Jade Capital Celestial City.
This seed like an ordinary day.
The Emperor who doesn’t attend court still doesn’t attend, and the Great Scholar Wen Daoyuan who declared seclusion is still "in seclusion."
Without the control of the Emperor and Liu Shao, the various battles that were once raging in the court have unknowingly co to a halt.
The entire Jade Capital is in a peculiar silence akin to the calm before a volcanic eruption.
So people with a keen sense of sll have unknowingly tucked their tails.
Yet there are more people whose eyes can only see the superficial prosperity.
The singing and dancing at the Gold Wind Jade Dew Tower never cease for twelve hours, the idle rich still call upon friends to indulge in revelry.
A spirited young man leans against the horse by the bridge, the red sleeve beckons amidst the crowd.
On the bustling streets, little girls sell flowers, old won serve tea.
And there’s a peddler with his wares, pinwheels spinning, attracting a chase.
At so point, a nursery rhy began spreading through the streets of Jade Capital:
"Three taels of gold, three taels of silver, aren’t as good as three taels of life-extending tea.
Read good books, enjoy reading, but cultivating longevity is better...
Oh, oh, oh, fa and fortune are all illusions!"
The nursery rhy seems to contradict the current mainstream ideology of studying for fa, yet it actually reflects the trending direction of Jade Capital from another angle.
What’s trending in Jade Capital nowadays?
Trending is idle talk, world-weariness, and immortality!
Especially at certain elegant cultural gatherings, if you ntion your dedication to studying for the purpose of gaining top honors in the imperial exams.
That’s just terrible, you’ll undoubtedly encounter derision from several voices.
Only saying: "Brother, you are now blinded by fa, can’t see through the vanity of fa and fortune?
Haven’t you heard about the grandeur of tall buildings and halls filled with gold and jade, yet in the end, they can’t withstand a century of ti, becoming dust."
"The universe is boundless, life is finite, oh the sorrow!"
Such idle talk is rampant.
Interestingly, even in this background, scholars keep claiming they do not seek fa and fortune, yet there are still plenty of them sharpening their minds for the imperial exams.
According to Chen Xu’s knowledge, this year in the district exam of the capital region, the number of scholars participating reached as many as eight thousand.
While eight thousand people took part, the number of those who actually passed and beca Scholars did not exceed four hundred.
Despite this, countless scholars sharpen their minds year after year, rushing to the examination halls.
From this, it’s evident that the mouths of scholars are deceptive.
They say they won’t take the exams, yet in the end, they still do.
Now, at the end of July, in a few days, it will be the golden autumn of August.
After August passes, autumn goes and winter cos, marking the end of another year.
Co next spring, it will be the triennial spring exams of the Great Li Dynasty.
But Chen Xu believes that next year’s imperial spring exams are less likely to occur.
He tidied up the Red-clothed Daoist Lin Jichang, and after erging from the Netherworld, arrived at the steps of Twelve-Layered Tower, the tallest in Jade Capital.
Before this, he had briefly released Ah Shi and Wei Yuan.
Chen Xu mainly inquired the little mouse about the incident where it and Master Jiu were pursued.
Because he discovered that so of Lin Jichang’s testimonies could actually connect to the incident where two Mouse Demons were pursued.
Back then, Master Jiu was extrely secretive about his origins, and always avoided discussing his "great enemy."
When asked further, it only said: "This matter is too complex, there may be disaster, it’s inconvenient to reveal."
It also said: "Wait until Mr. Chen’s cultivation is completed, then discussing details will not be too late."
Now Chen Xu’s cultivation is infinitely close to the eighth level of Golden Core, among the not-so-high overall limit of the Great Li Kingdom, who knows if this counts as having cultivated successfully?
Unfortunately, regardless of whether Chen Xu’s cultivation is successful, there remains a significant problem: even with his cultivation growing to this day, he still cannot separate Master Jiu from Ah Shi’s belly.
To this, Ah Shi explained:
"Scholar, when you successfully diverted the water from north to south, we also received your rit; not long ago, I even invited Master Jiu out once.
Master Jiu said, to truly separate him and improve his injury, it requires more rit.
So if you have sothing major in Jade Capital, you absolutely mustn’t hide us again.
With the continuation of last ti’s rit, I can invite Master Jiu out once more.
Master Jiu is super powerful; once he helps you accomplish a few major tasks, when our rit gathers enough, Master Jiu’s illness will be cured."
As for who the great enemy behind chasing the two mice really is, after listening to Chen Xu’s inquiries and explanations, the little mouse replied:
"I only rember, when I was young, I lived in a place that seed like a heavenly palace.
It was so big, so big, with many gardens.
The people living inside were like immortals; to travel from one mountain peak to another, they didn’t walk but rode cranes.
In the palace, there was an old sage who frequently lectured on Dao, accompanied by exotic fragrances.
Master Jiu used to take , to secretly listen to his lecture behind the sage’s cushion, and the old sage never chased us away.
He sotis even brought out Spirit Rice and Spirit Fruits to feed us, even the excess oil offered to the ancestors, during lamp replacent, he was willing to pour those parts out.
The oil he poured, Master Jiu took , and we caught it all..."
The little mouse sat in Chen Xu’s palm, chirping away.
Chirping on, its tone gradually beca nostalgic, yet there was an unspeakable lancholy in its deanor.
Its grey-golden fur glimred under the foggy sky of the Netherworld. When Chen Xu gently stroked its head, it couldn’t resist rubbing against Chen Xu’s fingertip.
Chen Xu felt as if the tip of his fingers was flowing with a warm and spirited water.
He softly asked: "Then later on, what was the reason you all left?"
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