Inside Mingde Hall, everyone’s eyes were filled with shock and admiration…
Student Su Wanqing: “Miss Li truly deserves her reputation as a lady scholar from Jixia Academy…
This poem actually triggered strange phenomena from heaven and earth, along with a scholarly qi infusion… I read in the Confucian school Anomalies Record about the saying, ‘A poem completed and a sage manifested,’ but that was only a legend from ancient times!
To witness it with my own eyes today… I can die without regret.”
Her voice trembled, and the gaze she directed at that moon-white figure on the podium had already become almost reverent.
Student Lin Xiaotang: “Miss Li is beautiful, talented, and so graceful… this is exactly the heroine version straight out of a storybook!
I heard Miss Li still doesn’t have a dao companion…
Well, of course. How could there possibly be a man in the world worthy of Miss Li?
If anyone dares say there is, I, Lin Xiaotang, will be the first to object!”
She clenched her little fists, her cheeks flushed red with excitement.
Student Zhao Jingshu: “Miss Li is truly a role model for us women.
She drew a deep breath, her eyes filled with unwavering resolve:
“I’ve decided. From today on, Miss Li is my idol.
I’ll use her as my goal and work harder in my studies. One day…
I’ll stand on such a podium too, spread the Dao and teach students, and live without regret.”
At this moment, Yun Che stood at the center of the podium, feeling the magnificent scene of heaven and earth resonating together, and his heart was similarly stirred.
He had not expected Li Bai’s poem to provoke such a terrifying chain reaction in this world!
But on second thought, it made sense… Confucian cultivation in this world centered on the principle that “literature carries the Dao.” When a poem truly touched the essence of the Dao and drew a resonance from heaven and earth, it was only natural.
Still… the commotion was a little too big.
“I overdid it a bit…” Yun Che muttered inwardly. “I should have been more restrained and chosen something more subtle.
“Fortunately, I’m using Sister Zijun’s identity right now. If I had caused this much of a stir in my original body, those old fossils of the Confucian school would definitely drag me off to ‘study’ me properly.”
He smiled bitterly in his mind. “Sister Zijun, I seem to have… gone too far. How am I supposed to clean this up?”
There was no response for a long while.
“Sister Zijun?”
After a few more breaths, Li Zijun’s voice finally came through, carrying unprecedented shock, daze, and a trace of bewilderment:
“Xiao Che…”
“This poem… did you write it?”
Yun Che was silent for a moment before replying calmly, “No. It was left behind by a senior from my hometown known as the Green Lotus Layman. I just… happened to remember it.”
“Nonsense.” Li Zijun’s voice suddenly became urgent. “I’ve studied Confucian school classics and collections of poetry and prose since I was little, and I’ve never heard of any ‘Green Lotus Layman’!
“If such a Poet Immortal, one capable of founding a sect of his own, truly existed, how could he have remained unknown?”
Yun Che thought to himself, “Why does no one believe me when I tell the truth…”
Li Zijun’s tone gradually calmed, but it only became more inquisitive. “Xiao Che, I originally thought I already understood your talent well enough.
“I never expected you to bring me an even bigger surprise.”
She paused, and her voice carried a rare curiosity. “Forget it. We’ll talk when we get back…”
At this moment, Li Zijun no longer seemed like that poised and dignified descendant of the Confucian Sage. Instead, she looked like a curious little treasure-seeker who had just discovered something marvelous.
Inside the hall, silence still reigned.
After a long while, the dean finally rose shakily. Supported by two elders, he walked to the writing desk and, with trembling hands covered in age spots, carefully lifted the poem manuscript.
Tears streamed down his face.
“Heaven bless the Confucian school… Heaven bless the Confucian school…” he muttered, his voice choking with emotion. “In the future… perhaps another Confucian Sage will appear in this world…”
He suddenly turned and gave Li Zijun (Yun Che) a deep bow, bending very low at the waist:
“Miss Li’s guidance today will be remembered forever by everyone in Cloud Deer Academy!”
Yun Che stood on the podium, feeling that overwhelming tide of reverence, and said softly:
“Dean, this poem is my gift to Cloud Deer Academy, in thanks for today’s lecture invitation.”
The dean trembled all over and nearly lost his footing, only for an elder behind him to support him in time. Tears flooded his face as he bowed deeply again:
“T-thank you, Miss Li, for bestowing this treasure!
“Everyone in Cloud Deer Academy will forever remember this great kindness! This poem…
“This poem should be enshrined at the academy’s main gate, for future students to admire forever!”
“Thank you, Miss Li, for bestowing this treasure… !!!”
The entire hall… students, elders, and stewards alike… bowed together. Their voices rolled like waves and lingered on and on.
Yun Che raised a hand slightly. “Everyone, please rise. The poem has been given, but the class is not yet over. We shall… continue with calligraphy.”
His calm tone made it seem as if that earth-shaking scene of “a poem completed and a sage manifested” had been nothing more than a casual gesture.
That composure made everyone even more reverent.
…
Outside Mingde Hall, on the way back
The lecture ended.
Under the respectful escort of the dean and the elders, Yun Che slowly left Mingde Hall.
But inside and outside Mingde Hall, the place was still buzzing with voices… many students were still unwilling to leave and remained gathered outside the hall discussing the strange phenomena from heaven and earth just now, their excitement overflowing.
Only after they left the academy’s back mountain and stepped onto that secluded bamboo path did the surroundings finally grow quiet.
The spring breeze brushed past, and bamboo leaves rustled softly.
Yun Che chuckled and said, “So, Sister Zijun, do you like this ‘gift’? No need to thank me.”
“Like it? I like it too much,” Li Zijun laughed and scolded him. “After today, my name, Li Zijun, is probably going to spread all over Xiaoyao Prefecture.
“After causing such a huge commotion, within three days at most, all the major sects, families, and academies will receive the news.
“My identity as Li Zijun will probably be known throughout Xiaoyao Prefecture very soon.
“By then, I won’t be able to live in peace even if I want to.”
“I came to Cloud Deer Academy intending to stay for a while and enjoy some peace and freedom, to avoid the tedious etiquette and prying eyes of Jixia Academy.
“Now look… I’m afraid all sorts of people will be sending formal invitations very soon. I won’t be able to live in peace even if I want to.”
Yun Che said helplessly, “I originally wanted to keep a low profile, but my strength wouldn’t allow it.”
Li Zijun laughed and scolded him, “You smooth talker.”
Yun Che changed his tone and said sincerely, “Sorry, Sister Zijun. At the time… I didn’t think that far ahead.”
“It’s not your fault.” Li Zijun’s tone returned to its usual gentleness and composure.
Her voice suddenly softened, carrying a rare, almost coquettish tenderness:
“Still, if you have any more poems like that next time, remember to let me see them first. I really liked today’s poem.
“I liked it very much.”
Warmth rose in Yun Che’s heart. “All right, definitely.”
“Isn’t the time almost up?” Li Zijun asked suddenly.
Yun Che sensed it for a moment and found that, indeed, the duration of this binding was nearing its end. In the depths of his consciousness, the system’s countdown prompt had appeared.
“Mm.”
“Then I won’t keep you any longer.” Li Zijun’s voice remained gentle, but there was a trace of reluctance to part that was hard to detect. “Xiao Che… if you come again,
“I’ll brew the new tea I just got, Snow-Crest Cloud Mist, and wait for you.”
“All right.”
The countdown reached zero.
That familiar sense of being pulled away came over him, and the pear-blossom courtyard, the bamboo shadows, and the gentle breeze before his eyes gradually blurred.
The last thing his perception caught was Li Zijun standing beneath the pear tree, looking up at the moon, along with her soft whisper, light as a spring breeze:
“Xiao Che, take care.”