Chapter 87: Haoran Haoran

Ji Yuan walked onto the official road of Qingshui County, but he had no intention of going to Qingshui Town.

The route had already been clarified in Washan Village, and his gray cloth bundle, now twice as full, contained several dry biscuits and a bundle of braised rabbit legs given by Ding Xing. From Ji Yuan's perspective, there was absolutely no need to go to Qingshui County, so he simply continued his journey along the official road.

It must be said that while Ji Yuan indeed intended to avoid trouble, Ding Xing's initial pursuit was in the wrong direction. Therefore, when Ding Xing, refusing to give up, went directly to Qingshui County, he still could not find any trace of Ji Yuan.

***

Inside the Ning'an County School, children were reciting texts from their books.

"Observe the present to learn from the past, study and listen widely, practice what you learn, persevere... A noble person stands with eloquent speech and graceful demeanor..."

The children in this group varied in age; the youngest were under ten, while the oldest were fourteen or fifteen. They seemed like little adults, each diligently reciting and swaying their heads back and forth.

"Stop!"

Yin Zhaoxian, holding a book and listening carefully, paced among the children, speaking only after returning to the teacher's desk.

The entire schoolroom instantly fell silent. Many children became nervous because the master was going to test their studies today; even Yin Qing was not particularly calm.

Yin Zhaoxian turned to look at the thirty to forty children, varying in age, their faces showing a mixture of childishness and tension.

"Today's test will be different from before; I'm changing the topic..."

This test was not a spur-of-the-moment idea. The earliest inspiration came from a casual chat with Ji Yuan one day in Ju'an Pavilion. The discussion had revolved around a volume of "Righteous Instructions" that Yin Zhaoxian carried, a compulsory textbook for teaching people to respect the government and abide by the law.

The book's inherent intention was correct; however, the content about abiding by the law was far less than that about revering officials and nobles. In the end, its central theme of flattering the powerful became quite blatant.

By then, Ji Yuan was well acquainted with Yin Zhaoxian and understood his character, so he confidently asked Master Yin, with a hint of a sneer, what he thought of the book. He questioned why such a book remained one of the "Six Essential Chapters for Study," and why, even if it couldn't be replaced, no one had adapted it. Was it unwillingness or fear?

At that time, not only was Yin Zhaoxian stumped by the question, but Ji Yuan also precisely articulated Master Yin's previous discomfort with the book. This made Master Yin, for the first time, deeply ponder the subtle relationship between officialdom and the people's livelihoods from the perspective of a commoner. On this matter, he had a somewhat "heretical" discussion with Ji Yuan for half a day.

Thinking of these memories, Master Yin smiled as he looked at the children, whom Ji Yuan called the "seeds of the nation."

"I once heard that in the North Sea there is a Wutong tree, standing thirty thousand feet tall in the ocean, a resting place for the phoenix. The sea region has many mountainous islands, and all the birds gather there to pay homage to the phoenix. Far in the distance lies South Mountain, and upon South Mountain lives a stork, the leader of all birds there..."

Yin Zhaoxian's introduction made many children exchange glances, excited as if listening to a magical story.

"The phoenix is ethereal and loves to roam freely, so the stork took its place to manage the flock. It collected fruits and ate fish and shrimp. In time, it began to scorn the other birds, considering itself a small phoenix, and took pleasure in stepping on their nests and plucking their feathers..."

As Yin Zhaoxian playfully unfolded his topic in a mythical manner, the children in the school listened with unprecedented seriousness.

After Yin Zhaoxian finished telling the entire fabricated story, he looked at the children with a smile.

"Do you think the stork or the flock were at fault? And if you were in the stork's place, what would be your solution?"

It's worth noting that whenever Yin Zhaoxian used to ask a question, he would merely ask symbolically if anyone wished to answer, and no child would ever volunteer, not even Yin Qing.

But now, even though few dared to speak directly—which was merely a habitual reaction—Yin Zhaoxian sensed an unprecedented eagerness in the children's willingness to meet his gaze and their relaxed demeanor.

"Good, Yin Qing, you answer first!"

"Yes, Master!"

Yin Qing stood up and answered based on his natural judgment, expressing sympathy for the flock and blaming the stork, among other points.

Afterward, Yin Zhaoxian called upon several other students who had sufficient expressive ability. Since none of the previously answering students had been criticized, regardless of their views, everyone who stood up to answer felt confident.

This discussion actually took half a day, and Yin Zhaoxian was very pleased with the atmosphere in the schoolroom.

'Mr. Ji's concept of "teaching through enjoyment" is truly effective!'

Once everyone had finished answering, Yin Zhaoxian sat back down at his desk and addressed the dozens of students before him:

"I hope you will all write down today's answers. If your words are not smooth or there are characters you don't recognize, you can ask others or come directly to me. I will use this as your essay assessment."

The children, who had been excited, immediately heard the words "essay assessment" and reacted with instinctive worry. Yin Zhaoxian chuckled and shook his head at their reaction, but his gaze, as he looked at the paper, turned significantly serious and resolute.

'The grand plan of nurturing people is as significant as contributing to the nation!'

He picked up his brush and wrote several large opening characters very neatly and legibly on the rice paper on his desk: "Discussion on the Flock of Birds – Answers from Young Students."

***

At this very moment, in the Underworld Bureau of the City God Temple in Ning'an County.

The civil and martial judges of the Underworld Bureau, who oversaw the Merits and Demerits Department, were reviewing various records. These included overviews of different departments, reports from day and night patrol officers, who in the county was about to die, what changes in people's fates needed attention, what difficulties and requirements existed among various departments, and a series of other miscellaneous situations, all of which had to be meticulously sorted through by the civil and martial judges before being presented to the City God.

After examining a thick stack of records, the martial judge, with a sweep of his brush, caused the text on most of them to disappear, consolidating them into a few select volumes.

"Take these away, take these away! Next stack, next stack!"

There was always an endless amount of work to process, and the martial judge had a quick temper. His shouting made the civil judge, who was meticulously reviewing records nearby, smile.

"Yes, yes, yes, Lord Judge, don't rush. They're being brought over, they're being brought over!"

Several junior ghost runners nearby were also very busy. Returning and retrieving records constantly required manpower to categorize various volumes for different departments and deliver them to each department for review by their respective heads, meaning most of their time was spent in transit.

Moreover, the records with erased text were manageable, but those with text had significant weight; the more good or evil recorded, the heavier they became. Lifting them was strenuous, making it a tough job.

Two of the junior ghost runners hurried to the Underworld's Record Hall, but before they could even step inside, they collided head-on with several civil servant ghost runners rushing out.

"What's going on? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Something's happened with the records! Something strange has occurred! They're too heavy to lift! We need to find the judges, and also the heads of the Fortune and Prosperity Departments!"

The ghost runners' collision merely caused them to shift sideways, and they immediately hastened towards their respective department locations.

A moment later, in the Merits and Demerits Department, the heads of several departments had all gathered. On the civil judge's desk lay a Book of Merits and Demerits and a Register of Fortune and Prosperity, both subtly glowing.

The civil judge frowned, looked at his colleagues, then reached out and opened the two registers. Skipping the front pages, he went directly to the two pages from which the light emanated.

Obscure streams of energy flowed across the pages. Though faint, they were incredibly mysterious. Some characters on them appeared to be extremely ethereal, and the fortune, prosperity, and virtuous deeds recorded there had all greatly increased.

All the heads of the Underworld departments directed their gaze to the name of the person to whom these pages belonged.

"Yin Zhaoxian!"

***

Ji Yuan, who was walking on the official road a hundred li south of Qingshui County, suddenly felt something. Upon his contemplation, a chess piece appeared at his fingertips.

Vaguely, through this illusory chess piece, Ji Yuan seemed to see a pair of slender hands holding a brush and paper, writing an essay on rice paper.

It was at this moment that Ji Yuan's fingertip tingled, and he noticed the chess piece had become much more solid than its previous ethereal state.

"Master Yin!"