Chapter 198: The Confusion of Yin and Yang
Zhu Qingyan walked forward and shuttled back and forth between the two doorways, studying them from front to back for a while. These were indeed just two ordinary doors, nothing special about them.
"We mortals don't know how to split ourselves, so how is it possible for one person to pass through two doorways at the same time?" Zhu Qingyan shook his head, "Are you a god?"
Su Huai spread his hands, "If I were a god, would I still be trapped by these two doors for so many years?"
"Then your master probably said this on purpose because he didn't want you to leave."
Su Huai snorted coldly, and said firmly, "My master is an accomplished person, he must have his reasons for saying that."
After saying that, Su Huai glanced at the two of them from the corner of his eyes, "I say, can you guys do it? If not, don't waste time and leave quickly."
Zhu Qingyan cast his gaze towards Zhu Lan, and seeing that she had been staring at the Yin-Yang Gate in deep thought, he said helplessly, "They deliberately asked difficult questions, and you took them seriously..."
Su Huai's face darkened and he was about to chase the man away when he suddenly heard Zhu Lan speak.
"I think I know what your master wants to tell you."
"What?" Su Huai was stunned.
Zhu Lan walked forward slowly and stopped between the two doors. Just when Su Huai and Zhu Qingyan behind her wanted to see which door she was going to choose, Zhu Lan suddenly walked to the other side.
It turns out that there is a stone-paved path next to these two arched doors.
Zhu Lan did not go through any of the two doors, but went straight around the path. After a moment, he reappeared behind the Liangyi Gate and looked at Zhu Qingyan.
"Look, I'm here, aren't I?"
Zhu Qingyan and Su Huai were dumbfounded.
What is going on?
"Is it... that simple?" Su Huai asked stutteringly.
Zhu Lan passed through the Liangyi Gate and returned to the two of them. He smiled and said:
"Two yin and yang are born from Tai Chi, one is yin and the other is yang, fighting each other but also balancing each other. No matter which side you lean towards, it means going to extremes.
The only way to "let nature take its course" is to not get involved and to just go around it. This is exactly what the ancient sage Lao Tzu meant by "do nothing and yet achieve everything".
What your master wants to tell you is that you should not force yourself to do something that is impossible to accomplish. Human power cannot overcome nature, so it is better to let nature take its course and be quiet and do nothing. "
"So that's it, so that's it..." Su Huai muttered to himself for a while, and suddenly ran towards the main hall of the Taoist temple, where he could hear his laughter.
"Master, I understand! Hahahaha——"
"What a lunatic." Zhu Qingyan muttered.
After a long time, Su Huai walked out of the main hall with a lingering excitement on his face.
"Master is right, do nothing but achieve something. I used to only think about leaving here, but now I realize that my practice is still far from enough.
I plan to stay here and wait until I have calmed down before considering whether to go out and have a look.”
Su Huai kept talking about his feelings, but Zhu Lan didn't care whether he was leaving or staying. He found an opportunity to interrupt him and said:
"Mr. Su, now that the puzzle has been solved, can I borrow the book?"
"Oh, sure!" Su Huai put his hands into his sleeves, "What's the name of the book you want to borrow? Something like Liuyuan Kao, right? But you have to wait for me to look for it in the book room left by my master."
Zhu Qingyan's eyes widened when he heard this, and he suddenly became annoyed.
After all this trouble, Su Huai didn't even know if he had the books they wanted to borrow! ?
If there is no such thing at all, wouldn’t it be a waste of half a day’s effort?
Zhu Lan was also speechless. He pulled Zhu Qingyan and winked at her.
Forget it, now that things have come to this, let him look for it first.
Not long after, Su Huai came back in a swagger and took out a slightly yellowed book from his sleeve.
"Is this it?" Su Huai just stretched out his hand and then retracted it.
"I have always had two puzzles. One is why there are day and night in the world, and the other is the question of the two yin and yang gates.
Since you helped me solve it, even if I owe you two favors, this book is one of them."
Zhu Lan took the book and took a look. Sure enough, the words "A Study on the Origins and Meanings of Various Characters" were written on the blue cover. She roughly flipped through the contents and found that they were not much different from what she remembered reading in Wanjuan Tower. They should be different copied versions.
"This is it!" Zhu Lan happily bowed to Su Huai and said, "Thank you, Mr. Su. Please allow us to borrow this book for a while. We will definitely return it in five days."
Su Huai waved his hand indifferently, "It's up to you."
After saying that, he turned around and walked away without saying goodbye.
…
Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan left the Taoist temple with the books.
Standing at the gate of the Taoist temple, the two discussed and decided to find an inn to stay in in Yunzhou City first. After studying out what was written on those pages of paper and returning the book to Su Huai, they would go back to the Northern Frontier Camp to find Murong Jing.
On the way to the inn, Zhu Lan noticed that Zhu Qingyan had been silent, so he turned his head and asked her.
"What are you thinking about?"
Zhu Qingyan's expression was somewhat confused and tangled. He hesitated for a while before speaking:
"What did you just say to Mr. Su, that human power cannot overcome nature, that we should let nature take its course and do nothing, and then we can achieve everything?"
Zhu Lan nodded slightly. She said, "What's wrong?"
Zhu Qingyan suddenly looked at her seriously, "Do you really think so?"
Hearing her ask this, Zhu Lan became somewhat interested and asked with a smile: "Then what do you think?"
Zhu Qingyan's face flashed with confusion, "I... can't explain it clearly, but I feel it's not right."
"What's wrong?" Zhu Lan's smile deepened. "Laozi said, 'The highest good is like water. Water benefits all things without contending. Because it does not contend, no one in the world can contend with it. Do you think the words of the saints are wrong?"
Zhu Qingyan lowered his head, sounding somewhat discouraged.
"Of course I dare not say that the saints are wrong. But I don't understand. If we don't fight, then what are we doing studying so hard to take the imperial examination? Isn't the imperial examination a competition among scholars all over the world?"
She raised her eyes and looked at Zhu Lan again, "In Qingxi Town, if you don't fight, how can the women in this town learn to read and write and sit in school with dignity?
Besides, didn't you fight for your title of first place in the imperial examination? If we really want to let things take their own course as you said, we should go home and lie down, waiting for the first place in the imperial examination to fall on our heads."
Zhu Lan stopped and stared at Zhu Qingyan for a long while, and suddenly he looked at him with admiration.
She laughed, tilted her head slightly, and the floating clouds in the sky floated into her dark brown pupils.
After a moment, Zhu Lan spoke softly:
"Actually, I think the same as you. I don't think what Laozi said is wrong, but these are the great principles after enlightenment. It is the same for governing a country and cultivating oneself, but the prerequisite is to have no obsession and desire for everything in the world."
Zhu Lan said, shaking his head with some regret, "It's a pity that throughout history, how many people can truly be free of desires?
You and I are just ordinary people. We have obsessions and things we want to do. There is nothing shameful about that.”
Zhu Qingyan felt relieved after hearing this. She asked again, "If you can't get around Liangyi Gate, which side will you choose?"
The clouds in Zhu Lan's pupils gradually dissipated, she slowly raised the corners of her mouth, her tone firm.
"Then I'll tear down this door and make my own way out."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
