Chapter 081: Blue Moonlight (10)
The sound of the bell faded into the afterglow of the setting sun, signaling the end of the quiz.
Zhu Fang stood at the entrance of the examination room to see off all the candidates, looked up at the flock of geese flying south, and sighed slightly.
"What a pity... after all these years of studying, I only learned principles, not how to be a good person."
The sun set in the west, and the last ray of setting sun disappeared among the gradually clear stars, and a long shadow was cast under Zhu Fang's feet.
Someone hurried over with a lantern and handed her a paper. She opened it and read it carefully for a long time, then laughed at the absurdity.
"Where are they?"
The man holding the lantern bowed his head and replied, "We have brought them to the front yard of the school."
"Okay, can we report it to the police?"
"I sent someone to the Muyu Town government office to report this this afternoon."
Zhu Fang folded the paper and put it in her sleeve pocket: "Let's go and meet the grandfather and grandson."
“Bang—”
The night bell followed Zhu Fang's footsteps into the school, striking heavily on the two people who were waiting for a decision.
After all, Mr. Lu is a teacher at the Imperial Academy. He is able to sit in the position of the examiner for the quizzes, which shows that he has not neglected his studies over the years and has good character.
In fact, from the moment he agreed to help his grandson cheat, he anticipated the consequences and was prepared to pay the price. Even though some minor incidents occurred later, he knew that things had reached their limit and could not get any worse.
Therefore, he was calm and in a mood to comfort Lu Heng.
"No matter who comes later, don't panic. Grandpa will shoulder all the blame for you," said Mr. Lu. "If this is exposed, I'll take the punishment for your imprisonment. However, I'm afraid you won't be able to stay at the academy any longer."
"Grandpa, don't say that!" Lu Heng bit his arm anxiously, using the pain in his body to wake himself up.
He glared slightly, his eye sockets ringed in red, making his distinct black and white pupils look eerie and terrifying. His calm tone hinted at madness, "What jail time?... I admit I cheated, but I deny that... As long as I deny it, they can't find evidence! Besides, the person is dead, and I sank the body into the river. Who would know?"
Mr. Lu looked at his grandson who was becoming more and more crazy, and suddenly he didn't know how to respond to this sentence or how to face him.
He knew that Lu Heng had no talent for studying, but he believed that diligence could make up for lack of talent, so he had been strictly forcing Lu Heng to memorize and learn literature, from the time he started learning at the age of three to today - until the beginning of the midterm exam, he had never stopped for a moment.
Lu Heng might like reading, or he might not, but it didn't matter anymore. Reading had become his biggest obsession, and after he entered the academy, this obsession dwindled to a determination to stay there.
Songfeng Academy is the dream place for students all over the world, and it is also the goal set for him by the Lu family.
Lu Heng had worked so hard to achieve his goal, having wasted the first half of his life on it. Now someone wanted to kick him away from the finish line, which was tantamount to pushing him off a cliff, and was no different from taking his life.
It would be strange if he wasn't crazy.
"Oh..." Mr. Lu sighed.
After decades of teaching, he finally began to reflect on whether his past teaching philosophy had truly gone awry. At least in his approach to Lu Heng's education, he had taken a radically different approach, ultimately leading to the disaster he faced today.
"If... it was another gentleman who came later, there might be room for maneuver. I'm just afraid..."
Mr. Lu was stroking his grandson's back, thinking about the worst possible scenario, when he heard the sound of a door creaking open in the distance, followed by the sound of slow and steady footsteps approaching, accompanied by a slight sound of metallic friction.
The grandfather and grandson looked forward at the same time, and saw Zhu Fang in a casual suit with narrow sleeves, a long sword on his waist, his right hand holding the hilt and pressing down slightly, the blade humming in the sheath.
She stepped over the threshold, from the shadows to the light. The candlelight was like a living thing, flowing across the floor and gathering at her feet, illuminating her clearly.
Mr. Lu closed his eyes in despair.
Zhu Fang ignored the fading old man and looked directly at Lu Heng. "Students of the academy cultivate both civil and military skills, but for a gentleman, carrying a sword is always a matter of great importance. Lu Heng, do you know why I invited you and your grandfather to meet here tonight?"
Lu Heng's face turned pale. "It's about... the exam."
Zhu Fang smiled and said, "No, I am here to ask you on behalf of Mr. Su, what did he do to you that made you want to kill your teacher?"
"Crack! Bang!"
Thunder roared in the sky, and silver lightning streaked through the night, illuminating Lu Heng's terrified expression as if he had seen a ghost.
…
"I thought it would be a clear night, but it started raining again."
Chen Wenjian sent off Doctor Qing Ke, who had come to give him acupuncture at dusk. As soon as he returned to the eaves, heavy rain came pouring down, drenching the sky and the earth in white.
Chen Yunli squatted on the table, flipping through a storybook. Suddenly, he felt thirsty and jumped to the edge of the bowl to take a few sips of honey water. "It's the rainy season recently, so that's normal. By the way, what's in the bag you brought back this afternoon?"
Hearing this, Chen Wenjian looked at the bundle that was squeezed into the corner by several booklets lined up in a row. It was bulging inside and looked quite heavy.
"Books. I went back to the academy and borrowed some books from the library."
As Chen Wenjian spoke, he untied the knot of the bundle, revealing three neatly stacked thick books. The same words were written on the cover - Biographies of Scholars in the Imperial Academy, Luo Qifang Volume.
“…Ahem…”
Chen Yunli choked after just one look: "Why did you think of watching this? Haven't you seen it before?"
Chen Wenjian waved his sleeves and sat down. "The academy has a large collection of books, the least important of which are the academy's history and the old stories of various philosophers. Unless you become a teacher or have finished reading all the books you need to read, ordinary disciples will not have the leisure to read these."
In fact, Chen Yunli was also very curious about Luo Qifang. He might be the one spreading the melodrama of the role he would play in the next stage of the mission. With the idea of seeing it early and preparing himself mentally, he flapped his wings and flew over.
"Do you want to read it now? I want to take a look too," he said. "But this is a serious biography. I don't think it contains what you're looking for... right?"
Chen Wenjian shook his head. "I never imagined Yun Li was related to the academy's master, so when I was researching, I focused on the historical materials and intentionally skipped this part of the book. But emotional experiences are also an important part of life experience, and those who write about Master Luo will more or less include some of them."
Chen Yunli thought about it and said, "That makes sense. Let's take a look!"
"Um."
Chen Wenjian nodded and turned the title page, carefully reading the records in the book with Chen Yunli.
Luo Qifang's life was full of ups and downs. If you write a story based on him, you can write a super exciting story in which gods and Buddhas will be killed if they stand in your way.
He was gifted since childhood and was a man of both literary and martial talents. The moment he left home, he started at the maximum level. No matter what kind of opponent, enemy, or problem he encountered, he would overwhelm them with overwhelming force.
He had too many past events that were worth writing about. In comparison, those two love affairs were not even embellishments and were not worth taking up space in the book, especially the second one. Because it started so hastily and unreasonably, it could easily become a stain on him, so historians deleted almost all of it.
However, his emotional experience was involved in Luo Qifang's final choice and ending, so the author had to show some mercy and still left some space for his two lovers. Apart from anything else, their names, backgrounds, and appearances were all included.
Yunli of the Chen clan, also known by the courtesy name Zhuji, was an orphan from Biechou Island. She was extremely beautiful, not inferior to Xungui.
Xungui is Luo Qifang's pen name, and Chen Yunli is his first love.
Sui Changsheng, Honglumen travels around the world. He is a refined and profound person with extraordinary talent and elegance, and is a hero of his time.
This is Luo Qifang’s second lover.
Chen Yunli could see from these few words that the historian was perfunctory. He had taken simplicity to the extreme and refused to write even a single extra word.
"Chen, Yun, Li?"
Chen Wenjian clicked on the four words "Chen Yunli". He didn't know if it was Chen Yunli's illusion, but he always felt that he looked at him meaningfully.
Chen Yunli coughed dryly, "Ahem, this... the historian is quite stingy. After all, they are the beloved ones of my master. The first one praised her face, and the second one only praised her personality and temperament. Why don't they write more?"
Chen Wenjian chuckled and touched his tentacles with his fingertips: "You told me before that your last name was Chen?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Chen Yunli turned away, "Only your Bai Yueguang is allowed to have this surname?"
"No, I'm just curious. What's your name? Do you have a name?" Chen Wenjian asked calmly.
Chen Yunli folded his wings to wrap around himself and said in a muffled voice, "I am a simple spirit that was born only a few days ago. Having a surname is good enough. My given name and courtesy name... are not important."
"Oh..." Chen Wenjian raised the corner of his mouth slightly, "Okay, whatever you said, let's continue reading."
Chen Yunli chuckled dryly and quietly opened his wings a little as he turned the page.
The next chapter of the biography is the ending of Luo Qifang. It is not long, but it contains a lot of information. To be honest, the content is a little beyond the expectations of the two.
Because in Luo Qifang's biography, he did not die to extend Sui Changsheng's life, but for a vague legend. This legend is called resurrection from the dead.
Not for himself, but for his long-dead ex-lover.
…
On the first day of the twelfth month of the Guiyou year, heavy snow fell on the Yuman River.
There was a stone platform under the pine tree outside the bamboo house of his old friend. Luo Qifang sat beside it, spreading paper and grinding ink. The first sentence he wrote was not the main text, but his thoughts.
In the winter of the year Guiyou, there was heavy snow. It has been twenty years since you left. I still miss you and feel deep pain. The pain of missing you is so stubborn and hard to get rid of, and it will last until I die.
After a pause, he picked up the pen again: It is a marriage predestined by heaven and a fate in previous lives, forced upon me.
“Cough, cough cough…”
The boiling emotions in her heart brought up old wounds. Luo Qifang began to cough softly, covering her lips with her palms, with blood overflowing from between her fingers.
His face was paler than frost and snow, his features were dull, his brows and eyes were withered, but he still looked as handsome and elegant as when they first met as a teenager. The hammer of time had not left any marks on him, but if he were to meet his old friend again in the underworld, that person would probably not recognize his now casual and cold self.
There were footsteps on the snow in the distance. Luo Qifang stopped coughing and tilted her head back slightly, but did not turn around.
"You're here."
Sui Changsheng said "hmm" and walked to a place five meters away from him when he was suddenly blocked by a bone-chilling cold wind and could not move forward.
Under the name of Changsheng, the Honglumen who was once regarded as a hero of the time traveled around the world. However, Changsheng's appearance was not as outstanding as Luo Qifang. His temples were dotted with white, and the look in his eyes when he looked at Luo Qifang was both cold and disappointed, and full of uncontrollable affection.
"These past few years," Sui Changsheng paused, "you've worked hard to stay by my side. I know you're only doing this to repay a favor. I saved your life in my previous life, so you'll stay with me for a hundred years in this life, and we'll be even. From now on, we'll be together through thick and thin. I wish you everything you wish for."
"Do you really want me to get what I want?" Luo Qifang asked.
"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Sui Changsheng looked up at the bamboo house not far away. "The man is gone. You've been guarding this house for twenty years. Why don't you go in?"
"Burning in uninvited is like being a thief. I don't want him to look at me like that."
Luo Qifang stood up, clutching her thick, velvet-collared cloak. "Honglu Sect has been turbulent for years. It must have been very hard for you to hold on. In your last life, you saved me, and the wound that etched itself into your soul has followed you into this life, shortening your lifespan. I imagine your days are numbered. But your sect's accumulated ills remain. Are you truly willing to die so young and leave a mess behind for future generations?"
Sui Changsheng smiled and said, "Then do you have any good suggestions?"
"I still have fifty years of life left, and I can give you half of it. The condition is that you exchange it for a scroll of Honglumen's secret method." Luo Qifang said.
Sui Changsheng's eyes dimmed. "You want the legendary 'Furnace of Time' that can bring the dead back to life? Xun Gui, you know this secret method won't work."
Luo Qifang raised an eyebrow. "The Honglu Sect uses the 'Furnace of Time' to build their path. So you, who are closest to this secret method, are the one who believes in it the least?"
"Resurrection from the dead goes against the laws of nature. In this era, the laws of nature are at their peak. As long as Heaven doesn't allow it, you can't do it." Sui Changsheng said coldly, "Hasn't our irresistible fate made you wake up and give up the idea of going against the will of Heaven?"
Luo Qifang calmly uttered these treasonous words: "The Way of Heaven is at its peak, but it won't remain so forever. When the path to immortality is cut off and the fate of all living beings returns to their hands, then I will be able to accomplish it."
"boom--"
A loud thunderclap struck the horizon, and the whole world echoed with a deafening roar.
Sui Changsheng looked at him as if he were looking at a stubborn and hopeless person: "Will you live to see that time?"
"Haha, hahaha... cough cough cough..."
Luo Qifang suddenly laughed out loud, her whole body shaking with laughter, and then she got a stitch in the side and coughed up some blood.
Sui Changsheng subconsciously wanted to move forward, but was held back by the cold wind and could not move.
"I don't need to...live to see that day. I only need to carve this secret into his soul, allowing him to awaken in an era free from the shackles of the Heavenly Dao...that's all."
Luo Qifang wiped the blood from the corner of her lips. Her expression was calm, but her eyes revealed a heart-pounding madness.
"Even if he is no longer human, and I... have become a pile of decayed bones."
"You...your injury..." Sui Changsheng was stunned. "Did you take his soul back from the reincarnation?"
Luo Qifang ignored him, lowering her eyes and whispering, "Perhaps one day, we can meet again in this world. That would be true... oh, a match made in heaven."
…
Twenty-five years passed like a flash, and there was another heavy snowfall. That night, Xun Gui died.
The bamboo house remains the same as before, but the gentleman is no longer seen.
…
Autism is Chen Wenjian tonight.
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