How can one cultivate immortality without learning modern knowledge?

As the sun set, a city came into view.

Although it was called a city, in Zhou Wenju's mind it was no more than a large market town.

What's even more outrageous is that this place is actually the location of Lingnan Prefecture.

It wasn't a county town, but a prefectural town.

If the prefectural city is in such a state of disrepair, what will become of Qishan County, where my father lives?

Zhou Wenju entered a restaurant, casually tossed out a piece of silver, and was treated like a VIP.

The restaurant housed scholars, practitioners of Buddhism, and wealthy merchants from Lingnan Prefecture.

He activated his keen senses and deliberately listened to the conversations of the literary figures.

The normal part is that their discussions on literary topics included elements of the eighteen schools of thought on literature and philosophy.

What's unusual is that no one mentioned the grandest event in literary circles—the opening of the Ci poetry circle.

This is truly bizarre.

The opening of the poem says, "Isn't it said that the message can be heard across a thousand miles?"

It's at most 300 li away from Nanyang!

They didn't even know!

Soon, from a scholar's sigh, he learned the whole story. In Lingnan, which is close to Wudao Mountain in Qishan County, the Qi of Wudao clashes with the Qi of Tiandao, creating a vacuum in Lingnan Prefecture.

In this world, literary and moral methods are sometimes effective and sometimes not.

The light of literature and the Way can hardly penetrate this world.

Even the common method of official seal communication was quite inefficient in Lingnan.

Lingnan received information from the outside world primarily through the most primitive method: postmen.

The aura of immorality.

Zhou Wenju's heart pounded wildly.

This wasn't the first time he'd heard this term; it had been mentioned several times in Lao Can's writings.

"Wu Dao" is a term that is opposed to "Tian Dao" (the Way of Heaven).

The universe is vast and full of mysteries, containing both the realm of Heaven and the realm of Nothingness.

Similar to "matter" and "antimatter" in modern scientific theories.

In the world of Heaven's Way, deviance from the Way is poison.

In a world devoid of morality, even the Way of Heaven is poison.

This is another interpretation of why civil officials who committed serious crimes were exiled to Lingnan.

This means that this civil official, whose conduct was "immoral," was abandoned by Heaven and became associated with "immorality"...

Zhou Wenju sighed again: Father, Wudao Mountain just happens to be in your county... Are you convinced yet?

He also learned the general outlines of the thirteen counties of Lingnan Prefecture: Qishan, Heishan, Chongshan, Wutan...

These place names... they just sound like they're not good places...

Zhou Wenju slept quite soundly that night.

The next morning, after finishing two bowls of porridge, he walked briskly through Lingnan Prefecture, inquired about directions, and went straight to Qishan County.

Qishan County is located south of Lingnan.

In the entire hierarchy of officialdom, it belongs to the lowest segment. What is the hierarchy of officialdom?

Officials in the capital look down on local officials, local officials look down on officials from Lingnan (southern China), Lingnan officials look down on county magistrates, and what do county magistrates look down on? The officials of Qishan County…

The main theme is self-comfort, or simply self-consolation: even if I'm a complete mess, I still have something to lose.

The official function of Qishan County is to serve as a placebo for other officials to console themselves...

Upon entering Qishan County, Zhou Wenju had the mindset of stepping into an African primitive tribe.

After all, he could accept any place he had come from Jiangnan, no matter how poor it was.

However, when he actually stepped inside, he was somewhat taken aback.

The area is surrounded by green hills and clear waters, and the soil looks very fertile.

There are fruit trees on the mountains and crops in the fields. Qishan County, located fifty miles away, is surrounded by mountains and has a bit of the feel of a paradise.

Is this what they call the poorest place in Lingnan?

Is this the end of the official hierarchy?

Do you have some misunderstanding about poverty?

It wasn't until he actually met the villagers that he truly understood the meaning of "poverty".

Winter has arrived. Even though it never snows in Lingnan and it's not that cold, the cold weather has come nonetheless. The farmers toiling in the fields are dressed in thin clothes and barefoot, the children by the roadside are pale and thin, and the dying old man by the roadside has no light in his eyes...

The location is nice, the climate is good, the land is fertile, and the mountain forests are rich in vegetation.

But the people are in such a state, Father, this is the problem with your governance!

Could it be that my father, this great scholar, has really become useless after leaving the stage of the capital and going to the countryside?

Ahead was a river, and thousands of people had gathered on both sides of the river to build a levee.

Zhou Wenju spotted one of the elderly men dressed in scholar's robes from a hundred meters away.

Slim build.

The third floor has a long beard.

Standing atop a large rock, he shouted: "Fellow villagers, in Qishan County, only the tens of thousands of acres of fertile land on both sides of the river can provide you with a place to live and work. If the riverbank is secure, you have hope for your livelihood and your parents and children will have someone to rely on. If the riverbank is unstable, you will have neither a roof over your head nor an inch of land to stand on. How can you survive in this turbid world? The rainy season next spring is just around the corner and cannot be delayed!"

This is his father, Zhou Liangsheng.

These words were exactly the same as the reprimands he, Zhou Wenju, received in the Vice Minister's residence.

His voice was clear and melodious, full of literary flair.

Unfortunately, nine out of ten people below did not understand these elegant and literary words.

Fortunately, you don't need to understand it; everyone gets the gist of it!

From the river below, someone responded: "Lord Zhou is right! Fellow villagers, let's fight to the death!"

In no time, thousands of people were carrying stones and swinging hammers, working enthusiastically.

"Master!" An old man next to Zhou Liangsheng quietly handed him a package: "Have something to eat. You only had a bowl of wild vegetable soup last night."

Zhou Wenju also knew this old man.

Old Qi was the guard at the Zhou family compound back then.

His right leg was broken in half, and skilled craftsmen in the capital made him a bronze leg. When he walked, it made a clattering sound, and people could tell he was coming from eight zhang away.

However, this is only his daytime behavior.

At night, he moved completely silently.

Zhou Wenju's elder brother, Zhou Wuju, once told him that Lao Qi had a very high level of cultivation.

As for how high it is, the eldest brother doesn't know, but he was the one who taught the eldest brother the Soaring Dragon Heart Technique.

Zhou Wenju learned it from his elder brother.

He also knew a top-secret piece of information: Lao Qi was actually a member of the Lingyan Pavilion.

Lingyan Pavilion is highly taboo.

The infamous "Yantai Case," which implicated dozens of high-ranking officials in the imperial court, was orchestrated by the Lingyan Pavilion.

Everyone in Lingyan Pavilion is a wanted criminal by the imperial court.

However, Zhou Wenju didn't care about any of this. He had followed his father, who had fallen to such a lowly state, all the way to Lingnan. Whether his father was a wanted criminal or not, he was still a member of the Zhou family!

Zhou Liangsheng refused Lao Qi's kindness with a wave of his hand: "Which of you villagers doesn't eat wild vegetables and drink wild soup? They can carry stones and build mud walls, but I'm stuck on the dry bank. How can I live in luxury and make my fellow villagers feel cold?"

Old Qi's face contorted in a grimace: "This is hardly a life of luxury! This is just a few pancakes that the madam made for the master, and most of the villagers with wives made a few for their husbands too..."

Suddenly, his gaze snapped upwards.

Staring at a person walking towards them from the road.

Zhou Liangsheng also suddenly looked up...

His gaze met that of Zhou Wenju, who was walking over.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still...

Zhou Wenju strode over to Zhou Liangsheng and bowed deeply, saying, "Your son greets Father!"

Zhou Liangsheng gently closed his eyes, and in that moment, it seemed as if he had traversed endless years. He slowly opened them and looked at his son before him: "You've returned from Mount Huding?"

"yes!"

"How are you doing in the classroom?" No matter when or where, checking up on his studies as soon as they meet is the old man's basic practice.

Asking if things are alright inside the gate seems unrelated to homework, but it's actually still homework.

"Father, I have already left Mount Huding," Zhou Wenju said.

"Already left... What do you mean?" The old man's eyes widened suddenly.

"This means that I am no longer a disciple of Mount Huding, and this outer sect of the Mohist school has nothing to do with me from now on."

Zhou Liangsheng's face suddenly darkened: "Did you violate the sect rules and get expelled?"

Zhou Wenju said, "Father, your way of putting it is a bit undignified... In fact, I feel that I am not in harmony with the way of the vessel, so I left on my own."

"You..." Zhou Liangsheng's eyes blazed with fury: "You are incompatible with the Way of Weapons, so what Way are you compatible with? You can neither read nor fight. I went through countless hardships to send you to Mount Huding to seek the Great Way of Mohism! And today you dare to say 'our Ways are incompatible' with me! You've infuriated me... Old Qi! Bring out the family punishment!"

Old Qi was startled: "Master, the Second Young Master has returned travel-worn, and along the way..."

"I order you to take the family punishment!" Zhou Liangsheng interrupted him directly.

Everyone around was shocked...

Why is the county magistrate so furious?

Old Qi said helplessly, "Sir, the family rules are in the backyard of the county government office..."

That's the truth.

They came out to repair the dike; who carries a family law around all the time?

Zhou Liangsheng was truly furious.

What deity has my Zhou family offended?

Everything is going wrong!

He was demoted to Lingnan.

His career plummeted to rock bottom.

Unfortunately, his children are all disappointing.

The eldest son didn't enter through the proper gate but through the evil gate.

My daughter doesn't act like a daughter.

The only hope was that this second son would live up to expectations, but now look what happened! He's the most outrageous of all. He actually resigned from the promising sect, Huding Mountain, with the ridiculous reason that he "does not conform to the Dao"!

You dare to talk about philosophy?

You're nothing but a nobody, what right do you have...?

"Get out! Go back to your mother's side in the county office. When I get back to my residence, I'll teach you a lesson!" Zhou Liangsheng waved his hand.

Zhou Wenju was dumbfounded.

I rely on!

This cheap father looks refined and scholarly, exuding the air of a great Confucian scholar, but if you anger him, he can be quite irritable.

Do I need to explain this to him right now?

Forget it, I'm just leaving!

I'd like to see what kind of expression you'll have when you hear the name of me, the master of ci poetry, one day.