simple as being punished with solitary confinement!"
Seeing Fan Dazhi shrinking his head with a look of shame, He An couldn't bear to blame him. He smiled and joked: "Your father hopes that you will be successful in the future. If he knows you are like this, I will see if he doesn't beat you with a pole." ?”
"Xiao An...I know I was wrong..."
Fan Dazhi buried his face in the quilt and snored, pretending to be asleep. But after a moment, he sat up again with a groan and looked at He An with a playful smile.
"Xiao An... shall we... go out for a walk tomorrow? Besides, Teacher Ding often asks Wen Ruo to bring some ancient books from his collection for us to study. How long has it been since we visited him? But it's a bit disrespectful!"
"Okay, let's go shopping in Luoyang City tomorrow, buy some gifts and visit the teacher in Ding Mansion!"
He An thought that what Fan Dazhi said made sense and readily agreed.
Fan Dazhi beamed with joy and lay on the couch again, stroking his belly with one hand: "When I think about shopping tomorrow, my unsatisfactory stomach becomes hungry again!"
He An rolled his eyes at him, sat cross-legged, and began to practice the exercises. The crescent moon outside the window was like a hook, and the window lattice rustled in the wind. It was already late at night.
Luoyang, the imperial capital, was prosperous and prosperous. A great poet of the previous dynasty once wrote a poem: "Luoyang is the most prosperous in spring, with hundreds of thousands of houses in the red and green shade. Jade towers and golden towers return lazily, and they put plum blossoms and get drunk on the pipa."
He An and Fan Dazhi set out early in the morning and visited Jiuzhou Pond, Jiamaying, Tingfenglema Street, and also went to Baiyuan to express their condolences at the tomb of the great scholar Bai Buyi. Along the way, they listened to tourists describe the famous places. The origin and past story, it was already noon before I knew it.
It was sunny and sunny today, but it was much warmer than before. Fan Dazhi was crowded in the crowd, chewing a frozen pear in his mouth. He wiped his mouth after eating, and took out a handful of fried sugar from his arms. Chestnuts, this guy ate all the way and wanted to try everything he saw. He An glanced at him and shook his head helplessly.
There are many grocery stores on this street, and some of them put their goods on the street in order to attract customers, making the already narrow street congested.
He An scanned the rows of shelves, looking at the dazzling array of goods and not knowing what to buy.
With the one hundred taels of silver notes in his arms, he was worried about what gift to buy. It was too expensive and inappropriate to buy, and it was too cheap and casual to get it, and it didn't show sincerity.
"Xiao An, why don't you buy some peony cakes? They are colorful and pretty. I haven't eaten them yet, so I just want to try them!"
Fan Dazhi squeezed over and offered help with a wink.
"No! It's just some food. Besides, the Prime Minister's Mansion is not short of these things!"
He An shook his head, looked at the goods on the street for a long time, and his eyes lit up.
"Let's give a beautiful brush as a gift. Teacher Ding is good at calligraphy and practices it often. It is most appropriate to give a brush as a gift, and it is also in line with our identities."
Fan Dazhi clapped his hands and applauded. The two then visited many shops selling pens, inks, paper and inkstones, and finally sadly discovered that they could not afford a better brush.
The cheapest Zhezhouhu pen costs forty or fifty taels of silver. He An stood in front of a shop called "Bao Mo Xuan", touched the warm banknote in his arms, gritted his teeth, and walked straight. When he was about to enter again, Fan Dazhi held a roasted chestnut in his mouth and pulled him.
"Xiao An, why don't we make a pen and give it to the teacher? This way we don't have to spend money and can express our feelings!"
"Can you make a brush?" He An looked at Fan Dazhi suspiciously.
"You have forgotten my ability to make fish baskets. I have seen my father make calligraphy brushes. There is nothing in this world that he can't do! I just took a closer look at the calligraphy brushes in this shop. I promise that if I make them well, they will be no worse than his ones. !”
Fan Dazhi chewed the chestnuts proudly and continued: "The writing brush is actually easy to make. The writing brushes are mostly made of wool, weasel tail hair, mountain rabbit hair, and civet hair, and the hair is made of pig bristles, horse tail, cat and dog whiskers, etc. Fetal hair can also be used. Bamboo tubes are often used as writing brush poles, and mahogany, horn, ivory, and jade are also used as poles, which are more luxurious."
When Fan Dazhi talked about these treasures, He An couldn't help but be impressed.
"Making a brush requires only the steps of selecting materials, combing, pressing, sorting, tying, gluing, engraving, hanging, etc. It sounds troublesome, but for me it is still a piece of cake."
Fan Dazhi smiled proudly, rubbed his chin with two fat fingers, and muttered: "But now... rabbit fur, civet fur, and weasel fur are hard to find. The wool is too soft and is not conducive to even spitting out ink. The bristles and ponytails are too hard. It’s also easy to split ends... Hmm! In this way... you go find some good bamboo branches, remember they have to be good bamboo, and I’ll go find some cat and dog whiskers. Once we’ve got everything, we’ll meet here!”
After Fan Dazhi finished speaking, he patted He An on the shoulder, turned around and squeezed into the crowd, and disappeared in a moment.
He An thought for a moment and turned back to Zhixingyuan. He remembered that there were a lot of bamboos in the yard and he would definitely be able to find better bamboo branches.
I remember there were several bamboo trees in the backyard of the Punishment Hall, but thinking of the judge-like black face of the hall leader Jia Huaigang, He An would not dare to go there no matter what.
He wandered around to the back of Zhixing Building. There was a row of houses under several tall ginkgo trees. There were not many people coming and going here, and the environment was very quiet. He met a few teachers on the road, and He An hurriedly bowed and said hello.
The afternoon sun was warm, and it was rare for him to feel warm. Lu Zhengqing was sitting in front of the window. His clothes were clean and starched, and he was writing something at the table with a pen. Occasionally he raised his eyes and looked out the window, and found that He An was a little sneaky. Xuan looked around, unable to help but laugh. After staring for a long time, he took a blank rice paper from the table, pondered for a moment, and wrote a few words.
After a moment, Lu Zhengqing put down his pen, picked up the rice paper and blew on the half-dried ink, folded the paper and put it in his arms, calling He An softly.
He An watched the kind-looking Lu Zhengqing walk out of the house, with clear eyes and a calm demeanor. The shoulders and hem of the gray robe were patched. The sun shone on him, and his gray hair shone with a faint silver light. In awe, bow and salute.
"This is not a classroom now. There is no need to be formal. Come on, come on... sit with me, an old man, and talk!"
Lu Zhengqing said, pointing to the stone bench next to him. He An bowed and sat upright as instructed.
"Once upon a time, I had a disciple. He was just like you, diligent, studious, polite, alert, and humble... He had the advantages that all young people should have. I don't know... how he is doing in Dongyang Kingdom now... …”
Lu Zhengqing sighed as he spoke. The memories of the past seemed to make him unable to let go, and his gray beard was fluttering in the wind.
"How did this senior brother... go to Dongyang Country?" He An couldn't help but ask.
"It's not that old... forget it, let's not mention the past!" Lu Zhengqing was slightly excited and blurted out angrily, then looked at He An, stroked his beard and smiled: "I know what you said before When you won that competition, many people were praising you, so you must be very happy too?"
"Students are just forced to accept the challenge, which is really... nothing to be proud of!"
He An bowed slightly uneasily and answered respectfully.
"It's normal for young people to love vanity and pursue fame and fortune, but... boxing, kicking, and martial arts skills are, after all, just trivial matters. No matter how brave a person is, he can only defeat ten thousand enemies. It's okay to fight on the battlefield and serve the country. But if we want to govern the world and save the people, we are powerless..."
When Lu Zhengqing said this, he stroked his beard and said slowly: "No matter how high a person's martial arts is, how many people can he save at most when his family and country are in danger? One hundred people? One thousand people? Even ten thousand people? But? There are more than tens of millions of people in this world. The only way to save people from hanging upside down and educate all sentient beings is through reading! Writing and conveying the Tao are the unbreakable principles!"
"The student understands what the teacher means. Student He An has been taught!"
He An stood up, leaned over and bowed deeply.
"Your calligraphy is already impressive. I'll give you a pair of small calligraphy. You don't have to open it in a hurry. If you are upset and have irregular thoughts, you can take a look. It may be of some help to you!"
Lu Zhengqing said as he took out the folded rice paper from his arms and handed it over, and He An took it with both hands respectfully.
"A gentleman should be careful in his conduct. Just now I was in front of the window and I saw you acting suspiciously and sneakily? I don't know why?" Lu Zhengqing asked leisurely.
He An was shocked when he was asked. He had never told a lie. He hesitated a little nervously. When he saw Lu Zhengqing's face became more serious, he was so frightened that he quickly explained the reason.
"Is it just looking for a good bamboo? Why is it like this?"
After hearing this, Lu Zhengqing's expression suddenly softened a lot, and a thought suddenly came to his mind: "That guy caused my disciple to live in a foreign country. I will have someone break off a branch of his precious bamboo, which can be regarded as retaliation!"
Thinking of this, his eyes were filled with smiles, as if he had seen the guy's heartbroken look. Wen Yan said to He An: "Thanks to your sincerity, I know where there is a good bamboo. Go and get it." Come on, don’t delay!”
