Chapter Seven Red Sleeves

  Although the death cast a shadow over this first snow, as the date drew near, scholars from various academies in Jiangnan flocked to the scene.

  Pan Yu got busy, and with a calm and composed attitude, she handled all sorts of trivial matters that would normally make people anxious. Everyone who saw her couldn't help but praise her. However, no matter where they went, Pan Yu always dragged Xu Xian along, saying it was to meet more people. Xu Xian, the "muddy" classmate, sincerely wanted to stay on the ground and didn't think of climbing up the wall at all.

  It was under Pan Yu's persuasion that he really couldn't refuse. Every day, he would show six teeth and smile with a twitching face. Although I don't know how many people envy this job, Xu Xian is indeed such a personality.

  One day, just as the people from Qingxi Academy were being welcomed in, several horse-drawn carriages stopped outside the main gate. The horses were all fine steeds, and even more remarkably, they were all pure white horses. Not to mention the decorations on the carriages, a luxurious atmosphere hit them right in the face.

  Xu Xian felt curious, wondering which academy was so generous. Pan Yu beside him had already gone forward to greet them and exchanged a few words with the people inside the carriage through the window. Afterwards, he saw a group of elegant women in red clothes come down from above, although they were also dressed as scholars and wore veils, their slender figures could not be disguised. The onlookers all let out a sigh of amazement.

  "The head of the Red Sleeve Academy has arrived with his disciples." Xu Xian announced loudly. In just a moment, Li Si Ming hastily rushed out from inside the door and went forward to converse with the academy head.

  Pan Yu retreated to Xu Xian's side, looked at Xu Xian's curious and puzzled expression, and smiled: "The Red Sleeve Academy is also one of our Hangzhou academies, it's just that the students inside are all women."

  He pointed to the woman standing at the top, chatting with Li Si Ming: "That is the courtyard owner, named Yin Hongxiu, and she is also a county main. In the early years of the Qiu Wang rebellion, the imperial court married her off to Hangzhou for stability, but before she entered the mansion, the Qiu Wang mansion was slaughtered, and she became a widow. The emperor felt indebted to her and allowed her to remarry, but she settled in Hangzhou instead. Most of the confiscated property was given to her, and she used her own name to establish this Hongxiu Academy, which has been around for several years now. However, this is the first time they've participated in the Initial Snow Test, and it's going to be tough for the other academies."

  Li Si Ming, who was usually carefree and elegant, was now drenched in sweat. He advised: "Director Yin, this first snow trial is a grand event for the Jiangnan scholars, with countless eyes fixed on us. It's not something to be taken lightly. If you want to observe, it would be our honor, but if you want to participate, it won't be up to me to decide."

  Yin Hong wore a sapphire blue long gown, draped in white fox fur. Although it was not feminine attire, it made her figure look even more slender and elegant. Many sons of nobles standing beside her couldn't help but drool. Though she wore a veil that only revealed a pair of peach blossom-like eyes, the way her gaze flowed seemed to carry an intoxicating yet sobering feeling. She spoke in a soft tone: "Mr. Li, if you can't make decisions, then let someone who can come and discuss it. We are guests, after all; must we be refused entry?"

  Li Si Ming bitterly smiled and said: "I don't dare, Dean Yin please go first!"

  A group of women walked in, and Pan Yu was busy chatting with Xu Xian. He only bowed his head to greet them when they passed by him, then turned back around. However, nine out of the ten women couldn't help but glance at him, their hearts skipping a beat at the sight of such a man. Even Yin Hongxiu's eyes lingered on him for a moment. Pan Yu remained calm and composed, making others feel that he was extraordinary.

  The passersby's Xian Da was jealous and secretly sighed that after marrying his daughter-in-law, he would have to stay far away from him.

  Pan Yuxiao said: "Which one do you like? I'll go and talk to them for you."

  Xu Xian jokingly said: "Look at that Yīn Yuàn's head, can he be relied on?"

  Pan Yuyao shook her head: "You have good eyesight, but if Li Si Ming and Li Cai Zi hear what you just said, they'll probably fight to the death with you."

  Xu Xian was intrigued upon hearing that there was an illicit affair involved and curiously asked: "Isn't Li Caizi already a father?"

  Pan Yuna gave Xu Xian a sulky look: "A great man having three wives and four concubines is just an ordinary thing, isn't it? The teacher is now only in his thirties, and at home there is only one wife and two concubines. He can still marry Erping as his second wife."

  Xu Xian wiped the saliva from his mouth and exclaimed, "Three wives and four concubines, what a lofty state that is! Unfortunately, I will never be able to achieve it."

  "What's difficult about that? In the future, we'll obtain great honors and become high-ranking officials. Who knows what will happen then? At that time, women from all over the world will be at your beck and call, won't that be delightful?" Pan Yu said naturally. However, when he said these words today, he couldn't shake off the feeling of unease in his heart.

  Xu Xian thought of Bai Suzhen far away in heaven and sighed: "With three thousand miles of weak water, I'll just take a ladle to drink."

  Pan Yu heard this and was overjoyed, saying: "If Yin Yuan heard you say that, she might just agree to marry you on the spot. She once said that anyone who wants to marry her must be a man of great achievement and exceptional talent. But that's not all - she also has another requirement: if someone wants to marry her, they must take a poisonous oath, vowing to only marry her in this lifetime, and not even taking a concubine."

  Xu Xian thought to himself: Is this what ancient feminism looks like? Compared to the feminists of his previous life who hated men and wanted them all to die, these demands were actually quite low. They didn't want cars or houses, but instead offered a dowry of 10,000 taels of silver and promised not to make their husbands wear green hats. All they asked was that men not take on second wives. However, he also knew that his own abilities were far inferior to those of Li Si Ming, and there was someone else waiting for him with even lower demands, so he could only wait patiently.

  Exhausted during the day, he slept soundly at night. In the still of the night, Xu Xian quietly absorbed the power of the sun, and recently discovered that his main star had disappeared, with a golden aura inside and out, and was somewhat worried about going crazy, looking for time to go to Yu Xuanji again to ask, and also to thank her for what happened last time.

  These thoughts still existed when he was practicing, but those worried emotions were gone, and his heart was at peace.

  "Lord Cheng Huang invites Lord Xū to come to the mansion for a chat." A loud shout outside the house suddenly woke up Xu Xian, but he didn't feel any anger at being disturbed. He got up and pushed open the window, where a horse carriage was parked outside his door, with a green-faced, sharp-toothed ghost guard standing respectfully in front of it. The surroundings were quiet, and that loud shout seemed to have only woken Xu Xian alone.

  Xu Xian looked back, his physical body still lying on the bed, his yang spirit had escaped, gathering to form a shape, dispersing to become energy, all real objects were unable to hinder it. He raised his head and gazed out, the moon was bright and the clouds were sparse, the moonlight spilled onto the ground like frost and snow, it was exactly the perfect time for a midnight stroll under the candlelight.

  Even at this time, he did not stop cultivating. Without the hindrance of his physical body, he was even more powerful in absorbing the power of the sun, and he was always in a state of "enlightenment". His cultivation was unimpeded. The golden light on his body shone brightly, and the ghostly soldier involuntarily bowed lower. "Please get on the carriage, young master." He seemed to be able to sense the respect of the ghostly soldier's master. This Xian had an extraordinary air of dignity and majesty, and was indeed not like ordinary cultivators.

  Xu Xian waved his sleeve, indicating that it was unnecessary. He didn't fly, but instead walked slowly along the road towards the City Guardian Temple.

  That ghostly soldier didn't dare to force him, so he could only whisper a few words to the horse. The horse nodded its head as if it understood, then let out a long whinny and pulled the carriage into the air, flying over the treetops towards the City God Temple.

  Xu Xian walked at will, and the ghost soldier followed closely behind him, only always lagging one step behind Xu Xian to show respect.

  Yang Shen went out of his shell and saw that the angle was different from the mortal eye. He saw some light in the bedroom of the academy and asked, "What is that?"

  The ghost officer responded, "This little man has heard the City God say that if a scholar can understand the meaning of the classics and gain insight from their reading, at night they will emit a brilliant light. The light of great writers and poets can reach several meters high, and its radiance is extreme. However, for ordinary scholars to have even an inch of light would be quite good."

  Xu Xian nodded, looking towards his own room. The light was incredibly high, nearly three feet off the ground. Pan Yu was indeed a refined and cultured person among scholars. Looking around the academy, it seemed that only one person in the western wing could surpass her. Upon recalling, it was those women from the Red Sleeve Academy who had arrived today. It must be that Yin Hongxiao's light.

  Xu Xian naturally didn't believe that this was the light of a scholar, but rather it should be the "light of human nature" that everyone possesses. The more one's mind is wise and clear, the more radiant the light shines on others. Those who only read books are like a lump of wood, and naturally won't have any brilliance. It's just that to understand reason without relying on books requires great enlightenment, it's said that the Sixth Patriarch Huineng was illiterate but could still pass on Buddhist teachings, he must be this kind of person. Ordinary people still need to follow the proper sequence, having experience and learning is the right path.

  Xu Xian was quietly pondering, but his feet didn't stop moving. It seemed that he had gained new insight, and the light on his body became even more dazzling. The ghostly servant followed behind him, initially feeling uncomfortable with the intense light, but gradually felt a warmth and unexpectedly absorbed a lot of yang energy from it.

  The ghost couldn't help but admire this rare and beneficial cultivation method for others, and he became even more respectful.