With virtue

Zhou Cheng'an was taken aback by the question. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head and said, "Me? I'm just a potter, dealing with mud all day long. Who could I possibly offend? Everyone at the kiln knows my temper. I never argue with anyone. I even scold my apprentices less than others. So, what's wrong with my illness?"

Zhao Yunshu said, "This is not an illness."

The room fell silent, and Zhou Chengan's smile slowly faded.

"Not an illness?" Zhou Cheng'an frowned. "Then what is it?"

"Resentment," Zhao Yunshu said. "The dust that has accumulated in your lungs is not enough to kill you; you should live for at least seven or eight years. But now there is a resentment lurking inside, and this resentment is gradually eroding your lung meridians. Once the resentment completely seals off your lungs, even a god will not be able to save you."

Zhou Cheng'an opened his mouth, a blank look on his face, then shook his head: "What unclean place could I go to? In my whole life, I've only ever worked at kilns, dealing with porcelain clay and glazes all day long. I rarely even go up mountains. As for what I've ever touched... well, that's even less likely. The kilns only fire white porcelain, not funerary objects. Where would any resentment come from?"

That's true. Ding kiln fired white porcelain, which was meant to bring good luck. Every step of the process was governed by rules. Even before firing the kiln, people would worship the kiln god and offer incense to pray for blessings. Everything was done in a very proper manner, so it shouldn't have been tainted by resentment.

But that black aura was clearly lingering in Zhou Cheng'an's lungs and internal organs. If it wasn't invaded by external forces, could it have grown on its own?

Zhao Yunshu pondered for a moment, then asked, "When did your symptoms begin to worsen?"

Zhou Chengan thought for a moment and said, "It was about half a month ago. At first, he just had a cough. He had been coughing for a year or two. Who doesn't cough a few times at the kiln? But in the past half month, the cough has become more and more severe. When he lies down at night, he can't breathe. It feels like there is a stone pressing on his chest. He used to be able to go to the kiln to guide his apprentices, but now he has to hold onto the wall and pant for a long time after walking just a few steps."

At this moment, Chen Wanchuan asked with doubt, "Resentment... could it be that it has offended a dead person?"

He had seen ghosts with his own eyes, so he immediately suspected the dead.

"It may not be a dead person; even living people can harbor resentment, but it's really strange that it's this intense..." Zhao Yunshu said.

His words were somewhat ambiguous, not because he was hiding anything, but because he didn't know where to begin.

He thought for a moment and said, "Resentment may seem intangible, but it is a real scourge on the world."

"When those in power indiscriminately kill the innocent, the political system is flawed. When the guilty do not submit to the law for a long time, resentment grows. When this resentment rises to the heavens, the yin and yang are out of balance, the three luminaries are dim, strange phenomena occur frequently, insects and moths devour crops, and floods and droughts occur."

The energy between heaven and earth is like a great river, which should originally be clear and flowing.

Resentment is like silt in a river; the more silt accumulates, the muddy the water becomes, eventually breeding insects and poisonous creatures.

Ordinary resentment may cause restlessness and minor illnesses, but if the resentment is strong enough, it may only attach itself to a person and cause them to suffer from illnesses, or it may even transform into a tangible thing. The book records that accumulated resentment can transform into a viper.

Chen Wanchuan was completely confused and scratched his head, saying, "Daoist Master, I don't quite understand these profound principles you're talking about. What exactly is this resentment?"

Zhao Yunshu didn't answer directly, but suddenly asked, "Brother Chen, have you ever heard the legends of jealous women turning into tigers and poisonous people turning into snakes?"

He paused for a moment, then began to recount a story from the past.

In the past, there was a wealthy man in Haozhou City who owned many servants.

Among the servants, there were those who abused their master's power and often bullied their neighbors. An old man next door had a few acres of poor land next to the rich man's house, and his crops were always being ruined by the rich man's servants on horseback.

The old man was furious and went to the servants' house, but before he could finish speaking, he was verbally abused, beaten, and kicked out.

The old man was outnumbered and outmatched, and when he returned home, he felt increasingly frustrated. He felt short of breath, unable to eat or drink, and within a few days, he was exhausted and on the verge of death.

He then summoned a carpenter to make a coffin, and specifically instructed him to drill a small hole in the bottom of the coffin. The carpenter was puzzled, as the coffin needed to fit perfectly, so why leave a hole?

The old man gritted his teeth and said, "I got this illness from being bullied by that wicked gentry. I can't get revenge while I'm alive, but I won't let him go even after I'm dead. I want to turn into a snake, crawl out of this hole, and eat his heart and liver."

The carpenters took it as just an angry remark and did as instructed. Later, when they passed by the wealthy man's residence, they talked about it and burst into laughter again.

Just then, the wealthy man overheard this at the door and quickly stopped the man to inquire.

Upon questioning, the wealthy man turned pale with fright. The next morning, he personally went to the man's house to apologize, saying that his servant had been unruly and that he had not disciplined him properly. He even gave the wicked servant a beating and fined him. Finally, the servant kowtowed and apologized, inviting the old man to stay at his home for drinks.

Once the old man's anger subsided, he felt much better and was even able to eat.

After a few cups of hot wine, he suddenly felt nauseous and vomited something—a live snake over a foot long. As soon as the snake left his body, the old man was cured.

"That snake was formed from resentment. The old man's resentment was not strong enough to actually turn into a snake and bite his enemy to death. So it was just stuck between his chest and abdomen, preventing him from eating and drinking and keeping him on the verge of death. When the enemy came to apologize and the evil servant was punished, his resentment dissipated, and the snake could not survive. If the old man died with resentment, the snake would really crawl out of his coffin."

At this point, Zhao Yunshu looked at Zhou Chengan and said, "Master Zhou, the resentment in your heart is not much different from the snake in my chest."

Upon hearing the Taoist priest's words, Master Zhou was at a loss for what to do.

He thought about it carefully. Although his life hadn't been entirely smooth sailing, he had loved working at the kiln since he was a child, and his apprentices were fairly filial. He couldn't think of any enormous resentment that could fester inside him. He raised his head and looked blankly at Zhao Yunshu: "You know me, I've always been quite magnanimous and don't hold grudges. Where did this resentment come from?"

Sun Shouxin, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up.

The old leader had been listening the whole time, his face expressionless, but his gaze remained fixed on Zhao Yunshu, scrutinizing her closely. He suddenly spoke, his voice steady and crisp: "Since the Daoist has said so, is there any solution?"

Zhao Yunshu nodded and said, "Yes, we do have some, but it will take some time and we need to prepare some materials."

Sun Shouxin grunted in agreement, his gaze passing over Zhao Yunshu and looking at Chen Wanchuan and the three children behind him.

Chen Wanchuan carried a load on his shoulder, and his three children were dressed in tattered clothes, with the youngest one still having tear stains on his face.

Sun Shouxin glanced at it only once before looking away.

He turned around and instructed the people behind him, "Go and clean up those two empty rooms on the east side. These people will be staying here tonight. Also, prepare some hot food for them. And these children's clothes are tattered. Go find some clean old clothes for them to change into. Also, prepare some hot water for them to wash their faces."

He spoke fluently and clearly, and the people below responded and went off to do their tasks.

Sun then continued, "These kids all seem to be able to endure hardship. The kiln is short-handed right now. Do you think we could let the three of them come in and work as apprentices? It's just a matter of adding a few more pairs of chopsticks. But I have to say something beforehand—the work at the kiln is extremely tough. They have to get up before dawn to tread and knead the mud. It's freezing in winter and scorching in summer. Only those who can endure it will amount to something. If there are other good options, I won't hold the kids back."