Chapter 3: A gentleman fears virtue, not power; a petty person fears power, not virtue

"Hey, you're cursing me in a roundabout way, aren't you?"

Huang Rong's mouth trembled with anger, and she said viciously:

"It's simply bullying too much. How do you know that even if I worked hard, I wouldn't be able to beat you!"

"Your little brain thinks too much." Zhuang Buran stood with his hands behind his back:

"I am teaching you the ultimate truth of the world. The so-called 'life without lying flat, happiness is halved.' As long as you enjoy the time you've wasted, then you haven't wasted it."

Huang Rong connected the context and immediately understood the true meaning of "lying flat," her brows hanging with sarcasm:

"Then why don't you lie flat? Instead, you have exquisite martial arts."

When she said this, the mockery on her face became increasingly intense:

"Could it be that you're afraid that if you don't practice martial arts, you'll be beaten half to death by someone?"

"I practice martial arts only to lie flat better, hoping that one day, I can become stronger by lying down and doing nothing," Zhuang Buran replied lightly.

"The biggest joke in the world, you really know how to think!"

"Rong'er, what kind of riddle are you two playing? Why can't I understand anything?"

Guo Jing hurried to Huang Rong's side, looking concerned:

"Is your foot okay?"

"It's fine, just bruised." Huang Rong said, looking at Zhuang Buran:

"What exactly do you want? Do you want to take me back? Let me tell you, I will absolutely, absolutely not go back with you."

She added at the end, still not feeling satisfied:

"I don't have such an old, shameless father!"

"Heh heh."

Zhuang Buran chuckled, ignored her, and walked straight toward the place where the arguing was faintly heard in the woods.

Not long after walking, he saw four people hanging under a big tree, swaying and arguing endlessly.

"Little brother, emergency in the Jianghu! Help us cut the ropes on our bodies, and I'll give you a hundred taels of silver."

One person finished, and another anxiously took over:

"A hundred taels each, you can get four hundred taels of silver."

Another person saw Zhuang Buran unmoved and hurriedly opened his mouth:

"Eight hundred taels is fine, as long as you save us down."

"You can carry so much silver on you?" Zhuang Buran raised his brows.

"Each of us only has a little over a hundred taels, but our master is the famous Ghost Gate Dragon King, and now he is working under the Great Jin Prince. He will definitely not be short of your silver."

"In that case, I don't need to help you cut the ropes on your bodies, and I can get four hundred taels of silver. Great."

While Zhuang Buran was speaking, after a few leaps and landings, he had four bulging money bags in his hands.

"This kid only takes money and doesn't do things; we've been tricked." One person looked angry, and the others followed suit, cursing:

"Good little thief, as hateful as the little beggar before."

But after cursing for a few sentences, the four of them didn't know why, but they screamed one after another, their bodies uncontrollably twitching and twisting, as if they were suffering great torture.

"Walking in the Jianghu, one must not show off, otherwise it's easy to invite disaster. Didn't your master teach you this principle?"

Zhuang Buran looked light and breezy:

"Forget it, I've always been good at being a teacher, so I'll make up for the lesson you missed."

"Rong'er, these Yellow River Four Ghosts don't look injured; why are they in such pain?"

At this moment, Guo Jing helped Huang Rong limp over.

"They were hit by a unique hidden weapon, with needles deep in the flesh, firmly nailed into the joints of the bones. The needles were coated with poison, but the medicinal effect is slow to take effect. It will follow the flow of blood and Qi throughout the body. Although they won't die for a while, it can make people taste all kinds of indescribable, intense pain."

"And those with good martial arts who try to use internal energy to resist will find it more painful the more they resist, and the suffering they endure will be even more intense."

"What? There is such a vicious hidden weapon in the world!" Guo Jing was terrified.

"A gentleman fears virtue, not power; a petty person fears power, not virtue. To deal with these existences that don't look like good people, naturally, one must use methods that are more ruthless and evil."

Zhuang Buran looked at Guo Jing:

"Don't tell me that all four of them are good people who accumulate virtue and do good deeds."

"Their master, Sha Tongtian, nicknamed Ghost Gate Dragon King, relies on his profound martial arts to dominate the Yellow River, doing business without capital. And these Yellow River Four Ghosts rely on their master's reputation, plus their brains aren't very smart, so I'm afraid they haven't done fewer evil deeds."

"Now Sha Tongtian covets wealth and glory, surrenders to the Jin people, and the Yellow River Four Ghosts help the tyrant to abuse. Of course, they deserve to die."

When Huang Rong said this, she pulled Guo Jing, who looked unbearable:

"Jing brother, these evil people are not worth sympathizing with."

"So they really aren't good people. Since that's the case, living for a while longer will only waste food. It's better to go see King Yama early to redeem their sins, so they won't be so noisy and disturb my peace."

Zhuang Buran's feet vibrated slightly, and a few small stones popped up. He took the opportunity to hold them in his hand, then flicked his fingers, and with a few light sounds of "chi," the screaming stopped.

Only to see a blood hole on the foreheads of the Yellow River Four Ghosts that made one's scalp tingle.

Guo Jing suddenly whispered:

"Rong'er, although I know he is doing a good deed by eliminating evil people, his style of killing people in the middle of a laugh makes me feel like something is wrong."

Huang Rong frowned:

"There shouldn't be anything wrong, right? Although I hate him and look down on him, his ruthless killing didn't just stop the Yellow River Four Ghosts from harming people in the future, it also stopped them from helping the tyrant."

Zhuang Buran said leisurely:

"Your three views are different; it's best not to be together, otherwise it's mostly impossible to end well."

"What three views? Stop talking nonsense here. Did he send you to find me, and did he want you to take me back? Now that you see I don't want to go back, you're planning to go back and add fuel to the fire to complain about me!"

Huang Rong said everything she had imagined in one breath.

"The three views are worldview, outlook on life, and values," Zhuang Buran said unhurriedly:

"One of you looks ice-snow smart, the other looks honest and wooden. The environment you grew up in is completely different. One has been exposed to various martial arts and poetry since childhood, worthy of the four words 'learned and knowledgeable,' while the other grew up in the desert, exposed to nothing but shooting rabbits, hunting eagles, riding horses, catching wolves..."

"Wait, you finally exposed yourself."

Huang Rong sneered:

"Did you follow behind me all along? Otherwise, how would you know that Jing brother grew up in the desert and talk about shooting rabbits and hunting eagles?"

"Sigh, chatting with people who have quick wits is just exhausting." Zhuang Buran turned around with his hands behind his back and said airily:

"You can just take it that I have obtained the essence of the Dao of divination, able to know five hundred years in the past and observe one thousand years in the future."

After saying that, he performed the "Lingbo Micro-steps," and not long after, only a back view remained.

"Guilty conscience," Huang Rong said with disdain.

"Rong'er, your foot is bruised; it's best to apply some medicine so it heals faster. Why don't we ride the little red horse back to the city?"

Guo Jing suddenly remembered something and quickened his speech:

"By the way, Daoist Wang was injured in the Zhao Wangfu and was poisoned, but I went to the pharmacy to buy medicine, and there are a few herbs I can't buy. Let's hurry back to the city."

When Huang Rong heard this, thinking that someone was just walking on the road back to the city, she couldn't help but nod in agreement.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 4 =====