The sun gradually rose to the zenith.

It was noon again and it was time for the teacher at the academy to finish his get out of class.

However, Zhao Rong did not put down the book he had been reading all morning and go to greet the teacher as usual.

He raised his head to glance at the crowd that was beginning to get restless, and at the figure that was beginning to vaguely emerge from the wooden door, then he lowered his head again to the newly found book in his hand, reading with relish.

Although it was boring to wait from sunrise to sunset these days... a certain flat-chested girl who was both spoiled and petty did bring some fun, but most of the time was still spent in boring waiting.

However, the bookstore near Linlu Academy brought Zhao Rong many surprises.

He took some time out in the morning to go shopping.

Linlu Academy is truly a place that gathers the essence of the culture of the continent. There are more bookstores around it than wine shops and inns combined, and each of them has a rich collection of books.

Zhao Rong had come across some rare or banned books from the secular dynasties down the mountain.

This made Zhao Rong, who already had a wide range of reading, extremely happy. It could temporarily satisfy his picky omnivorous taste. In particular, the process of exploring in the vast ocean of books and randomly encountering one surprising good book after another made him want to stop.

What Zhao Rong was reading at this time was a miscellaneous book in the eyes of other Confucian scholars. It told the story of a Mohist knight traveling to the seven countries of Nanze in the southern part of Yunmengzhou, one of the three small continents together with Wangquezhou.

Confucianism and Mohism were both prominent schools of thought at the time. Although their differences were not as great as those between them and Taoism, the disputes were still considerable.

In short, the Confucian and Mohist schools mainly tend to be involved in the world and are proactive, while Taoism, except for some individual branches, mainly tends to be detached from the world and is passive.

Therefore, both Confucianism and Mohism emphasize "doing something", but the methods and principles are different.

To put it more simply.

Confucianism emphasizes benevolence, while Mohism emphasizes universal love.

In fact, both of them advocate love, but Confucianism talks about differentiated love, while Mohism emphasizes undifferentiated and equal love.

Zhao Rong had always been very interested in Mohism. Before leaving Da Chu, he bought some books of Mohist saints on the way to the Imperial College to say goodbye to Mr. Fang. He also bought some more books on subsequent journeys. However, those purely theoretical books became boring after reading too many of them.

After reading the Mohist doctrines of "universal love" and "non-aggression" so many times, I could recite them by heart and lost all feelings for them. My enthusiasm for them quickly faded and I turned to other schools of thought.

But now, from this common book in the mountains, which is similar to a travelogue or a novel, Zhao Rong saw more things and had a deeper understanding of the Mo Dian he had read before.

We can learn a lot about the differences and similarities between the behaviors of Confucian scholars and knights-errant from this travelogue.

Zhao Rong was reading a story with great interest and was reluctant to put the book down, so he didn't pay attention to what was happening around him. He didn't wait eagerly with everyone else this time. After all, he had been waiting for several days, but there was no news.

There seem to be quite few Mohist knights in Wangquezhou. I didn't see many of them when I was traveling in the mountains before. Well, a long time ago, when I got off the boat in Cangzhoupu, I seemed to have met a bearded man who looked like a Mohist knight in white. I still remember that he gave me a pot of expensive mountain wine.

Not long ago, when I was wandering around Duyou East City holding Qingjun's hand, I seemed to pass by a Mo family mansion. At that time, I also saw many Mo heroes in white coming in and out.

Occasionally some thoughts flashed through Zhao Rong's mind, but he immediately put them behind him and continued to read the book with relish. From time to time, he felt anxious for the Mo Xia in the book who had no surname and was only given a single name.

Why don't you go ahead? The princess of a fallen nation whom you have saved has already taken the initiative. She is just short of knocking you out and dragging you into the room to sit on her and move around. You are still standing here, worrying about this and that, feeling embarrassed. If you take the initiative, maybe you can even give birth to a bunch of children and contribute to the Mohist cause of "universal love". Forget it, come out and let me go...

At this moment, the area around Zhao Rong, who was lowering his head and almost burying himself in a book, suddenly became quiet, but he did not notice it.

The air was somewhat quiet.

Only the sound of a young scholar flipping through books could be heard from time to time.

At some point.

Bang!

Zhao Rong slammed the book shut, sighing and shaking his head.

"Love all" and "non-aggression" are just that? But the latter one is also right, it is indeed non-aggression, it is submissive...

Zhao Rong teased and looked up leisurely.

Next second.

He was stunned.

Because Zhao Rong saw that all the scholars on the field were looking at him.

And there seemed to be some kind of... envy and jealousy in his eyes?

Zhao Rong blinked and subconsciously turned his head to look towards the wooden door.

At this moment, an old man with a white beard and dressed in a long gown was slowly walking down the stairs and heading towards him. The scholars around him made way for the old man in the long gown and looked at Zhao Rong with envy from time to time.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhao Rong quickly put down his things and stood up to greet him.

The question that the old man in long gown had just asked in front of the couplet on the wooden door made the scholars below look at each other in confusion, without answering. However, many of them still glanced at the young scholar who was reading with his head down.

The old man in the long gown approached, looked at Zhao Rong carefully, and asked again: "Did you write the words on that couplet?"

Zhao Rong felt relieved. So this is it. But, it finally came...

His face became serious and his tone was earnest, "It is me."

Upon hearing this, the old man in the long gown reached out and touched his beard. With a burning gaze, he looked Zhao Rong up and down, nodded from time to time, and after a moment of silence, he was ready to speak.

But at this moment.

A blue figure suddenly appeared between Zhao Rong and the old man in long gown, separating the two.

Zhao Rong looked closely and saw that it was the little girl in blue whose name he did not know. She was now opening her two little hands to separate him from the old man in long gown.

Zhao Rong's eyelids twitched, and he immediately had a bad feeling in his heart!

The old man in the long gown was also stunned when he saw this, and said softly: "Jingzi? But your master is looking for me?"

Jingzi blinked at Zhao Rong and then turned her head.

She wrinkled her face, pouted her lips, and said to the old man in long gown in an aggrieved tone:

"Grandpa Gu, please don't be fooled by this scholar's innocent appearance! He is just a playboy. He used to be frivolous and said frivolous things to me. So, Grandpa Gu, please don't be fooled by his innocent appearance. Accept him into the hospital."

Humph, you scoundrel, I simply won’t let you into the academy. A scoundrel like you who talks nonsense will only bring a bad influence to the academy if you come in!

Jingzi's mind was full of mixed feelings, but she still looked coquettish and looked at Mr. Gu expectantly.

Mr. Gu, who always attached great importance to Confucian behavioral norms, immediately frowned and put down his hand that was touching his beard when he heard that Zhao Rong dared to flirt with a little girl in broad daylight. Seeing Jingzi's aggrieved look, he frowned even more, nodded slightly to her, and finally glanced at Zhao Rong, said nothing, and turned to leave.

The academy teacher has several places for recommending people to join the academy. Impressions are very important. Just pick someone you like. If the impression score is low, there is no point in wasting the precious place...

Jingzi gave Zhao Rong a cold look where Mr. Gu couldn't see.

Zhao Rong felt something was wrong when he saw the girl in blue. Now, when he saw this girl in blue, whose name seemed to be Jingzi, pouring a large basin of dirty water on him, he sighed slightly in his heart and did not make any excuses.

Zhao Rong looked at the expressions of the scholars around him. Even if he could find someone to testify that he and Jingzi had a conflict before, he fought back, but outsiders would always think "Why are you fighting with a little girl?" They would not think about how naughty this naughty child was. After all, there was yellow mud in his crotch, so it was either that or that.

Zhao Rong looked at the back of Mr. Gu who was about to leave without asking any questions, and sighed again in his heart.

Suddenly, he thought of something. He ignored the smug look of the petty-minded girl who held grudges, raised his head and said loudly to the front:

"Mr. Gu, please stay."