The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 272 Setting up a trap
But at that moment, the butcher suddenly said:
"But you still haven't explained clearly why you said he was from the Biyong Academy!"

The man in black, who had been waiting there, smiled and said:
"You are the First Attendant of Tiannanzhai, so you must be well-read. Let me ask you a question: if you are a teacher from Biyong Academy, did you come here with an imperial decree from the Temple of Literature?"

What would you do?

Before the butcher could answer, the man in black looked up at him, his tone still humble, but now with a hint of certainty:
"As the First Attendant of Tiannan Academy, you are still very knowledgeable and should understand the principle of 'acting with integrity.' You should have seen clearly when that Confucian scholar used his righteous spirit to subdue everyone—"

"Look closely at what?"

The butcher narrowed his eyes slightly.

The man in black laughed:
"First, although the classics he recited were some of the most widely circulated works of sages, this gentleman did not recite the entire text of any one classic. Instead, he selected different passages and used them to illustrate profound meanings, thus introducing wave after wave of great trends."

"What does this mean? This is certainly not the case that a great Confucian scholar cannot recite the classics he himself recites."

At this point, even Wu Yike himself couldn't help but add, "After all, this is a foolish thing that even a novice scholar wouldn't do. Let alone such a great scholar? To be honest, even if that gentleman had a special name associated with him, I wouldn't doubt it for a second."

The previous words hadn't moved them, but this last sentence really made them frown.

The Confucian concept of one's natal character is one of the most powerful supernatural abilities in the world. Its infinite uses and boundless power are secondary; the key is that they have no idea whether a person actually has a natal character.
If it does exist, is it an insignificant, obscure character, or a potentially deadly large character? Or perhaps just an ordinary, mediocre character?

"So, this is a strange but accessible place. Among the many Confucian academies, grotto heavens, and academies, only a few, led by the Biyong Academy, are accustomed to reciting only the essentials, not the entire text. This is also the style of that Grand Master of Ceremonies."

The Grand Master of the Academy often said that reading should not be done by rote, but rather one should grasp the essentials and understand the inner meaning. Therefore, he disliked getting bogged down in long passages of useless words, preferred conciseness, and was most adept at conveying profound meanings in subtle terms.

"That makes sense, but that alone isn't enough!" The glamorous woman believed it to some extent, but still wasn't entirely convinced.

Seeing this, the man in black pressed his advantage, saying, "Then listen to my second point! My second point is his righteous and righteous 'nature'!"

"How to say?"

The butcher remained silent with a frown, but the glamorous woman hurriedly pressed him for answers. She was no longer curled up in the butcher's arms, but was sitting upright.

"Hehe, it's simple. You two must have seen many people who have cultivated the Righteous Qi, including both those who followed the unorthodox path and those who followed the orthodox path."

"But Confucian scholars who come from unorthodox backgrounds are generally too impetuous. They may be strong, but they are like an unsharpened knife, completely lacking in finesse. They rely purely on their power to intimidate others!"

"As for ordinary academies, even Confucian scholars from grotto-heavens, although they have honed their skills, they have stayed in the academies for many years and have never seen the realities of the world. Instead, their skills have become soft and dull, and they have lost their sharpness."

"But this one easily crushed wave after wave of small monsters. Even the giant snake that was hiding in the ground was beaten so badly that it had to flee."

"Yet at the same time, withered trees in the surrounding fields are rejuvenated! This all shows that this person's righteous spirit is cultivated perfectly, able to suppress evil and uphold righteousness. Who but a member of the orthodox academy could have this ability?"

"The orthodox approach of 'restraining one's spirit with propriety and nourishing one's spirit with reason' is something that others cannot learn!"

The alluring woman finally raised her eyes, the seductive smile fading from the corners of her eyes, her tone becoming increasingly serious:
"But these two points alone at most show that he has a very good background, but it doesn't necessarily mean that he came from Biyong, right?"

The Biyong Academy was the cornerstone of many Confucian academies. The people who came from this place were worlds apart from ordinary Confucian disciples.

Moreover, that "Ren" sword was originally thrown out of the Biyong Apricot Altar by the Grand Master of the Confucian Temple himself!

“You’ve hit the nail on the head.” The man in black smiled knowingly, as if he had been waiting for her to say that. “You’ve forgotten the most crucial third point! The above two points have already confirmed that he is of orthodox Confucian lineage, and his arrival at this time must be due to the decree of the Confucian masters.”

“Since he was sent by the Confucian Temple, and considering that ‘benevolence’ weapon was left here, plus my first point, how could he not be a teacher from the Biyong Academy?” When he finished speaking, both the butcher and the alluring woman fell silent.

He was right. After going through all these layers of investigation, there is no other possibility but that the person came from the Biyong.

The butcher's Adam's apple bobbed for a moment, and he even had the thought of turning around and leaving. The alluring woman immediately sensed his intention, and with a quick snap of her fingers, she secretly formed a hand seal—as if she was about to do something.

The man in black caught a glimpse of the handprint out of the corner of his eye, but didn't point it out. Instead, he suddenly stopped the butcher and said, "You, the Grand Master of Tiannanzhai, do you really think you can just walk away now that things have come to this?"

The butcher's brows furrowed: "What else can I do? They're here to make an example of me. If I don't run, am I supposed to stay and let those monkeys see whether my blood is red or black?"

They've all been targeted by the people of Biyong. If they don't escape now, when will they?

Unexpectedly, the man in black shook his head and sighed:

"Utterly foolish, utterly foolish. Now that we've set our sights on you, do you think you can escape? Have you forgotten that this is Confucian territory? Do you really think that when Tiannanzhai was razed by the Confucian Temple, you were the one who managed to escape with your life?"

These words struck the butcher's weak spot precisely, causing him to deflate instantly.

When the Confucian Temple was razed to the ground, Tiannanzhai was able to survive, not because he had the ability to escape on his own.

It was purely because his mentor sacrificed everything to save him.
"Then what do you suggest we do? We're surrounded by wolves in front and tigers behind. If I don't run, am I supposed to just wait to be slaughtered?"

The man in black slowly said, "To survive in the face of death is not so difficult!"

These words instantly captivated both of them.

"They came here to establish their authority and show it to others, so let's just take the initiative to deliver our 'prestige' to them!"

"What does this mean? Do you expect me to hand over my head?" the butcher asked, his voice strained.

"Oh, you've misunderstood," the man in black waved his hand. "What I mean is, we should go and apologize in a grand and dignified manner. The Confucian Temple is established on the foundation of propriety and law, so we should use propriety and law to put it on top of that. As the saying goes, a gentleman deceives others with principles!"

“In that case, if he wants to take the ‘benevolence’ sword, he can’t lose ‘benevolence’ himself first, right?”

Finally, the man in black added a sentence, his words brimming with undeniable persuasion:
"Of course, the death penalty can be avoided, but punishment is inevitable. But having come this far, what more can one ask for than a clean break?"

These words silenced both the butcher and the glamorous woman.

After a long while, the two of them sighed in unison.

In the Confucian territory, for those coming from the Biyong (Imperial Academy), it seems that this is truly the only path left to take.

As the man in black clothes watched them compromise, the smile in his eyes gradually turned cold.

He knew perfectly well that these words only sounded reasonable at first glance; they were currently intimidated by his use of the Confucian temple's influence. It wouldn't be long before the two of them realized what was going on.

But so what? What he wanted was this "immediately"!
As long as these two people immediately rush into an apology session, that will be enough.

(End of this chapter)