In the Chengcong Valley, on both sides of a winding spring stream, many Mo Chi students were resting.

On a bluestone slab near Xinglin, there were two students, one sitting and the other standing. The atmosphere between them was a little silent.

Zhao Rong waited for a moment and felt the atmosphere was a bit serious. He raised his thick eyebrows and the next second jumped down from the bluestone covered with autumn yellow apricot leaves.

Zhao Rong patted his robe, shook off some leaves, then squatted on the ground with a whoosh. He tilted his head to look at Gu Yiwu, who had a slightly dazed expression, and whitewashed his finger.

Gu Yiwu looked around and saw that most of the students around him were looking at him, and he looked a little hesitant.

Zhao Rong tiptoed lightly, with his elbows resting on his knees. He felt that this position was much more comfortable. If he were to carry a bowl of rice...

“Ahem.”

He coughed twice, but his hands were not idle. He broke off a piece of dogtail grass with full grains, pulled out the tender green rhizome, bit it between his white teeth, and held it in his mouth.

While Gu Yiwu, who was standing, was still hesitating, Zhao Rong, who was squatting and holding the grass in his mouth without any gentlemanly manner, suddenly had some childhood scenes flashing through his mind. At that time, he was also holding the foxtail grass in his mouth like this, Qingjun and Qian'er followed closely behind him with their skirts lifted up, also biting the foxtail grass picked by Zhao Rong between their lips and teeth. That was on the farm of the Duke's Mansion outside Qianjing City, and the fields were full of rice straws taller than them.

Zhao Rong liked to pick these dogtail grasses with full grains, remove the roots, and quietly put them into Qingjun and Qian'er's pockets. Then, when they reached in to grab something, they would immediately shrink their hands, their faces would turn pale, and they would scream, thinking it was a caterpillar. Every time this happened, he would laugh the happiest.

But then, of course, he couldn't avoid being chased by two short-legged little girls and "fed" the powder hammer...

I remember that at that time, he was too naughty, and the fabric at the knees of his pants would often be worn out without him noticing. After returning home, he would be beaten by his mother again. So at that time, I remember that every time I took Qingjun out to play, the sentence she said most often behind him was also the one Zhao Rong was familiar with until now:

"Rong... Rong'er brother... go slower, huhu, be gentler... be gentler, Rong'er brother, be gentle... or else it will be rubbed again."

Xiao Qingjun's childish voice still echoes in my ears.

Zhao Rongmi lowered his head and looked at his knees again, and was suddenly startled. He reached out and touched the knees of his underwear, and found that the fabric there was much thicker than other parts.

The autumn clothes on his body were all knitted by Qingjun. Could it be that his wife was afraid that he would get torn by crawling around on the ground again? But now that his mother was gone, she had to worry about all this...

The corner of Zhao Rong's eye twitched, and he bit the dogtail grass and inhaled.

Just as he was thinking about whether he should let Qingjun experience the feeling of having his knees rubbed next time he saw her, Gu Yiwu gritted his teeth, lifted his robe, and squatted down.

So, a substitute teacher of calligraphy class and the head of a school, two men squatted together with their backs to the crowd, and seemed to be whispering in each other's ears. For a moment, this scene attracted the attention of all the students of Justice Hall, and gradually, the eyes looking at the two men became a little strange.

Could it be that... Boss Gu and Mr. Zhao are having an affair?

"Here." Zhao Rong handed over a piece of foxtail grass beside the bluestone.

Gu Yiwu took it, hesitated for a moment, and put it in his mouth.

Zhao Rong glanced at him.

Gu Yiwu felt that although this squatting and chatting posture was a little embarrassing at first, after he relaxed, it felt surprisingly good. The atmosphere became much more relaxed, as if the distance between them was closer.

He thought for a moment and replied in a low voice: "I haven't thought too much about it. Although I haven't met you, Brother Zhao, as a student of Ruxing Hall, the people who know you best should be the ones in this hall. Senior Yu, who has always paid attention to the academic performance of Ruxing Hall students, has no objection..."

Gu Yiwu paused and glanced at Zhao Rong, who nodded slightly with a calm expression.

Gu Yiwu suddenly spoke up, "Also, although I am a rough man, I have always been very good at judging people. When we first met, I could tell at a glance that Brother Zhao was not an ordinary person."

He frowned and looked at Zhao Rong who was looking at him sideways. He said seriously, "Brother Zhao has a light and extraordinary figure, and he looks calm and composed. He must be well-read and elegant. As for his temperament, whether you believe it or not, I have my own set of standards for judging people. Brother Zhao's temperament..."

Gu Yiwu looked serious as he stared at Zhao Rong, nodded slowly, and without saying anything more, gave him a look.

It's all unsaid.

Zhao Rong tilted the foxtail grass in his mouth and stared blankly at the honest man with thick eyebrows and big eyes in front of him for a while. He pursed his lips and choked a few times, then reached out to pick the foxtail grass and licked his lips.

Zhao Rong, who was squatting on the ground, moved back and looked away for a while. Then he picked up the foxtail grass again, looked up at Gu Yiwu with emotion in his eyes.

I could tell from a young age that this child would have a bright future, and it turned out to be true.

The two looked at each other for a while.

Seeing that Zhao Rong did not respond, Gu Yiwu continued, "Now it seems that my judgment is correct. Brother Zhao is indeed extraordinary. The way he teaches characters is a little... a little unexpected, but..."

He looked around at the scenery in the valley and nodded, saying, "Like what Brother Zhao said, in addition to 'engineering', it is 'comprehension', connecting the Dao of calligraphy with the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth, and comprehending by seeing more and thinking more. This idea has never been heard of before. I think Brother Zhao's method is very wonderful."

Zhao Rong stared at him and nodded, waiting for a turning point. This was his experience.

Sure enough, the next moment, Gu Yiwu suddenly scratched his head and smiled foolishly:

"But, cough, I think Brother Zhao's ideas are too advanced. We students are dumber than those in other schools, especially those in Senior Yu's Ruxing Hall. So, how about Brother Zhao give us a few more pointers and lead us into the door? We don't need to have the same high standards as Ruxing Hall. What do you think, Brother Zhao?"

Zhao Rong looked at him with his dark eyes, silent and quiet.

Gu Yiwu felt a little nervous when being stared at. He touched the back of his head and felt that Zhao Rong might not agree. Gu Yiwu sighed slightly and opened his mouth to make an excuse. He would forget about it and not talk about the special treatment anymore.

"Haha, Brother Zhao, these are just some suggestions..."

"It's okay, Brother Gu." Zhao Rong suddenly said.

He picked up the teacup and held it in his hand, feeling the endless warmth coming from the cup wall. He smiled and said to the stunned Gu Yiwu:

"I can tell you about my experience. I kept silent before because I was afraid that my subjective feelings would affect your understanding. Now I am listening to you. If I don't say anything and let you explore on your own, it would be free but too harsh. I will still say a few words. However, it is not because the Zhengyi Hall is worse than the Ruxing Hall. The students of Ruxing Hall may not have understood more than you. Brother Gu, don't belittle yourself. After I finish talking about these, I will tell the Ruxing Hall some other day."

The squatting burly man bowed sincerely.

"Then there will be more Zhao brothers and Mr. Zhao."

"I told you not to be so polite."

Zhao Rong smiled and shook his head, then stood up and looked at the students of Justice Hall, narrowing his eyes slightly, "Everyone, please follow me."

After a moment of silence, the students of Justice Hall followed Zhao Rong excitedly.

Zhao Rong led Gu Yiwu and the students of Zhengyi Hall.

Passing through the apricot forest, out of the secluded valley, jumping over the orchid stream, climbing up the stone stream, passing the Zibei Pavilion, and reaching the foot of the mountain, you can see the porters carrying books and the scholars making way for them, the tall buildings standing on the mountain tops, and the clear sky with clouds rolling and unrolling.

"I know that everyone wants to hear my secret method of writing, but there is no shortcut at this time. Apart from hard practice and careful observation of nature, there is no trick or shortcut."

Along the way, Zhao Rong walked and stopped, with one hand behind his back and the other waving his sleeve, as if splashing ink, lightly sketching and yet boldly commanding:

"I see the apricot leaves flying and the forest waves rolling, and I know the surging force of the brush."

"I saw the clear spring of Lanjian rushing down, and the rapids were surging and surging, making a continuous clanging sound in the valley, and I got the charm of writing."

“I saw scholars competing with porters for the road, and observed the meaning of the writing style.”

"I see..."

Zhao Rong's voice was clear and loud. It echoed clearly in the ears of the students of Zhengyi Hall from Chengcong Valley to Zibei Pavilion, and then to the foot of Linlu Mountain and in front of the mountain climbing corridor.

It even attracted the attention of scholars in the academy.

This attracted a passerby to stop and listen.

This caused the foreign Confucian scholars to gradually fall silent and stare.

Zhao Rong ignored all this. He was speaking with great interest. His black eyes were bright and clear. He subconsciously rolled up his right sleeve, revealing his slender forearm. He stretched out his index finger and used it as a pen to sketch in the air without paper or ink.

"I see this nine-story building, towering into the clouds, as if standing in the sea of ​​clouds, while the humble ancient pavilion is low to the ground, covered with dust. This high and low are a wonderful way to draw a horizontal and vertical stroke of ink on paper."

"When writing horizontal lines, one must be careful and go against the flow, with the intention of tightening the strokes, so that the painting is flat on top and arched on the bottom, just like an ancient pavilion standing in a low position."

"To stand upright, one must seek to be upright in the midst of curves. The method is to use bending, twisting and turning, like supporting a nine-story building weighing thousands of pounds..."

Gradually, the surroundings became quiet, with only one person's voice still echoing.

Gu Yiwu had a dazed expression, staring intently at the very infectious figure on the field. At a certain moment, he nodded his head slowly.

Gradually, many students in the Hall of Justice began to look thoughtful, and some even looked dazed and looked around, as if the clouds had cleared and the sun was shining. Under the influence of someone's words, they began to look again and recognize the scenery that they had once ignored.

But no matter what, the eyes of the students looking at the figure in the center gradually and unconsciously took on a certain brilliance. This was... true respect, not the halo brought by status. Even some art teachers had never allowed them to cast such a gaze from the bottom of their hearts.

The two are similar, yet worlds apart.

Soon, Zhao Rong was gradually surrounded by students from the Justice Hall and people who were either passing by or waiting in line to go up the mountain. This scene in turn attracted some curious new passers-by to join in.

When some scholars in the academy heard the passionate words of the "young gentleman", they took a long breath and said "good" softly.

There was a pair of foreign Confucian scholars who came from thousands of miles away to deliver books to the academy. They couldn't help but look at each other with amazement.

There were also scholars who came to the bookstore to "steal books". When they heard the obvious, they smiled knowingly, turned around and left without any hesitation, and returned home in high spirits.

And all this is happening silently...

I don't know how long it had been, but at the foot of Linlu Mountain, a large area in front of the right side of the corridor entrance was very quiet, except for one person.

So to outsiders from afar, it seemed like a strange scene was happening here.

A young scholar rolled up his sleeves and waved his hands in the air, with a smile on his face, talking excitedly. The people around him stood still and listened, as if... they were under a spell of immobilization by his finger movements.

There is a special magic.

So, outsiders either came closer out of curiosity, or took a few glances from a distance and then left.

The waves caused by the strange scenery in this corner gradually spread, but it did not cause any bigger commotion.

After all, this huge academy has no shortage of extraordinary people. Every day there are people discussing economics and political theory, there are masters with extensive knowledge of ancient and modern times giving lectures outdoors with wonderful speeches, and there are people from other schools of thought sitting and discussing philosophy, so there are many new things.

Besides, there are not many people who are interested in calligraphy or willing to listen in. The audience is very small, and most of them are just slightly curious. Most of this curiosity is directed at the new female teacher who is rumored to be obsessed with both calligraphy and orchids, the two best in the academy.

However, the people who are in this scenery at this time also have some other feelings.

Gu Yiwu gradually came back to his senses. He let out a light breath, frowned his thick black eyebrows, and looked at Zhao Rong's figure, then looked at his classmates and outsiders who were listening with the same rapt attention as he was just now. Suddenly, a strange thought flashed through his mind.

In front of me, will this figure today be able to stand in front of thousands of Confucian scholars in the academy tomorrow? By then, just like Gu Yiwu and the others today, thousands of scholars, teachers from the entire academy, and the few deans and vice deans who rarely appear will surround and stare at him and listen to him. This figure will also wantonly display his infectious power just like he does now...

The next second, Gu Yiwu shook his head and looked at the scholar in front of him with a raised corner of his mouth.

The burly man rubbed his face with his hands and grinned.

Dispelled some unrealistic thoughts.

…