Ning Caijun?
This name sounds familiar.
Wait, let me think about it.
I remember, Ning Caichen!
The two names differ by only one character!
Zhang Ling looked strange, wondering if there was a person like Ning Caichen in this world.
But the person in front of me is called Ning Caijun. Is it some kind of coincidence?
But it was not easy to ask directly: Do you have a brother named Ning Caichen?
Otherwise it would seem too strange and might arouse suspicion.
After all, it is not easy to meet each other in the wilderness, and it would be unreasonable to check the household registration.
If the person guessed really is such a person, I'm afraid the other party will be even more suspicious.
After all, we don’t know each other, so how could he know so much about my family’s background?
This is unacceptable. We should take it slow and consider the long term.
Zhang Ling put away his folding fan and held it in his right hand: "My name is Zhang Ling, and I used to be a teacher at a school in the capital. Nice to meet you!"
"Sir, I'm honored!"
The scholar quickly clasped his fists and bowed, showing great respect to Zhang Ling.
What scholars in this world admire most is a knowledgeable and learned teacher.
Although Zhang Ling looks young and like a reckless teenager, since ancient times, the wisest ones have been teachers, and everyone has their own specializations. If there are three people walking together, there must be one who can be my teacher, so I should humbly ask for advice.
Zhang Ling waved his hands, feeling perfectly content with the nonsense he had made up about being a teacher at the Beijing Academy.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two of them walked together along the mountain road.
On the way, Zhang Ling clearly felt that there was an evil spirit following him from a distance, but he did not point it out.
He just stood here, and I don't think the weasel would dare to cause trouble.
The reason why he didn't kill him with one sword was because Zhang Ling felt that the time was not right and he needed to wait patiently.
In the past, when mountain spirits asked for titles, they would ask whether the person looked like a human. But this time, the weasel spirit behind him actually asked directly whether the person looked like an immortal or a god?
Interesting, very interesting.
It is the beginning of October here, and the golden autumn brings coolness.
There are many ancient trees in the mountains. Some of their leaves have turned yellow, and some have fallen to the roots of the trees. As time goes by, the rotten leaves and grass continue to serve as nutrients for the trees, day after day, year after year.
There are many ancient trees in the mountains, which block the sunlight and are as tall as umbrellas.
Before we knew it, night fell.
The two of them found a huge tree to sit under, preparing to sleep there tonight.
Ning Caijun brought a pile of dead wood, built a fence around it with rock and soil, and started a fire with a tinderbox. "Sir, please wait here for a moment. I'll gather some firewood to store for tonight."
Zhang Ling nodded, leaned his back against a big tree, and sat on the soft grass with a calm expression, pretending to be tired. In fact, his mind was following Ning Caijun the whole time, deliberately giving him the opportunity to be alone, to see if the weasel demon dared to take the risk of showing up.
The result was as expected. The weasel was very timid and hung far away, not daring to move at all.
After a while, Ning Caijun came back with a pile of firewood in his arms, panting and breathing heavily, with beads of sweat oozing from his forehead.
"Mr. Ning, please take a break. Leave the firewood for the rest of the night to me!"
"Sir, you're joking. If you hadn't followed me, I'm afraid the monster would have come looking for me again tonight. How could I dare to bother you with that?"
As Ning Caijun spoke, he continued to walk further to search for something to make a fire.
Zhang Ling smiled knowingly. Ning Caijun had a very good attitude, was polite to others, and had a pure heart.
When he claimed to be a teacher at a college in the capital, the other party believed him without a doubt and actually used the etiquette they used to treat teachers.
Zhang Ling couldn't help but touch the folding fan in his hand and thought to himself, "Do I really look like a scholar?"
Come to think of it, I am a god after all. No matter how much I try to hide my shortcomings, my temperament is far more extraordinary and stunning than that of a mortal. It makes people's eyes light up and they can't help but feel good about it.
With this temperament, I'm afraid that no matter what you say, the other party will believe it.
——
That night.
Ning Caijun spread a worn blanket on the ground and used some clothes as a quilt to prevent herself from catching a cold at night.
He originally wanted to give the blanket to Zhang Ling, but the latter waved his hand and said he didn't need it.
Zhang Ling said that he had been traveling around the world for many years and had already developed the ability to resist cold and heat. He just needed to cross his legs and sit in meditation without worrying.
Soon, the two fell asleep without saying a word.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhang Ling saw that the scholar was tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. He moved his mind slightly and found that Ning Caichen was still awake and seemed to be worried about something.
"Master Ning, the night is long and neither you nor I can sleep. Why don't we have a long chat?"
"Sir, you are absolutely right!"
Ning Caijun stood up and suddenly felt a chill, so she had to put on two more layers of clothes.
Then the two of them started chatting freely, talking about everything from the ends of the earth to poetry, books and lyrics.
The scholar was impressed by Zhang Ling's knowledge reserves and extraordinary advanced cognition. He felt as if an immortal was pointing the way and he had suddenly been enlightened. He thought to himself: Mr. Zhang is indeed a remarkable person.
When talking about her family situation, Ning Caijun couldn't help feeling dejected and lonely.
He said frankly that he was the eldest in the family with eight younger siblings, seven of whom died of freezing, starvation or infancy, leaving only a youngest brother. His father was disabled and his mother was weak, so his old mother raised him by begging in his early years. Distant relatives and neighbors would help him from time to time. People in the village often said to him: It is not easy for your parents, and you have a younger brother at home. You should always be grateful for your parents' upbringing, and you should strive for self-improvement and pass the imperial examinations.
Therefore, Ning Caijun split one dollar into two, three, or even more parts, and tried to reduce expenses as much as possible except for necessary food.
In fact, he didn't have much spare money, so he would divide a steamed bun into three equal parts every day, taking one each in the morning, noon and evening. He would tear the steamed bun, which was as hard as a rock, into small pieces and swallow them with water to fill his stomach.
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