There is a lake in the Imperial College, as smooth as a silver mirror.

Because its shape resembles an inkstone, it is named Moyan Lake.

There is an ancient pavilion by the lake with a plaque that reads "Xi Mo". It is said that it contains the calligraphy and painting of the current imperial teacher.

This lake and this pavilion were lively places for students of the Imperial College to recite poems and compose couplets in their spare time.

But now is the class time in the Imperial College.

There are few tourists around the lake.

But there were two people playing chess in Ximo Pavilion.

The man holding the black piece is a middle-aged Confucian scholar with a thin face and bright eyes. He holds a black piece in his hand and flips it gently between his fingertips.

The player holding the white piece is an old man in fine clothes, quite wealthy, with a focused look. At the moment he is looking down at the chessboard, undecided.

The middle-aged scholar suddenly glanced outside the pavilion and saw a figure striding towards him not far away.

The man was dressed in a blue shirt, holding an oil-paper umbrella in his hand, with a black jade pendant on his waist. He had regular facial features and looked young, but his expression was calm and his temperament was quite extraordinary.

The middle-aged scholar raised his lips and turned his gaze back to the chessboard. The outcome was already decided, and White was powerless to change the situation.

The old man in fancy clothes seemed to have noticed something, but he did not immediately admit defeat. He continued to place pieces on the board with a more focused look.

…

When Zhao Rong did not find Mr. Fang in the six halls of the Imperial College, he guessed that he was probably playing chess in Ximo Pavilion again.

In his memory, Mr. Li loved three things in his life: fishing, Go, and books of sages.

Seeing that Mr. Fang was indeed playing chess with someone in Ximo Pavilion, Zhao Rong smiled knowingly.

Mr. Fang had several chess friends with whom he played chess regularly, and this old man in fancy clothes was one of them. However, Zhao Rong had never spoken to him, and even when talking to Mr. Fang, he rarely spoke.

Zhao Rong leaned his umbrella against the beam and walked into the pavilion.

There was someone approaching, but the two people in the pavilion did not turn around to pay attention and continued playing chess.

Zhao Rong didn't take it seriously, apparently he was used to it.

He stood behind Mr. Fang and glanced at the chessboard.

Mr. Fang made his moves very quickly, while the old man in fancy clothes would hesitate for a while before making his move.

Soon he lost interest and turned around to admire the lake view outside the pavilion.

He has no interest in Go, knows only a little about it, and is a terrible player.

As he recalled, Mr. Fang really wanted to teach him how to play Go, but his former self was just like him, having no interest in the game and only learning a limited amount.

Being bored of waiting, Zhao Rong tried to call out to his lover a few times in his heart.

It hasn't spoken to him since it made it angry last time.

After reciting it silently a few times and seeing no response, Zhao Rong had to give up.

I don't know if she is sleeping or ignoring him.

How come you are just like a little kid? Zhao Rong complained.

Soon, on the chessboard in the pavilion, the outcome was decided as Mr. Fang placed the final move.

The old man in fancy clothes threw the white piece in his hand back into the chess pot, his expression as usual.

"Brother Gongming, I'm grateful for your kindness."

Mr. Fang smiled and turned to look at Zhao Rong beside him and looked at him carefully.

"Yes, you have matured a lot after getting married." Mr. Fang chuckled.

"You're joking, sir." Zhao Rong replied quickly, trying his best to put himself into the role of the student in his memory.

"Ziyu, you came at the right time today. I have something good to tell you."

As he said this, he took out a letter from his pocket.

"A few days ago, the Imperial Master asked the Chief Winery to help him send a letter to his junior fellow student at Linlu Academy. I know that you have always admired the Seventy-two Academy, so I asked the Chief Winery for this job."

"Linlu Academy?"

When Zhao Rong heard the name Lin Lu, his eyes lit up.

He knew that there were two Confucian academies in Wangquezhou, Linlu and Siqi, which were famous throughout the island and were the dream destinations for scholars living in the mountains, but he didn't know where they were exactly.

But he remembered the purpose of his visit today, so he asked, "Where is the academy?"

"Linlu Academy is in the Dali Dynasty." Mr. Fang paused and added, "Dali is the northernmost of the continent."

Zhao Rong looked disappointed and bowed.

"I'm afraid the students won't be able to go."

"Why is that?"

"Because the students come here to say goodbye to you, sir."

"Where are you going?"

"The student is going to go south in a few days to visit his family in his hometown. He won't be able to come back in a short time."

Mr. Fang pondered for a while and put away the letter.

The old man in fancy clothes who had been sitting aside, reviewing the chess game with his head down, looked up at Zhao Rong, then retracted his gaze and continued to concentrate on the chess game.

"Are you alone?"

"Just one student."

"When are we leaving?"

"Just in these few days, after I finish dealing with some chores."

"What about your wife?"

"…She has her own place to go, and students don't need to worry about her."

Mr. Fang nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

He stood up, took out a jade seal that he had prepared for a long time and handed it to Zhao Rong.

"This is a personal seal that I carved. I wanted to give it to you after you came of age, but now it seems that I may not be able to wait until then."

Zhao Rong took the seal. The jade seal was well-made, with rigorous composition and graceful brushstrokes. At first glance, the strokes seemed square and straight, without any sense of rigidity. There was a word "Yu" engraved in seal script on the seal.

Zhao Rong accepted it solemnly and bowed deeply.

During the years in the Imperial College, although the original body liked Confucianism, he lacked talent and was slow to think. Although his academic performance was solid, he did not stand out among the crowd. But Mr. Fang, perhaps because he had watched him grow up, always treated him as his closest disciple.

He was very strict with Zhao Rong in his studies, but very kind to him in private, and the two had a close relationship.

The teacher smiled and patted the student on the shoulder, saying: "When spring comes next year, don't be a person who has not returned home."

Zhao Rong nodded, said goodbye and left.

After he walked a long way, he suddenly turned back.

I saw the teacher still standing there watching his students leave.

"You asked me to write a letter just to help your student... chase a woman?"

Mr. Fang smiled and sat down again without answering the question from the Great Chu State Master beside him.

He began to tidy up the chessboard.

"It's been seventeen years. What are you waiting for, sir?" the old man in fancy clothes asked again.

The middle-aged scholar threw the last black piece on the chessboard into the chess pot and said slowly.

"Waiting for an 'old friend'."

…

Zhao Rong left the Imperial College and prepared to go home, but thinking that it was still early, he started to stroll around the Confucius Temple.

The Confucius Temple was first built and became bustling around the Imperial College. Apart from food, the most sold items were naturally paper, ink, brushes, inkstones, calligraphy works, and book volumes.

Zhao Rong saw a rather large bookstore ahead that was doing good business, so he walked over there.

He wanted to buy some calligraphy copies to practice on.

"Are you really leaving?"

Suddenly, Gui's voice sounded in my mind.

"Hey, the mute finally spoke?"

"roll!"

Zhao Rong smiled, dispelling some of the melancholy he felt when he said goodbye to his teacher.

For some reason, he felt very relaxed every time he chatted with Gui.

Maybe it's because it shares weal and woe with me, so I can be free and unrestrained in front of it and speak freely?

"Gui, do you know the Four Palaces of Taiqing? Is this immortal sect very powerful?"

He had wanted to ask this question yesterday.

"The Four Palaces of Taiqing are not immortal sects."

Gui sneered and said slowly.

"The Four Taiqing Mansions are the highest cultivation schools in the Xuanhuang Realm, and were written into the human race's supreme code, the Xuandi Law, by Jiang Taiqing."

"Each continent has one, and they only recruit the most talented people in their respective continents. Sixteen years old, reaching the perfection of the Fuyao realm, is one of the minimum standards. Not to mention the standard for graduation. In almost every session, there are a large number of students who fail to graduate successfully and can only become 'abandoned students'."

"You can think of it as an institution established by gathering resources from all ethnic groups on different continents. It does not belong to any particular group or force."

"It only belongs to the entire Xuanhuang human race!"