Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

Qinglan was stunned for a moment, pinched her apron with both hands, and whispered: "Can I learn it too?"

"Of course." Chen Yuan nodded.

Li Dalong glanced at Qinglan and asked in confusion, "Master Chen, why should Qinglan, a girl, learn to read and write?"

The middle-aged woman who was working also stopped and said, "That's right, Mr. Chen, we are satisfied that you can teach Tiezhu. Qinglan will get married sooner or later, so it's useless for her to learn, right, Qinglan?"

"Ah?" Qinglan opened her mouth, then closed it silently, her eyes dimmed, she lowered her head, and clenched her hands tighter, "Thank you, sir. I won't learn it anymore."

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "One is teaching, and the other is also teaching. It won't take much effort. Miss Qinglan might as well learn some characters. When she gets married in the future, her husband's family will look up to her. Uncle Li, what do you think?"

Li Dalong hesitated for a moment and nodded: "Since Master Chen is willing to teach, let Qinglan learn too. Qinglan, why don't you thank Master Chen!"

Qinglan raised her head, loosened her apron, and her eyes lit up again: "Thank you, sir! I will go change my clothes now."

After saying that, she quickly walked into the thatched cottage on the west side, which was the one where Chen Yuan and she lived.

After a while, she came out of the house, wearing a gray-green dress with a few small patches on it. It was a little white from washing and looked very clean.

Seeing this, the middle-aged woman frowned and said, "You kid, this is for the New Year, why are you taking it out now!"

Qinglan smiled and said, "It is a great thing to learn to read and write from Master Chen. I am very happy."

Li Tiezhu nodded repeatedly: "Sister, you are right. I will change my clothes too!"

Li Dalong scolded, "That's enough! You've grown taller this year. The clothes your mother made for you last year can no longer fit you. This New Year, Dad will cut two feet of cloth and ask your mother to make some changes for you. Don't change them!"

Li Tiezhu gave up and turned to look at Chen Yuan: "Mr. Chen, where are we going to study?"

Chen Yuan asked: "Is there a river nearby?"

"Yes, I'll take you there right now!" Li Tiezhu responded and walked out the door.

Chen Yuan smiled and followed. Qinglan walked beside him, glancing at him secretly from time to time.

After the three of them left the courtyard, they walked down the hillside, turned into the mountain, and after walking for a while, they came to a valley.

This place is far away from the village, with dense trees. A small river about ten feet wide flows slowly, and the banks are covered with sand, which is quite cool in the hot summer.

There were bursts of cicada chirping and clear bird singing in the valley, but there was no noise at all, which added a bit of tranquility.

Chen Yuan looked around, chose a shady spot, walked over, and said, "Tiezhu, bring three stones over here."

"Okay!" Li Tiezhu agreed and immediately went to look for stones.

"I'll go help too." Qinglan said, turned around and followed.

Chen Yuan did not stop him. He came to the shade of the tree, looked up and glanced around, then picked three branches from the tree that were about the same size and thickness as a brush.

After a while, Li Tiezhu came over with a stone in each hand and Qinglan walked over holding one with difficulty.

Chen Yuan did not offer any help. He just watched them put the stones on the ground. Then he sat down on a stone in the middle and handed them two branches. "Here, these are your pens."

The two men took the branches and sat down on both sides of Chen Yuan. In front of the three of them was fine sand.

"I will now teach you how to read and write. The first word is '人'..." Chen Yuan bent down slightly, wrote the word "人" on the sand with a branch, and began to explain it in detail.

He has the experience of two worlds and has practiced Taoism for nearly a hundred years. He has broad knowledge, is well-versed in human nature, speaks wittily, and quotes extensively.

Starting with the character "人", other characters are naturally introduced, and the related allusions and several different intentions are clearly explained.

The characters used in Jiuxianzhou and Donghuazhou are the same, but the pronunciations are slightly different.

But with the knowledge and memory of Taoist Master Qingyou, Chen Yuan has also read all the poems and books in Jiuxianzhou. If he were in the mortal world, he could be considered a well-educated scholar.

Qinglan and Li Tiezhu already cherished this hard-won opportunity and listened very carefully. Chen Yuan also discovered that both of them were very smart and had excellent memory. In less than an hour, they had mastered more than 30 commonly used characters.

Near noon, the three of them went back to eat, and then came back to the river in the afternoon to learn how to read and write.

At the end of the day, Qinglan and Li Tiezhu learned more than 200 commonly used characters. Not only did they learn how to write them, they also memorized the related allusions, idioms, and variant forms with multiple meanings.

At dusk, Chen Yuan finished another word, looked up at the horizon, threw the branch in his hand, stood up and said with a smile: "That's all for today, go back and eat, and come back tomorrow."

Li Tiezhu and Qinglan breathed a sigh of relief and stood up from the stone. There was a trace of fatigue on their faces, and they no longer had the smiles they had when they were learning to write in the morning.

They didn't know how long Chen Yuan could teach, so they all studied very seriously and didn't dare to be distracted in the slightest.

Li Tiezhu, in particular, tried his best to learn. Even when Chen Yuan asked them to take a break, they continued to practice calligraphy on the ground without relaxing for a moment.

Qinglan wanted to talk to Chen Yuan, but when she saw how diligent Li Tiezhu was, she felt embarrassed to talk and just practiced calligraphy with Li Tiezhu.

Chen Yuan did not interfere, but let the two of them rest for half a quarter of an hour every half hour.

Every time this happened, he would get up and walk to the river, quietly watching the gurgling water, but the voices of Li Tiezhu and Qinglan discussing difficult problems in a low voice behind him could be heard by him without missing a word.

He looked down at the clear river water, his eyes were leisurely, a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth, but his face was slightly pale.

He just quietly dispersed his spiritual sense, which lasted a little longer, and the injury to his soul was slightly aggravated.

……

Under the setting sun, Chen Yuan walked in the valley, his steps slow and unhurried.

Li Tiezhu followed behind him, looking at Chen Yuan with respect in his eyes, and asked, "Mr. Chen, you are so knowledgeable, you must be a scholar, right?"

Chen Yuan laughed and shook his head.

"Could it be a juren?" Li Tiezhu widened his eyes.

Chen Yuan still shook his head.

"Are you a Jinshi?" Li Tiezhu's eyes widened.

Chen Yuan shook his head again: "I have no achievements."

"Oh..." Li Tiezhu sighed in disappointment.

Qinglan glared at Li Tiezhu in dissatisfaction: "Mr. Chen will definitely pass the exam in the future."

Li Tiezhu said quickly: "Sister, you are right. Young Master Chen is so knowledgeable. He will definitely pass the imperial examination and bring honor to our family!"

Chen Yuan smiled and said nothing. Although he had never set foot in Jiuxianzhou before, Master Qingyou had visited Jiuxianzhou and there were many related books in Yuqing Sea, so he knew Jiuxianzhou quite well.

Jiuxianzhou is divided into thirteen states, two of which are adjacent to Yuqinghai. Li Tiezhu once mentioned "Daren Dynasty", which should be Renzhou in the north.

The area of ​​Renzhou is about half the size of Yuqing Sea. There are countless sects and families, big and small, but the Haoran Sect, one of the ten major sects, is the most respected, and there are many Confucian monks.

The Daren Dynasty established by the Haoran Sect lasted for tens of thousands of years and only respected Confucianism. There were academies everywhere in Renzhou, and all other studies were inferior except for reading.

Although Li Tiezhu and Qinglan are children of hunters, they know that only by studying and taking the imperial examinations can they succeed.

Chen Yuan said that he had no achievements, so they stopped talking about it and the atmosphere became silent for a while.

Qinglan suddenly stopped, picked a flower from the roadside, walked quickly to Chen Yuan, raised her hand and said, "Mr. Chen, this is for you."

Chen Yuan took it. The flower looked like an orchid, but was a little different. It was blue-purple in color. Chen Yuan put the flower to his nose and sniffed it gently. A faint fragrance filled his heart.

"Does it taste good? Does it smell good?" Qinglan blinked her big eyes and looked at Chen Yuan expectantly.

Chen Yuan nodded: "What kind of flower is this?"

Qinglan raised her lips slightly: "This is Qinglan Flower. My father named me this flower. It is only found in the nearby mountains. Master Chen, you have never seen it, right?"

Chen Yuan looked at Qinglan and suddenly remembered his little sister who liked to wear wild flowers on her hair. He raised his hand and pinned the wild orchid on Qinglan's head.

He smiled and said, "I haven't seen it before. This blue orchid is very beautiful."

Qinglan's body stiffened, a blush appeared on her face, she raised her hand and wiped the orchid flowers on her head, her movements were very gentle, and she said: "Thank... Thank you, sir."

Her voice was so low, almost inaudible, and she turned her head and laughed happily.

Li Tiezhu said with a smile: "Sister, why is your face red?"

"Shut up!" Qinglan pushed Li Tiezhu in embarrassment and ran away quickly.

……

During the next half month, Chen Yuan spent the most leisurely period of his life.

There is no need for seclusion and hard training, no need to refine pills, and no need to fight.

He slept at sunset and got up at sunrise. Every day he went to the river to teach Li Tiezhu and Qinglan how to read and write. The gurgling water, the breeze blowing on their faces, the chirping of cicadas in the forest made it even quieter, and the singing of birds in the mountains made it even more secluded.

Li Tiezhu and Qinglan were extremely smart. After half a month, they learned more than 3,000 characters and knew their meanings by heart. They broke dozens of branches, leaving countless traces on the sand by the river.

The two were both extremely gifted. If their families had not been poor and unable to afford private school, they would certainly have been as talented as the children of scholars who passed down their family traditions of farming and studying.

On the fifteenth day, Chen Yuan wrote three words on the sand - Geography.

"Geography..." Li Tiezhu read it once and said puzzledly, "Mr. Chen, my sister and I both know these three words."

Chen Yuan smiled and said, "Today I will not teach you how to read, but I will teach you a book called Geography."

Qinglan asked curiously, "Mr. Chen, what is this book about?"

Chen Yuan said: "As the name suggests, this book records the appearance of various places in Jiuxianzhou, including mountains, rivers, plains, swamps, deep pools and waterfalls. It also contains local customs and legends, as well as anecdotes from the rivers and lakes."

Qinglan blinked in confusion: "Jiuxianzhou? Where is that?"

Chen Yuan smiled and used a branch to touch the sand under his feet: "The land we are standing on is Jiuxianzhou. Jiuxianzhou is divided into thirteen states. The Great Ren Dynasty is in Renzhou among the thirteen states."

Qinglan was stunned: "This Jiuxianzhou is so big!"

Li Tiezhu murmured, "I thought the Great Ren Dynasty was boundless, but it turns out that it only occupies one state of Jiuxianzhou. The world is so vast, it turns out that I was just a frog in a well!"

He was smarter and more hardworking than Qinglan, and he memorized every story and allusion that Chen Yuan told him when he was teaching him writing.

Half a month of hard study is equivalent to a year of private school for ordinary people. He has been transformed and is no longer the ignorant and vulgar hunter boy.

Chen Yuan said: "Jiuxianzhou is vast and boundless. This Geography is just a brief overview, but it is enough to give you a preliminary understanding of this world."

When Li Tiezhu heard this, his expression changed. He suddenly stood up and bowed according to Professor Chen Yuan's etiquette: "Sir, can you teach us the Seven Classics?"

Chen Yuan raised his eyebrows: "Don't you want to learn this Geography?"

Li Tiezhu said: "Daren Dynasty is already vast enough. My sister and I will never be able to leave it, not even a county or a prefecture. I want to learn the Seven Classics, pass the exam, and never be bullied again!"

Qinglan frowned and said, "Tiezhu, we will learn as you teach us. Those scholars have studied the seven classics for their entire lives, but they may not be able to pass the examination to become a scholar. Your injury will heal soon, so how can he have the time to teach you?"

These seven classics are the seven volumes of Confucian classics officially approved by the Daren Dynasty. They are full of profound meanings and every word is a gem. The questions for the imperial examinations in all dynasties were selected from the seven classics.

Even an illiterate village hunter can name the Seven Classics.

Li Tiezhu blushed: "But that Li Wenju..."

"That's enough!" Qinglan's pretty face turned pale and she interrupted him, "Follow me carefully and learn from me. Since I'm teaching you Geography, it must be useful!"

Li Tiezhu sat down again, lowered his head dejectedly, and said nothing.

Qinglan smoothed her hair with her hand, her eyes dimmed, and she said softly, "I'm sorry, sir. Tiezhu is not sensible. Please continue to teach him."

Chen Yuan's eyes flickered, and he said calmly, "It is recorded in the Geography that the world is divided into thirteen states, namely Ren, Heng, Jiang, Tan, Xi, Ning, Yue, Yi, Wei, Li, Han, Nan, and Jing. Let's talk about Renzhou first..."

During the day, Li Tiezhu and Qinglan were in low spirits. They just listened to Chen Yuan's story and spoke very little.

Chen Yuan didn't care and kept talking until dusk, barely finishing his talk about Renzhou.

The three of them returned to Li's house. After dinner, the sun set in the west and it was getting dark, so they went back to their rooms to rest.

Chen Yuan lay on the bed with his eyes slightly closed until late at night, when he suddenly opened his eyes, quietly walked into the yard, and took out the jade pendant from his arms.

The sky was full of shining stars, and brilliant silver light fell. After thirty breaths, the starlight dissipated. Chen Yuan opened his eyes, and a gleam of light flashed in his eyes.

After half a month of slow recovery from the power of the stars, and tonight the starlight was infused into his body, his internal injuries had healed a little bit, and the damaged and torn parts of several major meridians had recovered for the most part. He was finally able to circulate his Qi and mobilize his true essence.

Chen Yuan put away the jade pendant, returned to the house, meditated and practiced to recover a little bit of his true energy. He immediately opened the mustard ring, took out a bottle of healing pills, and swallowed them.

When the pill entered his mouth, it turned into a gentle and pure medicinal power, spreading to his limbs and bones, quickly repairing the injuries all over Chen Yuan's body. (End of this chapter)