Chapter 240
Drona didn't mean any harm when he said those things; it's just that his way of speaking is very direct.
Hebe picked up the fan, but hesitated to speak.
"Master, is there something you want to say?"
"I can't believe it," Drona asked, puzzled.
"There was one, but it's too late to talk about it now."
Hebe said, "I see that you are destined for bloodshed."
"A bloody disaster? When?"
Bharata already believed in fortune-telling, astrology, and other esoteric practices. In addition, Drona had long believed that Hebe was a wise man living in seclusion in the city.
Hebe said he was in danger of bloodshed, and Drona truly believed her.
"Five."
"Five months? Five weeks? It can't be five days!"
Drona looked uneasy.
"Four."
"?"
Before Drona could react, three seconds passed in the blink of an eye, and suddenly more than a dozen guards appeared in the streets and alleys. Without saying a word, they rushed forward and swung their sticks, hitting Drona's arms and thighs.
"What are you trying to do?!"
Drona struggled.
What are you doing?
The leading herald laughed loudly, "Drona, how dare you, Vaishya who carves wooden sculptures, impersonate Brahmin?"
"Me? Impersonating... Brahmin?!"
Drona was struck dumb and stopped struggling.
"Take away!"
The proclamation officer ordered the soldiers to drag Drona away, "Soon the lord will announce the execution of Drona and his son in the square!"
The swaggering man looked around and said, "You are all welcome to come and watch, and witness the execution of the Drona father and son."
"What kind of punishment will they be given?"
Among the vendors present, some were already unable to contain themselves.
"Of course—"
The messenger mischievously drawled out, "[The Wrath of Rama]!"
"Wow, great!"
"Oh, Rama!"
Everyone present cheered in unison.
At this moment, the proclamation officer's gaze was fixed on Hebe's face like a snake.
Among the people present, Hebe and Karna were the only two who did not laugh or even stand up.
"Hey, I'm talking about that coachman!"
The messenger said, "You seem rather unhappy? Wasn't it you who was speaking to Drona just now? It's hard to guarantee that you weren't the mastermind behind encouraging him to impersonate Brahmin..."
The messenger pressed closer, his fingers secretly rubbing together.
Hebe sighed, her expression unchanged.
"Is this enough?"
"Oh, you should have said so earlier."
The official who issued the order grabbed the most gloating man and forcibly snatched the money bag from his arms.
The gloating man, on the other hand, wore a long face, completely convinced that he was the unfortunate one being extorted for a bribe by the official.
—Their perceptions had been altered by Hebe's illusions at some point.
"Would you like to go take a look?"
Hebe turned to ask Karna.
"Yes, I want to."
Karna answered.
"Let's go then, what are we waiting for?"
Hebe spoke calmly to the messenger.
So a whole group of people surged toward the square.
In the square, Drona was bound, his hair disheveled.
He saw that his son, Ashvasena, was also tied up, covered in dirt and looking like a little dog.
"Hey, you."
The lord, brimming with arrogance, stepped down from his throne and pinched Drona's cheek. "A Vaishya like you should be content with earning wealth through your skills. Why do you still crave a status that doesn't belong to you?"
"Hmm? Is it that I haven't given you enough status, or have you become so greedy that you can't control yourself?"
"My teacher's teacher—my grandmaster—was a disciple of the Tianshi the Kuru Dynasty. He taught my teacher that it is justified for people to inflict the most severe punishments on anyone who violates the Dharma. Because without doing so, people cannot know the order of rank and hierarchy, and the world cannot be maintained as it should be."
The lord loosened his belt as he walked behind Drona.
"Now, all I want to know is what gives you the audacity to impersonate Brahmin— "
Drona cried out hoarsely, "I did not deceive, nor did I impersonate! My father is the Bharadvaja Immortal!"
"Ho ho! An immortal? My people, did you hear that? He actually claims his father is an immortal!"
The lord laughed heartily and patted Drona's backside.
The crowd roared with laughter, but Drona clenched his teeth, his eyes wide open, and the veins on his neck bulged.
He stared at the mocking and sarcastic faces on everyone's faces, memorizing every ugly expression.
In the crowd, he saw Hebe with a calm expression, and Karna with Hebe covering his eyes.
Have you seen enough?
Hebe asked Karna.
"Yes, Dad, I don't want to watch anymore."
Karna nodded.
"Stop."
Hebe's calm voice echoed from all directions.
In an instant, the entire platform fell silent. Even the birds flapping their wings had their spittle suspended in mid-air.
Hebe released her hand and slowly walked up to the platform.
She casually took the sword from the guard's waist and with two swift strokes cut the ropes binding Drona and Ashvasena.
The father and son embraced and wept bitterly.
After a long while, Drona finally raised his head, respectfully prostrated himself on the ground, and wanted to kiss Hebe's feet.
"You, no, you—who are you, immortal?"
"I'm just a coachman."
Hebe calmly took a step back. "Drona, what are your thoughts now?"
Chapter 302 covers the part about time stopping and the part about manifesting oneself in front of others.
"What... idea?"
Drona looked around, his face showing a mixture of struggle, grief, and anger.
When he presumed upon his Brahmin status, these people rejected him with contempt and ridicule.
When he put aside his Brahmin pride, these people turned around and insulted him, even his son!
What's wrong with this world? Where is the Dharma he's looking for?
Drona's face showed struggle and immense pain.
He knelt down almost pleadingly, but the words that came out of the man's mouth were resolute. "Master, you are indeed a great sage who knows all wisdom, but your understanding and application of the Dharma is something I can never learn!"
Drona looked at his hands, his voice sharp and stern.
"If I cannot give up ascetic practices, the Ashvasena will suffer along with me; but if I give up ascetic practices, even my ancestors will suffer the humiliation of petty people!"
"What I lost through asceticism was merely a comfortable life of food and clothing; but if I hadn't practiced asceticism, any of my lackeys could have taken the lives of my entire family."
Drona didn't dare look up at Hebe as he said these words.
He clearly realized that Hebe had guided him many times; but now his own dullness had brought him disaster.
He realized more clearly that he was not suited to the immortal's path of cultivation and resolved to return to his previous ascetic practices.
That's why Drona felt so ashamed and guilty. He didn't dare look at Hebe, afraid of seeing the disappointment in her eyes.
"Asceticism".
Drona heard a sigh from above.
"Drona. Son of the Bharadvaja Immortal."
Hebe said, "You once underwent preliminary practice in your father's Forest of Asceticism. Would you mind telling me what your father's practice was like?"
In this era, almost all immortals secluded themselves in Forest of Asceticism. They each extended and branched out from their ascetic practices, forging their own unique paths of cultivation.
For example, the second-generation Ruin Immortal, Parashara, whom Hebe knew, sought to destroy his own burning desires.
But as everyone can see, no human being can achieve "no thought arising and emptiness ending"—the more Parashara tries to destroy his desires, the more those desires will grow, and then he will lose control of himself and become entangled with Zhenxin.
Mahatma Gandhi, who came after him, underwent a similar ascetic practice—he slept naked with his niece to test his willpower.
As everyone can see, a few months later Gandhi's nieces became pregnant...
"Reporting to the sage, the path of my father Bharadvaja Immortal, was one of abstinence and procreation."
Hebe nodded slightly, confirming her suspicions.
Legend has it that when the Bharadvaja Immortal was practicing asceticism, he saw a celestial maiden sent by Indra and was moved by her, causing his primordial energy to surge wildly.
Then he used a wooden bowl to hold his surging primordial yang energy, and after the ritual was over, Drona was born from it.
The name Drona means "wooden bowl".
Perhaps it was for this reason that Drona left his father's Forest of Asceticism —on the one hand, he did indeed continue the bloodline of the immortals, but on the other hand, his existence also meant that the immortals' ascetic practices were being disrupted.
"I'm not going to discuss with you now the right or wrong, good or bad, advantages or disadvantages of asceticism."
Hebe said, "In fact, I don't agree with extreme asceticism either. While extremes can bring power, if you want to survive in the long run, you have to become moderate and moderate."
This is the essence of the Path of Ascension. Initially, the disciples of enlightenment embarked on the path that suited them only after they had clearly understood their own desires. And the heroes of daylight, in the process of practicing the path, further sublimate those celebrated deeds, forming their imprint.
However, in the twilight realm, those who have attained higher positions must find a balance between themselves, their achievements, and the world.
Thus, as their time drew to a close, they either returned to dust or made one last desperate attempt.
"Effort is certainly a good thing, but it needs to be in the right direction."
Hebe gently touched Drona's shoulder with his sword, and all of Derona's wounds were healed.
"Times have changed, and the ascetic practices of Brahmin are no longer understood by the world. Just as you yourself said—"
When you were arrogant and self-important as Brahmin, the common people saw only your lack of ambition and your contemptible inaction; when you put aside your Brahmin arrogance, the nobles began to doubt your identity.
Why don't you do the opposite? Show arrogance and courtesy to the nobles, but be approachable and friendly among the common people.