Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
When the turbid air in the room was exhausted, the old man moved sideways and gave way, waving his hand. He let his cat enter the house first, then he let himself in. He slammed the door, locked it from the inside, and lifted the burglar alarm device.
Even though it was just a door away, his cat seemed to calm down a bit; it was no longer as scared as when it was waiting outside.
He had not yet decided whether he was going to leave Binhai City the next day, so he did not open his suitcase. Instead, he went inside and boiled water. He picked up a chicken feather duster and wiped the dust off the tables and chairs.
Not long after, the water was done boiling. He stood up to make tea, carrying his teacups to the desk and sitting down to rest his legs. He also carried his cat onto the table, using a wrinkled hand to stroke its long fur, then used his other hand to flip through the Zhu Xi Anthology that he had flipped through numerous times.
Knock, knock!
He frowned slightly. Who would come to visit him at this time? Was it the neighborhood committee that was coming to collect management fees?
“Who is it?” he asked, his voice raising slightly.
“Teacher, it’s me.” Upon hearing the familiar voice, he knew who had come.
He walked over to open the door. “Yuanfei, why are you here at this time?”
Li Yuanfei bowed and handed the gift box with both hands. “Hello, teacher. The company has been busy, so I haven’t visited for a long time. This is a small gift, just a little token to show my respect for you.”
“There’s no need to bring a gift when you come…” The old man shook his head and looked outside. “Where’s your car?”
“I was scared to disturb my teacher’s peace, so I stopped it at the intersection,” Li Yuanfei answered.
“Come in. I’ve just come back from the south like a migratory bird. If you had come an hour earlier, you would have met a closed door,” the old man said.
“Thank you for your hospitality.” Li Yuanfei bowed his head respectfully and entered the room.
“Sit. You must be quite busy with your company now. Why do you have the time to come here today?” The old man asked him to sit and poured a cup of tea for him.
Li Yuanfei’s gaze stopped for a short while on the cat on the desk, then he quickly took a look around the place before he rested his eyes on the old person in front of him.
The neighbors around them probably did not think that the ordinary old man that lived next to them was the one that had been in charge of the Weiming Lake College of Literature for decades. He had been a world-class figure in Chinese literary circles all his life. However, he was very low-key in dealing with people. Since his retirement, he had been in a semi-hermit state and rarely contacted the outside world.
Li Yuanfei was lucky enough to be the old man’s student. He was part of the last batch of students that the old man had taught, and he had received a lot of care and advice from the old man. Although he chose to leave the arts and go into business after graduation, he never dared to forget the help his teacher had provided him. He visited Teacher at least two or three times a year, sometimes in the capital, sometimes further south, and sometimes at his house. With the increase of his wealth, the level of the gifts he brought increased.
After finding out that the old man also played the game, the two of them got even closer.
Li Yuanfei did not hide anything and directly told the old man about the novel.
“Oh? That exists?” The old man felt that it was very strange. “But I don’t know much about quantum mechanics. That elfin must be extraordinary… So what did you decide to do?”
“Because I don’t know the exact location of the other party, I wanted to ask Teacher to help out.” Li Yuanfei explained the reason he was there.
The old man was deep in thought and did not say anything.
After a moment, he had made his decision and said, “After I retired, I have not asked about the outside world and have no intention of being involved in such disputes. I’m sorry, but I can’t help you.”
Li Yuanfei had already thought of a reason on the way there. He tried to convince him, “Teacher, this is not just about my personal gains and losses. You used to say that the scholar should put his mind in for heaven and earth and put his life in for the people; he should continue learning for the sake of the past, and for the sake of peace and prosperity for all ages. I have always remembered that. I know that you have a lot of complaints about the rise of online fiction and the trend of replacing traditional literature. As this goes on, traditional literature is declining, and what is replacing them is the fast food culture of online fiction. How can you continue to learn for the sake of the past?”
The old man’s eyebrows were raised up slightly, obviously a bit moved by Li Yuanfei’s words. He was already so old; he did not care about personal honor or disgrace, but he could not bear to see the decline of traditional literature.
Li Yuanfei tried to convince him further and said, “With your standing in China’s literature, as long as you raise your arm, the respondents will gather to launch the criticism of online novels. Students will be grateful if they take the novel with them, by the way.”
The old man thought for a very long time. After weighing the pros and cons over and over again, he said, “Yuanfei, Zhu Xi taught us that it’s better to lay your heart flat. If you play tricks, demons will come out. If I grant you your request, I’m afraid it will make waves and cause bad things to happen.”
“This student knows, but still, I hope Teacher will agree to it! This is not just granting your student’s wish––it’s for the sake of the future of the people of China!” Li Yuanfei left his seat and bowed deeply, nervously holding his breath.
The old man did not say yes or no. He waved his hand and said, “You can just go back.”
“I hope Teacher reconsiders.” Li Yuanfei knew his teacher’s temper and did not dare to try to convince him further. Leaving the gift behind, he walked backwards and stepped back out of the store, gently closing the door.
The old man sighed quietly, caressed the back of his cat’s neck, and said to himself in an inaudible voice, “What shall I do?”
His cat meowed a few times, as if answering his words, and pressed its paw onto the Zhu Xi Anthology book.
[Game Hints]: Pet Attribute
[Known As]: Warding Off Evil Cat
[Rarity]: Epic/ Legendary
[Feature]: Confucius never talked about odd, puissance, turmoil, and deity!
[Unlock Origin]: Confucianism teaches personal matters and Buddhism teaches about life and death.
The doctrine of ghosts and gods had existed since ancient times. Confucianism paid attention to the golden mean, taking humanity as the principle of practice. The attitude towards ghosts and gods was inherited from Confucius, who believed that there were ghosts and gods in the world, but did not listen to them, speak to them, or explore more about the subject.
Zhu Xi, as a great scholar of Confucianism in later generations, had further developed the Confucian concept of ghosts and gods with his rationality of “getting knowledge from things.”
Zhu Xi tried theorize about ghosts and gods in a similar way as life sciences. He wished to recognize ghosts and gods with the flexion and extension of yin and yang. He not only explained the gods and ghosts that the people of the past commonly believed in, but he also brought those explanations into the “peaceful world and the bright and magnificent universe.” Among them, there were not only the shadows of the simple natural philosophy of pre-Qin Dynasty, but also his own unique opinions, which did not harm the theories of Confucius and Mencius about gods and ghosts. Instead, he carefully supplemented them and improved the theories. That was Zhu Xi’s great contribution to traditional Confucianism.
Zhu Xi’s influence on later Confucianism was second only to that of Confucius. With the great faith of Confucianism supporters and followers, Zhu Xi’s cat became an elfin of the world.
On the other hand, Zhu Xi still had not completely rid himself of the Confucian thought of “revering ghosts and gods but keeping away,” which had the limitations of the times.
One could evade the problem by walking away from it.
The combination of the words “opening up” and “walking away” resulted in the words “warding off.”
[Unlocked True Name]: Zhu Xi’s Confucian School Warding Off Evil Cat!
