Chapter 25: Mushroom Festival
Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Mushroom Festival
’Isn’t this just like exploiting the laws of physics?’
Water flows downhill, so you build a water wheel to generate mechanical energy, making the work much easier.
’If I can figure out the operational logic of the villagers controlled by the outer god, couldn’t I also exploit that?’
"It can indeed be exploited."
Zhu Ge looked at Yu the Scholar. "But it must be triggered by certain words or actions. What are some of your daily habits?"
Most of the villagers currently had a rigid routine of "working from sunrise to sunset."
If they could somehow trigger one of these rigid behaviors, they might even be able to find the other god’s shrine.
But to induce such behavior, one needed a deep understanding of the villagers’ daily habits and actions. Only then could they "trigger" the corresponding reaction.
"Habits? Does reading count? And writing. I love writing..."
Yu the Scholar answered subconsciously, then trailed off as he saw the exasperated look in Zhu Ge’s crimson eyes. "Right, those can’t be used. Let me think... things I would react to..."
Zhu Ge felt helpless.
’I never realized this Yu the Scholar was such a goofball.’
’Usually so stern and serious, hating evil as if it were his mortal enemy, but secretly, he’s quite the character.’
But as he thought about this, something suddenly occurred to Zhu Ge.
’Quite the character?’
An image surfaced in Zhu Ge’s mind: Yu the Scholar, drunk, reciting poetry and singing songs completely out of tune.
That scene... it seemed to have happened during a festival...
"That’s it, the Mushroom Festival!" Zhu Ge said suddenly.
"Other things that might provoke a reaction are all personal matters we wouldn’t know about. But the Mushroom Festival, like farming, should be something everyone reacts to!"
What a person reacts to is related to their own personal experiences.
But things like festivals are events everyone will react to.
Like the New Year or the Spring Festival.
And right now, the closest holiday should be the Mushroom Festival.
It was currently the season for people in this region to eat mushrooms, which grew all over the mountains.
Therefore, the people of this region had a grand Mushroom Festival dedicated to foraging for them.
Then, every household would cook the mushrooms in various ways and bring the finished dishes outside to place on tables.
The tables would be lined up from one end of the village to the other, forming a long line. People would sit down and eat their way from the head of the village to the tail, enjoying the magnificent mushroom feast.
The Mushroom Festival, the Long Street Banquet!
"That’s right! The Mushroom Festival! I almost forgot!" Yu the Scholar remembered as well.
"The Mushroom Festival is in two days! If we haven’t found the shrine by then, we’ll burn all the houses down!"
On the day of the Mushroom Festival, for the Long Street Banquet, everyone had to come out and set up tables, joining them all together.
Therefore, that day was the perfect opportunity for them to burn down the village without harming the villagers!
"But during the process, we need to be careful with the wedding chamber. Don’t burn down Hua Xiaomei’s room," Yu the Scholar reminded him, then changed the subject.
"By the way, have you practiced that Body Refining Technique? Have you felt any discomfort?"
"No," Zhu Ge shook his head.
Yu the Scholar thought for a moment, then spoke again.
"Now that you have the Body Refining Technique, you might want to try some spiritual cultivation. Both the Confucian Dao and the Immortal Dao are adept in this area."
"Although the teacher previously said it would be difficult for you to cultivate the Confucian Dao, I see you’ve changed a great deal. Perhaps this brush with death has brought you some enlightenment. It wouldn’t hurt to try cultivating the Confucian Dao."
"However, if you cultivate too many paths, it might affect your future realm advancement. But we can’t worry about that right now..."
’The Confucian Dao?’
Zhu Ge nodded slightly.
’At a time like this, who cares which path it is? As long as it increases my strength, it’s fine.’
’If I can’t even survive now, who has time to worry about future realm advancements?’
"Then let me tell you about this matter of cultivation..."
Under the moonlight, Yu the Scholar began his explanation to Zhu Ge.
Simply put, cultivation was the method of absorbing Spiritual Qi and converting it into power within the body.
This power could be called "Qi," "Magical Power," "Spiritual Power," "Literary Energy," and so on, but in essence, it was a profound and mysterious force.
For example, Body Refinement produced Blood Qi. Zhu Ge had not yet felt any Blood Qi, so he couldn’t even be considered to be in the First Realm.
And to generate this power, one had to cultivate according to the methods of each respective path.
Body Refinement required one to truly temper their physical body.
Cultivating the Immortal Dao meant one must follow the path of Foundation Establishment.
And to cultivate the Confucian Dao, one needed to read!
Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will reveal itself!
"...Thus, after reading the *Spring and Autumn Annals* and *Mencius*, my heart naturally holds to what is right. My noble and righteous light shatters evil. All worldly things cannot touch me. I understand the Dao of ’Righteousness.’ I cultivate my body with Righteousness. Where Righteousness leads, I fear neither life nor death!"
As he spoke, Yu the Scholar straightened his back. His eyes shone with a brilliant light, and his posture held an unbending, upright quality, as if he would rather break than bend.
Righteousness!
It was by reading the two books, the *Spring and Autumn Annals* and *Mencius*, that Yu the Scholar came to understand the Dao of "Righteousness."
Afterward, a wisp of Literary Energy was born within him, and thus he could be considered to have entered the Confucian Dao’s Cultivation Realm!
The character for "Confucian" on his chest flared with light, as if echoing Yu the Scholar’s words.
"Read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will reveal itself..." Zhu Ge mulled over this sentence, feeling a sense of enlightenment.
"Unfortunately..." At that moment, Yu the Scholar’s aura slowly faded.
"Unfortunately, I have never read the original versions of the *Spring and Autumn Annals* or *Mencius*," Yu the Scholar said, shaking his head.
"What I read were copies I received from the teacher. He carried two transcribed copies with him every day, but you are no longer fortunate enough to read them."
"But it’s alright. You can read my *Notes on the Jianshan Terraces* and supplement it with my oral recitation of the *Spring and Autumn Annals* and *Mencius*. Perhaps you can gain some comprehension and give birth to Literary Energy."
’Reading?’
Zhu Ge thought about it and couldn’t help but be reminded of his twelve years of compulsory education.
He remembered the four dreaded words from his past: "recite the full text."
Thinking about it now, how could the spiritual pillar that brilliant civilization had given him be summarized by just "recite the full text"?
"I’ll go and read on my own first," Zhu Ge nodded, then hesitated.
"Is reading the only way to enter the Confucian Dao? What I mean is, what would happen if I wrote a book myself?"
Hearing this, Yu the Scholar was taken aback. "Wri... wri-wri... write a book?"
Then, he shot a speechless glance at Zhu Ge. "You’re just like I was back then, full of ambition. But do you have any idea how difficult it is to write a book and establish a new doctrine?"
"Although writing your own book could indeed solidify your Cultivation Realm, if the book you write cannot reach the level of the *Spring and Autumn Annals* or *Mencius*, you might not be able to cultivate a body of ’Benevolence’ or ’Righteousness.’"
"Cultivation, cultivation... what kind of self you cultivate is very important."
"I see," Zhu Ge nodded, then began to ask for more details about the Confucian Dao.
To increase his strength, he needed to grasp at every straw and not let a single opportunity slip by.
Martial Arts Body Refinement, he wanted it.
The Confucian Dao, he wanted that too!