Chapter 2264: Passing Down Knowledge and Setting an Example, When Will Dreams Come True?

Gefa's first lesson on Yinxiang Peak was about "arrogance" and "nervousness".

Gao Zheng believed these were the initial issues to tackle for a mountain-sea monster arriving in the present world.

But looking back years later, Gefa thought the most important lesson he learned from that class was "endurance".

"Putting down arrogance" and "maintaining composure" were verbal teachings; the word "endure" was an example through action.

The true direct descendant of the Ge family, who was just five years old when he became Gao Zheng's disciple, studied under him for seventeen years. He grew from a child shorter than a broom into the pride of Yue country.

Later, his body was stolen and occupied. The mountain-sea monster occupying the body still went to Yinxiang Peak, intending to control Gao Zheng.

Yet, Gao Zheng chose to accept this disciple, accepting what had already happened.

At that time, Gefa didn't fully understand what "master-disciple" meant. It wasn't until his identity as a direct disciple of Yinxiang opened countless tangible and intangible doors for him; it wasn't until everyone he met repeatedly reminded him of the abundant political legacy he had inherited, that he understood. The so-called "mantle" was the skill of making a living, and the "robe" was the dignity of being a person.

From master to disciple, Gao Zheng passed on a lifetime's accumulation.

This made Gefa increasingly capable of understanding the meaning of "endure".

Endure for the country.

When Gao Zheng was alive, Jiang Wang came to Yinxiang Peak. At that time, he was furious, wanting to tear open the body immediately and give Jiang Wang an unforgettable lesson. Under Gao Zheng's suppression, he was only willing to hide.

Later, after Gao Zheng died, Jiang Wang came to Yinxiang Peak again. He chose to endure, both when pretending to be foolish and when he didn't need to pretend.

Wen Jingxiu praised him for having grown.

But he suddenly realized he had developed a dependence on Gao Zheng. A dependence like that of a child on parents.

Although he was born in the mountain-sea realm created by Huang Weizhen, he had never truly encountered Huang Weizhen. Like many people in this world, he had only heard legends of Huang Weizhen. He was a lonely exotic beast within the mountain-sea realm, having climbed to its peak through cruel competition, never truly being taught anything by anyone.

The near-uncontrollable rage and shouting of wanting to kill everyone in front of Gao Zheng were actually the willfulness of venting emotions under the watchful eyes of a parent. When his teacher died, his parent was gone, and he needed to face the wind and rain alone, only then picking up the things he had learned.

On the dike of the Qiantang River, Gao Zheng's silence during the tide's arrival was the last lesson he heard.

Although he was a mountain-sea monster who had entered reality, he was not without wisdom. Suppressing exotic beasts on all sides in the mountain-sea realm, defeating all competitors, and even eventually attempting to overthrow Huang Weizhen's life... these were not things that could be done without a brain.

It was only after leaving the mountain-sea realm that he experienced considerable ignorance and found his bestial nature hard to control, leading to uncontrollable violent instincts and occasional loss of control.

He was just beginning to learn how to be a person, but the human world was far more treacherous than the mountain-sea realm.

For instance, at first, he couldn't understand why Wen Jingxiu's goal was to strengthen the country, but the means involved weakening oneself. Before Chu country could do anything, Yue country first purged its own noble relatives and old meritorious officials.

Later, he slowly understood that this was perhaps a process of cutting away tumors and removing sores. The bleeding now was for survival later.

Only those with sharp eyes and clear hearts, those who knew to give up, surrendered their power in advance, dissolving interest networks woven over many years, could escape disaster. This could be seen as the self-healing of rotten sores, naturally curing without needing further removal.

For example, in the Zheng family in Yan city, they had held the position of city lord for generations. Descendants of the Zheng family filled the city lord's mansion, leaving no room for outsiders. Even the Zheng old lady's pet dog was a officially registered bandit-hunting dog, enjoying national support. In Yan city, there was a saying, "Seven out of ten officials are Zheng," far more prosperous than the Li family, who followed the military route.

But when the storm came, the head of the Zheng family directly resigned as city lord, and before resigning, dismissed all Zheng family descendants holding office. They fundamentally did not try to remove the dross and keep the essence, nor did they argue with the court about who was qualified or even excellent. They simply emptied everything, lay flat to be cut, and started over from the beginning.

The Zheng family had almost no deaths.

The few who did die were killed by the head of the Zheng family himself, who read out their crimes and executed them publicly, greatly satisfying the populace. Despite "seven out of ten officials being Zheng" for so many years, the people of Yan city still missed the Zheng family's good deeds.

In contrast was the Li family, who fundamentally couldn't see the situation clearly. Thinking the Zheng family had lost power, they decisively extended their tentacles, still wanting to grasp both military and political power... the final result was that not a single member of the main line remained.

Now in Kuaiji city, no one called themselves noble. Previously, they often mentioned "bloodline" and spoke of "history". Now, everyone wanted to distance themselves, claiming their ancestors were commoners for three generations.

People's joys and sorrows were not the same.

The old noble forces of Yue country were swept away overnight with extreme measures, creating a huge power vacuum, which was also a tremendous opportunity.

Official examinations were fully implemented in every county and city throughout Yue country. All examiners were officials of commoner origin – for this day, the emperor had long stockpiled a large number of talents.

In the past, nobles held court politics, making it difficult for commoners to be promoted. The emperor, who loved talents, specially established a Hanlin Academy to cultivate poor young men whom he favored but found inconvenient to promote.

These people's daily work was writing articles, reading books, and debating history. They had empty titles but no real power. The nobles were also happy to leave a reputation for respecting the wise and virtuous.

Now, these people were all sent out, filling the court and the countryside, holding crucial empty positions, and fully cooperating with the new policies pushed by the Yue court. Because they were so crucial and so pure, the world called them "clear Hanlin".

Once the ascension channel was opened, it instantly created waves, turning stagnant water into flowing water.

Young men from poor families spread the word, full of ambition.

In this stormy season, there were also a hundred things waiting to be done, and all things were happening.

People of that time might say: Step on the bones of dukes and ministers, climb the blue cloud ladder!

Political reform was of course not this simple. It wasn't as if His Majesty the Emperor suddenly had an idea, felt a surge of emotion, slapped his thigh, and could immediately change the world.

Gefa saw that the new policies of Yue country today, like a waterfall pouring down a high cliff, were the result of Gao Zheng's layout that had begun many years ago. He had sown for many years, and now it was time for the autumn harvest.

That year, Gao Zheng's actions diminished the prestige of the Xian Alliance and fully implemented official administrative reform in Yue country, demanding "fair selection of officials, equal rights for noble and lowly." No one in the court dared to openly oppose, but its implementation was not smooth, obstructed by the major main cities below the Yue court. With Gao Zheng's means, crushing from top to bottom would not have been difficult – but precisely at this time, he was forced to retire. Official reform was naturally abandoned, the political blueprint halted, and the official path became scattered. Thereafter, he avoided the world and lived in seclusion, not inquiring about court affairs.

Many years passed, and Gao Zheng's many political ideas, including official reform, were no longer mentioned. The court and the countryside all respected him, and the nobles all submitted to him, but in the face of huge practical interests, many people still preferred him to always be the "hidden prime minister", or best of all, "hidden and not appearing".

Gefa also heard Gao Zheng talk about the past many times, but this teacher seemed never to feel regret or pity, just calmly summarizing the things he had done and not done that year. There were no waves, only order, as if telling the story of another person.

During this period after Gao Zheng's death, living alone in a small courtyard deep in the mountains, Gefa contrasted it with the current national conditions of Yue country, recalling one by one. He slowly understood those past events, sorted out the connections, piece by piece, as if they were before his eyes.

When Yinxiang Peak also entered late autumn, he seemed to have finished reading Gao Zheng's life.

He decided to go down the mountain.

Spring sowing, autumn harvest, summer growth, winter storage. Going down the mountain at this moment was the right time.

The Yue court had not made any public statement about Gefa's existence until now, which also made him a relatively ambiguous existence within the situation of Yue country.

He was Gefa, and he had come down the mountain. Of course, the first place to go was home.

The Ge family was the most ancient family in the land of Yue, older than the history of Yue country. That year, before Yue Taizu launched his coup, the first thing he did was seek the support of the Ge family.

Such a family, prosperous for generations, could truly be called a renowned family with an unfathomably deep foundation – of course, these were just things of the past. Now, even their underwear was clearly visible to others.

Gefa thought the father of this body, the clan head named "Ge Yu", was truly stupid.

Sending his son to Gao Zheng's door as a disciple was not equivalent to exposing his vital point naked in front of Gao Zheng? Why did these people fundamentally not realize the danger, not knowing until the very end that they were the chronic illness Gao Zheng wanted to solve?

Was the teacher too good and cunning at disguising himself, or was the father too stupid?

For Gefa, this was not a dilemma. These two were not contradictory; they could perfectly happen at the same time.

The old residence of the Ge family was in Fu Ji, a city famous for flowers, birds, and insects, and where people enjoyed gambling.

The moment Gefa stepped through the city gate, the whole city was stirred up.

Along the way, people continuously bowed, all bowing from a distance, expressing sincere respect, and absolutely not approaching to disturb.

This enthusiasm reached its peak upon stepping into the large residence.

"Young Master, you're back!"

"Young Master, this slave girl will go brew tea for you, or your favorite Winter Night Eyebrow?"

"Young Master Fei is back!"

Gefa walked inside without emotion, only lightly nodding along the way.

He still caught such funny whispers——

"Too good, the Young Master is down the mountain, now no one dares touch us!"

Humans were truly too complex creatures. Powerful and profound like the universe, weak and humble like dust. Some had wisdom and far-reaching plans, while others were stupid and shallowly laughable.

How exactly should one define them?

Gefa walked all the way inside and saw the father of this body.

It was not entirely proper for a father to greet his son with such ritual, but as the true person of the Ge family, a lineage that had been broken for so many years, and as the strong support for the Ge family's foundation for the next thousand years, it was very reasonable for the head of the Ge family to come out to welcome him.

Gefa thought of his teacher's teaching: people should adhere to ritual.

So he bowed deeply to the Ge family clan head in front of him: "Child greets father, father you are thin."

Ge Yu was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say, only saying: "Good, good. My son is thoughtful."

"The wind outside is strong, shall we go to the study to talk?" Gefa asked very filially.

Ge Yu, who was already sixty-one years old, turned and walked inside: "Good, you follow me."

The current head of the Ge family and the future head of the Ge family dismissed all servants and walked into the study alone. As the door closed, the noise receded. The liveliness just now seemed like something from another world.

"The arrangement of this study is different." Gefa looked around, suddenly saying.

Ge Yu sat down behind the desk, his sitting posture very upright: "What's different?"

"It's very similar to Bai Pingfu's study." Gefa said: "It's simply the same."

The eyes of the Ge family clan head were very deep, like two caves, and indeed there were insects living inside. He lifted the corner of his mouth slightly: "Truly good, you still remember."

Ancient insect controlling techniques naturally had their merits, but they had always failed to achieve a breakthrough in the Ge family and had already fallen behind the times. Gefa was originally from the Cave True viewpoint, having left the mountain-sea realm, and had studied under Gao Zheng for so long, so he had long since looked down on the so-called 'family tradition' of his original body. He said casually: "I have a deep impression of Zhang Linchuan; he was the first person I lost to."

Bai Pingfu was indeed not worth mentioning, but the process by which Zhang Linchuan killed Bai Pingfu could be called art, and he had carefully appreciated it.

"Yi Shengfeng, eh?" Ge Yu's tone was equally shallow in emotion: "The one from the South Dou Hall."

"He just ran relatively fast, truly he only counts as half——" Gefa said casually, then tasted something wrong: "Why would you think Yi Shengfeng caused me trouble?"

Ge Yu didn't answer but asked: "Do you know why I arranged the study the same way as Bai Pingfu?"

In the mountain-sea realm, the weak didn't even have the right to cry, much less speak at length. Gefa's patience was running thin: "You tell me."

Ge Yu didn't mind, saying to himself: "History has no new things. Similar things always happen repeatedly. I fought with Pingfu brother for half a lifetime, and I know I will also be like him."

These words were somewhat interesting. Gefa said without emotion: "Why do you say so?"

There was an open book on the desk, a very thick one with somewhat yellowed pages. Ge Yu closed it, making a dull sound. On the book cover was written...

The head of the Ge family, a renowned family of Yue country, was reading the national history of Chu country. And he read it often.

The head of this ancient renowned family of Yue country looked at his nominal son, his tone very calm: "You came down the mountain this time to kill me, didn't you?"

Gefa looked back, not trying to conceal it. He looked at the person in front of him and suddenly felt that this person was not quite the same as the stupid image in his cognition. He couldn't help but ask: "When did you discover it?"

Ge Yu said: "From the first day you came back, I knew you weren't him. That was my son, whom I raised from a young age. You two have too many differences."

Gao Zheng once said that humans were very good at self-deception. Gefa's family didn't dare to face the truth, so they didn't discover Gefa's problem. But now Ge Yu gave a different answer.

Humans were truly interesting creatures!

Gefa finally pulled out the chair opposite the desk and also sat down. His sitting posture was also very upright, very adhering to ritual: "But you still recognized me. I am very curious about human emotions. What exactly are they? I have read many books over the years, and some of them say that emotions are very important, but based on my real experiences, they don't seem important either—— are they important or not?"

Ge Yu didn't answer directly, because he had no obligation to educate this mountain-sea monster. He just continued his expression: "You are not my son, but you are indeed a disaster beast. Disaster follows you wherever you go. Saying you are the true 'Fei' is also not wrong. My Ge family has sought disaster beasts for generations, encountering you is also like getting what you seek."

"So that's how it is!" Gefa smiled: "You discovered I wasn't your son, but pretended not to know, deliberately paralyzing me, wanting to refine me as a true Fei beast to continue the Ge family's secret method, to seek a new true person, to win the future for the Ge family—— why did you give up this idea later? Because of my teacher?"

There was surprise in Ge Yu's eyes. He was surprised at the wisdom of this mountain-sea monster, and even more surprised at Gao Zheng's teaching. Gao Zheng seemed to truly treat this mountain-sea monster as a direct disciple, having invested too much effort in it.

This discovery made him sorrowful.

He said: "It is the system that produced unfairness, it is the power holders who did not act, it is everyone from top to bottom having private intentions, only leading to everything today... standing on this tower of greed, each layer sucking the blood of those below, those standing in the highest place, yet seeing the so-called powerful in the middle as tumors. Of course, the powerful in Yue country today, saying they are tumors is not wrong, but Yue country was built from nothing. Why could the powerful become powerful? At first, they also embraced full enthusiasm and came to build this country."

He asked: "Did they change? Did we change? Or did the soil change, did the country change? Gefa, you said you have been reading books all these years, do you have an answer for your father?"

Gefa very seriously recalled Gao Zheng's words. He regarded them as precious memory wealth, like winter food for a monster.

He thus said: "Heavy illness requires fierce medicine. If the teacher had more time, more freedom, if he hadn't been forced to retire that year, it wouldn't need to be so crude today. All of this should have been completed with gentle wind and fine rain, but now there is no time, and the teacher is also not there."

"I'll tell you this——" he looked at Ge Yu: "Senior Brother Wen's methods are indeed somewhat crude. If the teacher had done it, it wouldn't have reached this extent."

"So that's how it is..." Ge Yu nodded: "If it were just killing people in such a dark manner, and also Gao Xiang's legacy plan, I would feel all of this is hopeless. Saying it like this, as a father, I am a bit relieved instead."

"Relieved?" Gefa lifted his eyes, not quite understanding.

He was becoming more and more like a person, more and more a person, but about humans, he had more and more things he didn't understand.

"Come on!" Ge Yu still didn't give an answer, because he harbored hatred and was unwilling to teach his enemy. But he also didn't choose to resist. He just sat upright in the chair, opened his arms, and said calmly: "For this tumor that has grown in the heart of the empire, for it to be personally removed by Gao Zheng's disciple, my son, is most suitable."

Gefa... was somewhat at a loss.

He had killed his way out of the competition of countless exotic beasts in the mountain-sea realm. He knew best how to survive.

But that intelligent person, Gao Zheng, seemed not to think about seeking survival.

The 'father' of this body in front of him, an obstacle to the new policies, a rotten sore of this country... unexpectedly also calmly went to his death.

Why?

Gefa wanted to ask like this, and indeed he did ask out loud.

But Ge Yu didn't answer, just closed his eyes.

——May all of this be worth it.