Under One Person: Did Zuo Ruotong and I switch bodies?

As the youngest and least experienced disciple present, Shuiyun was immediately terrified: "Hey, what right do I have to speak here..."

"It's alright, this is a good opportunity for me to see your judgment," Ming Chen said with a smile.

Since her master had said so, Shuiyun thought for a moment and said seriously, "The Lu family's children have good physiques, but they're not like Liu Deshui, who was born with a natural talent for external martial arts..."

"What's rare is knowing how to conduct oneself properly. One doesn't cheat, but also knows how to cherish oneself. One can do things calmly and peacefully, which is very rare at this age. In short, it's about being 'steady'."

Mingchen nodded gently.

"Indeed, he was born into a family of renowned Qi practitioners. Even if he wasn't taught anything, the family tradition alone gave him a much higher starting point in this field than most people. Liu Deshui and Li Muxuan couldn't compare to him in this respect."

"By the way, speaking of Li Muxuan, what do you guys think?"

Everyone naturally knew about the incident where he reprimanded Li Muxuan half a month ago.

Having witnessed it firsthand, Shuiyun immediately spoke up: "Just as you pointed out before, Master, this kid has performed quite well and is smart, but he's not very honest. Well... this problem is both minor and major."

"After all, you have always taught that the key to cultivation is 'sincerity'. At least from the current point of view, this kid's cleverness is not being used for the right thing. He is always playing tricks and seems too 'cunning'."

Upon hearing this, Mingchen slightly raised his eyes, recalling the original lines of the Left Sect Leader, which now perfectly matched: "Humans are the thieves of all things. Aren't the things you and I doing 'thieves'?"

"Shuiyun, you've been trying to pass the first level for years now, and success or failure hangs by a thread. Your master can teach you how to break through this barrier, but can your master do it for you?"

"Well……"

Shuiyun was speechless for a moment, not knowing what she had said wrong.

Ming Chen continued, "Being able to find one's own way is the greatest talent for Ni Sheng. It would be excessive to expect this of these children now, but this Li Muxuan... is a pleasant surprise."

Si Chong immediately agreed: "Indeed, although this child has the courage to trespass into the mountain gate, he is confident in his sense of propriety once he gets up the mountain."

Chongshan: "Yes, he was polite and neither servile nor arrogant."

"To be honest, she's bold, but not annoying." Chengzhen nodded in agreement.

Mingchen added, "Moreover, he knows which places he can venture into and which he cannot. In addition, he is afraid of affecting the test results of the other two, so he only takes the risk of his choice. Compared with going up the mountain on his own, this attitude is even more commendable."

"So, Senior Brother, you're planning to take Li Muxuan under your wing?"

Faced with Si Chong's question, he gently shook his head: "But just as Shui Yun said, this kid is 'dishonest.' With his talent, if he were to enter the cultivation path like this, it might cause a great disaster in the future. So I gave him half a month..."

"After these past two weeks, I should have the answers to the questions I asked him before."

At this moment...

  

Knock knock knock!

A knock sounded at the door, and a figure pushed it open and entered, bowing respectfully: "Master, I'm back."

Upon seeing this, everyone recognized Changqing, who had been sent to investigate the three individuals some time ago. Si Chong immediately understood: "Changqing is back today? No wonder you were talking to us about this today."

Changqing immediately reported, "Master, I've found out everything about the three little ones after I went out for a while. I'll tell you about the other two later. I wanted to ask, is Li Muxuan still in the lower courtyard?"

Ming Chen raised an eyebrow: "You're still here. What's wrong?"

"Oh! I thought he'd already been kicked out. How come he's still here? You'd better keep an eye on him!"

"When I arrived in their hometown, I didn't ask around much. I just asked around on the street and everyone knew about this kid. He was the leader of a group of naughty children in the area. Digging holes, setting traps, breaking windows and removing tiles were commonplace for him. Kicking the sky and disturbing the wells and harassing the neighbors was his daily leisure activity."

"This kid is notorious in the area; everyone has given him a 'nickname'—'the devil!'"

Ming Chen chuckled upon hearing this: "Ha... So unruly, yet you claim to have impeccable character. Boss Li has lied to me."

Although he said that, his gaze was fixed on Changqing, who then scratched his head.

"Uh, not really..."

"What's wrong?"

Changqing explained, "If you're talking about character, I've made inquiries around, but I haven't heard of any truly bad deeds from this child. He's just mischievous, really mischievous, but there are also things to praise about him..."

"You know Mr. Li, he's quite a figure in the area, but I haven't heard of this kid ever bullying anyone. He doesn't care about status when it comes to neighbors; he'll join in the fun and cause trouble, but if anyone is really in need... he'll help if he can."

"If he causes any loss to anyone, he will compensate double because of his family wealth. Moreover, this kid was arrogant at first but humble at second, and he was quite sincere when he apologized."

"Some people have also told me that since this kid left home... the streets aren't as lively as they used to be."

Hearing this, everyone understood that although the child was known as a "bad boy," he was ultimately just a mischievous child, and not even considered spoiled...

Its nature is good.

Ming Chen narrowed his eyes, having already seen through everything: "Sure enough, it's consistent with his behavior here. This isn't some sincere apology or repentance at all..."

"He just knows what other people want."

……

……

At the same time.

In the lower courtyard.

Having just finished breakfast and preparing to rest for a while before getting back to work, Li Muxuan sat on the stone steps watching Liu Deshui and Lu Jin chopping wood with a thoughtful expression.

For the past two weeks, he had been thinking about the problem with Master Zuo, reflecting on his behavior over those three days, and wondering if there was anything wrong with his conversation with Master Zuo.

Final determination:

There's absolutely nothing wrong with it!

But he was a smart man and firmly believed that there must have been a reason for the slap from the left gatekeeper. He would not give up and after thinking it over, he came to a conclusion: there was nothing wrong with it, or it was the biggest problem!

This reminded him of the first question Master Zuo had asked him—what is the most important thing in the path of cultivation? He had also asked this question to other accomplished people who had associated with his father, and their answers were all similar…

Is it "sincerity"?

If this is what Master Zuo meant, then his behavior during this period was truly "terrible." No matter how he tried to deceive himself, he always knew in his heart that he did want to play the role of a "disciple favored by the Sanyi Sect."

"But what's wrong with that?"

Thinking of this, a surge of irritation welled up inside him, causing him to frown. Just then, a crisp slapping sound seemed to ring out again, and he instinctively covered his face.

Why did I hit you?

The words of the Left Gatekeeper echoed in his mind.

Why?

For Li Muxuan, this was an unprecedented experience. No matter how naughty he was from childhood to adulthood, his parents could not bear to hit him, and with the backing of his family's power, the neighbors did not dare to do so.

But even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run. Those mischievous "little brothers" who followed him around all day got beaten up a lot when they got home, and he even asked them what it felt like...

"What can I feel? It just hurts!"

And whenever this is mentioned.

They all looked fearful.