In the midst of a lofty mountain, a large river runs through it.

The mountains and valleys were craggy boulders, and angry waves crashed against every piece of gravel, every cliff, every abrupt bend. The waves were so loud that they seemed to come from the sky, and the pure meltwater that carried the snow-capped mountains turned yellow, flowing straight down to an unknown place.

The mountains on both sides of the river are towering, the green trees are layered on top of each other, and the birds and apes are breaking people's hearts. The sun shines down and shines in the billowing mist of the river, turning into seven colors of brilliance.

Walking down the river, the terrain gradually calmed down, and the mighty waves rushed out of the canyon, venting their unbearable anger, and the water overflowed into a fan shape. The river widens, and the water surface is sparkling, delicately slicing into the mountain sky reflected in the forest.

In this inaccessible place, there is a village that remains independent. No one knows where the village came from, no one knows the meaning of its existence, it just sits quietly on the side of the river.

The name of the village is Qingling, and it is the southernmost part of the Dayu country in the eastern Fuyao Continent. But it is not near the sea, at least the great river still flows southward as always, and further south, I have never heard of any country or people, and the whole world does not know what else is further south.

In the early morning, the sky was just bright, and the gentle soft light shone down, reflecting the appearance of this ancient village.

A large area of mud houses is clustered in the middle of this fertile land, surrounded by scattered paddy fields. The peasants have followed the rules of their ancestors for generations, worked diligently, and no one went out of the mountains, and no one went to the lower reaches of the great river.

A small red brick house in the middle of the mud house is particularly eye-catching, completely different from the surrounding style, standing out from the crowd.

The small red brick house is a unique building in the village, and the reason why it was carefully built is because of the oldest customs in the village, which have been passed down through the generations.

Ritual ceremonies require someone to preside over the spells, and this small house is a school villa dedicated to teaching young children to read and practice spells.

There was an old gentleman at the door of the small red brick house, his long hair was neatly tied, and although his face was full of wrinkles like dead branches, he did not give people any sense of old age, and his face was always peaceful, and his eyes were deep and bright.

The old man stood at the door, straightened his back, looked at the mountains in the distance, and closed his eyes to recuperate.

Many pedestrians came and went, all of them hurried to the fields to do more things while the weather was not too hot, but when they saw the old man, they had to stop respectfully and say hello. The old man was never annoyed, but just smiled back one by one.

The old man also has a more famous identity in the village, that is, the high priest of the village.

A ten-year-old child was the first to come to the school villa, and when he saw Mr. standing at the door, he seemed a little shy, walked up to Mr. and bowed, and said, "Good morning, sir." ”

The old man glanced at him, smiled and nodded, and motioned for him to enter.

This child's name is Zhang Xiaohe, his family is poor, but he loves to learn very much, he will come to Xueshu in advance every day, and he is also the most serious in class and homework.

In fact, the old man knows a little bit of the child's thoughts. Zhang Xiaohe's father died early, and only his mother brought him up, and his life was miserable. Although the child is young, he is also sensible, as long as he has excellent grades in the school villa, he will hope to inherit the next priesthood, and his status in the village will be higher at that time, and his life will be better.

After a while, a few more children of about the same age came together, laughing and chattering, so lively.

The children all carried a small bag in their hands, and when they saw the husband, they would smile and say hello, and then they handed the pocket to the old man and entered the classroom.

The classroom is bustling with activity, and children at this age love to play with their peers, some get together and chat with each other, while others simply chase and fight in the classroom. Sir doesn't care about that, it's still early for class anyway.

Only Zhang Xiaohe sat quietly in the corner, no matter how noisy they were, he didn't care at all, just looked at a book seriously by a little light through the window.

The old man was a little emotional, he himself liked this poor child in the eyes of his peers. However, when he saw the carefree faces of other people, he would feel even more sorry for him.

The sun was turning red, but there were still a few empty places in the classroom. The old man doesn't care, after all, there are only three priests in the next term, and many families have children who are not very qualified and drop out of school early, which is beyond reproach.

When the old man saw that the time was almost up, he prepared to turn around and go to the lecture. But he heard a shout from behind: "Sir, wait for me!" ”

A little boy ran over, carrying a pocket on his back, and a little sleepy-eyed, panting and running to him, without being polite, handing over the pocket, and said, "Sir, this is my tuition, just now the Qin family and the Dong family asked me to come and give a message, their children will not come in the future." ”

The old man nodded, which was a tacit acquiescence.

The little boy's name is Xu Huaigu, he is eight years old this year, but he is very tall, and his family life is quite wealthy. He was confused all day long, never studied seriously, but the old man had a very good impression of him, a very beautiful child.

The old man began to teach again, the literacy course had already been completed, and on the table today was "The Stars Record", a book for stargazing and pushing the way.

Astrology is a very basic science, and in addition to presiding over the annual priestly ceremony, the priests spend the rest of their time watching the heavens, helping the villagers predict the weather and grasp the calendar in order to win a better harvest.

Xu Huaigu's head hurt a little. It's a small record, why is it so thick? What a hassle. He couldn't help but think of the martial arts novel he secretly read in his room last night, and that was exciting.

He simply lay on the table, desperately watching the old man lecturing, waiting for the class to end. The elderly don't care about the children's grades, everyone will have their own way, and there is no difference between high and low.

Zhang Xiaohe sat in the corner, but listened extremely carefully, for fear of missing even a word.

Time flowed unconsciously, and on the third pole of the day, Xu Huaigu was on the table and supported his chin with his hands, not letting himself fall asleep.

The old man looked at him and was a little amused, so he said, "That's the end of today's lesson, don't forget to read more books at home." ”

The children relaxed one after another, and some people stretched their waists and yawned, Xu Huaigu became nervous and ran out of the classroom as soon as possible, without even closing the open books on the desk.

Everyone was not surprised, and they packed their things and prepared to leave. Zhang Xiaohe looked at Mr. alone, but did not move.

Gradually, the students left, leaving only the old man and Zhang Xiaohe. Zhang Xiaohe was still sitting in his position, a little twisted, looking at the old man embarrassedly.

The old man felt funny. This kid didn't bring his tuition this morning, I'm afraid he's shy?

He also looked at Zhang Xiaohe, his eyes full of encouragement.

Xu is eyes gave Zhang Xiaohe courage, he walked to the old man's side, and said, "Sir, my tuition fee ...... It may take some time to give it to you. ”

The old man looked at him with a smile and said gently, "What's so embarrassing about this. I think you're like this, what questions do you have to ask? ”

Zhang Xiaohe nodded seriously, still a little shy, but he was quickly soothed by him, and he asked Mr. for doubt.