Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 196 Auspicious
"Leave this matter to me, young master, just focus on your studies and don't be distracted by trivial matters." Seeing that Gao Jingming was hesitant to speak, Chen Xuan simply stopped him with one sentence.

He opened his mouth and shook his head, saying, "Alright, let's follow your worst plan, Xuan. Well, it's actually the best plan. If you have any difficulties, remember to tell me and we can face them together."

"I save"

Then Gao Jingming warned again with a worried look: "A Xuan, please don't do anything rash. It's not worth it for that kind of person."

He was a little frightened by Chen Xuan's best and middle strategies...

Now that he had a plan, he naturally had to take action. Chen Xuan was not a person who liked to procrastinate, so he began to pay attention to Wu Junyao's words and actions in his spare time to prepare for the plan.

Sometimes Chen Xuan was speechless. He was a master of innate ability, but he actually planned so much for such a trivial matter. It was really enough. If he told others about it, people would definitely laugh at him.

Xiao Gao also thought it would be great to follow his own plan. It would be easy and save trouble, and no one would know about it. Even if Wu Junyao was crippled, he wouldn't be able to find out who did it.

Forget it, there's no point in worrying so much. Since we're in a place like the academy, we should just follow the rules. We're not those reckless men in the martial arts world who only know how to fight and kill. Sometimes I think playing these little tricks is quite interesting. It all depends on one's mentality.

Two days passed in a blink of an eye. Although he did not specifically follow Wu Junyao, the academy was actually not a big place. If he paid attention, Chen Xuan had almost figured out Wu Junyao's situation.

This person has a wide circle of friends and is rich, which is normal. He is often surrounded by a bunch of bad friends. Except for class time, he spends most of his time drinking and having fun, and lives a really carefree life.

He is not a very smart person, but he is quite hardworking when he is studying. He probably wants to get rid of the smell of money through hard work. However, he is just an average person and finds studying very difficult. He is not used to hardship and is not as competitive as others. Therefore, he has only achieved the title of Tongsheng until now, and he is already eighteen years old.

With his family being as wealthy as they are, it is normal that he does not pay much attention to his studies, and fame and achievements are just icing on the cake.

Anyway, with his lifestyle, Chen Xuan has plenty of opportunities to implement his plans. He doesn't even have to do it deliberately. He just needs to wait for a suitable opportunity and do it.

There is no need to rush this matter, and we don't plan to carry it out in the academy or its surroundings. It is best to wait for Xiao Wu to go to Mo City. After all, there are some shrewd people in the academy. If they are discovered, it will be unnecessary. It is better to be safe.

That morning, Chen Xuan went to class with Gao Jingming as normal, but he always felt that something was missing. He subconsciously looked around and suddenly realized that he hadn't seen Zhang Ao and Feng San for two days. You know, some time ago, Feng San would come to his side whenever he had the chance.

"Strange, it's been two days since he forced me to give him the gift and left. Could something have happened?"

There is no deep hatred between the two parties, just a little friction. With the other party's reminder, that little friction is not a big deal, so Chen Xuan is not cursing others.

Realizing this, Chen Xuan began to suspect that after their internal conflict, Zhang Ao and his servant had been secretly dealt with by Wu Junyao. However, from his usual observation of Wu Junyao, he didn't seem to have done such a thing, otherwise it would have escaped Chen Xuan's perception.

It was a bit strange, so I asked Gao Jingming to find out what was going on. They were classmates, so it was normal to ask, but it would be inappropriate for me to ask on my own initiative.

I didn't take it too seriously. It was just a small matter after all. I decided to just listen to the lecture. I wasn't very smart to begin with, so I decided not to fall behind too much.

Just when Chen Xuan was concentrating on studying, he felt a stir in his heart. Even from a long distance away, he could feel a powerful aura, which was blatant and unconcealed. There was no danger. If he really had to face it, he asked himself if he was afraid at all with his own strength.

Subconsciously looking in the direction of the breath, Chen Xuan raised his eyebrows and looked surprised.

Looking towards the mountain behind the academy, even though it was already summer, some mountaintops were still covered with some ice and snow, which never melted all year round. It was a beautiful sight and a good place for leisure and entertainment. Chen Xuan and his friends had not been there yet.

At this moment, among the mountains, a huge bird of prey with a wingspan of more than ten feet took off into the sky, flew straight into the distance, and gradually disappeared at the end of the sky.

The bird of prey was neither an eagle nor a crane. It was snow-white with a long feathered tail. Its aura was no less than that of an innate master. When it spread its wings and flew into the sky, it gave Chen Xuan a feeling of incomparable elegance and pride. It was truly a strange beast that he had never seen before.

'How could such a creature exist around the academy?' Surprised, Chen Xuan quickly realized that the strange beast must have been raised by someone or the academy itself.

For ordinary people, even a family like Gao Jingming's would be wishful thinking to raise such a strange beast, let alone ordinary people. Moreover, there has been no news of any incidents of strange beasts injuring people in such a long time.

Watching the snow-white bird of prey disappear into the horizon, with more than a dozen figures vaguely standing on its back, Chen Xuan roughly understood that someone from the academy had ridden the beast to the capital to celebrate Emperor Shang Xuan's birthday.

After all, apart from celebrating Emperor Shang Xuan's birthday, there was nothing else worth mobilizing such a large force.

With the speed of that strange beast, traveling ten thousand miles a day would be like a piece of cake. It should not take long for it to reach the capital of Jing Kingdom. After all, the capital is only more than a thousand miles away from the academy, not as far as Yang County from here.

Honestly, Chen Xuan was a bit envious. He also wanted to raise a raptor like that. It would be so convenient for daily travel. Although he thought that with his full strength of Qinggong, his speed was not slower than the raptor before, it was still not as cool as riding such an exotic beast. Moreover, the exotic beast's natural advantages were there, and its endurance was not comparable.

He thought about it and realized that for now, he could only envy it. He couldn't afford to raise it, not at all. Unless he owned it and let it fend for itself, where would he find such an exotic beast? Even if he let it raise itself and use it as a mount, he would have no place to keep it normally.

"According to the time, Emperor Shang Xuan's birthday is at the end of this month. I hope nothing goes wrong. Peaceful days are rare. I don't want to live in a chaotic world. Bah, this kind of thinking is not good. After all, good things don't work, but bad things do."

Chen Xuan quickly put such thoughts aside and did not look away until the bird of prey disappeared into the horizon.

He saw that scene, and everyone in the academy who was outside, as long as they were not blind, saw it. Even during class time, they couldn't help but discuss it. "That's 'Mr. Bai'. I've always heard of him, but I never thought I'd see him in person today."

"Mr. Bai? Could you please elaborate?"

"Don't you know, Mr. Bai is the raptor that flew across the sky? I heard that he has existed in the academy for hundreds of years. He is rarely seen at ordinary times. His fighting ability is comparable to that of masters who have been in the innate realm for many years. He understands human nature very well and has never hurt anyone without reason. Rumor has it that if someone is talented and knowledgeable, he will come out to meet him in person. If you can please him, he will even take you to travel in the sky. Because he likes people with outstanding talents and loves literature, he is respectfully called Mr. Bai. That is to say, Mr. Bai cannot speak human words, otherwise he would be as knowledgeable as most students in the academy after living for hundreds of years. By the way, I heard that Ning Guiliang was treated to travel in the sky by Mr. Bai, which is very enviable. After all, usually only the dean and a few learned gentlemen have such treatment."

"There is such a thing, why haven't I heard of it?"

"That's because you've only been here for a short time. If you stay a few more days, you'll naturally find out. Besides, Mr. Bai is old and rarely shows up. He either stays at his residence or in the mountains and swamps. It's rare to see him."

"I see. I wonder if I'll have the chance to get up close to Mr. Bai. That would be great."

"Don't overthink it. Either you have to break through the Xiantian realm with your martial arts, or your talent is comparable to that of Wei Ning. Otherwise, you don't even have the qualifications to approach Mr. Bai..."

Hearing the discussions of the people around him, Chen Xuan thought to himself that there really is nothing strange in the world. A bird of prey could actually be honored with the title of "Mr." by everyone in the academy.

It's not that it's unacceptable. After all, Mr. Bai has lived for a long time and understands human nature, so it's normal that he is respected. I think the peaceful learning atmosphere in the academy is also due to Mr. Bai's contribution.

People discussed this matter for a while and then it died down. After all, it didn't affect them and they still had to go on with their lives.

After class at noon, Chen Xuan mentioned to Gao Jingming that Zhang Ao and the others were missing. Xiao Gao went to inquire and learned that Zhang Ao had dropped out of school. It was quite sudden. When the news spread, the former classmates were all confused. Fortunately, it was not long after the school started, and everyone was not close, so few people cared about it afterwards.

Chen Xuan and the others probably guessed some of the reasons, and estimated that it was related to Wu Junyao and others. They couldn't get along with them anymore, and couldn't afford to offend them, so they simply chose to stay away from them.

Knowing when to say something and when not to say it is what it means to be smart. It is about knowing the limits and when to advance and retreat. This is the way to survive.

As time went by, Wu Junyao also learned that Zhang Ao, the lackey, had run away. He was furious, but there was nothing he could do since he had already run away. He couldn't just spend money to hire someone to do anything to him. If the teacher knew about his behavior, he would definitely not be able to stay in the academy. He didn't have the talent like Ning Guiliang to make the academy tolerate his little willfulness.

It's not like we can't eat hairy pigs without Zhang the butcher. Anyway, his flattery of Gao Jingming has not ended, but has intensified. He secretly asks people to flatter him, which makes Gao Jingming more and more famous in the academy. More and more people come to him to make friends. Xiao Gao also tries to refuse them whenever he can and plans to invite some people to get together during the holiday, otherwise he will seem too arrogant.

In short, Wu Junyao's little tricks can't do anything to Xiao Gao for the time being.

Chen Xuan occasionally learned that Wu Junyao would go to Mo City for fun during the short holiday, and felt that his plan could be implemented at that time to deal with that guy so that he wouldn't have to worry about disgusting him all day long.

As Emperor Shang Xuan's birthday approaches, it is a major event that will be celebrated throughout the country. When people hear that the day has arrived, they will spontaneously organize singing and dancing to celebrate. In Mo City, many merchants and dignitaries have also prepared entertainment activities for the students of the academy to participate in, the kind with prizes.

Chen Xuan wondered if he could take this opportunity to make some money, so as to avoid having to think of other ways. He still owed Wu Sanniang three thousand taels of silver.

On Emperor Shang Xuan’s birthday, those who have the conditions and qualifications will go to celebrate, and if that is not possible, they will try their best to express their gratitude in various ways.

What do you mean by not flattering the emperor at this time?
With the help of Mr. Bai, some representatives of Liuyu Academy traveled thousands of miles to the capital, and also brought ten carefully selected students' birthday works, and of course, some extra gifts from the teachers themselves.

These birthday gifts must be presented in advance. After Emperor Shang Xuan has reviewed them and is satisfied with the works, they will be taken out on the birthday for everyone to enjoy, so that they can have fun together.

Once upon a time, in the depths of the heavily guarded imperial palace of the Jing Kingdom, the elderly Emperor Shang Xuan took time out to observe the gifts presented from all over the country.

As the emperor, what rare treasures had he not seen? Even if birthday gifts from all over the country were extravagant, he remained indifferent. In fact, he was privately annoyed by his subordinates' extravagant gifts. He would be happier if he could do more to benefit the country and the people.

As he looked at it, when he got a seemingly ordinary picture of a pine and crane longevity painting, Emperor Shang Xuan uttered a sigh and said, "My dear companion, come here and help me look at this picture."

"Has the emperor found something that pleases him?" an old eunuch asked with a smile.

"No, it's more than just happiness. You might not believe me, but looking at this picture makes me feel much more energetic. That's why I asked you to come and see what's so special about it..."

Before Emperor Shang Xuan finished speaking, the old eunuch who had been with him for many years felt his heart in his throat and his eyes suddenly turned red.

Before the old eunuch could speak, Emperor Shang Xuan kicked him and said angrily, "What's with that expression on your face, my dear? I'm not dying, you're crying, hold it back. It's just that seeing this picture really makes me feel a lot more energetic. I can't explain why, so I asked you to come here and analyze it for me."

The old eunuch, who had rolled around twice in a pretentious manner, began to cry when he heard this. He was crying with excitement. He crawled over on his knees and said with tears streaming down his face, "My Lord, you can't lie to me. Do you really feel relieved?"

"I'm not sure either. Anyway, looking at this picture, my Changchun Gong, which I've been practicing for years without much progress, seems to have loosened up a bit. My body feels more relaxed, doesn't that mean I'm more energetic?"

"My Lord, if this is true, it is an auspicious sign, a great auspicious sign, better than any dragon liver and phoenix marrow. Apart from being annoying Your Majesty all the time, the people below have finally done a good thing," the old eunuch cried with joy.

"Stop talking nonsense. Come here and show me what's going on. I'm a little unsure. Aren't you a Xiantian? Please take a look for me. If it doesn't work, ask that old man to take a look..."

(PS: I may have to change the title of the book in the next two days, so don’t be surprised if you find an unfamiliar book on your bookshelf)
(End of this chapter)