Shipin Dalizheng

So during the rest period, Rong Tang told her everything he knew about how to determine the direction by using all the environmental information from the sky and the ground when lost in the wild or in the mountains. San Ya was stunned.

"Prince Tang is really smart."

"This isn't cleverness. When you read more, you'll naturally know more."

San Ya was dejected. "But none of the kids in the village can read or write. Grandpa can write, and he taught my dad. He said he'd become the clan leader someday, and would need to be able to write people's names. An, the village chief's uncle, passed the imperial examination, which is quite impressive. None of the other uncles, or any of the boys or girls in the family, can read. They say it's useless for the kids in the village to learn to read. It's better for them to grow up quickly. Boys can farm, get married, and carry on the family line, while girls can earn money as bride price to help build houses for their brothers."

Rong Tang was silent. This was probably the common sentiment among all the poor families in the countryside. There were families who were willing to let their children study, but without exception, they all wanted them to pass the imperial examinations and become officials, eventually rising to prominence. Few of them had the ambition to make life better for the world's poor.

It is very difficult for poor people to raise a scholar, which means that the whole family has to suffer twice as much, and among these families, only one in ten thousand can pass the exam.

Occasionally, there will be a rare person who suddenly becomes rich from being extremely poor. He will want to double up on the suffering he has endured in the past countless years. His greed will expand and he will become a vampire, such as Jin Shizhao.

Retracting his thoughts, he turned his attention to San Ya again, "Would you like to learn to write?"

San Ya's eyes lit up. "I'm willing, but Grandpa and Dad refused to teach, saying it was useless for a girl to learn. If they were to teach, they would only teach Xiaobao. Unfortunately, Xiaobao couldn't sit still and refused to learn. Grandma and Second Aunt didn't want Grandpa to spank him, saying he was still young and it wouldn't be too late to learn in two years."

Rong Tang smiled and wrote San Ya's name on the ground with a branch. Both characters were simple, with only three strokes.

Rong Shen put San Ya down. San Ya picked up a branch and followed him. After a few tries, she got it right. She was very surprised and said, "Is this my name? I can write my own name now."

After a few strokes, he suddenly looked up, his wet eyes flashing like a deer, "Prince Tang, please change my name too. Many girls in the village are called Ya. The Li family has Li Ya, the Wang family has Wang Ya, and there are many other girls in other villages. And they sound ugly too."

Rong Tang teased, "Then why not change it to Zhao Di? Laidi? Pan Di? That would sound better?"

San Ya looked conflicted. She got along well with Li Zhaodi and knew what the name meant. She wanted a younger brother but didn't want to be named like that.

Rong Tang teased her and laughed himself, "This name is terrible. Every girl should have a name of her own, not a telekinesis to wait for someone else's arrival. I see that you are smart and well-behaved, so let's call you Qiaoqiao, Rong Qiaoqiao."

She wrote her name again and San Ya followed suit, but these three characters were much more difficult, which made her very anxious.

Rong Shen walked around and turned back, saying, "Master, go southwest. The terrain there is flatter and we can walk through it."

There is no road here, so I need to find the way myself. Fortunately, Rong Shen has a hatchet stuck on his back, so he can clear the way.

When they were back on the road, San Ya was carried into the basket again. Although she didn't want to trouble others, she was too young and scared, so she let Rong Shen carry her.

But he was still feeling discouraged. "I can't lead the way either. If Prince Tang gives me copper coins later, I absolutely cannot accept them."

So I silently traced the strokes of the three characters "Rong Qiaoqiao" in my mind. My head was dizzy and I didn't know when I fell asleep.

When she woke up again, she was still on Rong Shen's back, with Rong Shen's coat wrapped around her, as if he had put it on her to prevent her from catching a cold.

San Ya moved, Rong Shen put her down, looked around, and found that they had arrived at a new place. There was a cliff in front, and Prince Tang was looking down.

She looked back again and said, "Oh my god, where is my home? Where is the road? Where am I?"

Rong Shen said to Rong Tang, "Master, take a break. I'll find something to eat."

Rong Tang gazed down and saw a winding river below the cliff, flowing diagonally southeast. Across from it, clouds rose and the wind surged, casting a faint, iridescent glow. Willows grew lushly on either side of the river, and in the distance, a sea of ​​unknown flowers covered the valley. The view was like a painting of a fairy mountain.

Maybe if you get closer, it is just a corner of poor mountains and bad water, but from this angle, it is a beautiful scenery.

Rong Tang admired it, found a smooth stone to sit on, opened the zither case, revealing the Xuanlong Zither that he had not seen for two months. He didn't know if it was because of his eyesight, but he felt the dragon pattern on the zither tremble, and a dragon roar came from the distance.

Rong Tang knew it was all an illusion, perhaps a resonance only he could sense. He sat down, placed the qin on his knees, and after getting ready, he just stood there, completely lost in thought, not knowing what to play.

A sense of guilt arose spontaneously. She had only learned one song from Wu Ji, and she didn't know if it would be appropriate to play it now.

With a flick of his finger, the soul-calling song spread out from between his fingers. This was not a song circulated in the secular world. San Ya, the only one beside him, was still young and could not understand it, nor could she sense anything wrong.

At the foot of the Baizhang Cliff, a small boat floated on the river. Zheng Changzhi sat upright on the bow, stroking the strings of his zither. The melodious ancient music drifted into the distance, and the handsome young man looked like an immortal from heaven.

Behind him, the girl in black looked around vigilantly, like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, its cold light unconcealed.

Suddenly, discordant piano sounds seemed to fall from the sky, like a strange tune plucked by someone who didn't understand music, harsh to the ears and piercing to the heart.

Although the sound was not loud, it made it difficult to concentrate, and I even played a few wrong notes.

Zheng Changzhi looked up along the cliff wall, and saw the mountain wall covered with vines, so he couldn't see anyone.

Frowning, Zheng Changzhi increased his finger strength and focused more on suppressing the discordant sound.

On the cliff, Rong Tang familiarized himself with the song for a while and asked San Ya, "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

San Ya shook her head.

"So, does it sound good?"

San Ya's eyes were conflicted, but she was an honest and good child, so she still shook her head.

Okay, stop damaging the child's ears.

So he concentrated his mind, the mysterious power passed through his fingertips, and Xuanlong became silent.

Sanya was a little puzzled. Prince Tang was clearly trying so hard to play the piano, but why was there no sound? When she asked herself whether it sounded good or not, how would she answer?

It turns out that even such a powerful Prince Tang doesn't have some things he doesn't know.

She didn't know that, though she couldn't hear anything, the forest was in an uproar. In the sky, swarms of bats emerged from their hiding places and flew towards the sound of the piano.

On the ground, a large number of snakes, pythons and anacondas, which had always been hidden, gathered together and headed in the same direction.

They came rushing over as if they were summoned by some irresistible force.

At the foot of the cliff, Zheng Changzhi's piano music finally overwhelmed the strange, discordant noises, freeing his ears from the torment. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt dizzy, as if his mind was being torn away. His piano-playing hand stiffened uncontrollably, and he struggled to concentrate before regaining his composure.

The discomfort only lasted for a second. Most people would just think it was a moment of distraction and would not take it seriously. However, Zheng Changzhi was frightened and broke out in a cold sweat.

"Xuanque."

"Eldest son."