Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 127 There is a girl named Qing Wan
The little man walked briskly, leading Lu Zheng all the way to the depths of the peach blossom forest and outside the wooden house.

Outside the wooden house, there are several fields where some crops are planted and growing well.

An old man in coarse clothes sat in a field with his back to Lu Zheng.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng bowed respectfully and said, "I am Lu Zheng, a junior. I have come here by chance and would like to greet you, Senior!"

The old man still had his back to Lu Zheng, motionless, and did not answer.

The little man walked to the old man and waved his little hand towards Lu Zheng.

A hint of doubt arose in Lu Zheng's heart, and he walked forward lightly and came close to the old man.

He raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at the old man. His eyes changed slightly and he immediately took a step forward and squatted down.

The old man's head drooped slightly, his body was haggard, and he had long lost his vitality.

"excuse me."

Lu Zheng's expression was slightly serious. He gently reached out to help the old man lie down and checked his body.

There were no injuries, and judging by the old man's expression after death, he must have passed away peacefully, from a long life.

Lu Zheng could still faintly sense a hint of literary aura from the old man.

The old man's body did not decay after his death, which must be due to the influence of literary energy.

Lu Zheng picked up the old man and returned to the wooden house.

The house was filled with dust and looked like no one had lived there for a long time.

The little guy stood aside, watching Lu Zheng work quietly and curiously, as if all this was very new.

Lu Zheng waved his hand, and a light breeze blew away the dust in the house.

The wooden house is not big, about ten feet square, with a small bed and a low table on it with pens, ink and books on it.

There is a bookshelf on one side of the wooden house, with many books on it.

There are not many other daily necessities, and it is very simple.

Lu Zheng gently placed the old man on the bed, apologized again, and searched for books in the room.

Not long after, Lu Zheng found some notes recording some people's deeds, which should have been written by this old man.

After a rough look, Lu Zheng knew that the old man was a Jinshi in the past of Anguo. It seemed that something had happened that made him live in seclusion here.

The old man lived in seclusion here for forty years, devoting himself to the practice of Confucianism and Taoism. This peach blossom forest was planted by him personally.

However, the old man's lifespan eventually ran out, and while working, he could no longer get up from his seat and passed away.

Even after death, the soul of a fourth-level Jinshi in Confucianism and Taoism can transform into a ghost and survive for some time.

But Lu Zheng did not sense any ghostly aura here. He thought that the other party had passed away peacefully without leaving any memories.

"No surname, no name, no courtesy name..."

Lu Zheng finished reading the old man's notes. Whenever the old man talked about something or his learning experience, he always referred to himself as "I" or "Wu", and there was no way to know his true identity.

Lu Zheng put down the book, looked around the wooden house again, then dismantled some wooden boards and prepared to make a coffin for the old man.

After a busy period, Lu Zheng made a simple coffin and carefully buried the old man in it.

The little man stood on the windowsill, tilting his head, with confusion and puzzlement on his face.

Lu Zheng noticed the villain's gaze and explained softly, "Rest in peace."

Lu Zheng paused, then continued, "After death, people should be buried in peace."

"Oh~" the little guy said, not quite understanding.

Lu Zheng carried the coffin outside, chose a lush peach tree, and began digging a hole next to the tree.

The old man liked peach blossoms and once said in a book that he wanted to be buried under a peach tree after his death.

Lu Zheng did this to satisfy the other party's wishes before his death.

After a while, Lu Zheng dug a hole and buried the coffin in it.

After burying the old man, Lu Zheng bowed to the grave.

The little guy stood aside, not quite understanding, but he also imitated Lu Zheng and bowed a few times.

After doing all this, Lu Zheng sat outside the wooden house, feeling lost.

I thought I would meet some hidden master, and I could sit down and discuss with him and ask him for advice.

Unexpectedly, he was indeed a reclusive person, but he had already passed away.

Not far away, the little guy was still cheerful, without the complicated emotions that Lu Zheng had.

She was walking in the field and saw a weed that had just sprouted. She reached out her little hand to pull it out and threw it out of the field.

When Lu Zheng saw the little man's actions, he finally understood why the crops were still growing so well even though the old man had been dead for so long.

Seeing the little guy's innocent and optimistic look, Lu Zheng's mood couldn't help but improve a lot.

"What kind of plant did you turn into?" Lu Zheng asked.

The little guy glanced sideways upon hearing this, staring at Lu Zheng with shining eyes.

After a while, the little man opened his mouth and spit out green beans.

The beans were buried in the soil, and then quickly sprouted and grew into green bean sprouts.

Lu Zheng walked closer and took a look, then smiled and said, "Pea?"

Peas are the most common crops. This little man is actually a pea spirit, which makes Lu Zheng feel incredible.

He had previously thought that the other party was a peach demon. After all, peach trees can ward off evil spirits, and it is easier for woody plants to transform into demons than herbaceous plants.

"Pea?" The little man tilted his head.

"Pea!" Lu Zheng nodded. "You don't have a name. I'll give you one, Qingwan, okay?"

"Qingwan!" The little guy nodded.

Lu Zheng asked curiously, "Speaking of which, how did you become like this? From a seedling to a human being."

Qing Wan thought about it, talking and gesturing, even going to the place where the old man had just sat and babbling. It seemed that describing this matter in human language was still difficult for Qing Wan, so this was the only explanation.

After Lu Zheng looked at it, he had a rough guess.

Qingwan was originally a bean sprout planted by the old man, but the old man often walked in the fields and studied the classics of sages from time to time, which influenced her and gradually made her more intelligent.

Later, the old man passed away in the fields. Qing Wan was closest to him and was nourished by the literary aura that emanated from the old man after his death.

Day after day, imperceptibly, she memorized some of the classics of sages that she had heard before, gained some understanding of them, developed a bit of literary talent, and finally transformed into a little person.

Although Qingwan knew some classics, she had not received a proper elementary education. Generally speaking, her thoughts were simpler than those of a child and she was ignorant of the ways of the world.

The reason why Qing Wan showed up to see him in the morning was probably because she felt the same literary aura as the old man from him, which made her feel close to him, so she brought him here.

"I see." Lu Zheng nodded slightly.

"So!" Qing Wan said seriously.

Lu Zheng looked at Qing Wan, "Do you know how to read?"

"Words?" Qing Wan tilted her head, somewhat confused.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng took out a copy of "The Analects of Confucius" and placed it in front of Qing Wan.

Every time Lu Zheng read a sentence, Qing Wan would excitedly follow suit.

The two people, one big and one small, quickly finished reading the Analects of Confucius.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It seems you can read the Analects. Learn all these characters."

Upon hearing this, Qing Wan stood beside a book that was bigger than herself, flipped through it, and learned the words as she read. She didn't need Lu Zheng's guidance at all.

Lu Zheng's eyes softened. This was much easier than teaching a child.

He went to the side, started to make a fire and cook, cut some dragon meat, and stewed a pot of soup.

When the broth was about to be served, Lu Zheng went to the vegetable garden to pick a few young green onions and some pea tips.

The fresh and tender pea tips were the bean sprouts that Qingwan had just grown using a little magic spell.

Qing Wan tilted her little head back and stared at the dish in Lu Zheng's hand.

"Uh, you don't mind, do you?" Lu Zheng asked with a smile.

Qingwan shook her head. These vegetables were grown to be eaten, so why should she mind?

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "These vegetables are delicious when made into soup. Don't worry, I won't eat you."

"Oh!"

Qing Wan nodded in response, then turned to look at the broth, opened her mouth and spit out some green peas, which quickly entered the soup.

Lu Zheng was caught off guard and it was too late to stop it.

"Bean soup is delicious!" Qing Wan said seriously.

She had seen the old man make soup with beans before.

Lu Zheng: ...

Lu Zheng hesitated to speak, and in the end, he said nothing.

He prepared the dish and put it into the soup to boil, and the aroma immediately became stronger.

"Do you want to eat?" Lu Zheng asked Qing Wan.

Qing Wan shook her head, "No!"

Lu Zheng thought for a moment, then took out a spirit stone and handed it to Qing Wan.

Qing Wan held the spirit stone and looked at it. She quickly felt the spiritual energy in it and sat there to absorb it.

After taking a few breaths, she looked satisfied and returned the spirit stone to Lu Zheng.

"Thank you!" Qing Wan thanked him seriously.

Lu Zheng smiled slightly, "I'll keep it for you. If you're hungry, tell me. I have plenty more."

Qing Wan's eyes sparkled when she heard that. "I'll give you some beans!"

Lu Zheng quickly said, "Not for now. I'll tell you when I want to eat."

"Okay!" Qing Wan stood back up and read the book, turning the pages diligently with both hands.

There were many books in the old man’s room before, but she couldn’t understand them.

Lu Zheng taught her today, and she learned very quickly. She found it very interesting to recognize these characters.

The days in the peach blossom forest were already boring, but when Qingwan got a book that she could recognize, she read it very seriously and found it very interesting.

Lu Zheng felt emotional in his heart. He was indeed a fairy who had been baptized by literature for many years. He was more serious than some children when reading the scriptures of the saints.

Lu Zheng slowly finished a can of broth and ate all the peas at the bottom of the can. They tasted good, sweet, soft and sticky, and had some spiritual energy. They were not ordinary beans.

Afterwards, Lu Zheng washed the dishes, took out a thick medical book, and sat aside to read.

Qing Wan noticed Lu Zheng's actions, looked at the thin book in front of her, then looked at the book in Lu Zheng's hand, her eyes lit up.

She hurried to Lu Zheng's side, jumped onto his shoulder, and stared at the medical book in Lu Zheng's hand.

The words on the page of the medical book were densely packed, many of which Qing Wan didn't recognize, making her dizzy.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng pointed at the words and slowly read them to Qing Wan.

Qing Wan's head was confused after hearing this, and she finally gave up, slid down from Lu Zheng's shoulder, and went back to reading her own book.

Lu Zheng comforted her, "You are still young and don't know many words. After a few more days of study, you will be able to recognize these words. However, if you want to learn them, you still need to spend more time. I just started learning too and I don't know them."

"You, can't?" Qing Wan glared.

"I just started learning, I don't know how to do it." Lu Zheng said with a smile.

Qing Wan was immediately happy when she heard this. Even this adult couldn't understand it, so it was normal for her not to understand it either.

(End of this chapter)