Chapter 426: Chen Zhao's Extra (5)

"Master, are you using corpses to refine spiritual power?" Chen Zhao's heart sank. Could it be that what the outside world said was true?

No, no, no, if you are already dead, it doesn’t matter.

"No." The Grand Master said, "This is spiritual power extracted from a living person."

"What!——" Chen Zhaozhi was completely unable to stand. He wanted to question his master and escape, but he was afraid of his master's punishment.

He discovered the master's secret. Will the master refine him as well?

"Are you surprised? This is a good thing." The Grand Master did not look angry at all. "It shows that you still have a heart of kindness and compassion."

Chen Zhaozhi didn't say anything. He was completely unsure of what his master meant.

"If I tell you that all the elixirs you used to improve your cultivation a while ago were refined by these people, how would you feel?" asked the Grand Master.

Chen Zhaozhi was very confused: "I, I think I was wrong, I shouldn't..."

"If I tell you that they are all death row prisoners and will be executed soon, how would you feel?" the Grand Master asked again.

Chen Zhaozhi was obviously relieved.

No need to answer, his expression betrayed all his inner thoughts.

Yes, Master is so capable, it shouldn’t be a problem to find some death row prisoners to refine.

"What if I tell you that they are not all death row prisoners?" the Grand Master added suddenly.

"Master!" Shen Zhaozhi's mood was tormented, and he didn't know what his master meant.

"Zhaozhi." The Grand Master patted him soothingly and asked him to sit down first.

"Zhaozhi, let me ask you first, why do you think it's not possible to refine spiritual energy using ordinary people, but it's possible to use death row prisoners?"

Chen Zhaozhi thought for a moment and said, "Since the death row prisoners are going to die anyway, it's a good thing to make their deaths more meaningful."

The Grand Master continued, "But some death row prisoners aren't executed immediately. Some will be executed next month, and some in six months. Do you think they can all be used for refining?"

Chen Zhaozhi was dumbfounded again. This question was neither complicated nor easy to answer, but he just didn't know how to answer it.

Answering this kind of question is like deciding a person's life or death.

"I think... next month's is okay, but half a year's is not." He answered after a sudden thought.

"Why?" the Grand Master asked him. "Both are ending their lives prematurely. What's the difference between one month and six months? What's the basis for your judgment? What if it's three months? How would you decide?"

Chen Zhaozhi shook his head desperately. He had no basis for his decision, he was just going by his feelings.

"Human life is short," said the Grand Master. "It can be as short as a few months, or as long as a few years or even decades. They may live to be a hundred years old, or die of a serious illness tomorrow. This is all destined by fate."

"It is destiny that they will be refined by us and become elixirs for our cultivation." He continued, "Zhaozhi, do you remember the rat demon riot last year?"

Chen Zhaozhi nodded. "Remember, the rat tribe came in through the city's drainage ditch, transformed into human form and ate the city's civilians. Many people disappeared at that time. It was you, Master, who drove them out. The emperor wanted to keep this a secret and didn't announce your contribution to the public."

"Whether we have achieved any merit or not is not something we should care about," said the Grand Master. "The Rat Demon Clan possesses profound spiritual power. If we hadn't refined spiritual elixirs to improve our cultivation, we wouldn't be able to withstand their attacks. I'm afraid the entire capital would have been reduced to a sea of ​​blood."

Chen Zhaozhi felt that he understood a little.

"Sacrifice some people in exchange for the safety of others?" he asked.

The Grand Master did not answer directly, but said: "You must remember that when we seek power, it is never for ourselves, but for our great cause and the mission we shoulder."

“A person’s life is but a mayfly in the water. Most people rise and fall in the water, their life span may be long or short, and eventually disappear… Only a few stand out and shoulder their mission!”

"Zhaozhi, you must remember that you are one of the few! If you want to shoulder a great cause, you must make sacrifices. Sacrifice one life to save a hundred lives. This is what you should do!"

The twelve-year-old Chen Zhaozhi could not tell whether these words were good or bad. That day he only felt that he was the last disciple chosen by his master, and everything his master did was necessary.

Those lives that were sacrificed were all for the sake of something further.

Those who accuse them do not understand their noble cause!

…

Chen Zhaozhi didn't contact Xia Wanqing for a whole month.

She neither asked the servant to send her an invitation as before nor wrote a letter, as if she pretended that this person didn't exist.

The incident ended on bad terms, and Xia Wanqing was still angry. Then this happened again, so she went straight to the Imperial Observatory to look for someone!

"What are you doing here? What will others think of you if they see you?" Chen Zhaozhi came out and pulled her to a nearby teahouse.

Hearing Chen Zhaozhi's concern, Xia Wanqing felt relieved, but she still asked, "If I don't come to find you, when will you come to me? Why, after hearing me say something bad about your master, you turned hostile?"

"My master is not the kind of person you say he is. Wanqing, you must believe me." Chen Zhao said.

"What kind of magic potion did he give you?" Xia Wanqing asked, "I told you to ask him. Did you ask him? What did he say?"

Chen Zhaozhi opened his mouth, but he didn't dare to directly say the matter of refining people, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.

Xia Wanqing stood up suddenly and slammed the table, attracting the attention of everyone in the teahouse.

"That old man is lying to you again! Can't you use your own judgment? Can't you see whether he's doing something evil or not?"

Chen Zhaozhi asked anxiously: "Can you lower your voice!"

Xia Wanqing was furious at his evasion: "Chen Zhaozhi, as the eldest disciple, you should know best whether your master has done anything evil. If you still have any conscience, come back with me to find my father and testify to your master's evil deeds so that my father can lock him up!"

Eleven or twelve-year-old Xia Wanqing had no idea that a child's evidence without physical evidence was useless. It was a pity that Chen Zhaozhi didn't know either.

He shook off Xia Wanqing's hand: "You are always so overbearing. Whatever you say is the truth, and you won't tolerate others saying anything else! You just like everyone to listen to you, so spoiled!"

The most taboo in an argument is to remain silent and bring up old grudges. Chen Zhaozhi committed all of these mistakes, especially in front of other people.

Everyone else in the teahouse was whispering, and Xia Wanqing's eyes suddenly turned red.

But she tried hard not to shed tears.

She turned around and took two steps, then turned back and poured the pot of tea on the table all over Chen Zhaozhi.

"You're so annoying!" she yelled and ran back home.