Foxes Studying at the Village School

The Ode to the Eastern Capital said: "Within the four seas, schools stand like forests, and village schools fill every doorway."

It spoke of the flourishing state of education in the Yuanshuo Kingdom.

Since Emperor Yuan's reign, the Yuanshuo Kingdom had established official schools throughout the land. Official schools in the countryside were called village schools; those in counties, circuits, towns, and marquisates were called county schools; those in commanderies and kingdoms were called academies; and the official school in the Eastern Capital was called the Imperial Academy.

When Qiu Shuijing came from Shuofang City to Tianshiyuan, however, what he saw along the way was an entirely different sight, nothing like the records in the Ode to the Eastern Capital.

The village schools in the towns along the road were not merely lacking students; they could be described as deserted, with sparrows scarcely visiting their doors. Some had already closed down, their grounds overgrown with weeds and crawling with wild foxes, many of which had become spirit monsters.

Over the past thirty years, country folk had all flocked to the cities. Only women, children, and the old remained in the countryside, guarding a few meager fields to scrape out a living. As a result, countless problems had bred there.

The countryside in Qiu Shuijing's heart carried the beauty of his childhood. The villages in his memories had been green mountains, clear waters, and land blessed with outstanding people. Yet what he saw on this journey was a scene of crumbling rites, ruined music, and collapsing morality.

To say nothing else, education in the village schools alone had gone terribly wrong.

The young and strong from the towns had gone to the cities. Only old people and children remained. Couples with some money would often bring their children into the city and send them to official schools. Those left behind had no money, while their parents worked elsewhere. How could their grandparents possibly keep those children in line?

Without their parents' instruction, the children left in the villages not only refused to attend school, but even gathered friends, formed gangs, and ran roughshod over their neighbors.

In the country village schools that had once been filled with students, having even three to five youths studying inside was now considered decent.

"Without Scholars, the rural village schools cannot continue. Without village schools, country children will have nowhere to study. There will be more and more fooling the populace, and disorder may arise in the countryside."

After entering No-Man's Land, Qiu Shuijing could only shake his head again and again.

However, his purpose in coming to Tianshiyuan this time was not to inspect the conditions of the countryside. He had other plans.

"Mister Shuijing, it is getting late. Why not rest here in this village school for the time being, have something to eat, and wait until the Heaven Gate appears before making further plans?" a Scholar behind Qiu Shuijing said.

Qiu Shuijing looked at the setting sun, nodded, and entered a ruined village school with the Scholars. Brambles covered the grounds. It had clearly been abandoned for many years.

Several Scholars tidied the place and were about to light a fire to cook when faint sounds of reading suddenly drifted from the inner hall of the school.

Qiu Shuijing's expression shifted slightly. He raised a hand to signal for silence, rose quietly, and followed the sound of reading toward the inner hall.

Several Scholars crept after him. As the reading grew clearer, they were bewildered. "This village school has plainly been abandoned for years, and No-Man's Land around it is devoid of human traces. How can there still be a teacher here teaching and nurturing students?"

"The one teaching in a village school may not necessarily be human." Qiu Shuijing seemed to have guessed their thoughts and gave a low, cold laugh.

The Scholars felt a chill in their hearts and peered into the inner hall. They saw an old yellow-furred fox, more than half a man tall, standing upright. It held a teaching rod in its left paw and a book scroll in its right, pacing back and forth before the class.

Below it sat more than a dozen foxes—yellow, white, red, and mottled. Each sat primly, swaying their heads as they recited the classics!

"Evil monsters are causing mischief. Once they gain wisdom, understand reason, and begin reciting the writings of the sages, they will surely take human form in the future, bringing disaster upon the world and perhaps even fighting humans for the realm!"

Killing intent rose in Qiu Shuijing's heart. Just as he was about to act, his gaze halted, and the killing intent gradually faded.

Fox Demons filled the classroom, yet among them sat a boy in yellow, just as primly seated as the rest. He swayed his head alongside the foxes and recited the texts with them.

The youth was thirteen or fourteen years old, with fine brows, clear eyes, red lips, and white teeth. He studied with great seriousness.

Other than that youth, not one creature in the classroom was human!

"Tianshiyuan's people are impoverished, its rural village schools have collapsed, humans no longer teach children, and children no longer seek learning. Yet Fox Demons are teaching and nurturing students, reading and writing."

Qiu Shuijing was filled with emotion. "And there is even one child eager to learn. Fine, fine. I will spare them. This youth actually studies alongside Fox Demons in No-Man's Land without fear. How strange..."

He turned and left.

The Scholars were startled and hurriedly followed him in silence to the school courtyard.

Qiu Shuijing said nothing, and the Scholars did not dare ask.

After a moment, the sound of a bell rang out. Children's cheers, shouting, and clamor erupted from the classroom as the Fox Demons poured out in a noisy rush. When they saw the group in the courtyard, the dozen or so Fox Demons all stood on two legs, staring wide-eyed with their mouths open, utterly at a loss.

The Scholars all looked toward Qiu Shuijing. He merely smiled faintly, unconcerned.

Footsteps sounded from within the village school, followed by a somewhat childish voice. "Hua Erge, Li Sange, don't run so fast. Wait for me!"

The Scholars looked toward the voice and saw that the human youth had fallen a step behind, only just emerging from the classroom.

One female Scholar saw the youth's movements clearly and gave a soft cry, saying to the Scholar beside her, "He is blind..."

The other Scholars examined him closely and came to the same realization.

The youth's eyes were entirely white, with no pupils. He could not see. He truly was blind.

"No wonder he attended class with Fox Demons."

They thought to themselves, "Unable to see, he can only hear sounds. He mistook those around him for humans, never realizing that all those studying and reading alongside him were Demons!"

Although the youth could not see, his hearing was sharp. Smiling, he said, "Teacher, Teacher, there are guests at the village school!"

Tap, tap.

The sound of a cane striking the ground approached. The old yellow-furred fox that taught the class emerged, leaning on a walking stick. An aged voice came from its mouth. "Honored guests have come from afar, yet I failed to welcome you properly. Please forgive me."

Having said that, the old fox's expression darkened. It turned to the little foxes and said, "Class is over, and it is late. Hurry home."

The little foxes immediately scattered in a rush.

Qiu Shuijing looked at the blind youth. Though blind, the youth seemed able to see his surroundings clearly. He bowed slightly to Qiu Shuijing and the Scholars in greeting, then left the ruined school with the foxes.

Qiu Shuijing was somewhat surprised. He tilted his head to watch the youth's retreating figure, lost in thought.

"His name is Su Yun."

The old yellow-furred fox coughed, raised a paw, and led Qiu Shuijing toward the inner hall. "He is from Tianmen Town in Tianshiyuan and is thirteen this year. When Su Yun was seven, something happened to his family, and for some unknown reason, his eyes went blind. He is quite pitiful. But he is a studious child. One day, he came here and heard the sound of reading, and could no longer move on. He insisted on listening to the lessons. Seeing that he loved learning, I let him stay."

Qiu Shuijing gave an indifferent sound. "He is from Tianmen Town? As far as I know, there have long been no living people in Tianmen Town, Tianshiyuan. Not only is Tianmen Town empty, the entire hundred-mile radius around it is No-Man's Land."

The old yellow-furred fox stopped and turned its head toward him. A smile appeared on the fox's face, and its whiskers trembled faintly. "What Mister has heard is most likely rumor."

Qiu Shuijing examined the inner hall. A painting hung in the main chamber, depicting plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums—the Four Gentlemen. It bore the inscription, "A Teacher's Example," but no signature. He did not know who had painted it.

The old yellow-furred fox came beneath the painting and sat primly facing Qiu Shuijing, laying its cane across its knees. Solemnly, it said, "Mister from the city, please leave behind an intact corpse."

Qiu Shuijing withdrew his gaze from the painting and asked, "How should I address you?"

The old fox said, "They call me Mister Wild Fox. How should I address Mister from the city?"

"Qiu Shuijing."

Qiu Shuijing bowed slightly. "Shuijing has led his students past this Treasure Land. We are weary from travel and wish to borrow Mister's Treasure Land to rest. I hope you will accommodate us."

The old fox raised its head and looked at him in surprise. "You will not kill me to subdue demons and eliminate evil?"

"The Master said that education should make no distinctions. Is that not precisely what Mister Wild Fox has done?"

Qiu Shuijing said solemnly, "Mister is a demon, while Su Yun is human. Yet Mister did not refuse to teach him because he was not of the same kind. That is what a teacher should do. Now, order has been lost in the countryside and education is difficult to sustain. Even humans may not be able to teach without distinction, much less demons. That is why Mister Wild Fox's actions are so precious."

The old fox breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Qiu Shuijing changed the subject. "However, I heard Mister Wild Fox teaching just now. You were teaching the classics of the old sages, ancient scholarship from thousands of years ago. The old sages' classics may be good, but they are no longer suited to the times. They can no longer keep pace with this age."

The old fox was shocked. "Why does Mister Shuijing say this? Were these not the books taught in village schools in the past? For thousands of years, everyone has studied these..."

"They were in the past. Even a few hundred years ago, even thirty-five years ago, they were still taught. But now..."

A trace of bitterness appeared on Qiu Shuijing's face. After a pause, he said, "Mister, the times have changed."

He repeated himself. "The times have changed. Heh heh, clinging to the old and refusing to adapt will only earn you a beating. This is no longer the past..."

He shook his head and did not continue.

The old fox rose shakily, somewhat bewildered. "May I ask Mister Shuijing, if we do not teach the old sages' scholarship, what should we teach? Mister speaks of old sages—does that mean there are new sages now?"

Qiu Shuijing shook his head, a mocking look on his face. "New sages? There are no new sages in the world today... Perhaps there are, but they are not in the Yuanshuo Kingdom..."

He steadied himself, no longer in the mood to continue. "Rural village schools cannot keep pace with the times. If one wishes to learn useful things, one must still go to the city. Relying on the old sages' scholarship will only earn you a beating, and what you learn will be things from thousands of years ago. Mister Wild Fox, though you teach without distinction, continuing to teach this way will only mislead your students. The old sages' teachings cannot survive in the city."

The old fox stood dumbfounded.

Mislead students?

How could that be said?

Had the old sages' learning truly fallen so far?

After a moment, the old fox cupped its paws to Qiu Shuijing, transformed into a cloud of demon qi, and vanished.

Qiu Shuijing stepped out of the hall.

At the third watch of the night, Qiu Shuijing was meditating in false sleep when he suddenly perked up. Opening his eyes, he said in a low voice, "Wake up! The Heaven Gate has opened!"

The Scholars were all sleeping on the ground in the village school. At his words, they sprang up one after another, excitement on their faces.

"Put out the campfire!"

At Qiu Shuijing's command, a Scholar immediately extinguished the fire.

Whoosh—

Qiu Shuijing leaped onto the roof of the village school. Several Scholars sprang up like rabbits and swooped down like falcons, landing beside him.

At night, not a single village in Tianshiyuan had any lights, utterly unlike the cities' dazzling lanterns and revelry. Only stars and a crescent moon adorned the night sky.

The cold wind sighed bleakly.

Qiu Shuijing said quietly, "Open your Celestial Eyes, or you will not be able to see the Heaven Gate!"

The Scholars behind him each took out a jade leaf. The leaves were shaped like eyes, and they pressed them against their foreheads like vertical eyes.

"Open!" the Scholars cried in low voices.

The jade leaves on their foreheads gradually sank into their skin and vanished.

Something rolled beneath the skin of one Scholar's forehead. Then the skin split apart to either side, revealing a rotating eyeball.

The other Scholars' Celestial Eyes opened as well. Looking around, they all shuddered and cried out softly, "The Heaven Gate really has opened! The Ghost Market—the Ghost Market has appeared too!"

Zhai Zhu's new book, Walking the Abyss: walking beside a deep abyss in the dark of night, as though treading on thin ice. I ask all readers for your support and recommendations!!!