Chapter 242: Crazy Scholar Zhang San, the Heart is the Beginning of Tao

In the chessboard space, the Tianyi Jade Disc hanging behind Zhou Tieyi's head emitted a bright light, and a huge crack was quickly filled.

The birth of Taodu Weng alone is enough to be comparable to that of hundreds of minor gods.

Confucianism integrates the power of flesh and blood.

To be honest, Zhou Tieyi himself didn’t know where Tao Du Weng would go.

He looked at the Taodu Weng in front of him. His blood vessels and tree veins were intertwined to form a huge network. As his divine power spread to the entire space, it was no longer simply absorbing the power of thunder and righteousness in the space, but began to try to control the power of this space.

In this world of black and white, it is both weird and sacred.

The newborn's face had the innocence of a child, but because of the veins in the tree trunk, it looked unusually old.

Several contradictions are combined in Taodu Weng.

When ordinary people see it, they will feel an indescribable sense of boredom, as if their own logic will be completely crushed by these mixed contradictions.

“Father God, I can bear fruit!”

Tao Du Weng once again told Zhou Tieyi good news.

Zhou Tieyi thought, fortunately you said you can have a baby now.

"now?"

Tao Du Weng nodded, "Of course, but I need flesh and blood, not the kind of dead flesh and blood, but the flesh and blood of living, powerful beings."

Zhou Tieyi's expression, which had just relaxed, froze again.

Although I created you, could you please stop talking about flesh and blood all the time? It makes us look like the villains.

After thinking for a while, Zhou Tieyi decided to teach Taodu Weng a lesson, so he said, "Taodu Weng..."

"Father God?"

"Next time you talk about flesh and blood, you can use a different word."

"What's the alternative word?"

"nourishment."

Tao Du Weng said happily, "I understand. I need a lot of nutrients."

Zhou Tieyi thought of another question, "Will absorbing living things as nutrients affect your inheritance of the Confucian tradition?"

When Zhou Tieyi himself was integrating the [Loyalty and Righteousness] Taoist tradition, he clearly felt that he was being excluded, but Tao Du Weng did not seem to be restricted at all. It seemed that if it were not for his own restraint, he would probably have already made great strides on the path to becoming an evil god.

"No, after all, I am just a tree. I need nutrients to grow and will not be constrained by the Confucian tradition, just like the Confucian tradition will not constrain a tiger from eating people. This tradition can only constrain people, not me."

Zhou Tieyi thought about it seriously and decided that this was a bug in the identity recognition issue.

Zhou Tieyi came out of the white jade chessboard. Because he had to inherit a large number of historical scenes from Yang Zhang, it was already getting dark.

He thought for a moment, called Hao Ren over, and asked, "Where can I buy a large number of live exotic animals?"

A living monster?

Hao Ren thought about it seriously and replied, "There is an arena in the west of Xuanwu City. There are live exotic beasts there. Sir, do you want to close it down?"

Seeing Hao Ren's strange look, Zhou Tieyi couldn't help but complain, "Am I the kind of person who bullies others in the market? I'm going to buy something!"

Hao Ren immediately understood and nodded quickly, "Your Excellency is wise!"

Zhou Tieyi himself was stunned. Where was his wisdom?

Forget it, the people below just like to make wild guesses.

Zhou Tieyi thought about it, then called Ada and the other four people and went to the arena.

······
In the afternoon, Wang Mingyi came out of the God-Slaying Division and carefully folded the two pieces of paper given by Zhou Tieyi and put them close to his body.

He had one other thing he needed to do today.

Since he had decided to stay in the Railway Chamber of Commerce and run the newspaper at the same time, he had to make good use of his days off and not waste any of them.

After leaving the God-Slaying Division, Chen Daxing, who was helping Wang Mingyi guard the carriage, came up and asked, "Brother Yi, is everything done?"

Wang Mingyi nodded, then sat on the shaft and drove the carriage. During the process, he patiently taught Chen Daxing how to drive.

When they reached the open road, Wang Mingyi pointed out the direction, handed the reins to Chen Daxing and watched from the side.

"Brother Yi, aren't we going back to the Train Chamber of Commerce?"

Wang Mingyi smiled and said, "Let's go find a like-minded friend."

Minister Mei reminded himself that if he wanted to fight Zhou Tieyi, he could not do it alone.

After visiting Taixue Academy several times, Wang Mingyi felt that it was full of talented people. But now that Zhou Tieyi has come along, all the talented people in the academy are really overshadowed. There are only three or two people who can perhaps truly be called friends.

"Who?"

Chen Daxing asked curiously. He knew that after Wang Mingyi came to his side at Wangshu Tower that day, he had not attended the so-called literary gatherings for so many days, as if Wang Mingyi's former "friends" had forgotten him.

In his spare time, Wang Mingyi also explained to Chen Daxing the current situation in Tianjing. On the one hand, he was under a lot of pressure and needed someone to talk to. On the other hand, he really regarded Chen Daxing as his friend, and if Chen Daxing wanted to be his friend, he was destined to understand these things.

So Chen Daxing has been secretly worried about Wang Mingyi these days. Today, when he heard that Wang Mingyi had friends, he was not jealous, but happy for Wang Mingyi.

"Crazy warrior Zhang San."

Those who can be called madmen in a place like Taixuexue are not people who seek fame and reputation.

After all, it gathers the legitimate sons of the world's top aristocratic families and the heirs of various major schools. You can tell whether you are the real deal by trying it out. It's not enough to just be crazy.

And Zhang San is indeed very crazy.

Zhang San was originally a Confucian scholar, but he was naturally unruly, the kind that didn't even pretend to be unruly. He liked banquets, beautiful women, fancy clothes, and was fond of gambling.

Three years ago, Zhang San ran into the hands of the assistant doctor Zuo Zhisheng, who criticized him to his face for not being able to reach the sixth rank of Confucianism. Half a year later, Zhang San, in full view of everyone, rose from the seventh rank of Confucianism to the sixth rank of Confucianism. But that was not enough, he publicly abandoned his Confucian cultivation that he had practiced for more than ten years and turned to practice the way of the famous school. It only took him two years to reach the sixth rank of the famous school, and thus earned the title of madman.

The legitimate sons of the aristocratic families in Tianjing wanted to win him over and invited Zhang San to their banquets many times. However, ever since he married into a famous family, Zhang San's mouth became even more cunning, and he often embarrassed the hosts at banquets.

Therefore, even though he was extremely talented, he gradually could not get along with most people in Tai Academy and was criticized for being arrogant and difficult to get along with.

As Che Wenyuan's senior disciple, Wang Mingyi naturally couldn't get along with Zhang San. Zhang San even called him a filthy scholar in person, saying that a good piece of jade had fallen into a cesspool and was therefore smelly.

There is a Mishan Colosseum outside Xuanwu City.

There are many rare and exotic animals in this world, so naturally there are many people who like to fight animals.

Ordinary people only engage in cockfighting and dogfighting, but the powerful and wealthy prefer to watch ferocious beasts fighting each other. It is said that when Daxia was founded, there were gambling games between criminals and beasts fighting each other, but later it was gradually banned. Now it is mostly wild beasts fighting each other, and people can only gamble and fight with each other.

Zhou Tieyi has sealed off all the big and small nests in Tianjin in the past few days, but the Mishan Colosseum is still open for business.

There are two reasons.

The First Mishan Colosseum is not just an arena for the powerful and wealthy. Many ordinary people can buy tickets to watch it on holidays. It can be regarded as a place for people to have fun together. Compared with the Yingying Yanyan, although it is a bit bloody, there are not too many secret transactions.

The main shareholders of the Second Mishan Colosseum are the most famous military heroes in Tianjing, led by the Right General's Mansion, and among them is the Zhou family's share of the money.

Wang Mingyi arrived at the Mishan Colosseum, revealed his identity as a student of the Imperial Academy, and said to the steward, "I'm looking for Zhang Sheng."

The students of Tai Academy were originally the powerful class, and Zhang San was also a celebrity in the Mishan Colosseum, often spending a lot of money, so the steward took Wang Mingyi and Chen Daxing to a private room. After going in and notifying them, the steward opened the door and asked Wang Mingyi to take Chen Daxing in.

The private room is a semi-open stand on the third floor, from which you can just see the huge battlefield in the middle. In the battlefield, a tiger and a lion are biting each other.

The fight between lions and tigers is the most popular bet in the Colosseum, second only to the fight between exotic beasts with dragon veins.

However, most of the powerful dragon-vein beasts that have reached the middle level have the ability to fly, so unless there is a major festival, the Colosseum will not spend a lot of effort to ban the air and bring in dragon-vein beasts to fight.

Zhang San sat on the couch and did not stand up to greet him. He just looked up and glanced at Wang Mingyi. "You bastard, you came here today, aren't you trying to get me to work for you?"

Zhang San's attitude was as arrogant as it could be, especially when he spoke of his sworn brother in this way. Even an ordinary person like Chen Daxing wanted to beat him up.

Wang Mingyi's expression remained unchanged. "Since you have guessed it, why did you let me in? Aren't you afraid that I might pollute your eyes and ears?"

Zhang San smiled and said, "I let you in just to humiliate you. So, when you heard me letting you in, did you feel a little lucky?"

Wang Mingyi thought about it seriously. "Indeed, but if you only want to humiliate me like this, then I really came to the wrong place today. You are just a madman! Today I met another person, and his method of humiliating me is ten times better than yours!"

Zhang San sat up seriously, picked up the wine glass beside him and took a sip, then said slowly, "Zhou Tieyi?"

Wang Mingyi walked over with Chen Daxing, picked up the wine glass, poured a glass of wine for himself and Chen Daxing respectively, and started drinking.

"How did he humiliate you?"

Zhang San was very curious.

"Why should I tell you?"

Wang Mingyi asked back, "You are a guy who doesn't live up to your reputation. You are only good at talking, but you are far from a real 'scholar'. I plan to publish a newspaper and write about the two humiliations I suffered today. This way, people all over the world will know the difference. By then, you will also know that compared to him, your title of 'crazy scholar' is just 'crazy'."

"Whoaaah!"

Zhang San was so angry that he shouted like an old actor in an opera, but after a moment he poured wine into Wang Mingyi's empty glass with a smile.

"I didn't expect that after working as a farmhand for a few days, you would make some progress. But if you are just lying to me, I will throw you out myself later."

Wang Mingyi thought for a while, took out two pieces of paper from his arms and handed them to Zhang San.

Zhang San took the paper, first read "On Teachers", then read it aloud carefully, and after a while he clapped his hands and laughed, "Show this article to Zuo Zhisheng, he will be so angry that he will curse his parents. It's brilliant, really brilliant, it's the best way to humiliate you scumbags!"

Then he read again the sentence that he thought was the most brilliant, "So there is no noble or humble, no old or young, where the Tao exists, there is the teacher. Zuo Zhisheng is both noble and old, but he cannot be a teacher!"

Zhang San looked at the second piece of paper again. When he read the eight characters "Investigate things to gain knowledge, and integrate knowledge and action", he frowned and thought for a long time before asking, "How did he humiliate you?"

Wang Mingyi laughed and said, "He asked me to use these eight words to solve the problem and surpass his On Teachers. Is this considered humiliation?"

Zhang San was stunned, then burst into laughter and patted the soft couch beside him. "Excellent! This is a perfect way to humiliate others."

"I've told you how to solve the problem, but you, a scholar who can write articles, are now incapable of writing this article. This is the greatest humiliation in the world!"

Wang Mingyi sighed, drank a glass of wine, and then said, "Can you solve the problem?"

Zhang San thought about it carefully. This time he did not laugh at Wang Mingyi, because it was really hard for him to solve the problem in front of "On Teachers". However, since he could be called a madman, Zhang San must have some skills. He said seriously, "This "On Teachers" is a way of learning from the outside, while "Investigating Things to Gain Knowledge, and Unifying Knowledge and Action" is a way of learning that combines the inside and the outside. If it is written, it will definitely surpass the way of learning from the outside."

Then he picked up the wine pot, put his hand to the spout, and drank from it. After half of the pot was gone, he recited "On Teachers" and then recited to himself in a madman, "To study things, which thing should I start with? If I want to study things, I should start with wine."

Wang Mingyi didn't care about the possessed Zhang San. Now that he had some free time, he started to think about these eight words. But the more he thought about it, the more confused he became. Even though he had seen the way forward, it seemed as if there were thousands of mountains and rivers between him and the road.

The two top students of Tai Academy were thinking like this, and time slipped away unknowingly.

Chen Daxing originally thought that Brother Yi was going to fight with this friend, but he didn't expect that Brother Yi's few words would change this strange friend's mind. He admired him while looking at the two people who had already been obsessed.

So I thought to myself, how come we were just chatting nicely when he suddenly went crazy? No wonder I was not good at literature before.

Fortunately, there was a fruit plate and snacks in the private room. Chen Daxing ate the fruit plate and snacks at the side, feeling quite comfortable. After waiting for nearly two hours, the two of them were still not exhausted from their madness.

Chen Daxing couldn't help but look at the paper between the two men, wanting to know what Young Master Zhou had written that could drive the two geniuses so crazy.

He glanced over and said venomously, "What do you understand..."

But when he was halfway through his venomous words, he thought of the saying that there is no high or low, no old or young, and sighed, "I am not as good as you."

After saying that, he handed the paper to Chen Daxing.

Chen Daxing picked up the paper and read it carefully. Although the content was not as straightforward as vernacular Chinese, it did not use any allusions and was a little tongue-twisting at best. With a little thought, he could still understand what it meant.

He couldn't help but whispered in praise, "Good."

Wang Mingyi and Zhang San looked over and asked, "What's so good about you understanding it?"

Chen Daxing was embarrassed for a moment. Facing Wang Mingyi's hopeful gaze, he could only speak out his feelings, "Good is good, just like watching a play. If you feel happy after watching it, why do you need to know why it is good? I am different from you. Because I didn't learn anything since I was a child, I only know how to applaud, just like when you are satisfied with the play, you will cheer."

As soon as Chen Daxing finished speaking, thunderous cheers came from outside. It turned out that another beast fight had ended, and the audience was cheering for the surviving beasts, even though the beasts did not understand why those humans were yelling.

Zhang San seemed to have grasped some inspiration. He walked quickly to the stands and looked around at the audience.

These audiences are rich and poor, young and old, male and female. If they cheer now, does that mean they understand the reason for their cheering? It's just that they are speaking from their heart.

Thinking of speaking from the heart, Zhang San walked back quickly, wanting to find pen and ink, but there was no pen and ink in the room. He asked someone outside to bring it in, but he thought it was too slow, so he bit his finger and wrote the four words "Speaking from the heart" on a piece of paper.

When he finished writing, he looked at Wang Mingyi next to him and was about to show off, but he saw that Wang Mingyi had also bitten his finger and wrote the four words "Heart is the beginning of the Tao" on the paper.

After reading Wang Mingyi's four words, Zhang San laughed out loud, "From today on, you can no longer be called a dung scholar. I will call you a fellow traveler."

However, as soon as he said the words "fellow traveler", his face turned strange again, because that night at Linshuixuan, he had watched the fight between Zhou Tieyi and Zhao Taisui, and was deeply impressed by Zhou Tieyi's "fellow traveler".

Zhang San shook his head, trying to get rid of the strange thoughts of his fellow travelers, and then bowed to Chen Daxing seriously, "Thank you for your advice today."

Chen Daxing was confused. Why did I bring this up?

Wang Mingyi did not bow to Chen Daxing. There was no need to care about the formalities between him and Chen Daxing.

"I want to start a newspaper. I hope you can help me?"

Zhang San picked up the wine jug, only to see that the wine was scattered all over the table. It turned out that he had drunk all the wine in the room when he was possessed.

So he picked up some peanuts and started eating. "Help you? How can I help you? He wrote eight words on a piece of paper. We spent the whole afternoon thinking about it. It was only with the help of another piece of paper that we came up with a solution."

"Not as good as the far win, not as good as the far win!"

Zhang San sighed and said, "Forget it. I don't need the character 'Scholar' anymore. I'll just keep the character 'Kuang' from now on."

Wang Mingyi laughed and said, "You can't even keep the word 'crazy' like this, right?"

Zhang San was stunned.

It seems to make sense.

Wang Mingyi continued, "Besides, you love gambling. He and I made a ten-year game to decide the winners and losers. If you don't participate in this game, I'm afraid you won't even be able to leave the word gambling. In the future, you will only be able to leave the words beauty and fancy clothes... Well, maybe you won't be able to leave the words beauty, and only the words fancy clothes Zhang San will be left."

Zhang San in fancy clothes?

This name is so stupid. If I keep it, it will be more painful than death.

Zhang San curled his lips and said, "You are quite good at talking now, but why shouldn't I follow him but you?"

Wang Mingyi said, "The most interesting thing about gambling is the excitement before the result is revealed. If you follow him, the chances of winning are too great. Can it be called gambling? Only if you follow me can it be called gambling!"

Zhang San thought about it seriously and nodded, "I have no choice but to accept this provocation! I, Zhang San, have no choice but to participate in this gambling game. I must win back the word 'madman' from him!"

(End of this chapter)