From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Jiang Liu, without any airs of a chairman, chatted with them about everything under the sun.

Then a middle-aged man wearing a Zhongshan suit, with a crew cut and a mustache on his upper lip, came up and asked Jiang Liu, "Excuse me, are you a saint?"

Chapter 1297 An Accidental Encounter with Xun Ge'er (Part 1)

"I dare not accept the title of saint, Brother Xun."

The visitor was none other than himself.

It was that "Brother Xun".

Xun Ge'er was shocked when his identity was revealed in a single sentence.

His appearance is not particularly outstanding in today's literary world, and he doesn't go out often. His novels are famous, but many people wouldn't recognize him even if they actually met him.

Just recently, he was dismissed from his post and even wanted by the Guo faction for supporting progressive students' righteous activities.

At the time, he sent those who came to arrest him back with the words, "You want to arrest Lu Xun, what does it have to do with me, Zhou Shuren?"

Then--

He packed his bags overnight and moved his whole family. He heard that the Yuhang area of ​​Jiangsu and Zhejiang, under the leadership of the Confucian Association, was a "Shangri-La" in this chaotic world. He also recalled the magnificent scene of flowers falling and golden lotuses springing from the ground some time ago, which benefited almost the entire country and made everyone feel much better than before.

But Xun Ge'er actually quite hated this "saint".

This is because countless people have begun to pray to gods and Buddhas again.

Therefore.

After moving to Yuhang, Xun Ge'er wrote furiously, criticizing Jiang Liu both openly and covertly. He also changed his pen name to "Xun Ge'er" and sent the articles directly to the Mingfei Newspaper.

Honestly.

At that time, Xun Ge'er was prepared for the consequences of having his manuscript rejected by Mingfei Newspaper, or even being permanently barred from publishing any articles under the pen name "Xun Ge'er".

Unexpectedly, his manuscript was picked up by the owner of Mingfei Newspaper and even published in the newspaper's fiction column.

His first suspicion was that Lu Mingfei was uncultured and couldn't see that he was subtly mocking Jiang Liu, so he went to find Lu Mingfei himself after receiving the payment.

To his surprise, Lu Mingfei was eloquent, had studied abroad, and knew a great deal about the situation in China, far more insightful than the "Tiger Chief" who opposed the new culture, new literature, and vernacular language.

Afterwards, Lu Mingfei suggested that he travel more in Yuhang and the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang area.

And he did just that, discovering that most of the local people also believed that Jiang Liu was a deity descended from heaven, but they did not blindly follow him like the people in other provinces.

This was because the Confucian Association dispelled the mystique surrounding Qi cultivation and practice, established academies, hospitals, and businesses, and even collaborated with Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries, gradually encouraging Taoist priests and monks to descend the mountains and engage in business, rather than simply collecting incense money from the mountains…

Refining Qi.

In Yuhang, over 99% of the people know a thing or two about it, and with the spread of the Foundation Building Method, nearly 70% of them have developed a sense of Qi.

Although they couldn't use magic, this little bit of Qi made them stronger and more energetic, enabling them to earn more money and live a better life.

More importantly, he witnessed the spiritual abundance of the people of Yuhang.

The Confucian Association not only learns advanced Western ideas and technologies, but also retains its original essence. Furthermore, it is restoring the origins of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, presenting a thriving and prosperous scene.

therefore.

Xun Ge'er wanted to visit Jiang Liu, but perhaps due to bad luck, he had not met him until today at West Lake. Moreover, Jiang Liu recognized him immediately, which made Xun Ge'er feel somewhat flattered.

"Does the president know me?"

"Who doesn't know Xun Ge's name? I have read all of your short stories, such as 'Diary of a Madman,' 'Kong Yiji,' 'My Old Home,' and 'New Year's Sacrifice.'"

Jiang Liu shook hands with Xun Ge'er and praised him, "Fighting with the pen as a weapon, that is your way."

"You flatter me!"

Xun-ge'er dared not presume to comment, but a slight smile played on his lips as he chatted amiably with Jiang Liu. He paid no heed to Mai-duo's occasional interjections, simply asking, "Is this your younger sister?"

"No."

Maido shook her head. "I am his daughter."

"Goddaughter?"

Xun Ge'er's smile faded slightly.

"My own daughter."

Maido giggled.

"???"

Xun looked at Jiang Liu, then at Mai Duo, and asked curiously, "President Jiang, are you much older than you look?"

"Sir, you've misunderstood."

Seeing Mai Duo secretly laughing, Jiang Liu had no choice but to reveal that he had used lotus root as flesh, stem as bone, lotus flower as brain, and lotus leaf as leaf, and recited the mantra of resurrection to tell Mai Duo about her resurrection.

This left Xun Ge'er speechless, yet still skeptical: "Can a person be brought back to life?"

“I cannot save people from dying of old age or from illness, because their vital energy dissipates and they should be allowed to die naturally. However, if someone dies unjustly, it is only slightly difficult to preserve their soul and innate vital energy and reshape their physical body.”

Jiang Liu smiled slightly, “The lotus that reshapes Mai Duo’s physical body is not an ordinary water lotus, but a direct descendant of the lotus in the hand of He Xiangu, one of the Eight Immortals.”

I heard that you also studied medicine, and although you later gave up medicine to pursue literature, you still knew about the concept of genetic factors.

If a Qi cultivator constantly stays with a living plant, nurturing and connecting it with their own Qi, they can cause the plant's genes to evolve in a directed manner, even giving rise to supernatural phenomena.

Since arriving in Yuhang, Xun Ge'er has learned about the way of Qi cultivation. He often strolls around the cultural street and has seen some Qi cultivators who can manipulate and transform objects to make a living. He also knows that the special abilities of the Shennong Hall of the Confucian Society's Department of Agriculture can be used to cultivate grains and fruits and vegetables.

Therefore, she believed most of Jiang Liu's explanation, but asked, "So this Miss Mai Duo is 'Nezha' reincarnated?"

“Nezha? I don’t deserve that name, and I have a very good relationship with my biological father.”

Maido waved her hands repeatedly.

Even though her life story is indeed quite similar to that of the legendary Nezha—she died once, was reborn from a lotus, and wiped out ninety-six mutated and king-level Devouring Beasts on the Australasian continent—she still doesn't want to be teased as Nezha…except for Jiang Liu, who is, after all, her second biological father.

"Ha ha!"

Xun Ge'er laughed, though he still had doubts about Mai Duo's "lotus transformation," but seeing how lively she was, completely different from those girls who flaunted their figures to please others, he believed that Jiang Liu definitely did not want to keep a "little lover."

So he began to discuss with Jiang Liu the way to save the country—

The Chinese characters were changed.

Although the vernacular movement had achieved considerable success, Xun believed that only by completely erasing Chinese characters and replacing them with a simpler and more convenient script, such as Latin, could China be truly saved.

"Is Brother Xun familiar with the five thousand years of Chinese history?"

Jiang Liu did not immediately express his opinion on this matter, but instead asked Xun Ge'er this question.

Xun raised an eyebrow and pondered, "I am a writer, but when it comes to how much I know about history... I am really not as knowledgeable as those old scholars."

But I have also read some history books, such as the Records of the Grand Historian. At first glance, I thought it was a record of stories of kings, nobles and generals, but something felt off. I didn't sleep for almost three days and three nights until dawn on the fourth day, when I looked at the book again and suddenly realized what was wrong.

It was simply because there was a lot written on it, but in reality, it only contained two words—

"Eating people."

"Xun-ge'er is a man of great passion and passion, a truly remarkable person."

Jiang Liu smiled slightly, "I'm just curious, did you really not sleep for three days and three nights back then?"

"???"

Xun Ge'er was speechless.

Did you miss the point?

Chapter 1298 An Accidental Encounter with Xun Ge'er (Part 2)

"Ha ha!"

Seeing Xun Ge'er's bewildered expression, Jiang Liu laughed and immediately apologized, "Sir, please don't be angry. I wasn't joking with you. I just wanted to lighten the mood since you look so serious."

Furthermore,

I am but a young man with a cheerful disposition; I think you can understand that, sir?

Xun Ge'er: "..."

If it were any other literary figures, they might have stormed off, then furiously put pen to paper, criticizing Jiang Liu as an ignorant upstart!

He could also tell that Jiang Liu was doing it on purpose, and in a way that made no attempt to hide it.

"Hey, Xun-ge, why do you advocate replacing all Chinese characters?"

Jiang Liu brought up the serious matter.

"The main reason why people are not enlightened is that schools are not widespread and that people's speech and written language are separated, so most people do not have easy time reading and writing."

Xun Ge'er explained his thoughts, "Therefore, change is necessary."

"Throughout history, spoken and written language have always been separate, haven't they?"

Jiang Liu asked again.

"That's true."

It's confirmed by Xun Ge'er.

"So, in ancient dynasties, whether it was the dialogue between the emperor and his ministers or the communication among the people, it was not written in classical Chinese, but rather in a style similar to modern vernacular Chinese, right?"

Jiang Liu continued to ask.

"nature."

Although Xun Ge'er wasn't a history major, he understood that if dialogues between rulers and ministers, and exchanges among the people, were as brief as classical Chinese writing—

What's the point of saying anything then?

While people in ancient times might have had accents, they generally used vernacular Chinese, as evidenced by texts such as Journey to the West, Water Margin, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

Do you know why spoken and written language were separated in ancient times?

Jiang Liu asked another question.

Instantly.

Xun Ge'er paused for a moment, thought for a while, and said, "It's because the emperor and his ministers don't want the people to become wise, so they want to act as herdsmen."