Volume 1: A stone strikes a thousand waves, the world surrounds Li Daosheng Chapter 76: Black and White and Neither Black and White
On this morning, Liu Ran was standing at home writing calligraphy as usual.
Spring is coming soon, and the flowers and plants in the yard are growing well. The grass branches should be dyed green by the spring breeze again, drooping in the morning breeze, swaying gently, like waves rustling.
Under the corridor, a shallow stream flows among the piled stones. The water is so clear that you can see a few small fish swimming in it, and then they suddenly disappear without a trace.
There are birds singing in the distance and the sound of flowing water nearby. It should be a quiet morning.
Liu Ran stood at the table with his pen in hand for a while. The breeze blowing in his face was neither cold nor warm, but refreshing and warm. After a long while, he must have smiled, put down his pen, and wrote the word "Ning" on the paper.
Ning means to have a peaceful mind and a leisurely body.
While Liu Ran was writing, he did not notice a not-so-harmonious breeze blowing from the corner of the yard and landing on the study.
He was always so focused when writing, as if every single word he wrote on the paper was enough to capture his entire attention.
Feng slipped into the study room, and Liu Ran finished writing.
He cleaned the pen that was still stained with ink and hung it back on the pen holder. Then he put his hands behind his back, looked quietly at the words on the table, and let out a breath.
good.
Liu Ran likes writing and painting. He likes these black and white things because they are clear and concise.
What is white is white, what is black is black. There is no such thing as half black and half white.
And he can also control the black and white on that piece of paper.
It’s not like the worldly affairs in this world, which are muddy and unclear, and it’s hard to tell right from wrong.
Liu Ran often heard people say that only children can distinguish between right and wrong, while those who achieve things do not care about right or wrong. He always thought this statement was sad and ridiculous. The ridiculous thing is that if people cannot even distinguish between right and wrong in life, then what else can they distinguish?
The sad thing is that every time he wanted to refute this, he found that he couldn't say anything, because it seemed that this statement was indeed correct.
There is no such thing as black and white in this world. Even the things he did cannot be distinguished so clearly.
But shouldn’t we be clear about what is right and what is wrong when doing things as a human being? How can we be clear about what is right and what is wrong if we don’t even know?
Liu Ran couldn't figure it out, so he locked himself in a yard on the outskirts of the city, trying to figure it out.
This stage lasted for more than ten years. He went out of the house but never asked about worldly affairs again.
If it weren't for the fact that his paintings are still circulating in a special way, the world would probably have forgotten him long ago.
However, during these ten years, he still got to know a person, a thief.
If Liu Ran is one extreme, then that thief is another extreme.
That thief was very confused, extremely confused, even more confused than the worldly affairs, because there was nothing clear about him at all.
No matter where you come from, where you are going, what you want to do, or what you want, everything seems so unclear.
It seemed as if he had no way to rest. He wandered around, doing whatever he wanted, but he would not do anything wrong.
He is a gray man, gray in the right place, straight to the center , without any branches or ramifications, which can be called handsome.
It was as if he was not a person of this world at all. Since he was not in this world, he was naturally not included in the black and white of this world.
But such a thief is the only outsider who has been in contact with Liu Ran in all these years.
How could someone like Liu Ran, who wanted to make everything clear, get involved with such an unclear person?
Liu Ran himself couldn't explain it clearly. Perhaps it was because the thief was too clearly fascinated.
…
“Bang, bang.”
Shortly after Liu Ran finished writing, there was a knock on the door outside his yard.
In this quiet morning, the knock on the door was very obvious, like a stone breaking the calm water, making Liu Ran turn around.
He frowned in confusion , wondering who was outside the door.
There shouldn't be any customers coming to the store at this time.
Liu Ran wanted to write another piece of calligraphy, but he was reluctant to leave.
However, there was no one else living in the yard except him, not even a maid or a servant, so he had to open the door himself.
After passing through the corridor, Liu Ran came to the door and pushed it open.
He saw the person outside the door clearly. It was a very special woman. Why was it special? Because this woman did not look like someone from the interior of the country. Whether it was her skin color or her appearance, it was not very common in the territory of the Tang Kingdom.
His skin is a slightly dark wheat color, his nose is high, and his eyebrows and facial contours are more angular than those of the Tang people.
What’s even more special is that her hair is very short, and she is holding a long sword in her hand that is slightly wider than Tang Jian .
All these appearances combined make it hard for people not to take a second look at her.
"Excuse me, young lady, what are you doing here?"
Liu Ran frowned, looked at the woman in front of him, and asked hesitantly.
There were almost no people coming to his door, so when a strange woman with a sword came down, he naturally felt a little strange.
The woman was not polite either. Perhaps she did not understand the etiquette of the Tang people. She just held the sword and explained her purpose.
"I'm here to see Liu Ran, Mr. Liu."
Her Tang dialect was awkward, but not so awkward that it was hard to understand.
This made Liu Ran frown even deeper. Looking for me? What do you want me for?
After a moment's silence, Liu Ran spoke.
"I am Liu Ran. May I ask what you want to talk to me about?"
The woman seemed a little surprised. She frowned and looked Liu Ran up and down a few times, then said.
"I thought you'd be stronger."
"Oh?" Liu Ran smiled in confusion and asked, "Why is that?"
"Because I heard that your martial arts skills are not low." The woman looked at Liu Ran suspiciously, as if she was considering the reliability of the news.
Liu Ran raised his brows and tilted his head, as if he was somewhat helpless and said: "The level of martial arts is not determined by the size of the body, and my martial arts are indeed not that good."
"Hmph ." The woman snorted as if she was somewhat dissatisfied, but then she looked at Liu Ran and said.
"No matter how good your martial arts are, you will be the first Central Plains warrior I challenge. Let's do it."
As she spoke, the woman took a step back and drew her sword.
She was a little impatient because she had been away from the Jin Kingdom for three months. Apart from the weapons list in her hand, whose authenticity she was not sure, there had not been much progress on the things her master had asked her to do.
She was afraid that if this continued, by next year she would only be able to bring some rumors back to the Kingdom of Jin, which was something she could not tolerate.
Therefore, she wanted to fight with some Central Plains warriors as soon as possible, and the Liu Ran in front of her would be the first one.
