The Sage Who Transcended Samsara

“He said I wouldn’t be able to find out confidential information because my family has alienated me. Puzzled, I went back to investigate and realized he was telling the truth.” Tian Kuo found the Old Taoist formidable as his predictions had proven accurate.

Zhao Heng found the issue to be too much of a coincidence but dared not meet the Old Taoist in his cell while they were being hunted down. “There are truly many formidable people out in the world. What else did he say?” he asked.

Those who augured well would reveal profound predictions through casual remarks.

Tian Kuo thought hard before shaking his head. “Nothing special. However, he often cries and laments that many have lost their way in the techniques.”

“Lost in their techniques?” Zhao Heng asked, frowning.

Tian Kuo nodded. “He must be referring to the many cultivation methods, skillful tactics, Heavenly Knowing Techniques, and spells present today that were abused by those without benevolent hearts that love with impartiality, making them lose their way. This crazy Taoist does seem to care a lot for society!”

“Not everything is related to love with impartiality…” Zhao Heng disagreed with the second half of Tian Kuo’s explanation. He thought the old Taoist’s statement referred to the fact that those who cultivated their techniques were limiting themselves to their cultivation methods. These days, many did not think about the reasons behind cultivation and the relationship their method had with Heaven and Earth, making themselves lost.

“If Saints emerged from School of Mo of Chen state and Legalism of Wu state, they would each explain their own methods while competing amongst themselves. That would be brilliant like how masters of medieval times discussed their methods together…” Zhao Heng became excited as he followed his train of thought.

However, as he was not particularly interested in this, he instantly shifted his attention. “Many followers of the School of Mo have been arrested and imprisoned. Please take care of them.”

From this mission, they realized that the Apotheosized World was connected to their own in many ways. They could not leave without settling everything.

“I’ll definitely take this to heart since I am a follower myself.” Tian Kuo replied solemnly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Heng asked curiously yet cautiously, “Minister, you should be regarding us as your sworn enemies because your brother died in our hands. Why do you still follow the School of Mo?”

This question seemed to stun Tian Kuo and he sighed before answering, “While I don’t hate my brother, I was not close to him either. Our relationship doesn’t matter though. Mr. Su often says we shouldn’t judge a man by his actions or character in the past. Whether one’s action is reasonable and correct shouldn’t be decided by other unrelated matters. If a man had done harm in the past, he may not necessarily be evil now. If a man had a terrible reputation in the past, one couldn’t determine his actions to be wrong without investigating either.

“The murder of my brother had nothing to do with the teachings of Love with Impartiality and Non-Aggression. I can decipher right from wrong myself.”

“Furthermore, my brother was the one who attempted an assassination. He was the one without reason. If a victim of his rape or burglary killed him, I shouldn’t be blaming the victim, should I?”

“You’re so reasonable and mature at such a young age.” Zhao Heng exclaimed as he was touched by the speech.

Tian Kuo was so much younger than him.

Tian Kuo then smiled sheepishly and said, “It’s all Mr. Su’s teachings. They’re easy to understand and useful as well. As Mr. Su said, they formed my three fundamental principles.”

Speaking of which, he went into a trance.

“I’ve seen many shocking things in my time as Yang City Minister. The aristocrats insult, humiliate, and look down on the peasants. They go against the benevolent nature of men. I had also often heard about the elimination of small countries and the murder of their leaders. All these confused me even further. I couldn’t understand why the world was like this and how I could change it. It wasn’t until I heard Mr. Su’s teachings that I was enlightened.

“They’ve lost their hearts that love with impartiality and go against the ways of the world. They’re selfish and care not about mutual benefits… The world should be based on meritocracy and not on status, place of birth, and blood lineage…”

He grew more excited as he spoke, finally concluding with, “Mr. Su has a clear view of the world today and understands the ways of heaven. He’s so knowledgeable that profound meaning would be hidden in any of his casual remarks. In the future, everyone in the world will respect the School of Mo and Mr. Su will definitely become a saint that future generations look up to.

“Mr. Zhao, I’ve always wanted to ask exactly what Mr. Su meant by the three principles.”

His eyes swept over Zhao Heng as he spoke, vaguely noticing the gloomy expression on the latter’s face.

Zhao Heng smiled. “They refer to the opinion on value and worth, the opinion of oneself and one’s future, and the opinion on the situation of the world.”

“I see…” Tian Kuo nodded thoughtfully and quickly settled his emotions. He then seriously said, “My father has discovered my involvement in the previous affair. You may have to leave after the search nearby is over. I’ll take you to a place that has already been searched.”

“Alright.” Zhao Heng replied without hesitation.

…

The Shangying market area was lined with many streets and houses.

Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu hid in the house of a follower of the School of Mo, waiting for him to come back with news.

After a while, a white-haired elder returned. He was a normal peasant who had benefited from the changes in Shangying, and thus placed heavy trust in the School of Mo. He was a benevolent man too, and he agreed with the teachings of Love with Impartiality, hence passing the test. He entered the school with the support of Meng Qi and Ruan Yushu. As he was new and did not know any of the other followers, the chances of them being discovered here were lower. That was why Ruan Yushu suggested that they hide here.

The elder told them about the military blockade on the streets and the search of every house. In the end, he said with determination, “Ladies, there’s a cellar in my house that could hide you well. I’ll make them leave with some bluffing.”

While he was ignorant of the big principles, he knew the school had improved the standard of living for many of his friends. He would repay his debts no matter what.

“Don’t worry, we have our ways.” Jiang Zhiwei was calm. When the elder left the house again, she said to Ruan Yushu, “Their search is too meticulous. We’ll be discovered no matter what.”

“We can return to our original world after two days,” Ruan Yushu said coldly. “Shangying is big and they lack manpower. They wouldn’t be able to finish searching in these few days.”

Jiang Zhiwei nodded in approval. “Based on what we’ve seen today, they’ll only be able to find us in one or two days even if everything goes well for them. There are many outlaws and criminals here and conflicts will naturally arise, confusing them and making it easier for us to move.”

This area was crowded with many hidden bandits and outlaws, making it their top choice for a hiding place.

“But…” Jiang Zhiwei’s tone changed. “We shouldn’t be sitting around doing nothing, placing our bets on the actions of our enemies. If we fail, this follower will die too.”

This statement was a reflection of her character. Regardless of whether the enemy could find them tomorrow, any change in their plan could be frightful as it was not yet time for them to return. They had to do something for their safety.

Ruan Yushu nodded while holding her zither. “Since there are still many streets left unsearched, could we transfer slowly to places that have already been searched?”

“There will be Exterior experts in midair watching for us. If we try to bypass the blockade, we’d be easily exposed.” Jiang Zhiwei frowned at the difficulty.

She wouldn’t bet on Meng Qi and the others either.

The two girls pondered over the matter but could not think of a solution. All of their ideas were deemed unfeasible by each other.

While wracking their brain, they heard chaotic noises from the distance.

Before long, the elder returned and told them that an infamous thief had been discovered during the search. They were now trying to catch him using a formation. There seemed to be aid from the Exterior experts as well.

“There are many here who are afraid of the search…”

“They’d be imprisoned if discovered…”

“They wouldn’t have the manpower for interrogations since they’d be focusing on the followers of the School of Mo…”

Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu discussed the issue telepathically. Suddenly, their eyes lit up as an idea came to them.

Fifteen minutes later, they appeared among the merchants disguised as two ordinary men with hidden breaths. They inched toward the area of the search.

The formation was working. They need not be afraid as long as they did not meet any strong Exterior masters.

The Exterior experts were still hovering in midair, continuing the search. Every now and then, chaos would ensue as fugitives were caught. However, these fugitives had too little power or were too small in number. Thus, the girls left them alone.

At noon, as the army was searching an inn, a loud sound was heard as a building collapsed.

Someone guilty had attacked at last!

The general threw out a formation map that grew large with the wind. Soldiers walked to different parts of the formation and appeared vigilant of the threat.

The power of the formation was shown, expanding in all directions and huge shockwaves were seen moving toward the man who had charged.

“It is Jiang Xing, the one who plundered Yang City in the past!” Someone in the crowd recognized the man. It was an infamous bandit who had raided towns and villages in small nations near Chu and Tang. He had a reputation of malice and had many subordinates working under him.

His followers dispersed and ran toward the crowd, trying to escape as the formation entrapped Jiang Xing.

However, the vigilant soldiers came to them in groups of two or three to seize them.

Meanwhile, Exterior masters focused on the blockade, preventing anyone from escaping the chaos into the searched areas. If that happened, they would have to restart their search.

Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu glanced at each other before striking at a guard together with a passing bandit. They were pretending to be a member of the gang!

They controlled their power to that of six to seven opened Apertures and were caught after a few moves. Both of their hands were secured.

The commotion soon subsided and an Exterior master gave a command.

“Send them to the prison for interrogation.”

Jiang Zhiwei and Ruan Yushu did not look up. Despite staggering ahead, they were feeling delighted. “Didn’t you want to catch us? We shall go to prison ourselves!”

“But only as petty criminals!”

Their prison would differ greatly from the prison of Exterior experts. So would their guards. They could easily return, or even escape to help Meng Qi.

…

In the underground river at Shangying, a fish by the name of Meng Qi swam toward the light with a calm, patient heart.

He had no worries about Jiang Zhiwei and the rest, trusting them to resolve any issues with their strength and intellect.

The Exterior masters returned to their homes at night, some passing through the formations with tokens. Others had to get those who were inside to open the formation as all their efforts were spent on chasing and capturing the followers of the School of Mo. One example would be the grandmaster from Golden Light Cave!

The grandmaster had neither the token nor the time to ask for one as he was rushing to catch Meng Qi.

Even if the formation was not open, Meng Qi went past the defense with another fish in front as a token disrupted the formation.

The underground water remained cold as Meng Qi swam past the thin light shield. Nothing seemed unusual.

Jumping out of the water, Meng Qi turned into a mole and dug a hole up to the ground surface.

He regained his human form in the dazzling night sky after a while. A light wind blew on his face. He stared at the distant Shangying and seemed to see the red-faced grandmaster of Golden Light Cave.

He took a deep breath and walked forward with his long saber.

“It’s time to kill!”

“It’s time to kill at the land of the Gongyang Family!”