Chapter 27: The Twenty-Seventh Day as Cult Leader (Part 2)

“This…” Qian Xiaodou froze again. He truly could not understand the Cult Leader’s thoughts, so he could only answer honestly, “I have only heard that he knows how to read and has studied some books, but I don’t know the specifics.”

“Then it will be him.” Qin Ming had the mentality of bringing out either the mule or the horse for a test run. He casually waved a hand. “This seat plans to establish a schoolhouse and teach the disciples in the cult to read and write. Go ask whether he is willing to serve as this teacher, then come back and report to me.”

“…” Qian Xiaodou was dumbfounded.

What? A schoolhouse? A teacher??

Why did he know every word, but once they were put together, he could not understand them at all?

Establishing a schoolhouse in the Demonic Cult?? Was this really not a joke???

But he only froze for an instant before meeting Qin Ming’s gaze. That look, which seemed to contain killing intent, instantly made his mind go sharp. The words of confusion simply could not come out for the longest time. He immediately replied, “Yes, Cult Leader. This subordinate will go now!”

Qian Xiaodou carried a head full of question marks all the way to the back mountain to look for Shi Ren. Perhaps only Shi Ren himself knew why the Cult Leader knew his name. However, Qian Xiaodou was still very worried, because from his understanding of Shi Ren, Shi Ren would absolutely never accept the Cult Leader’s command!

Then when Qian Xiaodou went back and told the Cult Leader the result, what he would probably receive would be Shi Ren’s death warrant. Maybe even he himself would be implicated and suffer a round of demotion. What should he do about this?

The situation was urgent, and he did not have time to find his little scout friends and tell them about it. He could only steel himself and arrive before Shi Ren.

Shi Ren was still the same as before, silently planting crops in the farmland. Recently, the Cult Leader had brought in another batch of displaced people to open up new land. Supposedly, it was specifically for growing wheat. When everyone worked, they were diligent and conscientious, and Shi Ren had thoroughly blended in, living together with the other displaced people.

Seeing Qian Xiaodou arrive, Shi Ren had no intention of paying him any attention. Only when Qian Xiaodou said he had come by the Cult Leader’s order did Shi Ren put down his hoe and raise his head to look at him.

Qian Xiaodou said with difficulty, “Recently, the Cult Leader intends to establish a schoolhouse and wishes to invite Senior Brother to serve as teacher…”

As expected, Shi Ren was also stunned. “What? Teacher?”

…Sure enough, this matter that had nothing to do with him made Qian Xiaodou even more awkward. In an instant, he thought up a belly full of arguments to persuade Shi Ren to agree. However, before he could say them aloud, he suddenly saw the originally dazed Shi Ren calmly say, “I understand.”

“…Huh?” Qian Xiaodou was dumbfounded. “Senior Brother, are you… agreeing?”

“Mm.” Shi Ren only nodded, but this action frightened Qian Xiaodou badly. Wait. The person who had said a few days ago that he wanted to assassinate the Cult Leader—why had he suddenly changed character and started obeying the Cult Leader’s commands?? What exactly had happened?!

He wanted to ask, but Shi Ren still kept his mouth shut. He even continued silently swinging his hoe. Poor Qian Xiaodou, his belly full of confusion with nowhere to vent it, could only return in a disheveled daze to report to the Cult Leader. For some time to come, even if he woke up in the middle of the night, he would probably have to ask: What exactly happened?!

He would never know that Shi Ren really had tried to assassinate Qin Ming, and that Qin Ming had magnanimously forgiven him.

Likewise, Shi Ren could not understand it either. Why would the demon universally known as the Righteous Path’s greatest enemy spare him after his assassination attempt? Never mind that Qin Ming had not sent anyone to follow or monitor him afterward, now he had even entrusted him with an important responsibility!

Even the heroes of the world today could not possibly possess such broad-mindedness.

Because he could not figure it out, during this period, he had not eaten well or slept well. His mind had been full of this matter, and amidst his agitation, he had obediently begun working. To his surprise, he had actually experienced a taste of rural joy within the Demonic Cult, and his temper was no longer as fiery as it had been in the past.

It was just that the doubt still remained in his mind. He did not believe this demon could be so benevolent, yet the words the other party had said at the end, “Righteousness and evil exist in the heart, not in the words of others,” still echoed in his heart, making him begin to think about it constantly and probe into it again and again.

Before he could think it through, the demon’s appointment arrived as well. Shi Ren only struggled for an instant before deciding to obey the demon’s command. He wanted to see what exactly this demon intended to do and what kind of thoughts he held toward him. In any case, he did not even fear death, so what else was there to fear?

Just like that, Shi Ren calmly and composedly arrived at the newly built schoolhouse the next day to serve as teacher.

The room was unexpectedly clean and bright. Aside from the front lecture area being built very spaciously, the desks and cushions for the students below were also each left with a certain amount of distance between them. Books, paper, and writing brushes were all fully prepared on the desks, clearly arranged with care.

However, the makeup of the students who had come to attend class… was somewhat messy and chaotic.

There were Demonic Cult disciples with vicious faces, seven- or eight-year-old children with runny noses, and nervous teenagers in their teens, whose bodies were stiff with fright as they felt the gazes of the other Demonic Cult disciples.

Seeing this scene, Shi Ren could not help the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. But after thinking about it again, even a person like him, who had little culture, could become a teacher, so nothing he saw was strange anymore.

There was nothing much to say to this strange group of students. Shi Ren only looked twice, then silently picked up the book on the lectern. He saw that the cover had The Three Character Classic written on it, and he had never heard of it before.

He could only helplessly open to the first page and bite the bullet as he began to lecture.

“People at birth are naturally good. Their natures are close, their—huh?”

As he read, he suddenly felt that this book was actually rather profound. Three characters formed one phrase. It rolled off the tongue, was fairly easy to understand, and all the characters were ones he recognized. It could be called the best kind of text for basic education. Yet he had never heard of it before. Unbelievable.

And this was clearly the Demonic Cult, yet they wanted to promote the idea that people were naturally good… Just who had chosen this book to educate people?

“If not taught, their natures will change. The way of teaching values focus…” The more Shi Ren read, the more he felt this book was quite interesting. The principles contained within seemed very profound. There were some lines he could only half comprehend, and at the same time, it seemed as if he had not understood anything at all. How strange.

Just as he wanted to try to study these meanings more deeply and nearly forgot that he was in the middle of teaching, the Demonic Cult disciples attending class for the first time were also completely bewildered. They could not help speaking up and interrupting, “Um… you’re the teacher, right? I don’t understand a single word of what you’re chanting over there. Are you reciting scripture?”

The other students’ eyes were even more vacant, as though they were listening to a heavenly book. “If the dog doesn’t bark, that’s money? Why does a dog barking mean money?? I don’t understand!”

“What dog doesn’t bark!” Shi Ren nearly rolled his eyes and said seriously, “It’s ‘If not taught, their natures will change’! It means, it means… uh…”

Shi Ren racked his brains and made something up. “It probably means if you, if you drag out an ignoble existence and refuse to listen to teachings, your personality will move away! Do you understand now?”

“Ah… Is that what it means?” The Demonic Cult disciple furrowed his brows oddly, then asked, “In the past, Meng’s mother chose a neighbor’s home? What martial arts expert is Meng’s mother?”

While silently complaining, How would I know, Shi Ren kept his eyes open and spouted nonsense. “Meng’s mother should be that famous Auntie Meng. The one who, according to legend, challenged three people with a single sword. She liked finding neighbors to duel!”

“Oh, I think I’ve heard of this person!” The Demonic Cult disciple’s eyes lit up. “So it was talking about her, this Meng’s mother?”

“Like hell it was! Who taught you people like this!!”

Just as the atmosphere was harmonious and joyful, a furious cold shout suddenly came from outside the door. A scholar abruptly kicked the door open and stormed in angrily.

First, he pointed at Shi Ren’s nose and cursed furiously, “You are misleading the young! Misleading the young!! What face do you have to read the books of sages? What face do you have to teach and educate people here!”

Only then did he face the countless bewildered eyes below and explain forcefully, “If not taught, their natures will change means, ‘If children are not properly educated from a young age, their good nature will deteriorate.’ As for ‘In the past, Meng’s mother chose her neighbors,’ it means that in the past, the mother of Mencius moved three times in order to give Mencius a good learning environment! Do you understand?”

However, even though he explained in such detail, all the students below were still confused. “Mencius… Who is that?”

“…” Xu Sheng was shocked into speechlessness for a good while.

Just now, he had only accidentally heard that the schoolhouse was about to begin classes, and had come to the doorway to investigate what exactly that demon was up to. He had not expected that as soon as he arrived, he would hear the so-called teacher giving a complete mess of a lecture, while the so-called students were nodding in confusion.

The more Xu Sheng listened, the more stifled he felt. The more he listened, the angrier he became. How could a person who read the books of sages make such low-level mistakes? Was this not misleading the young?

Thus, he could not bear it any longer. He kicked open the door and began correcting the other party’s mistakes.

And after he exhausted his tongue and finally explained clearly who Mencius was and what Mencius’s mother moving three times meant, just as he was planning to hand the class back to Shi Ren, he saw that the other party was listening to his explanation with keen interest and even urged him, “What comes next?”

Xu Sheng was speechless for a moment. “You are the teacher. You should be the one explaining what comes next.”

“Right.” Shi Ren slapped his forehead and finally remembered his duty. So he continued reading down. “Next is ‘Dou of Yan Mountain had righteous methods’… Which great hero is this Dou of Yan Mountain?”

“…” Xu Sheng took a deep breath and closed his eyes with a headache.

In the end, he snatched the book out of Shi Ren’s hands and said irritably, “Go, go, go. Go down there and reflect on yourself properly. This old man will teach the rest!”

Just like that, the clear sound of reading finally rang out inside the schoolhouse. The scholar on the stage explained things in a simple and easy-to-understand way, and the students below listened with great interest. Listening to those stories about people of ancient times, they found it extremely enjoyable.

And Xu Sheng, who had originally been stubbornly unwilling to obey Qin Ming’s orders, had no choice but to take over the position of teacher.

Mission Eight: Establish a schoolhouse, find a teacher to teach, and hold one class. Completed.

Mission Reward: Reward of thirty thousand merit points. Overall quality of the Demonic Cult has slightly increased! Issued.

When Qin Ming heard this news, his head was full of question marks and he was quite surprised. However, since Xu Sheng was willing to take the position, he happily attributed it to good luck.

Little did he know that some clever people had already begun to comprehend his “scheme.”

And they were deeply convinced by it.

“As expected, the Cult Leader carries out a strategy of a hundred steps. I am sincerely convinced.” Chen Lue shook his head helplessly and praised.

Yang Xu also came to a sudden realization at this moment. “So this was the scheme the Cult Leader used. Amazing!”

“The Cult Leader is wise. This goading tactic was used wonderfully!” As for Shen Fubai, he could not help admiring him to his face. “This subordinate deeply admires the Cult Leader’s method of controlling people. Against that stubborn person, you used a goading tactic and prescribed the right remedy. Such a marvelous method—how did this subordinate fail to think of it? Many thanks for the Cult Leader’s reminder!”

Qin Ming: …?

What scheme? Who used a goading tactic? Who are you talking about??

…

Almost none of the Demonic Cult disciples could understand why the Cult Leader valued that old scholar so much.

Even Shen Fubai could not read the Cult Leader’s heart. In his eyes, if they only lacked a teacher, wouldn’t catching anyone do? Why insist on finding this old bastard with such a bad temper, who liked to resort to violence whenever a conversation went wrong?

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