My Wife Is A Sword Immortal-Chapter 97 - 84 I Have Another Friend
Chapter 97: Chapter 84 I Have Another Friend
The next day.
The sky was clear, the air crisp, and a gentle breeze blew softly.
Lanxi, nestled among layers of green hills, hid a lake of emerald water reflecting the surrounding forests.
A flat-bottomed boat aimlessly roved the water’s surface.
At the boat’s bow, a delicate figure squatted beside a firmly anchored fishing rod, extending a slender, pale hand, cautiously pressing down on the bamboo fishing rod with two fingers.
Once, then again.
The rod, awaiting a fateful fish, bent like a willow on the lakeshore, now bobbing and the silk fishing line dancing non-stop. The silver mirror-like surface of the water rippled beautifully.
“Su Xiaoxiao!”
The mischievous little Fox Demon withdrew her hand and cuddled it into her chest, looking up into the sky.
“If you keep messing around, we’ll have no fish for lunch, and I’ll stew you instead.”
The voice from inside the boat carried over once more.
“Hmm.”
A little head, full of curiosity, vigorously nodded three times, its ponytail bouncing with each nod.
Inside the cabin, Zhao Rong sighed as he withdrew his gaze, glancing at Lin Wenruo and Liu Sanbian.
One wore a smile, while the other seemed sullen and reticent.
They were to depart on their journey the following day, and since the weather was exceptionally fine today, Lin Wenruo suggested they take a boat out for a leisurely excursion.
The three of them continued sipping on clear wine.
Zhao Rong lifted his white porcelain cup, taking a light sip, relishing the fragrant and refreshing taste.
Yet his gaze involuntarily glanced at Lin Wenruo’s hand.
One was hidden in his wide sleeve while the other was wrapped with a white handkerchief, trembling slightly as it clutched the cup.
Zhao Rong had hoped to rest quietly today, but Lin Wenruo had shown up at his door as if nothing was out of the ordinary, first thing in the morning.
Lin Wenruo said with a smile, “The carp soup from our Wenchang Lake in Lanxi is famously delicious. It was once a delicacy exclusively supplied to the royal family. Ziyu must try some later.”
Zhao Rong smiled in agreement, then turned to look at the little Fox Demon at the bow. He noticed that she was finally behaving, not causing any more trouble, just reaching her hand out to play with the water.
The three clinked their cups and drank.
Lin Wenruo glanced at Liu Sanbian, who spoke very little, “Sanbian, are you also traveling to Du You City with Ziyu?”
Liu Sanbian replied gruffly, “Great Wei.”
“Great Wei, oh, that’s not far then. It should take less than a month to arrive. Hmm, I remember when I just returned to the country, the monarch of Great Wei had also invited me…”
The three chatted idly.
Before long, amid excited cries from the little Fox Demon, Zhao Rong reeled in the fishing rod and prepared the freshly caught carp for the soup.
Actually, he hadn’t known how to do any of these tasks before, but during the journey, living in the open, they initially relied on Liu Sanbian. Later, feeling somewhat embarrassed, he learned some essential outdoor survival skills from Liu Sanbian.
So later on the road, Zhao Rong and Liu Sanbian took turns cooking.
What about Su Xiaoxiao, you ask? Sorry, she only knew how to eat.
Waiting, hungry and impatient.
The creamy fish soup was indeed very fresh and highly nourishing; Su Xiaoxiao had eaten until full, gently rubbed her belly, a face of contentment.
After tea and dinner, Liu Sanbian closed his eyes for a nap, Zhao Rong continued telling the fox demon the stories from “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio” that had been paused for ten days, with Lin Wenruo listening curiously alongside.
Zhao Rong told Su Xiaoxiao a very educational story, “The Painted Skin” from “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio”.
“Ziyu, this story of yours isn’t bad at all, deep in meaning, novel and interesting,” said Lin Wenruo with a nod.
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Zhao Rong smiled and turning to the little fox demon beside him, said, “Su Xiaoxiao, did you understand? In the future, be careful not to be lured away by a scoundrel dressed in a fair skin.”
Su Xiaoxiao responded earnestly, “Zhao Rong, shouldn’t you be the careful one? Uh, that foolish scholar in the story was seduced by a ghost cloaked in a pretty skin, not listening to his kind wife’s words anymore. Just like…like when I’m looking out for your best interests, you just won’t listen, insisting on…”
The little fox demon hadn’t finished her sentence when she suddenly hugged her small head and glared with wide eyes at the Confucian scholar before her, with an expression that read “See, I’m looking out for you and you’re bullying me again”.
Zhao Rong, now on the receiving end of a reverse education, expressionlessly withdrew the hand which had been intimately touching her soft, black hair.
Lin Wenruo stifled a laugh from the sidelines.
Su Xiaoxiao huffed, feeling as though she had indeed encountered a scoundrel wearing a human skin. She pouted and ran to the bow of the boat to play, and before she left, she made a “very scary” face at Zhao Rong.
Inside the boat, Zhao Rong and Lin Wenruo exchanged glances; Zhao Rong shook his head with a smile.
Suddenly, Lin Wenruo, as if he recalled something, whispered, “Ziyu, about that ‘Unity of Substance and Function’ from yesterday… was it you…”
“Hmm, I heard it from someone else,” Zhao Rong interrupted, shaking his wine cup, “A friend mentioned it, hmm, no idea where he got it from either.”
Lin Wenruo raised his eyebrow and glanced outside where Su Xiaoxiao was sitting at the bow, barefoot and playing in the water, with an odd expression on his face.
“Ahem, it wasn’t her; this silly girl, I guess she only saw how handsome I was on stage yesterday, probably didn’t understand anything else,” Zhao Rong said with a light chuckle, “But she did clap very eagerly.”
Lin Wenruo nodded, not inquiring further, only after a moment of silence, he suddenly mentioned seemingly casually, “Then, Ziyu, when you see that friend next time, you might ask him, if he was the first to propose it, he could try at the Jixia Academy on Tunan Continent.”
Zhao Rong’s hand, swirling his wine cup, paused slightly, his eyelids lowered, continuing his friend’s line of thought, “Why should he go to Jixia Academy?”
Lin Wenruo looked straight at Zhao Rong, “The world is sentient and can discern the Great Dao. Your friend’s ‘Unity of Substance and Function’ might be a new Dao that could be recognized by this world. But with so many creatures in the multitude, the spirit of the world is muddled and foolish, making it hard to ‘hear’.”
“One must go to certain special Land of Dao Validation; only there can a new theory potentially be ‘heard’ and acknowledged by the world, added to the world’s principles, turning into traces of the Great Dao.”
“Furthermore, the first proposer will be rewarded by the world; even if it is a small ‘Dao’ that is validated, the rewards are enormously significant.”
“This is why the cultivators of various schools seek such ascendance, and it’s also the cause of their profound cultivation – it’s the broad and easy way that we all dream of.”
Lin Wenruo shifted his gaze to outside the boat towards the green mountains and waters, whispering softly, “Places that can communicate with the world, where Dao can be validated, are extremely scarce in the Xuanhuang, and Jixia Academy is one of these places, also the most famous one.”
Zhao Rong sipped his drink, thought for a moment, then voiced his uncertainty, “Then why can poetry be appreciated at any time and place?”
“This is thanks to our Confucian saints. The way of poetry has long been recognized by the world as part of the Great Dao and is even one of the world’s most favored aspects of the Great Dao. It has become a principle of the world, omnipresent. Every time a new appreciated piece of poetry is born, it adds a bit to this Great Dao, and the world of the Xuanhuang Realm automatically responds.”
Lin Wenruo sighed, “Among all the scholar cultivators, we Confucians truly have an exceptional advantage.”
Zhao Rong nodded, not replying, nor asking anything further, simply looking down into his cup.
Lin Wenruo glanced at Zhao Rong’s expression, the corner of his mouth curling up almost imperceptibly, “Don’t worry, you can tell that friend later; it doesn’t matter. A new academic theory can only be validated by the person who proposes it first in this world, anytime they go.”
Zhao Rong, feeling a bit embarrassed by the scrutiny, coughed and hastened to say, “Hmm, I’ll pass the message accurately, and thank you on his behalf for your kind intentions.”
Lin Wenruo smiled and nodded.
Zhao Rong downed his drink, exhaled lightly, then suddenly asked a question that surprised Lin Wenruo somewhat.
“Wenruo, do you know anything about the situation with the Marquis Mansion selecting an emperor in the Western Fu Yao Continent, Kun Du?”
