The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

The villagers looked at him with fear, and the old man asked in astonishment, "Who...who are you people?"

Linghu Chong chuckled and said, "Old man, I've already said that we are all good people."

Chapter 487: The Time for Cultivating the Mind (Bonus Chapter 2/2 for Lin Feng, who likes Lung-Gold Grass)

nice guy?

The old man was so scared he almost cried.

Who is this kind-hearted person who is so ruthless? Who is this kind-hearted person who kills without blinking an eye?

The old man's heart was pounding.

"Junior brother, that person is terrified."

Linghu Chong walked over and said this.

"They were scared to death before anything even happened. How can they be bandits with that kind of courage?"

Linghu Chong smacked his lips.

Jiang Ning was also somewhat helpless.

He figured that since these bandits had come to this village to plunder, they must have a hideout. He planned to keep one alive to ask them where their hideout was, but he didn't expect that the man was so cowardly that he actually died of fright.

"Oh no, oh no!"

Some villagers who had recovered felt as if the sky had fallen when they saw this scene and began to wail.

Lin Pingzhi was puzzled: "They were all bandits, and now that they're all dead, how can there still be trouble?"

Lin Pingzhi had just killed many bandits, leaving a sense of fear in the villagers' hearts. Now, hearing him speak, some villagers shrank back in fear and said, "Grandpa, you don't know, these bandits have a hideout. Now that these people are dead, if they don't go back before dawn, there will definitely be more bandits coming to our village tomorrow. When they get angry, our whole village might be slaughtered."

A middle-aged village woman sat down on the ground and wailed loudly.

"It's over, we're all finished."

Her cries also alarmed the other villagers, and a chorus of wails ensued.

A villager cried out, "You...you three aren't from our village. You killed someone and ran away, thinking you could get away with it, but we'll be the ones who suffer the consequences."

The others also looked at the old man and his son: "Old Li, these three people were brought here by your family. Now they've caused so much trouble for our village. You're going to kill us!"

Lin Pingzhi never expected that after he killed these bandits, these villagers would not only not thank him, but would instead blame him. These words made Lin Pingzhi's chest heave violently and his face turn red.

Jiang Ning's expression remained calm.

Linghu Chong frowned and asked, "What do you mean by 'killed by us'?"

A villager said with a sob in his voice, "Although these bandits come to rob our grain, they won't take it all. They'll leave us a way to survive. We can grit our teeth and tighten our belts to live. If you kill these bandits, you can leave, but we can't. Then they'll take their anger out on our village. How can we not be killed?"

"Who said we were running away!"

Lin Pingzhi roared, silencing the hundreds of villagers who were groaning.

“Listen up.”

Lin Pingzhi looked at the villagers with a somewhat angry expression.

"We won't run away. We'll sit here until dawn and wait for those bandits to come. I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens; it has nothing to do with you!"

Hearing him say this, the hundreds of villagers fell silent, but their expressions were half-believing and half-doubting.

"That sounds nice, but when you're scared and sneak away in the middle of the night, who will stop you?"

Someone said in a low voice.

Linghu Chong had good hearing and overheard these whispers. His temper flared up, and he stepped forward, his face darkening.

"Don't forget."

Linghu Chong's voice drew the attention of hundreds of villagers.

“We killed these bandits. If we can kill them, why can’t we kill you? We told you we won’t run away. We’ll wait here for these bandits to come. If you dare to utter another word, be careful, or I’ll kill you all when I get angry.”

Linghu Chong's words were effective; the villagers shut up and dared not complain anymore. They had no choice but to turn back, though the sound of lamentation still lingered.

Even the old man and his family who had previously received Jiang Ning and his two companions didn't dare say anything. They glanced at them, sighed silently, and turned to leave.

"Senior brother, they..."

Lin Pingzhi sat down next to Jiang Ning.

You'll get used to it.

Jiangning, on the other hand, remained calm.

Lin Pingzhi thought bitterly, "But I feel wronged!"

Jiang Ning sat cross-legged with his eyes closed on a stone in front of the village entrance.

"Human hearts are unpredictable. Even if you do a good deed, not everyone will thank you. You will see many things in life as you travel around, and you will encounter even more in the future."

This is nothing, Jiang Ning is used to it; he has encountered much worse situations.

"But I don't understand. I was clearly trying to help them, so why..."

Lin Pingzhi couldn't help but show a hint of grievance, and at the same time, he felt a sense of confusion.

Linghu Chong was alright; he didn't care much about these things, and he was too lazy to bother with the villagers' misunderstandings about them.

However, Lin Pingzhi felt a bit mentally broken at this moment.

"In our journey through life, we will encounter many people and many things. Among them, there will be people who question us, hate us, and misunderstand us, just like these villagers. These are all things we must go through."

Jiang Ning's voice was calm, yet it rang out clearly in the quiet night.

"But what I want to tell you is that when faced with these doubts, misunderstandings and hatred, do not hesitate or be confused. As long as you are not ashamed before heaven and man, then do it."

"My heart and my actions are as clear as a mirror."

Jiang Ning's words were soft, but firm.

He has remained steadfast on this path until his death.

How can one achieve true enlightenment without experiencing the world?

"Senior brother, I understand."

Lin Pingzhi lowered his head and said.

At this moment, much of the grievance and resentment in his heart dissipated.

Linghu Chong stroked his chin and pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized.

“Junior Brother Jiang Ning, I remember you said something similar before.”

Linghu Chong recalled that Jiang Ning had mentioned this when he was lecturing his fellow disciples a few years ago, and that he, Yue Buqun, and other Huashan disciples were listening outside at the time.

Jiang Ning nodded. He had indeed said those things before, but at that time Lin Pingzhi had not yet joined the Huashan Sect.

Jiang Ning looked at Lin Pingzhi and said, "There's something I'd like to say to you."

Lin Pingzhi quickly straightened his expression: "Please speak, senior brother."

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "When you reach a difficult point, it is the time to cultivate your mind."

Sometimes, it is precisely at times like these that we are closest to the Tao.

"Junior brother, please remember this."

Lin Pingzhi nodded.

After Jiang Ning said that, his resentment dissipated considerably.

After a while, Linghu Chong suddenly snorted.

Lin Pingzhi was puzzled and wanted to ask what was wrong, but then he noticed something and his expression became indignant again.

In several dark corners of the village, a few villagers were secretly watching them.

This was clearly out of concern that they might go back on their word and run away, so they had several villagers keep an eye on them.

Lin Pingzhi snorted heavily and sat down, looking sullen.

After an unknown amount of time, some footsteps were heard again in the village.

Lin Pingzhi turned his head and was suddenly stunned.

A dozen or so villagers came out of the village, each carrying something in their hands, including the old man and his family who had previously received the three of them.

"Three young masters."

The old man walked over. "Although I don't know who you are, I know you must be good people. We are not heartless people. We know you killed these bandits for our sake."

Then other villagers spoke up.

"Everyone was too scared just now, so we didn't know what to say or do much. We heard from Old Li that the three heroes hadn't finished their meal, so we prepared some food for them. It's just simple food, so please don't find it offensive."

The dozen or so villagers were all carrying food, including a lot of chicken, duck, fish and meat, which were obviously specially slaughtered and prepared for them.

Lin Pingzhi was stunned as he looked at them.

Chapter 488: The Brothers Kill Bandits

Lin Pingzhi was initially angry at the villagers for their ingratitude, but after seeing these dozen or so villagers, he didn't know how to express his feelings.

"Oh? Looks good."

Linghu Chong looked at the food and then asked, "Is there any wine?"

"liquor?"

The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Yes, but it's not very good. Please don't take offense, sir."

Upon hearing that there was wine, Linghu Chong, without caring whether it was good or bad, happily said, "Bring it here."

"Please wait a moment, sir."