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Zhizhou.

Those two words claimed Ning Ning's entire attention, and her heart gave a quiet little lurch. Seeing where he was looking, she quickly followed his gaze, concentrating with all her might.

At the edge of her vision sat a handsome young man, lazily leaning against a tree trunk. His pair of peach-blossom eyes were pleasantly half-lidded, set against the lush greenery of the forest, like flowers waiting to bloom.

He looked languid, and his lips naturally curved into a smile. The corners of his mouth had an inborn upward tilt, and now that he was smiling, he looked even more carefree.

Judging by everyone else's reactions, He Zhizhou must have been quite good at writing poetry.

"Since today's topic is Danyun Peak, allow me to offer a humble poem."

His starry eyes gleamed. As he spoke, he sat up a little straighter, elegant and upright as a green bamboo.

Ning Ning had been at the Sword Sect for a long time and had learned plenty of sword moves and forms, but this was her first time hearing people discuss poetry and literature. She found herself growing interested, and patiently waited for him to begin.

He Zhizhou lifted his head to gaze at the distant layers of mountain peaks, then slowly shook his head. "All the birds have flown high and vanished—"

Huh?

Ning Ning froze.

That poem seemed awfully familiar. It was the very first line of Li Bai's Du Zuo Jingting Shan.

The Cultivation World was entirely fictional, with no connection to the world she had once lived in. There was no way the same poem should exist here. No matter how talented He Zhizhou was, there was no reason his train of thought should match Li Bai's exactly.

Perhaps only the first line was the same, and it was just a coincidence?

Ning Ning furrowed her brow slightly, tamping down her confusion. Then she heard him continue, "—A lonely cloud drifts leisurely away. We gaze at each other, never growing tired; only Danyun Mountain remains."

All right, so it wasn't a coincidence. Du Zuo Jingting Shan was confirmed.

He had only changed "Jingting" in the original poem to "Danyun"—a knockoff on the level of adidas and adadas.

But how did He Zhizhou know this poem? Could it be that he...

Had he transmigrated here too?

"We gaze at each other, never growing tired; only Danyun Mountain remains. A fine poem, a fine poem!"

The clueless onlookers clapped with shining eyes, looking every bit like a devoted fanboy. "The poem seems plain and tranquil at first glance, but it sets movement against stillness and blends scene with emotion. In just a few words, it sketches out the ultimate silence and desolation, far surpassing those of our poems that do nothing but describe scenery."

And when he was done, he didn't forget to add, "As expected of you, Senior Brother He!"

Ning Ning: ...

Li Bai, smiling from beneath the Nine Springs, laughed. He laughed very loudly.

"Senior Brother He has matured a great deal since going down the mountain to gain experience."

The other young man beside him looked curious. "Senior Brother, I've heard the jianghu in the mortal world is carefree and unrestrained. What do you think of it?"

"The jianghu?"

He Zhizhou chuckled and shook his head. "Wherever there are people, there are grudges and feuds. Where there are grudges and feuds, there is a jianghu. People are the jianghu, and naturally, so is our Xuanxu Sword Sect."

So profound! So perceptive! As expected of Senior Brother He!

As soon as he finished speaking, he was rewarded with another shower of starry-eyed looks from his devoted fans.

Ning Ning: ...

Do you think Ren Woxing and Linghu Chong would burst out of their coffins in an instant and kick you in the face?

She understood now.

No wonder He Zhizhou's behavior stood out from the crowd. It was because he was probably a transmigrator too. Not only had he taken the modern concept of "so broke I'm eating dirt" to its absolute extreme, he had also won himself countless little fans with the poems and quotes of another world.

"Senior Brother He has always been good at poetry."

Qin Shu noticed that something seemed off about Ning Ning's expression. Thinking she was simply surprised by He Zhizhou's literary talent, she didn't ask any questions, but called out crisply, "Senior Brother He, someone's here to see you."

He Zhizhou turned his head, and his eyes met Ning Ning's complicated gaze.

The unfamiliar young girl standing not far away was exceptionally beautiful, with almond-shaped eyes and red lips. Her dark hair was loosely tied back, and her face, shrouded in the shadows of the trees, was as white as jade. A fleck of sunlight fell on the corner of her eye, tracing a curve that was both innocent and alluring.

Her light purple gown outlined her petite figure. She didn't have to move at all; simply standing there was enough to draw the attention of most people.

He Zhizhou quickly racked his memory and decided that he truly had never seen that face before.

He was famous in the Sword Sect for his outrageous stunts. Although people did sometimes show up out of nowhere just to take a look at him, she was the first one who was this pretty.

The young man hesitated for a moment, climbed down from the tree trunk, and walked toward Ning Ning. "Miss, did you come looking for me?"

If she was here to collect a debt, he'd run without another word.

Having finally met another successor to socialism, Ning Ning tried hard to keep her voice level and not seem too excited. "I heard Senior Brother He is learned and talented, with a gift for composing poetry. How about I give you the first line of a couplet, and you try to come up with the second?"

The moment those words left her mouth, He Zhizhou nearly collapsed on the spot.

Good heavens, although he'd fooled plenty of people with classical poetry, those were things everyone in modern society knew. They had nothing to do with genuine talent.

As a fish that had slipped through the net of quality education, memorizing Du Zuo Jingting Shan and Jing Ye Si was the last bit of kindness he had left.

He'd meant to claim he was feeling unwell and make a quick getaway. But the girl across from him was so quick with her words that she didn't give him the slightest chance. She spoke again at once. "My first line is—"

He Zhizhou heard her say, "Odd changes, even stays the same."

Odd changes, even stays the same.

He stood rooted to the spot, nearly unable to figure out what those five words meant.

After a long while, his eyes finally opened wide, and his mouth fell open far enough to fit an egg.

—It was "odd changes, even stays the same"!!!

When hometown folks met, tears sprang to their eyes!

In that brief instant, Ning Ning witnessed a miracle of human facial expressions.

He Zhizhou's expression was like a kaleidoscope that had been played with too roughly. After passing through blankness, shock, confusion, and awkwardness, it finally settled on indescribable excitement.

His back shook uncontrollably with emotion. Trembling, he reached out and clasped Ning Ning's hands, then said those sacred words with utmost reverence: "Odd changes, even stays the same. The sign depends on the quadrant."