What Do You Study For?

As she spoke, Qin Sanyue suddenly took a few small steps forward and widened her eyes. "It's true! Everything I said is true!" she said anxiously.

Ye Fu knew Qin Sanyue was telling the truth, but he found it a little strange that she still remembered it. Shouldn't the young man in black have guided her into forgetting it?

"How come I didn't see it?" Ye Fu answered absently.

"I don't know why you didn't see it, Teacher, but... but everything I said is true. I don't lie!" Worried that Ye Fu thought she was talking nonsense, Qin Sanyue hurried to explain.

"Sanyue, whether it's true or not, don't keep talking about these strange things. For all we know, you might be the only one who saw what you described." Ye Fu brushed it aside with a casual remark. He didn't want the innocent young girl's imagination running wild.

Qin Sanyue opened her mouth to say something, but by the time the words reached her lips, all that came out was "All right." She was unwilling to let it go, but since Ye Fu had said so, she couldn't pursue it any further and could only keep it to herself. At the same time, she formed a different impression of Teacher Ye, who remained unmoved by honor or disgrace and whom she had never seen worry about anything. She ventured a guess: could the sage those people had been calling out for be Teacher Ye?

Ye Fu didn't know why Qin Sanyue hadn't been guided into forgetting the matter, but since she remembered, he didn't intend to clear her memory himself. He had always believed that memories were a person's most precious possessions, whether good or bad.

After taking a short rest, Qin Sanyue reported on her work. She had posted enrollment notices at every busy intersection, and when she passed the carpenter's shop, she had asked about the tables and chairs. The carpenter had said he would deliver them by evening.

Basically, everything that needed doing was done. All that remained was to wait for students.

With nothing else at hand, the two sat idly in the courtyard.

Before long, someone knocked on the door.

Qin Sanyue opened it, revealing a pale face.

It was the woman in white from yesterday. As soon as she entered, she looked at Ye Fu and asked, "Sir, might I admire the pear blossoms today?"

"Of course," Ye Fu replied with a smile.

The woman in white relaxed slightly and turned to look at the pear tree in the courtyard. She was instantly dumbstruck and murmured instinctively, "The... the Realm of Emptiness and Clarity!"

She gazed at it for a long time, unaware that she had become entranced.

Ye Fu smiled and said, "Admiring flowers is all well and good, but don't become too attached."

The woman in white came back to her senses, and a spark gradually returned to her eyes. Though her Qi was in disorder, her spirits were much better after looking at the pear blossoms.

She strode up to Ye Fu and greeted him with a respectful cupped-fist salute. "My name is Qu Hongxiao. I saw that your Three Flavors Study is enrolling students, sir, and I would like to enroll as your student."

Ye Fu was stunned. "Weren't you here to see the flowers? How come you want to become a student now?" he asked instinctively.

The woman named Qu Hongxiao answered gently, "I know that my ambitions are high but my abilities are lacking. I wish to study and learn under you, sir."

Ye Fu looked at Qu Hongxiao and suddenly felt that her spirit had changed a great deal since yesterday. Although all her cultivation had been sealed, in a certain respect, she had made progress. Only the Mind of a Clear Mirror she believed she possessed was still shattered beyond repair.

As for whether to accept her as a student...

Ye Fu, who had been intent on teaching a few little brats, looked at the primers on the stone table and sank into thought.

Chapter 22: What Do You Study For?

Ye Fu could tell Qu Hongxiao's age at a glance: her bone age was a full twenty-four years.

Three years younger than me... Ye Fu thought for no particular reason.

Looking at Qu Hongxiao's clear eyes, he knew she genuinely wanted to study here.

"Since you're so sincere..." Ye Fu paused.

"Do you agree, sir?" Qu Hongxiao looked earnestly at Ye Fu, without another look in her eyes.

Ye Fu shook his head. "Before that, in keeping with my role as a teacher, I need to tell you this clearly and responsibly." He raised his eyes to the pear tree laden with blossoms and said slowly, "There are two kinds of studying in this world. One emphasizes 'studying,' and the other emphasizes 'books.' The former values the process of studying, hoping to grasp its true meaning along the way. The latter focuses on books: the books of lesser sages, greater sages, lesser saints and greater saints, all manner of them, in the hope of grasping the truths within."

As Ye Fu spoke, Qu Hongxiao listened intently, meticulous and clear-minded. On hearing his insight, she felt that becoming this gentleman's student would be a very good thing.

After circling around, Ye Fu finally returned to that question. "Tell me, what do you study for?"

Qu Hongxiao did not answer the moment she heard the question. She treated it very seriously, unwilling to be careless, and wanted to give herself a clear answer as well. She lowered her eyes in thought, then looked up after a moment and said solemnly, "To seek the heart of a child."

Ye Fu shook his head with a smile.

"Do you think that's improper, sir? Please enlighten me." Qu Hongxiao was very serious.

Ye Fu could tell that Qu Hongxiao was probably someone who took everything seriously, even to the point of being a little stubborn. If she hadn't been so stubborn, she wouldn't have shattered her own State of Mind outside his home yesterday.

"I smiled because you're too naive. You can't acquire the heart of a child through studying. In other words, those who possess the heart of a child are best suited to studying. I shook my head because you can no longer cultivate the heart of a child. When you begin wanting to possess it, that means you ceased to be a child long ago." Ye Fu explained it to Qu Hongxiao word by word, sentence by sentence, methodically and clearly.

Qu Hongxiao stood dazed for a long while before her expression darkened. "Thank you for enlightening me, sir."

Ye Fu shook his head and asked again, "Then do you still want to study here?"

Without hesitation, Qu Hongxiao raised her head, her delicate face filled with determination. "I do."

"What for?"

Qu Hongxiao answered decisively once more. "For nothing else but to study books." She paused, then added, "The emphasis is on both words. I want to grasp both the true meaning of studying and the true meaning of books."

Ye Fu smiled without speaking. Looking at Qu Hongxiao's earnest expression, he unwittingly showed his appreciation.