NFBE Chapter 241 Crossing the Mountain as Willow Catkins
Chapter 241 Crossing the Mountain as Willow Catkins
Liu Shu got the opportunity to borrow books from Bingdeng Academy, and from then on, he was like a rooted person in the library, wandering among the vast sea of books.
If they encountered any problems they didn't understand, they would ask some disciples of Bingdeng Academy or scholars who came to the library to consult the classics.
Among them, her favorites were the disciple Dongfang Yu, whom she had seen at the entrance when she first arrived, and the elder guarding the library, Master Shangguan.
"Miss Liu! Miss Liu!"
The young man's voice pulled Liu Shu from her thoughts, which were still lingering in the book. The woman gently looked up and saw Dongfang Yu's face outside the window.
Dongfang Yu was young, but more lively than his upright and proper fellow disciples. He was currently stretching out his hand outside the window.
In the boy's palm, he held a small incense burner.
"Miss Liu, please accept this. This is from the dean."
Liu Shu quickly put down his book, caught the exquisite little incense burner, and examined it in his hands.
The small incense burner is shaped like a small mountain. She had seen it in a tree before; it's called a Boshan burner.
It was something that scholars and literati particularly liked.
It was warm to the touch, and there was clearly a fire burning inside, but no smoke was visible.
Dongfang Yu's somewhat smug voice came from outside the window:
"The dean said that there is a cold vein beneath this library. Miss Liu is a plant spirit, and being in extremely cold places would damage her cultivation, so he gave me this. The Heavenly Fire burning inside this Boshan Furnace only warms the body and will not ignite the books inside."
Liu Shu then understood the purpose of the item in her hand. The woman placed the small incense burner on the table and looked at Dongfang Yu outside through the window: "Please thank the Dean for me."
Dongfang Yu nodded.
Looking at the boy outside the window, Liu Shu wondered how he could express his gratitude to him.
She was just a rogue cultivator, a willow demon, and didn't have anything valuable on her. At this moment, she genuinely wanted to make friends with Dongfang Yu.
What should I give as a gift?
Dongfang Yu watched as the woman's beautiful eyes sparkled, revealing a clear and refined temperament, and an air of scholarly elegance.
"Fellow Daoist Dongfang, Liu Shu has something for you..." the woman suddenly said.
"What? What?" Dongfang Yu happily moved closer.
A quarter of an hour later, Dongfang Yu stood in front of the Bingdeng Academy's classroom, clutching a thick stack of notes, and for the first time doubted his own talent for entering the academy.
A female student from the dormitory passed by and asked curiously, "Dongfang, what are you doing?"
Dongfang Yu didn't say anything, but took out a notebook from her stack and showed it to her.
So the number of people doubting themselves in the courtyard increased from one to two.
"Senior Sister Yan, do you think all the students outside Bingdeng Academy study like this?" Dongfang Yu asked, her voice heavy with lifelessness. She then recalled the gentle-looking Miss Liu taking out a mountain of notes from her sleeve.
Then he spoke gently: "In my humble opinion, you and Fellow Daoist Dongfang can take a look at each other's work."
His disciple, Yan Fei, spoke up: "I don't know, but what can we use to exchange with them?"
A good question left the two of them silent for a long time...
Since that day, Dongfang Yu and Yan Fei have been either studying or on their way to study...
Even the teacher in charge of instructing them began to praise the two of them, saying that they were teachable and could turn back from the wrong path.
Overall, the two, who originally planned to linger for two years, were spurred on by Liu Shu and embarked on a long journey of learning, from which they became unstoppable.
Spring goes and autumn comes. The Great Qian Dynasty was originally located in the far north of the Yuan and Ming dynasties, and Guangye City was located in the north of the Great Qian Dynasty. It was only the beginning of autumn when it snowed here.
Wearing a green cloak, Liu Shu braved the first light snow to arrive at the library. Pushing open the wooden door, the chill inside rushed out, making her shiver.
"After all, it's not such a powerful demon," the woman sighed inwardly, raising her hand to light the magical artifacts used for illumination in the pavilion. One by one, the lamps overhead lit up. Two figures appeared in the dimly lit library.
One is Master Shangguan of the library, who is now Liu Shu's teacher. The other is Ji Fangya, the dean of Bingdeng Academy.
Liu Shu bowed to the two people in front of him, his voice calm: "Liu Shu greets the Master and the Dean."
Ji Fangya looked at the woman in front of him. In just half a year, when Liu Shu first arrived at Bingdeng Academy, her hair was still black with streaks of white, but now it was completely white.
A young woman with graying hair might seem ridiculous to others, but to Ji Fangya and Master Shangguan, it evoked only pity.
Ji Fangya took a few steps forward and looked at Liu Shu: "I heard from Master Shangguan that you are planning to leave Bingdeng Academy?"
Liu Shu glanced at Ji Fangya, knowing that the things that needed to be said would eventually have to be said.
The woman with a full head of white hair had an unparalleled determination in her eyes, like a fire lit in the darkness on an icy plain.
“My two teachers must have already realized that Liu Shu’s days are numbered. This time I am leaving so that I can take what I have learned out of Bingdeng Academy and teach it to more women.”
Ji Fangya nodded, which was considered an affirmation of Liu Shu's idea.
The old man spoke, asking amidst the heavy snowfall outside the window:
"Liu Shu, why are you helping those women?"
“Because I have come to know the suffering in the world, I feel indignant,” Liu Shu replied.
Ji Fangya asked again, "There is so much suffering in the world, how can you alone save everyone?"
A smile appeared on Liu Shu's face: "This student knows that one person's strength is insufficient, and blind protection is also unacceptable..."
"However, enlightenment and wisdom are possible!"
As soon as Liu Shu uttered those words, the books floating in mid-air in the library began to move on their own without any wind, and the sound of pages turning was incessant, like a never-ending downpour.
Liu Shu thought of Xiao Shuang, and of all the heavy rain he had seen along the way... that was directed only at women.
Ji Fangya smiled and said, "Let's go. Take everything you wrote in the library with you and use it to enlighten your mind."
A smile appeared on Liu Shu's lips, and the woman slowly bowed to the two old men before her. Then, she took out the Boshan incense burner, a gift from Ji Fangya, from her sleeve.
"The student is leaving today, so this item is being returned to its rightful owner."
To everyone's surprise, the usually gentle and polite Dean Ji waved his hand at Liu Shu and said, "It's not like I gave it to you, why are you giving it to me?"
Liu Shu was stunned for a moment, but before he could speak, Ji Fangya disappeared from the spot.
She looked at her teacher, Master Shangguan, who coughed twice and then pointed to the door.
Outside the library, Dongfang Yu and Yan Fei arrived, each carrying a stack of notebooks and a delicate little box.
Yan Fei stepped forward and took Liu Shu's hand: "We heard you were leaving, so we came to see you."
"Where do you want to teach? I'll come find you."
Looking at his two friends in front of him, Liu Shu couldn't help but laugh out loud.
For no other reason than that these two had put in a lot of effort over the past six months in order to exchange notes with her, and they both looked exhausted.
"I'll let you know when I get there." Liu Shu accepted the gifts and bid farewell to the two of them: "Today I am leaving the academy. Take care, both of you."
Dongfang Yu nodded vigorously, and the two watched Liu Shu leave Bingdeng Academy in the wind and snow.
Looking at the snow falling from the sky, Yan Fei couldn't help but say, "This weather is really..."
"Is this really such an ill-timed event?"
Behind Bingdeng Academy, beneath a massive black pillar, two figures, one in black and one in white, watched Liu Shu emerge from the academy's gate.
Amidst the endless wind and snow, her emerald green robe was the only vibrant thing.
Dressed in white, Ling Yuanzi waved his sleeve, sending a burst of spiritual energy into the clouds.
After leaving the academy, Liu Shu suddenly felt a strong urge to see what Dongfang Yu and the others had given him, so he took out the exquisite box from his sleeve and opened it:
Inside the box was a scroll. As it was slowly unfurled, Liu Shu saw two lines of elegant, natural-looking calligraphy:
"Though bound by constraints in ordinary times, my spirit soars across ten thousand rivers; though I am but a willow catkin, I traverse a thousand mountains!"
The heavy snow overhead had stopped sometime ago, and the distant mountains were clear and covered in white snow.
Liu Shu's eyes were a little moist.
A small figure appeared in her mind, someone she called her older sister.
This journey may be fraught with peril, or it may be a one-way trip with no return in sight, but there is no longer any fear or hesitation.