"Kill?"
Gu Shao'an was somewhat confused.
It seemed he had not expected Zhou Zhiruo to be sitting here alone in a daze so late at night because she was troubled by this question.
"This evening, I heard Second Senior Sister say that the reason Master is taking us along to suppress the bandits this time is to have us kill people. Only by killing can we train our courage."
Zhou Zhiruo's voice was very soft, even carrying a faintly timid quality.
Gu Shao'an could clearly sense the confusion and fear in Zhou Zhiruo's tone.
Gu Shao'an frowned slightly.
Judging from what Miejue had said during the day, bringing them along for this bandit suppression did indeed seem intended to temper them.
But based on Gu Shao'an's understanding of Miejue, she was extremely upright in her conduct.
She would not go so far as to force children of merely eleven or twelve to kill.
Especially when these two children were Miejue's own disciples.
Therefore, in Gu Shao'an's view, Miejue was at most taking them down the mountain this time to let the two of them make a move and experience what it was like to face enemies in person.
She would absolutely not have children their age stain their hands with blood and cloud their hearts.
Naturally, Ding Minjun had gone too far by saying such things to Zhou Zhiruo.
Thinking this, Gu Shao'an said, "Don't worry, Shijie! We only entered Master's sect recently. Given our strength, status, and age, how could Master possibly have us kill people?"
"I imagine Second Senior Sister only said those things to scare you."
Zhou Zhiruo turned her head, her large eyes fixed on Gu Shao'an. With a hint of expectation in her voice, she asked, "Really?"
Hearing this, Gu Shao'an smiled. "Of course. We are both still young, and our minds have yet to settle. Master is kind-hearted, so how could she have us do such things so early? Shijie need not worry about it."
Although Gu Shao'an was the junior disciple, in the month since he had joined the sect, Miejue, Zhao Jingxuan, and Bei Jinyi had all praised him without end.
Even Ding Minjun, who was usually sharp-tongued and merciless in her speech, could not find the slightest fault with Gu Shao'an.
Zhou Zhiruo was even less likely to do so.
In Zhou Zhiruo's heart, though Gu Shao'an was her junior disciple, he was learned, sensible, diligent, and hardworking. He understood far more than she did.
Since Gu Shao'an had said so, things would surely be as he said.
With that, Zhou Zhiruo felt a weight lift from her heart, and much of the melancholy pressing on her mind faded away.
Perhaps the night wind was somewhat cold. Zhou Zhiruo, whose internal strength foundation was still rather weak, could not help edging closer to Gu Shao'an.
After resting her shoulder against his, Zhou Zhiruo raised her head once more and looked into the sky.
After a long while, Zhou Zhiruo spoke again. "Junior Brother, do you think we'll definitely have to kill people in the future too?"
Setting his wooden sword beside him, Gu Shao'an thought for a moment before answering honestly, "The martial world is dangerous. Sometimes, even if we do not wish to provoke trouble, trouble will still come looking for us. Fighting and killing are things we will not be able to avoid in the future."
Zhou Zhiruo asked, "What if we only injure them and don't kill them?"
Gu Shao'an shook his head. "If you don't kill a snake, it will coil around your staff. We may think we are showing mercy by injuring someone without killing them, but whether they appreciate it is another matter."
"Perhaps those people we spare will harbor ill intentions, hide in the shadows, and wait for a chance to take revenge."
"When that time comes, Shijie, can you guarantee that they will show us mercy too?"
Zhou Zhiruo thought about it, then sighed. "Probably not."
Girls matured early by nature. Though Zhou Zhiruo was kind-hearted, she was not foolish.
Since those people would choose to seek revenge, they naturally would not let the matter rest.
Then, seeing that Zhou Zhiruo was still frowning, Gu Shao'an pondered briefly before speaking again.
"Shijie, what sort of people do you think would fight us in the martial world?"
Zhou Zhiruo looked thoughtful, then said, "Eldest Senior Sister and Third Senior Sister both said that our Emei Sect is a renowned righteous sect and has some standing in the martial world."
"Friends from most renowned righteous sects would give our Emei Sect some face."
"Since that is so, those who would fight us naturally cannot be good people."
Gu Shao'an nodded. "That's right! Since they are not good people, leaving them alive will only allow them to continue doing evil and harming others."
"Shijie mentioned your background before, so let me use you as an example."
"If the evil men who killed Uncle Zhou had encountered a righteous expert like Master several days ago, but that person had shown mercy and let them go, causing those men to flee to where Shijie lived and kill Uncle Zhou..."
"Shijie, would that righteous expert's mercy have been good or bad?"
"This..."
Faced with Gu Shao'an's question, Zhou Zhiruo froze. Her thoughts instantly became a tangled mess, and she did not know how to respond.
Seeing that Zhou Zhiruo could not answer, Gu Shao'an continued, "Shijie is right. Our Emei Sect is a renowned righteous sect, and we only target evil people."
"To eradicate evil completely, showing mercy to evil people means indulging them in continuing their crimes. Our good intentions may become someone else's disaster."
"But if we act directly and prevent them from committing evil again, we can stop what happened to Shijie from happening to others."
"Since that is the case, killing those who deserve to be killed is kindness, while sparing those who deserve to die is evil. Why struggle over it?"
"If Shijie truly cares about this, then so long as you can ensure your own safety, you may first determine whether the other party is good or evil before deciding whether to kill."
"But once you are certain, you must not hold back in the slightest, lest you raise a tiger that will bring disaster."
Gu Shao'an's words were simple and direct, yet logical and well-founded.
As Zhou Zhiruo reflected on what Gu Shao'an had just said, she looked thoughtful.
Clearly, she had taken his words to heart.
Zhou Zhiruo was still too young. All Gu Shao'an could do now was plant a seed in her heart.
When the day truly came that she needed to kill, Zhou Zhiruo would be better able to accept it.
As for what Gu Shao'an had said, it was merely advice for Zhou Zhiruo, not something that applied to himself.
The martial world was dangerous. For martial artists, many matters came down only to life and death, not right and wrong.
The boundary between good people and bad people was sometimes clear, yet sometimes vague.
No matter how much was said, the final result still depended on strength.
Therefore, to Gu Shao'an, strength was truth.
So long as one was strong, what did it matter if one did not eat beef?
At this moment, Zhou Zhiruo asked, "If I don't want to kill people, could I cripple their martial arts or cut off their hands and feet? As long as I make sure they cannot harm anyone after being released, wouldn't that be enough?"
Gu Shao'an: "??????"
Gu Shao'an really wanted to ask Zhou Zhiruo whether she had heard what she herself was saying.
Momentarily stunned by Zhou Zhiruo's abruptly wayward train of thought, Gu Shao'an came back to his senses and shook his head. "If it has already come to that, Shijie might as well give them a quick death."
Hearing this, Zhou Zhiruo came to her senses and stuck out her tongue. "That's true!"
Whether her thoughts had suddenly wandered off or Gu Shao'an's words had given Zhou Zhiruo some new ideas, the melancholy between her brows lessened considerably.
The change in her mood even made Zhou Zhiruo feel that the mountain wind at night had become somewhat more lively.
Turning her head, Zhou Zhiruo looked at Gu Shao'an beside her in the dreamlike moonlight. Though his face was still childish, it had already begun to show a hint of handsomeness. She smiled gently.
"Having a junior brother really is wonderful!"
Before you continue