Pluralism (Continued)

In Wu Xiu's view, the reason Murong Wu could say something like "give others a chance to reform" was because he hadn't personally witnessed the consequences if the other party didn't reform. It's like how people feel sympathy for a neighbor's child who has fallen and gotten hurt, but remain indifferent to a famine thousands of people have died thousands of miles away. It's not that this person is cold-blooded, but rather that the two situations evoke different feelings. The former allows one to see the injured child and hear the child's cries, while the latter only provides cold, impersonal words.

Murong Wu could see the pitiful sight of the villain begging for mercy, but he couldn't see the sight of the victim begging for mercy from the villain. This is because people can only live in the present, not in the future. It's not that he couldn't feel anger towards the villain, but rather that he couldn't foresee things that hadn't happened yet, and therefore couldn't "empathize."

Once Murong Wu understood the responsibility he would bear for making the decision to forgive evildoers, he would naturally be extremely cautious about making such a decision.

To correct someone with an excessive sense of compassion, words alone are useless; one must overwhelm them with intense guilt. Wu Xiu, being Yu Shuying's mentor, must have considerable expertise in psychology and human nature. She even planned that even if all the released Golden Flood Dragon Gang members were truly influenced by Murong Wu and resolved to reform, she would still have to persuade one of them to harm others.

If Murong Wu, after seeing the victim's body and witnessing the grief and anger of the victim's family, could still forgive the wicked without any bottom line, it proves that he is actually a villain disguised as a benevolent person, and that his forgiveness is merely for self-satisfaction rather than out of compassion.

Of course, such a person is also a promising talent in a certain sense; it's just that Wu Xiu will use a different method to cultivate him.

"Alright, now we need to consider how to deal with this gang leader," Wu Xiu glanced at Murong Wu, "A heartless, ungrateful, and incorrigible villain. You don't still want to spare his life and let him continue to do evil, do you?"

"I..."

Murong Wu was hesitating when suddenly a finger strike struck Shang Zhen's dantian, piercing through his body, destroying his dantian, and completely ruining his Cultivation Body.

"Don't worry, I'll make the decision for you. Cripple this man's martial arts and let him go back." Si Ming no longer concealed his aura and slowly walked up to the two of them.

Wu Xiu curled her lip and said, "I had a feeling there was someone lurking around in the corner, and it turns out it was you."

She could vaguely sense the hidden power of the hidden one, and remained cautiously on guard for a long time until she had taken precautions in the house and was ready to escape with Murong Wu at any time before daring to come out.

"Brother Si."

When Murong Wu saw Si Ming, he seemed to have found someone to rely on, and couldn't help but smile. However, his face, which made people easily misunderstand his gender, made Si Ming feel guilty for having seduced his sister-in-law.

He's a man, he's a man...

After reminding himself repeatedly, Si Ming reached out and patted Murong Wu's head, saying, "It's been a while. I didn't expect you to have made a name for yourself as a little miracle doctor. It seems that gold always shines. It's a waste of your talent to keep you at home."

Murong Wu said somewhat shyly, "Actually, it's all thanks to my master's guidance. If I were to rely on myself, I would be helpless when faced with some strange and unusual diseases that the school didn't mention."

"People always grow step by step. No one is omniscient and omnipotent from the start. Your sister and I were both rookies when we first started out." Si Ming turned to Wu Xiu and said, "Senior Wu, please remove the poison from this merchant leader's body and let him leave."

Wu Xiu snorted, "He punched my disciple, and you just let him go like that, without even leaving him a hand or a foot? That's too lenient on him."

"He won't get a bargain. He's the leader of the gang. How can he command respect without martial arts skills? I dare say that within three days of him returning, someone will propose replacing him. And once he loses his position, his followers will scatter, and his old enemies will come knocking. Whether he can save his life then will depend on whether he has prepared a way out for himself."

Seeing Shang Zhen's deathly pale face, Murong Wu knew that Si Ming was telling the truth and couldn't help but say, "Doesn't that mean I..."

"What does this have to do with you? It's his past misdeeds. If he had been kind to others in the past, someone should have offered a helping hand when he fell on hard times. Every gain and loss is preordained. Do you think the idea of karmic retribution is wrong?"

"Of course not, but..."

"A doctor's responsibility is to save lives and heal the wounded. You just need to treat the person's injuries and illnesses. What else has to do with you? You're not his parents. If he owes money, are you going to pay off his debts? If he kills an innocent person, are you going to pay for his sins? If the patient is a bachelor, are you going to find him a wife?"

"... Brother Si, you're right. These matters are beyond my capabilities and not the responsibility of a doctor. I'm afraid I can't help you."

After Murong Wu figured it out, he felt much lighter. The pressure his master had put on him these past few days had been quite distressing, and he didn't know what to do.

Upon seeing this, Si Ming immediately realized that he had guessed correctly. Murong Wu was not overflowing with sympathy; he simply wanted to be a doctor. When patients came, he would treat them. As for whether the patients were good or bad, he didn't want to care. That was too complicated and beyond his experience.

"You brat, don't cause trouble." Wu Xiu keenly sensed something was wrong and quickly warned Si Ming.

"How can this be called causing trouble?" Si Ming smiled retaliatoryly. "The real trouble is yet to come. Little Wu, let me ask you this: if the leader of the Sand River Gang asks you for medical treatment, will you treat him?"

"I have no idea."

Having learned from past mistakes, and knowing he wasn't a masochist, Murong Wu naturally couldn't bring himself to say anything about healing the other person as he had before.

"There's no need to worry so much. Reality isn't like taking an exam; there are no fixed options. Don't let binary thinking limit your mind. You can think outside the box. If a bad person comes to you for treatment, should you treat them? I think you should. A doctor's responsibility is to treat and save lives, whether the person is good or bad. If you have the ability, you should do it."

These words perfectly aligned with Murong Wu's values, so he nodded vigorously.

"Shut up!"

Just as Wu Xiu was about to secretly poison him, Si Ming pulled Murong Wu aside, leaped onto a treetop, and hid far away to continue his lecture.

"Saving them is definitely an option, but the key is how you do it. For example, if the patient doesn't trust your medical skills and thinks it's better to find someone else, would you stop them and force them to be treated?"

Of course not.

"That makes things simple. When a villain comes seeking medical help, you tell him, 'I can cure your illness, but I will lose all my Internal Cultivation.' Then he can choose whether or not to accept your treatment."

Murong Wu asked in surprise, "Huh, isn't this a lie?"

Si Ming countered, "Is there a rule in School of Medicine ethics that forbids lying?"

Murong Wu was taken aback for a moment, then thought back and realized that there really wasn't one.

Because of the concept of "white lies," if doctors are not allowed to lie, then when they encounter a terminally ill patient, they can't possibly tell them, "You don't have many days left to live, hurry home and order a good coffin so your family can prepare for your funeral." Not to mention the patient's reaction, the patient's family members might even resort to violence.

"If the other party chooses to refuse, it means they don't trust your medical skills and want to find a more skilled doctor. Conversely, if they agree, it means they agree to lose their martial arts skills. Since the patient has agreed, what else is there to say? You didn't force them; it was their own choice. Shouldn't a doctor respect the patient's choice?"

In fact, if Murong Wu had made such a request, the other party would most likely have refused, because a good person who loses their martial arts skills still has companions to help them, while a bad person who loses their martial arts skills would be killed by their enemies in no time. But there is no need to be so clear about this kind of thing. Anyway, the other party has been given the right to choose, and there is no coercion.

"It seems to make sense, but something also seems off..."

With Murong Wu's limited knowledge, it was clear that he was not capable of seeing through Si Ming's sophistry.

"A doctor's responsibility is to save lives. No one dies without martial arts skills; there are plenty of people in the world who live to a ripe old age without them. Besides, a doctor can deprive a wicked person of the ability to do evil—isn't that a win-win situation? We should respect the patient's choice and not impose our own will on them, don't you agree?"

At this point, how could anyone say it was wrong? Murong Wu was completely bewildered. Of course, he didn't want to worry about this problem anymore. Since there was a solution that didn't go against his conscience, there was nothing wrong with adopting it.

"Brother Si is right, I will do it that way from now on."

"Remember this: don't let yourself fall into the trap of binary thinking like 'do or not do' or 'save or not save.' Learn to see problems with a pluralistic mindset, and you'll find that problems that were originally difficult to decide will immediately be solved."