Chapter 2: Zheng Dan

  Hearing that the other party was prepared to call herself "Miss", Yi Guang couldn't help but say with a huff: "So young and yet so sisterly, isn't this quite something?"

  The paradox originated from a story by Han Feizi in the late Warring States period, but it had not appeared at that time.

  "Contradiction!" Yang Zilu added.

  "What's that supposed to mean?" Yi Guang asked curiously.

  "Hmm!" Yang Zilu nodded vigorously and thought to himself: Taiwanese? I remember a Taiwanese singer who listened to "Man Jiang Hong" and wanted to find Yue Fei to write lyrics for him. But that's not right either! Taiwan's education wouldn't be contradictory, nor would it be applicable, would it?

  Although he was puzzled in his heart, Yang Zilu explained: "This is from a story. A man wanted to sell more of his weapons, so he took a spear and shield to the market to boast. 'My spear is extremely sharp, nothing can't be pierced!' Then he picked up the shield and boasted again. 'My shield is extremely solid, nothing can pierce it!' Someone asked: 'What if you use your spear to attack your shield? What would happen?' The man selling the weapons couldn't answer!"

  "Oh! So that's what it means to be contradictory, how clever!" Yi Guang clapped her small hands together, gazing at Yang Zilu with eyes full of admiration.

  Yang Zilu just smiled, he only wanted to know where this place was, and there was no time to explain that the story was written by Han Feizi. If he mentioned Han Feizi, he would be dragged into talking about him again by the little beauty in front of him. Yang Zilu asked: "Oh, Yiguang, you haven't told me where this place is yet?"

  "Here! Here is the capital of Yue State, under the jurisdiction of Zhuji, Sheng Village, Huansha Creek." As he mentioned Huansha Creek, Yiguang pointed to the small river where Yang Zilu fell into the water.

  "Kingdom of Yue!" Yang Zilu's eyes widened, and two words kept flashing in her mind: Time-travel! Time-travel! Time-travel!......

  "Yes! The distance to Gui Cheng is only a hundred miles away!" Yi Guang looked at Yang Zi Lu, those star-like eyes seemed to be asking, didn't you know that this is the State of Yue?

  What's going on! Kuaiji, what is the ancient name of Kuaiji? I remember Xiang Yu started a rebellion in Kuaiji, Kuaiji! Ah, it's Shaoxing! Didn't I take a flight from Guangzhou to Chengdu, Sichuan? Shouldn't we be flying northwest? Why did the plane fly northeast? Where is the plane?!

  Yang Zilu suddenly raised his head, looking at the end of Huansha Creek, where a lush green mountain and water scenery unfolded in the distance. Not a single sign of plane wreckage or smoke from burning fuel could be seen. But what era was this place in? Yue State! In Chinese history, there seemed to be only one Yue State, which was the state ruled by Goujian, the protagonist of the story "Sleeping on Brushwood and Tasting Gall", during the struggle for hegemony with Wu State.

  "Ah! Yiguang! I'm back!" A spirited young girl came running over from a distance, her long skirt fluttering as she ran, revealing her pale and slender legs. At first glance, there was an ethereal quality to her. Behind her followed two boys around 14 or 15 years old.

  "Ah! It's Adan!" Yi Guang saw the person coming and immediately burst out laughing, shining brightly like a moon in the dark night, so captivating.

  A beauty is a calamity! Yang Zilu didn't know why this phrase popped into his mind, making him feel rather embarrassed. After all, the other party was a somewhat timid but kind girl, and using this derogatory term was too unkind.

  "Huh? You're awake! Who saved you?" Adan curiously looked at Yang Zilu and asked.

  "It's... it was me who saved you!" Yi Guang said with a sheepish grin as he raised his hand.

  "Oh?" Adan turned his head, looking at Yiguang with a strange expression. He always had an unsettling feeling about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was that didn't feel right.

  Forget it! Adan dropped the question and asked Yang Zilu: "Foreigner, what's your name? And why are you wearing such strange clothes, are you a mountain barbarian?"

  Yang Zilu knew at this time, the Shan Yue people referred to barbarians, and were a general term for the vast majority of ethnic groups in Lingnan. Of course, he wouldn't admit it, shaking his head and saying in Mandarin: "I am a person from Yan State!"

  I don't know if the State of Yan was using Mandarin at that time.

  Atan widened his eyes, scratched his head, and asked Yiguang: "Yiguang, what did this foreigner just say? Did you understand?"

  The barbarian shook his head vaguely and said: "I don't understand either, but he just spoke a language that is almost the same as ours, hmm! It's a bit like the language of the mountain? people!"

  "Oh! That's the Shan Yue people!" Ah Dan exclaimed with a look of sudden realization, confirming Yang Zilu's identity.

  What a tragedy! Yang Zilu's forehead appeared with countless black lines, and unexpectedly, he couldn't escape the identity of a barbarian in the end.

  "I am a person of Yan State!" Yang Zilu helplessly explained in Cantonese, tears falling from his heart. When did Cantonese become a synonym for barbarians! Woe is me!

  "Oh! Is what you just said in Yan language?" Adan asked.

  "Ah!" Yang Zilu nodded happily.

  "Oh! So it's a mountain barbarian who seems to be able to speak the language of Yan State!" Adan said with certainty this time.

  Damn it! Still damn it...... Yang Zilu didn't expect that in the end, he still couldn't shake off his identity as a mountain barbarian, and would eventually speak the Yan state language. And to make matters worse, he had to add a "like" to it. But thinking about it again, the Yan state language of this era might be different from Mandarin, but then again, he was already doomed...... Who knows if he would be caught and made into a slave? He remembered that before the Republic of China, slaves still existed. Not to mention his own barbaric nature.

  "Ah, he's a noble!" Yi Guang said with a certain expression.

  "What? No way?" Ah Dan looked at Yang Zilu with a skeptical attitude. The two young men brought by Ah Dan also showed hostility towards Yang Zilu, who was approaching their idol Yi Guang, and nodded in agreement with Ah Dan's words.

  Yi Guang then retold the story of 'contradiction' that Yang Zilu had just told. Ah Dan's eyes widened as he looked at Yang Zilu and changed his question, "Are all people from Yan country dressed like this?"

  "Whatever!" Yang Zilu could only vaguely pass it off, her heart filled with hot tears, unable to believe that the explanation she had repeated so many times was not as effective as a single story.

  Yang Zilu did not know that in this era, books were scarce for people, let alone the state of Yue, which was considered half-barbarian by the Central Plains people at that time. Hui Shi, a famous scholar in the mid-Warring States period, had studied five carriages of books and was called "Xuefu Wuche" (learned and rich in knowledge) by people at that time. But don't forget that the books at that time were mainly recorded on bamboo slips. If we convert them into thick bamboo slips, I estimate that they are not much more than the number of characters learned by primary school students in six years of language class, or even less.

  So in this era, books became a luxury item monopolized by the nobility. Although ordinary people were not completely unable to read books, they had to be able to afford it. Firstly, these books were made of bamboo slips, which were expensive and laboriously carved by hand, consuming more manpower and time than handwritten copies. It was not something that an ordinary family could afford, and even a moderately wealthy family could only afford to support their sons to study in a book academy for one or two years.

  So Yang Zilu's noble status was confirmed, but Yang Zilu fabricated a false background. His family was a small aristocratic family in the State of Yan, and by the time of Yang Zilu, it had already declined. Yang Zilu then sold his family property and traveled to various countries. He traveled to the State of Chu, where he was captured by the Yue people and lived among them for over a year, which is why he could speak the language of the Yue people (Cantonese?). After going through 81 hardships (Journey to the West?), he finally escaped, but ended up falling into the stream of Huansha. The rest doesn't need to be said.

  The two boys, who had been hostile to Yang Zilu, now looked at him with admiration.

  After listening, Ah Dan couldn't help but ask: "So, Brother Yang (Yang Zi Lu told them to call him that), what are your plans for the future?"

  When Yang Zilu heard this, he was also stunned. What could he possibly have planned? Even the so-called nobility was fake, and he himself had nothing to his name. Yang Zilu couldn't help but sigh, feeling a sense of confusion in his heart. For a moment, he felt that the world was vast, yet he didn't have an inch of land to stand on.

  "Why don't you just stay in our village of Jiangliu! After all, Brother Yang, I'm sure you don't have any money on you now, and it's not possible for you to continue traveling around the country!" Ah Dan said with a red face, boldly making the suggestion.

  "Hmm, okay, anyway I don't have anywhere else to go now!" Yang Zilu can only be content with her current situation. "By the way, Ah Dan what's your name?"

  "Ah?" Ah Dan heard this, his face turned bright red and he twisted and turned for a while, saying in a mosquito-like voice: "Zheng Dan, the Zheng of Zheng country, the Dan of 'Mian Dan' in the Book of Songs!"

  Luckily Yang Zilu's hearing was still quite good. Regardless of whether it was good or bad, he smiled and nodded his head saying: "Good name!"

  Then asked Yi Guang: "Yi Guang, what's your name?"

  Yi Guang shook her head, staring with eyes full of childish innocence, saying: "Mother said, unless it's a husband, relative or close friend, can't tell him my name!"

  Yang Zilu felt embarrassed upon hearing this, the question she had just asked was normal in modern times, but in ancient times, she couldn't have imagined that there would be such a special reason. I wonder if it's the same for men?

  Yang Zilu could only awkwardly say, "Sorry, I guess our place has a thicker atmosphere, so we don't have this kind of situation! Asking someone's name is a very ordinary thing!" However, thinking back, why did Adan tell me his name? Sneaking a glance at Adan, huh! Adan was also sneaking a peek at me! The two people's gazes unintentionally met, and Yang Zilu felt a numbness like being electrocuted. Suddenly, he had the feeling of secretly dating in broad daylight, in front of everyone.

  "Ah!" The two young men responded in unison, and then burst out laughing: "Actually, Yiguang, you're too obedient. Our Great Yue Kingdom has inherited the ancient traditions of the past. As for you, people who have just met you know that your name is Yiguang! If they get to know you a few more days, won't they also find out your surname and given name? Ha ha! My name is She Yiguang, he's Tong Lengyu."

  "It seems they haven't discovered it!" Yang Zilu breathed a slight sigh of relief, smiling and saying: "I didn't expect you to be surnamed Shi! By the way, what's the current situation in Yue State?"