With virtue

Zhao Yunshu cupped his hands and said, "Chief Sun, you flatter me. Master Zhou is an old friend of my master, and I will do my best for both reason and duty. However, this matter cannot be rushed. We need to find out the source of this resentment first before we can prescribe the right remedy."

Sun, the head of the group, chuckled and said, "Yes, that's how it should be, but I see the Taoist priest is already exhausted, and these little ones have dark circles under their eyes too. They must not have slept last night, right?"

"Rest first, your health is more important."

Zhao Yunshu looked back at Chen Wanchuan and then nodded in agreement.

The children were taken away, and Zhao Yunshu and Chen Wanchuan also went to rest.

Having not slept a wink last night, Zhao Yunshu was indeed exhausted. Upon entering the room, she promptly lay down and fell into a deep sleep.

I didn't sleep a wink last night, and today was another busy day, so of course I'm tired.

However, it should be fine tomorrow.

He entrusted the three children to Dingyao Kiln, and then earned some travel expenses by treating illnesses, bought some materials, and redraw some protective talismans. All that his master left him was a Great General Arrives Talisman, and he didn't have any extra money to draw a new one.

Then they could start afresh. Zhao Yunshu was actually a little curious about her master's origins and why the ghost general and the beauty had come over.

Once we have the money, let's find out the reason.

----------

After a while, Sun invited Master Zhou to his room.

As soon as Master Zhou arrived, Sun Shouxin ushered him into the house and closed the door behind him.

The room was small and simply furnished with just tables and chairs. However, there were a few pieces of white porcelain on the table by the wall. The glaze was warm and lustrous, with a soft ivory white color. It was obvious at a glance that they were fine pieces from the kiln.

As soon as Zhou Cheng'an sat down, Sun Shouxin spoke up: "Old Zhou, you heard what that young Taoist priest said just now, what about resentment turning into snakes? I think it's just nonsense!"

"Everyone who works at the kiln coughs a couple of times. You and I have spent most of our lives in this kiln and have seen countless master craftsmen. Who doesn't cough like that at this age? He always says it's not an illness, but resentment, which is just alarmist talk."

Zhou Chengan opened his mouth, as if to say something.

Sun Shouxin didn't give him a chance to interrupt, continuing, "In my opinion, this Taoist priest is just spouting nonsense to find an excuse. Think about it, he brought three children and a peddler all the way to Quyang, entered the kiln, first said you were seriously ill, then said he could cure you—isn't that the old tricks of the martial arts world? If he cures you, it's his credit; if he doesn't, it's your fate. Anyway, he doesn't lose anything, and in the end, we owe him a favor. Then he'll ask those children to stay as apprentices—can we say no?"

"It shouldn't be that bad, right?" Zhou Cheng'an said somewhat uneasily. "Master Li is a good man. Back when there was a monster at the kiln, people came to help, and he didn't even accept money. His disciple wouldn't..."

“It’s not Master Li who came,” Sun Shouxin interrupted him. “Master Li is Master Li, and his disciple is his disciple. How old is that little Taoist? He looks about seventeen or eighteen. What skills could he possibly have? Master Yuanmeng has already examined your illness and prescribed medicine. Haven’t you improved a lot these days? Who is Master Yuanmeng? Can this little Taoist compare to him? How could his prescription be wrong? What he said is completely different from what Master Yuanmeng said. Comparing the two, I believe Master Yuanmeng.”

Zhou Cheng'an was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "So, what do you mean?"

"Just send them away like the refugees," Sun Shouxin continued. "Those kids can stay, though. They can stay as apprentices. I think the two younger ones are a bit thin, but they seem to be able to endure hardship. If they stay and work at the kiln for a few years, they can at least make a living. There's just one condition—don't train them like you train your apprentices."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Chengan frowned, looked up at Sun Shouxin, but ultimately said nothing.

He understood what Sun Shouxin meant.

In this world, in most places, becoming an apprentice means the master beats the apprentice to death, forcing the apprentice to learn by brute force.

Can't learn it? Hit it.

Learning slowly? Hit me.

Even after you've learned something, I'll deliberately nitpick and find fault with you, just to temper your temperament and make you obedient and dare not have any disloyal thoughts.

Anyway, if they're beaten to death, they deserve it; nobody cares.

If an apprentice is lucky enough to be forced to unleash his potential and master the craft, he will be rewarded by the patriarch. If he fails to withstand the pressure and is beaten to death, he will be thrown away with a tattered mat.

Such is the way of things in the world, and the kiln is no exception.

But Zhou Cheng'an was different. He never used harsh methods when teaching his apprentices. He taught them patiently and explained things carefully. He would not scold or beat his apprentices if they made mistakes, but would just ask them to redo them. Sun Shouxin had told him this several times, saying that he spoiled his apprentices too much and that he would not be able to train good teachers. He just smiled and did not take it seriously.

But this was ultimately his own decision, and he couldn't expect other masters to do the same—whoever mentors their apprentice is responsible for their own fate.

"Chief Sun, I still think..."

"I don't blame you for being soft-hearted, but the world has changed. Being soft-hearted makes you vulnerable. If you want to live a better life in this world, you need to be outwardly kind but inwardly tough. Focus on getting better and take care of your health. Just see what kind of tricks this Taoist priest is up to and then get rid of him," said Chief Sun, making his decision.

Sun Shouxin was the leader, while Zhou Chengan was just a master. Since the leader had said so, he couldn't say anything more and had no choice but to take his leave.

----------

As the moon rose high in the sky, the kiln gradually quieted down.

The clamor of refugees, the clanging of craftsmen, and the clatter of kilns during the day all faded into silence with the night. Only the red glow emanating from the kilns still burning in the distance flickered in the darkness.

Chen Wanchuan's snoring could be faintly heard from the next room, sometimes long, sometimes short, but quite even. The three children were settled in another room. Zhao Yunshu had checked on them before bedtime and there were no problems.

Occasionally, kiln workers patrolling at night would walk past the window with lanterns, their footsteps echoing long on the stone path, gradually fading into the distance, leaving only the chirping of insects.

Zhao Yunshu woke up after sleeping for more than three hours, having had a good rest.

It was almost midnight, and he had already had enough sleep, so he simply turned over and got up.

He still has things to do today, so he might as well do them now.

If you ask what it is... then it's naturally about spiritual practice.

His skills didn't fall from the sky; he worked hard every day for over ten years following the old Taoist priest to acquire them.

However, what he wants to cultivate now is not his original way of doing things.

He sat up, took out the yellow book from his pocket, and turned to the page about the ghost general by the moonlight streaming in from the window.

On the paper, the appearance of the Soul-Stealing Demon General was clearer than last night—a blue face with fangs, eyes as dark red as quenched blood, bloodstains on his armor as real as if they were real, and the human skulls on the skull belt at his waist each had a different face.

The ghost-headed knife lay across his lap, its blade adorned with a hundred ghostly patterns that seemed to flow with life. Even though it was just a portrait, it exuded a suffocating aura of malevolence.

He had never seen such a refined and exquisite visualization diagram before, and it was even the first time it had appeared in the yellow book.

The old Taoist priest spent his life performing rituals to deliver the dead, rarely engaging in killing. Moreover, he would simply run away when he encountered powerful ghosts or monsters. The yellow book had never contained any illustrations of this caliber before, but now that such a page had suddenly appeared, it made him somewhat itchy to put his skills to use.