Confucian and Taoist Cultivation Starting from the Equipment Slot

"What your father said is true."

Gu Qing'e lowered her head and kicked a small pebble on the steps with the tip of her shoe.

"Instructor Chen, why do you think they did this?"

"What?"

"Exactly, they clearly didn't want to do it this way, but they insisted on doing it anyway."

"The beautiful older sister from the Xie family didn't want to be given away as a gift, and her father didn't want to give her away either, but they did it anyway."

"That person from the Wang family doesn't want to be a bad person, or at least doesn't want to be seen as one, but he's still doing bad things."

"My father didn't want to stand idly by, but he still refused the Xie family."

She turned to look at Chen Zhuo, her eyes filled with genuine confusion: "Why is everyone doing things they don't want to do?"

Chen Zhuo remained silent for a few seconds.

He hadn't expected that Gu Qing'e would start thinking about such questions at such a young age.

But such things were still too far out of reach for him.

"Because everyone has times when they are not in control of their own destiny."

"It's that simple?"

Gu Qing'e looked at Chen Zhuo in disbelief.

"Yes, it's that simple."

Hearing Chen Zhuo's words, Gu Qing'e looked into the distance and said softly:

"My father died the same way when my mother died."

Chen Zhuo's body stiffened slightly.

This was the first time Gu Qing'e had brought up her mother on her own initiative, and perhaps this was the part of Gu Qing'e he wanted to know.

He didn't dare to ask any further questions or interrupt her; he simply sat quietly, waiting for her to continue.

"I was very young then, and I don't remember many things clearly, but I remember my father standing at the door, looking outside. His posture was exactly the same as when he refused the Xie family at the banquet tonight. Later, I asked him why he didn't save my mother."

Her voice was calm, so calm that it didn't sound like that of a ten-year-old child.

"He didn't answer, but I think I understand now. It wasn't that he didn't want to save them, it was that he couldn't. In that position, there were many things he could do, and many things he couldn't do."

She looked up at Chen Zhuo, her eyes filled with moonlight, but she didn't cry.

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhuo's heart stirred. According to her junior sister, she had experienced the same thing as the Xie family before.

Therefore, the Xie family, which should not exist in this timeline, is actually a manifestation of the junior sister's inner obsession.

In that case...

A bold guess formed in Chen Zhuo's mind.

The key to this test lies not in Gu Qing'e herself, but in the projection of Gu Qing'e onto the story.

That's Xie Zhiwei!

Thinking of this, Chen Zhuo was very excited. Was this unknown domain finally going to end?

At this moment, Gu Qing'e spoke up again.

"If I ever encounter something like that, I will definitely not act like my father."

"What would you do?"

"I'll do something, no matter the outcome, at least I'll do something. Even if it's wrong, it's better than doing nothing."

Chen Zhuo calmed himself down and looked at her profile.

The moonlight outlined her features exceptionally clearly, and her youthful features already hinted at what she would look like ten years later.

"You're right," Chen Zhuo said.

He took out the Empty Stone from his waist and handed it to Gu Qing'e.

"Here, take this."

Gu Qing'e looked at the Empty Stone, then at him: "Isn't this something I gave you? Why are you returning it?"

Chen Zhuo put on a stern face.

"This is not an ordinary Sky Stone; it is a Sky Stone infused with my understanding of space."

"Pfft!" Gu Qing'e couldn't help but laugh.

Suddenly, she looked up at Chen Zhuo.

"Instructor Chen."

"Um?"

Do you recognize me?

Chen Zhuo's heart skipped a beat: "What do you mean?"

"That's right," Gu Qing'e tilted her head, seemingly searching for the right words.

"The way you look at me is different from how you look at others. When you first met me, you weren't surprised at all. Normal people wouldn't recognize me, but I feel like you do."

Chen Zhuo turned his head to look to the side.

"Perhaps, perhaps I know you somewhere else."

Gu Qing'e stared at him for a while, then nodded, as if she had received a satisfactory answer.

She carefully put the Sky Stone into the cloth bag.

He dusted himself off and got up.

Good night, Instructor Chen, get some rest.

The door closed gently.

Chen Zhuo sat on the steps, looking at the moon overhead, reflecting on what they had just discussed.

A moment later, he stood up.

If his previous speculation was correct, the key now is to find Xie Zhiwei!

"I bet Chen Tiansheng is here too!"

Chen Zhuo shook his head, and the scripture of the character "empty" appeared.

He planned to use this method to quickly get to the Xie residence and find out what was going on.

They discovered a man in black squatting on the old locust tree outside the courtyard wall.

He was small and thin, his breathing long and even, almost blending into the night breeze.

If he hadn't activated his spatial awareness beforehand, he probably wouldn't have noticed.

Chen Zhuo opened his eyes in the darkness.

The Wang family's efficiency was even faster than he had expected.

The Wang family's spies arrived faster than expected, so he couldn't wait any longer.

Chen Zhuo got up and returned to the room. He walked to the window and gently tapped the window frame with his finger.

The moonlight was bright outside the window, its silvery light filling the courtyard.

The moonlight is perfect tonight; it's the perfect time for his moon-themed spell to take effect.

A faint trace of literary talent emerged.

The "moon" character script spread out around him, and his figure gradually became transparent in the moonlight.

The concealed state of the Moon-shaped scripture can only be maintained for a brief moment under moonlight.

But for him, all he needed to do was leave quietly.

Ah Si, sitting on the old locust tree, frowned slightly.

He had clearly seen the young instructor standing by the window through the crack, but then the window closed and he could no longer sense him.

Ah Si remained calm, simply activating his Breath Concealment Technique to its maximum, closing his eyes, and listening intently.

There were no footsteps.

A sense of unease swept through Ah Si's heart.

Perhaps he has already fallen asleep.

But he dared not act rashly. Scholars are cunning; who knows what other tricks they might have up their sleeves?

What if we act rashly and get discovered?

Fortunately, nothing will happen tonight.

He thought to himself, "Let's wait until dawn."

At this moment, Chen Zhuo had already traversed two streets.

He ran in the moonlight, his figure like a flowing shadow.

The "Fast" spell was activated beneath his feet, and his five-breath ghost state allowed him to pass through all obstacles along the way.

Walls, fences, ditches—all collision volumes are immune.

The moment the ghost mode ends, triple movement speed follows, the street scene rushes past on both sides, and the wind whistles in your ears.

In the distance, the direction of the Xie residence was illuminated by light.

"Is that the radiance of literary talent in full bloom?" Chen Zhuo wondered to himself.

The light flickered, as if someone were engaging in a battle of wits.

"Could they have already made their move?"

Didn't you say you wouldn't take action today? The earliest you can do it is tomorrow?

Chen Zhuo's heart tightened, and he quickened his pace.

The battle in the front yard of the Xie residence was more intense than he had imagined.

When he arrived, the gate of the Xie residence had already been blasted open with a large hole.

The plaque hung diagonally above the lintel, half of the two characters "Xie Mansion" were charred, and wisps of smoke rose from it.

One of the stone lions in front of the gate was broken, with shards scattered all over the ground. The other lion had seven or eight arrows embedded in its body, the feathers at the ends of the arrows still trembling slightly.

Inside the courtyard, two groups of people were facing off.