Perhaps because the old chief priest named Meng in front of him looked too much like an ordinary retired old man, Zhao Rong almost forgot that he was one of the Six Gentlemen of Linlu Academy.

The six of them are second only to the dean, and all of them are the pillars of the superstructure of Linlu Academy.

Although in a small island like Wangque, it is impossible for all the six gentlemen of the Confucian Academy to be real "gentlemen", some of them only hold symbolic and honorary titles.

But anyone who can reach this position and still enjoy a leisurely retirement is definitely not an ordinary person.

In a short moment, Zhao Rong smiled and nodded without hesitation, "Yes, Mr. Jijiu really has a keen eye and foresight."

"That's enough. I'll praise you later. So, do you know what's in there?" The old priest who was fishing stood still like a mountain.

Zhao Rong was unsure for a moment about what he meant by "inside".

Does it refer to the Zhengguan Well, the water in the Zhengguan Well, or a deeper place?

Zhao Rong did not hesitate and said directly: "There is dragon energy in the water of Zhengguan Well. I don't know what is in Zhengguan Well, but Mr. Jijiu probably knows. Could it be that there is a real dragon in it..."

He chose to show his cards, and his last sentence was in a joking tone, but his eyes were staring at the old priest who was fishing without blinking.

Unfortunately, the old man showed no expression, just nodded and said: "So what you need is dragon energy, right?"

Zhao Rong nodded: "That's right."

The old chief priest did not ask Zhao Rong why he wanted the dragon energy. This was a tacit understanding between the two foxes, the old and the young. One no longer asked what was in the Zhengguan Well, and the other did not try to find out what he wanted the dragon energy for.

"How much do you want?"

"The more the better. So, Mr. Jijiu, how much water from the Zhengguan Well can the academy give me?"

The old priest shook his head.

Zhao Rong frowned: "No?"

The old man corrected with a smile, "What you need is not the water from the Zhengguan Well, what you need is actually the dragon energy, right?"

"Yes, but there is dragon energy in the water of Zhengguan Well, so I need..." Zhao Rong paused, a little confused, "So Mr. Jijiu means... the academy can give me something else, something with dragon energy?"

The old priest nodded and said, "This is my advice to you. The little bit of dragon energy in the well water is nothing rare. Why waste a chance to make up for it? If you want dragon energy, there are many ways to do it."

Zhao Rong sat upright, clasped his hands and bowed, "Teacher, teach me."

The old priest handed the fishing rod to Zhao Rong, who immediately took it. The old man smiled and taught him how to fish: "I just got some fish, so I'll give it to you as a personal gift. But the compensation promised by the academy must be used wisely. I'll apply for a chance for you to go to the sixth floor."

Just as Zhao Rong was about to thank the old man for his generosity, his attention was drawn to his next words.

"Go up to the sixth floor? Mr. Jijiu, are you referring to the sixth floor of the library?"

The old priest nodded, "That's right."

"Aren't the poems and essays of the academy's predecessors and senior brothers stored on the sixth floor?" I heard that the poems and essays there are dazzlingly numerous.

"The sixth floor contains not only the best of Linlu's scholarly writings, but also memorabilia of their achievements and fame."

"Which one is useful to me?"

“Both are useful.”

"I understand the former, but I don't understand the latter. What's the point of admiring the achievements of our predecessors?"

The old priest narrowed his eyes and sighed, "You are like most students. You still don't realize that the most important thing that Lin Lu's identity as a scholar can bring to you is not only the favorable and worry-free study conditions and profound teachers, but also the connections and blessings of senior brothers and predecessors throughout the nine continents."

"Linlu Academy has been established for a thousand years, and music and singing have never ceased. Generations of Confucian scholars have studied here, set their goals, realized the truth, and become masters. Not to mention the most outstanding ones who have become famous all over the world and spread the truth throughout the nine continents, just to mention the senior brothers who have learned the art of slaying dragons and supporting dragons, and then under those mountains have supported the country and saved the country from collapse, how many of them do you know?"

Zhao Rong shook his head. "It should be a lot."

"The purest dragon energy at the foot of the mountain is in the imperial family. The dynasties and dragon veins have attracted countless fortune tellers and Yin-Yang scholars." The old priest said calmly, "Your senior brothers have slayed many dragons and helped many people. They have come into contact with many founding emperors or rulers of the revival. They and the things around them naturally carry a lot of emperor dragon energy. In the past, we Confucian scholars were not very interested in these dragon energies."

Zhao Rong was melancholy, thinking of the Confucian scholar Lin Wenruo who was promoting reforms in Zhongnan Kingdom. He also thought of the imperial dragon aura that broke through the clouds from the little emperor after he successfully performed the Fengshan ceremony for Li Wangque at Jiyue Mountain not long ago.

At that time, Zhao Rong was already able to see qi, and could faintly feel the attraction of the dragon energy on Li Wangque, but he did not take even a little bit.

After leaving Dali, I thought it would be difficult to have such a rare opportunity again, but now there is a ray of hope.

Zhao Rong stood up and saluted, straightening his face, "Thank you, Mr. Jijiu, for your guidance. It has really enlightened me."

The old priest waved his hand nonchalantly and made the decision directly:

"Then it's settled. I'll give you some well water. You can make do with it for the next few days. During this time, I'll report to the academy on your behalf and apply for the qualification to enter the sixth floor for observation. However, the process may be a little slow. The sixth floor of the academy is an important place in the academy, and we need the approval of the headmaster."

"But it shouldn't be a big problem... You can use the honorary items that your senior brothers brought back from the sixth floor to show off. They are just there anyway. The gentlemen in the library originally thought they were taking up space, but they didn't expect that you would be able to use them. If your senior brothers knew about it, they would probably be pleased. They might even compete with each other and ask you, a young man, to see who has more imperial dragon energy."

The old man laughed, and Zhao Rong couldn't help laughing as well.

There was nothing else to do. The old chief priest took out a batch of well water from Zhengguan Well and packaged them all in palm-length bamboo tubes. There were twenty-one bottles in total, which surprised Zhao Rong a little. He did not expect so many. However, considering the old man's identity, he did not doubt it. The pain and regret of having the well water poured away during the day suddenly faded a lot. In addition, he found a way to obtain dragon energy on this trip, so Zhao Rong was satisfied and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, he sincerely thanked the old priest.

The old man waved his hand calmly, and suddenly said: "Don't come empty-handed next time. Even if you can just write a couplet or something and send it over, that would be fine."

Zhao Rong nodded seriously, "Next time for sure!"

After Zhao Rong left, the first floor of Tingchaoxuan became quiet.

The old priest, who had been fishing calmly, turned his head to look outside the door. Then he threw away his fishing rod, took out a pot of orchid tea from his sleeve, and poured a cup leisurely.

A lady in a snow-white Confucian robe slowly walked down from the second floor.

The old priest didn't even raise his head. He just sipped the orchid tea reluctantly. He sighed, "Xiao Zhu, the tea you brew is still the best. It's a pity that if you had left some water from the Zhengguan well for me to brew tea, it would be even better."

The lady on the second floor who had been eavesdropping for a long time with her chin propped up and a smile on her face nodded in a serious tone, imitating someone else: "Definitely next time!"

The old priest was helpless. He turned his head and looked in the direction where the silly boy left with the well water: "Will there be a next time?"

…