Start with the Soul Forge

Chapter 442. What is the meaning of this passage in the sutra? How to explain it?
What are the specific contents of the warlock's contract?

Although he was the sect leader, Mo Hao did not actually read the terms of the contract carefully.

Because he is Party A in the contract, he has a certain degree of final interpretation power.

Because Mo Hao was too lazy to tamper with the contract and also found it troublesome, the contract between him and Tushan Qingxuan was completely formed based on his subconscious mind.

Basically, the sorcerer provides services to Mo Hao, and Mo Hao gives rewards and provides help when necessary.

As for how many of the detailed contract clauses cannot be changed, and how much of the right of interpretation lies with Mo Hao...

I'm afraid even he himself may not understand this.

But now that Tu Shanru asked, Mo Hao absolutely could not say the words "I don't know" or "I'm not sure". The sect leader needed to maintain his dignity in front of the sorcerer.

Most of the sect leaders who were not strong enough and could not maintain their mystery and dignity were captured by their own sorcerers and used as power providers.

No one knew what kind of speechless incident had happened between the sorcerer and the sect leader. Anyway, after Mo Hao signed the contract, a lot of things to pay attention to came into his mind.

There are so many things to pay attention to, and they all seem ridiculous from a third-party perspective.

Mo Hao knew that if a rule seemed ridiculous and unreasonable, there must be more than one accident behind it.

I couldn't speak too directly in front of Tu Shanru, so I had to be vague.

"Well, you can just call me Mo Hao. The contract between Qing Xuan and I doesn't actually have too many restrictions."

He first addressed Tushan Qingxuan by her name, making Tushan Ru think that they had a close relationship, while at the same time concealing the fact that the sorcerer's contract had clear-cut superiors and subordinates.

And this is not a lie. Capable sorcerers have really tried to capture the sect leader and use him as a power battery.

This alone is enough to prove that the sorcerer's contract is not very binding and that the positions between superiors and subordinates are not that stable.

It is more like a younger version of gods and believers, with much weaker limitations and abilities.

Sure enough, when Tu Shanru heard Mo Hao calling her "Qing Xuan", he frowned slightly but said nothing.

"The content of the contract is quite simple..."

After quickly searching the vocabulary in his brain, Mo Hao lied with his eyes open, "The two sides support each other (the sect leader paints a rosy picture for his subordinates), rely on each other (the sect leader makes money by exploiting his subordinates, and occasionally lets some residue slip through his fingers), and help each other (the sect leader feeds his subordinates chicken soup, and the subordinates want to use the sect leader as a power server)."

"Whether in good times or bad, in health or sickness, in happiness or sorrow, we will always be together, sharing honor and disgrace..."

"Okay, no need to say more, I know everything."

Tu Shanru suddenly interrupted, he looked at Mo Hao's appearance and figure seriously, and nodded slightly.

Then he asked, "I wonder if Mo Hao has ever learned poetry?"

For some reason, after Tu Shanru spoke, Mo Hao felt that there seemed to be a momentum from the other party.

It feels a bit like when the results of an elementary school exam are released and parents reach out for the test paper to check the scores.

No, it seemed to be something more than that, more like the gaze of an invigilator in the examination room.

He is calm and indifferent, but no one can cheat under his nose.

"He dabbled in etiquette, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics."

"Oh." Tu Shanru looked surprised. He didn't expect that Mo Hao not only read poetry and books, but also knew the Six Arts.

For the Tushan Fox Clan, which had long been unable to cultivate, the path of developing towards the imperial system had been taken for thousands of years, with ups and downs along the way, with prosperity and decline of talents. No matter where they were, it could be said that poetry and books were passed down from generation to generation. By the generation of Tushan Ru, there were only a few left in the Tushan Fox Clan, and he only passed the imperial examination as a Juren, unable to achieve higher achievements.

Originally, he thought that Mo Hao was not from this world and did not understand poetry, books, etiquette and music, so he planned to teach him in this area, so that it would not be rumored in the future that the person Tu Shan Qingxuan secretly married was a barbarian who was not familiar with poetry.

Although the Tushan family was only a little away from extinction at this time, they were saved entirely by the contractual connection between Mo Hao and Tushan Qingxuan.

But there are always some people who, even at the critical moment of life and death, will care about things that seem insignificant to others, and are often called "inflexible" by others.

Tu Shanru was undoubtedly such a person, otherwise he would not have stopped at the level of Juren in the imperial examination.

The reason why we cannot go further is simply that we are too obvious in criticizing a certain policy that has caused the people in a certain area to suffer, and we even point fingers at the executors of the policy and curse them.

The examiner of the imperial examination happened to be the student of the person who was scolded by Tu Shanru.

This happened three times in a row.

"I wonder who Mo Hao's master is?"

Tu Shanru's attitude at this time was a bit like discovering that the young man his daughter brought home was also reading Ming history and had quite unique insights. He immediately put aside his scrutinizing gaze and planned to make a pot of tea and have a good discussion on Ming history.

If he were to discuss other things, Mo Hao might feel a little guilty, but if he were to discuss the Six Arts of a Gentleman and other Confucian studies...

Then he would be excited, because the title of Confucius' disciple was not false, especially since Mo Hao was personally taught the Six Arts by Confucius, no one in the world understood the Six Arts and Confucius better than him.

Are you saying that I have misunderstood the classics?
I am a disciple taught by Confucius himself. Are you doubting my right to interpret the scriptures?!
If Mo Hao is willing, he really has the ability to [Annotate the Six Classics].

"I learned from my father."

"I have never heard of it, but Mo Hao has read poetry and books, so do you know what the profound meaning of this passage in the scripture is? How do you explain it?"

“…I really don’t understand the profound meaning of this sutra…”

When it comes to reading and comprehension of scriptures, Mo Hao is naturally not as well-versed as Tu Shanru in studying them for so long, but he is better off losing the battle than the opponent. Now that Tu Shanru has finished asking questions, it is time for him to take over.

After saying this, he immediately recited a passage and asked Tu Shanru, "What is the profound meaning of this passage in the sutra? How do you explain it?"

During the question and answer session, Tu Shanru also became interested, or rather, the competitive spirit among men began to develop.

As a candidate who has studied imperial examinations for many years, reading comprehension such as scripture interpretation is undoubtedly Tu Shanru's field.

When a man is asked or even challenged about his areas of expertise, he will undoubtedly become very angry.

Soon, their conversation evolved from humble questioning to a heated debate on how to punctuate the sentence "The people can be made to follow it, but they cannot be made to understand it."

When Tushan Qingxuan, her much better mother, and Tushan Xiaomei opened the door, they found a space cleared in front of the house.

It was filled with different punctuations of the saying "The people can be made to follow it, but they cannot be made to understand it", as well as two people in the distance debating, quoting from classics sentence after sentence.

And it soon developed into an almost unreasonable exchange of insults.

"I have studied the scriptures for thirty years, how could I be wrong? You should follow my explanation!"

"I am a disciple of Confucius, so my explanation is correct!"

Seeing how those two men were already getting carried away, Tushan Qingxuan had no doubt that if they continued, they would slap each other in the face and force themselves to win.

(End of this chapter)