allonlinenovel Chapter 131 Yin Yang Exquisite Box
Chapter 131 Yin Yang Exquisite Box
Chapter 131 Yin Yang Exquisite Box
The faint sarcasm made Ye Ru's face turn cold instantly. Then he looked to the side and a scholar dressed as a child came into view.
Beside this scholar were two burly men.
"Brother, could you please give me this ancient box? I will offer you a third-grade literary treasure."
The scholar looked at Ye Ru and said with a smile.
As this person intervened, a murmur of whispers began to echo around them, causing Ye Ru to frown.
"It's actually Gongsun Wu from a military family. I didn't expect him to pass the imperial examination as a child scholar."
"That's a descendant of Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi. It seems that the poor scholar might be in trouble."
"Bai Qi, the Lord of Wu'an, was a famous killing god during the Qin Dynasty. As the saying goes, 'Like father, like son,' their descendants are likely to be fierce and ruthless as well."
The surrounding aristocratic families and powerful clans cast pitying glances at Ye Ru.
Ye Ru narrowed his eyes slightly. No wonder he traveled with two attendants. The title of the God of Slaughter Bai Qi alone far surpasses that of these two attendants.
Bai Qi, also known as Gongsun Qi, was a famous general during the Warring States period. He was infamous for burying alive 400,000 Zhao soldiers during the Battle of Changping.
Because of his excessive killings, he was demoted to a military family.
Military families stand shoulder to shoulder with powerful families, but their strength is far inferior to that of aristocratic families.
After all, some military families entered officialdom, but the vast majority went to the frontier to protect their country in another way.
"How about it? If you hand it over to me, I can trade you a third-grade literary treasure, but if you refuse..."
Gongsun Wu stopped mid-sentence, gave Ye Ru a slight, threatening smile:
"But then you'll have to walk sideways out."
"Sorry, I refuse."
However, as soon as Gongsun Wu finished speaking, Ye Ru's words made the smile on his face freeze slightly. Finally, the latter slammed his hand on the table, and his talent suddenly burst forth. The mottled ancient box was directly put into the storage bracelet by Ye Ru.
Ye Ru's move caused Gongsun Wu's face to gradually darken. Then, he suddenly opened his folding fan, the fan bones becoming exceptionally hard from the infusion of energy, and slashed horizontally at Ye Ru's arm.
boom!
In response to Gongsun Wu's attack, Ye Ru clenched his fist, and the Three Perfections Literary Brush appeared in his hand, which he then used to block the attack.
clang!
A sharp crack rang out, and both Ye Ru and Gongsun Wu took two steps back.
"What, you're going to try and rob me under the law?"
Ye Ru twirled the Three Perfections Writing Brush in his hand and sneered.
"Hmph, you're just a poor student, aren't you?"
Upon hearing this, Gongsun Wu frowned. If the court found out that he was robbing someone in the street, he would be in deep trouble. Moreover, as a descendant of a military family, the impact would be even greater.
"So what if I come from a poor family? Do you think you can intimidate me with your military background?"
Ye Ru said calmly.
"Hmph, you're not worthy. You're just a poor scholar. You're only here to participate in the National Children's Examination as a green leaf to adorn us flowers. This is the land of Western Shu, not your poor backwater. If you know what's good for you, get lost. Otherwise, after the National Children's Examination, even if you have the title of a child scholar, I can still put you in jail!"
Gongsun Wu shouted coldly.
"Poverty and lowliness cannot sway you, wealth and honor cannot corrupt you, and power and force cannot subdue you. With such an arrogant descendant as you, Lord Wu'an is truly a calamity for a military family. I'll wait and see if you dare to come at me."
Ye Ru glanced at Gongsun Wu, then turned and left.
Watching Ye Ru's retreating figure, Gongsun Wu clenched his fists. As a descendant of a military family, he had never been so humiliated by a commoner.
"Investigate who this person is. If he passes the national examination for the title of Tongsheng, I will make sure he is utterly disgraced and his literary reputation is completely ruined."
After this little incident, Ye Ru wandered around again, but this time he found nothing.
"Brother Ye Ru, we're about to head back. Would you like to wander around a little longer?"
At the corner of the stairs, Kong Hexuan spotted Ye Ru and then spoke.
"I'm not going to shop anymore. I'll go back with you. Wang Hu and the others should have arrived by now."
Ye Ru and Kong Hexuan returned to their lodgings. Ye Ru quickly took the mottled ancient box and examined it carefully.
The entire surface of this mottled ancient box was covered in ink stains, which were so peculiar that they could not be scraped off even with a knife.
"Xiaobai, do you know what this thing is?"
"It has yin-yang symbols carved on it, so it must be related to the Yin-Yang school."
Little White darted out, stood on the table, and patted the mottled ancient box with its little paws. It seemed to remember something, and then guessed:
"The Yin-Yang School once possessed a sacred artifact, the Yin-Yang Exquisite Box, which contained thirty-six formation-breaking melodies and seventy-two formation-entry melodies. When Qin Shi Huang besieged the Yin-Yang School, the Yin-Yang Exquisite Box was taken away by the Yin-Yang family members, and its whereabouts became unknown during the war. Perhaps..."
A look of shock appeared on Ye Ru's face, then he murmured:
"You mean, this weathered ancient box is the lost Yin-Yang Exquisite Box?"
"It's possible. If you can acquire all 108 war songs and the Way of the Qin, you will definitely reach the pinnacle, and you might even be able to achieve sainthood through the Way of the Qin."
"To achieve sainthood through the art of the zither..."
Ye Ru licked his lips, a burning glint in his eyes. Although the way of the zither was a minor category, achieving sainthood through the way of the zither was a unique path.
However, Ye Ru shook his head and rejected the idea shortly after, then firmly stated:
"I do not want to be canonized. What I want is to bring peace to all generations. What I want is to prevent any country from bullying us."
Do you know why the Mohist school is declining?
Xiao Bai paused for a moment, then said.
"Why?"
Ye Rudao didn't know what the other party meant by saying those words.
"Because they were too conservative. The organizational and behavioral characteristics of the Mohists determined that they were willing to sacrifice their lives without hesitation for the sake of justice and righteousness."
Ye Ru fell into thought, then said:
"Yes, they are strict with themselves. Lu Jia, a great Confucian scholar of the Western Han Dynasty, once said that the Mohist school has many brave warriors. The book Huainanzi also said that the Mohists could all be made to go through fire and blades and die without hesitation."
"One of the leaders of the Mohist school was Lord Yangcheng of Chu, Shoufeng. He and his 183 disciples all died in battle without retreating. This was the consequence of their inflexibility and rigid adherence to rules. If you insist on upholding the Confucian and Mencian doctrines of benevolence and righteousness, you will be no different from those mediocre half-sages, completely unable to step into the path of the ultimate sage!"
Xiao Bai took a deep breath and then continued.
Upon hearing this, Ye Ru was startled, as if he had suddenly realized something.
"I understand. As the saying goes, all roads lead to Rome; water flows a thousand miles but eventually returns to the sea. Whether it's music, chess, calligraphy, painting, or anything else, the goal is to become a sage. Although it's said that being a jack-of-all-trades is not as good as being a specialist, if one has expertise in a particular field, one can at most reach the level of a half-sage, and will never step onto the path of the ultimate sage!"
At this moment, Ye Ru's eyes were unusually bright, as if he had vaguely touched some kind of barrier...