Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 326 The Great Scholar is Shocked
Seeing that these gods and officials all looked confused, Lu Zheng wondered what these people were doing on a daily basis. Were they always thinking about how to exploit the people?
Lu Zheng had to take action himself and help build a useful canal.

On the other side, Qing Wan stared at a little demon helping to dig the soil, and asked curiously, "What kind of mouse is this? I've never seen it in books!"

The little demon was frightened by Qingwan's stare and shrank to the other side to dig a hole.

A person nearby explained, "It's a beaver, a monster captured by the government to do some work. It can't even speak human language."

"Oh!" Qingwan nodded and went over to help repair the canal.

Under Lu Zheng's organization, a canal capable of irrigating the nearest village was built.

When Shanyang City God and others saw it, they felt that it was indeed quite decent and better than the canals they had built before.

Lu Zheng drew a few sketches and gave them to the Shanyang City God. "Build it well! This kind of project can't be sloppy. According to your previous method, the canal will be unusable within ten years... The Yongzhou City God won't stay in Yongzhou for only ten years."

The Shanyang City God was startled and said quickly, "We don't quite understand this. Thank you, Master Lu, for reminding us."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "If you don't understand, you can learn. A lot of things are in books. You can't think that you can sit in this position forever just because you become a priest. Doesn't Mi Chenghuang have other thoughts when doing these things now..."

After hearing this, everyone couldn't help but think of a lot of things, and felt that this might be another test.

In Yongzhou, the City God of Yongzhou is qualified to approve the appointment and removal of some local gods.

Lu Zheng said no more and continued on his journey with Qing Wan.

Towards evening, the two stopped in a wilderness.

Lu Zheng set up a simple stove and started to make a fire to cook.

Qing Wan sat aside, holding a copy of "Mencius" and reading it with her head shaking. This was a classic taken from Lu Zheng's courtyard, a real book condensed with literary spirit.

Although it cannot be regarded as a cultural treasure or artifact, it is better than the classics sold outside and contains a hint of extraordinary aura.

Read a book a hundred times and its meaning will become clear.

Qing Wan felt that if she looked more closely, her own righteousness would definitely improve.

When she has enough positive energy, she will definitely be able to grow peas that can cure all diseases, and then she will become a remarkable person.

At this moment, a burst of footsteps came.

Glancing sideways, I saw an old man, still quite strong, walking towards me.

Qing Wan held the book and looked at the old man who suddenly appeared with a sparkling look in her eyes. She wondered why an old man came to such a remote place, but she did not detect any demonic aura from him.

The old man smiled and said, "You two young men are spending the night in the mountains. Aren't you afraid of encountering ghosts?"

Lu Zheng's eyes moved slightly, and he said, "We are young and energetic, and the demons and ghosts dare not approach us. But you, old man, are going out so late, aren't you afraid that your family will worry?"

The old man smiled slightly and said, "I am an old man, and even if I encounter wild beasts, demons and ghosts, they will not look down on me. Besides, my home is nearby. Why don't you two come over to my house and stay? It's cold in the mountains at night, don't catch a cold."

Lu Zheng shook his head and said, "Sorry to bother you. We are used to spending the night in the mountains."

"That's it."

The old man found a stone to sit on and looked at the book in Qingwan's hand.

He said slowly, "Mencius is a good book. It is commendable that a little kid has started studying this classic at such a young age."

Qing Wan grinned at this, "I've read a lot of books! I can even memorize this book!"

The old man smiled and said, "Do you understand the principles in the book?"

Qing Wan said seriously, "Of course I understand a little, but I'm young and not experienced enough. Even if I understand some principles, it's difficult for me to fully grasp them... Well, you don't need to understand too much, just enough to use. I think this is to help cultivate righteousness."

The old man could indeed see a hint of righteousness in Qing Wan.

He couldn't help but ask, "Why do you cultivate righteousness?"

Qing Wan said excitedly, "To grow peas!"

"Hmm?" The old man didn't understand what it meant for a moment.

Qing Wan explained, "To cultivate medicinal herbs that can cure all diseases, so that the people can be free from illness as much as possible."

The old man's expression changed slightly. He didn't expect that a little girl would have such thoughts. This was obviously influenced by Lu Zheng, right?

The old man sighed and said, "At such a young age, you have such ambitions. It's extraordinary."

Qing Wan chuckled, "Lu Zheng said, since we are born into this world, we must do our part and do things that benefit others! We can't be a person with vulgar tastes, we must have noble virtues, like a saint!"

The old man's expression straightened up, and he felt a little touched.

He turned to look at Lu Zheng and saw that Lu Zheng had a calm expression and was just quietly adding firewood to cook.

Suddenly, the old man's eyes lit up because he heard a strong heartbeat, and the sound came from Lu Zheng.

He had no intention of prying into Lu Zheng's secrets, but his sharp senses still allowed him to detect something.

"You, actually forged a literary heart!"

The old man showed a hint of surprise. Before coming here, he thought Lu Zheng was just a Confucian and Taoist scholar. Now he suddenly discovered that the other party had also forged a literary mind. Doesn't that mean he became a Jinshi?

He remembered that Lu Zheng had not participated in the Anguo Jinshi selection, right? So he was a Tiandi Jinshi? And he was so young.

The old man was a little bit incredulous, "You have entered the fourth level of Confucianism?"

Lu Zheng thought that this great man with profound Taoism was different, and he couldn't even hide his own realm.

As for who the person in front of him was, Lu Zheng had already guessed the other person's identity.

He was not worried about what the other party could do to him, after all, he had some relationship with Meng Sheng.

If this old man attacked him, wouldn't that be considered as betraying his teacher and ancestors? Lu Zheng smiled faintly and said, "It was a lucky breakthrough."

There was a ripple in the old man's eyes. There was no such thing as luck in achieving a breakthrough in a higher realm.

Moreover, it was a breakthrough for Confucian and Taoist scholars, which could not be achieved by eating rare treasures.

The old man was very curious and asked, "What is your literary mind?"

Lu Zheng remained silent upon hearing this, wondering whether to speak or not.

Seeing this, the old man said with a serious face: "You said I won't tell anyone else, nor will I harm you. I will even help you continue to forge your heart. I swear on the scriptures of the sages!"

Lu Zheng was able to be promoted to Jinshi at a young age, and he also cultivated a righteous spirit. He was definitely half a member of the Meng family.

How could he ignore such a great talent?

Lu Zheng saw that the old man had sworn an oath, so it seemed inappropriate for him to remain silent.

He then said, "Save the world with literary heart."

The old man was shocked, and his eyes showed disbelief, "Jiushi Wenxin, this..."

He knew very well that it was difficult to cultivate such a literary mind.

Having a desire to save the world means that there is only one way to go: either accomplish nothing, or save the world and the people to prove one's truth.

But saving the world is not that easy.

Even if you become a saint, it is difficult to save the world.

If you cannot save the world, it will be difficult to become a saint, let alone a great scholar.

Therefore, taking this path is almost a dead end, and no one has ever broken out of it from ancient times to the present.

The old man couldn't help but look Lu Zheng up and down, "Is this true?"

Lu Zheng was a little surprised and asked, "Can't you see it, sir?"

The old man said: "I didn't spy on your literary mind, but I believe you!"

After all, he is a great scholar, so he would not be so shameless as to use his spiritual sense to observe Lu Zheng's inner literary mind.

But he could tell that Lu Zheng was telling the truth.

The old man couldn't help but ask, "Don't you know how difficult it will be for you to cultivate in the future if you cultivate like this?"

He didn't understand how Lu Zheng could have such a literary mind. Was it because no one taught him?
Lu Zheng smiled, his face calm and composed. "I know! But other than that, I can't think of any other literary mind I can forge."

The old man was speechless for a moment. What he said makes sense. There are so many kinds of literary qualities in the world. Doesn't it mean that you are only concerned about saving the world and don't think about anything else?

The old man looked at Lu Zheng with an extremely complicated look, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

Thinking back on Lu Zheng's deeds, he suddenly realized that Lu Zheng might have had such a plan long before he cast his literary mind.

What a pity... the old man sighed in his heart.

The road to saving the world is extremely difficult, even he can't help Lu Zheng much.

If Lu Zhengzhu has other literary talents, he can help improve them.

However, once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back, and the literary mind that has been forged is not so easy to replace.

I originally thought that Lu Zheng was a good seedling worth cultivating.

But now he found that Lu Zheng was a seedling, but he was easily unable to adapt to the local climate and environment, so he couldn't cultivate him.

The old man stared at Lu Zheng and asked, "Do you know which way to go?"

Lu Zheng said slowly, "I'm not sure. I only have a vague idea right now. Perhaps it's a path no one else has walked before. I'll slowly explore it. Does the old man have any suggestions?"

The old man opened his mouth, but didn't know what advice to offer.

After thinking for a moment, the old man said, "Follow your heart, don't worry about other people's opinions, and keep your literary mind stable..."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly when he heard this, "Thank you."

The old man then asked, "Can I see your righteous spirit?"

"That's no problem." Lu Zheng said.

As he spoke, a righteous spirit was released from Lu Zheng's body.

An extremely pure aura permeated the old man.

The old man felt this righteous energy, and his mind was shaken again. This kind of aura gave him a sense of déjà vu.

Soon, the old man recalled that when he went to the Meng family in Qi State, he had the honor of coming into contact with the relics left by Meng Sheng. The righteousness contained in them was very similar to the righteousness in Lu Zheng.

In short, the righteousness that Lu Zheng cultivated was closer to Meng Sheng's righteousness than the righteousness he had cultivated.

From this, it can be seen that Lu Zheng's understanding of the great righteousness is more thorough than those of the descendants of Meng Sheng.

For a moment, the old man was unable to calm down.

He couldn't help but ask, "How did you cultivate the righteousness?"

Lu Zheng said, "That's how you practice. The saints said..."

The old man frowned as he listened. Aren’t these words derived from the contents of the book? Why is there such a gap in the righteousness cultivated?

(End of this chapter)