Chapter 102 The "slowness" in the Five Evils of Pride refers to her. ...
She's saying those things again.
Pei Wenjing thought that he always took her words seriously, even when his reason told him that it was just Shen Cangyu joking. Her eyes held a smile, concealing emotions that were half-true and half-false.
But if only it were true.
“You’re the person I found, so of course I’ll take responsibility for you. Let me think about what kind of reward I should give you.” Shen Cangyu pondered, resting his chin on his hand.
Sure enough, this responsibility was not the same as that responsibility. Pei Wenjing felt a pang of disappointment, and was filled with resentment.
When is your birthday?
Upon hearing her words, Pei Wenjing laughed in anger, silently sat up, and finally managed to pull off the hair ribbon that she had been holding.
Pei Wenjing locked the trunk with two quick clicks, then grabbed the straps and headed out. Shen Cangyu realized she had gone too far and chased after him, saying, "Sorry, I actually..." remembered your birthday.
"Chen Cangyu".
Pei Wenjing suddenly spoke up: "Have you ever truly regarded me as a human being?"
Whether in the past or present, in Shen Cangyu's eyes, they were all just characters in a book. Even though she said she wanted to save people, change the world with Wan Qianzhong, contact more mortals, and spread ideas... she always put herself in a superior position, as if she were treating him as a toy.
Perhaps Shen Cangyu herself didn't realize that she possessed a conceit unique to protagonists. This trait had gradually faded from her past self, but it had reappeared now.
Pei Wenjing thought that perhaps this trait never disappeared; it was just that Shen Cangyu was better at disguising it and didn't let him see it.
But if it weren't for Shen Cangyu's arrogance, Pei Wenjing wouldn't have noticed her at first. It was all probably fate.
Watching Pei Wenjing's retreating figure, Shen Cangyu's eyes glazed over for a moment. She felt a sense of déjà vu in the scene before her. Her right palm throbbed slightly, and she looked down. Perhaps it was because the ten fingers were connected to the heart, but whenever she was sad, her palm would ache. She pressed her other hand against her palm and felt the pulse beating beneath it.
Why does it hurt so much? What has she forgotten?
*
When Shen Cangyu pushed open the door to the tea room, Wan Qianzhong looked behind her and saw that there was no one behind her. Wan Qianzhong frowned and asked, "Where is that kid? Didn't you say you were going to find him? Why didn't he come with you?"
Wan Qianzhong always referred to Pei Wenjing as "that boy," never calling him by his name to his face. Perhaps, as she said, even though Pei Wenjing was her own flesh and blood, she had no feelings for the child. Or perhaps, she simply disliked the name Shen Yingda had given Pei Wenjing.
Pei Wenjing had no lingering feelings for Wan Qianzhong. Wan Qianzhong had no memories of her previous lives, but Pei Wenjing did. He had dealt with Wan Qianzhong hundreds of times, and all past grievances had long been forgotten. Now, in his eyes, Wan Qianzhong was no different from a stranger.
Perhaps it was because of this indifference that Wan Qianzhong's tone towards him became increasingly harsh. Every time they met in the tea room, the two of them had tense faces, and their similar eyes held the same look.
“He’s probably angry,” Shen Cangyu said. “I just teased him, and given his personality, I must have really provoked him.”
"Is he really in a hurry or just pretending?" Wan Qianzhong said with a sneer. "Maybe he's just putting on an act to make you feel guilty and get your attention."
Pei Wenjing's hairband was still tucked into Shen Cangyu's sleeve. He usually kept himself impeccably groomed, and this was the first time he had ever walked out with his hair down like this, completely disregarding his image. Wasn't he in a hurry? Shen Cangyu felt a little guilty, and even felt that the hairband in his sleeve had become unusually hot to the touch.
“If he doesn’t come, that’s fine. There’s no need to wait any longer. Let’s talk,” Wan Qianzhong said.
They wanted to discuss the future development of the Wendaotang (问问堂).
With the popularization of classroom education, the conflicts in Bailongtan have visibly decreased compared to before. However, they need to consider the issue of sustainable development. After Pei Wenjing's first batch of disciples completes their apprenticeship, they can begin to have them become new teachers to instruct new disciples, and then gradually expand the scale of the Wendao Hall. This is their initial plan.
However, going to school cannot solve all issues of character development; after all, morality can only arouse a person's conscience, but cannot restrain their behavior. Therefore, they began to work on drafting laws and regulations.
"But then, how are we any different from Kunlun?" This is a question posed by countless others.
Kunlun also has compulsory education. The elders of Kunlun gather children of school age together and provide guidance for several years, teaching them knowledge related to literature, history, philosophy, and the arts of the mind and Tao. Kunlun's education is also unpaid and mandatory.
Now they need to consider how everything the Daowen Hall does differs from Kunlun's. They don't want to create a new Kunlun on Bailong Beach. If they are simply doing the same thing as Kunlun, then there's no need to overthrow Kunlun.
Because doing so would simply be overthrowing one organization and building an identical one, with the only constant being a change in leadership. This is precisely what Wan Qianzhong fears. She overthrew Kunlun to eliminate a standard answer, to restore chaos to the world, and to allow cultivators to create more Dao techniques. However, according to the evolution of the Dao, disorder inevitably leads to order. The chaotic and diverse landscape of Dao techniques will eventually disappear.
Wan Qianzhong did not want that after she overthrew Kunlun, several hundred years later, her Tongqianyan would become a new Kunlun under the leadership of the people, and history would repeat itself.
However, without unified management and rules to constrain the masses, people might harm others for their own benefit. This is what troubles Wan Qianzhong. She cannot find a solution that satisfies both sides.
“No, it’s different,” Shen Cangyu said. “Having Pei Wenjing teach the first batch of copper coin-eyed believers is only the first step. What we need to do next is to reshape their values and, at the same time, supplement them with laws so that they understand what they can and cannot do. This step is just establishing a framework, just like laying the foundation before building a house.”
Shen Cangyu gestured on the paper; "But after laying the foundation, we must give them freedom."
Wan Qianchong frowned as he watched Shen Cangyu drawing crooked and messy scribbles on the paper. He wondered who had taught her calligraphy and painting; the result was incredibly ugly.
"What they should learn, what is more important to them, and how the rules can protect everyone's interests... these are not things we should teach them, but rather things they should choose for themselves."
Kunlun's education is top-down, while the education they want to provide is bottom-up.
Wan Qianzhong understood Shen Cangyu's words, and she smiled: "I thought you were going to say something, but it turns out you have this kind of plan."
"How naive," she commented.
Seeing Shen Cangyu's displeasure, Wan Qianzhong said, "Do you think our predecessors haven't tried these methods? The devil is always one step ahead. You've given them freedom and power, assuming that the loudest voice represents the people's choice. But if someone bribes others to deliberately control who speaks, then the rules fall into the hands of the powerful. How can you guarantee that rules established under such circumstances are absolutely fair?"
Money and power can buy so much, which is the core of the "copper-money-seeking" mentality. By granting these people power and freedom, Shen Cangyu overestimated their character, the transformative power of education, and her own abilities. She always simplifies everything and idealizes human nature.
Indeed, children who come from Kunlun always believe that the world is a beautiful place, and that with just a little guidance, everyone will turn to good.
Shen Cangyu remained silent. In her eyes, self-governance was the best form of management, after all, the other world in her mind was just as peaceful and stable. She tried to bring the democratic system to this world, modeled after that other society, but Wan Qianzhong poured cold water on her efforts, letting her know that this method wouldn't work in this world.
The words, "How do you know it won't work if you haven't tried?" stuck in Shen Cangyu's throat, and she suddenly realized a blind spot in her thinking.
Relying on her memories of another world and her greater knowledge, she arrogantly offered unsolicited advice, believing that following her lead was the only correct path. After all, history only moves forward, never backward, and socialism is the inevitable outcome.
But she never considered whether her methods were suitable for the times. She didn't consider other issues, nor did she consider human nature, nor factors such as the development of productive forces…
With this thought arising, as if struck by a sudden inspiration, she understood why her past self hadn't chosen to immediately become a god, but instead opted to experience life in the mortal realm. She also understood why, in her choice to be reborn, she had chosen the identity of a helpless orphan in the mortal world. Besides wanting to solidify her cultivation path from earth to heaven, she also wanted to wash away the arrogance inherent in transmigrators.
Shen Cangyu realized that she wasn't perfect either; she had her shortcomings, which she hadn't noticed before. This, she realized, was the kind of growth she had to face.
So, the "slowness" among the five evils refers to her.
As this thought arose in her mind, bright white data flashed past her.
[Abnormal data detected, deleting...]
[Abnormal data detected, deleting...]
Deletion failed. Restarting your computer. Please wait.
Reboot failed.
Seeing the white light flowing from Shen Cangyu's body and feeling the surge of spiritual energy emanating from her, Wan Qianzhong exclaimed in horror, "What's wrong with you? Are you about to fall into demonic possession?"
Shen Cangyu hadn't expected that Wan Qianzhong could actually see the data bar flashing on her body. Just as Shen Cangyu was about to speak, a burning pain came from her wrist. She looked down and saw that the copper coin mark on her wrist had appeared on her skin at some point. Next to the copper wire mark, a new mark appeared, which was a peacock feather.
The peacock is arrogant, reserved, and narcissistic, which perfectly reflects her lofty and self-assured demeanor.
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