The Buddha is actually me

Chapter 376 Dare to Change the Sun and Moon

"Clouds are paired with rain, snow is paired with wind, flowers are paired with birds, fish are paired with insects, clear mountains are paired with beautiful waters, green willows are paired with red peaches..."

From a simple private school, there was the sound of reading aloud, as clear as the song of an oriole. Although it was a little uneven, one could tell that the students' voices were loud and full of enthusiasm.

Outside the private school, Zhang Jiuyang quietly watched the figure in the blue Confucian robe.

Mr. Meng held a ruler in his hand and urged the children to recite their lessons. His back was as straight as a pine tree and his expression was meticulous.

After memorizing the text, he continued to teach the children to recognize words. Because he could not afford pens, ink, paper and inkstone, he took his students and used tree branches to write on the dug loess.

Zhang Jiuyang saw that his handwriting was very beautiful, but not elegant. Every stroke was very straight to ensure that the students could see it clearly.

Two classes is a morning.

"These children are orphans who are unwanted by the nearby towns. Most of them are disabled, either with bad legs or bad brains. In short, they learn very slowly."

"But Mr. Meng never complains. He always teaches them patiently, over and over again, and he doesn't charge any money. Where can we find such a good teacher?"

The official in charge of leading the way kept praising Mr. Meng in front of Zhang Jiuyang.

He didn't know who Zhang Jiuyang was, but since even the county magistrate treated him with great respect, he knew he must be an important figure.

"If anyone has extra food, they will send it to us. After all, Mr. Meng is doing a good deed, and we ordinary people are kind-hearted."

Zhang Jiuyang nodded and said, "You go down first. I will watch it for a while."

"Yes!"

He was alone, quietly looking at the figure in blue robe in the private school. The other party seemed to have noticed something as well. Through the window paper that was about to come undone, the two of them looked at each other.

Without any communication, Mr. Meng continued to teach them to read. At noon, he took out a pot of steamed sweet potatoes from the kitchen and distributed them to the students.

This was their lunch.

Zhang Jiuyang suddenly became very interested in Mr. Meng. This man was very extraordinary.

"Can I have one?"

Zhang Jiuyang took the initiative to walk over and said with a smile.

All of a sudden, the children looked over timidly. When they saw Zhang Jiuyang's silky and shiny clothes, there was some envy in their eyes, but more of curiosity.

Mr. Meng looked up at him and said calmly, "You can eat, but you have to help with the afternoon class."

"Teach them to read?"

"Teach them how to survive."

Zhang Jiuyang was stunned, not quite understanding what he meant, but he nodded and said, "Okay, I'll do my best."

After hearing this, Mr. Meng took the initiative to bring two sweet potatoes to him.

"The sweet potatoes grown by Grandma Liu are small in size but very sweet."

Zhang Jiuyang was about to peel the skin, but he saw that both Mr. Meng and the children were eating the skin together, so he just started eating it like them.

He sat on the ground without any image burden and ate ordinary sweet potatoes with relish.

This gesture made some children feel close to him and they smiled at Zhang Jiuyang.

The two sweet potatoes were quickly eaten up and tasted good. Zhang Jiuyang was just about to ask if he could have another one when he saw that all the sweet potatoes in the pot had been shared.

Many children were not full and were sucking the food residue between their fingernails.

"I'll pay for them to have a good meal. I heard the restaurants in this county are pretty good—"

"No."

Mr. Meng immediately rejected him and said calmly: "They are all a group of abandoned people. They are used to eating sweet potatoes and can't eat big fish and meat."

After a pause, he looked at Zhang Jiuyang and said something meaningful.

“If they are destined not to see rainbows in their lives, then don’t let them know what a rainbow is in the first place.”

Zhang Jiuyang was silent for a moment, then turned around and looked at the children who were peeking and secretly looking at him.

Some of them have lost both hands, but can flexibly use their feet to hold books; some have buck teeth and harelips, and hideous faces, but their eyes are exceptionally clear and serious when practicing calligraphy; there are also children who are born blind, who are using their hands as eyes and studying Braille seriously.

They all have defects of one kind or another, which is why they were abandoned. But in this small, even leaky private school, Zhang Jiuyang can feel that they are very happy and relaxed.

After finishing this simple lunch and taking a short rest, the afternoon class began. Zhang Jiuyang finally understood why Mr. Meng said that the afternoon class was to teach them how to survive.

Mr. Meng rolled up his trouser legs and sleeves, took the children to the muddy river, and began to teach them how to catch earthworms and dig out crabs.

Both earthworms and crabs can be sold. In the afternoon, someone will come to buy them. Although the money is not much, it is earned by their own hands. The children are very happy and rush to give the copper coins to Mr. Meng.

Zhang Jiuyang also took off his shoes and socks, went to the fields to work with them, and taught them some fishing techniques he learned in his previous life.

Of course, there are some children who find it inconvenient to go into the river, such as those who are blind or have missing limbs. For these people, Mr. Meng teaches them according to their aptitude and teaches them suitable ways to make a living.

For example, blind children can learn massage, and children with limb defects can learn to identify herbs. But there is a very special type of child, named Xihaner. In fact, like Ao Ya, he has congenital brain damage that leads to intellectual disability.

Although he is twelve or thirteen years old, his intelligence is that of a four or five year old.

For such children, Mr. Meng will teach them a special way to make a living.

He took the children around the county and taught them how to find useful things from the garbage dumps.

"If it smells a bit bad, you may still be able to eat it, but if it is crawling with maggots, you can't eat it. But be careful, maggots are edible."

Mr. Meng walked out of the garbage dump, holding a piece of rotten meat with a foul smell and maggots crawling on it.

He carefully picked the maggots one by one and put them into his pocket.

"If you are really hungry, you can find a wild dog. Dogs have very sensitive noses and can smell more food. Maybe they can help you fill your stomach."

Mr. Meng's originally neat Confucian robe was now stained, his boots were covered in mud, and his blue shirt was no longer elegant, but his expression remained calm.

Facing Zhang Jiuyang's gaze, he only said one sentence.

"This is my experience. I have done all these things before."

Zhang Jiuyang was stunned.

Finally, Mr. Meng brought everyone back to the private school again. He looked at those familiar faces quietly and saw their dependent and kind eyes. A slight ripple appeared in his eyes.

"Next, we have the last class of the day." The children vaguely sensed something was wrong. In the past, at this time, the teacher would let them go to bed early because if they went to bed any later, they would be hungry again.

But today, contrary to the norm, we have to continue with the class.

But they have no complaints.

"This is the last lesson. What I am going to teach you is very cruel. Maybe you cannot accept it, but you must accept it, because only in this way can you truly survive."

Mr. Meng's expression suddenly became very solemn.

"The last lesson is that human nature is evil."

Zhang Jiuyang frowned slightly.

"Your parents abandoned you, which is evil. The government ignored you, which is also evil. Although you never slacked off, the people who bought earthworms and crabs only gave you the lowest price and even used fake copper coins to cheat you, which is also evil."

When the children heard this, they seemed frightened and said nothing.

"I know what you are thinking. You think Granny Liu is a kind person and she will give you sweet potatoes. But I want to tell you that there is no kindness without reason in this world. Granny Liu's son was a human trafficker and was beaten to death when he kidnapped a child. She did this just to atone for her child."

"Yes, you study very hard, but no matter how well you learn in the future, you will never be able to enter the imperial examinations, because your disability will bring shame to the noble scholars."

"No matter how hard you work, those merchants will not hire you to work. Even if you have to carry manure, others will look down on you. They will not treat you as one of their own from the bottom of their hearts. Maybe they won't say it, but that kind of discrimination is evil."

The children had already started crying. They didn't know what was wrong with Mr. Meng and why he suddenly scolded them.

Finally, a brave child could not help but retort: ​​"Mr. Ke, you are very nice to us!"

The other children nodded as well, their eyes lighting up again.

"Wrong, I am evil too."

Mr. Meng said calmly, "I adopted you just to gain a good reputation so that I could enter the official career. Now my goal has been achieved. From tomorrow on, I will no longer teach you. This private school is worthless, so I will leave it to you."

"As for whether you can survive in this world...it depends on fate."

Upon hearing the sad news, the children in the private school burst into tears and were terrified. They had long been accustomed to relying on their teacher, and hearing this news, it was as if their spines were pulled out.

Snapped!
The crying stopped abruptly after being hit with the ruler.

Mr. Meng looked at the familiar faces quietly for a long time, then said, "School is over."

The private school was quiet and the children were crying silently.

"School is over."

He spoke again, his voice even louder and more intimidating.

There was a rustling sound, and this group of special children stood up while crying, bowed to him, their voices choked with sobs.

"Goodbye sir."

……

"As far as I know, you are definitely not pursuing fame or fortune, so why are you lying?"

In the thatched cottage next to the private school, Zhang Jiuyang looked at Mr. Meng who was making tea and suddenly asked.

He was now becoming more and more curious about this person.

Mr. Meng's movements of making tea were non-stop, as graceful and calm as flowing clouds and water. The tea water was rippling with light blue clouds, like a bodhi tree, quite Zen-like.

Zhang Jiuyang felt the fluctuation of magic power in this cup of tea.

The other party was indeed a cultivator, and his cultivation was extremely high. Even though he could not see through him completely, he still revealed flaws in the details.

It can't be said to be a flaw, as the other party doesn't seem to have any intention of covering it up now.

"Instead of letting them pursue an illusory kindness, it is better to let them experience an unforgettable betrayal. Only in this way can they learn from it and see the cruel reality clearly."

Zhang Jiuyang shook his head and said, "Why be so cruel? I can let these children live well."

After a pause, he added: "No matter what you and I will talk about today."

Mr. Meng chuckled and said, "I believe you have the ability, but these are just the orphans of the four counties. There are countless children like this in Jizhou alone, let alone the whole of Kyushu. Can you take care of them all?"

"They can only rely on themselves!"

"Where are the officials?"

"The government... hehe."

Mr. Meng laughed and said, "In the whole Daqian, apart from the Imperial Observatory, where is there no corrupt officials? Even in Jizhou, where the army is strictly disciplined, a lot of money has been embezzled. Otherwise, how could they not even be able to run a decent charity bureau? Let these children follow a poor scholar like me?"

"Then kill."

Zhang Jiuyang said in a firm voice: "Kill corrupt officials to clean up the bureaucracy, and reform the system to eliminate the root of evil!"

“What if the biggest corrupt official is the emperor?”

Mr. Meng shook his head and laughed, as if he was laughing at Zhang Jiuyang's naivety.

"Then kill the emperor!"

Mr. Meng's hand, which was pouring tea, paused for a moment, and for the first time he showed a look of surprise.

Zhang Jiuyang slowly raised his eyes, his gaze was as sharp as a sword drawn from its sheath, and his voice was decisive, sonorous and powerful.

"If the emperor stands in the way of the common people's life, then he shall die."

"Let the sun and moon create a new sky!"

Mr. Meng didn't speak for a long time. He looked at Zhang Jiuyang, and ripples appeared in his calm eyes.

"I can feel that what you said is actually true, without a single lie."

"Zhang Jiuyang, Zhang Jiuyang..."

The expression on his face changed, sometimes he smiled bitterly, sometimes he laughed at himself, and sometimes he laughed out loud. Finally he sighed, "I didn't expect you to be such a person."

"I'm afraid even your wife Yue wouldn't have guessed it."

……

(End of this chapter)