Daoist Master of Qing Xuan

The boy had neat eyebrows and eyes that were clearer than the Xia canal. His facial features were so dimensional that even the master craftsmen who constructed Wang Cheng would not be able to carve something so perfect. His hands were fair like snow with some pale green veins that looked like jade marks.

Anyone who was not blind could tell that he was actually a girl disguised as a boy.

The white pegasus waved its pure white wings and retracted it as the girl came down from the back of the Pegasus. A young man came out from Guan Longzi’s classroom and said to the girl, “Miss…Mister Lei, come over here. This is Guan Longzi’s classroom.”

More and more people came out to look at the commotion and all of them were more than ordinary.

The girl smiled, “You recognized me?”

The young man responded, “My mother’s family name is Fei and I took on her family’s name. I reside in Dongcheng and have attended the palace’s feast with my mother. I have seen you once from far far away.

The girl blinked her eyes and said, “I remember you, you are Fei Zhong, right?”

The young man was delighted and said, “I did not expect my humble name would make it to the ears of Mister Lei.

She looked at him with a deep gaze and said, “Well, your mother is pretty famous in Diqiu.”

Before the young man could react, everyone else started laughing. Fei Zhong’s mother’s name was Fei Ya and she was known to be a promiscuous woman. No one knew who was Fei Zhong’s father and his mother too did not get married to anyone.

Fei Zhong was raging but he kept a warm expression. He smiled and said, “I would introduce my mother to Mister Lei some day. Plus, my grandfather always talked about you.”

He did not turn his head back but he has deeply memorized all the faces of the people who laughed at him like a joke.

The girl responded, “That would be unnecessary. I am not the kind of person who enjoys visiting.”

She then held on the leash of the Pegasus and headed towards Shen Lian’s classroom.

The Fei’s were ranked the last among the twelve aristocratic families of Da Xia. They were not as prestigious as the Lei family of the Youhu’s. Furthermore, the girl was also Emperor Xia’s niece, making her a lot higher in status.

If Fei Zhong could get into her favor, he would rise up among the hierarchy and the people at the Fei’s would not look down at him anymore.

He did not expect the girl to show up at the school but he has always been a scheming person and wanted to use the influence of Guan Longzi to improve his reputation. The disciples of other aristocratic family did not see the good in the school but Fei Zhong did not mind that at all. Furthermore, he had the noblest blood of all among the students of the school and that would definitely make him a prominent figure here.

Now that the girl attended this school, he felt that it was a golden opportunity for him. But if she chose to attend Shen Lian’s lecture, his master plan would not take off.

As the girl heads towards to the other classroom, he tried to stop her and said, “Mister Lei, that teacher came from an unknown background. Moreover, Guan Longzi is second to none! Why are you headed towards the other teacher?”

The girl stared at him coldly as she oozed out a heavenly aura. That was an aura that only the purest bloodline of the descendants of the Xiahou’s and Youhu would possess. It was the nobility that was deeply etched in their spirits.

Although Fei Zhong had the aristocratic blood, it was not as pure. His inferiority made him take a step backward.

The girl led her Pegasus to the door of Shen Lian’s classroom. The door had a plague that said ‘Brief knowledge’.

A pair of couplets were hanging on two sides:

‘The sky was black and the earth was yellow, the universe was vast and a dark whole.’

These simple characters had the depths of heaven and earth, and was more immense than the universe. But the horizontal scroll above it had ‘Brief knowledge’ written across it. It was perceptive of the minutest details and definitely intriguing in a way.

Even Guan Longzi was full of compliments when the couplets were placed up.

The girl noticed the couplets but she did not fathom the true meaning behind it. She thought it sounded nice.

She walked into the classroom and Fei Zhong was dissatisfied by it. He wanted to follow her in but the door shut tightly after she entered.

Guan Longzi’s voice could be heard, “Fei Zhong, that’s enough. Please return to your seat.”

Fei Zhong had no choice but to give up. The girl was a great idea but for now, being in the good books of Guan Longzi was the best strategy.

The Zhiwei classroom was spacious and empty. As the girl walked with her pegasus, she heard the sound of the zither.

In front, someone was sitting on the seats while stroking the strings of the zither. Beautiful melody came out from his fingertips that were stroking on the fifty stringed zithers.

Shen Lian lifted his head and the melody was still flowing out from his fingertips as he looked deeply at the girl.

The girl picked a spot, then used both of her hands to support her cheek and closed her eyes to listen to the melody. She did not know much about rhythm but she could hear the sound of water flowing and birds chirping, and could picture flowers and trees with flocks of birds flying around.

It was indeed a beautiful scenery, but unfortunately, she did not have enough of it.

When the melody stopped, the dreamy expression on the girl’s face did not fade away.

She said, “I did not expect us to meet again so soon.”

Shen Lian responded, “Actually, Guan Longzi’s knowledge is as deep as mine and he would be a more suitable teacher for you. After all, he knows people like you better than I do.”

The girl replied, “There could be a thousand good things about Mister Guan Longzi but he is not as cute as you.”

Shen Lian gently caressed the strings of the zither and a produced a sound. He smiled and said, “I did not expect such a reason would lead me to a disciple.”

The girl questioned, “Am I not good enough for you? I heard that you had a bet with Guan Longzi to see who had better students in the next three months. You would never lose if you have me.”

Shen Liam smiled and nodded his head, “Looks like I have no choice but to take you as my disciple.”

The girl lifted her head to reveal her beautiful collarbone. She said, “Then you are now my master.”

Shen Lian knew of her purpose of coming to the school the moment he saw her. The Prefect Grand Usher was a smart person and that was why he sent his daughter to the school. It was for the sake of calming Shen Lian and at the same time make him feel at ease.

With his only daughter by Shen Lian’s side, Shen Lian would never suspect him. It was also a good thing for Shen Lian as he would not need to put it so much effort to monitor the Prefect Grand Usher.

In other words, the girl was here as a hostage.

Shen Lian said, “Now that you are learning from me, you can address me as your teacher but there is no need to bow and salute me.”

“That is great! It is weird for me to kowtow to you. But are you not curious as to why I am here to be your student?”, the girl asked.

Shen Lian then found out that her name was Lei Jing.

A young woman who swayed her slender waist was a distraction to the eyes. ‘Jing’ was a wonderful term that described the nice figure of a woman.

Lei Jing sure lived up to the word.

The reason she joined the school was indeed her father’s orders. Lei Nuo sent her to join Guan Longzi’s lecture but Lei Jing was an opinionated girl and wanted to learn from the other teacher. Furthermore, she wanted to look at Shen Lian’s face and that strengthened her determination to join his class.

Shen Lian could only lament that a father knew his daughter best. If Lei Nuo had sent her to become Shen Lian’s disciple, Lei Jing would not have decided to join his class.