Wang Xiaoer's Plan to Reform the Concept of Gender

In a candle-lit room on the hillside of the stockade at night, Zhang San held up his fist, ready to punch someone.

Wang Xiaoer swallowed his saliva. At this dangerous moment, he awakened his talent called "a bout of madness".

Wang Xiaoer continued to say to his master: "Secondly, Master, do you agree that the only reason why those bandits, especially the Bandit Leader, are so respectful to us now is that they couldn't defeat you?"

Zhang San raised his hand and nodded: "Yes."

Wang Xiaoer said: "Thirdly, Master, do you agree that after we leave the stockade, it would be difficult to find so many people who practice martial arts to poison for practice?"

Zhang San said: "It does seem not that easy."

Wang Xiaoer went on: "Fourthly, Master, what if you get injured in the future and can't give yourself acupuncture, wouldn't it be very helpful to our career if I have good medical skills to treat your injury by then?"

Zhang San nodded again.

Wang Xiaoer breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "So, considering these four points that you agree with, Master, tell me, is it reasonable for me to poison them and practice on myself?"

"How so?" Zhang San couldn't help but ask.

Wang Xiaoer said matter-of-factly: "It is necessary for me, Wang Xiaoer, to learn medical skills well for my future career. But medical skills need a bunch of poor guys, oh no, patients to practice on. So Master, if I don't go poison those bandits who wanted to kill us, then in the future when we get to the county town, should I poison those ordinary commoners to practice instead?"

Damn.

That does seem to make some sense.

Medical skills, like that ghost doctor in the jianghu, have superb skills, but follow the rule of "heal one, kill one". Some say it's because the ghost doctor is naturally cruel, hence the eccentric habit and the name "ghost doctor".

But in fact, only professional and profound medical practitioners like Zhang San understand that it's not some "eccentric habit". They just want someone to experiment on or practice some new needling or healing methods. But they can't guarantee not to kill the person, so they make this rule.

The more advanced the medical knowledge and skills, the more experiments are needed, as Wang Xiaoer said. If not using the bandits to practice on, should they use those innocent commoners instead?

Zhang San gradually put his fist down, but then said: "But being tortured by you every day, poisoned once in a while, and getting random acupunctures that are more painful than punishment, it would've been better for them to be killed by me back then. Don't you feel sorry for them when you poison them?"

Wang Xiaoer said: "What's there to feel sorry about? I ate the poison myself too, it's harmless. And they wanted to kill you first. If you didn't want to kill them, Master, they would've died long ago. Since you spared their lives, what does it matter if I practice on them?"

Zhang San asked again: "Even so, in a little while, your silver needle expelling poison skill should be good enough to completely eliminate those small poisons you made. How are you going to practice more advanced expelling poison skills afterwards?"

Wang Xiaoer thought for a while, realizing he didn't think that far ahead.

A flash of inspiration hit him. He slapped his thigh and laughed: "Master, anyway you know how to solve Seven Steps Poison too, so... may I borrow some?"

Zhang San stared at Wang Xiaoer, seeming to see him for the first time. He couldn't help but ask: "Why do you sound more and more like a bad person now when you speak?"

Hearing this, Wang Xiaoer put his hands on his waist instead and sized up Zhang San carefully.

Zhang San felt very annoyed and asked: "What are you looking at me for?"

Wang Xiaoer spread out his hands and said: "I just think Master, what you said sounds very strange."

"How strange?"

"Master, you said I'm like a bad person, but the problem is, we are bad people to begin with!"

Zhang San: "......"

As a pair of assassin master and disciple, we are admittedly bad people to start with. What's wrong with bad people doing bad things?

Obviously, this logic is seamless.

Zhang San was speechless.

Zhang San was defeated.

......

......

But was Zhang San really defeated?

Setting verbal traps to eventually induce Wang Xiaoer to say "Seven Steps Poison", Zhang San believed he had actually won a complete victory!

At night, after making sure Wang Xiaoer was sound asleep, Zhang San walked out of the room. Outside, several bandits including the previous Bandit Leader were waiting.

In the dim moonlight, the stockade was shrouded in silence.

Who knows how many conspiracies were being plotted in the dark night.

Zhang San pulled the group of bandits to a corner. Then he sighed: "Did you guys hear what my incompetent disciple and I talked about today?"

The bandits all nodded, then kneeled down crying.

Why, you ask?

Do you think that when they heard the three words "Seven Steps Poison", they didn't think of fighting back in their horrified, almost paralyzed state?

But considering Zhang San's martial arts skills, the bandits figured resistance was no different from suicide.

Since they couldn't win, of course they had to kneel and beg for mercy!

The Bandit Leader pleaded: "Sir, you must save us! If you're unwilling, we'll just go beg that kid!"

But Zhang San stopped him: "No no, think about it. My incompetent disciple still doesn't know you guys already know the truth. He's still somewhat cautious when poisoning now. If you let the cat out of the bag, he might get so angry that instead of poisoning you, he'll force you to directly drink poison!"

Hearing this, the bandits thought it made good sense and cried even harder.

Zhang San sighed "compassionately" again and again, saying sympathetically: "You also heard him say outside the room just now that I've been defending you guys. Even though you wanted to kill me at first, I didn't even bring it up. Pity my incompetent disciple is just......too cruel!"

The Bandit Leader pleaded in anguish: "That kid is still your disciple after all. Can't you think of something, sir?" We don't have much martial arts skills. We really can't stand it if we get poisoned like this every other day!"

Seemingly "reluctant", Zhang San said: "But as you also heard, in our Evil Doctor Sect, we not only excel in martial arts but also study medicine painstakingly. And medical skills do require years of practice and experiments. Otherwise...I'd hate to impose on you guys..."

Even though his previous poisoning wasn't fully healed, Bandit A still kowtowed and said anxiously: "Sir, you can't say that. I have an 80-year-old mother at home, and...well, no kids, but I was still raised by my parents!"

Zhang San asked "caringly": "Really, you truly have an 80-year-old mother?"

Bandit A sincerely answered: "Yes! Absolutely!"

Zhang San slapped his thigh and sighed: "Actually, although my incompetent disciple is cruel, his temperament happens to cater to his master's taste. This trip was ordered by his master for him to practice medicine out here. Now if he tells me practicing on you guys is to learn medicine per his master's orders, I'd be going against his master if I forcibly take him away... Then when he goes back and tells his master..."

Only now did the bandits understand there was more to it. No wonder someone of Zhang San's caliber was willing to help yet couldn't directly take away that malicious brat.

"However......" Zhang San deliberately dragged out his voice.

The bandits all looked up, as if seeing the last glimmer of hope.

Zhang San said: "After all, he's still a 9-year-old child. Although cruel, he did suffer psychological trauma when small. So he has a weakness. If you tell stories that touch on his psychological trauma when he treats you, he may no longer want to stay himself!"

Although they didn't understand "psychological trauma", faced with the final hope for survival, the bandits hurriedly asked: "Please tell us what kind of stories, sir!"

Zhang San smiled mysteriously.

The bandits could only guess wildly.

The Bandit Leader asked: "Ghost stories?"

Bandit A asked: "Monster stories?"

Bandit B asked: "Bloody stories?"

Zhang San laughed and said: "No, women."

The group of bandits scratched their heads, asking in puzzlement: "A woman?"

Zhang San explained: "To be more precise, it is a sad story about being hurt by women. Next I will give some examples for you all to listen to. You don't need to remember every word, but you must understand where the essence lies! Afterwards you can make up stories yourselves."

Wang Xiaoer's plan to reform perspectives on the two sexes officially begins.

The goal is to nurture a fine disciple who does not wish to find a spouse or take a wife!

I, Zhang San, will definitely accomplish this!