Chapter 16: The First Week of School

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  That monk let go of Li Wenjun's hand and said with concern: "Brother Zhou, how did you come out? Your illness can't be exposed to the wind."

  Zhou Wei waved his hand, furrowed his brow and looked at Li Wenjun, asking: "What you said is true? You really broke into my Sanshan Academy in the middle of the night just to read books?"

  "Absolutely true, no falsehood whatsoever."

  Zhou Wei nodded and ordered the book boy: "Go and call old Zhang from the gatehouse for me."

  "Yes, sir." The book boy responded with a single word, then turned around and went to call the gatekeeper.

  A moment later, the gatekeeper followed the book boy over. As soon as he saw Li Wenjun, he shouted: "How did you get in? Why didn't I see you come in?"

  "Old Zhang," asked Zhou Wei, "I'm asking you, this young brother said he once wanted to enter the academy and learn from me about recognizing characters and understanding texts. Is there such a thing?"

  "The gatekeeper hastily said: 'Headmaster, this matter is true. He said he wanted to study with you, I asked him how many books he had read, and he said he didn't recognize a few words. The students you accept are all famous child prodigies, they are all worth teaching, but he can't even recognize a few words, and he wants to enter our academy? Our academy's reputation will be ruined by him! He is already 15 years old, it's too late for him to learn anything. So I didn't report to you, and took the initiative to drive him away. If I did something wrong, please punish me, Headmaster.'"

  "I see. Young brother, you're indeed getting older and don't have a foundation, it's not suitable for you to stay in my San Shan Academy. If you want to study, I can leave a letter with you and introduce you to a teacher." Zhou Wei said.

  Li Wenjun hastily said: "Head of the Institute, I just want to follow you and study. My goal in studying is not to take the imperial examination or become a top scholar, but rather so that in the future when I'm searching for my family, it will be more convenient."

  "Looking for relatives? What's this about?" Zhou Wei asked.

  "I don't dare to deceive the honorable master, I am not a native of this county, but rather an escapee from Fengxian County hundreds of miles away. Our hometown suffered a severe drought that occurs once in a century, with no rain for several months, dried-up rivers and wells, no water to drink, and no food to eat. Regardless of age or sex, everyone scattered to escape the famine. I got separated from my family and escaped alone. I hope that one day I can reunite with them. If I could recognize some characters and understand some knowledge, it would be easier for me to search for my family in the future. At least I could write a missing person notice myself and keep a record."

  Li Wenjun did not reveal all his intentions for wanting to make Zhou Wei his master, as people's hearts are hard to fathom, and he certainly didn't want to leak the fact that he had a book in his hands that recorded the methods of the immortal family.

  "You're lying! As far as I know, Fengxian County is over 600 miles away from here. You're just a teenager, how could you possibly make it here all alone? This is something that many adults can't even do. You want to gain sympathy, but you can't come up with such a lie. Brother Zhou, this person looks dishonest at first glance, let me take him to see the official instead. A few blows of the stick will be enough to make him spill all his guts." The monk said.

  "I swear every word I say is true. If there's even half a false word, may heaven strike me with lightning." Li Wenjun raised his palm and vowed solemnly.

  "If you insist that you didn't lie, then tell me how you escaped to this place? Don't blame me for not reminding you, Prefect Zhou has been an official for many years and has handled numerous cases. He can be said to have seen all sorts of people and understood every kind of person. He has seen many criminals, and when people with guilty consciences try to defend themselves, what they look like, what small movements they make, he is well aware of it all. Whether or not you are lying, he will know at a glance. If Prefect Zhou determines that you are lying, I will have no choice but to take you to the county yamen for further questioning." Monk Yuanzhi said sternly.

  Li Wenjun bowed to Zhou Wei and Yuan Zhi, saying: "Master of the courtyard, Master, I'll tell you about some of my experiences. Please take a look at whether I'm telling lies or not."

  Zhou Wei nodded and said expressionlessly: "Go ahead."

  Li Wenjun began to recount his experience, of course, he knew the truth that one should not easily reveal their heart. So he didn't mention the details about the green light appearing on his chest, and the injuries before and after it appeared, as well as how they healed. When talking about these parts, he either glossed over them or simply didn't say anything.

  It took him more than an hour to finish telling his story, then he stood with his hands clasped together in front of Zhou Wei and bowed again, saying: "Chief of the Institute, sir, I've finished."

  Based on years of experience in handling cases, Zhou Wei can basically determine that Li Wenjun did not lie, but may have concealed some details. A 14 or 15-year-old child, walking hundreds of miles from a drought-stricken area to escape to Sanshan County, must have had some details that were inconvenient to reveal to outsiders.

  Zhou Wei didn't plan to investigate these details, he had a certain degree of admiration for Li Wenjun's remarkable achievement at such a young age. He also deeply approved of Li Wenjun's determination to learn to read and write in order to find his family more easily in the future. As someone who valued family ties extremely highly, Zhou Wei thought even more highly of this young man.

  "Buddha's mercy." Yuan Zhi monk joined his palms together and chanted a Buddha's name, "It seems that this poor monk misunderstood the young donor. If it weren't for hearing it with my own ears, I wouldn't dare believe that the young donor could escape to such a place and suffer so much hardship in between. Brother Zhou, although you have retired from office, you should still have three or five good friends in the imperial court. The severe drought in Fengxian County is a great disaster, with people suffering and dying. Please, Brother Zhou, speak up for justice and write a letter to your friends, asking them to petition the Emperor to quickly allocate funds and grain for disaster relief."

  "What the master says is quite right. Zhou Mou has this intention." Zhou Wei looked at Li Wenjun and said, "Little brother, what's your name?"

  Li Wenjun saw Zhou Wei's attitude was amiable, and he knew there was something to it. His attitude became even more respectful, and he replied: "Returning to the old master of the institute, I'm Li Wenjun, a humble man. This name was given by my father, who spent 50 taels of silver to invite a scholar to give it to me."

  Zhou Wei nodded and said, "You have escaped to this place, intending to reunite with your parents who have been separated for a long time. This is a common human emotion and also coincides with the founding principles of our dynasty. I, Zhou, appreciate your filial piety and sincerity, as well as your bravery and cleverness. I have decided to make an exception and take you in. I will allow you to stay at San Shan Academy for three months, after which I will not delay you from searching for your family and reuniting with your parents. During these three months, I will arrange for someone to tutor you, and it is up to you to learn as much as you can. I won't ask about it; everything depends on your own efforts. Do you understand?"

  Li Wenjun was overjoyed, clasped his hands together in gratitude and bowed deeply to Zhou Wei, saying: "Thank you, sir, for your kindness in allowing me to stay at the academy to study and learn. I will definitely work hard."

  As long as he can stay in San Shan Academy, he will always find opportunities to ask Zhou Wei for advice, so he expresses that he will not personally tutor him, and Li Wenjun does not have any regrets.

  Zhou Wei asked again: "Do you have a place to stay in the county town? If not, I'll arrange for someone to let you temporarily stay at the academy."

  Li Wenjun, however, did not want to live in the academy. Living here would be too restrictive, and most importantly, if he lived in the academy, there was a possibility that when he had the ability to study the two books left behind by Lao Dao, he would be disturbed by outsiders, especially if someone were to compete with him for ownership of these two books. He did not have enough confidence to keep these two books safe.

  "I appreciate the Dean's kindness, but I've already rented a place in the county town to live, so I won't be taking up any of the academy's resources." Li Wenjun said with a sincere expression.

  "Never mind, I won't force you. Old Zhang, please escort Li Wenjun out. Tomorrow, Li Wenjun, come back and report to me, and I will arrange a tutor for you."

  "Thank you, Dean Lao." Li Wenjun thanked again.

  As Li Wenjun followed Old Zhang out the door, Yuan Zhi closed his eyes and said, "Brother Zhou, Li Wenjun's experiences are pitiful, but I think it's still necessary to investigate whether his words are true or false. He gives me a feeling that he's hiding something very important. Not to mention anything else, a fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boy who has fled here as a refugee actually has money to rent a house - this is suspicious."

  Just as Zhou Weigang was about to speak, he suddenly felt uncomfortable in his throat and started coughing violently. After a while, he finally stopped the severe cough that made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He weakly waved his sleeve and said: "If Master thinks it's necessary to investigate, you can go and investigate yourself. Zhou Mou really doesn't have the mood to waste his energy on such trivial matters."

  Yuan Zhi smiled and said, "I'm also considering Brother Zhou's safety. Since Brother Zhou doesn't care, I won't be a villain for nothing. Come, Brother Zhou, let me help you back to the study room, and I'll continue to take your pulse."

  The next day, Li Wenjun rushed to San Shan Academy early in the morning to report for duty. Zhou Wei had indeed arranged a teacher for him to learn characters, who was a scholar with a good reputation, named Lu Xiaoyu, over 30 years old, making a living by teaching at San Shan Academy, and he was responsible for the primary education of many children in San Shan Academy.

  Lu Xiaoyu had already heard the story of Li Wenjun from Zhou Wei, and after Gatekeeper Old Zhang brought Li Wenjun before him, he didn't make things difficult for Li Wenjun. First, he kindly exhorted Li Wenjun a few sentences, then took out several books and handed them to Li Wenjun.

  These books are all enlightenment textbooks for Meng Tong, "Qianziwen", "Baijiaxing" and "Dizigui" are all very common books in the academy.

  Lu Xiaoyu first read "Bai Jia Xing" to Li Wenjun, then gave a brief explanation, and finally let Li Wenjun take it away to recite.

  Before he knew it, Li Wenjun had been studying at Sanshan Academy for a month. He was eager to master the immortal techniques that Lao Dao had once demonstrated, so his motivation for learning was strong, and his drive for progress was stronger than those who wanted to be high school champions in Sanshan Academy.

  In just one month, he mastered all the two or three thousand characters in those enlightenment books, not only knowing how to read them, but also knowing how to write them and what they meant.

  Thank you for your generous reward in the remaining years, thank you.