Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

He practiced martial arts for a few days and managed to escape. He fled to a dilapidated temple where there was a broken Buddha statue. It was dull and lifeless, and the gold paint had all fallen off, revealing its dark and dull body. The inside was actually hollow. Those wild monks were good at collecting incense money, but they treated the Buddha he knelt to worship every day in the same way.

But that became the key to saving Ying Qin Guan's life... There was room to hide one person inside. But only one person could be hidden inside, and before Ying Qin Guan arrived, there was already an old beggar inside.

There is a similar plot in Zhao Yunxian's book, but Ji Li meets a Taoist priest, while Ying Qin Guan meets a beggar.

Ying Qin Guan asked the beggar for this place to live... and the beggar agreed.

At the last moment, he had a conversation with Ying Qin Guan... Pure martial artists are the most useless people in the world, but they also have their own missions.

He said, "You have many things to do and cannot die here, so I'm giving you this opportunity."

"I don't know much, but right now, there is only one thing I should do."

You'll understand later.

".."

"It's not about how everyone's fate is, but rather that when you possess certain things, the corresponding things will naturally come to you. Among them, 'power' and 'responsibility' can form a pair. Some people may not be bound by those things, but you are not among them, and you cannot do it."

".."

"My child... In your future life, you will inevitably encounter challenges that are more difficult and more desperate than this. I can only help you this once. The rest is up to you. Of course, if you are willing to listen, I can leave you with one more sentence."

"...Please speak."

The old beggar stared into Ying Qin Guan's eyes, which were cloudy but contained a glimmer of light.

In the face of endless despair, what is needed to ignite the glimmer of victory?

In fact, Ying Qin had already found the answer, just as he had said to the clown back in the Sakura Province: he still had a brave heart.

"Countless hardships and dangers lie ahead, but we'll fight our way out even if it costs us our lives!"

Chapter Sixty-Three: Losing Courage, Yet Still Having Courage

Mu Nandong pushed open the office door, and Jiu Yi sat inside, formally and properly handling some documents.

Seeing this, Mu Nandong felt a huge sense of unease again... It was too strange. But he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong. The principal was sitting in his office processing documents—what was wrong with that?

It seems not...?

"You've arrived." Jiu Yi looked up at Mu Nandong, put down the documents in his hand, rubbed his temples, and simply instructed, "Lock the door from the inside... The following conversation must not be heard by outsiders. You'll understand when you hear it. I'm just a messenger."

Mu Nandong remained calm, locked the door, and sat down opposite Jiu Yi. He always did this; Jiu Yi's opening remarks were already astonishing enough, but they couldn't change his expression in the slightest.

"What is it?"

Jiu Yi didn't keep them in suspense and went straight to the point, saying, "The Empire intends to exonerate Mu Huai Ren... which means your father."

Mu Nandong was taken aback... "Rehabilitation" wasn't a very suitable term for the Empire. They had never officially defined the Mu Huai-ren incident; the "deserter" label was merely a popular expression. Officially, without concrete evidence, one couldn't publicly state a position on an issue, but considering public opinion, calling it "rehabilitation" wasn't entirely inappropriate.

Clearly, Mu Nandong had many questions, but Jiu Yi spoke up before he could.

"I can probably guess what you want to ask. The Empire still hasn't been able to confirm the truth about what happened more than 20 years ago... It's hard to say whether it was a deserter, fear, or a clown. In fact, just like when I went against everyone's wishes to let you take up a position in the Imperial Household, some truths aren't that important."

".."

Mu Nandong chose to remain silent, but a vague guess formed in his mind... It was too easy to guess.

Teachers at the Imperial Academy are considered public officials. If strictly following the country's rules and regulations, Mu Nandong should not be able to work at the Imperial Academy. Back then, Jiu Yi overruled the objections and managed to recruit Mu Nandong through a special external recruitment process.

Today, we've encountered a similar situation.

"Something happened in the alchemy department recently." Jiu Yi lit a cigarette... He didn't used to smoke. But Cao Cailan smoked, and the two of them were together all the time, so Jiu Yi also picked up this bad habit.

No, for a top-notch martial artist, smoking can't really be considered a bad habit.

He brought up a seemingly unrelated topic, but it was actually intricately connected to Mu Nandong, who was the best alchemist besides Ji Chaoge. However, using the Progenitor as a hypothetical enemy consumed too much of his time, energy, and talent; that was simply not a boss that could be dealt with in the current version.

"A bunch of messy things: corruption, factionalism, equipment resale, people just coasting along... Actually, money doesn't matter. Our Seven Luminaries has always been the richest. As long as we can produce results, we can make a little money, it doesn't matter at all. But the Alchemy Department hasn't produced any results for many years. The factional struggles are too obvious. If we don't take sides, we can't even get a little funding or equipment. The whole department is rotten to the core."

Mu Nandong remained silent... He felt a strange sense of unease again. Was the alchemy department of Qiyao really that bad?

It seems so, but it also seems not...

Regardless, Jiu continued speaking.

"Recently, the truth came to light, and His Majesty is furious. He plans to reform the Alchemy Department from the ground up. You are the best choice in terms of both ability and personality. Therefore, he intends to send you there directly as the deputy minister. However, because of your father's situation, you will never be able to enter the Alchemy Department legitimately. So, we simply plan to exonerate Mu Huai Ren as a price... You understand, right?"

".."

Mu Nandong certainly understood.

This is practically a way of recruiting him... It's good for both sides. Mu Nandong no longer has to bear those burdens, and the Empire can naturally bring this great general, Mu Nandong, into its system.

Sure enough, that was exactly what Jiu Yi said next.

"This is a good thing for both the Empire and you, isn't it? The truth from more than twenty years ago can't be found at all. Fear or clowns can't be found either. As for the deserter claim, if Mu Huai Ren could keep up the act all these years, then he would be quite remarkable. The truth is now impossible to know. This outcome is a good thing for you, for the Empire, for Mu Huai Ren... for everyone, isn't it?"

"What do you think, Mu Nandong?"

Mu Nandong pondered for a moment and said:

"...Let me think about it for a few days."

Jiu also gave a bitter laugh.

“I knew you’d say that… When I said ‘Mu Nandong might need a few days to think about it,’ those guys’ expressions were priceless. They asked me what there was to think about, and that he would have agreed immediately. But look, you didn’t give me a direct answer. Of course you can… go back and think about it yourself.”

Mu Nandong nodded and turned to unlock the door when Jiu Yi's voice came from behind him... Although he was only in his twenties, as the dean of the Imperial Academy, Jiu Yi was perhaps a qualified mentor in life.

"Mu Nandong... You came into this world owing nothing to anyone. Sometimes, letting go is the best choice."

Mu Nandong unlocked the door, opened it without turning around, his expression cold and stern, his voice low and powerful... He had been very restrained in his earlier words because he knew he shouldn't have vented his anger on Jiu Yi. But now it was different; Jiu Yi had spoken from his own perspective, so Mu Nandong decided to respond.

"Jiuyi... Let me tell you this too: justice or truth that comes late because of ability is more disgusting than anything else, but even so, it's better than nothing."

"And now, this is not the truth, let alone justice. You say this is good for everyone? You're wrong. This is not good for me, not at all. What do you think I've been searching for all these years? Is it to clear my name?"

“What I’m looking for has never changed...and you’re wrong. You should say that I owe my father something, so that I might be willing to make concessions for him.”

Jiu Yi readily agreed, already realizing Mu Nandong's answer, but still spoke up with a sliver of hope.

"You should think more about your father. He gave you life, you owe him that, don't you?"

“I owe him.” Mu Nandong pointed to his heart. “I won’t repay him with this.”

Chapter Sixty-Four: Losing Courage, Yet Still Having Courage (Part Two)

"Is Teacher Mu free?"

"No."

"Oh, you're joking, isn't it obvious that I have free time?"

"Disregarding the will of others and ignoring their answers is truly your consistent style."

"Let's just take the woman's words as a compliment."

Ye Qu smiled and sat down opposite Mu Nandong. They were in the Royal Academy cafeteria, and it was lunchtime. College students are at the age where they are good at nothing but eating. The cafeteria is always full of people, but Mu Nandong only comes to the cafeteria during mealtimes.

Nocturne seems to have a unique ability to catch people. When others want to find her, they can't find her anywhere, but when she wants to find someone, you can be dragged out even if you're hiding in a corner... Mu Nandong has been caught now.

Mu Nandong sighed; he wasn't one to sigh. However, Ye Qu was adept at evoking helpless sighs in others, and in the clash between the two, it seemed Mu Nandong had lost.

"If you have something to say, get to the point." After a sigh, Mu Nandong went straight to the point, "You've always been someone who likes to talk nonsense."

Nocturne didn't deny it, and said with a smile, "If a person lives in this world and never says a word of nonsense, wouldn't that be very boring? Just like a robot..."

Mu Nandong's face remained cold and indifferent, showing no intention of replying.

His attitude couldn't be clearer. Nocturne shrugged and said, "Alright... let the woman just say it. Actually, it's like this: recently, a philosophy student has been writing her graduation thesis and has encountered some difficulties. You know, philosophy students are most prone to this. The core of her thesis can be summarized in the five words 'white lies'... What do you think of these five words, Professor Mu?"

A profound sense of incongruity washed over him again, and Mu Nandong felt a wave of dizziness wash over him... How foolish! How could Ye Qu ask such a stupid question? Although it seemed perfectly normal at first glance, was it really appropriate for Ye Qu to say something like that?

Finally, he rubbed his temples and told himself that perhaps he hadn't been sleeping enough or thinking too much these past few days.

"You didn't state your own position, nor did you explain what exactly happened with that graduation thesis. You just said those five inexplicable words and then asked me what I thought... That's a stupid opening line, very forced. If I'm not mistaken, you're definitely going to delve into the topic of 'whether the truth matters.' You know what Jiu Yi told me, right? He probably asked you to be his intermediary. But you're far from prepared. Nocturne, you've cramed at the last minute and it's turned out so embarrassingly. It's not like you at all."

Mu Nandong spoke calmly, his tone unhurried, already displaying overwhelming dominance in every aspect... He had completely seen through Nocturne's thoughts.

"If you're here as a persuader, I advise you to give up as soon as possible. But for now, I'll answer you for now: this question is too stupid and too low-level. Don't ask it again."

Mu Nandong reached into his pocket, took out a coin, tossed it lightly, and covered it with his hand.

"Nocturne...which side of this coin do you think is facing up?"

Nocturne said, "Literally."

"Then I'll guess the flower side," Mu Nandong said, moving his hand away... the letter side was up. "You guessed right, I guessed wrong..."

After this inexplicable action, Mu Nandong looked around and waved.

"Ying Qin Guan... come here."

"...?" Ying Qin Guan, who had just finished eating, walked over with a puzzled look and asked, "What's wrong?"

Mu Nandong repeated his previous action and asked, "Which side of the coin do you think is facing up?"

"Character."

Mu Nandong moved his hand away, and sure enough, it was writing.

"Are you guessing?"

"Huh? What are you guessing? Isn't it crystal clear?"

"That's true." Mu Nandong nodded and said, "Thank you for your help. This is all for now. Do as you please."

"Huh?...Ah, what? This is so strange..."

Ying Qin Guan muttered something as he walked away.

Mu Nandong placed the coin on the table, his expression calm, and said:

"This is my answer, Nocturne."

"For you and for me, flipping this coin and guessing whether it lands heads or tails is all about 'guessing.' But for Ying Qin Guan, the key word is 'seeing.' In other words, while both involve flipping a coin and guessing heads or tails, for someone without the ability, it's a gamble with only a 50% chance of winning. But for someone with the ability, it's a competition—finding a way to 'see' the coin's heads or tails..."

"Even the same thing, when done by different people or addressed to different people, has completely different meanings. So, when you ask me what I think about the concept of a 'white lie,' I can only say it depends on the situation. Nothing in this world is fixed."

Mu Nandong paused slightly, then said:

"Just like that small team that escorted my father to the border. They only had a few dozen men and were ordered to confront hundreds of thousands of enemy troops on the border. At that time, they thought my father had 'fear,' but they didn't explicitly tell him to use it on paper because it would be too embarrassing. So they gave him that order, and then my father disappeared. Did those few dozen men have to obediently follow military orders and launch a pointless charge against hundreds of thousands of enemy troops without fear of death? I'm afraid not."