That day, Situ Hai Tang made some arrangements for Xu Que, Shang Ling, and his old peers to sit down together and enjoy tea.
Shang Ling had also asked Shang Wu to join the crowd and severely criticized him in front of Xu Que.
Shang Wu felt rather upset and dared not to contradict his father, since his father had warned him that if he dared to speak one more word, he would cancel his engagement with Situ Hai Tang.
That was why he had “willingly” accepted all the reprimanding.
Shang Wu looked at Xu Que from time to time and secretly sneered.
…
Before he joined the crowd, Shang Wu had already been told by someone he absolutely trusted that his message had been delivered to the Gong Family overseas. He had spent hundreds of Spiritual Stones of top quality on this.
The Gong Family had already sent out four powerful men in the Infant Transformation Stage, and Shang Wu’s cousin, his aunt’s son, was among them. In just a few days, they would arrive at the Snow City.
Shang Wu was very happy that he could finally get his revenge. He was sure that he could win, since he was one of the few from Five Element Mountain who knew how powerful the cultivators overseas were.
Compared with the cultivators on Five Element Mountain, the cultivators overseas were much more powerful, both in the regards to magic inscription and the toughness of their bodies.
However, in fact, Xu Que had already known something was not right with Shang Wu.
This b*stard must have some other schemes. If he really intends to kill me, I’ll just let my thunder illusion body kill him.
…
During the tea party, Shang Ling and his old peers talked happily about Taoism and a wide range of subjects.
Xu Que had no idea what they were talking about, but he still managed to act tough by nodding and making the gestures like he was contemplating from time to time.
After all, unlike him, they had all become cultivators by studying Taoism and cultivating. As for Xu Que, he had done so by killing people and knew nothing about Taoism, so he just kept silent all through the party.
Seeing this, Situ Hai Tang thought Xu Que was being silent on purpose. She gently touched him with her hand to send him a message. “Xu Que, it’s rather rude for you to be silent all this time. You should at least say something, anything you want to say at all!”
“Oh!” Xu Que forced out a smile.
Anything I want to say at all? Are you kidding me? Acting tough on purpose is something I detest very much.
Shang Ling saw Xu Que smiling and asked, “Young man, you are much more superior than any of us both in regards to talent and strength. Would you mind sharing some of your thoughts on Taoism with us?”
Hearing this, Xu Que was speechless.
Oh no! How on earth would I have thoughts on Taoism? No! No! No! I am the King of Acting Tough, I cannot possibly lose face due to this. Yes, I know I am not good at talking about this so-called Taoism, but still, I know I can brag!
All of a sudden, his body trembled, and he said with a very serious face, “Sect Leader Shang, you are being rather modest. You were talking about Tao just now, but I wonder if you’ve ever thought about what Tao really is?”
Hearing this, Shang Ling, Situ Hai Tang, and the rest of the people became confused.
What Tao really is?
Obviously, no one thought Xu Que would say something like this.
It seemed that everyone present knew something about Tao, but as for what it really is, it wasn’t easy to give a clear answer immediately.
“My god! None of you have any idea what Tao really is? Haven’t your teachers said anything to you about this in high school? I can answer this question in only one sentence,” Xu Que shook his head.
High school? What is that?
Xu Que closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“The Tao that can be expressed is not the eternal Tao; the Name that can be expressed is not the eternal Name.”
Hearing this, everyone around was stunned.
This is very difficult to understand! The Tao that can be expressed is not the eternal Tao?
They all looked at Xu Que and saw him closing his eyes and slightly frowning. It seemed like he was meditating. He looked like a God who was preaching to his followers.
He really is brilliant!
He’s so young, yet he already has such a high mastery of Tao. We, no, everyone in the Cultivation World, should learn from him.
Shang Wu was also shocked by what Xu Que had said and couldn’t believe Xu Que, who was younger than him, could have such sophisticated ideas.
Situ Hai Tang had meant to ask Xu Que to say something and not to be silent all the time. After she heard what he said, she was greatly surprised.
…
Meanwhile, Xu Que was thinking hard, trying to recall the texts about Taoism written in his Chinese book in middle school.
My god, I’ve almost forgotten.
After a while, Xu Que managed to recall a few lines of it. “Names can name no lasting name. Nameless: the origin of heaven and earth. Naming: the mother of ten thousand things. Empty desire, perceive mystery. Filled with desire, perceive manifestations. These have the same source, but different names. Call them both deep—deep and again, deep: the gateway to all mystery…”
“Okay, I should stop here, that’s quite enough for today. You should ponder on this if you want to know more about Tao. I have done my job.”
Then Xu Que took a deep breath and was relieved.
These lines that had impressed everyone present were from “Tao Te Ching.” After hearing this, everyone was in a daze.
What Xu Que had said sounded very mysterious and complicated, but in fact, it was a way of simplifying the rather complex ideas of Tao.
The others present had all learned something from Xu Que’s words.
Shang Ling exclaimed, “I am really ashamed by myself. You are so young and already have such a good hold of Tao.”
“It’s really a pity that there aren’t many young talents like you these days.”
The rest of the people all nodded.
No wonder he’s already in the Infant Transformation Stage in his teens. Of course, it has a lot to do with his own talent, but it has also a lot to do with his hard work.
Hearing his father and the rest complimenting Xu Que, he was so furious that he almost cried.
You have all been deceived by him. He is not the kind of person you all think he is!
Suddenly, Shang Ling hit Shang Wu on the back of his head. “Your mind has gone miles away, right?! Look at Xu Que. Although he’s so very talented, he’s never arrogant like you are! He works hard and devotes himself to cultivation. As for you, you know nothing but bullying others.”
“I…”
I’m arrogant and a bully?
Father! Open your eyes and look at Xu Que carefully. He is the one who is an arrogant bully!
“Sect Leader Shang, please don’t be like this. It won’t do any good to your health. It takes time and patience to raise a child. I know it’s not easy!”
Shang Ling nodded and totally agreed with what Xu Que had just said.
Yes, it really is difficult to raise a child.
“You’re absolutely right! He’s already past the point of help now, and I can’t do anything about it,” Shang Ling shook his head and sighed.
“You cannot possibly be this negative!” Xu Que said suddenly, “I think the best way to raise a misbehaving child who is too picky about food and hates eating is to give him a good hit.”
Hearing this, Shang Wu was totally shocked.
I’m never picky about food and I don’t hate eating at all!
Shang Ling forced out a smile. “His problem is much more complicated than just being picky about food.”
Xu Que waved his hand and said, “Sect Leader Shang, you misunderstood me. I was just giving you an example. How about I tell you in this way, do you know how I managed to make such a great achievement? It was all because of my father.”
“Oh? What do you mean by that exactly?”
Everyone was very interested and wondered how Xu Que had managed to come this far.
Xu Que looked high up at the sky and said, “When I was young, my family was very poor. I didn’t have enough food to eat, and it was impossible to get enough sleep. One time, a moldy chinese bread fell onto the ground from a carriage. I hurriedly picked it up and ate it. That night, my father hit me bitterly after he learned about it. He hit me without stopping for three days with a thorny stick. He even sprinkled salt on my wounds…
“Since then, I learned that I should never take things that didn’t belong to me, and I became a very independent and hard-working person. That’s why I’m so diligent now, all because of my father. Without him, I couldn’t possibly come this far.”
Then he looked at Shang Ling and said, “So you cannot be merciful to your own child. You should hit him bitterly until he starts to behave himself. When he grows up, he will surely appreciate you for this.”
Hearing this, Shang Ling’s eyes sparkled, and he said happily, “You’re absolutely right! Your words have enlightened me indeed!”
Suddenly, the tea cup in Shang Wu’s hand fell onto the ground and shattered into pieces.
Screw you! Xu Que! You’re really such a thug! How dare you encourage my father to hit me?! Father! Don’t buy his words! He doesn’t even think before he speaks!