Chapter 37: The Spirit Medium's Writing

  Meng Chao hastily connected the swinging incense holder to the ring, while Yang Yun found a few sticks of incense from the nearby incense table and handed them to Meng Chao.

  "Go ahead and burn incense, but you must calm your mind first."

  Meng Chao lit the incense stick, prayed silently for a while, then placed his hand on the divination ring, closed his eyes slightly, and let his hand move freely to push the ring.

  The brush moved swiftly in the sandbox, and everyone gathered around to watch.

  "Long—— Virtue——"

  The middle-aged man read out the words written in the sandbox, and it was only then that Meng Chao opened his eyes.

  "Can you give me an evaluation of this article?"

  "What is your real name?" asked Wen Siqian.

  The student's surname is Meng and his given name is Chao.

  "Meng Chao, courtesy name Chongde. A good courtesy name, Hai Tian Academy has records of it, the second place in the Xinwei year's imperial examination was a Chong, and De is also not bad, there are many people who have been named on the golden list, this courtesy name can be said to be auspicious, now with great expectations for the imperial examination, but still need to make things happen according to the person."

  Meng Chao was overjoyed, Wen Siqian is that kind of person, the second place in the imperial examination, his literary talent and learning are not to be underestimated, at least within Wu State he is renowned. With this one sentence of praise, as long as his own paper can be selected during the autumn exam, there will be no possibility of failing.

  "Yang Xian-di, you also hurry up and support one."

  Yang Yun nodded, but didn't burn incense. He casually swirled the censer, and two big characters appeared in the sand tray.

  "Meng Huan" looked at Yang Yun with a dry expression.

  "Yang Yun - Yang Meng Huan."

  Wen Si furrowed his brow, "This character is quite rare, the characters for 'dream' and 'wander' are rarely seen in divination, I dare not make a rash judgment, I must go back and check the records."

  The middle-aged man was suddenly startled, remembering a book passed down in his family that recorded an encounter between their ancestor and a mysterious person. The ancestor had been given a few sentences, including "encountering stone to inspire" which had already been proven true, but the last sentence "continuing with dreams" had not come true for over 100 years. Could it be fulfilled through this person?

  But then I thought again, this person is just a humble scholar, what qualifications does he have to respond to these words? It's probably just a coincidence.

  The middle-aged man looked at Yang Yun deeply and said: "The courtesy names of the two scholars are not wrong, they will surely make great achievements in the future."

  Wen Siqian's expression changed slightly, and he thought that as a middle-aged man, saying this sentence had some implications.

  Yang Yun bowed and said: "The student's matter has been settled, I dare not disturb the noble guest's pleasure, so I will take my leave now."

  "All right, I hope to hear your name again in the future." The middle-aged man said with a smile.

  Wen Siqian was even more convinced of his conjecture, and he couldn't help but wonder how this weak and timid scholar had caught the eye of a noble guest, it was truly unbelievable.

  Yang Yun and Meng Chao came down from the mountain, running to the library as if nothing had happened.

  Meng Chao seemed to be inspired by today's events, and he became even more engrossed in his book. Before he knew it, the sky had darkened, and he remembered Sun Ye's words that if he continued reading, he would have to pay for candles. Only then did he put down his book and look around, but he didn't see Yang Yun anywhere, which made him feel slightly puzzled.

  It wasn't until after I had turned around in a circle that I discovered Yang Yun hiding among a row of bookshelves.

  "Meng Chao asked, 'Dreamy younger brother, you were originally here, why didn't you go over there to take a seat?'"

  "I like to read standing up, sitting down makes me lose focus." Yang Yun said casually, the real reason was that he flipped through books too quickly, with a glance at the content of a page using his Moonlight Spirit Eye, it would all be stored in his mind, and if others saw him, he wouldn't be able to explain.

  "The library of the Haitian Academy is indeed famous for nothing, and the difference between Jinghai County School and here is like a pond and a river." Meng Chao sighed.

  "Yes, Jinghai County Academy is just a room with several rows of bookshelves. This place has three floors packed to the brim, what a huge difference! Yang Yun was both excited and pained, he had planned to spend a month "flipping" through the books here, now his fingers were going to be exhausted."

  "Go, go eat first." Books need to be flipped through one by one, and meals need to be eaten one by one. Yang Yun calculated that in about a month's time, he could finish reading the books here and then return to Jinghai County to prepare for the exam.

  Just as I was leaving, I saw Sun Ye coming towards me, and his voice floated over before he arrived.

  "Meng Huan brother, Chong De brother, you two are overjoyed! Shouldn't you be treating me to dinner tonight?"

  Yang Yun and Meng Chao exchanged a glance, unexpectedly the nickname they got in the afternoon was known by Sun Ye by evening.

  "No problem, let's go—"

  The three of them still went to that small restaurant at noon, the dishes here are stir-fried well, and the wine is not diluted with water. When they saw Yang Yun and a few others, the boss of the restaurant was so happy that his eyes narrowed into slits.

  As expected, Yang Yun did not disappoint the restaurant owner and ordered a full table of wine and dishes again.

  "Shan Ge, how did you know our surname is Fu?"

  Sun Ye first drank a full cup of wine, savoring the aftertaste and smacking his lips, laughing: "The two brothers have made a name for themselves today, it's spread throughout the entire Haitian Academy."

  "What?"

  "Do you know who that noble person we met today is?"

  "Who is it?" Meng Chao asked.

  Sun Ye stretched out a finger and pointed upwards, "Fuguo Gong."

  "Ah!" Meng Chao exclaimed in a low voice, "It's actually this Duke Guo."

  Fuguo Gong is the elder brother of the current King of Wu, and it is said that he had a reputation for being virtuous in his early years, with many calling for him to ascend to the throne. However, he voluntarily relinquished the throne to the current King of Wu, citing his own birth mother's humble status as a concubine.

  After King Wu ascended to the throne, he was appointed as Duke of Fuguo, and his fiefdom was located in Fengming Prefecture.

  Fengming Prefecture is the largest and most prosperous prefecture in Southern Wu, with one-quarter of its land being the fiefdom of Duke Fuguo. Moreover, by special imperial decree, Duke Fuguo has the authority to supervise and report on officials throughout all five prefectures of Southern Wu, making him truly the richest and most powerful man in Southern Wu.

  Meng Chao thought that if he had known earlier that the middle-aged man was Fuguo Gong, his demeanor would not have been so calm. He stole a glance at Yang Yun and found that he still looked carefree, couldn't help but sigh that his composure was still inferior to others.

  "Drinking and eating—" Yang Yun swallowed a mouthful of meat, carelessly advising Meng Sun and the others to eat more.

  Sun Ye had eaten too much at noon, so he just drank some wine and ate a few mouthfuls of food. Meng Chao also had something on his mind and didn't eat much. In the end, almost all the dishes were finished by Yang Yunbao.

  After eating, the three of them chatted. Yang Yun said, "Encountering Duke Fuguo today is a good thing, but in reality it's not very useful. We are scholars, and we're on the path of taking the imperial examination to achieve success. Even if our reputation is great, the exam papers will still be anonymous, and in the end we'll have to rely on the quality of our answers to pass."

  Meng Chao and Sun Ye nodded in agreement, the imperial examination of Wu State was still very fair and clean, with only a handful of cases of cheating in the examination hall over the past hundred years since its founding.

  The test papers made by the candidates must be sealed with their names, and after uniform copying, they will be selected by the room teacher. This is the key step in determining the majority of the test papers. In a place with nearly a thousand students, less than 100 papers can be taken, and among these 100 papers, the original papers are opened to reveal the names, and the chief examiner finally determines the ranking and evaluation. At this point, external factors such as reputation will come into play.

  After having enough wine and food, Meng Chao and Sun Ye made an appointment to go to the library to read books. Although candle money is not cheap, at this critical point near the autumn examination, the scholars who can come to the Haitian Academy will not be stingy.

  Yang Yun wanted to cultivate the Moon Flower True Classic, so he bid farewell to the two and acted alone.

  "That Xiao Feng Pavilion is actually a pretty good place, with high terrain and more spiritual energy than the flat land."

  At night, the mountain road was deserted. Yang Yun walked along, organizing the new books in his sea of knowledge. Although these books existed in his sea of knowledge, they were even more profound than memories that had been recited hundreds of times, but he still needed to devote his heart and soul to comprehend them thoroughly, and even further, to innovate and create new ideas. In this aspect, the evolution of the sea of knowledge was ultimately lacking a bit of spirituality.

  At this time, in the Jinghai's Jinglun Hall, hundreds of books were flying in the air, countless golden characters fluttering around the wooden desk like butterflies among flowers. From time to time, some characters fell onto the desk, a burst of light flashed, and turned into lines of words on the rice paper.

  Some characters written out quickly faded and disappeared, but overall the number of words was still accumulating, with a corner of the desk stacked with paper filled with writing.

  These are Yang Yun's own insights and experiences, as well as some strategic essays and other works that have a certain preservation value. If Yang Yun continues to study in this way, he may one day be able to compile a large-scale treatise.

  The Moon Essence True Classic's Condensation Period has been fully deduced, and with the reduction of the largest expenditure of true energy, the portion that can be used in Jing Lun Tang has greatly increased. With the autumn exam approaching, Yang Yun is also making a concerted effort. Now, in the Jing Lun Tang of Shi Hai, every moment is such a scene. As Jing Lun Tang operates, Yang Yun's grasp of various classics gradually deepens.

  When they arrived at the Xifeng Pavilion, Yang Yun stopped the rotation of Jinglun Hall. The fields were empty, and the night wind stirred up the golden bells, accompanied by the chirping of insects, making a soft tinkling sound. A thin cloud covered the remaining moonlight, and the sea waves crashed against the rocky shore, with various spiritual energies intersecting in the space between the sea and sky.

  Yang Yun was concerned about Yue Hua's spiritual energy. Although today was a time of waning moon, he could still clearly feel the presence of Yue Hua's spiritual energy.

  "Alas, a good place for cultivation is too important, especially before the formation of the elixir. Without a suitable cave, cultivation is simply twice the effort with half the results."

  Yang Yun sighed, this life for the sake of his parents and relatives, he decided to take the path of cultivation, almost destined to have no affinity with the cave of cultivation, can only make up for it by working hard on his skills.

  "It's fortunate that the true energy of the moon is relatively stable, although it's not suitable for cultivation during the day and has a tidal phenomenon every month. Compared to those more abnormal spiritual energies like true magnetism, dark thunder, and mysterious water, this one is much better. Under the vast sky, as long as it's nighttime, one can cultivate without needing a specific location."

  Yang Yun sighed and immediately began to cultivate the Moon Flower True Classic.

  Since there was no one to disturb him, Yang Yun didn't mind revealing some unusual phenomena during his cultivation. A silver moonlight enveloped his body, quickly condensing into dozens of active light points that jumped and merged into the already successful acupoints on his body.

  The lunar essence of the True Classic flows smoothly along the meridians, happily and freely in these orifices. The surging silver light gradually becomes dim under the impact of the true energy. As the silver light dims, the flowing lunar essence also becomes slightly thicker. This is because the absorbed lunar essence has been converted into true energy.

  Invisible and colorless true energy circulates back and forth, and from time to time it will also split out a branch to impact the orifices that have not yet been successfully condensed.

  Unconsciously, Yang Yun had circulated the Moon Flower True Qi for over a dozen cycles. He came back to his senses and slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air from his chest and lungs. Then he took a deep breath of fresh air, and suddenly felt an extremely refreshing sensation spreading from his chest to all parts of his body.

  Look up at the night sky, the remaining moon has already moved halfway across the sky. This time, I have a feeling of accomplishment in my cultivation. After sensing it, I feel that the increase in Moonlight True Qi is also slightly greater than before.

  "It's really a great place." Yang Yun decided to work harder in the next few days at Haitian Academy, and every night he would come to this Xifen Pavilion to cultivate.

  ×××××××××

  Update notice: Starting from today's new book period, there will be three updates a day, approximately at 7-13-20 o'clock. Thank you for everyone's support and collection!!