Chapter 225: This Humble One Has Not Entered the Realm of Wielding the Pen
Inside the room, at the dining table.
Li Junzi did not make too many dishes, counting as just a few home-cooked dishes.
"Wow, so you are from the Confucian school. No wonder you are full of righteousness." Cui Hao raised his teacup, stood up, and said, "There is no wine here, so I will substitute tea for wine and toast you."
Hearing this, Li Junzi also showed a faint smile. She picked up the teacup beside her and was about to stand up as well, but Cui Hao reached out to stop her. "You are Senior Sister's teacher. In terms of age and seniority, you are older than me, so please just sit."
Li Junzi sat back down upon hearing this, raised the teacup in a gesture, and then took a gentle sip.
"I have read quite a few Confucian classics and once thought of cultivating the Confucian path. Unfortunately, although I read many books and found a good teacher, I never entered the Realm of Wielding the Pen." Cui Hao sighed. "I can only say that I am not cut out for cultivating the Confucian path."
Li Junzi spoke as if to console him: "Cultivating the Confucian path is indeed not simple; it requires a lot of mental energy."
"Yes. I actually think that if you had been my teacher back then, I might have been able to go further." Cui Hao looked regretful.
Li Junzi looked at Cui Hao, who was acting so familiar and seemed willing to talk about anything, then turned her gaze to Lin Luoyu nearby.
Facing Li Junzi's gaze, Lin Luoyu could only shrug her shoulders slightly in helplessness.
Lin Luoyu naturally explained Cui Hao's behavior of not being mute yet not speaking. Li Junzi expressed that since he is a junior brother, how could she forbid him from speaking? That would be too overbearing.
Lin Luoyu did not refute it, so Cui Hao removed the seal. The Cui Hao who could open his mouth and the Cui Hao who could not were simply not the same person.
Being talkative is fine, but this kid is a bit too talkative. From raising chickens and ducks to growing vegetables and watering them, he seemed to truly understand a bit of everything.
Now he was even talking about Confucian books again. Moreover, this person's ability to flatter was a bit strong; sometimes he could always find novel angles to offer a few words of praise.
Li Junzi had never met such a person and was somewhat overwhelmed. Lin Luoyu could only give Cui Hao another look—Junior brother, that's enough.
Cui Hao quickly turned back to the main topic: "So after we finish eating, we are going to deal with the evil spirits outside Lin Family Gully?"
Lin Luoyu nodded gently: "Yes, or you can stay here."
"Okay, then I won't hold Senior Sister back. Remember to use the talisman given by Master if there is a problem. As for Senior Sister's teacher, I will be responsible for using the talisman given by Master to run away, guaranteeing to resolve your worries." Cui Hao nodded smoothly in agreement.
When Lin Luoyu had not yet established her foundation, Cui Hao was also full of confidence and wanted to spar and exchange pointers with Lin Luoyu. Of course, the premise was that Lin Luoyu suppressed her cultivation to the same realm as him.
Later, Lin Luoyu was one major realm lower than him, and then two minor realms. When he was cut down by Lin Luoyu with a wooden sword again, Cui Hao was filled with grief and indignation, and at the same time demanded—don't use a weapon, let's fight again!
Lin Luoyu happily agreed, and subsequently, Cui Hao never sought to spar with Lin Luoyu again. Moreover, now that Senior Sister had established her foundation, he was still a small fry in the Qi Refining stage.
If Senior Sister couldn't handle it, could he really be expected to? Guarding the rear was the role of a main character. As for charging into battle to kill enemies, that was for a mindless brute.
Li Junzi looked at Cui Hao in astonishment. The way this person spoke always gave people some unexpected surprises. Truly... a strange person.
Lin Luoyu had some psychological expectations for this fifth junior brother's style. She had also assessed this junior brother's combat power; him not going was considered good, so she wouldn't have to be distracted to look after him.
Li Junzi looked at Lin Luoyu, who seemed to tacitly accept this. Wouldn't that mean this kid would be left alone to talk to her? It would be better to let her follow Lin Luoyu to eliminate the evil spirits.
After the meal, Lin Luoyu had already gone to investigate the situation. Cui Hao, contrary to Li Junzi's expectations, was not as talkative as he was during the meal. He only asked if he could browse the books on the bookshelf.
After Li Junzi agreed, Cui Hao randomly selected one. He seemed to be reading at a glance of ten lines, turning the pages very quickly.
But at least he didn't say much. If Lin Luoyu had read books like this before, Li Junzi would have inevitably asked a couple of questions, but for Cui Hao, as long as the child could be quiet, it was fine.
Li Junzi glanced over a few times; when this child wasn't talking, he actually looked quite like a quiet scholar.
Since he was willing to read and quiet down, Li Junzi did not disturb him. She got up and walked to the desk, picked up a calligraphy brush from the side, and began to write gently in a book.
Cui Hao finished reading the book in his hand very quickly. He had read this kind of book when he was a child. Although he couldn't recite it completely like Eldest Senior Sister, after reading a bit of the beginning and recalling some memories, he could remember the general idea.
As expected, this kind of Confucian book was somewhat boring, full of grand principles. However, Cui Hao actually respected Great Confucian Scholars; at least their words and hearts were aligned.
Cui Hao put the book back on the shelf and looked at Li Junzi beside the desk, who was thinking hard.
He asked with some curiosity: "Sir, are you writing a book? Preparing for the Sub-Sage realm?"
Li Junzi turned her gaze to Cui Hao. Those who did not cultivate the Confucian path rarely knew the advancement path of Confucian scholars. However, recalling that Cui Hao had hired a Confucian teacher, it was normal for him to know.
Li Junzi shook her head gently: "I have not yet stepped into the realm of a Great Confucian Scholar, so how can I speak of preparing for the Sub-Sage realm? I am just writing casually for now."
Cui Hao was somewhat puzzled: "I observed that your spiritual light is restrained, and I thought you had already entered the realm of a Great Confucian Scholar."
Li Junzi shook her head slightly in denial. She was now a Confucian scholar who couldn't even write the "Clear Breeze," so she couldn't be considered to have reached the Realm of Wielding the Pen.
Cui Hao looked carefully, and then understood the situation.
With a small evil spirit causing trouble, a teacher at the Confucian Scholar realm could naturally resolve it. To actually let it run unchecked, it seemed that Senior Sister's teacher had hit a bottleneck in the Confucian path and probably lost even the ability to Wield the Pen.
However, observing Senior Sister's expression, she seemed unaware of this. The relationship between the two was probably not that simple.
Cui Hao changed the topic: "Sir, can you tell me about Senior Sister in the past?"
Li Junzi asked somewhat puzzledly: "Why do you ask this?"
"Naturally, it is to know some embarrassing stories, so that when Senior Sister wants to beat me up later, I can use them for protection."
"...That child has always been very well-behaved; there are no embarrassing stories."
Cui Hao's expression did not change, and he asked instead: "Since Sir is not willing to say it, then can I have a look at the book Sir is writing? I admire the Confucian school quite a bit, but unfortunately, I have not entered its door. Now I can only quench my thirst by thinking of plums."
Li Junzi did not hesitate about this matter. Writing books itself is meant for people to read; it is not writing something shameful. So, there was no need to overthink Cui Hao's purpose.
She handed the half-written book to Cui Hao: "This is a clumsy work of mine; please do not take offense at the poor writing."
Cui Hao received it with both hands respectfully. He did not skim it at a glance like the previous book but read it very seriously.
After a long while, Cui Hao finished reading the book. He looked at Li Junzi and, while returning the book, said with a tone of some respect: "Sir, you are likely already a Great Confucian Scholar."
Li Junzi took the book and replied: "You flatter me; these are just humble opinions."
Cui Hao asked with a slightly strange tone: "It is just that Sir's entire text is full of witticisms, and many insights are deep and on point. However, there is not a trace of literary spirit or spiritual light in the entire text, which is somewhat strange."
"May I ask, Sir, have you encountered some problem?"
Li Junzi looked at Cui Hao: "Didn't you say you haven't entered the Realm of Wielding the Pen? You can also understand literary spirit?"
Cui Hao smiled gently: "This humble one has indeed not entered the Realm of Wielding the Pen, but back then, I directly entered the Realm of Expanding Books."
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