Chapter 392 Meeting the Giant
In the early morning, the star in the sky looked lonely.
Several families in Xin'an Lane had already started working. An old man muttered, "Why didn't I hear the man from the Bo Mansion yelling?"
The son said, "Dad, didn't he leave with a monk?"
"Yes, I have become a monk." The old man said, "I am not used to hearing this voice in the morning."
"Master, wake up!"
The old man was startled, "Who is shouting?"
It’s Sun Chonglou.
He sneaked into the uncle's house in the middle of the night and climbed over the wall in a dignified manner. The night patrol guard discovered him, stared at him with wide eyes, and asked him if he was a ghost. Sun Chonglou slapped him on the back and he almost died.
Sun Chonglou sat at the kitchen door and waited until the time came, then he shouted at the top of his voice.
Today he called out once more, and said comfortably, "I was wondering why I didn't feel comfortable after waking up. It turns out it's not this... what the young master said about the sore throat."
The cook, who could have still slept for a quarter of an hour, heard the shouting and, ignoring his wife's grumbling, quickly dressed and ran to the kitchen.
"Shitou." The cook looked at Sun Chonglou carefully and was relieved to see that he was fully dressed. He walked into the kitchen and asked, "What do you want to eat?"
"Glutinous rice and chicken, lamb pies, fried dumplings with chicken sauce..."
"Right away."
Soon, busy sounds were heard from the kitchen, and the kitchen helper also came and also looked at Sun Chonglou first.
"Master." Sun Chonglou smiled at Fu Cheng who appeared out of nowhere.
Fu Cheng glanced at him and asked, "Are you hungry?"
"Ok!"
Fu Cheng took out a piece of dried meat and handed it to him, "Eat it!"
"Stone!"
The guards got up.
The servants also got up.
So when Jiang Qingzhi put on his clothes and went to the front yard, he saw Sun Chonglou surrounded by people, chewing dried meat in his mouth, and seemed to be choking.
"As vicious and cruel as a starving ghost." Dou Jialan handed over a glass of water with disgust.
“You don’t know…” Sun Chonglou took a sip of water and patted his chest, “He asked me to go with him to beg for alms, and I only got half a steamed bun. The more I ate, the hungrier I became…”
The cook came out and gave him a pancake, "Eat a bite first to fill your stomach."
Sun Chonglou took the pancake, ate a few bites, and patted his belly, "I'm still hungry... Master."
Jiang Qingzhi was standing at the side, frowning at the guy, "Are you not practicing martial arts anymore? Hard work makes perfect, playfulness makes waste. You should keep your fists in your hands and your songs on your lips!"
"Oh!"
Everyone then realized that they hadn't practiced today.
On the training ground, Xu Wei's sword skills were disorganized and no one dared to approach him within three meters.
Hu Zongxian's Tai Chi was performed crookedly and he couldn't even stand steadily.
Dou Jialan's sword skills were sometimes fast and sometimes slow.
Xia Yan was taking a walk and stopped after walking a few steps.
Jiang Qingzhi's peerless swordsmanship was also somewhat absent-minded.
Sun Chonglou suddenly stopped and said, "I know you all want to ask me, so go ahead!"
Swish!
Everyone stopped.
"Who is that monk to you?"
"Why is he taking you to that temple?"
"Why are you back?"
"Stop." Xia Yan stopped everyone, "Let them come one by one."
Sun Chonglou held the heavy sword like a lamp wick, "That monk is my father's junior fellow apprentice. He plans to take me back, saying that after a few years of training, he will let me take over the Dazong Temple."
"Then why did you come back?" Dou Jialan asked.
Sun Chonglou chuckled, "I followed him out of the capital and headed west. When I was hungry, I went to beg for food, but even the leftover soup and vegetables were not enough to fill me up. My stomach kept growling with hunger."
Everyone looked at his huge body that looked like a bear, and thought about the small bowl that Cheng Xing used to beg for alms, and couldn't help laughing.
"That night he and I slept in a dilapidated temple. I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night, as if I hadn't done anything. Then I thought, the young master would stay in bed without me calling him..."
"Nonsense!" Jiang Qingzhi said righteously, "I never stay in bed."
"You would stay in bed late when you were in Suzhou." Sun Chonglou said, "You told me to yell every morning until I woke up."
"That was just to coax you." Jiang Qingzhi laughed.
Sun Chonglou said: "I just wanted to sneak out quietly, but after taking two steps, I heard someone sighing behind me, which scared me to death."
In a dilapidated temple, a sigh suddenly came from behind me in the middle of the night. If it were someone else, it would probably have been a loud sigh that jumped three feet high.
"It turned out to be Cheng Xing. He said... I can tell from the look on your face that you have unfinished business in the secular world. If you can't, you will be distracted even if you return to Dazong Temple."
Sun Chonglou raised his eyebrows and said, "I think so! Then what should we do? Cheng Xing said that if Chang Wei Bo was just an ordinary noble relative, it would be fine, but this man has killed many people. The current situation of the Ming Dynasty... I'm afraid that there will be no need to fight wars everywhere in the future. He is a killing god, and you are a diamond..."
Sun Chonglou coughed dryly, "I felt uncomfortable after hearing King Kong, so I said, 'Young Master said I was an Asura.' Cheng Xing's eyes widened and he said, 'Asura?' I said, 'Yes!' He suddenly sighed and said, 'This is all fate. Your fate has not yet ended... This is also God's will.'"
"Get to the point." Someone urged, and everyone turned around and glared at him. "Cheng Xing asked me if I was willing to leave. I said..." Sun Chonglou raised his voice, "I can't bear to leave. Cheng Xing suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You followed me out of the capital today, and you looked back 139 times and muttered "Young Master" 203 times. Foolish boy, idiot boy, since you are reluctant to leave, then go back!"
Sun Chonglou said excitedly, "I was ready to run when I heard that, but Cheng Xing stopped me and asked me to tell the young master. Young master, Cheng Xing said it would be a five-year period, and after five years he would come to the capital again and take me back to Dazong Temple."
"I know." Jiang Qingzhi looked impatient, "Practice martial arts!"
"Let's practice." Xu Wei drew out his long sword, "Old Hu, practice a few moves with me?"
Hu Zongxian struck a pose of holding the bird's tail, "How about pushing hands?"
"Come on! It's so soft and uncomfortable."
"Try it if you dare."
"Just try it."
Xu Wei and Hu Zongxian played push hands. Dou Jialan's swordsmanship seemed to have returned to normal, and even sharper. Xia Yan walked more slowly, becoming more calm and relaxed.
"Young Master." Sun Chonglou walked over with a long sword.
Jiang Qingzhi looked disgusted and said, "I knew you would come back."
"Cheng Xing said it's a five-year period. After five years... am I really going to that Dazong Temple?" Sun Chonglou muttered, "Being a monk is very hard! I don't have enough to eat and I don't have warm clothes. But Cheng Xing said that it was my father's legacy. What legacy? What legacy do monks need?"
"He lied to you." Jiang Qingzhi couldn't help laughing when he thought about how Cheng Xing had made up a lie against his will to coax Sun Chonglou to go to Dazong Temple.
"What if he comes five years later?" Sun Chonglou asked.
"Five years later!" Jiang Qingzhi held the long sword and rubbed his smooth chin, "Five years later, maybe Yaer City will no longer exist."
"Why is it gone?"
“Of course it was taken.”
“Who received it?”
"Da Ming!"
"Oh! So... I don't have to go anymore?"
"Ok!"
The whole family was very happy during breakfast. Jiang Qingzhi was eating with Li Tian in the back. Li Tian chattered non-stop for the first time, saying that there would be no laughter if Sun Chonglou was not at home. Later, she also told Huang Yaner that if any outsiders came to see Sun Chonglou in the future, she should say that he was not at home.
When the two brothers of Prince Yu and Changle came to the Bo's Mansion, they were also very happy to see Sun Chonglou. Changle said that the Taoist had said a few words yesterday...
"Father said that if such a fool goes to the Western Regions, he might be sold. Qingzhi is also stupid. He is just a monk, and they just send him away with a pretext..."
Sun Chonglou just knew how to laugh.
Jiang Qingzhi and Xia Yan came out.
"No classes today." Jiang Qingzhi said, "Everyone come and help."
"Second uncle." Zhu Shitai came, and Jiang Qingzhi sighed, "Is your father really not afraid that the Duke's Mansion will be destroyed?"
……
"The two princes have gone, and Zhu Shitai has also gone."
Yang Qing and Han Yu were having breakfast. After hearing the news, Yang Qing was a little puzzled. "Zhu Xizhong is a very good person. He will never offend anyone unless he has to. Not to mention that this matter concerns the reputation of our Confucianism. He knows that we will not sit idly by. Why did he still dare to let Zhu Shitai get involved in this matter?"
"I am also a little puzzled. In the past, Zhu Xizhong had always been very respectful to the great Confucian scholars, but now he has offended my Confucianism to death..."
……
"My father said that if we are really destroyed, my whole family will come to my second uncle's house to eat and drink."
Zhu Shitai was a little excited, having an epic sense of being involved in a major event.
"Go!" Jiang Qingzhi pointed at Prince Yu and his two companions. Today they would act as introducers.
Zhou Xia is here. He took a special leave today to come and help.
"Teacher, I asked a few scholars yesterday. When Mohism was mentioned, most of them avoided it. A few scholars asked about some situations, especially about the arrangements after graduation..."
Zhou Xia glanced at Jiang Qingzhi.
"The world is bustling with people, all for profit. It's not surprising." Jiang Qingzhi said: "Before we have a deeper understanding, what is the reason for us to attract those scholars to study here at the risk of offending Confucianism? It's profit."
Confucianism has a problem, which is the so-called shame in talking about profit.
"People have to talk about interests when they live. For example, why did the Mohist School rise? It is to make Mohism a prominent school of thought in the world. This is interest. For example, why does the Mohist School recruit disciples today? It is to expand the Mohist School in the future... This is also an interest."
Jiang Qingzhi saw Prince Yu and others coming around and took it as a lesson, "Don't be ashamed to talk about profit, but be brave to talk about profit. Analyze everything from the perspective of profit, and you will see through many illusions... and won't be fooled by others."
When he said this, he glanced at Prince Yu more.
"What my cousin said is to see the essence through the phenomenon." Prince Jing's comprehension and IQ are indeed higher than Prince Yu's.
Jiang Qingzhi nodded, "It's the same with how we conduct ourselves in society, and it's the same with the Mohist doctrine. Everything in the world has its own thread of operation, and if we find this thread, we can discover the root of everything."
"Uncle, what is the root of all things?" someone asked.
Jiang Qingzhi said: "All things are not what we see with our naked eyes. If we can use something to magnify our vision, we can discover a more subtle side... and this side is the composition and operation of all things, and it is the principle of this world... This is the Tao!"
The breathing behind him was a little rapid, and Jiang Qingzhi wondered who this person was! He was so excited.
He turned around slowly, and there were more than a dozen scholars standing behind him.
The morning sun shines down, and more than a dozen scholars pay their respects.
"Meet the giant!"
(End of this chapter)
