Huancheng Deep - Kapitel 7
“Very well, then come in.” Yu Zhou pushed open the door and saw an old man dressed in gray linen clothes sitting on the ground, playing chess with pebbles, without even glancing at Yu Zhou.
Yu Zhou put the broom aside and waited quietly for the old man's next move. The old man looked at the chessboard on the ground, then turned to Yu Zhou: "Young man, what do you think is the meaning of this broom?"
"If you can't sweep a room, how can you sweep the world? These two sentences are probably the first hurdle a teacher faces." (Calm and composed.)
"Hahaha, how do you know?" the old man retorted to Yu Zhou, his eyes gleaming with calculation.
"It would be rather jarring if the teacher placed a broom in the middle of the road." How could the most prestigious academy in the land do something so strange? A mere servant, lacking manners, insults a student; how could such a large academy carelessly discard even a broom? How ridiculous!
“Sharp observation, very good. Now, you can break this game.” The old man stroked his goatee and dusted himself off.
Yu Zhou walked towards the chessboard paved with pebbles. It was the Zhenlong Chessboard, with ingenious moves like "Golden Rooster Standing on One Leg" and "Mouse Stealing Oil" linked together, including the largest "Reverse Boot Removal" move in history. Yu Zhou's mind gradually became muddled; he realized that the Zhenlong Chessboard truly had the power to devour souls. Yu Zhou immediately placed a pebble on the second or third line to tighten his own liberty, then Black countered by capturing 16 White stones. White then cut off Black's stones, capturing 80 points.
The old man was taken aback, looking at Yu Zhou, who was sweating profusely, with disbelief on his face.
"How could this be? You brat, you've cut off your own escape route," the old man muttered to himself.
"Teacher, did I pass?" Yu Zhou leaned against the wall and struggled to his feet. The exhaustion caused him to cough again, but he managed to suppress it.
"Good lad, you actually solved the Zhenlong Chess Formation. A true genius!" The old man stood up happily and tightly grasped Yu Zhou's hand.
"You flatter me, teacher," Yu Zhou said with a modest smile. But inside she was secretly delighted, after all, she had read *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*!
"Very good, exceptional talent, humble and polite, truly a prodigy." The old man's praise made Yu Zhou overjoyed. But she didn't see the old man's eyes, which were gleaming with a green light.
"Then, teacher, may I enter the Six Arts?" Yu Zhou asked cautiously.
"Not yet, there's still one more hurdle." The old man made a sudden turn, causing Yu Zhou to be disappointed.
"Do you know why our Six Arts Academy is called Six Arts?" The old man swept the floor happily with a broom. Yu Zhou suddenly realized that he really resembled his eccentric master.
"Rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics. Teacher, am I right?" Yu Zhou was being particularly patient!
"That's good. How are your things?" The old man continued sweeping, speaking casually. While he wouldn't claim to be unparalleled in the world for the other skills, they were certainly unmatched. However, his horsemanship was something that made Yu Zhou feel utterly ashamed. He could mount from the left and dismount from the right, and vice versa. He was thrown off before even getting on the horse. The donkey also struggled to climb up. And now this old man was asking him this.
"Is there a problem with you?" The old man looked at Yu Zhou with suspicion. Although he couldn't see Yu Zhou's appearance clearly, he could still sense Yu Zhou's unease.
"Alright, let's talk outside." Cold sweat streamed down Yu Zhou's hands. Ying Xue also looked at her with great concern. Ying Xue knew what was good about her master, except that her riding skills were something she found embarrassing! Hearing this, Yu Zhou stiffly walked towards the door.
A wave of resentment washed over me, and my heart ached! I should have known better than to be so reckless; now it's too late. I even had to ride a horse.
[Admission]
The old man cunningly led Yu Zhou to a dark room. The room was divided into six sections, one of which emitted a clear, melancholic sound, like a flowing spring, carrying a hint of sorrow and lamentation. The old man gestured for her to push open the door, where she saw a woman in green robes, her hair disheveled, sitting at a desk, her smile bitter and tinged with resentment.
"Young man, tell me what you think of this zither," the old man asked, stroking the instrument.
“Miss’s zither playing is superb, but her skill has not yet reached its peak.” Yu Zhou’s words shocked many people. The old man looked at Yu Zhou with great dissatisfaction. Just now she was humble and polite, but now she was arrogant and conceited. Qin Yan’s zither playing skills can be said to be first-rate among the five kingdoms, and this brat actually said that her zither playing skills have not yet reached their peak.
"So you mean you can play this instrument better?" The old man looked uneasy.
Yu Zhou remained silent, simply plucking a few strings to tune the instrument. Suddenly, the music became ethereal. The guqin faintly radiated heat, and a delicate fragrance gradually spread from its body—the Burning Qin! Watching the billowing white smoke, Qin Yan was astonished, seeing that the thirteen-year-old boy had actually played the Burning Qin. The highest level of guqin playing is to bring out the instrument's own fragrance—the fragrance of the guqin. However, it takes more than a decade of practice to produce such a fragrance. And this boy before her had actually produced a fragrance that she could never surpass.
The old man was also dumbfounded; he never expected to see the burning of the zither in his lifetime. She had every reason to be proud.
"Young man, you know how to play the zither?" the old man asked Yu Zhou. Yu Zhou stopped plucking, a smile playing at the corners of his eyes: "I know a little." Although Yu Zhou's zither skills were very high, his perverted master said he lacked emotion. He couldn't move people's hearts. While the woman in green's zither skills weren't as superb as Yu Zhou's, her emotions were deeply moving, whereas she herself lacked any emotion. This was the part that Yu Zhou lacked.
The woman in green didn't speak again, just stared blankly at her zither. Meanwhile, the old man had already led Yu Zhou to the second room, which was brightly lit. A fair-skinned scholar stood in front of the desk, smiling at Yu Zhou, and pointed to the nine-square grid on the table, saying, "In the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, fill in the grid with numbers one to nine so that the sum of the three numbers diagonally opposite each column and row is 15."
"No need. Two and four for the shoulders, six and eight for the feet, three on the left and seven on the right, nine on the head and one on the feet, five in the center." Yu Zhou quickly filled in the numbers in the grid. The fair-skinned scholar looked at Yu Zhou in surprise, never expecting that the math problem he had spent more than ten years solving could be solved by a child in less than a few seconds. He quickly calculated it again and found that there were still no mistakes. He then began to recite the formula in a muttering manner.
"You, how could you possibly have figured it out so quickly?" The fair-skinned scholar trembled, his heart churning with turmoil. He looked at the boy in black, unsure whether to feel joy or sorrow.
With a whoosh, another door opened, revealing several calligraphy works. The characters were vigorous and powerful, their grandeur even surpassing that of Wang Xizhi! Yu Zhou seemed mesmerized. The old man coughed a few times to bring Yu Zhou back to his senses. He walked to the calligraphy and said, "These works were created by the abbot a thousand years ago. Your task is to write even better than him." The old man appeared harmless, yet he relentlessly pressed Yu Zhou, word by word.
Yu Zhou quickly picked up the brush and began to write with flowing, elegant strokes on the paper. The ink on the paper spread out faintly.
But when the old man picked up the paper, he chuckled. What a mess! It was practically scribbles. The old man smiled smugly. Finally, something had stumped this dark-skinned boy.
"Please turn it over so the teacher can see it from the other side," Yu Zhou said calmly.
“What? 'I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon, then lower it to think of my hometown.'” The old man turned the paper over and read aloud the words Yu Zhou had written on it. She could write in reverse, and her handwriting was delicate and beautiful, slender and graceful. It was in no way inferior to the calligraphy and paintings on the wall, but this poem, upon reflection, actually evoked a faint sense of homesickness. In terms of both imagery and brushwork, he had already won. But his creativity was novel and lively. One couldn't help but exclaim, “Young man, you are truly remarkable!”
"So what's next?" Although Yu Zhou was afraid of riding a horse, he had no choice but to ask.
A flash of red light appeared in the darkness, revealing a target. Then the red light faded. Darkness enveloped the room as the old man handed the arrow and bow to Yu Zhou. Without hesitation, Yu Zhou shot the arrow with a 'whoosh'. The red light reappeared, this time bright enough to illuminate the entire room, and the arrow remained firmly embedded in the bullseye. The old man rubbed his eyes hard, then looked at the arrow in Yu Zhou's hand. The shock this young man had given him surpassed that of most of his life. Yet this sickly boy still maintained his nonchalant demeanor. Little did the old man know, Yu Zhou was secretly gloating, his pride practically soaring.
"Next one, get on." The old man was really looking forward to Yu Zhou's performance, and he was very excited. But to his surprise, Yu Zhou stared at the horse for a long time, but Yu Zhou still didn't get on. Finally, the old man said impatiently, "Get on the horse, kid!"
With a pained expression, Yu Zhou clumsily climbed onto the horse's legs. The horse seemed to have a grudge against her, flicking its rump. Before she could even leave the horse's saddle, Yu Zhou fell to the ground. The horse disdainfully raised its head. Yu Zhou could only dust herself off and try again, but each time she was kicked and thrown off balance. She huddled in place, her clothes turning from black to gray. She still couldn't get back on the horse.
The old man finally realized that the boy also had his weaknesses; horses were his Achilles' heel. But the way he rode the horse was just too funny.
Yu Zhou still became a student at the Six Arts Academy, entering with the highest score.
Chongru Academy
"Brother Yuan, greetings." Feng Youhuang greeted Yuan Yang. He wore a purple robe and brocade belt, and his eyes held a hint of disappointment.
"Greetings, Brother Feng, aren't you going in?" Yuan Yang asked politely, with a warm smile like a spring breeze. The two standing at the door exchanged a smile and stepped into Chongru Academy.
Surrounded by lush bamboo, a few adorable little fish swim and play in a small pond. Several bamboo wind chimes hang from the rafters; a gentle breeze brings forth a melodious tinkling sound, accompanied by the cheerful chirping of birds. The cobblestone path is comfortable and beautiful.
But there was already someone in the courtyard.