Nourishing the Soul with Words, Written in a Single Stroke [Happy Mid-Autumn Festival]

Hearing this, Wang Qiao'er's eyelid twitched, and he could not help saying, "You scholars are steeped in the sages' teachings. Do you not advocate kindness as the foundation, tolerance toward others, and repaying grievances with virtue? Why then..."

Qiu Yan shook his head. Some memories surfaced within him—phrases from books this body had read in the past—and he said, "Study rectifies oneself; it can regulate one's vital energy and nurture the heart. But one must be empty, unified, and still. It is not about blindly pursuing kindness. If studying speaks only of goodness, that is hypocrisy." After saying this, Qiu Yan suddenly froze, lost in thought.

Wang Qiao'er grew even more puzzled, but he also knew he could not argue back, or the consequences would be dire. He could only grit his teeth, pull several pieces of broken silver from his robes, and hand them over. Then he saw Qiu Yan finally rise. He too hurriedly struggled to his feet, not daring to say another word. Turning around, he limped away unsteadily, stumbling forward and looking back from time to time like a startled bird.

But before he had gone more than a few steps, his stomach suddenly rumbled. Wang Qiao'er's whole body trembled. He subtly clenched his legs together, quickened his pace, and disappeared around the corner.

Qiu Yan paid him no heed and merely weighed the broken silver in his hand.

"This Wang Qiao'er carries quite a bit of money on him. It is enough to buy plenty of rice and last several days."

The Great Rui Dynasty had been established for more than a sexagenary cycle, nearly eighty years, and had seen four emperors. Prices had long since ceased to be what they were when the Grand Ancestor pacified the northern lands, when a dou of rice cost one coin. Now, a dou cost seven or eight coins. Enough to last several days showed just how much Wang Qiao'er had been carrying.

At that moment, Qiu Yan's aunt came over from the back, her face full of puzzlement. "Yan'er, I heard someone knocking just now, and voices as well. Did someone come by?"

"Someone did. A friend of mine owed me some silver and just paid it back." As he spoke, Qiu Yan handed her the silver. "Aunt, my appetite has been huge lately. I cannot go without meat, so I must have spent quite a lot. Take this silver as a contribution to the household expenses."

"You mustn't," his aunt hurriedly refused. "You need money for your studies."

"This is not much money, and it is broken silver. If I take it to the bookstore, they will inevitably lowball me. It would be more practical to buy meat and vegetables with it. Besides, I collected quite a bit of money a few days ago, so I do not lack this little amount. Please take it. I am going back to my room first. I have not practiced calligraphy in many days, and now that I have some free time, I should review it."

Finding an excuse, he forcibly stuffed the broken silver into his aunt's hands and quickly returned to his room. He knew that once he used practicing calligraphy as an excuse, no one would usually disturb him.

Closing the door, Qiu Yan took out the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from the corner and arranged them on the table.

"When I spoke just now, passages surfaced in my heart, and I naturally said them to Wang Qiao'er. The moment the words left my mouth, my Living Soul faintly trembled. And last night, the smoke from the Spirit-Calming Incense stirred up passages from my memories, and it actually strengthened my Living Soul. There must be some mystery here. This is the perfect time to investigate it."

He held his breath, calmed his mind, and settled his spirit. This body of Qiu Yan's had spent years studying and practicing calligraphy. Though it had achieved no distinction in the examinations, it still possessed some skill in nurturing vital energy and steadying the mind. Soon, his body and mind became tranquil.

After grinding the ink, he thought for a moment, raised his brush, and wrote the character "book" on the paper.

His handwriting was square and upright, neither flamboyant nor particularly spirited. Once the character was written, Qiu Yan himself sensed within it a feeling of restraint and rigid adherence to rules.

This was not an illusion. He could send his Living Soul out of his body, meaning he had entered the Aperture-Opening Realm of Nature Cultivation. His perception was far keener than before. Though his soul was still weak and could not display many unusual traits, now that he had calmed his spirit and focused all his attention on his wrist, brush tip, and ink marks, he naturally sensed the artistic conception within them at once.

"The craftsmanship is too heavy. It seems this body's former owner learned only the form of the characters, not their spirit or artistic conception. Still, I can only sense it. If I were to write myself, this would be my level as well."

As this thought passed through his mind, Qiu Yan's attention returned to the character on the page. When he had written it, he had been wholly focused, hoping to find some clue as to how the Living Soul had strengthened, yet he had gained nothing. The Living Soul had not stirred in the slightest.

He frowned slightly, then suddenly had an inspiration.

"The Living Soul trembled before because of emotion. Memories that came from the heart surfaced. Combined with what happened with the Spirit-Calming Incense, could it be that I need to use information from my memories to affect the soul and stir emotions for it to work? If so..."

With that thought, Qiu Yan calmed himself again.

"I should try to find something that can stir the memories and emotions in my heart. Ah, I have it. I just learned about General Lang. I might as well use that."

When Wang Qiao'er had come to extort and threaten him, Qiu Yan had instead taught him a lesson and drawn some information from him, gradually confirming his earlier suspicions.

"The fact that a demon slaughtering a village could be covered up proves that demon forces hold a certain degree of influence within human society. They may even mingle among the populace, hiding in plain sight and holding high positions. When I left Mingyuan Mountain, I killed quite a few demons and monsters in one stroke. Given the nature of beasts, they will surely seek revenge by every possible means and try to find my trail. If that is the case..."

He raised a hand and replaced the sheet of paper. Then he lifted his brush again and set it to the page, his brush moving like a dragon and snake, completing the stroke in one go—

General!

This character was still level in its horizontals and straight in its verticals, still square and upright, yet it was no longer as restrained as before. Instead, it revealed a sense of urgency and danger.

A tremor.

A faint glimmer flashed through Qiu Yan's eyes, but he paid it no mind. Frowning, he murmured softly, "A general is coming after me. The danger is imminent!"

Before his words had faded, the brush tip moved. Three characters appeared beside the character for "general."

For a moment, four characters emerged on the paper—

The Way to Command a General.

The three newly written characters were still square and upright, but they carried an air of inquiry and exploration, as though a grand chancellor of the court or a literary master were probing for a method to govern the realm and seeking a strategy to stabilize the state.

"The method of commanding and taming a general should be..."

As he muttered softly, a strange aura spread from Qiu Yan's entire body. His whole person seemed faintly separated from the room. Light flickered in his eyes, growing brighter and brighter, as if two stars were hidden within them.

As his thoughts turned, his wrist turned with them. After the four characters, he added another line—

It lies in holding the reins of authority.

The strokes in this sentence were hard and resolute. The instant they landed on the paper, the ink seeped through it and stained the table.

The way to command a general lies in holding the reins of authority.

This was a line from the ancient book Comprehensive Mirror. It meant that the key to commanding generals was to hold the authority to reward and punish.

It was an admonition directed at emperors and monarchs. Yet now, following the flow of his mind, Qiu Yan had written it in one sweep.

At the instant the sentence was completed, his body trembled slightly. His eyes shone brightly, and an indistinct ray of light projected from the crown of his head, only to vanish in the blink of an eye.

Qiu Yan's face, which had been somewhat pale from his fever, regained a healthy flush. His spirits visibly improved, and he looked full of vitality.

"So that is it. Stirring the writings of sages from my memories can truly nourish the soul and strengthen the Living Soul!"

He took a deep breath. The index finger of his brush-holding right hand twitched slightly, and joy appeared between his brows.

P.S. Thank you to "xiaotang246" for the donation! Wishing all readers a happy Mid-Autumn Festival!