Su San quickly said, "His name is Wang Lin."
"Give me his test paper." The old man in green, Su Dao, revealed a look of joy.
When Su San heard this, he smiled and took out the test paper. He had come to see the teacher to let the teacher take a look at the test paper that was different from the others.
However, after coming here, Su Dao didn't even look at it until today.
Holding Wang Lin's test paper, Su Dao carefully looked at it and nodded.
"This young man is the last student the Old Man accepted."
With a smile, Su Dao looked at the boat that had already left. There was a willow leaf floating in the moonlight between him and the boat. It was impossible to tell if Su Dao was looking at the willow leaf or the boat, so he turned around and left.
Time flew by like a shuttle. If one wanted to chase it, there would be no trace left.
Several days later, Wang Lin left the boat with Big Fortune. He stood on the shore and looked at the boat he had lived in for more than a month. He looked at the river he had waited for more than a month and silently pondered for a long time.
It wasn't until half an hour later that Wang Lin shook his head and sighed. Just as he was about to leave, a faint cry came from the sky. Wang Lin's body trembled and he suddenly looked up at the sky.
He saw a familiar white bird circling in the sky. The bird slowly descended and landed on the stone bridge in the distance. After looking at Wang Lin, it flew up once more and charged into the clouds. The white figure was like a willow leaf.
Wang Lin muttered, "Is it you …"
Wang Lin didn't participate in the imperial examination. On the day he left the boat, he was invited to the residence of Su City's great scholar, Su Dao.
The person who brought him there was the old supervisor of the city.
Su Dao's residence wasn't big, but it was very elegant. It was quiet and gave off a sense of serenity.
Inside the courtyard, Wang Lin saw the old man who had questioned him on the bridge.
Big Fortune was left outside the courtyard. Wang Lin and Su Dao were drinking osmanthus wine in the pavilion. The old man and the young man began to talk in this quiet courtyard.
It wasn't until the moon hung high in the sky that Wang Lin bowed toward Su Dao.
"I've had many disciples in my life, but I only have three true disciples.
"From now on, you are the last disciple of the Old Man. The Old Man doesn't want you to pass the imperial examination, and your heart is not suitable …" The Old Man wants you to become the great scholar of Zhao after I die!
"Not just Zhao, there are many countries in Suzaku. The Old Man wants you to become the great scholar of Suzaku!
"This kind of life can't be said to be rich and glorious, nor can it be said to have monstrous power. However, you will be able to comprehend the truth of the world and have your own thoughts!
"In this world, we are mortals, so there is naturally a place for us to cultivate. In the Old Man's life, several celestial cultivators have come to invite me to cultivate the Dao, but in the end, I have rejected them all.
"The Old Man smiled as he looked at the sky. His mind has its own universe. What he pursues is not dao, but the thoughts of the world." I have comprehended the truth of the world. Although my body is weak, my thoughts can be passed down for generations to come. I can break the cage of the world. Even those celestials, even if they can destroy us mortals with one finger, they have to lower their noble heads in front of the great scholar!
"Cultivating is against the heavens. However, after we comprehend the dao of the world, aren't we also going to defy the heavens and step on the earth?
"If the heavens and earth have a spirit, then in its eyes, those celestial cultivators are the same as us, mortals!
"They are mortals, and we are also mortals. The difference is that they have the power to shatter mountains and shatter the earth, but we have the thoughts of the world. All of this will eventually intersect.
"In my life, there have been many cultivators who have come to find me to ask me about my domain. They want to reach the realm where they can turn their thoughts into a god. Some of them have even more pressing questions about dao!
"This kind of life is ordinary, but also extraordinary. Wang Lin, are you willing to choose?"
At this moment, although Su Dao looked like an ordinary old man under the moonlight, Wang Lin could clearly feel an indescribable aura from his body.
This aura was one that looked down on the heavens and earth. After comprehending the truth, it gave birth to his own thoughts. It was because of this thought that allowed Su Dao to step onto the peak.
This thought was like a flame that burned inside Su Dao's body. It was enough to shake the heavens and earth.
"Scholar, great scholar, and finally the teacher!" Su Dao placed his hands behind his back as he stared at Wang Lin.
Wang Lin silently pondered. After a long time, he bowed toward Su Dao once more.
This time, Wang Lin had just turned 19 years old. Su Dao was already eight years old, Shi San.
As Su Dao laughed, he held Wang Lin's hand and helped him up. His words echoed inside the pavilion.
"The Old Man became an official when he was young and returned to his hometown when he was middle-aged. He traveled through the country of Zhao and went to many countries on the continent to see the mountains and rivers, to see the people. When he was 50 years old, his wife's soul passed away. Before her grave, the Old Man was filled with grief as he comprehended the heavens and earth. He sighed and thought about life, and he would always think about his early days with her.
"From then on, the Old Man's thoughts were karma.
"What is this karma? Why is there a karma cycle in this world …"
One night passed. Wang Lin's life changed on this night. He no longer had any thoughts of entering the imperial exam. Instead, he silently pursued the life he wanted. Aside from being filial to his parents, he wanted to comprehend the heavens and earth and pursue the voice in his mind.
"What is karma … What is life and death … What is true and false …"
He and Big Fortune lived in Su Dao's mansion. Every day, he listened to Su Dao's teachings, and the great scholar aura around him became even stronger.
During that year's imperial exam, dozens of people entered the capital because of Su Dao. Some of them soared and some of them returned home. Wang Lin saw all of this, but it couldn't move his heart.
Although he didn't enter the imperial exam, Wang Lin's fame also rose in the country of Zhao. It even surpassed those officials that soared. As Su Dao's disciple, as time passed, although Wang Lin never left the city of Su, whenever someone came to visit Su Dao, it would always be Wang Lin representing his teacher.
Whether it was a mortal student, a rich royal family, or even a cultivator, Wang Lin had seen many of them. He became calmer, more joyous, and more carefree.
In the blink of an eye, several seasons passed. This year, when the willow leaves filled the city, Wang Lin was about to reach middle age. He stood in the courtyard where Su Dao took him as a disciple 10 years ago. He allowed the willow leaves to fall and cover the stones.
Su Dao's body became even older. Time had taken away a lot of things on his body and left a lot behind. At this moment, he could no longer drink and talk with Wang Lin like he did 10 years ago. He sat on a wooden chair and was pushed by two servants. As the willow leaves fluttered in the wind, he looked with Wang Lin.
Wang Lin's expression was calm. After dismissing the two servants, he pushed Su Dao's chair.
"Lin Er, look at these willow leaves. They are here year after year. Even after I leave, they will still appear at this time of the year, as if they have an agreement with the heavens and earth."
Su Dao's voice was hoarse, but he was still in good spirits. He raised his right hand and a willow leaf fell into his hand.
"This willow leaf is life."
Wang Lin softly said.
"Isn't life also a ball of cause and effect? It floats in front of you, but when you raise your hand and try to grab it, you won't be able to. Unless it is tired, then it will fall into your hand." Su Dao looked at the catkin in his hand and said slowly.
As he spoke, a gentle aura spread out, causing the willow leaf in his hand to fly up once more and float further away.
"Karma, karma. Wang Lin, if one day you can find your own mass among the willow leaves, then you will understand what karma is." Su Dao smiled and pointed at the sky.
"That mass of willow leaves is your teacher!"
Wang Lin raised his head and looked at where Su Dao was pointing. However, there were many willow leaves in the sky like snowflakes. He couldn't tell which one Su Dao was pointing at.
"You can't see it because that willow leaf is my life …" Su Dao closed his eyes and two streams of tears flowed down.
"Those are two balls of willow catkins. They were blown by the wind and stuck together. That is the life of me and her …" In Su Dao Zi's mind, all the willow catkins in the sky disappeared. Only the two willow catkins that were stuck together remained. They flew further and further away.
"That year, when the willow leaves fluttered in the sky, I saw you. I stood on the bridge and looked at your confused eyes. I thought that you, Wang Lin, were a mass of willow leaves without roots. You were very helpless and confused, as if there was a problem in your mind that you couldn't understand.
"I looked at you and looked at the willow leaves that flew before you. One of them was your life. It circled before you several times, but you couldn't see it, so it came before me.
"I looked at the willow leaves, but you must have thought that I was looking at you … The question I asked was also about the willow leaves, but you must have thought that I was asking you … At that time, I thought that I wanted to help you." Su Dao sat on the chair and turned his head. His old face revealed a kind expression as he looked at Wang Lin.
Wang Lin's body trembled.
"You are the last karma in my life. I feel like I've seen you somewhere before." Su Dao turned his head and looked at the sky.
"Year after year, at this season, people will see the willow leaves filling the city. However, they don't understand, they don't know, that each of the willow leaves will come at this time to find the person they are connected to, because each one of them is a person's life … However, in the end, they will fall into the water, into the dust, and disappear before our eyes … It's not that they didn't find it, it's that we can't find it that belongs to us."
Wang Lin silently raised his head and looked at the willow leaves fluttering in the sky, just like ten years ago.
Gradually, he seemed to see a mass of willow leaves stuck together. There were two of them, as if they were helping each other in times of hardship. They slowly floated in the endless willow leaves, and no matter how strong the wind was, it couldn't blow them apart.
The sound of a zither drifted into his ears from an unknown place. There was a sense of loss in the zither music, as if there was a woman waiting in loneliness with only the zither music as her companion.