Chapter 185 The best is like water
At noon, a carriage stopped in front of Zhou's mansion.

Elder Shan, who was wearing a robe with dark cloud patterns and had a white beard and eyebrows, got out of the carriage. He first glanced at the door plaque of General Huwei's Mansion. This title was bestowed by Taizu himself. Even after three hundred years, it was still dazzling, which made him, a third-rank practitioner, have to pay a visit.

However, a third-rank cultivator is still a third-rank cultivator after all. Even if he enters the palace to meet the emperor, he will be treated with courtesy. The Zhou family naturally cannot neglect him and let others look down on him.

Gongshu Sheng came back from Huwei Bingfang specially. When he saw Shanlao's carriage stopped, he walked forward and bowed, "Greetings, Shanlao."

Behind him followed Hu Wenlang, the novelist's direct descendant, who also saluted.

Even though Hu Wenlang has now joined Zhou Tieyi, he has not been expelled from the novelist's group, so he is naturally still one of the novelist's men.

When the elder Shan Lao came to visit, he had to come out to greet him.

Shan Lao had been a third-rank official for a long time. It can even be said that Gongshu Sheng grew up listening to the novel "Hanshan Collection" written by Shan Lao.

Old Shan glanced at Gongshu Sheng, who was wearing a white mask and a Luban lock hanging around his waist, and thought to himself that the Zhou Mansion was indeed full of talented people. If the heir of the Gongshu family had not been defeated by the direct descendant of the Mohist school and had not put on the mask and lost his dignity, he might have had the possibility of becoming a top third-rank official.

"Ah."

Mr. Shan nodded slightly.

Gongshu Sheng smiled naturally under his mask, "Young Master knows that Elder Shan wants to visit, and has been waiting in Yunlan Tea Garden."

Old Shan frowned slightly. Logically speaking, with his status, it was only right for a junior like Zhou Tieyi to stand at the door to greet him.

However, considering Zhou Tieyi's terrifying talent and his current antagonistic relationship with the novelist, it is natural that he does not come out to greet me.

He didn't dwell on it.

Business matters.

Following Gongshu Sheng through the pavilions and towers of the Zhou Mansion, Shan Lao came to the Yunlan Tea Garden, which was covered with white clouds. The fragrance of magnolia flowers was rich. In the snow-white clouds, a man, between a teenager and a young man, wearing a black and white Taoist robe, with a yellow-stamen and white-petaled pear blossom inserted in his hair crown, was holding a thread-bound blue-sealed Taoist scripture and reading it carefully.

After noticing someone coming, Zhou Tieyi put down the Taoist scripture, stood up and bowed, "Greetings, Taoist friend."

Shan Lao smiled.

Zhou Tieyi doesn't call himself senior, but calls himself 'fellow Taoist', which really doesn't hurt him at all.

He asked, "If we have different paths, why are we called fellow Taoists?"

He did come to "seek peace", but there are many ways to "seek peace".

Zhou Tieyi did not answer according to what Shan Lao meant, but asked, "If our paths are different, how did my fellow Taoist and I meet today?"

Shan Lao pondered for a moment, clapped his hands and exclaimed, "This is quite like Zhuangzi's 'Knowing on the Hao River'!"

Zhou Tieyi also smiled.

When Zhuangzi and Huizi were distinguishing the joy of fish, Zhuangzi was defeated by the famous scholar Huizi in terms of words, so he used a trick and switched the concepts.

I did the same, replacing the "Tao" mentioned by Shan Lao with "Lu".

The two looked at each other and smiled.

"Fellow Taoist, please sit down."

Elder Shan sat down, but instead of talking about business, he turned around and said, "I saw you were reading a book just now. What book were you reading?"

Zhou Tieyi flipped through the book he had put on the table and showed it to Shan Lao openly, "I was reading Laozi's Tao Te Ching and happened to see the passage 'The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without contending.'"

Old Shan stroked his beard and thought, The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without contention.

Zhou Tieyi compared himself to water, and today he was wearing a Taoist robe when they met. It seemed that he did not really want to go to war with the novelist.

It’s just that this sentence is followed by another sentence, so no one can argue with it.

If these novelists and Zhou Tieyi went to war, Zhou Tieyi would not be afraid at all.

Shan Lao thought for a moment and asked, "If the highest good is like water, why does it capsize a boat?"

You, Zhou Tieyi, compare yourself to water as the highest virtue, so why do you come to capsize the boat of my novelist?
Zhou Tieyi leaned back slightly, his posture relaxed. "Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. It's not the water, but the person who steers the boat. If the person who steers the boat can detect the changes in weather and water, and take the right path instead of seeking a dead end, why would he worry about the boat capsizing?"

You novelists are blocking the way of His Majesty, so why blame me for the sharpness of my knife?
Shan Lao asked again, "Since the boat has capsized, what's the use of knowing the changes in the weather?"

The "loyalty" faction of my novelists has become a mortal enemy of you. I am now ready to make peace with this matter. How are you going to settle the matter with the "loyalty" faction?
Zhou Tieyi replied, "A thousand ships pass by the side of the sunken boat, and a thousand trees bloom in front of the dead tree."

Old things will inevitably be replaced by new things. You novelists have so many schools of thought. Even if you lose the "loyalty" school, the remaining factions will all be competing with each other. Why do you only focus on one "sinking ship"?

Shan Lao pondered for a long time, sighed, and said, "This sentence will be passed down through the ages."

Zhou Tieyi calls himself the peerless poet, and with one line of poetry he overwhelmed the entire Imperial Academy's literary atmosphere. Now it seems that his reputation is truly worthy of its name. No wonder there is a saying that goes "A scholar who has not been seen for three days will be looked at with new eyes by the old commander."

When Shan Lao said the four words "leave a good reputation for eternity", Zhou Tieyi understood that today's matter had basically been settled, and the only thing left was how much profit to give to the novelist.

He looked at Hu Wenlang who was standing next to him. Hu Wenlang took out the "Novel" edition of the "Tianjing Daily" and handed it to Shan Lao.

Shan Lao took the newspaper.

Although the whole Tianjing now knows that Zhou Tieyi is going to publish a newspaper, only a few people know how to do this newspaper.

When he saw the novelist's page, Shan Lao couldn't believe it at first, but then he felt relieved. He glanced at Hu Wenlang and sighed.

"No wonder Hu Wenlang is willing to serve you."

Mr. Shan had very complicated feelings towards Hu Wenlang, the direct descendant of the novelist.

Hu Wenlang had almost no master, and only received sporadic inheritance from the novelist who knew how many generations had passed. Otherwise, he would not have found a way to coax Zhou Tiege to go to Crescent Lake on his own, because he had no master's help.

Now that the Tianjing News is in Hu Wenlang's hands, given time, he will surely be able to use this newspaper to re-establish his own system.

Shan Lao had no doubt about this.

Because he just wanted to use his own Taoist tradition to deduce the part about the "novel page" of the "Tianjing Daily", but he got nothing.

But if Hu Wenlang's orthodoxy is established, will it be good or bad for the entire novelist community?

Zhou Tieyi continued, "Hu Wenlang is the editor-in-chief, so his 'Qi Xiaosheng' will naturally be serialized in the Tianjing Newspaper. However, I estimate that his writing speed cannot keep up with the publishing speed of the Tianjing Newspaper, so this difference needs to be made up by you, Elder Shan."

There is no such thing as daily updates for novelists in this world, let alone ten thousand pages a day, which is absolutely impossible.

Writing a serial every three days would probably cost Hu Wenlang his life!

Therefore, this novel page needs to introduce other people's novels to support it.

When Shan Lao handed in the visiting card, Zhou Tieyi had already found Hu Wenlang and asked him in detail about Shan Lao.

He was a representative of the "strange stories" school of novelists. Because he lived long enough and often helped the younger generations, he was respected by novelists and was one of the "three elders" of the Yun Palace.

Since they belong to the more neutral "strange stories" school, they are naturally the targets that Zhou Tieyi would win over. Moreover, the short stories of the strange stories school are suitable for publication in newspapers.

Like other people who had taken over the basic layout of the Tianjing Daily, Mr. Shan was reluctant to give it up for a long time.

I could only sigh in my heart, what a powerful weapon! Why hasn’t anyone thought of this weapon before?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but laugh at himself.

Someone must have thought of this weapon in the past, but no one dared to challenge the authority of Confucianism and Legalism, to do this, let alone to do it well.

Only this freak Zhou Tieyi came into the world. Not only did he dare to do this, but he also did it beautifully from the beginning.

Shan Lao shook his head and said, "I am old and can no longer write articles. I'd better leave this opportunity to the young people."

After that, he said, "I've accepted the newsstand you mentioned, but everyone needs time to adapt. After all, the growth of plants is not something that can be done in one day. Why don't we try it on the 36th floor of Tianjing first?"

The Thirty-Six Towers of Tianjing mentioned by Shan Lao is a term used among novelists, representing the thirty-six large book towers of novelists.

Zhou Tieyi knocked on the table and looked at Hu Wenlang.

Since Hu Wenlang is the editor-in-chief, I have to be willing to delegate power and let Hu Wenlang make the final decision on some matters.

Otherwise, if you take care of so many things, you will have less and less time for practice.

On the contrary, after delegating power, he only needs to catch the person and keep a backup plan. If anything happens, he can just find Hu Wenlang.

Seeing Zhou Tieyi looking at him, Hu Wenlang secretly estimated and nodded slightly.

Since Zhou Tieyi has already opened a gap within the novelist community, the more tasks left over from this matter, the more he can demonstrate his own value.

Zhou Tieyi stopped tapping the table and said to Shan Lao, "I will make Shen Tuyuan and the others stop making trouble."

After a cordial exchange, Mr. Shan had lunch and left in his carriage, feeling contented.

In the car, he repeatedly thought about his communication with Zhou Tieyi today, and finally had to admit that Zhou Tieyi's use of power could be said to be perfect. After the conversation, he even had the illusion that he was talking to Simin.

Thinking of this, Shan Lao whispered, "It is true that the highest good is like water."

······
In Xiaoshi Town, in front of the Wu Mansion, the crowd gradually dispersed under the guidance of the Wu Mansion servants.

Li Jianhu's legs had been broken, but he still didn't say a word.

The help brought by the practice of [Arhat Golden Body] these days is indeed not small, so even though his legs are broken and his blood is injured, he is still able to grit his teeth and drag his body away from the gate of Wu Mansion.

Only after he was two streets away from the Wu Mansion did others dare to come forward to help. Li Jianhu simply asked kind-hearted people to help notify the uncle with the same surname who lived in the town.

In Xiaoshi Town, the Wu family is very powerful. Now that I have offended the Wu family, whoever helps me will be a thorn in the eyes of the Wu family.

Not helping yourself is a sign of contentment, helping yourself is a favor.

Suddenly, Li Jianhu thought of what Mr. Panda said: "You choose your own path, and you must finish it even if you have to kneel down. Don't blame others."

Considering the current situation, he felt as if everything had suddenly become clear.

When this realization arose, the injuries on my body suddenly didn’t hurt so much anymore.

It's just that he was so stupid and naive that he didn't feel any pain. Instead, he looked as if he had suddenly realized something, which made people around him think that the boy might have suffered a brain injury, and they felt even more sorry for Li Jianhu.

"elder brother!"

Seeing his brother running towards him crying, Li Jianhu coughed, "Don't cry! I haven't bought you any candied haws yet!"

When Li Hongyi heard this, he felt sad and anxious, "How did you end up like this?"

Li Jianhu asked, "Where's uncle?"

Li Hongyi answered honestly, "My uncle asked me to come over, but he won't come."

Li Jianhu nodded, and did not blame this uncle with the same surname. After all, he just had the same surname as you. If it was a small matter, it would be normal for him to help you take care of the child. But now he has caused a huge trouble in Xiaoshi Town.

This uncle with the same surname and his family still live in Xiaoshi Town, so it is normal that they don’t come.

······
It was getting dark.

Mo Tianheng, who was recuperating, heard an urgent knock on the door.

He opened his eyes and coughed a few times.

Ever since his Dantian was destroyed by the genius of the He family, his martial arts have been like a leaky bucket. Not only can it not grow, but it is also regressing every moment.

Fortunately, I had an opportunity in the past to meet a wandering master of the Fahua Temple and inherited a secret technique from him.

At the beginning, he had great potential in martial arts and was one of the few young geniuses in Shantong Prefecture. Of course, he would not care about the inheritance of a secret technique, especially when this secret technique was inherited from a flying swordsman of the impoverished Gongshu family.

But his Dantian was broken and there was no hope for advancement in martial arts. This secret technique turned out to be his last hope.

"Who?"

Mo Tianheng asked as he walked towards the gate.

When he opened the door, he also heard Li Jianhu's weak voice, "Teacher, it's me."

In the dim night, Mo Tianheng took a closer look and found that it was his disciple Li Jianhu who was lying outside the door. The mourning clothes on his body were not only dirty but also torn, and he was seriously injured. It seemed that his legs were broken by someone and he could not even stand up.

His younger brother and several classmates followed him, made a simple stretcher, and carried him to their door.

"Carry him in first, I'll treat his injuries."

Li Jianhu hadn't cried all day, but when he heard the teacher's words, tears suddenly fell.

Only when you have truly experienced the fickleness of human nature, can you understand how much gratitude there is in these words that allow you to come in first.

He cried not only because of the teacher's kindness, but also because of guilt.

Because he acted according to the arrangement of Mr. Panda, he could not tell the teacher the real reason, but instead had to take advantage of the teacher's sympathy for him.

Li Jianhu, you are a piece of shit!

Li Jianhu cursed himself in his heart.

Then he suddenly felt even more wronged.

Why is it so difficult for me to get back the money for my father’s funeral?

Several classmates carried Li Jianhu into the house, and Mo Tianheng first took out the brocade box from the secret compartment of the bookshelf.

He opened the brocade box and identified the elixir sealed with gold foil inside.

This medicine is not very expensive.

It's just an eighth-grade 'Qing Mu Dan' that can protect the internal organs.

With his previous martial arts qualifications, he could get several eighth-grade pills every month, but now he uses one less.

Mo Tianheng had become a doctor through his long experience with illness. He first examined Li Jianhu, then breathed a sigh of relief and said, "You have injured your bones, damaged your vitality, and your internal organs are also a little damaged. I will connect the bones for you later and fix them with a wooden board. You take this pill first."

When Li Jianhu saw the pills sent by Mo Tianheng, he looked at them for a long time but refused to eat them.

Mo Tianheng smiled and said, "I saved these pills before, and I still have quite a few."

Li Jianhu thought about what Mr. Panda had deduced with him, and realized that if he didn't take the pill, some flaws would be revealed.

Pick up the pill and swallow it with water.

At the same time, I swore in my heart that I would repay my teacher for the elixir in the future.

Seeing Li Jianhu's appearance, Mo Tianheng suddenly realized something. Was this what his master said to him when he was injured?
It happened just a short time ago, but now when I think about it, it seems like a lifetime ago.

After that, Mo Tianheng was busy again, straightening Li Jianhu's bones and putting on a splint, and then he said, "I can only help you stabilize your injuries, but you have injured your bones, so you need to find a doctor to treat it, so as not to leave a root of the disease."

At this time, it was already late. Mo Tianheng looked at the other disciples who carried Li Jianhu in and said, "You go back first."

He roughly guessed why Li Jianhu was injured.

Family.

The memories in Mo Tianheng's mind became clearer and clearer. Those things he didn't want to remember were like a sharp sword, slashing at him again from thousands of miles away and after several years.

It turns out that there are many things that you can't escape even if you hide in this remote town.

Mo Tianheng thought.

After the other disciples left, Mo Tianheng spoke up, "Tell me in detail what happened today."

Li Jianhu recounted the process of his debt collection.

After hearing this, Mo Tianheng was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Isn't this just asking for a beating?
But then he thought, what else can a fifteen-year-old boy do except relying on his passion to seek justice for his father?

After a moment of silence, Mo Tianheng said, "It's my fault. When you asked me about this, I, as your teacher, should have told you what to do. It wouldn't have ended up like this."

If I had asked someone to take Li Jianhu to ask for the silver, Li Jianhu would have been able to get the silver back for the sake of the person I asked him to help, at least he would have been able to get his father's share back.

But now, Li Jianhu has completely angered the Wu family. There is no turning back on many things, and now they can only move forward.

Li Jianhu lowered his head, not daring to let the teacher look into his eyes.

Mo Tianheng sighed, "Let me ask you again, do you want to get your father's funeral money back?"

Li Jianhu raised his head, the candlelight reflected in his bright eyes, and said firmly, "I want to!"

"Well, I'll go with you to Shantong Mansion tomorrow to find someone who can help you get your money back."

Because of Li Jianhu's previous guidance, Mo Tianheng quickly found the key to the matter.

Confucianism!

With his current strength, he can't do anything to the Wu family which has the support of General Huwei's Mansion. Only by going to Confucianism can he suppress the reputation of General Huwei's Mansion!
Li Jianhu didn't speak less as Zhou Tieyi had instructed. Instead, he looked up and asked, "Teacher, how are you injured?"

Everyone knows that Mo Tianheng is injured.

Mo Tianheng smiled and said, "No problem."

As soon as he raised his hand, three streams of light like fireflies suddenly appeared, surrounding his body and lighting up the darkness in the room. It was so fast that Li Jianhu could not see the specific shapes of the fireflies.

"Teacher, what is this?"

"Flying Sword Technique."

(End of this chapter)