Tang Xiaoyu spoke passionately with a ferocious look on his face. Zhang Huizhu awkwardly interrupted, "Xiaoyu! There are no sects around us, just some ordinary people's cities and villages."
"If we go beyond the sphere of influence of demonic cultivators to attack those righteous sects, it may trigger a war between immortals and demons."
"So you should understand what I mean."
Tang Xiaoyu was a little embarrassed and didn't know what to say. The others also drooped their heads, lacking the previous passion.
Zhang Huizhu comforted, "Although we can't move the sects for now, we can develop foundations among the common people!"
"After all, they are the main body of this world. With them as the foundation, their children in the future will not think of joining the immortal sects to cultivate immortality and seek longevity, but will instead join us to cultivate and ascend through comprehension of the Dao."
Tang Xiaoyu's eyes lit up. "Right! Education must begin with the children."
"Fine, we'll start with the ordinary people around us."
Someone asked, "Are the two principles of sincere conversion and death still in place?"
Before Tang Xiaoyu could speak, Zhang Huizhu scolded, "Are you stupid? If we do that, what would be the point of promoting our righteous Daoism?"
"They are who we need to win over, not strike against. Do you understand?" Zhang Huizhu was shouting by the end.
Standing on the side, Tang Xiaoyu felt this scene was a bit familiar. [Does this look like my past self? I don't think I was that scary!]
The scolded man scratched his head, "Master, don't get angry. You know we didn't get much schooling and our minds are simple."
Zhang Huizhu calmed herself a bit, "Xiaoyu, don't mind me. My temper comes and goes, I can't control it."
Tang Xiaoyu expressed his understanding. "I can relate. I used to be like this too. The difference is you have people to coax you, while I had people get angry at me."
Zhang Huizhu laughed. "I brought up these brothers myself, our feelings can't be described."
"Old Liu told us about your experiences. In the future when the brothers have something to eat, we won't let you go hungry."
Tang Xiaoyu was very moved. Let alone the life-saving grace, even their trust in him was invaluable.
Zhu Six added, "Xiaoyu, your enemies are our enemies. We will one day get justice for the common folk of Qingshan Town and your fallen disciples."
The others also expressed their wish to avenge Tang Xiaoyu.
At this moment, Tang Xiaoyu didn't know how to describe his feelings. He said gratefully, "On behalf of my fallen countrymen and disciples, I thank you all."
Zhang Huizhu comforted, "Xiaoyu, don't be sad. We're all people abandoned by this world, so we understand how you feel."
"If not for being forced by circumstances, who would willingly choose to cultivate demonically, becoming something between human and ghost that Heaven and Earth reject?"
Zhang Huizhu then gave a faint smile, "But now it's good. We no longer have to suffer that backlash."
"You didn't just save us, but all people like us. The Dao Ancestor will be the belief of all demonic cultivators."
Tang Xiaoyu had originally imagined demonic cultivators to be centered around demons, but later realized there were hardly any demons at all, since there were no heroes in this world.
Demonic cultivation was just another cultivation path not recognized by most. Those paths not recognized by most would be labeled as monsters and demons, classified as evil.
The atmosphere sank into sadness. To liven things up, Zhu Six brought up Tang Xiaoyu's past.
"Let me tell you guys, those righteous cultivators popularized sound stones that stored various songs."
Zhang Huizhu perked up, "I know about those. I got one to listen to before, the songs sounded so nice. My favorite one was 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.'"
Zhu Six waved his hand, "Those are trivial."
Putting his arm around Tang Xiaoyu's shoulder, he said, "This is the real divine stuff."
He then recounted Tang Xiaoyu's glorious deeds.
Zhang Huizhu gazed admiringly, "Xiaoyu, is this real? Cultivation is so boring to begin with. Being able to listen to songs during breaks is a kind of enjoyment. I especially admire the person who sang 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,' the lyrics are written so well."
Tang Xiaoyu helplessly nodded, "The song you mentioned, I sang it when I won the championship at White Tiger."
Zhang Huizhu beamed, "Really? Can you sing it for me?"
Tang Xiaoyu could hardly refuse and sang it live for her, moving her to happy tears.
[We must have been really bored to take music as our sole enjoyment.] Tang Xiaoyu thought, forgetting that he used to enjoy listening to songs alone, reminiscing about the past.
Zhu Six sidled up, "Xiaoyu, sing us one too! But not those mushy romantic ones."
Tang Xiaoyu pondered, [Alright, I'll sing you guys "Kneeling Before My Parents"!]
"Kneeling once before parents does a child beget..."
He sang about how parents devote their entire lives for their children, with thought-provoking lines.
As Zhu Six listened, he wept, unable to let go of thoughts of his parents and regretting them the most.
The others weren't much better. From their reactions, they were all filial children.
This is just like in our real society, where genteel-looking people aren't necessarily filial children, and could even be beasts.
And those who appear fierce and vicious, doing bad deeds, can be extremely doting and attentive toward their parents.
Just look at those big bandits in modern times, who wasn't a filial son?
Of course, one could argue whether they were truly filial children, depending on interpretations, but to those individuals, they were.
When the song finished, many expressed intentions to return home to burn incense and kneel in worship before their parents.
Zhang Huizhu deeply understood their feelings, as she once had parents too. But now wasn't the time!
Tang Xiaoyu spoke up, "Are you going back now in your current states to memorialize your parents? Won't that fail to set their spirits at peace in heaven?"
"Among the greatest disloyalties, to die without offspring is the worst. What faces would you have to meet them? Your current fierce and terrifying faces?"
Zhu Six agreed, "Xiaoyu is right. We must bring along grandchildren when seeing them."
Tang Xiaoyu was dumbfounded, "That's not what I meant. I was just speaking casually earlier."
"Little Tang, you didn't say anything wrong. I feel you're making a lot of sense. When we were still ordinary people, our parents had been expecting grandchildren early on. We must fulfill that wish of theirs."
Tang Xiaoyu painstakingly explained, "What I meant is that you should achieve something first and make them proud of you."
The others affirmed, "Little Tang, no more persuading from you. We intend to accomplish all that before facing our late parents again."
Before even handling that, Zhang Huizhu exclaimed, "Where is that son of mine?" (she originally said, Unknowingly I've become a spinster)
Tang Xiaoyu didn't even dare to look at them, fearing some of the women might set their sights on him.
Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing was the best option.
ial death, also known as "shè sǐ" in Chinese, generally refers to... well, never mind, it's not important. My name is Ye Cheng, and I'm about to experience social death firsthand. ... 【Host, your mission is to confess your love to the young lady of the Dongfang family, the current student council president, in a way that will be unforgettable for everyone at the freshman ceremony!】 【Host, assist the girl with a sprained ankle in front of you to reach the infirmary, and fulfill the wicked thoughts in your heart!】 【Host, act on your desires and punish the arrogant young lady before you mercilessly!】 【Host, follow your instincts—abandon shameful surrender, begging, or groveling, and ruthlessly criticize the domineering, ill-mannered young lady in front of you!】 【Host...】 Ye Cheng: "Here, here, you take this host role—I quit!" Wait, why is the girl with a sprained ankle the daughter of a mafia boss? And what kind of punishment method is this for the arrogant young lady? Also, who the heck said anything about wicked thoughts in my heart? Come out here, let’s settle this one-on-one!!! ... The haughty student council president, the scheming mafia princess, the fragile yandere young lady, the airheaded maid-in-waiting, the mixed-blood loli/...
esick Sect? Well, at least it's considered a respectable orthodox sect. Wait a minute— What kind of vibe are you all giving off? Shouldn’t this be a love-struck, romance-obsessed sect? Why does everyone here sound more like demonic cultivators? "Master, today he’s getting married. This disciple wishes to descend the mountain and crash the wedding, then toy with him to death right in front of his wife..." "Elder, I only got into your sect through connections, so why won’t you teach me anything?" "Because I also became an elder through connections." Thankfully, Su Ji was just an outer sect labor disciple. Surely, nothing too crazy would— "Junior Brother, you’ve broken through to Qi Refining. Once you sever your useless spiritual root, you can officially become an outer sect disciple." "The Great Dao is merciless. Don’t let a worthless spiritual root waste your essence and spirit, hindering your cultivation." Is this really the Lovesick Sect? ... Three years later, Su Ji sat in the seat of the Lovesick Sect’s sect master, sighing with emotion. His rise to this position all started when his junior sister adamantly insisted on preserving his "spiritual root." "Mmm... Senior Brother, what’s our relationship now?" "Stop talking. Keep going." "By the way, that newly promoted top-tier sect—didn’t they come to buy our Love Beans?" "One top-grade spirit stone per Love Bean—is that really so expensive?" "I suspect they’ve eaten too many Love Beans." "Now they’re lovesick." Well, this really is the Lovesick Sect after all.
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!