Yan Jidao stared at Zhao Rong and was silent for a while.

He patted his sleeves, then pointed to the stack of manuscripts he had handed to Zhao Rong.

"I have corrected these homework articles for you. As for the other books, some are rare copies of Confucian classics that I have collected over the years, and some are my daily thoughts and experiences. You must study them carefully when you go back."

Yan Jidao paused for a moment, looked up at Zhao Rong who was listening with his hands down, and said, "After returning to the academy, you must take the lessons of the art teachers seriously. They are all masters of the six...seven arts. Ziyu, you must not be proud and complacent based on your talent. You must be open-minded and ask for advice. If there is anything you don't understand about the classics and arts, you can always come and ask me."

Zhao Rong's originally calm expression suddenly changed.

The meaning of Yan Jidao's words conflicted with certain things that Zhao Rong had been expecting.

He opened his mouth, but finally couldn't help but speak in a puzzled tone, "Sir, aren't you going to keep me here?"

According to what Zhao Rong had just imagined on the way to Fenglin Courtyard, after Mr. Yan learned about what he had done, he should have immediately appointed him as his disciple, and after returning to the academy, he should have often kept him by his side, tutored him carefully, and cultivated a relationship with him.

After one year of student period, he will be directly accepted as a disciple at the Linlu Academy's disciple-recruiting ceremony, which will not give other teachers the opportunity to get involved.

Although these thoughts are a bit narcissistic, Zhao Rong feels that this is human nature and this little selfishness is nothing.

After all, he was recommended to the academy by Mr. Yan, and he also had a relationship with the National Master of Great Chu. Zhao Rong himself knew that he didn't actually know any National Master of Great Chu, but Mr. Yan certainly didn't think so. In fact, in Linlu Academy, he should be the teacher that Zhao Rong is most naturally close to.

And apart from the case of students with special talents, this kind of advance appointment of new students has happened to all new students in the academy in the past, and it is even something that many students in the academy dream of. After all, being appointed in advance by the academy teacher means at least being an inner disciple... Zhao Rong feels that it is actually similar to the top students who were guaranteed admission to graduate school in his previous life.

However, Yan Jidao's words now did not seem to mean that he wanted to keep Zhao Rong by his side, train him well, and appoint him as the candidate.

It is more like a sincere admonition from a mellow elder to a younger generation who has high expectations before parting...

Upon hearing this, Yan Jidao did not answer immediately.

He walked to the maple tree with his hands behind his back, stretched out one hand, gently stroked the tree trunk, and suddenly said:

"Ziyu, have you seen Jiang Feng's scene?"

Zhao Rong shook his head.

Yan Jidao looked up at Feng, his originally cloudy eyes now filled with maple red, he murmured.

"My hometown is in Yunmengzhou, a farmhouse by the river. When I was young, I studied and looked up, and saw the river and maple leaves...

The river and the sky are vast, with maple forests stretching endlessly along the bank. When the cool breeze blows, maple leaves dance, river grass falls down, and the sound of sand sounds like a song, which is reflected in the surging river. Half of the river is rustling and half of the river is red. On sunny days, it is like rosy clouds, and on rainy days, it is like blood.

If you see the setting sun, the fishermen singing late, the setting sun, the sunset glow, the autumn maples, the river water, the fishing lights, layer upon layer, blending into one..."

Yan Jidao sighed softly, "No matter how much I rub my eyes, I can't tell whose red they are stained with."

He turned to Zhao Rong and said, "At that time, I left home at a young age, wearing straw sandals and carrying a book box. I was full of vigor and vitality. I walked north along the river bank, going upstream all the way to Xiyin Academy in Yunmengzhou to study. It was then that I discovered that not all river banks were planted with red maples like the ones in my hometown. So I thought that when I return after completing my studies, I will definitely ask those emperors living under the mountains to plant river maples on the way back home for me, a farmer's son, and respectfully call you back..."

Yan Jidao paused, looked up and down at Zhao Rong's young face, and said with a heavy sigh:

"After that, I studied at Xiyin Academy for several years... Tzuyu, do you know which path I wanted to take the most at that time?"

Zhao Rong pursed his lips for a moment and said softly, "It's not the Six Arts of Confucianism or Taoism."

Yan Jidao's eyes flashed with admiration, and then he became serious.

"Yunmeng Island is very close to Tunan Island. The ideas of the Hundred Schools of Thought have a wide influence. That year, Xu Zi, a farmer, came to the academy to discuss philosophy with the dean. Although Xu Zi wore coarse cloth and straw sandals, his demeanor was amazing, and his theories were enlightening." Yan Jidao's cloudy eyes lit up.

"From that time on, I began to think about abandoning Confucianism and changing to Taoism, but... I was afraid of disappointing my teachers and peers, or I was afraid of being labeled a heretic, so in the end, I stayed with Confucianism."

Yan Jidao's eyes dimmed and returned to their original cloudy state, and he fell silent.

Zhao Rong, who was listening on the side, stood still for a while. He hesitated and said, "Sir..."

Yan Jidao raised his head and said, "If I had to choose again, I would still choose the classics."

His expression was calm.

Zhao Rong took back his words, looked at him for a few seconds, and nodded.

Yan Jidao turned his back.

"Zi Yu, don't rush to choose which Confucian path you want to take. After returning to the academy, you should first go to the art teachers' classes honestly and be modest. I will tell your senior brothers about what happened at the Nuanxi Yaji yesterday and ask them not to spread it around. Just focus on your studies and come back to give me an answer in a year."

Zhao Rong thought about it and wanted to say, could we learn more of the six arts of Confucianism? However, he estimated that if he really said that, Mr. Yan would probably give him a serious lecture, so he took the words back.

Zhao Rong knew that Mr. Yan actually treated him as a close junior and supported him with all his heart.

This was because Zhao Rong was recommended by his senior brother, and also because he was delighted to find that Zhao Rong was a rare talent.

Zhao Rong smiled and said, "Teacher, if I finally choose Mr. Zhu's calligraphy, will you dissuade me?"

Yan Jidao was slightly startled, his expression a little hesitant, but he finally nodded, "I will persuade you, but if you insist on leaving, I will not stop you."

He then said solemnly: "But you must know that no one has ever walked this road so far. Now it seems to be a dead end. I believe you will not fool around with her."

Zhao Rong nodded slightly and said nothing.

At this moment.

Yan Jidao, who was standing under the tree, suddenly raised his hand and picked a dazzling red maple leaf from among the many half-red maple leaves.

He looked down at the red leaves in his palm and said with a smile:

"Ziyu, our Linlu Academy is next to the river. There is also a maple forest by the river. It is a scenic spot of our Linlu. I will take you to see it another day."

Zhao Rong smiled, "The red maples by the water, in pairs, must be extremely beautiful, we must take a good look at them."

Yan Jidao laughed heartily.

He waved his sleeves.

Under the tree, the maple leaves that had fallen to the ground suddenly swept up like a swimming snake.

The next second, the maple leaf "snake" drilled into the maple leaf on Yan Jidao's right hand one by one.

This maple leaf, which was already extremely red, is now as red as blood and looks gorgeous.

Yan Jidao shook his sleeves again, and suddenly stretched out his hand and took out a life-saving object from his alchemy room.

Suspended in the air.

Zhao Rong took a closer look and found that it was an ordinary-looking Confucian scripture with no words on the cover.

Yan Jidao raised his fingertips and the Confucian classics opened without wind.

The first few pages of the Confucian classics have very few words, but each one is shining with golden light. As you turn the pages, there are more words, but the color is not as dazzling as the previous ones.

now.

Yan Jidao, who was flipping through the book, stopped and the Confucian scripture also stopped at the first page.

He reached out and grabbed it.

A line of brilliant sentences that had been nurtured for a long time on the pages of a book suddenly broke away from the pages and floated into the air.

Immediately, Yan Jidao turned his fingers and pointed at the maple leaf on his right hand.

In an instant, the "sentence" disappeared into the maple leaves.

The light of the maple leaves gradually faded and returned to normal.

Yan Jidao handed the maple leaf to Zhao Rong.

Just say, "Wear it close to your body."

Zhao Rong took it, looked down, his eyes fixed, there was nothing special about the maple leaf, but there were words on it, he read them softly.

"There are maples on the clear river water."

Zhao Rong looked up at Yan Jidao's expression and understood something.

He had heard from Brother Yushu before that in order to protect the students in the academy, the teachers who protected them would give them some special items as a means of saving their lives at critical moments.

Zhao Rong carefully put away the maple leaf.

"Thank you, teacher."

Yan Jidao stroked his beard and nodded.