4 The first sight of the hermit

Truth be told, the hermit's first impression is not as moving as his abode, and there is nothing to be said about the man's blending in with the crowd. However, everyone also knows that judging people by their appearance is not a good thing, and the inner self of a person with extraordinary talent and knowledge is his core.

Everyone walked into the black building, passed through the open iron door, and saw a person in the hall immediately, Umi and Para immediately bowed and greeted, "Teacher! Albert, Ryan, and House, who were in the back, realized that this was the hermit and bowed down.

"Hahaha, no need to be polite, get up quickly." The hermit's voice was kind and humble, and it seemed approachable, and everyone immediately raised their heads to take a closer look at the mysterious man in front of them: the first thing that people could see was the almost bare top of his head, only a thin layer of hair, a little beard on his upper lip and chin, which was more casual, but he looked very dashing, his facial features were ordinary, his eye sockets were triangular, and his face was pleasant, and his eyebrows were kind, giving people a sense of being out of contention. The hermit's steady steps, clear speech, radiant countenance, and good health—judging by his appearance, it is assumed that he was in his thirties, or even in his early thirties. He wore a brownish-yellow one-piece robe, crossed at the chest, tied around with a cloth belt, and his lower body was wide like a skirt, dragging to his ankles, and he was barefoot without shoes.

Para stepped forward: "Teacher, these people are also here to learn from you. Then she turned to the crowd and said, "Tell us about yourself, who you are and where you are from." House introduced himself first, then Ryan, and Albert didn't come forward to introduce himself.

"Hey, brother, come on." Ryan pulled Albert and said, and the latter said casually, "I'm just here to escort my brother here, and I don't want to learn anything, so I don't have to introduce myself." His attitude is actually not bad, but in this situation almost everyone thinks he is arrogant and rude.

Just when everyone wanted to persuade each other, the hermit smiled and spoke: "It doesn't matter, the will to learn or not to learn is up to the individual, what I do is to create an environment suitable for learning, as long as you don't make trouble, you can come and go freely." Seeing that everyone is tired of traveling and driving, there is no need to rush back, rest, eat something, and stay for a few days before leaving. This was a convincing remark, and Albert saluted again, expressing his approval of the idea. There are rooms, and there are people in the tower, you can choose for yourself, but don't go into locked rooms. The hermit continued, and motioned for everyone to go inside.

Ryan and House both chose to live on the second floor, and the attendant servants quickly tidied up the room for the two, and when it was almost done, Para came to them: "Today everyone have a good rest, tomorrow the teacher will give a lecture, everyone can go and listen." ”

"Can we too?" An attendant asked, and Para nodded affirmatively, "I, like you, am a servant, but here, anyone is qualified to learn. After Para finished speaking, the retinue of House and Ryan immediately came to ask for the master's opinion, and the two princes certainly did not refuse.

"Brother, come and hear it too." Ryan persuaded Albert bitterly, "Since you're here, don't be in a hurry to leave." Besides, there is no ship......"

Para, who was on the side, heard Ryan's words and interjected, "Our ship is going back to Dragon in a few days, and I can help carry you back." ”

"Hey, that's not bad either! Thank you very much. Albert, apparently more interested in Parra's proposal, turned to his brother, "Study hard, I'll pick you up in two years' time, and I'll buy a sturdy boat then." ”

Para asked House and Ryan's servants to follow her to familiarize herself with the food and daily life of the place, prompting House to ask, "The hermit has no servants or retinues?" ”

"No, he's the only one here."

"That, those vegetable patches, cloth sheds...... Did he do it all alone? ”

Para's eyes lifted as if she was thinking, "I don't know, but there are people who come here from time to time to study, and maybe they helped build it." ”

"Was there anyone else here when you came? I think it's just you, and us newcomers......" The question was asked by Ryan.

"Not really," said Parra, "about a month ago, when we arrived, it was only the hermit himself, who was using magic to mend the tents. ”

"Magic?"

"Yes, magic." "For example, puppet magic can be cast to help the master with his work. ”

"That's ...... so"

"It's amazing! Hermits also do magic! House was amazed, "Then I'm going to have to see it!" ”

"Humph!" Albert said mockingly, "I thought magic was just for magic, but I didn't expect it......"

Ryan said admiringly, "Magic...... It's amazing! ”

A few more people said something that they didn't have, and Para went away with his entourage. When the retinue returned, they all brought sumptuous delicacies to their masters. The group began to feast, eating and chatting, when Umi Stream joined in.

"Ah, prince of Dragon, I have heard that your country has many islands." House greeted warmly.

Umi smiled and said, "There are too many to count, but most of the islands are uninhabited, and we are working hard to develop and resettle." Then he turned to everyone, "In the future, we will be classmates, let's all learn the knowledge of governing the country, and go back to make the country develop and prosper!" ”

"Haha," Albert smiled coldly, "isn't there competition between your classmates?" As soon as the words fell, House's gaze began to become wary, Ryan was fine, but he blamed his brother for his mistake.

"Our countries are too far away, if you want to compete, let's leave it to a hundred years later! Hahahaha......" Umi said bumpiestly, then he pointed to the wall behind the men, "Do you see the words engraved on it?" The crowd turned around, and at Umi's prompting, they realized that there were indeed words carved on the wall.

"What is this word, I don't recognize?" Ryan said.

"I know," said House, "the ancient script on the Saknusham Manuscript, but I don't know what the word means, eh, explain it." ”

Umi looked at it intently and said, "This one in your room is to 'select the good ones and eliminate the bad ones (survival of the fittest)'. ”

"And there's a lettering in your room, too?" Albert speculated.

"Yes, the inscription says, 'Abandon the bad, leave the essence (discard the meal and keep the essence)', which is similar to the meaning on this wall. I think this is a reminder to us that as long as we are good enough, the country will not be so easy to decay, so we should all study hard, and we will not have to compete in the future, but cooperate! Hahaha...... "Umi skillfully defuses the embarrassing situation caused by Albert, and everyone continues to talk and laugh.

From the conversation, Albert and the others also learned that although Umi Liu's party arrived more than a month early and was almost familiar with this place, they did not learn much from the hermit, because the hermit had left the residence for a period of time due to something, and during this time, Para arranged to take care of their daily life, and by the time the hermit returned, it was already five days ago.

"So we're on the same page, hahaha......" Umi said humorously.

After listening to Umi's introduction, the eyes of House and Ryan lit up, and their minds had already flown to the next day, eager to listen to the hermit's lecture. At night, the two were even more excited and did not sleep, while Albert snored like thunder, did not take it too seriously, and did not have much expectation.

The next day finally came, and the four princes and their retinue were in good spirits and ready to receive the hermit's teachings. Early in the morning, Para and the others said that someone had come here, and they thought it was a prince or nobleman from another country, but it turned out that it was the captain and sailors of Albert's fleet.

"Well, we don't have much to do, so we might as well come and listen to the class, right?" The captain said cheerfully that Ryan was very welcoming, and Albert was indifferent, but still seemed arrogant. When these lowly sailors and sailors saw the novelty of the hermit's dwelling, their eyes were also opened, and they all wanted to meet the hermit as soon as possible and learn from him. Albert told him about being able to take the ship back on the Dragon ship, and some of the sailors were excited, others slightly disappointed.

For the newcomers, the hermit was also warmly received, and there was no deviation in attitude because of their status, which made several princes quite emotional. "I thought it would cost a lot of money to come here," said House, "but I didn't expect a hermit to take nothing, and it's rare to see such a good person." ”

The hermit led everyone to a white cloth hut, in which many vegetables and fruits were grown, some of which could not even be named. As soon as the vent was opened, the originally stuffy shed was immediately cooler, and the aroma of melons and fruits was overflowing, which was very pleasant.

"If you are thirsty, you can pick the fruit at will, you are welcome." After the hermit finished speaking, he motioned for everyone to sit down, "Here, you don't have to be polite, if you want to come to study, just call me a teacher." ”

"Teacher!" Everyone greeted each other.

The lecture began as scheduled, and was attended by Ryan, House, and Umi, as well as their retinue and servants, as well as the captain and some sailors. The three princes sat in front of each other, trying to hear the knowledge up close, as if the degree of knowledge they received was inversely proportional to the distance. Albert was late, and he didn't intend to listen to the lecture himself, but he was still on the sidelines.

"I want to ask you, what is the ultimate purpose of everyone coming here to study?" There is nothing special about the Hermit's opening question. The answer of the three princes was very unanimous: "For the development of their own country." The answers of the servants and sailors were varied: "For money." "To see more new things." "To gain fame." "I don't know why, I just think it's interesting." …… There were different opinions, and the teacher also listened to everyone's views with a smile.

"Everyone's ideas are very interesting," the teacher replied, "whether it's for money, fame, or for their own future and the future of the country, they are all very practical ideas." But ideas are not practical, and you can learn knowledge here, but whether you can apply this knowledge is not guaranteed by many people. ”

"Why? How can the knowledge and skills learned not be put to use? A voice rang out from the crowd.

"This is easy to explain," the teacher responded calmly, "for example, you are a very good sailor, but your country is neither near the sea nor has great rivers, can you make the most of your skills?" You have built a fortified castle, but your king is timid and will surrender when the enemy comes, and the castle is useless, does this knowledge really work? ”

"Oh-" came an epiphany from the audience.

"It's about finding places where you can use your knowledge." House said.

The teacher nodded, "So to speak, there are actually many ways to do it. You can choose a wise master or a monarch, or you can make clever use of time and place, and you can put your knowledge to work. Of course, there is also a method, and it is also what I hope you can do the most......" The teacher paused, and all the people listening to the lecture immediately held their breath, "This method can allow you to use your knowledge and skills without encountering any obstacles, and can make every good way you can do it, so that the country can develop, individuals can gain wealth and fame, and everything will become smooth sailing, this method is——"

"Gain supreme power." The voice was made by Albert Royer, who was standing behind the audience, far from the teacher.