Chapter 82: Chapter 81: Affairs Beyond Reason in This World
By the surging riverbank, Chen Xu faced a vague, phantom-like face.
Before he could sort out the myriad thoughts in his mind, the other spoke first.
"I have been silent for decades, and I don’t know how long it has been since I last savored such fine new poetry." The phantom figure gazed at Chen Xu, sighing softly, "After people die, they always tend to forget many things."
This statement was quite intriguing.
What does it mean "after people die, they always tend to forget many things"?
Chen Xu hesitated for a moment and replied, "What has senior forgotten?"
"Oh, quite a lot." The phantom figure said, "Such as my name, my origins, some of my life events. Even the books I have written, I only remember half of them.
If I forget even more, in a thousand years or so, my heroic spirit will also dissipate into the world.
How can one achieve immortality in the world? Ha..."
Chen Xu did not expect such a response.
It reminded him of what Wu Zhengze said, that Daoists only cultivate for this life and not for the next, perhaps gaining a lifespan of one or two thousand years.
Confucians, though finding it extremely difficult to extend life span limits, can preserve their heroic spirits in the world. But it seems now that even this preservation needs some caveats.
Chen Xu couldn’t help but ask, "Then what does senior intend to do?"
"I want to remember some things again, as much as I can remember. This advanced scholar of the Feng Family brought the Nine Generations of Inheritance Lamp, which can renew my memory for forty-five years.
But that’s not quite enough; I need a catalyst.
Geniuses of the world, whether through poetry or prose, as long as they can stir my heart, they can tear through the shroud of my ignorance.
Your new poetry has already brought some fuzzy memories back to me, but I still find things hard to grasp."
As Chen Xu listened intently, he gradually gained more understanding of the Confucian heroic spirits.
To be honest, perhaps because of his recent frequent encounters with ghosts and spirits, he couldn’t help but imagine a few scenarios where ghosts and demons devour people.
Although the heroic spirit before him showed no malice, Chen Xu couldn’t help but speculate: Could the "catalyst" that the other mentioned be nothing more than an intention to devour him in the next moment?
Of course, it was also possible that he was overthinking it.
Since he began cultivating, he has overthought things many, many times.
But keeping a vigilant mind is such that even if you manage it ninety-nine times, failing even once does not count as true vigilance.
So Chen Xu always maintained a paranoia of being harmed, ready at any moment to use his Divine Power to leave the Netherworld.
Then Chen Xu asked, "What has senior remembered?"
"I remember that I once had a wife when I was alive," the other said, "She... she was not human."
"What?"
"She was a Fox Demon, she had demonic energy, her demonic energy even destroyed my Dharma Body, which was impervious to evil, causing me to die unfulfilled.
That’s why I forgot so much more, more than others forget..."
The heroic spirit spoke about his strange life events with little emotion, only adding:
"Now I’ve remembered some things, but there are still things I can’t figure out.
In life, I had great ambitions to encounter an enlightened ruler and save the state in times of danger.
What could it have been that made me willingly give up my ideals and ambitions, take a demon as my wife, and refuse to part even when my Dharma Body was injured?
I don’t believe it was because I was bewitched by the Fox Demon, I am a Great Scholar, who could enchant me if I were not willing?"
He is a Great Scholar.
A heroic spirit of a Great Scholar!
Just the two words "Great Scholar" seemed to emanate an indescribable daunting aura from the void, shaking one’s heart inexplicably.
Chen Xu looked again at the heroic spirit in front of him, and saw a vague but distinct elegance in its blurred appearance.
Chen Xu believed his words: he was a Great Scholar, who could enchant him if he was not willing?
Recalling that the other had mentioned being a heroic spirit from decades ago,
who were the renowned Great Scholars in the world at that time?
In these decades, had anything happened in Great Li that affected the rise and fall of a dynasty, explaining the saying "save the state in times of danger"?
Recalling the history he studied, honestly, it wasn’t much.
He started studying at the town’s school, where the Master was actually just a Child Student, teaching mostly the poems and writings of predecessors, the Four Books and Five Classics.
Regardless of the poems and writings, the Four Books and Five Classics really didn’t differ much from the Huaxia classics he remembered.
Of course, in his previous life Chen Xu didn’t study those things in detail, so even if there were differences, he wouldn’t know.
Moreover, the Child Student exams were relatively simple, mainly focusing on classic memorization and interpretation.
With a studious mindset from his past life, Chen Xu’s memory, understanding, and intelligence were far beyond the reach of this world’s lower-class scholars.
Thanks to this, he could secure the top spot in the Child Student exam after a few years of study.
Yet, no matter how strong his learning abilities, the true doctrines of the aristocratic families and many writings were not accessible to the ordinary scholars, and that was simply unavoidable.
Even at the County School, the Master would either focus on classic interpretation or barely touch on ancient history, avoiding much of the contemporary history.
Chen Xu remembered what Feng Yuanbai had said before, that he could guide him in classic essays and answer his doubts, and thinking carefully now, perhaps this was among the most valuable of the conditions Feng Yuanbai offered.
Ordinarily, how many people could have an Advanced Scholar as a teacher?
Currently, Chen Xu lacked a thorough study of contemporary history. He had to force deductions from limited knowledge.
With a quick mind, Chen Xu said softly, "Senior, for one to do something far beyond reason, there must be emotions far beyond reason driving it. In my humble opinion, I have two guesses, would senior be willing to listen?"
The Great Scholar’s heroic spirit was quite interested, curiously saying, "Of course I want to hear; what young people know and think are always fresher than old folks.
If it weren’t for the presence of a young genius here, even if someone brought two Nine Generations of Inheritance Lamps, how would I be awakened?"
Chen Xu went on, "The first guess is illogical, for in the world, not every event is necessarily logical."
He sighed, saying softly, "Feelings arise without reason, deep and persistent. The living can die, the dead can live...
For those who cannot live with death, and the dead cannot be revived, this is not where feelings lead.
If feelings lead, why can’t a Great Scholar marry a Fox Demon?"
As the words fell, the Great Scholar’s heroic spirit actually drifted backward.
Visible blue qi flowed through his phantom form, and within moments, his previously vague and blurred face seemed to solidify a bit more.
Feng the County Magistrate stood ahead, not daring to turn back, but his body trembled slightly.
"I, I..." The Great Scholar’s heroic spirit’s robe fluttered, his voice gradually filled with emotion, "Feelings arise without reason, deep and persistent. It turns out many things in the world indeed need no reason."
He laughed softly: "I pondered endlessly without understanding, but it was because this matter has no answer. Yes, who can enchant me if I am not willing?"
The laugh harmonized with the Netherworld’s waves, though low in sound, yet like a roaring tide, echoing.
Feng Yuanbai hearing it only felt his Qi Blood restless, his mind’s Literary Qi swirling, and couldn’t help but utter an "ah" sound.
The Great Scholar’s heroic spirit then asked, "Young friend, you mentioned two guesses, what might the other be?"
While asking, the Great Scholar’s heroic spirit’s face still had faint blue qi, yet he didn’t realistically expect the young man before him to come up with another earth-shattering statement.
The one who can articulate "feelings arise without reason" is already among the top tier of those with Spiritual insights anywhere.
But this line, in reality, still has a reason. Derived from the Great Scholar’s own experiences, it conveys the poetic emotion of that time to an utmost degree.
Could there still be a more supreme insight?