Guiguzi had gathered his fellow disciples in the hope that these Senior Brothers could help me when I needed it. Of course, he also wanted to make their relationships more harmonious—for example, by resolving the knot between Sun Bin and Pang Juan.
But I did not quite understand the last thing he had said to me.
He told me to remember—always remember—that everything came from the heart.
Could I take that to mean I did not need to force myself to do things I did not want to do, even if they concerned righteousness or moral duty? I thought that was probably what he meant. After all, I was easily swayed by emotion and easily trapped by other people's moral pressure. Just a few words were enough to put me over a fire.
I actually hated people who liked to stand on the moral high ground and lecture others, but such people were everywhere. If you did something good, they thought that since you had the ability, it was your duty to do it. If you did not, they would say you had no compassion, that human kindness had grown cold, and might even use more vicious words to attack you.
But what had people like them ever done? Other than talk big, they could not do a thing.
Before I left, Guiguzi gave me a jade pendant.
Carved onto the pendant was a Time-Space Houn. It looked lifelike and exquisitely detailed. Holding it in my hand, I could even seem to feel the warmth it gave off.
I was somewhat suspicious at the time, but Guiguzi merely smiled and said, "Keep it with you. I believe you'll have use for it."
I did not ask further. Since he had said so, I would naturally use it when the time