Chapter 32: Cultivate Virtue Before Learning Martial Arts

After Liu Qin left, Li Si brought Cao Meng into the house.

Upon returning home, they first washed the ready-made clothes and hung them to dry in the courtyard.

While hanging the clothes, Li Si recalled what Liu Qin had said. The City God was coming back, what did that mean? Could it be that there were deities in this world?

Thinking of this, he gained some understanding. He had previously wondered why ghosts and monsters were so common here, yet people still lived normally.

It turned out that encountering so many ghosts and monsters these days was because Fengmen County lacked the City God’s presence.

In fact, before Liu Qin told him the City God was returning, both the original owner and Li Si had always believed the City God was just a clay statue. They hadn’t imagined the City God was actually a deity presiding over the county.

Thinking of this, Li Si couldn’t help but feel relieved. Although the City God wasn’t very responsible and had recently run off, at least he was coming back. So there was no need to worry too much about the children’s safety.

At this moment, he seemed to think of something and turned to look at Cao Meng, who was wringing out clothes nearby. He instructed, “Cao Meng, go out and buy half a jin(about 500 grams) of pork ribs and one jin of vegetables for me.”

As he spoke, Li Si wiped his damp hands on his body and took out a small string of coins from his sleeve, handing it to Cao Meng.

Seeing Li Si hand him money, Cao Meng was stunned for a moment, then cleverly put down the clothes and took the money, nodding seriously, “Alright, teacher, I’ll go right away.”

With that, Cao Meng went out to buy groceries.

Seeing Cao Meng leave, Li Si continued hanging clothes to dry. The weather had been good lately. Except for the day he first arrived in this world, it had been sunny every day. These clothes could be taken in by the afternoon.

“I heard there was a person who was really pitiful. When he was very young, his parents wanted him to die. He resented his parents. But at the same time, he loved and respected his parents because they gave birth to him, raised him, and provided him with an education. So, he didn’t know how to face his parents. This person is really pitiful…” Li Si muttered to himself while hanging clothes.

At this point, he suddenly laughed coldly and said, “But this person doesn’t deserve pity.”

Behind him, in the crack of the main door, a blurry shadow flashed by.

“After all, this person has become a ghost and wants to eat people. Such a vicious villain, why should he be pitied? Don’t you agree?” Li Si suddenly turned around, holding the Eight Trigrams mirror.

At the same time, a gust of yin wind rushed towards the door. It was Xiao Duan.

However, after Xiao Duan rushed into the main hall, he froze in place.

“It’s gone,” Li Si pushed open the door, looking at the empty hall, his expression somewhat unpleasant.

He had previously thought the original owner might be nearby and tried to test him, but who knew he would be so cunning, fleeing at the first sign of trouble.

“This is troublesome,” Li Si sighed, recalled Xiao Duan, and walked to the courtyard to continue hanging clothes, as if what had just happened was an illusion.

But his heart was not so calm. He knew this attempt to test the original owner might cause him not to return home, making it difficult to catch him in the future.

At the same time, the cunning displayed by the original owner secretly alarmed Li Si, making him realize that his power might already be close to or even surpassing that of the Dismembering Ghost.

This was experience he had gained from dealing with ghost creatures recently – the more cunning and intelligent the ghost, the stronger its power.

Like that Madam Zhang Guo. While Xiao Duan and Xiao Yu, whom he had contracted, were very weak, still like two little idiots. Thinking of this, Li Si sighed.

After hanging the clothes, Li Si began practicing the “Mystic Tortoise Record” in the courtyard. His movements were like flowing water, his form like a dragon in water.

As he practiced the moves from the “Mystic Tortoise Record”, he felt increasingly invigorated, as if the tragic dark cloud of Madam Zhang Guo and the bitterness of the original owner were gradually dissipating with each strike.

In this world, although things like the Beheaded Ghost and Dismembering Ghost frightened Li Si, what terrified and angered him more were people like Butcher Gao, Landlord Zhang, and the original owner’s parents.

If not for such people, there would surely be far fewer ghosts like the Beheaded Ghost and Dismembering Ghost in this world.

It was human cruelty that created ghost creatures!

While Li Si was vigorously practicing the “Mystic Tortoise Record”, Cao Meng had already returned with the groceries and was staring blankly at the figure moving and shifting in the courtyard.

After completing a set of “Mystic Tortoise Record” exercises, Li Si was covered in sweat, his clothes soaked through. He now felt a gradual swelling sensation in his thin muscles.

“Teacher, you know martial arts?” Cao Meng stared blankly at Li Si.

Li Si noticed Cao Meng nearby but didn’t speak, just picked up a towel to wipe his sweat.

After wiping the sweat from his body, Li Si turned to ask Cao Meng, “Do you want to learn?”

Seeing Li Si ask this, Cao Meng immediately nodded repeatedly, “Teacher, I want to learn.”

“Then do you know what you need to learn before learning martial arts?” Li Si smiled slightly, walked over to Cao Meng, took the pork ribs and vegetables from his hands, and sat on the stone steps to start washing them.

“What do I need to learn before martial arts?” Hearing Li Si’s question, Cao Meng was a bit stunned. He had never thought about this question before.

Isn’t learning martial arts just learning martial arts? Just practice, right?

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration crossed Cao Meng’s mind, and he blurted out, “It’s learning techniques!”

Hearing him say this, Li Si smiled and shook his head, saying gently, “If it were someone else, that might be the case, but not with me.”

“Martial artists are full of vigor and easily become impulsive. This impulsiveness can lead to unpredictable consequences.”

Seeing Cao Meng still looking confused, Li Si smiled and said, “People always have times when they’re angry or upset. At these times, they might do some extreme things.”

“For example, that boy Yu Hu, doesn’t he often get into fights?” Li Si pinched off a yellowing part of a vegetable and turned to ask.

“Yes, he does,” Hearing Li Si ask this, Cao Meng immediately agreed. He played quite often with Yu Hu and naturally knew Yu Hu’s temperament, often getting into fights over minor arguments with peers, frequently getting bruised.

“Don’t they get hurt?” Li Si continued to ask with a smile.

“Yes,” Hearing Li Si say this, Cao Meng immediately nodded in response.

Seeing him answer like this, Li Si stopped what he was doing, looked up with a serious face, and asked, “If they knew martial arts, do you know what the consequences would be?”

Seeing Li Si look at him so seriously, Cao Meng’s heart suddenly felt a bit uneasy, but he still forced himself to ask, “What consequences?”

“Someone would die,” Li Si said coldly.

Hearing Li Si say this, Cao Meng’s heart skipped a beat, and he said somewhat disbelievingly, “Someone would die?”

“Of course. When one carries a sharp blade, the intent to kill arises naturally. One must be extremely cautious,” Li Si put the washed vegetables and pork ribs into the vegetable basket, stood up, and walked into the kitchen, saying as he went.

“If you want to learn martial arts, from now on, study diligently. When I feel you’re ready to learn, I’ll teach you…” Li Si’s voice came from the kitchen.

Suddenly the voice paused, then continued, “If I feel you can’t learn, then I won’t teach you.”