Zhao Ji said, "I remember you were chased by the earth dragon and ran into the door. Not only did they close the door, they also bolted it shut."
"Your Majesty has a good memory, that's exactly what happened." Zhang Shixun flattered him and continued, "At that moment, I just wanted to leave the manor as soon as possible and return to the boat. When I reached the gate, I found a straight road outside. The road passed through the pond and led all the way to the sea. The only thing that hadn't changed from when I came was that the earth dragon was still slowly swimming in the pond... To be honest, Your Majesty, my mind was in a state of panic. I just ran along the road. After running a long way, I finally calmed down and looked back at the manor. I was shocked. The manor had disappeared, as if it had never existed..."
"ah!?"
"At first, I couldn't believe my eyes, so I wanted to walk back a little further to look again. But after taking just a few steps, I found that the road I had just walked on had disappeared and turned into a muddy swamp."
"Haha! These two old immortals are urging you to leave." Zhao Ji patted Zhang Shixun on the shoulder and said self-righteously, "The actions of immortals are naturally unexpected and cannot be understood by mortals. You are blessed to have seen them. If there is more, I am afraid you can't handle it."
"If they are gods, this way of seeing us off is really too horrifying to bear."
"Be content, I can't see him even though I want to." Zhao Ji said.
"There's nothing I can do about not being content. Seeing the sun was about to set, I returned to the beach and shouted at the boat. The boatman immediately jumped out and, upon seeing me, complained that I had been gone for so long and that they were almost impatient. As I climbed back onto the boat, I explained that I had only been gone for most of the day, not that long at all. Unexpectedly, the boatman said something that nearly caused me to fall into the sea..."
"What did the boatman say?"
"The boatman said I've been gone for three days."
"ah!"
Everyone looked at each other.
It was Zhao Ji who first came to his senses. He clapped his hands and said with a smile, "A day in the cave is a thousand years in the world."
"The emperor is saying that the manor is a fairyland?" Zhang Shixun pretended to be surprised.
"What do you think?" Zhao Ji rolled his eyes at him, looking calm and composed.
"Oh! I appreciate your advice." Zhang Shixun bowed.
I'm impressed. Old Zhao Ji is so cooperative.
"Please continue." Zhao Ji said.
"...After what I'd experienced before, I'd become more resilient. When the boatman told me I'd been gone for three days, I was surprised, but I quickly put it out of my mind. I climbed aboard and ordered the boat to set sail. The boatman, tired of staying there, ordered the sailors to hoist the anchor and set sail out to sea. Standing at the stern, I looked at the island, feeling as if I'd dreamed. Only when I touched the book in my arms did I finally believe it was all real."
"Ever since I boarded the ship, I've been carrying that book around with me, taking it out to read whenever I have time. The more I read, the more I realize it's remarkable. The vernacular text is only part of it; there's much more valuable content, covering topics like cosmic engineering, music theory, military affairs, farming, and so on. Even more incredible is that at the end of the book, there are illustrations of 'Taizu Changquan' and 'Taizu Panlong Staff Technique', with both text and pictures, and every move is clearly illustrated..."
"Ah!" Everyone exclaimed again.
"Where is the book now? Take it out and let me see it." Zhao Ji could no longer sit still when he heard that there was Taizu's boxing and stick manuals.
"It's gone." Zhang Shixun spread his hands.
"Where did he go?" Zhao Ji could no longer hide his disappointment.
Zhang Shixun sighed and recalled, "One morning when I woke up, I reached into my arms and felt around, but I couldn't find the book. I panicked and quickly got up to look everywhere. I searched the quilt, the bed, under the bed... I looked everywhere, but still couldn't find the book. I hurried to the boatman and asked if anyone had taken my book. But he rolled his eyes and said, 'Only you can read on this boat. No one else can read a single word. Let alone take your book, even if you gave it to me to wipe my ass, I wouldn't bother with it.' I went back to the cabin and continued searching. This time, I even searched rat holes and almost turned my cabin upside down... I searched like this for three days straight, even asking everyone on the boat to help me look, but in the end, I still couldn't find it."
Wang Fu gloated, "That's good. There's no evidence! It's hard to tell whether what you said is true or not."
He was hinting to Zhao Ji that Zhang Shixun was lying.
Zhang Shixun smiled and said, "Prime Minister Wang is right. There is indeed no evidence to prove that this matter is true. However, I don't want others to believe it. You can just treat it as a fairy tale."
Zhao Ji asked, "Do you still remember the contents of that book?"
Obviously, he believed the truth of this matter.
"I remember." Zhang Shixun stopped laughing and said seriously, "But I can't say it. Apart from those vernacular words, I can't say anything else."
"Is it because of that sentence in the book that told you to shut up...? It's clearly a warning, telling you not to say anything."
Zhao Ji was a cultured man and never used swear words.
Zhang Shixun nodded seriously, "Some of the content is truly shocking. If it were made public, the world would be turned upside down."
Zhao Ji looked depressed and seemed a little disappointed.
Cai Jing interrupted without missing a beat, "What if we just do it without saying anything?"
Zhao Ji's eyes lit up, and he said, "That's right! The immortal told you to shut up, but they didn't tell you not to do it. Since the book involves natural engineering, music theory, military affairs, and farming, there must be methods that mortals can't do. Besides, since the immortal asked you to read this book, there must be a deep meaning. Zhang Shixun, you must not disappoint the immortal... this... that... you know, haha!"
When Zhang Shixun heard the words "you know", he almost thought he had heard it wrong. This is a buzzword in the 21st century.
Could it be that this old man Zhao Ji is also a time traveler?
Zhao Ji asked some more questions about Taizu's Changquan and Taizu's Panlong stick techniques. If it weren't for his thigh strain, he would definitely have asked him to demonstrate them for everyone present on the spot.
Everyone sat there and talked about the topic of gods for a while.
"Alright! Let's stop talking about the gods." Zhao Ji changed the subject and asked Zhang Shixun, "I was very satisfied with the music sheet you sent me last time. However, there are a few places where I just can't seem to play it smoothly enough. Can you explain it to me?"
"Sir, I will tell you everything I know, and I will tell you everything I know!"
Zhang Shixun agreed verbally, but thought in his heart: You shouldn't play it smoothly. If you can play Guangling San smoothly, I will give you a hundred thumbs up.
Zhao Ji asked someone to bring a guqin, placed it on the guqin table, and began to play it with great interest.
Zhang Shixun listened attentively and nodded continuously.
It has to be said that Zhao Ji's talent as an artist is admirable.
Zhao Ji stopped from time to time to ask about techniques, and Zhang Shixun explained them to him one by one without reservation. When there were things that were not clearly explained in words, the two of them would switch positions and demonstrate them to him tirelessly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
