The Pride of a Mischievous Child

"What you really want to know right now has never been 'Why did Senior Brother Liu interrupt Master?'" Liu Jin's tone was flat, as if he were reciting a pre-written judgment. "What you really want to know is how Master really sees you. You want to know if any of the things I just said revealed Master's attitude. You want to know if my coming to you was Master's intention."

Li Muxuan was silent for a moment, then chuckled softly: "Senior brother thinks too highly of me. I'm just curious. You've only been in the sect for less than a year, so you're practically a newcomer. But Master values ​​you exceptionally much, and I can see that. A capable person would stand up for you at a time like that; you should at least ask why."

"You don't need to ask. You've already found the answer for yourself."

"What's the answer?"

"I'm here to help you. At least to put in a good word for you. So that smile you just gave me wasn't just politeness towards your senior brother, it was politeness towards a 'potential ally'."

Li Muxuan's smile finally faded slightly. It wasn't the embarrassment of being exposed, but an instinctive wariness after being stripped of one's outer layer. He slowly placed the shredded grass on the steps, clapped his hands, and stood up.

"Senior brother," Li Muxuan's tone changed, no longer the usual polite formality, but more like he was speaking to someone truly worthy of his attention, "You said I don't want to know the answer. Then what do you think I want to know?"

"You don't want to know anything."

Li Muxuan frowned.

"A person who truly wants to cultivate the Threefold Reversal of Life will find a quiet place to sit down, close their eyes, and sense the Qi. Even if they don't get any Qi, they will try again and again. You chopped wood for half a month and only chopped the required amount. You went up the mountain to investigate for three days and only found out about the sect's supplies. You spent ten times more effort on these things than on cultivation." Liu Jin paused. "You didn't come here to learn the Threefold Reversal of Life. You came here to learn how to get Zuo Ruotong to accept you."

"Is there a difference?"

"Yes. The former is cultivating the Tao. The latter is doing business. Business is about catering to people's preferences, while cultivating the Tao is about self-awareness."

Li Muxuan was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed. This laugh was different from any before; it was unadorned, unforced, and genuinely found it amusing. "Senior brother, you said that cultivation emphasizes self-awareness. Do you think I lack self-awareness?"

"Sun Wukong also felt that he had self-awareness before he met Buddha."

Li Muxuan was taken aback. The analogy came too suddenly, and he didn't catch it for a moment. Liu Jin didn't wait for him to respond and continued.

"Sun Wukong was king of Flower Fruit Mountain, he wreaked havoc in the Dragon Palace of the East Sea, and he caused chaos in the Heavenly Palace. He had seen more gods than monkeys, but in his heart, none of them were as good as him. Because he was truly capable. He knocked down the Nine Luminaries with one blow and tricked Erlang Shen with his seventy-two transformations. If you ask him if he had any self-awareness, he would tell you: Old Sun's ability is self-awareness. Until he was suppressed under the Five Elements Mountain by Buddha. Only then did he realize that his previous understanding of 'Heaven' was wrong. It wasn't that he wasn't strong enough, it was that he simply didn't know how vast Heaven was."

Li Muxuan remained silent. The smile on his lips had completely vanished, replaced by a rare seriousness.

"Senior brother, are you trying to say that I am that Monkey King?"

"You're not. Sun Wukong genuinely believed he was invincible; he believed in himself. You don't believe in yourself. You haven't even met Buddha yet. Do you know what your biggest regret is?" Liu Jin looked at him. "You've never even stayed on your own Flower Fruit Mountain. From the very beginning, you've been studying the rules of the Heavenly Palace, figuring out how to secure a good position there. You weren't even willing to do a somersault on your cloud to see how high you could fly; you were already thinking about how to get the Jade Emperor to give you an official position."

Li Muxuan remained silent for a long time. The continuous repressive education gradually eroded his already dissatisfied heart. No matter how well he could hide it, he was still just a teenager, a mischievous child who had never experienced setbacks and had always had a smooth life.

Lu Jin's naiveté, without much thought, led to her successful entry into the sect. It was another round of interrogation and dialogue with Zuo Ruotong, followed by the condescending instruction from her senior brother.

His hidden fierceness finally erupted, just like his rebellious act when he tried to win Zuo Ruotong back, except that it was carefully provoked by Wang Yaozu, and he had invested his true feelings. Even after he realized what had happened, he still retained some affection; in the end, he wasn't a bad person.

He was just a naughty child from beginning to end, which is why Liu Jin ultimately chose to provoke him and give him a choice.

This time the shock came so suddenly, without any build-up, that it's hard to say how much leniency he'll show in the future. But...

Liu Jin didn't care.

"What you said is very well said, senior brother." He finally spoke, his voice softer than before, but every word was pronounced clearly, "However, I have a question."

"ask."

"My senior brother said I came seeking the Dao with the intention of 'letting others know me,' and that seeking the Dao requires self-awareness. But what about my senior brother himself? He speaks with such lofty principles, and by what right does he lecture me?"

Liu Jin did not speak.

"I haven't even joined the Sanyi Sect yet, who are you!" Li Muxuan laughed arrogantly.

"There's something you're wrong about, Senior Brother. I'm not studying the rules of the Heavenly Palace. I'm looking for the gate to the Heavenly Palace. They tell me to chop wood, so I chop wood; they tell me to fetch water, so I fetch water; they tell me not to go up the mountain, so I insist on going up to see. I do these things not because I want to please anyone, but because I want to get in. Senior Brother can say I'm using my intelligence in the wrong place, and I accept that. But you say I don't want to learn the Reverse Rebirth Triple Stage, and I don't accept that."

Liu Jin smiled but didn't answer him. Instead, he turned around and bowed behind him.

Li Muxuan's arrogance was still lingering on his lips, but his eyes suddenly froze as Liu Jin made his move.

He saw Liu Jin turn around and respectfully bow to the darkness behind him.

"Master, it's your turn."

......

"Hahaha, ugly boy, are you dumbfounded now?"

"Journey to the West, again Journey to the West, it really is deeply influenced by the original."

"But I still feel a bit more relaxed..."

"I think that's normal. He's just a little kid. Li Muxuan is only slightly better at the beginning and end, but he's really low in the middle."

"Indeed, it serves as a comparison for Wugensheng."

"That is, after all, rootless, the root of all chaos."

......

A figure emerged from the darkness. He wore a moon-white Taoist robe, his long hair casually draped behind his head, his face thin, and between his brows lay that familiar, untainted clarity. Zuo Ruotong had been standing there for an unknown amount of time. The wind rustled through his robes, and his footsteps were almost imperceptible as he stepped out. Li Muxuan's pupils contracted, and the smile on his lips froze completely. It turned out that from beginning to end, all his performance, all his explanations, all his defiance, had been seen by the person he truly cared about.