Longevity from Liao Zhai

Chapter 30: The Ten Ranks of Confucianism
Qinghe County, brothel.

Although it was New Year's Eve, the brothels were very lively.

The brothel was so crowded that there was no place to sit.

All the people were standing.

Zhou Ping, Chen Erdan and Scar did not squeeze in with the crowd downstairs, but sat on the second floor.

The second floor has private rooms, which are not cheap.

"Hey, Erdan, you're bleeding a lot!"

It was Scar's first time to come to the private room on the second floor, and his eyes were full of curiosity.

"Hey, this isn't a thank you to both of you, especially Zhou Ping."

"If Zhou Ping hadn't been smart and predicted the murderer, my brother would probably be dead."

Chen Erdan said straightforwardly. Although he said so, Chen Erdan's heart was bleeding, because this private room cost two taels of silver.

"I was just a blind cat that caught a dead mouse."

Zhou Ping laughed.

"Here he comes, here he comes, Master Fan comes out."

Scar said.

The brothel was so lively because, firstly, it was New Year's Eve and everyone wanted to relax, and secondly, Fan Shiyi was going to give a lecture.

During the month that Fan Shiyi was in Qinghe County, she spent her days sightseeing and also gave guidance to many scholars.

In this month alone, three scholars in Qinghe County received guidance and successfully broke through to the tenth level of Confucianism.

There were also more than a dozen scholars who successfully felt the spiritual energy thanks to Fan Shiyi's guidance.

Many scholars in Qinghe County got opportunities because of Fan Shiyi's arrival.

It can be said that without Fan Shiyi, some people would probably never be able to break through to the tenth level in their entire lives, and some people would never be able to feel the spiritual energy even until they die.

When people asked Fan Shiyi why he went to Qinghe County, Fan Shiyi's answer was: to pursue Miss Yan Yi.

The scholars in Qinghe County were extremely grateful to Yan Yi. They all thought that if Yan Yi had not attracted Fan Shiyi, Fan Shiyi would not have come to Qinghe County.

The scholars didn’t know that Fan Shiyi’s purpose of going to Qinghe County was not Yan Yi.

Fan Shiyi's original purpose was to investigate Zhou Ping!

Fan Shiyi wants to examine whether Zhou Ping has talent and whether he can enter the academy.

It was just that Fan Shiyi was so busy traveling that he had completely forgotten about Zhou Ping's matter.

Fan Shiyi's idea was simple. He had finally come out for a trip, so he would delay it as long as possible. When his father couldn't wait any longer, he would take Zhou Ping to the academy.

The academy doesn’t need anyone to eat.

"It's a pity that such a beautiful face belongs to a man."

Scar couldn't help but say.

"Yeah, it would be great if a woman had a face like this."

Chen Erdan couldn't help but admire it.

"They are so beautiful that it's hard to tell whether they are male or female, unlike the rest of us who are so ugly that we can't tell whether they are human or animals."

Zhou Ping laughed at himself. His appearance was not bad, but it was not good enough in front of Fan Shiyi.

Fan Shiyi disguised herself as a man and killed both women and men.

The private rooms on the second floor were also full of people.

These people are all well-known figures in Qinghe County.

He was first the magistrate of Qinghe County.

Then came Mr. He, He Yunqing and He Yunlu from the He family.

Then came Uncle Bo and Yan Yi.

Then came some other big merchants.

"Do you two know? The third wife of the He family and Mr. He have divorced."

Chen Erdan is well-informed.

"Divorce? What does that mean?"

Scar is illiterate and doesn't understand these two words.

"Divorce means two people separate, which is equivalent to Mr. He divorcing his wife."

Chen Erdan gave Scar a look that said he was uneducated and scary.

Zhou Ping's heart moved. He didn't expect that the third wife Liu Ruyan was divorced.

In this world, women are just accessories and property.

The third wife, Liu Ruyan, was not divorced, but divorced.

Is it because He Yunqing knew the secret of the He family that he forced Mr. He to divorce?

With the help of the ghost baby, Zhou Ping overheard the conversation between the black-robed man Li Fei and He Yunqing, and learned the secret of the He family.

More than a dozen of Mr. He's wives were killed by him.

Zhou Ping guessed that Liu Ruyan's divorce must be related to this secret.

"The third lady has moved out of the He family and lives somewhere else."

"Hey, these days, I don't know how many bachelors and matchmakers have come to the Third Madam's house."

Chen Erdan smacked his lips.

Even though Liu Ruyan is divorced, she is still popular.

Not to mention that Liu Ruyan is as beautiful as a flower, Liu Ruyan herself has a lot of assets.

Some people coveted Liu Ruyan's beauty, while others coveted her money.

A rich and beautiful auntie, Zhou Ping thought to himself.

"Zhou Ping, my mother said that you have a unique taste. You don't like young girls, but widows."

"How about letting my mother help you?"

Chen Erdan teased Zhou Ping.

Zhou Ping almost burst out laughing at this love song.

"Erdan, has your mother ever told you that she wants me to be your father?"

Zhou Ping said quietly.

"Zhou Ping, if you are willing, it is not impossible."

Chen Erdan said seriously.

"Ah, if that's the case, then the hierarchy will be messed up. Erdan, from now on you have to call me uncle. Zhou Ping and I are brothers."

Scar interrupted.

The three of you looked at each other and then burst into laughter.

In the brothel, a group of dancers were dancing gracefully.

The dancers are beautiful and their dancing is also beautiful.

But among these beauties, there is also a handsome guy.

Fan Shiyi was drinking and dancing among the beauties.

Fan Shiyi is like a butterfly, looking for nectar among the flowers.

Zhou Ping was watching Fan Shiyi dancing when he felt a chill and looked at his neck.

There was a small green snake on the neck.

This green snake is Fan Shiyi's pet and has appeared on Zhou Ping's body before.

According to Fan Shiyi, the little green snake doesn't like to touch others, but is somewhat close to Zhou Ping.

This was Zhou Ping’s second time seeing the little green snake, and he was no longer as afraid as he was at the beginning.

The little green snake seems to be very human-like and will not bite people randomly.

Zhou Ping guessed that the little green snake was close to him because of the "remnant soul of the giant python".

The remaining soul of the giant python contributed itself to Zhou Ping. Zhou Ping should still have some characteristics of the giant python, which is why the little green snake became close to him.

The little green snake must have sensed the scent of its own kind from Zhou Ping.

"Come, have some melon seeds."

Zhou Ping peeled the melon seeds and fed them to the little green snake.

The little green snake looked at Zhou Ping, then stretched its neck and swallowed the melon seeds into its stomach.

"The path of Confucianism is the simplest of the four methods of cultivation for the human race."

"You don't need to be like a warrior, licking blood from the edge of a knife every day, and break through in battle."

"You don't need extraordinary talent to learn Taoism."

"You don't have to abstain from sex and alcohol like a monk."

"Confucianism, books contain a golden house and a beautiful woman."

Fan Shiyi was half drunk and half awake, talking about his views on Confucianism.

Zhou Ping also listened carefully. He had thought about trying Confucian cultivation before. Zhou Ping was half immortal, so as long as he escorted, his life span would be very long.

Now, Zhou Ping has already embarked on three of the four paths of cultivation for the human race.

Although these three paths are all of the tenth grade, which is not high quality, they are like seeds taking root in Zhou Ping's body.

As long as the right time is met, the seeds will germinate and grow.

Zhou Ping believed that as long as he lived long enough, he would be able to reach the first level in the four paths of cultivation!
With four first-grade warriors, Zhou Ping couldn’t imagine how powerful they would be.

So Zhou Ping wanted to plant the seeds of Confucianism again.

“There are two types of Confucian practice: borrowed meaning and creative.”

"The so-called borrowing of meaning means reading other people's poems and understanding their artistic conception from them, so as to break through the level."

“So as long as you read books and understand the artistic conception of the poet from the book, you can enter the realm of poetry.”

“Even if you have to understand that there are some differences with the author of the poem, it’s still pretty much the same.”

"If you understand one poem, you can enter the tenth level. If you understand the second poem, you can enter the ninth level. If you understand the third poem, you can enter the eighth level."

"The other is creativity, which is to write your own poems to spread around."

"Write a book and let people all over the world borrow ideas from your poems, and you will be able to resonate with those who read your poems."

"This induction can help you enter the realm of the rank."

"It's just that this creative method is very difficult. If you can write a good poem that will be remembered for generations, that's a great opportunity. How can you write two, three, four or five?"

"Therefore, the most important thing for Confucian cultivation is to borrow intentions!"

"Borrowing the meaning is the easiest way to enter the realm! Break through the realm!"

Zhou Ping listened to Fan Shiyi's words, thoughtfully.

There are two ways of Confucian cultivation. One is introspection, reading other people's poems and understanding other people's realm.

"The so-called borrowing of meaning is a bit like suddenly understanding a certain sentence or poem."

Zhou Ping began to understand a little.

Take the song “Ten Years” for example. When you first listen to it, you may not understand the meaning of the song, but when you listen to it again, you will already be the character in the song.

When you don’t have an ex, looking at your ex is a joke; when you have an ex, looking at your ex and discovering yourself is a joke.

Zhou Ping nodded and kept these insights in mind.

Another way is to use your own creativity and let others borrow your ideas from your poems and then use this induction to reach the tenth level of Confucianism.

This Confucian method of entering the realm of merit requires that one's works be known by many people.

Moreover, it is considered good for a person to write a poem that is remembered by the world. How is it possible for him to write many poems that are remembered?
"What a pity, I only know one poem, Quiet Night Thoughts. If I could memorize 300 Tang poems, wouldn't I be invincible in this world?"

Zhou Ping sighed secretly.

As for poems, Zhou Ping did have a few in his muscle memory, like "Stop my car and sit to enjoy the maple forest in the evening" and "Ploughing in the midday sun", but he only remembered one line of these poems and could not recite them all.

Zhou Ping was thinking about the Confucian practice methods. At this time, the literary atmosphere in the brothel was everywhere.

These cultural auras are milky white and cannot be seen by ordinary people. Only cultivators can see them.

There are four paths of cultivation for the human race, and each one corresponds to a different kind of spiritual energy.

The corresponding color in Buddhism is gold.

The corresponding color for Taoism is blue.

The color corresponding to warriors is red.

Confucianism corresponds to white.

In the brothels of Qinghe County, the white literary atmosphere became increasingly strong.

First of all, this is brought about by Fan Shiyi’s talent.

Secondly, all the scholars in Qinghe County are here.

Third, Zhou Ping is here.

In fact, all these white literary auras are due to Zhou Ping.

Tonight is New Year’s Eve, the day for family reunion.

Although most people have returned home to reunite, there are still some businessmen who have left their hometowns and are scattered all over the place and cannot go home.

A businessman was walking on the streets of the capital.

Because the payment for the goods was withheld, the merchant had no way to go home, so he could only wait in the capital.

At this moment, looking at the bustling crowd on the street, the businessman remembered that he was alone.

The businessman suddenly had an idea.

"There is bright moonlight in front of my bed, I suspect it is frost on the ground. I raise my head to look at the bright moon and lower my head to think about my hometown."

The businessman didn't know many words, let alone recite poetry.

But this song "Quiet Night Thoughts" is really simple and easy to learn. I remembered it after listening to it once.

After reading the poem, the businessman's thoughts became even deeper.

In a small mountain village, a child is just beginning to babble.

"Old man, read a poem to the child and let him learn poetry from a young age."

"Hey, old woman, you and I can't even read a few words, why should we learn poetry?"

"It's the one you read last time, the limerick about a naked girl named Mingyue."

"You mean that? That's fine. Come here, kid. Daddy will teach you a poem. There is moonlight in front of my bed, I wonder if it is frost on the ground. I look up at the moon and think of my hometown."

The man read poems to the child over and over again.

The man heard this poem from somewhere else. Because it was so simple, he remembered it after listening to it once.

The man was reciting poetry, and the woman was looking at the man and the child happily.

There is another street.

A group of children were playing, holding lanterns and reciting poems.

"There is bright moonlight in front of my bed, I suspect it is frost on the ground. I raise my head to look at the bright moon and lower my head to think about my hometown."

There are many scenes like this.

Quiet Night Thoughts is so simple and not difficult to pronounce.

So even illiterate people and children can recite a few sentences.

It has been three months since Zhou Ping copied out Quiet Night Thoughts. During these three months, this poem seemed to have grown wings, traveling across the country and scattering in cities and villages.

"Quiet Night Thoughts" has become a widely circulated poem.

Zhou Ping was thinking about the Confucian method of cultivation.

Suddenly, Zhou Ping felt spiritual energy squeezing his body.

This feeling is somewhat similar to the Buddhist initiation.

"Snapped."

A soft sound.

A familiar cracking sound came from Zhou Ping's body.

The spiritual energy between heaven and earth and the literary spirit of Confucianism squeezed into Zhou Ping's body.

Confucianism, tenth grade!
Zhou Ping was confused, but he understood a little. He did not "borrow ideas" but relied on "creativity" to enter the tenth rank of Confucianism.

Zhou Ping doesn't like reading books, let alone reading poetry. If he has never read poetry, where can he borrow the ideas from?
Therefore, Zhou Ping guessed that his breakthrough in Confucianism was probably due to "Quiet Night Thinking".

Literary energy is invisible and intangible, so even though Zhou Ping broke through to the tenth level of Confucianism, no one noticed.

However, Fan Shiyi looked in Zhou Ping's direction, and she was a little surprised when she saw Zhou Ping.

Fan Shiyi is a Confucian of the fourth rank, and she can see the literary aura.

Fan Shiyi understood that Zhou Ping had entered the rank.

"Yes, another person who was inspired by me has been admitted."

“I just don’t know which poem he borrowed the mood from.”

Fan Shiyi felt a great sense of accomplishment. She thought Zhou Ping must have borrowed this opportunity to get into the rank.

At this time, literary energy continued to flow into Zhou Ping's body.

Zhou Ping's temperament changed instantly, and he became more scholarly.

Zhou Ping is a warrior, so he usually gives people the impression of being big and strong.

But as he entered the Confucian school, Zhou Ping had a scholarly sense of weakness.

"Hey, Zhou Ping, why do I feel like you've become a different person in an instant?"

Scar noticed some changes in Zhou Ping, but he couldn't tell where.

"After listening to Master Fan's words, I have some insights into Confucianism."

Zhou Ping let out a long sigh.

With the admission of Confucianism, Zhou Ping felt that his strength had reached a new level.

"I didn't expect you to be admitted to the Confucian School. You are quite a talent."

(End of this chapter)