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

Chapter 336 Sangtian (4k)

Kyoto has finally landed safely. Even now, many ordinary people and monks are still in a state of confusion.

The common people, in particular, were caught off guard by the disaster, escaped the calamity in a daze, and then returned to peace and stability in an equally daze.

I'm completely confused and can't figure out the cause and effect.

It may sound ridiculous, but it is the life of the vast majority of ordinary people.

Sometimes, it might actually be better this way.

After all, even if we don't end up with peace and stability, the simple statement "I don't know" is better than too much trouble.

When the imperial guards and officials finally came to their senses and began to arrange the aftermath, the people recovered from their confusion and vaguely realized that they might be safe.

Then he left his hiding place and went into the streets and alleys, subconsciously following the flow of people, and kept discussing with the people around him what had just happened.

"It sounds like the gods have become angry?"

"Nonsense! It was clearly a monster that came, but the gods dealt with it!"

"Why does it sound like two divine beings are having a magical duel?"

"Who knows? As long as things are peaceful, that's good!"

"Yes, yes, the most important thing is that everything is alright!"

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Du Yuan went against the flow of people, through the bustling throng, and returned to the tavern that had stood before the white jade bridge.

He glanced at it and spotted Zou Zi, who was already waiting there.

Seeing him look over, Zou Zi smiled and gestured for him to sit down.

After Du Yuan was seated, Zou Zicai asked with curiosity:

"So, how exactly did you come to understand these four true words?"

The four lines by Zhang Zai are timeless and inspiring.

Even the founder of the Yin-Yang school was deeply moved by this ultimate pursuit of Confucianism.

Even he, the most virtuous of men, couldn't help but complain that his family hadn't produced such a fine descendant.

However, these four sentences are indeed hard to reconcile with his Yin-Yang school.

This is the clear and unambiguous answer that later generations have given to the most holy teacher!
"A single article contained a whopping eighteen characters related to one's birth date! I dare not say that there will be no one like it in the future, but there has never been anyone like it before. You have truly done it!"

The eighteen natal characters are all excellent, with no useless or unbalanced characters. Among them are many large characters and even more auspicious ones.

Such an article is truly unheard of!

Du Yuan smiled:
"We have only achieved such great results by standing on the shoulders of our predecessors!"

Zou Zi waved his hand dismissively:
"The reason why our predecessors expounded the truth is so that future generations can stand on our shoulders and reach new heights! Otherwise, we would be wasting our efforts, and you would have to start from scratch. How can that be?"

"So, tell me quickly, how exactly did you figure that out?"

Du Yuan nodded, and then began to explain in detail.
After being transported to this "other world" by Zou Zi's spirit body, Du Yuan was shocked to realize that this place had probably become a different world altogether.

This realization made him extremely anxious and restless.

In Kyoto, he was most likely the only one who could rival Zou Zi. If he weren't there, the millions of people in Kyoto would probably have been roasted alive!

Du Yuan admitted that he couldn't bring himself to sacrifice himself for others, but he couldn't bear to watch someone he had a chance to save die right before his eyes.

What's more, those are tens of thousands of innocent lives.

Just as most people would be willing to do good deeds if they could see their donations actually reach the poor and vulnerable, and might even enjoy it.

What is hardest for people to accept is "being able to help but not being able to," watching someone who could have been saved die before their eyes, especially when that "saving" didn't even require much effort.

Du Yuan searched every corner of this world, but ultimately failed to find a way back.

At this moment, he stood in an unnamed wilderness, filled with melancholy.

He couldn't go back to his hometown, and now even the foreign land he longed for had vanished completely. A tremendous sense of frustration washed over him, threatening to overwhelm him.

But just at this moment of deep sorrow, a gentle voice suddenly drifted into Du Yuan's ears: "Good young man, can you lend a hand?"

Du Yuan suddenly looked up and saw an old man in a blue robe standing in the mulberry field between the paddy fields, waving at him.

Looking at the old man she didn't know, Du Yuan shook her head with a wry smile: "Sir, I'm really anxious right now, and I'm afraid I can't help you."

The old man, however, was neither anxious nor annoyed. Instead, he smiled and advised, "Young man, I see you have been standing here for a long time, looking extremely anxious, but you haven't moved an inch. You must have encountered an urgent matter, but you don't know what to do, right?"

"Since that's the case, why not temporarily put aside this helpless matter and come here to do some work that you can manage?"

"As the saying goes, helping others helps you help yourself!"

One sentence was all it took to break through Du Yuan's defenses.

Du Yuan opened her mouth, as if to say something more, but in the end she only nodded and asked softly, "You're right. What do you want me to do for you?"

The old man turned around, pointed to the few remaining mulberry trees beside him, and said slowly:

"I've taken care of everything else, except for these last few plants, which I'm keeping for myself. I'm too old to do it anymore, so I'd like to ask you, young man, to help me pick them."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and patted his hunched back, then laughed: "I'm getting old, I can't compare to when I was young. The body that used to be able to travel all over the world, now, I can't even carry a few mulberries!"

Du Yuan nodded, said nothing more, and silently began to pick the fruit.

He still remembered Zou Zi in Kyoto.

He had only been picking mulberries for a short while when the old man pointed to his hands, which were covered in mulberry juice, and said:

"Young man, you can't pick mulberries so roughly. You have to pinch the stem and gently turn it around. This way, you won't damage the fruit's skin and flesh, it's delicious and easy to store, and you won't get your sleeves dirty."

Du Yuan then came to her senses and said with a slight apology, "I'm sorry."

“There’s no need to apologize,” the old man waved his hand. “This is your first time doing this kind of work, so naturally you don’t know how. Besides, you have other things on your mind, so I had to drag you here. It’s normal for you to look like this.”

The old man maintained a gentle smile throughout, but then subtly changed the subject, asking Du Yuan, "So, young man, what has happened to you that has made you so unsettled?"

He rubbed his lower back again, and once the soreness and numbness subsided a bit, he reached out to help pick the mulberries. Before Du Yuan could answer, he continued, "..."

Is it a road you can't go back to, or a person you can't let go of?

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan looked up at him in surprise. The old man simply smiled.

"I am just a passerby coming and going from outside the mulberry fields, and most of us are disturbed by these two things."

Du Yuan sighed softly and whispered:

“Both. There are roads we can't go back to, and people we can't let go of.” The old man nodded with deep feeling after hearing this: “That must be difficult.”

As he spoke, he felt a sharp pain and heaviness in his lower back, so he stopped working with a slight sense of apology.
"I'm sorry, young man. I was thinking of helping you out so you wouldn't have to do all the work alone, but look at my old bones, I'm really useless, so I have to leave it all to you."

Du Yuan smiled and said, "You flatter me. I'm young, this little bit of work is nothing to me."

The old man nodded, stepped aside, and quietly watched Du Yuan pick the fruit.

Seeing that Du Yuan had picked most of the mulberries, he calmed down. He then slowly moved over two stools, a kettle, and two rather delicate porcelain bowls while rubbing his lower back.

"Sit down, young man. After all you've done, you should rest. I don't have anything fancy here, but I can still make you a good cup of tea!"

At this point, the old man stroked his beard and smiled, his tone full of self-satisfaction:
"Although my tea is grown on the hill behind my house, its appearance and taste are top-notch! It's a hundred times better than those old and stale coarse teas!"

Du Yuan couldn't help but chuckle to herself. Who was this old man trying to take on?
The knot in her heart loosened considerably, so she sat down. The old man then took the porcelain pot and filled Du Yuan's cup.

Du Yuan took a small sip; the tea's aroma was refreshing and invigorating, penetrating straight to his lungs, and its mellow taste was truly outstanding. He sincerely praised it:

"Your tea is really good."

He had never tasted any famous teas before, nor did he know anything about tea tasting, but at this moment he felt that even the so-called tribute tea was probably nothing special.

"Of course!" The old man laughed even more heartily. "Now, are you at peace?"

Du Yuan put down the porcelain bowl, a hint of melancholy still lingering between her brows:

"It's much better than before, but... I still have that matter on my mind."

Upon hearing this, the old man gently shook his head.
"Hasn't anyone told you this before? Once you've done what you can, you should let go when it's time to let go. You're young, how can you live your life with a frown all the time?"

As he spoke, he curled his lip and said, "Your teacher must be completely useless! He can't even teach you this simple principle; he's no match for me!"

Curiosity flickered in Du Yuan's eyes: "Were you also a teacher before?"

The old man pointed to the other side of the field:
"Look at that sword, it's my old sword. Back then, I traveled all over the country with it, and even served as an official for a few years! But later I resigned and returned to my hometown to become a schoolteacher."

He looked at the sword and suddenly smiled:

"I used to wonder who set the rule that a gentleman must carry a sword? It was really troublesome. Now I'm still thinking that this thing used to be somewhat useful, but now it's just an eyesore as it stays with me guarding this mulberry field."

"This heavy axe is no good; it's too much trouble to even chop firewood. How can it compare to a wood-chopping knife that costs a few coins? As for self-defense, a wood-chopping knife is sufficient. Besides—" The old man exaggeratedly pointed to the mulberry trees around him, then to himself, "Who would come to this remote and impoverished place? To steal a few of my mulberries, or to rob this poor, pedantic scholar?"

Du Yuan followed his finger and saw a long sword stuck diagonally in the ridge of the field, with several pieces of clothing draped over its blade, seemingly trying to serve as a scarecrow.

He said softly, "It's good to keep it. The world is not at peace these days, who can say for sure whether there will be a time when we need to use a sword in the future?"

"Indeed, who can say for sure?" The old man nodded, his gaze shifting from the sword on the ridge to the old sword bar at Du Yuan's waist.

"A sword is both a ritual object and a matter of principle. Take this one at your waist, for example. It looks like it's been covered in dust for many years, yet it remains strong and resilient, which means it's made of top-quality iron. Once the rust is removed, it will be more than enough for any time to come!"

The sword hummed and trembled slightly for a moment.

Du Yuan lowered her head, and the old man smiled and said again:
"Young man, you seem to be an educated person, but have you ever thought about what the purpose of studying is?"

At that moment, Du Yuan instinctively wanted to say the words she had spoken to the children by the dried-up stream.

But just as he was about to speak, he heard the old man add:
"And what is the purpose of us scholars wielding swords?"

In an instant, Du Yuan's answer became those four famous sentences!
Seeing this, the old man's eyes burned with determination:
"Young man, judging from your expression, it seems you've come up with a very good answer? Come, tell me."

"Although I'm old, my knowledge is still there. Perhaps I can tell you something?"

Du Yuan instinctively wanted to answer with those four earth-shattering sentences.

But then, the words caught in his throat, and he shook his head and laughed:
"There is an answer I would like to tell you, but it is not my own answer. It is the answer that the ancients gained from their life of ups and downs and their experience of vicissitudes."

The old man then filled Du Yuan's bowl with hot tea and said:

"To dwell on this is the most unreasonable thing to do. What Confucianism is about is passing on the torch from generation to generation and educating people."

"Does this mean that the wisdom of the sages can only be used by themselves? Wouldn't that force others to become bandits? This is putting the cart before the horse and is unacceptable!"

"If you can think of it, then it means that this is also your answer. In that case, what is the difference between the answer given by the sages and your answer?"

Du Yuan was stunned again. At this moment, the mountains and rivers were silent, but his heart was surging like the sea, turbulent and unstoppable.

The old man picked up his teacup and asked again:
"So, young man, what is your answer?"

Du Yuan looked down at the ground, then looked up at the sky.

Finally, looking back at humanity:
"Establish a heart for heaven and earth, establish a destiny for the living and the people, carry forward the unique teachings of the past saints, and create peace for all generations!"

With a sharp crack, the old man's teacup was crushed by his grip, but he was completely unaware of it.

The two stared at each other for a long time before the old man finally put down the broken teacup. A myriad of emotions and thoughts coalesced into a single sentence:
"Good young man!"

"What a fine young man!"

The tone of his voice was trembling slightly.

Du Yuan also stood up at this moment, cupped her hands and said:

"Thank you for your guidance today, sir. I understand now! I'll take my leave now!"

The old man sat on a stool and looked at Du Yuan, saying:
"Have you found your way back?"

Du Yuan said:
"Yes!"

The old man nodded and said:

"Then go ahead! This is all the help I can give you!"

Upon hearing this, Du Yuan bowed again and then stepped back.

Once the word "go" is uttered, there is nowhere one cannot go, yet nowhere one can actually go.

Looking at the mulberry fields that have become empty again.

The old man kept reciting these four ancient and timeless maxims.

Reading is about establishing a moral compass for the world, securing a livelihood for the people, and continuing the legacy of the sages.

To wield a sword is to bring peace to the world!

After a long while, the old man picked up a mulberry that Du Yuan had picked and put it in his mouth, closing his eyes to savor the taste.

When he opened his eyes, the old man said from the bottom of his heart:
"Sweet, so sweet! At least we had a good harvest!"

(End of this chapter)