With virtue

Zhao Yunshu racked his brains, turning every book he had ever read in his life into a mental whirlwind, until the veins on his forehead bulged with anxiety.

Unfortunately, he wasn't a book lover in his previous life. In this life, he followed the old Taoist priest and learned to draw talismans, chant incantations, and exorcise ghosts and demons. He was already lucky if he could remember three or five sentences from the Analects. Now that the matter was at hand, he racked his brains, but apart from the two sentences he had just heard, he couldn't think of a third one.

He thought of the proverb "to learn and practice what one has learned," but it didn't work.

Thinking of "I examine myself three times a day" doesn't work. Thinking of "Among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me" doesn't work either, even before I say it out loud.

But as he pondered, the snake did not stop.

The male viper grew increasingly agitated, spewing out a plume of black smoke. Wherever the smoke passed, the vegetation withered instantly. Zhao Yun hurriedly jumped back, the black smoke scorching the hem of his clothes, burning several holes in it.

Chen Wanchuan hurriedly tried to attract the giant snake's attention. The male snake lashed out with its tail, nearly smashing him and the rock next to him to pieces. The old peddler tumbled behind another tree in a sorry state, with pieces of rock pelting him all over.

The two dodged left and right, and the male serpent seemed to be getting a little impatient. It slowly coiled its body up, clearly gathering its strength.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Yunshu quickly retreated while thinking.

But the momentum didn't build up for long. The male viper suddenly jerked backward, its comb trembling violently in the wind, and let out a long, mournful cry, like the wailing of a hundred ghosts.

The male viper's cry is like that of a baby wailing; those who hear it become disoriented, unable to distinguish east from west, and simply await their death.

The sobbing and wailing sounded so pitiful that it seemed to drill into one's ears. Zhao Yunshu felt a sudden dizziness, and his eyelids felt as heavy as lead.

He bit his tongue hard, and a mouthful of bloody smell rushed to his head. In his heart and lungs, a thunderous sound reverberated, cleansing his meridians from the inside out and forcefully dispelling the gloomy and turbid air.

When his vision cleared, he saw Chen Wanchuan standing there blankly, his eyes vacant and his pupils unfocused, completely unaware of the enormous creature in front of him that seemed ready to devour him.

"Brother Chen!" Zhao Yunshu shouted, and with a sudden push of his foot, he shot out like an arrow.

He crashed into Chen Wanchuan's chest, and the two rolled several times, barely avoiding a fatal blow. The snake's fangs grazed Zhao Yunshu's back, tearing a half-foot-long gash in his Taoist robe, leaving his back burning with pain.

Ignoring the pain, he rolled over, got up, and slapped Chen Wanchuan twice across the face, trying to wake him up.

The old peddler remained unresponsive, still dazed, muttering something incoherently.

The male serpent, having missed its first attack, slowly turned its head, its comb trembling, as if a second attack was about to strike.

No matter how much he fanned Chen Wanchuan, he couldn't wake him up; the next blow would surely kill him.

Oh shit.

Confucius was indeed a sage, but is there only one sage in the world?

If Confucius's words aren't powerful enough, then who is?

Who else is there?

Zhao Yunshu racked his brains, his mind boiling over—whose words could suppress the poison woven from the mouths of slanderers?

Just then, a thought flashed into my mind like lightning.

Time was running out for him to think any further, so Zhao Yunshu blurted out: "Those who don't steal, don't pretend, don't boast, and are honest people who dare to speak the truth, ultimately benefit the people's cause and don't lose out themselves! Those who love to tell lies harm both the people and themselves, and always end up losing out!"

Upon hearing this, the male viper shuddered violently, as if struck by an invisible thunderbolt.

The crimson rooster comb on the snake's head swelled violently, so red it was almost dripping blood. Some black smoke floated out from it, hissing in the sunlight. Each black smoke contained a twisted face, male or female, old or young, all filled with resentment and malice. As soon as they floated out, they were scorched by the sunlight and screamed in agony before disappearing without a trace.

Seeing that this approach was effective, Zhao Yunshu pressed his advantage, immediately adding, "We must speak the truth to our comrades, our soldiers, and our people; what is right is right, and what is wrong is wrong! We must be pragmatic!"

Upon hearing this, the male viper finally could not withstand it and immediately broke apart, transforming into many small snakes that scattered and fled.

With the malevolent dragon defeated and his magic power rendered ineffective, Chen Wanchuan slowly regained consciousness, covering his cheek swollen from Zhao Yunshu's slap, and looked around blankly.

The mountain path was a mess, with traces of the giant snake everywhere, and many broken stones and logs. In the distance, the small snakes that had scattered and fled had already disappeared into the grass and crevices of the rocks, and could not be seen at all.

"Master..." Chen Wanchuan struggled to sit up, wincing in pain, his eyes wide as he stared at Zhao Yunshu. "The snake... the snake is gone?"

"Hmm, that's all." Zhao Yun sighed and sat down on a tree stump, catching his breath.

"Taoist Master, what words of a sage did you utter?"

Zhao Yunshu reached out and pulled him up from the ground, then bent down to pick up the chipped woodcutter's knife and stuffed it back into his hand, saying, "It's nothing. It's about another sage. You probably haven't heard of him. Besides, I only know these two sentences."

Chen Wanchuan opened his mouth, full of questions, but the matter was urgent, and he knew that some questions would be pointless to ask, so it was better not to ask.

He moved his shoulder to make sure the bones weren't broken, then continued, "Okay, I won't ask anymore. What's the next step?"

"Let's go, up the mountain." Zhao Yunshu looked up at the end of the mountain path: "The three children are still in the monk's hands. We have to hurry, the sooner the better."

Upon hearing Zhao Yunshu's words, Chen Wanchuan glanced at his injury and remained silent.

Zhao Yunshu looked at him and then understood why.

He said, "Well... I can go up by myself. Brother Chen, you go down first. If I can come down, I'll introduce you to Ding kiln and buy some porcelain cheaply so you can make a lot of money in Wu County! If you can't wait for me, then you'd better go far away on your own."

Chen Wanchuan nodded apologetically: "Daoist Master, I'm just a peddler. Risking my life a few times is already a huge amount. I really don't want to..."

"It's alright. I'm the one who dragged you into this. Leave the rest to me." Zhao Yunshu nodded, patted his shoulder, and then turned and went up the mountain by himself.

Chen Wanchuan stood there watching Zhao Yunshu's figure gradually disappear into the pine forest. He raised his hand as if to call out something, but ultimately didn't utter a sound. He looked down at his still-bleeding wound, then at the chipped machete in his hand, and simply bowed to her retreating figure, managing to squeeze out two words: "Take care."

Then he turned around and walked down the mountain.

Zhao Yunshu did not turn back. He continued up the winding mountain path alone. Chen Wanchuan had already done more than enough by accompanying him this far.

What happened next was entirely his own business—he was the one who brought those three children into the kiln, and Wang Haiting even called him "uncle," so no matter what, he had to go up there.

He gripped the hilt of the iron sword hidden in his sleeve and quickened his pace.

Before long, the mountain gate came into view.