Pei Zi Yun looked at the gifts and took a sip of tea. He then asked, "Someone sent gifts again?"
The butler was dark and plump, and was extremely respectful towards Pei Zi Yun. He then replied carefully, "Yes, there's also an invitation."
As he spoke, he handed it over to Pei Zi Yun. Pei Zi Yun took a look and placed it down, "Let's spread the news. Tell them that I'm preparing to study and take the Grand Scholar's exams.
Since he had become a Daoist, he would not be able to take the Grand Scholar's exams. However, most people did not know about it.
These days, the entire prefecture was talking about the emergence of a talented scholar in An Prefecture. Pei Zi Yun had written a poem at a banquet. All the scholars were copying this poem and savoring it. In the words of a famous scholar, Zhang An, this poem had the aura of an immortal. It had not been written in a hundred years.
Pei Zi Yun rejected all the invitations, saying that he had caught a cold. To spread one's name, one needed to be expensive and rare. If one's name was as rare as a cabbage, then it would be worthless. Hence, he tried his best to reject the invitations and attend expensive banquets. Every few months, he would write a poem. This was known as hunger marketing back on earth.
"The first step is complete. Now it's time to move on to the next step."
The books in Fu Mansion were not bad. It was just that if he wanted to become famous, he needed to write a book as well. Thinking back to his previous life's memories, he was secretly relieved.
Thinking back, all the knowledge he had read before would appear in his mind. This should be the effect of the Plum Blossom. Speaking of which, the original owner's memories were as clear as a file.
As he searched through his memories, other than the poems, there were also the notes he had read.
"Who would've thought that in my previous life, after failing in the stock market, I would lick my wounds and seek consolation from old books. Instead, I would obtain many valuable treasures."
"For example, the Great Scholar's Notes. This is the culmination of all the research of the future generations."
"It's not that the more the better. In fact, I only need a few masterpieces."
Pei Zi Yun was studying diligently upstairs. He spread out a piece of paper and ground the ink. He then picked up a brush and dipped it into the ink. He then started writing on the paper. Based on his memories of the Great Scholar's Notes, he wrote very quickly. In a single day, he was able to write more than three thousand words.
When he was done writing, he threw the brush into the brush washer. When he took it out, he saw that it was already a thick stack.
"The Great University Notes have been written down from memory, but there must be some differences from this world. If I want to create a Mountain Monster in this world, I have to obtain more words to compare and polish."
As he thought about it, he left the study room to look for High Scholar Fu.
High Scholar Fu was currently sunbathing in a pavilion in the courtyard, reading a book. Pei Zi Yun saw him and asked him for advice. High Scholar Fu listened to Pei Zi Yun and pondered for some time before replying, "What you mean is that you're looking for more books on Profound Words to read?"
Pei Zi Yun replied, "Yes, Uncle Fu. These days, I've been thinking about university and have some ideas. I want to read more books and write some essays."
"The collection of books in the Academic Institution is the best. It has been through many dynasties. You are a High Scholar now, you can go there." High Scholar Fu said.
Pei Zi Yun bade farewell and returned to his room to bind the books together. After thinking for some time, he wrapped some oiled paper and made his way to the Academic Institution. He saw that there were people taking out books from the shelves and placing them in front of the table to read. Pei Zi Yun skimmed through the books and found that the books were not bad. The only problem was that there weren't enough essays. He then entered the library to look for more books, and only came out after two hours.
He made a list of the books and placed them on the table. He held onto a few books in his hands. These books were all about the Great University Notes. Pei Zi Yun took out a few essays that he had already copied and compared them to the Academic Institution's collection.
"This world's sages have gone through hundreds and thousands of years of evolution, and have formed their own structure. Although copying the Great University Notes is still the structure of a grandmaster in this world, it still has to be refined according to this world."
"But if it's just me, how long would it take to read all these thousands of books?"
"Of course I won't be unreasonable. But the books in this library are all copied, and not the original. I won't be able to learn from them." Thinking up to this point, Pei Zi Yun sighed. According to the original owner's memories, the third Immortal Cultivator in this world would appear within the next ten years. He didn't have much time left.
"Brother Pei, so you're here too." Pei Zi Yun sighed when he heard a voice. He looked up and saw Wei Ang walking in with a folding fan in his hands.
"Young master Wei, you're here to borrow books too?" Outside, the disciples of Free Cloud Sect addressed him as Wei Ang.
"That's right. Ever since the literary banquet, I've read your 'Bringing in the Wine'. I've felt that reading other poems is boring. Hence, I came to the Academic Institution to borrow a few books. I didn't expect you to be here too."
Pei Zi Yun laughed, "That's right, I'm here to look for books. I've already finished reading them. Young master Wei, since it's a coincidence, let's go in together. I'll return the books while you look for the books."
"Sure." Wei Ang didn't waste any more time as he followed Pei Zi Yun inside.
After an hour, Wei Ang found the books and followed Pei Zi Yun out. The weather had changed so suddenly that Wei Ang grumbled, "This weather. If I knew this would happen, I would have taken a carriage. Let's hurry. If it rains and we get wet, that would be bad."
As he spoke, he left the house. The two of them had only walked for a short while when they found an ox-cart. Pei Zi Yun and Wei Ang had no choice but to seek shelter from the rain.
There weren't any other places to seek shelter from the rain. The two of them kept the books within their robes and ran for a while. A small shrine appeared in front of them and they hid inside.
The two of them looked around and noticed many people were hiding in front of the shrine. In the middle of the shrine, there were two or three scholars who were hiding as well. One of the scholars cursed, "This weather is really unlucky. It was such a good day earlier, and now it's raining so heavily."
"Ai, this little rain is nothing. Have you heard? A few counties along the eastern coast have been attacked by pirates. Even Fu Men County has been destroyed. The county magistrate has died for his country. The main reason is because of the disaster there. Many people have responded to the pirates and killed many people. Many women have also been kidnapped."
When Wei Ang heard this, his expression turned ugly. The scholar was still speaking, "The pirates won't attack the prefecture right? I've heard that there are demons amongst the pirates. That's why they can attack everywhere and plunder the coastal areas."
"Let's not talk about this. Let's go and pray to the gods and pray for their blessings. Exterminating the pirates is up to the imperial court." Another scholar spoke as he walked into the shrine.
"If that's the case, I have to pray to the gods and pray for their blessings."
"Let's go. Since there's no need to hide from the rain, I shall follow you guys."
Hearing these words, Pei Zi Yun was somewhat surprised. Now that the dynasty was established, pirates dared to invade?
According to the original owner's memories, he was still studying in the village. He didn't know much about the news and didn't pay much attention to it. Now that he heard this news, he realized that there were pirates and demons in this world. Pei Zi Yun thought to himself, could it be that there were Japanese Yin Yang Masters in this world?
As Pei Zi Yun thought about this, he felt Wei Ang patting him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw Wei Ang sighing, "The common people are suffering. Let's go and pray to the gods and pray for the victims of the pirates."
"Pray to the gods?" Pei Zi Yun almost wanted to retort. This was a political matter, what did it have to do with the gods? However, as soon as the words came out of his mouth, he understood. There were gods and spirits in this world, and things were different.
The two of them entered the shrine and saw a lady praying for blessings. This shrine was dedicated to a goddess. The shrine wasn't big, but the moment they entered, they noticed that the interior of the shrine was made out of five colored clay. The path in the middle was made out of stone, and there was an iron cauldron at the entrance of the shrine. The incense was burning brightly, and the smoke of incense could be seen everywhere.
It was raining, and it was rather dark. Everyone could see that there were curtains hanging down, and a goddess was being worshipped. The lady was praying, "May the goddess bless my father, so that he can avoid the pirates' attacks and escape safely. If my wish is fulfilled, I will pray for the goddess to bless my father!"
Her words were sorrowful, and everyone who had just entered the shrine was filled with sorrow.
Pei Zi Yun thought back to the time when the pirates had been around for a hundred years. It was as though he had lived two lives. Back in that world, the pirates were ingrained in him, and had caused many families to be destroyed. Seeing this scene, he felt a sense of sorrow in his heart. He then asked, "Who is this goddess?"
"You're asking if she's being worshipped?" Wei Ang laughed, "She's on the same street in the city, so it's definitely legal. This is Lady Luo, she had a title in the previous dynasty."
"So that's how it is!" Pei Zi Yun knew that the title given by the previous dynasty would only be acknowledged by the new dynasty. He then took the incense and walked forward.
There was a table by the side of the shrine, with a notice pasted on it. There was a pen and paper on the table, as well as a Merit Box. The Attendant was a middle aged man dressed in grey robes. He stood up and said, "Sir, please wait a moment."
Everyone within the shrine looked at the Attendant curiously. The Attendant looked around and saw that everyone was bewildered. He then asked Pei Zi Yun to move to the side and whispered, "The Empress has said that young master is welcome to offer incense. It's just that young master is carrying a treasure, and has three colors of Qi. The Empress doesn't dare to accept it."
Pei Zi Yun was puzzled, "I only have five taels of silver with me, and a few banknotes. What treasure do I have?"
"Young master is holding this in your hands."
"It's just a book."
The Attendant was referring to the book wrapped in oil paper. He then said, "If young master really wishes to greet the Empress, please place this book at the side."
Hearing these words, Pei Zi Yun was deep in thought. In both of his lives, he hadn't learned the technique of observing Qi, and thus couldn't see Qi. The Attendant was usually a spiritual person, and could sense the spirits of the gods. Hence, he was chosen to be the Attendant. It seemed like the Attendant had seen something strange, and was thus obstructing him. Pei Zi Yun had no choice but to let it go. He then had an idea. It seemed like even if this book wasn't changed, it would still be useful in this world.
Wei Ang had finished offering his greetings. Seeing that Pei Zi Yun had returned, he placed the book at the side and said, "Let me hold it."
As he said this, he took the book from Pei Zi Yun.
Pei Zi Yun didn't mind. These books were meant to be published. He had known Wei Ang for a period of time, and knew that he wasn't a bad person.
He then walked up to offer incense to the gods. In his previous life, Pei Zi Yun didn't believe in gods, but in this life, he was seeking immortality. With the memories of the original owner, offering incense was not a problem.
Wei Ang was standing at the side, flipping through the book out of boredom. At first, he was just casually flipping through it, but as soon as he saw it, his eyes widened and he started flipping page after page. Pei Zi Yun turned around and saw Zhang Jie Yu looking at the manuscript for some time before asking, "This book, was it written by you?"
"Of course it was. It's just that this book isn't perfect enough. It's not perfect yet. I need to polish it a little more before it can be considered complete."
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