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

Page 40

This is not surprising. If someone stayed in the Huashan Sect and dared to say they wanted to be a wicked person, they would never have been brought up the mountain. Just like the Sun Moon Sect wouldn't accept followers who wanted to be good people.

Jiang Ning nodded slightly and then asked another question.

"Does anyone know the Three Character Classic?"

Most of the junior students in the audience looked bewildered.

"I know I know!"

One of the younger students, who was seven or eight years old, excitedly raised his hand.

“I heard the son of the wealthy Li family in our town mention it when I was herding cattle.”

Jiang Ning looked at him and asked, "What is the first line of the Three Character Classic?"

The junior student's face was full of confidence: "At birth, human nature is good!"

"it is good."

Jiang Ning nodded and looked at his other junior brothers.

"Now I ask you again, what is goodness?"

The younger students in the audience looked completely bewildered.

Seeing the blank look on their faces, Jiang Ning asked another question.

"Or rather, what is a good person?"

This question became much simpler, and they all spoke up.

"A good person is one who helps others."

"Punishing evil and promoting good makes one a good person."

"A good person is one who doesn't hurt others."

“My dad said that a moral person is a good person.”

Jiang Ning nodded, looked at them, and asked, "So, do you think people are born good or bad?"

This question stumped them, and they all lowered their heads, deep in thought.

"Senior brother, I don't know."

A junior brother looked up at Jiang Ning blankly and said.

Jiang Ning chuckled.

"I do not know either."

His fellow students stared at him in astonishment.

Jiang Ning ignored them and continued, "If human nature is inherently good, then why are there evil people? If human nature is inherently evil, then why are there good people? Are good and evil innate qualities, or are they formed by the environment?"

What are the standards and boundaries between good and evil? Since there are good people in the world, what is the definition of a good person? What is the definition of an evil person?

Jiang Ning's series of questions left his fellow students completely bewildered.

Jiang Ning knew these questions were incomprehensible to them, but he wasn't asking them at that moment.

Outside of the classroom.

Yue Buqun, Ning Zhongze, and a group of Huashan disciples fell into deep thought after Jiang Ning's question.

"Master."

Linghu Chong looked at Yue Buqun standing outside and gave an awkward smile.

Because today was the day Jiang Ning was giving a lecture to his junior brothers, Yue Buqun intended for him to attend as well, so Linghu Chong was released early from prison.

Yue Buqun glanced at him, said nothing, but gestured with his eyes for him to stay there and not leave.

Inside the classroom.

"in my opinion."

Jiang Ning spoke at this moment, attracting attention both inside and outside the classroom.

"Simply good and evil cannot distinguish between good and bad people; there are no purely good people, nor are there purely bad people."

What determines the distinction between good and evil in the world?

"Morality."

"Then what is morality?"

Jiang Ning didn't wait for their answer, and since they couldn't answer either, Jiang Ning gave the answer himself.

"Tao and De: Tao is a choice, while De is a quality. You choose to be a good person because you want to be a moral person."

The junior students in the audience listened in a daze.

Jiang Ning looked at them and asked again, "But did morality exist from the beginning, or was it created by humankind?"

At this moment, the expressions on the faces of these junior disciples were as if they were listening to gibberish, and they looked completely bewildered in the face of Jiang Ning's questions.

But Jiang Ning simply looked at them, waiting for an answer from them.

Under Jiang Ning's gaze, one of the disciples spoke up timidly: "Senior brother, I think morality should be something we create ourselves."

Jiang Ning didn't react to the answer; he neither said it was right nor wrong, but instead asked an unrelated question.

"In your opinion, what is the difference between humans and birds, chickens, ducks, fish, sheep, tigers, and other wild animals?"

Jiang Ning's question was much simpler than the previous ones, and the junior students all began to speak up.

"I know!"

One of the junior students raised his hand and said, "My father used to be a hunter. He told me that the difference between us and beasts is that we have wisdom, while beasts do not. My father is wise, so he often hunts many foxes and wild boars from the mountains."

Jiang Ning nodded and said, "What you said is right, but also wrong."

"You think humans have morality, but do you think animals have morality?"

The junior students all shook their heads.

"No."

Jiang Ning looked at them and said, "This is the difference between humans and beasts."

"The biggest difference between humans and animals lies not in intelligence, but in behavior and morality."

"Morality is a choice; some people choose it, while others abandon it."

"It's good that you want to be good people and chivalrous people. I hope you can keep it up and not change no matter what happens."

Jiang Ning looked at them and said, "You are still very young and don't understand what I'm saying now. That's okay. What I want you to know is that you will meet many people and experience many things in the future. At each stage you go through, you will have different choices. You will gain a lot while making choices, and you will also lose a lot. But no matter what, there are two things you must not forget: one is your ideals, and the other is your bottom line."

"This world is not satisfying; it is filled with too much evil. So I hope that you will not let the evil in this world blind your hearts. Strive to move forward, do not associate with those people, and do not listen to them. Do what you think is right. Give off whatever warmth and light you can, even if you are just like a firefly, you can still emit a little light in the darkness."

"I need not wait for the sun; if there is no sun after this, I will be the only light in the darkness."

At this point, Jiang Ning paused slightly, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Linghu Chong's figure outside.

"When you travel the world, your words and actions represent the Huashan Sect. You must remember that you are disciples of the Huashan Sect, disciples of the righteous path. I hope that no matter where you go today, no matter what happens, you will always remember your stance—uprightness."

"We are forever at odds with evil. When we encounter evil spirits and heretics, we need not say more or hesitate, but only kill them."

"There is only one right path in this world."

Jiang Ning's words resonated throughout the classroom and beyond.

"During this process, we will encounter many people and many things. Some will thank us, some will misunderstand us, some will question us, and some will hate us. What I want to tell you is that when facing these doubts and hatred, do not hesitate or be confused. As long as you are not ashamed before heaven and earth, and you are true to your conscience, true to others, and true to yourself, then do it."

"My heart and my actions are as clear as a mirror; everything I do is righteous."

The younger students in the classroom all looked up at Jiang Ning.

They didn't understand what Jiang Ning was saying, but for some reason, something was stirring in their hearts.

Finally, I'd like to leave you with a message.

Jiang Ning looked at his junior brothers and said, word by word.

"Life's journey is long; stay true to yourself and act with integrity."

Chapter 67: Wang Yuan

"My lesson is over."

Upon hearing this, the junior disciples seemed to wake from a dream and stood up to bow to Jiang Ning.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior brother."

To be honest, they didn't understand much of Jiang Ning's lecture, but for some reason, they remembered Jiang Ning's words very well.

Jiang Ning nodded slightly and watched them leave. Only after all his junior brothers had left did he walk out of the classroom.

By this time, a large crowd had already gathered outside.

"Master, Master Wife."

Jiang Ning nodded slightly to Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze.

Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze smiled and nodded.

"Junior brother, what you said is so true. I think you could be a teacher."

Linghu Chong, who had just been released from prison, winked at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning chuckled upon hearing this.

Teaching cannot save the people.

"Junior brother, you've been gone for a year. While you were gone, there wasn't even anyone to spar with. Alas, life is truly lonely as snow. Now that you're back, I finally have an opponent again. Come, come, let's have a match."

Linghu Chong said to Jiang Ning with a hint of excitement.

"no need."

Before Jiang Ning could speak, Yue Buqun spoke up.

Seeing Linghu Chong's puzzled look, Yue Buqun said, "Ning'er is already a first-class master. You are no match for him."

"what?"

Linghu Chong's eyes widened in shock.

The other Huashan disciples were also astonished.

They never expected that Jiang Ning would become a top-notch master after only a year of traveling.

“I always tell you to practice more, but you never listen to me.”

Yue Buqun couldn't help but shake his head and said, "Your mind is not settled. I punished you several times by making you face the wall on the Cliff of Contemplation in order to temper your mind. But during the time Ning'er was not at Mount Hua, you became lax. Ning'er is younger than you, but she has already surpassed you in martial arts."

Linghu Chong remained silent.

He admitted that Jiang Ning had put too much pressure on him while he was on the mountain, making it impossible for him to stop for even a moment. It wasn't until Jiang Ning came down the mountain that his tense mind finally relaxed.

He originally thought that Jiang Ning wouldn't have much time to practice his skills during this training trip, so it wouldn't be a problem for him to slack off a bit. However, to his surprise, Jiang Ning's martial arts skills not only didn't stagnate during this trip down the mountain, but instead improved by leaps and bounds, exceeding his expectations.

Watching Jiang Ning's figure, Linghu Chong gritted his teeth and secretly resolved to catch up with Jiang Ning as soon as possible.

Seeing his appearance, Yue Buqun couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He stopped looking at him and turned to speak to his disciples.

"It's still early. Those of you who should practice your swordsmanship should practice, and those of you who need to do your work should go about your business."

"Yes."

Upon hearing Yue Buqun's words, all the disciples nodded and left. Linghu Chong also left, as he was going back to the Cliff of Contemplation to cultivate his skills in seclusion.

Only Jiang Ning, Yue Buqun, and Ning Zhongze remained in the arena.

Yue Buqun instructed Jiang Ning: "I have passed on the Huashan Sword Technique to you these past few days. You must concentrate on practicing and consolidating your skills this month, and do not slack off."

"But you must know that swordsmanship is static, but people are dynamic. When you practice swordsmanship, you must keep this in mind and not memorize it by rote or rigidly. Otherwise, even the most exquisite swordsmanship will be broken. Only people wield swords, not swords wield people."

"Those who are rigid in their sword techniques and do not know how to adapt will not go very far on the path of martial arts."

In the past, Yue Buqun was always very strict when teaching his disciples swordsmanship, requiring them to practice exactly the same techniques without any deviation. However, he said these words now, which shows how much those broken moves in the stone cave had changed his mind.

Perhaps it was this change that led to a qualitative leap in his swordsmanship.