Chapter 490

Qu Xin looked up at him.

"In two days," Pei Ye said while lying down, "I'll buy some more things, I'll trouble you to take them together."

Qu Xin lowered her head again.

Qu Xin kept him for a day; Pei Ye slept peacefully in the medical building for a night, thoroughly resting his body and nourishing his spirit.

After his True Qi regenerated, the injuries were just injuries and no longer affected the vitality of his entire body. Pei Ye got up, put on his clothes and boots, still asked for the consultation fee list, gritted his teeth at the numbers on it, waved his hand at the girl who was watching him, and said: "Don't worry, I won't be short of yours!"

After arranging to come back for a follow-up visit in two days, he left the medical building.

Qi Zhaohua was already waiting in the carriage, having prepared tea and breakfast for him.

Pei Ye lifted the curtain and boarded the carriage, laughing: "Is Layman Qi not busy today?"

"Enjun said you were injured and feared it would be inconvenient, so she sent me to take care of you, and even specially invited a palace physician. Who knew that after asking around yesterday, I found out you went there yourself." Qi Zhaohua leaned out to look at the girl's back as she sent him off; several physicians were bowing and asking her questions. She turned back to look at Pei Ye, "Who is this?"

"Qu Xin, the 【Little Medicine Monarch】 of Mount Taishan Medicine Hut; I knew her because she treated my injuries when I was in Shao Long," Pei Ye put away the elixir bottle Qu Xin gave him and picked up a small bun.

"Oh."

After finishing it in a few bites, Pei Ye looked at the route the carriage was taking: "Where are we going?"

"The Imperial Academy, isn't Young Master Pei supposed to attend class today?"

"..."

"Young Master Pei, just attend with peace of mind; the case has some clues, and after class today, I will take Young Master Pei back to the library to meet with Enjun."

The carriage soon drove into this Great Tang institution. Pei Ye got out of the carriage and was about to say goodbye, but saw Qi Zhaohua also lift the curtain and walk down.

"Young Master Pei, go ahead," Qi Zhaohua smiled and signaled, "I happen to have some things to do too."

Pei Ye turned his head to look, but saw Fang Jidao in a pavilion not far away, holding two books and staring blankly at the sky, his expression very distant. At this moment, as if sensing his gaze, he turned his head, and a smile bloomed on his face.

Pei Ye waved at him and left.

He wrapped his clothes around himself; it was still cold weather, but there was golden sunlight, and groups of scholars were coming and going in the peaceful and happy institution, a scene full of vitality.

Qi Zhaohua had thoughtfully brought him books and pens. Pei Ye sighed lightly and walked toward the depths; the last writing error left him with some shadow, and he made up his mind not to hand in homework anymore—but just listening to the lectures and hearing the teachers quote from various sources to explain profound principles was still quite interesting.

It was just that on the way in, Pei Ye had vaguely heard his name three times.

It was among groups of men and women, always in a tone of astonishment, mostly with curious expressions, and the conversation was filled with keywords like "Carp Pavilion," "West Pool," "Taiping Taiping Cao Bang," "Di Jiu," "Qiu Tianyu," "Yan Feiqing"... and so on.

He realized at this moment that a day and night had passed, and the matter had begun to spread and ferment in the Divine Capital.

From the common people to the literati to the officialdom, people's levels of concern were different, but they were all triggered by this matter. One could imagine that in the coming period, Xu Chuo would use this power to reshuffle many places.

But that was a topic for the evening. Pei Ye was carrying his schoolbag and walked near the classroom at this time, and was very surprised to find circles of scholars surrounding the door.

Clearly, they were not just students from the Four Gates Academy, and clearly, they were not just students of his year. People were stretching their heads to look into the classroom. Pei Ye walked over blankly and only heard their voices when he got there, his body couldn't help but pause.

"... Which one is Pei Ye?"

"I don't know, we didn't find the wrong one, did we?"

"They said he was in this grade."

"Does he really know Yan Feiqing?"

"... He's injured, maybe he won't come today."

"Ah, but the seats are all full."

"Did we not see clearly? Is that person who kills without blinking really studying with us?"

"Is he really that powerful? Can a Seventh Life kill a master? How did they fight that day?"

"Don't be anxious, "Changan Sword Affairs" published news yesterday, saying that Cui Zhaoye is already writing a sword review."

"Never heard of this person..."

"The lecturer is coming, let's go, let's go..."

Pei Ye lowered his head and squeezed through the crowd; for a moment, no one really paid attention to him. Li Mingqiu also arrived at this time. The surrounding scholars bowed and saluted one after another; some dispersed, while others asked carefully.

Pei Ye bowed and saluted the old gentleman first, and Li Mingqiu looked him up and down, also nodding in acknowledgment.

Pei Ye then entered the door, and from the moment the first gaze was cast, a tide of silence quickly spread throughout the entire classroom. Hundreds of gazes looked at the figure walking through the door.

Unlike the scholars outside who had heard some rumors and rushed over to watch the fun, everyone in the classroom naturally recognized him. They still clearly remembered the youth standing up from the back seat, looking around the entire classroom, and saying calmly: "I said I would deal with the Taiping Taiping Cao Bang... it won't live past the tenth day."

At that time, people's thoughts were different; while they admired his toughness, few truly trusted him.

Who knew he would really keep his word.

On the night when Di Jiu's life or death was unknown, the Three Offices were in name only, and the Taiping Taiping Cao Bang was at its peak, he and Yan Feiqing had overturned this behemoth that had been pressing on the hundred wards with just two swords. Before that night, how many people were proud to know the heroes under Taiping, and how many people admired the name and temperament of the 【Taiping Partridge】, including many students sitting here.

Now people knew that his sword was actually ten times harder than his words.

At this moment, the youth walked into the door, his clothes clean, his posture upright, his face still as quiet and gentle as usual, making it hard for people to imagine the way he looked coldly at the general and killed five with one sword in the rumors.

In fact, this was precisely what the Divine Capital was discussing endlessly now—a new name had emerged, but how were those who hadn't seen that battle to define his true position?

Not to mention that there were too many people who didn't understand cultivation.

So many times, the strength of a cultivator had to be explained to everyone by the Crane-Duck Ranking or sword reviewers.

Pei Ye was somewhat surprised by the silence he had caused, turned his head to look at everyone, many people shifted their gazes unnaturally, while many others looked at him with bright eyes. And in the back row, Tinghua raised her hand at him slightly.

Pei Ye nodded at these acquaintances, but he had come late today, and there were indeed no empty seats left in the back. It was only when he moved his gaze to the front row that he saw the only empty seat left beside Changsun.

The girl saw him looking, was stunned for a moment, moved her things back, and made room for him.

He had indeed met this girl a few times. Pei Ye walked over and sat down, but saw her looking up at him with wide eyes in a daze. Pei Ye nodded at her somewhat hesitantly, and the girl hurriedly returned the salute and sat up straight.

But after a pause, the girl turned her head elegantly: "Classmate Pei, have your injuries healed?"

"Ah, it's nothing serious," Pei Ye was stunned for a moment, "Thank you for your concern, classmate Changsun."

"That's good," Changsun couldn't help but glance at his right arm, which was not very convenient, but didn't ask further.

Li Mingqiu finally walked in from outside the door at this time and slowly opened the book on the platform.

The atmosphere in the classroom finally returned to normal. Li Mingqiu was lecturing on "Spring and Autumn" as usual. Pei Ye frowned again, but Fang Jidao was not there for him to ask today. Pei Ye hesitated for a moment, then turned his head to pass the book, whispering: "Classmate Changsun, sorry to bother you. I didn't find the sentence the teacher just said in the book."

Changsun was stunned: "The sentence 'The Master's words on nature and the Way of Heaven cannot be heard'?"

"Right, right."

"This sentence was cited by the teacher; it's a sentence from the "Analects"," Changsun explained in a small, serious voice. "It comes from the "Gongye Chang" chapter: "Zigong said: The Master's literary works can be heard. The Master's words on nature and the Way of Heaven cannot be heard." The teacher just talked about the theory of nature and the Way of Heaven, but the sage didn't explain this thousands of years ago, so the teacher cited this sentence to sigh."

Pei Ye nodded blankly.

However, the great Confucian on the platform today also seemed somewhat absent-minded. After sighing, he placed his hand on the book and fell silent.

After a long time, he looked up at the students in the hall: "Let's not lecture today; why don't you all talk about your views on nature and the Way of Heaven?"

The hall went quiet, with a slight commotion. Pei Ye subconsciously looked at Changsun again. The girl whispered: "This is a very deep and big question, and the definitions and debates are endless. Generally speaking, 'nature' refers to the essence that people are born with; 'Way of Heaven' refers to the order and laws of the operation of heaven and earth, the theory of Confucianism..."

But he heard Li Mingqiu call: "Yuxian."

Lin Yuxian stood up, hesitated, frowned and said: "Nature and life are profound and distant, the Way of Heaven is obscure and covered; 'the Master's words that cannot be heard' is because the Master didn't talk about this path. Studying Confucianism to govern the world, just knowing the people, monarch and ministers, and cultivating benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom is enough; don't talk about nature and the Way of Heaven."

Li Mingqiu nodded, noncommittal, looked around and said: "Those who follow this theory, please raise your hands."

Pei Ye looked back and saw a large half of them raise their hands.

Li Mingqiu signaled them to put them down, turned his head and looked at the girl beside Pei Ye: "Changsun, do you dare to speak?"

Pei Ye was stunned.

Changsun stood up slowly, was silent for a moment, and said clearly: "The Master rarely spoke of nature and the Way of Heaven, not because he didn't speak of them."

The hall went quiet.

The girl spoke eloquently: "In the "Analects", there is only one place where 'nature' is mentioned, that is, in "Analects Yang Huo", the Master said: 'Nature is similar, habits are far apart'."

"There are two places where 'Way of Heaven' is mentioned. One is in "Analects Weizheng", the Master said: 'At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning. At thirty, I stood firm. At forty, I had no doubts. At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven. At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth. At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right'."

"The second is in "Analects Jishi", the Master said: 'The superior man has three things to fear: he fears the decrees of Heaven, he fears great men, he fears the words of the sages. The inferior man does not know the decrees of Heaven and does not fear them, he treats great men with familiarity, and insults the words of the sages'."

Changsun paused: "Strange, force, chaos, gods—the world has them; Heaven, Way, luck, trend—the Great Tang relies on them. Therefore, I think it cannot be not talked about, but I am shallow in learning and dull in eyes, and have no true knowledge."

The hall was suddenly silent as death.

Li Mingqiu nodded: "These are sincere words, try to speak of it."

Changsun said: "For thousands of years, the sages of the past have all said that people are born in heaven and earth, 'nature' is the projection of 'Way of Heaven' on people, therefore people should follow the laws of heaven, which is called the unity of heaven and man..."

"Do you follow this theory?"

"... The student cannot find a place to refute it."

Li Mingqiu was silent for a moment, also nodded: "Those who follow this theory, please raise your hands."

Many more people raised their hands.

And although there was still a considerable number of people who didn't raise their hands, Li Mingqiu didn't ask anymore, but suddenly turned his head and said: "Pei Ye, you are a cultivator, what is your interpretation?"

Pei Ye was stunned, stood up slowly: "... What cultivators seek, they often talk about the word 'Way'. The theory of 'man and heaven as one', the Daoist family holds this kind of cultivation method, and the achievements are also the best in the world, sword practitioners pursue moves, intent, mind, Way, and finally also connect to heaven and earth from the 'heart', so, I think this theory of Confucianism is appropriate."

Li Mingqiu was silent for a moment: "So, in cultivation, 'Way' is the highest pursuit of cultivators, which is the 'Way of Heaven'?"

"Correct—" Pei Ye nodded, but suddenly froze, a torrent rushing from his spine to his crown.

No, no, it's not... there is one thing that is not.

"Sword," Pei Ye said suddenly in a daze, and the whole hall went quiet.

"Sword Way is not the Way of Heaven," Pei Ye looked up at the great Confucian on the platform, "The sword is man's sword."

This profound and somewhat solemn lesson finally ended, but this was the lesson Pei Ye was most fully engaged in, because he realized for the first time that the things discussed in these books were not just to let him read and recognize words, but were so truly and closely related to his cultivation; they were in the same world, because they also followed the same rules and cared about the same problems.

This lesson made him ponder for a long time. He was thirsting for knowledge and asked the girl beside him for advice for the second half of the lesson and the whole afternoon. She was indeed a student who "knew all five classics," and her explanation was as precise as Fang Jidao's, and even more delicate, and she would even take the initiative to ask him what he didn't understand.

But at this time, the lesson ended. When Pei Ye stood up, he looked at the classroom door and was stunned again.

Shadows were blocked densely at the door, leaving only a passage for entry and exit, and the two words "Pei Ye" were repeatedly passed in.

Pei Ye stood stiffly on the spot, and Changsun also stood there holding her books in a daze, looking at the youth beside her, then at the shadows at the door, and was stunned.

But soon her eyes lit up, and she whispered to Pei Ye: "You go to the back door and wait for me."

Pei Ye was stunned, but saw the girl go out holding her books, naturally not blocked by people, and the back door was diagonally opposite the front door, leading to who knows where. Pei Ye carried his schoolbag and waited here, seeing that it had been locked from the outside for years, and had already fallen with a lot of dust.

He waited here, and soon there was a fine panting behind the door. After a rustle, there was the sound of a lock opening. Changsun smiled and pulled the door open from the outside, her eyes bright and her cheeks slightly red.

Pei Ye drilled out from here and laughed: "Sorry to trouble classmate Changsun to run so fast."

Changsun locked the door again and said seriously: "If it were slow, and there was no one in the classroom, they would see you at a glance."

Pei Ye looked around; it was the road Xu Chuo took him to the library last time. He thought it was a place for the lecturers to rest. The girl was trusted and close, so she had this key.

At this time, it was naturally inconvenient to stay for long. The two went around and headed outside the Imperial Academy. It was already dusk, and the lanterns were just lit. Sparse stars hung in the dim sky. Pei Ye looked at the girl beside him gratefully: "Classmate Changsun, thank you for your explanation today."

The day ended, and he benefited a lot. The girl's voice sounded somewhat tired, but there was no impatience at all. Pei Ye believed that Fang Jidao had this patience, but he didn't have this time.

Changsun shook her head: "No, if classmate Fang is not here next time, classmate Pei can still ask me for explanation."

Pei Ye felt somewhat apologetic: "My knowledge is too shallow, I almost don't know anything, you are the best in knowledge, I'm afraid I'll drag you down in listening to the lecture."

Changsun shook her head and looked at him seriously: "Classmate Pei, you are also the best and bravest sword hero in the world."

"..."

Changsun lowered her head for a moment, raised a pair of bright eyes and looked at him: "Classmate Pei, can you tell me how you practice sword every day in the Cultivation Library?"

So after Qi Zhaohua waited for a long time in front of the carriage, she finally saw the familiar figure walking over laughing and talking with a beautiful and elegant strange girl. The girl was dressed in elegant and exquisite clothes, and at a glance, she was from a high-ranking family, looking at him seriously when the youth spoke.

Until they reached the door, the two nodded to each other and separated. Pei Ye walked over, Qi Zhaohua turned her head to watch the girl's back, withdrew her gaze: "Who is this again?"

"Changsun, a classmate who goes to school together," Pei Ye laughed, "A very good person, told me a lot of classics."

But she saw the woman looking at him silently, her gaze quite quiet.

"... What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Qi Zhaohua sighed lightly, "It's just that when I was in Bowang, I pointed out Young Master Pei's love affairs, but now it seems that it was somewhat self-inflicted humiliation."