Chapter 86: The wind moves over the water, naturally forming a pattern.

  One stretch one release, the way of literature and martial arts.

  The class lasted for almost an hour before it was announced that it had come to an end. The young lecturer walked out of the classroom and stood in front of Chu Cheng.

  "Little brother, I don't know what to call you? Since we've met by chance, it's fate, let's get acquainted." The young man smiled slightly.

  Chu Cheng was taken aback, finding this person to be refined and courteous, just like the "cultivated and refined gentleman" described by Confucius in his past life. A good impression arose spontaneously, so he also smiled and said: "I'm Chu Cheng, what about you?"

  "That young man smiled and said: 'Chu City? Good name. I'm also surnamed Chu, called Chu Tian Ce, seventh in the family order, so they all call me 'Seventh Brother'."

  "Oh, so you're 'Seventh Brother'?" Chu Cheng exclaimed in surprise.

  "My younger siblings liked it, so they called me that. Is this your first time in the imperial capital?" Chu Tian Ce made a "please" gesture, indicating for Chu Cheng to walk ahead.

  "Ah, I'm here for the first time, but I've found a quiet world hidden in the midst of prosperity, it's truly extraordinary." Chucheng walked in the direction pointed by Chutianshi, which was a large pond of about 100 hectares.

  There was a small boat by the pond, and two people boarded it. Chu Tian Ce let go of the rope, and the gentle breeze blew gently, causing the small boat to miraculously move forward, heading towards the center of the lake.

  "In this small boat, there is a mechanism that moves with the wind and floats with one's heart, free and unrestrained, an unmoored boat." explained Chu Tian Ce.

  "What a wonderful idea." Chu Cheng couldn't help but praise.

  "It's nothing, not worth mentioning. I heard that in the southernmost part of Chu State, there is a small mountain town, and in the town, there is a remote mansion on the border. The lord of the border is named Chu Tian Ge, who is a collateral branch of the royal family. He has a son, also named Chu Cheng. Is it you?"

  As soon as this was said, Chu Cheng's heart moved and he looked at Chu Tian Ce seriously for a few moments before nodding and saying: "You are indeed very knowledgeable."

  At the same time, he was secretly on guard in his heart and quickly searched his mind for information about this person.

  Chu Tian Ce slightly shook his head and said, "It's not considered being well-read. This information isn't particularly confidential, I just pay more attention to these things usually, so I occasionally hear about them. Chu Cheng, it seems like you're a bit restless, have you encountered some kind of emotional knot that's hard to untangle?"

  Chu Cheng's eyes narrowed slightly, and he secretly thought that this person had a keen sense of awareness. However, his mouth said, "It's nothing much, just some trivial matters."

  Chu Tian Ce smiled slightly and shook his head: "A chance encounter, Chu Cheng doesn't want to say much, it's normal. We'll meet again someday, but for now, let's part ways, I'd like to give you a painting, what do you think?"

  Chu Cheng was slightly taken aback, and smiled: "Good is good, unfortunately there is no paper or pen here."

  Chu Tian Ce smiled slightly, suddenly turned his back, and gazed out at the distant scenery.

  He carried his left hand behind him, with his right hand in front, and with a wave of his sleeve, a gentle breeze came forth, moving over the water like an invisible brush, stirring up ripples.

  With a stroke of the brush, ripples arise, mountains and rivers take shape, flowers and birds have sound, words have spirit.

  A pen writes out exquisite articles, a scroll of painting unfolds and rises from the water.

  That really was a splash of water rising up, a painting made of water, automatically rolling up and floating in front of Chu Cheng.

  Zhang's mouth opened wide, he stretched out both hands and pulled the scroll of painting, without feeling any dampness, it was as if it were a real painting created by a divine painter!

  Because of this painting, Chu Cheng was slightly dazed for a moment. When he regained his composure, he found that he was no longer on the boat or by the pond, but had appeared in a bustling street, with people passing by and the atmosphere being extremely lively.

  Looking around, that so-called Idle Cloud Academy had actually disappeared!

  There is no Idle Cloud Academy here, this is just a bustling downtown area, with people coming and going everywhere, and shops lining both sides of the street!

  "Big brother, where is the Idle Cloud Academy?" Chu Cheng forcibly pulled over a passerby and hastily asked.

  "What is the Idle Cloud Academy? I've lived here for thirty years and have never heard of such a thing! Are you an outsider? Who told you there was an academy here? This is downtown! You've been deceived!" The man looked at Chucheng with sympathy, shook his head and walked away.

  "There is no Idle Cloud Academy... No, it's just that ordinary people can't see it. That person... is actually a true master! Chu Tian Ce, Chu Tian Ce... I remember now, I remember now! Damn it, why didn't I think of it earlier? It shouldn't be!" Chu Cheng exclaimed in a low voice, shocked and amazed.

  That name had been deeply etched in his mind, but for some reason, he couldn't think of it just now.

  The seventh son of the royal family of Chu State, Seventh Prince, Seventh Prince, Chu Tian Ce!

  The nine princes of the Chu State, strictly speaking, are of the same generation as their father, Chu Tian Ge, and all belong to the Tian generation. Whether it's the ninth prince, sixth prince or seventh prince, they are all uncles of Chu Cheng.

  And these nine princes, from the fifth prince down, are all younger than Chu Tian Ge. The first four princes in front, however, are older than Chu Tian Ge.

  Crown Prince Chu Tianxia, Second Young Master Chu Tianjun, Third Young Master Chu Tianji, Fourth Young Master Chu Tiangu, Fifth Young Master Chu Tianxian, Sixth Young Master Chu Tiansu, Seventh Young Master Chu Tiance, Eighth Young Master Chu Tianyong, Ninth Young Master Chu Tianling.

  The King of Chu is trapped in the Great Qin, and the situation in Chu seems to be murky, but in the eyes of those who are paying attention, it has already become clear.

  The Crown Prince of Chu, Chutian Xia, was born with a full aura of evil, and had a natural inclination towards murder. However, he happened to be the son of the current King of Chu, King Hui of Chu, who was kind-hearted. The king did not like the crown prince and ordered him to garrison in Modu, one of the three major satellite capitals.

  The crown prince is far away from the imperial capital, and the second prince, Chu Tianjun, is in charge of the government. He is wise and powerful, handling state affairs with great order, and has won the recognition of many ministers and generals. Now he already has the momentum to seize the throne.

  Third Young Master Chu Tianji, under the tutelage of Xuan Lao, from the Xuan Tianjian, with unparalleled wisdom and strategy, secretly gaining support from the Xuan Tianjian, presiding over one of the three major accompanying capitals, Shen Du.

  The Fourth Prince Chu Tian Gu, with a ruthless and unyielding personality, his birth mother was killed in the palace struggle, he has been far away from the imperial capital since childhood, now stationed in Dongdu, one of the three major accompanying capitals.

  The fifth prince Chu Tian is carefree, like a cloud and a wild crane, traveling around various countries, without concerning himself with the struggle for the throne.

  The Sixth Prince Chu Tian is arrogant and overbearing. He's like a rotten egg that can't be saved, no matter how hard you try to prop him up. He has the ambition to fight for the throne, but it's just a joke. Even a three-year-old child knows he doesn't have what it takes.

  Ba Gongzi Chu Tianyong, far away in the border town, was exceptionally brave and had a great reputation in the army.

  Jiugongzi Chu Tianling was still young and although he was clever, his foundation was too shallow and he wasn't looked upon favorably.

  The Seventh Prince, Chu Tian Ce, had a wide range of knowledge and was familiar with almost every aspect, except for politics. He and the Fifth Prince, Chu Tian Xian, were the only two princes who did not fight for the throne.

  However, in the deserted mansion on the outskirts of Shanyang City, in Chu Tiange's study, among the information about the nine princes, there was only one evaluation for Chu Tianyi.

  Beyond measure.

  This Chu Tian Ce is unfathomably profound.

  Chu Cheng had always been very confident in his cheap father, and among the royal family's Tianzi generation, whether it was innate talent or bravery and wisdom, who could rival Chu Tiange?

  Even Chu Tianjun, who is now the Regent of Chu State, had a comment in his evaluation of Chu Tian Ge that said "coincidence and cleverness are slightly inferior".

  But Chu Tian Ce was "unfathomable"!

  Chu City never understood before, but now this hasty meeting has finally made him realize that the old man's words were not in vain!

  Shaking his head, Chu Cheng looked at the scroll of painting in his hand and returned to "Li's Inn".

  At this time, Dongfang Ye had not returned yet, Leng Cangfeng was still in cultivation, so Chu Cheng did not go to disturb them. He walked into his own room alone, closed the door, and opened that book of paintings.

  This painting depicts a landscape with clear mountains and water, surrounded by clouds and mist, a beautiful brocade of mountains and rivers.

  In the midst of the continuous mountains and rivers, it seems that there are several palaces hidden, but they can't be seen clearly. Faintly visible, those palaces seem to have been damaged or even collapsed, but the original palace walls are still there, vaguely showing their former prosperity.

  On the right side of this painting, there are words that are written in a masterful style. Each word is clear to Chu Cheng, but when put together, he doesn't know what they mean.

  "Bodhi Peak, Green Mirage Fruit."

  Chu Cheng furrowed his brow, unable to understand what it meant. It seemed like a place name, but what was the Bodhi Peak? Was the Qingming fruit hidden there? But where was the Bodhi Peak and what was the Qingming fruit?

  Chu Cheng shook his head.

  He couldn't turn back to ask Chu Tian Ce, so he could only put the painting away and place it in the Snake Spirit Jade Box.

  Then he took out two wine cups.

  Both wine cups were filled with fine wine.

  One cup is "Warm Gentle Village", and the other cup is "Hero's Tomb".

  Wēn róu xiāng shì yīng xióng fén.

  Translation: Gentle village is a hero's tomb.

  "That servant said that drinking this gentle village and heroic mound together will have an unimaginable wonderful effect. I'd like to try it out, what kind of wonderful effect is there!"

  Chu Cheng raised his wine cup, first drinking to Gentleman's Village and then to Hero's Tomb.

  That gentle village seems a bit sweet, like sweet wine, but it's not overly sweet, rather it's sweet with a hint of sourness.

  That heroic grave is somewhat spicy, but not particularly spicy, it's spicy with a hint of bitterness, an indescribable bitterness.

  Sour, sweet, bitter and spicy, all are present.

  "It seems like there's nothing special either?" Chu Cheng shook his head.

  Suddenly, he felt a bit drowsy, thinking about the exhaustion of these days, it was indeed heartbreaking, so he lay on the bed, closed his eyes and fell into a dreamland.

  Then he naturally dreamed.

  This is a strange dream, just like the legendary Millet Dream, and also like the Nankuo Dream.

  But it's not something of this life, but rather something from a past life.

  The Chu City in the dream did not have a soul that crossed over to this world, but was still on Earth, living as an ordinary young man, living his own life.

  Go to school, graduate, work, fall in love, get married, have children.

  Life is bittersweet, with some bitterness, but not that bitter. Before the age of 30, I was a mortgage slave, and at 30, I finally paid off my housing loan. At this time, my child started going to school, and I began running around for my child again.

  Then the child also went to school, grew up, and fell in love. He liked that lovely girl too.

  But just at that moment, the world suddenly became chaotic, war spread throughout the world, and there was no peaceful place anywhere.

  A hero will emerge in a chaotic world.

  The conscription order was issued, and 40-year-old Chu Cheng was forced onto the battlefield.

  What can an honest man who has been in the workplace for twenty years fight against?

  However, Chu Cheng received help from a noble and rose through the ranks, repeatedly achieving military successes, eventually becoming a general.

  A beauty loves a hero, many young women adore him. He initially rejected them, but later came to accept them without restraint. However, due to excessive indulgence in desires, he missed the opportunity for battle and committed a serious crime, forcing him to leave the battlefield.

  Back in his hometown, the former lover was withered and worn out, both eyes had cried blind. The only son, three years ago, was hit by a stray bullet and died unjustly.

  Chu Cheng cried for the first time in ten years, tears streaming down his face.

  Then he gave up all his honors and went to the Great Northwest with his lover, spending the rest of his years. Three years after his lover left, he died in loneliness.

  On the bed, Chucheng slowly opened his eyes.