"To be honest, I don't know if it's the same person. My mother only said that my uncle's name is Luo Yi, and he has some reputation in Youzhou," Qin Mu explained.
He was also confused; how had he transmigrated into Qin Qiong's son? Luo Yi was indeed related to Qin Qiong in the novel. However, he hadn't found any record in the book of Qin Qiong's son being away for more than ten years.
"Well, we'll find out once we go and see. If not, Brother Huaidao, come to Chang'an. I can still take care of you there."
Qin Mu could guess some of Li Chunfeng's plans. He definitely wanted to go to Qin Qiong to verify things first, so he also wanted to keep his mind at ease.
"Thank you for your concern, Brother Li. If I hadn't found my uncle, I would have definitely come to Chang'an to seek refuge with you. By the way, Brother Li, you hold an official position, so why are you here at this small Taoist temple in Wuzhong County? Could it be that you've come to visit your master?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"this…"
"Brother Li, if it's inconvenient for you to say, then you don't have to. I was just asking casually."
Li Chunfeng neither wanted to lie nor could he say it outright. Seeing that Qin Mu did not press him, he breathed a sigh of relief and explained, "This is an order from the imperial court. I am using my Taoist identity to investigate a matter. I am just passing by to visit my master."
"It's getting late, Brother Li should rest too. I'll take my leave." Qin Mu nodded, indicating his understanding, then stood up and cupped his hands in farewell. The events of today had a significant impact on him, so he needed to go back and process them properly.
Li Chunfeng was the same. After reading the Yin Fu Jing, he needed to calm down and ponder it. Although the Yin Fu Jing only had a little over three hundred words, it contained profound meaning and Taoist secret techniques.
"Brother Huaidao, you still have to travel tomorrow, so I won't keep you from resting any longer."
After the two parted ways, Qin Mu did not continue to look at the statues of gods enshrined in the main hall, but returned to the guest room at the back.
"Dalang is back. The water for washing up has gotten cold. I'll go heat it up for you."
"No need, Aunt Wang. You've been traveling all day, you must be tired too. Get some rest," Qin Mu said with a smile, then went over to get some cold water and rubbed his face with his hands.
"Alright, Dalang, you should get some rest too." Wang Ma said as she left, closing the door behind her.
Uncle Zhong went to the kitchen and slept on a bed of dry grass. Qin Mu didn't insist, since the bed in the room was only big enough for one person and was hard, so it was no different from sleeping on the floor.
After carefully recalling Zhiyuan and Li Chunfeng's words from beginning to end, Qin Mu sorted them out twice and summarized them.
First of all, this is a world where cultivation is possible. Military generals can cultivate, Taoist priests can cultivate, and even scholars can cultivate.
Secondly, this is a magical world, with werewolves, as you can tell from the word "beast race," and other creatures such as bear-men.
The effects of cultivation are unknown, as they require personal experience and understanding, and different people will have different results; as for whether there are other special exceptions, that remains to be seen.
However, these things are not very important. The fact that the mountain village has been able to live peacefully for so many years shows that even if there are special things, there shouldn't be many now. Otherwise, Master Zhiyuan and his disciples would have reminded themselves.
In Confucian cultivation, those who haven't yet entered the path, like myself, are called students; those who aspire to become Confucian scholars are called Confucian students; those who have achieved mastery are called scholars; and those who go on to become great scholars, Confucian teachers, and great Confucian scholars are called great scholars.
To get started, besides needing sufficient knowledge, you also need to be determined. And this determination is definitely not just empty talk; it's more like making a vow.
Qin Mu had tried to cultivate before, but that was only a carefully planned method, best used when thinking.
Knowing when to stop leads to tranquility; tranquility leads to composure; composure leads to peace; peace leads to gain.
Qin Mu gently lay down, relaxing his entire body. He interlaced his fingers and placed them on his lower abdomen, his most comfortable sleeping position. This allowed him to keep his mind clear; previously, it often took him a long time to clear his mind and fall asleep. This was the only way he could enter deep sleep to control his hyperthymesia.
After time travel, he discovered that doing so had another advantage: his mind became clearer and his thinking became more acute.
He relaxed his body and began to search his mind for the Confucian classics he had read, the most representative of which were the Four Books and Five Classics: *The Great Learning*, *The Doctrine of the Mean*, *The Analects*, *Mencius*, *The Book of Changes*, *The Book of Documents*, *The Book of Poetry*, *The Book of Rites*, and *The Zuo Commentary*. Although he hadn't studied them extensively, he had read them all before.
The Confucian Six Arts correspond to techniques, but what we need to find now is the method, and setting goals should be considered the Way. This is similar to Taoism, where the Way comes first, then the method, and finally the techniques.
When later generations mentioned Confucian self-cultivation, they mainly focused on self-cultivation and the study and emphasis on ritual. This could certainly not be the Dao practiced by Confucianism today, or rather, it could only be considered one of the Confucian principles—the law of ritual!
In other words, what Qin Mu needs to do now is to establish a path based on his own conscience, a path he wants to take, and then steadfastly follow it.
Although Zhiyuan didn't say whether one could change their path after choosing it, Qin Mu knew it wouldn't be easy, or rather, the consequences would be severe. After all, it was equivalent to overturning one's own beliefs, questioning whether one's own persistence was correct.
Qin Mu did not receive a systematic Confucian education, and as a later-generation soul, he was just an ordinary person in later generations, unable to establish ambitions such as protecting his country and speaking out for the people.
My original dream was to find a cure for hyperthymesia, but because of time travel, my hyperthymesia was cured without medication. This left me somewhat lost. Following my mother's dying wish in this life, I went to live with relatives, simply because I wanted to survive, or rather, to live a better, more stable life in this world.
This wasn't a peaceful era, but a feudal society. For someone without power or influence, living a decent life was no easy feat. Suddenly, deciding on a permanent goal was incredibly difficult. Qin Mu couldn't help but set aside everything else and consider things purely from a life perspective: what did he need? What kind of life did he want to live?
Since his transmigration, he had thought about using his foresight to become a high-ranking official or a wealthy man; now his plan has been shattered again. This world is vastly different from the spacetime he knows, which means that these advantages are gone again.
The fact that cultivation is still possible means that the rules of the world have changed. Even if you know some high-tech things, you can't create them, and even if you do, they might not be effective.
So here's the question: what should I do if I want a stable and safe life? Cultivate! Making myself stronger becomes the best way, and this body seems to have that talent.
Conversely, one's own ambition is freedom! It's about avoiding letting others control your life and death.
With both hands, I cleave the path between life and death; with both feet, I trample the waves of the mortal world!
My upright character amazes even the gods; my fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens!
In the darkness, Qin Mu opened his eyes, his gaze resolute, as if he could see through the roof, and uttered a few words.
To take control of his own destiny—that was his ambition.
"Heaven and earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs! Since Heaven will not help anyone, then we must strive unceasingly and take control of our own destiny," Qin Mu said to himself with unusual determination.
As soon as he uttered those words, Qin Mu's resolve hardened like never before. He was an extremely determined person, and upon making this decision, he felt a relaxation between his brows, a surge of warmth rising from his chest. His whole body felt as if he had just finished a sauna, a sense of ease and indescribable comfort washing over him.
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