Chapter 240: Saint Disciple

The man in white suggested they kneel indefinitely, and a crowd of people promptly followed suit. They knelt right in front of the gate.

Li Banfeng wasn't afraid of villains, but he made sure to keep his distance from scoundrels, who were more detestable and harder to deal with than villains.

But the crucial question now was: Where should he go?

Going north was definitely not an option; he might end up circling back. Since he could determine true north, he could figure out the other directions. Li Banfeng chose to head east. To the east were several small hills, unlike the true north which was a vast wasteland. Li Banfeng followed the mountains, certain he wouldn't lose his way.

On his way down the mountain, Li Banfeng kept wondering what the sages on the mountain usually ate. He had been wandering there for quite a while but hadn't seen any farmlands or farmers. Halfway down the slope, Li Banfeng saw a seventy-year-old man pulling a cart full of white rice up the mountain. Two others were pushing the cart from behind: his son in his early thirties and his ten-year-old grandson.

The white rice was very heavy, and the grandfather, son, and grandson struggled to push it. Reaching the halfway point, the old man stopped the cart, and with a pot of plain water, the three of them began eating coarse grain biscuits.

Seeing that these three were honest people, Li Banfeng stepped forward to ask for directions. "Excuse me," he said, "how do I get to the nearest train station?"

The old man's son looked up and said, "A train station? That's very far from here."

The old man smiled and said, "You're a student coming to seek knowledge on the mountain, aren't you? Didn't you see the sage today either? Young man, don't be impatient. If your sincerity is enough, the sage will surely meet you."

Li Banfeng shook his head. "I'm not here to seek knowledge," he said. "I'm just passing through."

Hearing this, the old man's son looked disdainful and didn't seem inclined to pay Li Banfeng any mind. The old man seemed to sense a hidden reason and advised Li Banfeng, "Seeking knowledge is not an easy matter. The sage teaches peerless knowledge of the world; how can it be casually passed on to others? Our family has been delivering rice to the sage for sixteen years now. We originally hoped the sage would accept my son as a disciple, but now my son is too old, and the sage won't accept him. It's up to my grandson now to see if he has the fortune."

"Delivering rice?" Li Banfeng looked at the cart full of white rice, then at the coarse grain biscuits in the hands of the grandfather, son, and grandson, and asked, "How much does this rice cost per jin?"

The old man gave Li Banfeng a disapproving look. "Money? What money?" he said. "It's about sincerity. The sage's willingness to eat our family's rice is our family's great fortune."

White rice that their own family couldn't bear to eat was being given to the sage for free? Li Banfeng couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked, "What exactly is this sage's peerless knowledge?"

The old man's smile faded, and he put away his coarse grain biscuit. The old man's son also grew nervous. He looked around and said to Li Banfeng, "On the sage's mountain, one must know how to speak appropriately. You don't even understand proper etiquette, so no wonder the sage won't see you."

The old man waved his hand, gesturing for them to hurry along and stop talking to Li Banfeng. The son quickly repositioned the cart, letting the old man pull it from the front.

"You're stronger than your father," Li Banfeng said. "Why don't you pull the cart from the front instead?"

The son grunted and said, "This is called sincerity, do you understand?"

A seventy-year-old man pulling a cart to deliver rice – his sincerity was indeed extraordinary. The ten-year-old child had been eating his biscuit the entire time, without once looking up. Children at this age were typically growing and had big appetites; one coarse grain biscuit was clearly not enough for him. Li Banfeng asked the child, "Have you ever eaten white rice?"

The child glanced at Li Banfeng, then scurried off to help his father push the cart.

Li Banfeng continued down the mountain. Along the way, he encountered many people seeking knowledge, as well as those delivering grain, vegetables, and livestock. Compared to the people on the mountain, they were more talkative. When they saw Li Banfeng, they didn't just turn and leave; they at least exchanged a few words. But as soon as he asked for the train station, everyone avoided the topic. They didn't believe Li Banfeng was just passing through; they all thought he had been rejected in his quest for knowledge on the mountain and was disheartened, wishing to leave. Everyone advised Li Banfeng to stay a few more days, assuring him that if his sincerity was sufficient, he would surely move the sage.

After realizing he truly couldn't communicate with these people, Li Banfeng stopped asking for directions. He deliberately avoided anyone heading up the mountain, as he just wanted to get down as quickly as possible. Every person on this mountain, every blade of grass, every tree, even the air itself, filled Li Banfeng with extreme revulsion. He hadn't felt as uncomfortable as he did today, not even in Kucai Village.

Reaching the foot of the mountain, Li Banfeng continued eastward at a rapid pace. After traveling over a hundred li, he finally saw a glimmer of hope. A mountain blocked his path ahead, but it was different from the previous ones. This was a hill, clearly much lower, and there was a village at its foot.

Li Banfeng entered the village, seeing pleasant-looking fertile fields and farmers at work. The repulsive air seemed to have disappeared, and Li Banfeng's nerves gradually relaxed. However, the villagers' nerves did not relax. Li Banfeng's arrival made them extremely nervous, even a little fearful. Li Banfeng's attire instilled fear in them, as did his demeanor and even the tone of his voice.

Li Banfeng could understand such a reaction. The village was so remote that the villagers rarely saw outsiders, so being wary was entirely normal. When he asked about the train station, a small number of villagers replied that they didn't know. Most villagers looked at Li Banfeng blankly, as if a train station simply didn't exist in their world. Li Banfeng could understand this too. Many villagers might truly have never ridden a train. Not just these villagers; Qin Tianjiu, who grew up in Yaowang Gully, had never ridden a train in his life. This was very normal.

Walking from one end of the village to the other, Li Banfeng heard the clear sound of reading aloud. The innocent and energetic voices of the students made Li Banfeng firmly believe that he had left the domain of the Sage's Peak. No matter how remote the place was, there was still a school here where proper things were taught. Such a place offered a glimpse of vitality and hope.

What were they learning?

"The root of heaven and earth begins from the sage's heart.The changes of heaven and earth begin from the sage's thoughts.The essence of heaven and earth begins from the sage's virtue.The source of heaven and earth begins from the sage's will."

The moment he heard the word "sage," Li Banfeng's scalp prickled. Was this truly proper knowledge? He shouldn't jump to conclusions. What they were learning was traditional knowledge, and Li Banfeng had been in Puluo Province for less than a year, so he might genuinely not understand some traditions.

On closer inspection, the sound of reading wasn't coming from a schoolhouse, but from a rice field. A group of children, all under ten years old, were reciting the Sage's Sutra while planting rice seedlings in the paddy field. This was a very normal scene; the children were learning both cultural knowledge and practical survival skills.

One child diligently planted a row of seedlings, when a middle-aged man nearby stepped into the paddy and stomped the seedlings into a mush. "Replant them," the man commanded.

The child, unsure of what he had done wrong, looked up at the man. The man slapped the child, knocking him into the paddy. Before the child could get up, he stepped forward and delivered another kick. The child struggled for a long time but couldn't get up. The man grabbed the child and dragged him to the edge of the field, snapped off a willow branch, and began whipping the child relentlessly.

The child's parents watched from nearby. The mother's heart ached, and she trembled with pain. The father stood beside her, trying to restrain her, repeating the same few phrases, "This is for his own good, it's all for his own good..."

After a few more strikes, the man angrily rebuked him, "Stop crying! Be a man! If you can't even stand a little pain, what right do you have to learn the Sage's principles?"

Was this normal?

Li Banfeng stood at the edge of the field, his veins throbbing. Some unpleasant childhood memories flooded Li Banfeng's mind. The man looked at the child and said, "Do you know why I hit you? Do you know why I made you replant the seedlings?"

The child shook his head, looking completely bewildered.

The man angrily rebuked, "If there's doubt in your heart, your will isn't sincere! When I tell you to replant, you just replant. Why the doubt in your heart? Truly, rotten wood cannot be carved!" Seeing the child covered in injuries, the man said indifferently, "I'll put some medicine on you." After speaking, he grabbed a handful of salt, intending to rub it on the child's body.

The child trembled with fear. The child's parents also trembled nearby, mumbling repeatedly, "Child, this is for your own good, it's all for your own good." The middle-aged man, gripping the salt, said, "Bear the pain and reflect properly here. If you dare to utter another sound, you won't have to come to study tomorrow. You don't deserve..."

Li Banfeng kicked the man directly in the face. The man staggered back a few steps and fell into the paddy field. His nose was dislocated by Li Banfeng's kick, and blood streamed down. The man stared at Li Banfeng in astonishment. Everyone around them watched Li Banfeng.

The man's voice was muffled as he said, "Who are you?"

Li Banfeng's hat brim was low, and he stood with his back to the sun, so the man couldn't see his face. "Don't ask who I am," Li Banfeng said. "Do you know why I hit you?"

The man looked completely bewildered. Li Banfeng kicked him again, right on his bewildered face. The man lay on his back in the paddy field, swallowing a mouthful of mud and sand. It took him a while to struggle back to a sitting position. "You, what right do you have to hit people?" Two of his teeth had been kicked out by Li Banfeng, making his speech a little airy.

Li Banfeng kicked him again. "If there's doubt in your heart, your will isn't sincere! When I hit you, you just honestly take the beating. Why the doubt in your heart? Truly, rotten wood cannot be carved!" After saying this, Li Banfeng grabbed the man's hair and delivered several more kicks. The man shrieked and cried. Li Banfeng pinched his mouth shut and said, "Stop crying! Be a man! If you can't even stand a little pain, what sage's principles are you teaching? I'll put some medicine on you. You bear the pain and reflect properly here. If you dare to utter another sound, go find a rope and hang yourself. If you can't bring yourself to do it, I'll help you. Understand?"

After speaking, Li Banfeng grabbed a handful of salt and rubbed it on the man's face. The man shrieked and cried, "He hit me, he hit me..."

Li Banfeng frowned. "You truly didn't understand, did you?" he said. "Fine, I'll find a place to hang you myself."

The surrounding villagers were all stunned with fear. One man shouted, "He hit the sage's disciple! Quick, stop him! Don't let him escape!"

The sage's disciple? This is the disciple the sage taught? Stop me? What is wrong with these people? Allowing their own children to be tormented by this scumbag, and willingly accepting it?

"What's wrong with hitting him?" Li Banfeng lifted the middle-aged man and, with a flick of his wrist, directly broke his neck. He killed the sage's disciple! Yes, he killed him. Such a scumbag was a menace to the world.

The villagers stepped forward to block Li Banfeng, shouting loudly, "Don't let him leave! Take him to Sage's Peak, and let him suffer death by a thousand cuts!"

Li Banfeng dropped the middle-aged man's body, walked directly out of the paddy field, and looking at the villagers, declared, "Tell your sage that I killed this man. Let's see who can stop me today!" As his words fell, everyone fell silent. Li Banfeng strode away, and no one dared to follow him.

One villager quietly said, "We don't need to stop him. He has committed a great crime; the sage won't let him get away!"

Li Banfeng scoffed. He wanted to see just how capable this sage truly was.

By dusk, Li Banfeng returned to the village. He really hadn't gotten out; after walking for half a day, he had returned to the same village. Seeing Li Banfeng appear, all the villagers rushed back into their homes and firmly shut their doors.

Li Banfeng sat at the village entrance, patted his wine gourd, and asked, "Sister, have you remembered yet what this place is?"

The gourd pondered for a moment and said, "I've been thinking, dear brother, but I don't think I've ever truly been here."

"What about you?" Li Banfeng asked the old teapot.

The old teapot coughed twice and said, "This place is truly damned strange. I've never been here either..."

Never mind. I'll go back to my portable residence and ask my wife. Li Banfeng was about to pull out his key when he suddenly heard someone approaching in the distance. He stood up and asked in a low voice, "Who's there?"

A soft female voice responded, "Benefactor, it's me. How did you end up here?"