Chapter 45

Lu Zheng repeated the name Feng Lin twice and said, "Xin'er, your name sounds so beautiful, but I don't know how to write it."

Xin'er smiled and said, "That's easy, let me teach you." She then took Lu Zheng's hand and wrote the characters for Feng Lin in his palm, stroke by stroke, and said, "Now you know Xin'er's name, and I know yours. You mustn't tell anyone else, and I won't reveal your name either."

Lu Zheng, with his good memory, especially for Xin'er's name, remembered it after just one look. After Xin'er finished writing, he also wrote it out, and she carefully watched, noticing that he didn't make a single mistake. She praised him and asked, "Do you know how to write your own name, little brother?"

Seeing Lu Zheng shake his head, she took his hand again and wrote two characters. Lu Zheng carefully observed the strokes; it was the first time he knew how to write his own name. He said, "So this is how my name is written. Now I can show off to Ninth Brother, who doesn't know how to write his own name." But then he immediately thought, Ninth Brother is already dead and will never know how to write his own name in this life.

Xin'er asked curiously, "Who is Ninth Brother? Is he the one you mentioned before, Tang Xiaojiu?"

Lu Zheng softly said, "Yes, in this world, Ninth Brother was the best to me. He always protected, cared for, and looked after me. His name is Tang Xiaojiu, and like me, he was a little beggar on the three streets of Qinglong Temple..."

Once he started, Lu Zheng recounted the memories of Tang Xiaojiu and himself. He had an excellent memory and remembered every big and small event from childhood to adulthood clearly. He vividly described Tang Xiaojiu's intelligence, mischief, and quick wit. From the first time they met, when Tang Xiaojiu, who always laughed joyfully, made him feel that there was no such thing as worry. They became friends immediately, and Tang Xiaojiu declared that he would take Lu Zheng as his little brother.

Later, the two lived together in the City God Temple. They begged on the streets every day, and Tang Xiaojiu always tricked him into giving him the better food. They fought and got beaten together, with Tang Xiaojiu always shielding him from punches. They also conspired and cheated together, and whenever Lu Zheng made a mistake, it always made Tang Xiaojiu furious. They both suffered from the bullying of Lai Liqi, and Tang Xiaojiu always found ways to protect them.

Lu Zheng slowly recounted each event, all of which showed Tang Xiaojiu's meticulous care for him. As they grew older, Tang Xiaojiu encouraged him to visit the Chunfeng Tower, but they were caught and beaten. They were so hungry that they went to Qinglong Temple to steal buns, where they met the little monk Mingkong... Then, on that evening, they were slapped by Lai Liqi in the City God Temple and had to sneak into Qinglong Temple to steal money at midnight, only to encounter a snake demon.

Lu Zheng thought he had forgotten many things, but as he spoke, the memories became clearer. He realized that he had silently remembered every detail and never forgotten them. He slowly told Xin'er, feeling unusually calm, without any sense of sadness, as if Tang Xiaojiu were still by his side, or as if Tang Xiaojiu were just a character in a story he was telling.

When he finally spoke about the snake demon and how Tang Xiaojiu was taken and devoured, his voice suddenly stopped. He felt his face hot and itchy, as if insects were crawling on it. He instinctively touched his face and found it covered in tears, realizing that he had been crying uncontrollably without noticing.

Because the person who had always protected him was no longer there!

The next morning, Li Yi woke Lu Zheng up early and took him to bathe and change clothes. The water in the large wooden tub turned completely black, and after putting on new clothes and tidying his hair, Lu Zheng felt refreshed.

Lu Zheng didn't know how Mr. Le managed it, but as Li Yi said, the yin poison in his body was under control, and his limbs felt smooth, with no hindrance to normal movement. His senses, including sight and hearing, had also returned to normal, and he no longer experienced sudden small supernatural abilities.

Yesterday, when he talked to Xin'er about Tang Xiaojiu, they both cried uncontrollably, which alarmed Le Zhongping and Li Yi, who rushed over. They found the two crying loudly and looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what had happened. After understanding the situation, they didn't know how to console them, especially Xin'er, who, despite Le Zhongping's gentle words, still shed tears uncontrollably, leaving Le Zhongping at a loss!

After bathing and changing, Lu Zheng followed Li Yi into the Tianyuan Difang Pavilion. Before entering, Lu Zheng noticed that there were six characters written on each side of the door frame, perfectly symmetrical. However, he couldn't recognize the characters and didn't dare to ask Li Yi.

Upon entering, to his surprise, the room was not empty. The walls were lined with enormous bookshelves, filled with countless books, emitting a unique scent of ink. In the center of the room were three long tables, one large and two small. Xin'er was already sitting at one of the small tables, holding a brush and writing. She quickly stood up to greet Li Yi and then sat down again.

Mr. Le had already instructed Lu Zheng about the ceremony to be held today. After Li Yi sat behind the large table, Lu Zheng first bowed three times to the sky, then three times to the earth, and finally knelt down and respectfully bowed three times to Li Yi, presenting him with a cup of tea as part of the ceremony.

Li Yi nodded, took a sip of the tea, and pointed to a ruler on his table, saying, "Bow to the ruler!"

The ruler was the same one that had given him and Xin'er three large bumps yesterday. It was now quietly placed on Li Yi's table. The ruler was about two fingers wide, one finger thick, and three palms long, with a dark, glossy surface. It didn't look like metal, jade, or wood, and its material was unknown.

Lu Zheng obediently bowed to the ruler, silently thinking, "Don't hit me, don't hit me." Fortunately, the ruler didn't suddenly jump up to hit him, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

While still kneeling, Li Yi stood up with a stern face, picked up the ruler, and placed it on Lu Zheng's head. His expression was serious and authoritative as he said, "First, bow to heaven and earth; second, show respect to the teacher; third, bow to the ruler. These are the three fundamentals of the ceremony. After completing these three, you must be responsible for your words and actions. If you enter my door, will you strictly adhere to the rules of speech?"

Lu Zheng, having been taught this by Mr. Le the previous day, quickly and respectfully answered, "I will strictly adhere to the rules of speech, and from now on, I will speak without reservation."

Li Yi then said, "If you enter my door, will you strictly adhere to the rules of behavior?"

Lu Zheng answered seriously, "I will strictly adhere to the rules of behavior, and from now on, I will act without hesitation."

Li Yi nodded in satisfaction and said, "Speaking without reservation and acting without hesitation are the norms of speech and behavior. Lu Zheng, from now on, you are part of my door. Today, I bestow upon you the name Zhiyi. Lu Zhiyi, extend your hand!"

Lu Zheng obediently extended his hand, and Li Yi raised the ruler and struck it three times, saying, "Although you have not committed any mistakes, you must know that words and actions originate from the heart. This heart must not be lost. These three strikes are for unintentional mistakes and to remind you of the authority of the ruler. In the future, do not make mistakes casually. Do you understand?"

The three strikes were not light, and Lu Zheng's palm felt hot and painful. He had never thought that he would be hit for not making mistakes. He felt a bit depressed but still answered respectfully, "I understand."

As soon as he said this, Li Yi raised the ruler again and struck him once more, saying, "What do you mean by 'I understand'? That's disrespectful. In the future, when answering the teacher's questions, you must say, 'The student remembers the teachings.' This is the proper etiquette of a disciple!"

This stone-faced man was clearly looking for an excuse to hit him! Lu Zheng's depression turned into委屈, and his face turned red, unable to speak for a moment.

Seeing that Lu Zheng was not answering, Li Yi's gaze turned sharp, and he looked down at him, saying, "What? Do you have any questions?"

Lu Zheng quickly said, "I... The student remembers the teachings." He almost said "I understand" again but managed to change his words in time.

Li Yi nodded, held the ruler in front of his chest, and began to explain the etiquette of a disciple. This included how to greet the teacher, how to speak and answer questions, how to behave and respond, and how to clean and arrange things in the classroom. He spoke non-stop for about half an hour. Lu Zheng, who had been kneeling the entire time, felt his legs become sore, numb, and painful. If it weren't for the ruler looming over his head, he would have started swaying.

In the etiquette he had just learned, it was said that as a disciple, one should maintain proper posture and avoid swaying, slouching, or moving around unnecessarily...

Finally, after a long list of detailed rules, Lu Zheng indicated that he had remembered them all, and Li Yi let him go. He walked to the large table and sat down, pointing to the empty table next to Xin'er and said, "Lu Zheng, go sit there. From today, you will start reading and learning to write."

Lu Zheng, following the etiquette rules Li Yi had just taught, first bowed to the teacher and said, "The student remembers the teachings," before obediently sitting down.

Xin'er, who had been silent, took the opportunity to turn her head and wink at him. Her eyes were slightly red and swollen from crying the previous day, and Lu Zheng smiled at her.

This scene was noticed by Li Yi, who immediately shouted, "In the classroom, no looking around!" Xin'er stuck out her tongue and quickly pulled back, but it was too late. The ruler flew over and struck both of them on the back.

Both of them grunted but didn't dare to cry out, as according to the etiquette, making a sound when punished would result in a second strike!

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