Chapter 3

Fang Zhengzhi's voice wasn't loud, but the village chief, who had just reached the door, immediately felt a shiver down his spine. The issue Fang Zhengzhi raised was precisely what he feared the most.

If these words had come from an adult, the village chief would have really had to consider the impact, because, under normal circumstances, such matters would be settled after a preliminary contest. However, this time was different. It was the Divine Guard Mansion that had come, and such an opportunity was extremely rare, something that hadn't appeared in decades.

Feeling the silver ingots in his pocket, the village chief's face turned from white to red. Finally, he gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and prepared to leave with a stiff upper lip. He was very clear that if he missed this opportunity, he might never have such a good chance again.

Li Jia's sister-in-law's expression was relatively normal. After all, she was the "big customer" who had given the silver, so she wasn't afraid the village chief would back out at the last minute.

"Oh, what do children know? There's no time to arrange a contest. With this time, it would be better to have your mother teach you more about hunting in the mountains, so you won't be clueless when you grow up..." Li Jia's sister-in-law spoke with the air of a senior.

"About hunting in the mountains?" Fang Zhengzhi didn't wait for Qin Xuelian to speak. He immediately put on a puzzled look and looked at Li Jia's sister-in-law, "Aunt Li, I heard you know everything about the mountains. Do you know which snake lives the longest?"

"Which snake lives the longest?" Li Jia's sister-in-law was taken aback, looking at Fang Zhengzhi as if he were a fool, "Zhengzhi, there are many snakes on Cangling Mountain, like the three-eyed snake, the small-winged snake, the silver-clawed snake... Silly child, who could know which snake lives the longest?"

Outside the door, the village chief, who was about to leave, also heard Fang Zhengzhi's question. He sighed inwardly, thinking the child was really foolish. Why care about which snake lives the longest? He should be more concerned about the types of snakes and their attack methods.

"What a pity, I was going to tell you," Fang Zhengzhi said with a regretful look, shaking his head.

"Oh? You know?" Li Jia's sister-in-law was somewhat surprised.

The village chief was also surprised. How could a six-year-old child know which snake lived the longest? It seemed unlikely. Even the old hunters in the village couldn't be sure about such a question.

"Yes, it's the 'three-inch unrotten snake.' Don't you know?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at the two people at the door with an expression as if they were fools.

"Three-inch unrotten snake?!" Being looked at by a six-year-old in such a way, Li Jia's sister-in-law was stunned for a moment, and then her whole body began to tremble.

Is this little brat cursing me? How is that possible? Could a six-year-old think of such a way to curse someone? No, this must be what Qin Xuelian taught him.

"You..."

"Don't say anything, let's go!" The village chief's face was also flushed. He could tell that Fang Zhengzhi was cursing Li Jia's sister-in-law and including him in the insult.

Show off the village chief's authority? Argue with a six-year-old child?

The village chief still had some dignity. He felt guilty about this matter and thought about the person who hadn't spoken in the Fang family's inner room...

Without waiting for Li Jia's sister-in-law to say anything more, he pulled her and turned to leave.

Li Jia's sister-in-law wanted to say more, but as she was being pulled by the village chief, she realized that if she said more, she would just be confirming the "three-inch unrotten snake" label.

So, the words that reached her mouth were swallowed back down, and then reached her mouth again, and swallowed back down. After several rounds, Li Jia's sister-in-law was already quite far away.

Qin Xuelian watched the "fleeing" village chief and Li Jia's sister-in-law, then looked at Fang Zhengzhi, who had a "innocent" look on his face. She was somewhat surprised. She didn't understand where Fang Zhengzhi had learned this question, but she was more concerned about the child examination quota.

Because...

She was really unwilling to let it go.

Biting her lip, she was about to chase after them when a cough came from inside the room.

"Don't chase them..." A somewhat sighing voice came from inside.

"They are clearly bullying us! Li Jia's sister-in-law must have given silver! Four fire-feathered chickens are not the point. Our Fang family is poor, but I don't care about that. It's been decades since outsiders have come to Nanshan Village. This time, the Divine Guard Mansion has sent people, and there's a child examination. It was agreed that children aged six to eight have a chance to participate. Zhengzhi is right. We should have a contest first. Why should the village chief decide alone? If we go by age, Li Jia's Hu Zi wouldn't even qualify. I can't let Zhengzhi fall behind. We don't know when such an opportunity will come again!"

Qin Xuelian bit her lip and reached out to tightly grab Fang Zhengzhi's little arm.

Fang Zhengzhi was secretly sighing that his age was too young, and his words didn't carry much weight. But when he felt his little arm being squeezed by Qin Xuelian, he winced.

You two can discuss, but why pinch me so hard?

"Pain..." Fang Zhengzhi couldn't pull his hand away and could only protest.

"Ah, Zhengzhi, what happened? Who hit your hand like this?" Qin Xuelian looked down and saw that Fang Zhengzhi's little arm was already turning blue, immediately thinking that he might have been bullied outside.

Thinking of the injustice, Qin Xuelian started to cry softly.

"Zhengzhi, you are my hope in this life. You must remember, the world respects the 'Way of All Things.' Don't look at how powerful the Li family is now; it's just brute strength, not something that counts!"

"What is the Way of All Things?" Fang Zhengzhi blinked his black eyes, tilting his head curiously.

Fang Zhengzhi was a person who liked a leisurely life, but unfortunately, his family was very poor, and they couldn't even get a full meal. If he continued to be leisurely, he would likely be bullied more often.

Leisure is one thing, but being bullied every day is just pathetic.

"The Way of All Things is... hehe, I'm not too clear about it, but I know one thing: the Way of All Things comes from the 'Dao Canon.' So, Zhengzhi, if you want to become strong, you must learn to read and write!"

Learn to read and write? Isn't it about cultivation?

Fang Zhengzhi was increasingly curious. He couldn't understand the relationship between becoming strong and learning to read and write.

"Have you read the 'Dao Canon'?" Fang Zhengzhi regretted asking this question as soon as he said it. His mother didn't even recognize characters, so how could she have read the 'Dao Canon'?

"Hehe, you asked the right question. I haven't read it, but when I was young and went to the city, I passed by the Dao Hall and secretly listened to a few sentences. But I don't recognize characters, so I don't remember much. Let me think..."

Qin Xuelian smiled mysteriously, cleared her throat, put one hand behind her back, and tilted her head, imitating the Dao Hall teacher, and started to "teach" Fang Zhengzhi.

"Cough, the beginning of one passage is... Yes, the Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao, the name that can be named is not the eternal name... What comes next? I forgot..."

Fang Zhengzhi was surprised that his mother actually knew the 'Dao Canon,' but his eyes widened.

The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao...

The 'Dao Canon'? Isn't this the 'Tao Te Ching' from his previous life?

"Zhengzhi, don't worry. I forgot this one, but I remember another. In ancient times, the Yellow Emperor created the Eight Trigrams, with 4,320 methods, divided into eight sections according to the eight trigrams, each section having three qi, making 24 qi in a year. Each qi has three periods, making 72 periods in a year..."

Fang Zhengzhi's heart was racing. Wasn't this the 'I Ching'?

"Later... Wait, let me tell you another one, hehe..."

Qin Xuelian smiled awkwardly, then, seeing Fang Zhengzhi's slightly red, dazed face, she felt a sense of pride. It seemed her son was impressed?

Being able to show her "talent" to her son, Qin Xuelian was somewhat pleased. She cleared her throat again and continued.

"Confucius said: 'Is it not a pleasure to learn and practice what you have learned? Is it not delightful to have friends come from afar? Is it not a gentleman who is not angry when others do not know him?'..."

Fang Zhengzhi, listening to his mother's hesitant sentences, felt as if he were floating on a cloud. Who would say this wasn't the 'Analects'?

Why did this world have Confucian and Mencian doctrines? And the classics of the Hundred Schools of Thought? What was the coincidence?

Moreover, what was the 'Way of All Things' contained in the 'Dao Canon'?

Wait...

If his mother hadn't remembered wrong, then this world indeed didn't have the Four Books and Five Classics or any other great works, because all of them had only one name: the 'Dao Canon'!

As a high-achieving student in ancient history and literature, Fang Zhengzhi couldn't claim to have memorized the entire 'Dao Canon,' but he could definitely read and understand it.

This is going to be a great success! Even the gods can't stop it!

"Mimi mama..."

Fang Zhengzhi quickly recited a section of the 'Tao Te Ching' in his mind, then pointed to the sky and shouted, "Way of All Things, descend!"

"..."

A moment later, the sky was still blue, and the earth was still yellow. The only change was the stunned look on Qin Xuelian's face.

Fang Zhengzhi's little face turned red...

What's going on? Why is the plot not right? What went wrong?

After being stunned for a while, Qin Xuelian looked at Fang Zhengzhi again, thinking about the question he had asked the village chief and Li Jia's sister-in-law, her expression became serious, "Husband, come quickly! Zhengzhi might be... possessed!"