My Wife Is A Sword Immortal
Chapter 404 - 289 Are you also here to find Zhao Ziyu? (Added for ’O Lanlan O’ brother alliance leader!)

Chapter 404: Chapter 289 Are you also here to find Zhao Ziyu? (Added for ’O Lanlan O’ brother alliance leader!)

Zhao Rong’s eyes squinted slightly in the glare of the slanting sunlight.

Therefore, when the person approached with the setting sun behind him, his figure appeared somewhat dim.

However, this young man seemed to have a strange charisma, his looks not outstanding, just fair-skinned, but the smile at the corner of his mouth always made one unconsciously focus on his face.

Zhao Rong narrowed his eyes slightly.

Finally, he saw the newcomer clearly.

He indeed did not recognize him, nor had he seen him before.

The stranger wore a light blue ordinary dress, with a jade ornament hanging from his waist, his attire was simple and elegant, and he wore a headband. Yet it was not meticulous; instead strands of black hair loosely fell out, not well tied.

To Zhao Rong, he looked like someone who had been idling at home for a few days and suddenly had to go out, so he randomly grabbed a headband and tied his hair as he walked.

Casual yet not slovenly, he actually exuded a Confucian elegance.

It’s because of the smile that always played on his lips, as if telling you that such trivial matters were not important and not to mind them.

This was confidence.

Zhao Rong smiled.

The elegant young Confucian nodded at Sima Duyi and then walked straight past him, standing in front of the entrance to Shuaixing Hall, his eyes sweeping over the students of varying expressions inside the hall.

As if by telepathy, his gaze quickly moved away from these students dressed in blue and locked onto the young Confucian Scholar on the podium who appeared to be the Teacher, dressed in plain autumn clothes.

He caught the odd smile on Zhao Rong’s face at just the right moment.

The elegant young man smiled even more.

The two made eye contact.

"Zhao Ziyu?"

"Indeed, it is I. Who might you be?"

"Yang Wuwei."

Zhao Rong smiled, "Why not ’Being Active’?"

Yang Wuwei smiled, "To be active would be presumptuous, to be ’Wuwei’ is better."

Zhao Rong nodded, "Good."

Yang Wuwei suddenly said, "Official histories may not be all credible, while unofficial histories aren’t necessarily without basis, would you agree?"

Zhao Rong did not speak but looked earnestly at the elegant young man.

Yang Wuwei gracefully performed a courtesy.

Zhao Rong turned to return the gesture.

Yang Wuwei stepped aside, making way at the gate, gesturing with his eyes at Zhao Rong.

The latter nodded slightly, yet also shook his head softly.

Yang Wuwei glanced at the students below the podium and then at the items on the long table in front of Zhao Rong.

He raised his eyebrows and bowed to Zhao Rong again.

Zhao Rong returned the gesture.

Yang Wuwei’s lips held a smile.

"On the seventh floor of the library, I’ll wait for Brother Zhao. Just mention my name, and you’ll be allowed upstairs."

Zhao Rong nodded, his expression calm.

The second visitor to Shuaixing Hall of the day, this Reading Seed, bowed to the students in the hall and left with a swish of his sleeve.

After he left, the quiet of Shuaixing Hall remained as it had been.

A pair of eyes watched Zhao Rong on the podium.

The hall stayed silent for three breaths.

Zhao Rong turned to look at the sun outside, sighed lightly, then turned back to face the curious gazes below the podium.

His expression was slightly helpless.

"Let’s hurry up and resume our lessons; we’ve been distracted for almost half an hour, and we’re running out of time... um, I don’t know him either, it’s our first meeting, so don’t ask."

Zhao Rong shook his head and continued to gather the students’ ’eternal’ character homework.

As he worked with his hands, he muttered to himself:

"The seventh floor? That’s a bit hard to climb... troublesome."

The young Confucian Scholar furrowed his brow.

Students of Shuaixing Hall: "......"

The ’eventful’ Calligraphy class resumed quickly.

Unlike the lax attitude of most students in the morning, at this moment, they sat upright on their stools, most with proper behavior, nearly placing their hands behind their backs, their eyes fixed solely on Teacher Zhao.

Wu Peiliang looked exceedingly well-behaved, wondering to himself if he was feeling secretly relieved.

In fact, many students looked up at the moving figure on the podium, their faces slightly embarrassed.

Teacher Zhao was right, on his rest days, he was truly busy.

Moreover, it seemed he also had a wife who could show up for inspections at any moment...

Along the corridor of Mochi Academy.

Sima Duyi was walking with his hands hanging down.

After seeing Yang Wuwei go to find Zhao Rong.

His cold eyes took a hard look at Zhao Rong before he turned to leave.

He didn’t wait outside Shuaixing Hall for the class to end.

He too was busy, especially after just returning from Southern Tranquility State, he had a pile of tasks the Teacher had assigned that needed tending to.

The boastful words Wu Peiliang used when borrowing his status had made Sima Duyi frown secretly.

But some of those words weren’t wrong at all.

Time was indeed precious to him, and could not be delayed.

Moreover, Wu Peiliang’s words couldn’t be considered boasting, but rather they were ’downplaying.’

The busy matters of Sima Duyi certainly weren’t ’having meals and tea with the Academy’s teachers to discuss loftily,’ that would be too trivial.

Because he didn’t even have time for that.

Many important affairs of the Academy were left to fall upon the shoulders of Teacher, the Deputy Mountain Master, Sima Duyi.

The thought of the endless tasks that needed attending to every day, coupled with the current dire state of the Linlu Academy’s upper echelons.

Sima Duyi pursed his lips.

This ’dire’ situation wasn’t about high-level intrigues or rivalries, but rather... the absence of any such power struggles.

The Mountain Masters, Deputy Mountain Masters, and venerable Confucian scholars didn’t wish to deal with anything and were content being hands-off Shopkeepers.

The ones who should be reading read, those who taught did so, and the ones fond of fishing went fishing.

Indeed, there was even one who went to Mochi Academy and took up the lofty post of Sacrificial Officer under the pretext of cultivating promising students for the Academy, nurturing the next generation of pillars of society.

They would say that this matter of nurturing talents carried immense responsibility and required undivided attention and hard work, so others shouldn’t bother the old man anymore...

There were also some teachers whom Sima Duyi didn’t even know where they had gone off to, wondering if they were still around since he never saw them since he started studying at the Academy.

Nonetheless, a vast Confucian Academy like this, being the pinnacle of Yu Zhou’s literary essence, needed to maintain daily operations.

Therefore, countless tasks within the Academy needed arranging every day.

As for external matters of significance, they were difficult and troublesome, requiring decisions and actions.

Hence, there was no choice but to... conscript able-bodied men.

Unfortunately, Teacher Sima Duyi was one of those unlucky fellows, and his disciple suffered the consequences as well.

Well, according to the older generations like the Mountain Master, this was about adding burdens to the shoulders of the Academy’s youth, a glorious tradition of Linlu Academy.

So, unless there were matters of utmost importance.

The stewards now practically in charge of the Academy were all in their prime.

The Mountain Master even directly gave Teacher Sima Duyi the high office of Deputy Mountain Master, patting him on the shoulder and entreating him not to waste his prime years and live up to the ardent expectations of his predecessors.

On the corridor, Sima Duyi shook his head.

What unreliable seniors these were.

And he had also heard his Teacher lament with a pained expression that shirking responsibilities seemed to be a traditional skill passed down among Linlu Academy’s management of each generation.

This term’s Mountain Master, Old Master Zhu, had been reluctantly forced into the role, a wiser few had fled early on.

Moreover, Sima Duyi had recently begun to notice that his Teacher was showing signs of becoming a hands-off Shopkeeper himself, dumping everything on him and a few fellow disciples...

Danger?

Sima Duyi drooped his eyelids, turned his head to gaze upon the calm Mochi pond, and the solitary boat fishing in the distance, remaining silent.

The Teacher said he was reserved and advised him to watch everything and everyone from a distance, to cultivate his energy, heart, and reputation, just as he had in Shuaixing Hall earlier.

The intentions of Teacher, who was Deputy Mountain Master, were clear to Sima Duyi.

It’s just that he actually didn’t want to cultivate that...

The cold-eyed man halted, gazing in the direction where wild geese flew south.

It was said that these mundane wild geese could deliver letters to the distant Southern Tranquility State.

However, for those looking southward, feelings were hard to put into writing.

"Duyi, you seem in good spirits."

Yang Wuwei, with a smile brimming on his lips, approached from behind Sima Duyi, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

This refined young man gently closed his eyes, looking towards the horizon as the wild geese headed south.

"The busy man of ordinary days, what brings you to Mochi Academy to enjoy the scenery today?"

Sima Duyi spoke softly, "Wuwei, you seem pretty free too, also coming here."

He turned his gaze to Yang Wuwei’s profile, "Or should I go and talk to Teacher and find you some more work to do?"

Yang Wuwei’s eyes, which had been slightly narrowed, opened as he shook his head with a smile

"How could I be free? I’m so busy compiling history on the Seventh Floor that I’m nearly overwhelmed. If it weren’t for seeing something interesting and wanting to meet an interesting junior brother, I wouldn’t be here."

No sooner had his words fallen than he suddenly turned his head, locking eyes with Sima Duyi.

"Duyi, you wouldn’t happen to have a falling out with Junior Brother Ziyu, would you?"

Sima Duyi glanced at Yang Wuwei’s face, which bore a smile that was not quite a smile.

The cold-eyed man shook his head gently and turned to walk away.

Yang Wuwei stood still for a while, watching his retreating figure, smiled, and took a step to leave, but his footsteps abruptly halted.

In his line of sight, Sima Duyi ahead had inexplicably stopped and stood still, looking in a certain direction outside the corridor, motionless.

Yang Wuwei relaxed the curve of his lips and followed his gaze.

Not far off, a lady in purple clothing had entered Mochi Academy and was walking towards them on the corridor.

Upon closer inspection.

It was a woman in purple.

Her figure was svelte and graceful, and her movements light.

A pair of narrow eyes radiated a cold brilliance, leaving a deep impression.

And beneath the left eye, whether a dab of vermillion or a birthmark, was a pale beauty mark, touching and alluring.

Just as these two reading seeds were either gazing intently or appreciating.

The cold woman in purple had already approached them.

She seemed aware of their scrutiny but didn’t acknowledge it and instead went straight on by.

After taking a few light steps forward, the cold woman appeared to scan the vast surroundings of Mochi Academy and then suddenly turned around, returning to where Yang Wuwei and Sima Duyi stood.

The cold woman stood gracefully, her gaze sweeping over the two men.

Her clear voice, polite in tone.

"Excuse me, does anyone here know the way to Shuaixing Hall?"

Sima Duyi looked at her, not saying a word.

Yang Wuwei glanced at his silent companion and stepped forward with a smile, quickly asking, "Are you also here to see Zhao Ziyu?"

At the mention of his name, the cold woman’s cheeks dimpled into two shallow, charming dimples.

Suddenly, her cool persona was retracted as her laughter brightened the surrounding air.

"You know my husband?"

Lingfei Zhao burst into a sudden smile, her autumnal eyes shining brightly.