Mang Shusheng's Ink Painting Practice

Chapter 58: Climbing the Pole and Boomeranging
The rat demon caught by Zhao Yi Fu told everything it knew like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube.

In fact, it is basically the same as what Zhao Yifu knows, but the key should be an additional keyword: the man of destiny.

The "man of destiny" mentioned by Yong Dalang is crucial, and this becomes a breakthrough in key intelligence.

I don't know where these rats from the Midnight Kingdom got the news, saying that a person with destiny will awaken in the Immortal Lake area and inherit everything from the True Man Bixu.

Zhao Yifu could understand this paragraph, which meant that the true successor of Master Bixu was about to appear.

If it were just that, it would be fine, but the ruler of Midnight Kingdom, 'Ye Luozhu', had a very strange idea: Why can that 'man of destiny' inherit everything from Master Bixu?
If it eats the 'man of destiny', can it inherit this destiny?

Therefore, the Midnight Kingdom, which was originally planning to continue its migration north, stopped at the Immortal Lake marshland and began to search for the trace of the "man of destiny".

He attempts to find the person with the destiny, eat him, and then steal the destiny himself, inherit the immortal's mantle and become an immortal.

Zhao Yifu simply found this idea difficult to understand.

Are all these monsters' thinking so sloppy?
Zhou Su pondered for a moment after hearing this and said, "This must be someone deliberately leaking the news to muddy the waters... This person's intentions are quite malicious, and he doesn't care about the lives of the people at all."

Zhao Yifu was greatly surprised when he heard this. He thought of something and said, "If this is true, then who would have leaked this news..."

Zhou Su said: "The first is the person who has ambitions for the so-called destiny but knows he lacks the strength; the second is the so-called destiny himself."

Zhao Yi Fu nodded secretly after hearing this. This was exactly what he thought.

The first situation is that the opponent of the destined one knows that he has no hope on his own, and can only win in chaos and fish in troubled waters by muddying the waters.

The second situation is that the so-called destined person may not be able to inherit the immortal tradition, and needs to involve more forces in this way to achieve his goal.

No matter which one it is, the person behind the scenes is not a good person.

Zhao Yifu secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then saw that the rat demon did not show any symptoms of discomfort after being tortured by "Junzi Yicheng"'s soul.

I couldn't help but praise him: "With your skills, I'm afraid no one can hide a secret from you."

Zhou Su shook his head and laughed, "How could it be so miraculous? This 'honesty in a gentleman' is only effective for those who are inherently sinister and harbor evil intentions. It has no effect on those who are inherently sincere or have great ambitions and perseverance."

Zhao Yifu said, "I see. This is actually a Confucian magical skill of 'punishing the villain but not the gentleman.'"

Zhou Su nodded and said, "That's about right."

Zhao Yifu thought for a moment, then said speechlessly, "Then wouldn't the Confucian masters be able to do anything about those idiots?"

Zhou Su was embarrassed for a moment, this really hit the nail on the head.

Zhao Yifu understood, that is why Confucian robes should be so loose.

The solution that Confucius found for later generations of Confucian scholars was to fill the wide Confucian robes with muscles, so that those fools who were immune to Confucianism would respect muscles.

He understood, and felt as if he had suddenly attained enlightenment.

Zhou Su felt even more embarrassed because he felt that Zhao Yifu's expression of sudden enlightenment was definitely not what he hoped for.

He said, "I'll leave this rat to you. Since you call me sir, you will come to my house to study from tomorrow."

The old man was ready to personally correct Zhao Yifu's thoughts.

Zhao Yifu never thought that his habitual act of following the rules would have such an effect. He was free and happy, so how could he possibly want to study with Zhou Su?

So he declined politely, "Sir, I have to set up a stall during the day to supplement my income..."

Zhou Su snorted coldly and interrupted, "Don't make those excuses. You are already a scholar, and you receive two taels of silver every month to supplement your household expenses. It is definitely enough for general expenses."

"Study with me, and I guarantee you'll pass the provincial examination next spring. Then why would you need to run a stall?" He paused, then thought of something, then added, "If you want to practice Danqing, it will be much easier. With the blessing of the provincial examination, anything you write will be revered as a model in the countryside."

Zhao Yifu had already made up his mind to stay away from pure Confucian scholars like Zhou Su, so he declined seriously, "No, if I paint just to win praise, then I lose the original meaning of the painting."

“Calligraphy and painting are the expression of the artist’s inner thoughts. To disciples, the process of expression is much more important than the result.”

"To even seek the blessing of worldly power in order to achieve better results is putting the cart before the horse."

Zhou Su laughed heartily and praised, "Excellent! That's how it should be."

"Originally, I just wanted to teach you some things so that you could pass the imperial examination, but now I really want to teach you something seriously."

Zhao Yifu's scalp tingled, and he felt that his free life was fading away.

So he said, "Sir, I am a cultivator, and I read only to cultivate my sentiments. My main experience is..."

Zhou Su interrupted again, "I understand, but who among you Danqingmen inner sect doesn't have the title of Juren?"

"You don't expect that after entering the inner sect, you'll have to take exams every three years, right?"

"It would be better to work hard with me for the remaining six months. Once you become a Juren, you will have made your mark."

Zhao Yifu's eyes flashed and he felt a little bad because he felt that he had been persuaded.

In fact, Zhou Su had already said this, and it was not easy for him to refuse.

So he could only bow deeply once more: "Thank you for your guidance, sir."

Zhou Su nodded with satisfaction and said, "Come to my house at 11:00 AM tomorrow."

Then it disappeared with a whoosh.

Zhao Yifu had an embarrassed smile on his face. He really messed up this time.

Looking at the kittens around him, he said with a bitter face, "I have to get up early to study starting tomorrow. How am I going to get through the day?"

Yiyi jumped into his arms sensibly and patted his chest with her little paws, as if to say: What are you afraid of? I am here with you.

Zhao Yifu felt helpless but also relieved. Perhaps this was the biggest benefit of keeping a pet.

No matter what, no matter how bad the owner's mood is, they can always accompany him and provide the greatest emotional value.

Zhao Yifu held Yiyi in one hand and said to the other cat with the other hand, "Let's go, little mustache, come here quickly."

The man with a mustache was stunned, then jumped into Zhao Yifu's other arm in a daze.

Suddenly experiencing Yiyi's daily life, it suddenly became addicted to it and couldn't get out of it.

"Meow~"

At this moment, Yiyi suddenly called out.

Zhao Yifu was stunned. It turned out that he was being reminded not to forget to pick up the lost Dayangming fine bronze sword.

He nodded with a smile. If it hadn't been mentioned, he would have really forgotten.

It’s no wonder that he didn’t pay attention. Who made him see the flaws in the sword?

In his heart, this sword is not as useful as muscles after all.

(End of this chapter)