Hidden moth

Chapter 235: Don’t be away from worldly matters

Are the meals ready? He Kao walked into the kitchen and saw that the ingredients were indeed ready, but they hadn't been cooked yet, waiting for him to start.

After taking a closer look, he found that he didn't recognize several of the vegetables. They must be specialties from the cave, or grown in the medicinal fields. In any case, he had never seen them in vegetable markets across the country.

He had to ask: "How are these dishes made?"

Gu Chun replied, "Even Shennong didn't know all the herbs when he was born."

He Kao: "Then I'll just make whatever I want and you guys can taste it."

Li Xiuyuan: "How can you be so careless about this? You should use cooking methods based on the characteristics of the material to achieve both efficacy and taste."

As he spoke, he also sent a divine thought, introducing the characteristics of various spiritual plants, common medicinal materials and food ingredients, as well as their processing methods in different situations.

He Kao: "What you taught me is not a prescription for medicine or a recipe for an elixir, it's not a recipe!"

Li Xiuyuan chuckled and said, "You can refer to it."

Jiang Daozhen: "Old Li, you're not good at collecting herbs or refining pills, so why are you teaching others these?"

Li Xiuyuan: "It's just a technique inheritance. It doesn't matter if I'm not good at it. I can be good at it in the small test."

The gift Li Xiuyuan had just given He Kao was the inheritance of herbal medicine and alchemy, primarily from the Danding Sect and the Guanshen Sect. He Kao had originally planned to find an opportunity to ask Lin Qingshuang how to refine the Awakening Incense, but now that was no longer necessary.

There is no natural gas here, and the stove is very special. It uses a fuel called Danshi, which looks like black pebbles. Each one is the size of a pigeon egg and as smooth as jade.

When stimulated by mana, it will spew out flames and the temperature can be controlled by spiritual consciousness. For a high-level sorcerer, cooking with it is much more convenient than using a gas stove.

This item is also considered a quasi-magic weapon, made with the techniques of refining. Cooking like this is a bit extravagant, but it looks high-end and classy, and has carbon-free and environmental value.

After preparing a meal, an eight-person table seated four people, He Kao accompanied the three elders for dinner and asked cautiously, "Are you drinking so early in the morning?"

Gu Chun: "Who told you to prepare such a meal so early in the morning? I usually sleep outdoors..."

Jiang Daozhen: "I usually eat simple meals."

Li Xiuyuan: "Old Ghost Jiang, at the seventh level of cultivation, you can already fast without food."

Jiang Daozhen: "It's possible, but it's not necessary."

Li Xiuyuan continued to criticize him, "You can obviously fast without any food, so why would you resort to simple meals? You think you're showing off your frugality, but you're actually just wasting food!"

Jiang Daozhen: "This has been my habit for many years. It reminds me not to forget my roots."

He Kao didn't want to listen to the elders bickering all the time, so he quickly stood up and offered a glass of wine. Then he said, "Masters, I had an adventure in Sawa early this morning, and I have something I want to ask you."

Jiang Daozhen: "Why did you go there so late at night? Tell me!"

He Kao described how he had encountered Chang Anju's "assault" and how he had tried to save him but misjudged the situation, ending up in a rather awkward situation. He therefore wanted to ask the elders: was this the right thing to do? And what would be the best course of action for him to take if he were to encounter such a situation again in the future?
Gu Chun shook his head and said, "Since hatred exists, no matter what we do, it will never be perfect. We can only go with the flow. As for encountering this kind of situation again in the future, what you said is wrong in itself!"

Whenever you encounter something sudden and you don’t know what the situation is, there is nothing wrong in rescuing the person first.

You didn't accidentally kill Chang Anju, nor did you let the bad guy go. You handled the situation very well. When I was young, I might not have been as careful as you."

Jiang Daozhen laughed and said, "Of course you're not as good as Xiaokao because you don't have his ability. He could verify the truth right away, but it's difficult for you to do that."

Gu Chun: "I'm not a hidden moth, but there are other ways."

Jiang Daozhen: "That's you now. Wasn't that you when you were younger?"

Gu Chun: "There are other ways..."

Li Xiuyuan then asked He Kao, "If you don't have the ability to hide your moth, can you verify the truth on the spot?"

He Kao: "I can't say I found out the truth right then and there, but it wasn't hard to find flaws. It was precisely because I discovered them that I investigated and verified them... But in the end, I just said, 'Out of sight, out of mind.' I wonder if that's right or wrong."

Li Xiuyuan shook his head again and said, "You didn't turn a blind eye. You clearly saw it and intervened. However, after finding out the truth, you decided not to stop Chang Anju from taking revenge... I would do the same if I were in your place.

What confuses you is not only your own decision, but also Chang Anju's decision. You say out of sight, out of mind, because you don't know if there is any better way to deal with it.

But Chang Anju's brother and father both died because of that woman named Zhong Jinghui. If it were you, would you let her go?
When it comes to official laws, there is one thing that must be understood: the same behavior may have different legal provisions in different countries. Some may result in heavy penalties, some may result in light sentences, and it may even be illegal in some countries but legal in others.

It's just a spatial difference, and there are also temporal differences. The same behavior may be legal in one period of history and allowed in another period, which can be confusing.

If you had a long life and could travel freely around the world, how would you view the world and its affairs?"

He Kao said awkwardly, "Yes, yes, I've actually thought about it. It's not impossible to arrest Zhong Jinghui and hand her over to the Dongguo police for trial. But if we really do that, she'll only get a few years in prison at most, which isn't enough to comfort Chang Anju."

Because I've also thought about this: if I were Chang Anju, I would never spare her life! If I don't have the ability to take revenge, I'll only regret it in my life. But if I have the ability to take revenge but let her go, wouldn't my cultivation be in vain?

Li Xiuyuan added, "If Chang Anju could even let Zhong Jinghui go, wouldn't that make him unworthy of being a son and unworthy of practicing magic? What else do you expect from someone like that? What good would that do to others, and to the world?"

He Kao nodded subconsciously and said, "You are right, but I still feel like I don't understand something."

Gu Chun interrupted, saying, "Elder Li just said that laws vary depending on time and space. For example, someone who murders an innocent person might be sentenced to life imprisonment here or ten years there, but in both cases, they are taking an innocent life.

What you're confused about isn't whether Chang Anju should seek revenge, but whether he should have taken someone's life without authorization. I can't give you a direct answer, but I can tell you a story, a true event.

I have a junior fellow apprentice who is from your family, also surnamed He. His family was poor in his early years. In fact, everyone's conditions were very difficult at that time. His mother was seriously ill, and his father borrowed money to seek medical treatment.

His father was waiting in a crowded queue at the hospital's payment window, and his money was stolen. It was less than two hundred yuan, well, two hundred yuan more than sixty years ago.

Due to delayed treatment, his mother died soon after. His father blamed himself endlessly and became depressed from then on. He never forgave himself until his death.

The thieves were caught later. They were a gang. Some were responsible for squeezing in the queue, some were responsible for stealing things, and some were responsible for moving away immediately after the theft.

The gang's target was the hospital, because they knew the people lining up there had money in their pockets. The police cracked the case, arrested the perpetrators, and sentenced those who deserved it, or sent them to labor camps.

At that time, Junior Brother He was fifteen years old. Later, he met my master at the age of nineteen, and broke through the three realms at the age of twenty-two. When he was twenty-eight, my master saw that he was unable to make progress and break through, so he suggested that he return to his hometown to travel, or find a place to settle down in the world and then think about practicing.

Guess what happened next?"

He Kao: "He killed the thief to avenge himself?"

Gu Chun shook his head and said, "The leader of that small gang had been released from prison before, but he committed another crime and was imprisoned again. He was released again shortly after returning to his hometown.

His accomplices hosted a welcome dinner for him, but during the meal, something unexpected happened and they started fighting. Some were killed or injured on the spot, and the injured died later.

He Kao asked, "Was it that uncle who did it?" Gu Chun shook his head and said, "I don't know, and I've never asked."

He Kao scratched his head and asked, "What about your master? What did he say?"

Gu Chun: "My master sighed when he heard about this, saying that the child was too preoccupied and had never mentioned this grudge. He also blamed himself for being negligent. Since he had decided to accept a disciple, he should have investigated everything beforehand."

He Kao: "How does the Shumen deal with it?"

Gu Chun: "My master was the leader of Xinpan Sect at that time. If it were you, how would you handle it?"

He Kao frowned and remained silent, as if he was lost in thought. Gu Chun nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes, my master handled it just like you."

He Kao: "Did that uncle really do this?"

Gu Chun: "I really don't know. Besides, he's no longer alive, so there's no one to ask. I'm just asking you, do those thieves deserve the death penalty?

The police have answers. Police at different times and in different places will have different answers. What about you? "

He Kao pondered, "This isn't a spur-of-the-moment act of greed. They formed a gang specifically to commit crimes in places like that. They knew exactly what the victims would encounter. This is murder for money.

If I were that Uncle He, I would probably kill them too! I would just do it more covertly to avoid causing trouble for the police."

Gu Chun: "What if you are not my junior brother?
If you happened to run into that group of people at that time and place and saw what they were doing, but you were not going to see a doctor or taking your family to see a doctor, and you were just passing by, would you kill them?

He Kao thought carefully before answering, "I won't kill people directly, and I can't do that, but I will stop them from stealing and send them to the judicial office after I catch them."

Gu Chun's expression was meaningful: "You already have the answer, don't you?"

Elder Gu didn't give He Kao a direct answer, but instead told him a story. He Kao certainly understood what he said, but he still felt like something was missing, and he frowned slightly.

Jiang Daozhen, who had been silent for a while, poured a glass of wine and said, "As the old saying goes, a knight-errant breaks the law with force. Quiz, are you confused about where the boundaries lie?"

He Kao nodded quickly and said, "Yes, yes, you explained it clearly. This is what I was thinking about."

He Kao knew that Chang Anju would kill Zhong Jinghui, but he chose not to ask any more questions because he had already figured out the reason. However, after he left, he always felt that something was wrong.

The Ancestral Hall monitors and restrains the behavior of sorcerers throughout the world, so how should they deal with such a situation? He Kao's actions today do not represent the Ancestral Hall, but only his own. The final choice he made was - don't care!
What Elder Gu said just now was right. If he were Chang Anju, he would definitely not let Zhong Jinghui go.

Chang Anju was able to find Zhong Jinghui for revenge after going through untold hardships, but also because he was a sorcerer, which would have been almost impossible for an ordinary person.

Warlocks, especially high-level warlocks, have ever-changing methods. If they want to deal with ordinary people, ordinary people can hardly guard against them or resist. If they try to rob people of their money and kill them, it would be too terrible.

This is the significance of the clan rules and the clan hall orders, but the clan hall can only prohibit sorcerers from doing evil, but it cannot prohibit sorcerers from using magic to protect themselves.

This kind of self-protection is not only self-protection when suffering personal injury, but also includes the maintenance of other legitimate interests of oneself and the retaliation against harmful acts, but what are the boundaries of its behavior?
It's not logical to swallow your anger after receiving a slap, but it's even more unreasonable to kill your entire family after receiving a slap. And this is not a joke, they really have the ability to kill an entire family.

The so-called heroes break the law with force, but the premise is that they really have the ability to break the law!
Jiang Daozhen further explained, "In fact, what they both said just now has been very clear. A sorcerer is not a secular policeman or judge. If it is within the scope of their ability, they will act according to the law of cause and effect, and the clan law hall will also use this to judge right and wrong.

Everyone's situation is different. For example, I don't like to meddle in other people's affairs, but Elder Gu has encountered many things while traveling around the world. He never makes trouble out of nothing, so he just asks about the cause and effect when encountering things..."

The meaning of these words is very clear. In the experience of Chang Anju and Uncle He, if Zhong Jinghui and the gang of thieves were handed over to the police, they should not be sentenced to death.

But from the perspective of the parties involved, the consequences of these people's actions were the destruction of their families! Moreover, when Zhong Jinghui committed the fraud and the thieves committed the theft, they could fully foresee this outcome. They did it intentionally.

So how to deal with Chang Anju's murder of Zhong Jinghui was another matter, as the clan law hall wouldn't handle it anyway. According to the rules of the sect, after doing such a thing, he would need to report the situation to his master or the direct branch leader.

The requirements of the sect and the clan hall for this are: do not harm the innocent and do not go beyond cause and effect.

He Kao then asked, "Then how should we follow the first rule of the patriarchal order, 'Do not violate any incidents and report them to the relevant authorities first'?"

The "Zongfatangling Order" is also known as the "Piaomen Law". Its authority is above that of other sects. There are currently four of them:

Do not delay the matter and report it to the authorities first.

Don't cause trouble for no reason, hide your magic.

Don't leave any trouble for a long time, make sure you act decisively.

Don't use the eight evils to commit crimes, or the whole world will punish you.

Gu Chun sighed: "He did not violate the rules, nor did he cause trouble for no reason. You are only stuck on the sentence 'first pay the officials', but when it comes to officials, there must be officials first and then the officials. You don't think that since ancient times, there have been people in charge of everything, right?"

There was a divine thought in his words, and he gave a brief explanation of why he had to go on to say that—

Chang Anju wanted to kill Zhong Jinghui, and He Kao finally decided not to stop him. On the one hand, it was because Zhong Jinghui really deserved to die, and on the other hand, it was also because the incident happened in the southern part of Sawa, which was not only very chaotic, but the police would not handle it.

But what if this happened within the borders of the East Kingdom? He Kao was a little confused. It was no wonder, he had grown up in the peaceful environment of the East Kingdom and had been a good, law-abiding child since childhood.

However, after coming into contact with magic, he had no choice but to kill more than one person. Those people were basically sorcerers, and the situation was difficult for the police to handle.

As the saying goes, when you have a sharp knife, you will naturally want to kill. Chang Anju had no choice but to kill Zhong Jinghui with his own hands. This is understandable, but if it becomes a habit and he commits murder whenever he encounters a problem, it will definitely be very dangerous.

This was He Kao's subconscious confusion, not only about Chang'an Residence but also about his own experience, which was pointed out by Jiang Daozhen.

Gu Chun told him that monks naturally possessed violence, the ability to disrupt order, and therefore needed self-restraint. Not committing evil was the bottom line.

This is not only a requirement of practice itself, but also a self-protection for sorcerers and their sects, and even more so a protection for other people in the world. It is also one of the reasons why sorcerers and their sects hide from the world.

If a sorcerer has done nothing wrong but is nevertheless harmed or violated, then the sect will of course defend the disciple. In such cases, there is often no need for the sect to intervene, as the sorcerer himself is capable of fighting back.

Handing it over to the authorities is just one approach, and if it is feasible, it should be used as much as possible, provided that the premise is to avoid violating the principles of cause and effect. The so-called principles of cause and effect are simple and clear.

The Yousi represents the order recognized by the public, but Gu Chun also introduced two other situations: the ineffectiveness of the Yousi and the absence of the Yousi. In the eyes of monks, order stems from cause and effect, and cause and effect precede order.

In ancient and modern countries, not all laws and regulations are fair and reasonable. Even if some laws and regulations are fair and reasonable, they may not necessarily be enforced fairly.

Take the case of Zhong Jinghui, for example. If Chang Anju could have simply called the police, why would he have gone through so much trouble to track down the murderer himself? If Chang Anju took action himself, he shouldn't be blamed; instead, he should be praised for his determination.

There have been dark times since ancient times. Even ordinary people, let alone sorcerers, have had times when they were forced to kill officials and rebel. That's often called an uprising! When looking at this kind of issue, we must have a perspective that transcends the specific time and place.

To put it bluntly, if the art is unjust, it can be overthrown.

He Kao finally left the table and bowed, saying, "Thank you all, Masters, for your enlightenment today. Otherwise, I would still be a little confused!"

Jiang Daozhen picked up his chopsticks and said, "You come to ask us for advice today, but you should think that one day you will also be the one being asked for advice."

**
(End of this chapter)