You Must Respect Your Elders

At dusk, a group of elderly people returned to the village, crying and shouting, all denouncing the thieves' cruelty.

If Li Banfeng were there, he would have said something to persuade them.

Ruthlessness is to be expected; how else could you rob someone?

I've tried both soft and hard methods, but nothing works.

After discussing it, the villagers decided that they needed to get the Sage Disciple to intervene.

The heartfelt gift intended for the Sage was stolen by bandits; the Sage Disciple cannot simply stand by and watch!

But the Sage Disciple were not so easy to talk to; if they did not do what they wanted, they would resort to violence.

The villagers were very sincere; they were willing to hit and curse, all for the sake of their sincere devotion to the saint.

They knelt before the Sage Disciple, pleading with them to inform Sage Peak of the situation they had encountered in the village.

Now it was the disciples' turn to be in a dilemma.

The villagers were expressing their sincerity to the sage; they were his disciples, and this matter could not be ignored.

They are ruthless; they'll hit any child, no matter how young.

Hitting a child is one thing, dealing with a robber is another.

The child was beaten but dared not fight back.

We'll beat up the robbers without holding back.

In the end, three disciples were bold enough to agree to the task and went up the mountain overnight to deliver a message to the sage.

Will they be able to get up to Sage Peak?

Able.

This area is surrounded by mountains, and there is more than one road to Sage Peak. It is impossible for Li Banfeng to set up an ambush on every road.

Besides, he was after money, so he wouldn't just attack anyone he saw in the alley.

The three disciples dressed in coarse cloth, disguised themselves as farmers, and delivered the message to Sage Peak.

As Sage Disciple, do they have no cultivation at all?

There really isn't one.

There are also differences among the disciples. Those with cultivation reside on Sage Peak and do not come down the mountain to teach.

Inside the Deep Mansion, the boy who had opened the door for Li Banfeng stood under the porch, waiting for his master's orders through the door.

Rapid breathing could be heard coming from inside the room; the master was cultivating.

Once his breathing had calmed down a bit, the boy finally heard his master's voice. "This person claims to be the Peddler's senior brother?"

The boy replied, "That's what the villagers say; he's probably just talking nonsense."

"That's not necessarily true. This person came uninvited and stirred up so much trouble, so he must have some connections. Let Jingzhang and Wenlie go down the mountain and teach him a lesson first."

The young man agreed, and the sound of panting filled the room again; his master had resumed his cultivation.

After leaving the mansion, the young man went to two other mansions and called over his two senior brothers Qu Jingzhang and Ren Wenlie.

Upon hearing their master's instructions, the two disciples understood the situation and immediately went down the mountain to find Li Banfeng.

Finding Li Banfeng is not difficult.

During this period, more than two hundred people from various villages and places came to seek refuge with Li Banfeng. These people were all from other places who wanted to leave but could not.

With more people, the scale of the operation grew. Initially, they lived in caves, but later the caves became insufficient, so they began building wooden houses. The wooden houses were lined up in rows, forming a mountain stronghold.

Li Banfeng named the mountain village Benefactor Stronghold.

Qu Jingzhang and Ren Wenlie were both in their early fifties. They each changed into a coarse cloth short coat with several patches on it, clearly indicating that they were poor people.

When the two arrived at Benefactor Stronghold, they met Niu Guangda and Fang Lianfu, who were patrolling outside the village, and asked them for a drink of water.

Fang Lianfu asked the two men, "Are you from out of town, begging for food here?"

Qu Jingzhang shook his head and said, "We are not beggars. We are all locals. We don't need food, we just need a drink of water."

Niu Guangda frowned and said, "You're locals, why don't you go to the village? Why come all the way to these deep mountains and forests to ask us for water?"

Ren Wenlie sighed and said, "Young man, how can you talk like that? Do you think we're so old that we'd lie to you?"

Even if you just drew us a bowl of cool water from the well, we would be grateful. But you've been interrogating us repeatedly, as if we were thieves.

Niu Guangda blinked and said, "I was just asking, I didn't mean anything by it..."

Fang Lianfu blushed. "We are young and don't know much about etiquette. You two wait here, I'll have someone make you some tea and some snacks."

It was quite suspicious that two farmers would run to the wilderness to ask for water.

After the two men said a few words, Niu Guangda and Fang Lianfu felt extremely guilty.

After drinking tea and eating snacks, Qu Jingzhang burped and said, "Young men, I'm not lecturing you, but respecting the elderly is the foundation of being a person. Don't you all get old someday?"

When you reach our age, how would you feel if you were interrogated like a thief when you're out and about?

Niu Guangda and Fang Lianfu blushed deeply and were speechless for a long time.

Ren Wenlie stretched and said, "Young man, is there a place to rest? We won't stay long; we're really tired and will take a nap."

Niu Guangda and Fang Lianfu were in a dilemma.

Outsiders cannot be allowed to stay in the mountain stronghold; this is a rule set by our Benefactor.

But these two elderly people, at such an advanced age, just wanted to take a nap here. It's hard to live with myself if they can't even agree to such a small thing.

After discussing for a moment, the two brothers said to the two people, "I'll take you to our place to sleep for a while. You two have to leave before dark."

Ren Wenlie smacked his lips and said, "What do you mean by that? Do you think we're going to stay here? What's wrong with all the young people these days? What kind of upbringing did your parents give you?"

The two young men didn't say another word and quietly led the two elderly people back to their house. Just as the two elderly people were about to enter the house, they suddenly saw a man wearing a top hat and with a full beard walking over.

"What are you doing? Instead of patrolling properly, are you here to slack off in your rooms?"

Upon seeing that it was Li Banfeng, Niu Guangda and Fang Lianfu both lowered their heads and dared not speak.

Qu Jingzhang and Ren Wenlie exchanged a glance; it seemed that this bearded man was the person they were looking for.

Ren Wenlie spoke first, "My good sir, please don't blame these two young men. We were just passing through and wanted to find a place to rest. These two young men are kind-hearted and found us a place."

Qu Jingzhang continued, "At our age, is it against any rules for us to ask for a place to stay with you?"

Li Banfeng quickly said, "You two have misunderstood. Respecting elders is a fundamental principle of being a person. No matter what the rules are, respecting elders should always come first."

The two children's room was messy and dirty; it wasn't appropriate for the two elderly people to rest there. Please come with me, sir/madam, to my place.

Qu Jingzhang and Ren Wenlie remained calm and followed Li Banfeng into the cave.

Ren Wenlie looked around. "You live here?"

Qu Jingzhang sighed, "Why did you lie to us? You're the First Boss of this group, how could you live in a place like this?"

Li Banfeng lowered his head and said, "Please excuse my poor appearance. I don't like living in houses; I prefer living in caves."

Qu Jingzhang frowned and said, "Is it appropriate for you to tell such jokes to two old people like us?"

Ren Wenlie said, "Didn't your parents teach you any manners when speaking to elders?"

Li Banfeng answered truthfully, "I really haven't taught that."

As he spoke, Li Banfeng was drenched in sweat, but thanks to the brim of his hat being pulled low, the other person didn't notice.

The other party used the technique of virtue cultivation— Seeing Virtue, Think of Equaling It.

Through this technique, the other party set a very high moral standard for Li Banfeng, causing him to feel self-blame and guilt under their criticism.

Can this technique be resisted?

It depends on the cultivation levels of both parties.

Judging from the current situation, Qu Jingzhang and Ren Wenlie's cultivation levels are both around the fifth level, which is comparable to Li Banfeng's House Cultivator. However, the two of them combined their strength and caused Li Banfeng to suffer a considerable loss.

"Little brother, can you handle it?"

The Wine Gourd and the Blood-Containing Pendulum used their mental cultivation techniques to help Li Banfeng stay sober, but Li Banfeng had too many thoughts, and the situation was difficult to reverse for the time being.

Dream Virtue, hanging on the cave wall, was also secretly helping him.

It's thanks to Li Banfeng's thorough preparations that things have been able to hold out until now.

He looked at the two of them with a smile and said, "I gave you tea and snacks, and even found you a place to stay. And here you are, whining and complaining, picking and choosing."

Didn't your parents teach you manners? You're all so old, yet you behave so rudely—aren't you ashamed?

The two were taken aback, not expecting Li Banfeng to say such a thing.

Qu Jingzhang angrily retorted, "How dare you speak to an elderly person like that?"

Ren Wenlie said, "Don't you have any manners? Don't you know how to respect your elders?"

Li Banfeng glanced at the two men and asked, "That's a question we should be asking you. Don't you know how to respect your elders? I'm older than you, do you know that?"

Qu Jingzhang was stunned for a long time and couldn't say a word.

Ren Wenlie sneered, "Aren't you afraid of being laughed at for saying that?"

Li Banfeng stared at Ren Wenlie and said, "How many teeth do you have? Are they so easy to fall out?"

I'm the Peddler's senior apprentice. I've seen more of the world than you've ever crossed any bridges. What are you trying to sell me?

When you were born, I didn't even know where I was. You two were born of a mother, but raised without one. How do you speak to elders? Didn't your mother teach you manners?

Li Banfeng's words were disjointed, but most of them were true.

But Qu Jingzhang and Ren Wenlie weren't concerned with the facts; they were only focused on one question: was this person really the Peddler's senior apprentice?

If he really is the Peddler's senior apprentice, wouldn't it be too foolish to show off your skills in front of him?

Seeing their conflicted expressions, Li Banfeng felt confident; both the Definite Statement and the Fool's Thousand Thoughts had succeeded.

Li Banfeng pointed at the two men and shouted, "Have you no shame? If you still know what shame is, go stand outside and reflect on your actions!"

Qu Jingzhang and Ren Wenlie were unsure whether Li Banfeng's words were true or false. After some deliberation, they made a decision to leave this place of trouble for the time being.

If Li Banfeng really was the Peddler's senior apprentice, then the fact that they've survived to this day is entirely due to Li Banfeng's kindness.

If Li Banfeng weren't the Peddler's senior apprentice, since they already knew where he lived, it wouldn't be too late to deal with him when the time was right.

Without saying anything more, the two turned and left the cave.

This is a foolish move.

Fool's Thousand Thoughts gains and losses.

This is the most advantageous choice for Li Banfeng.

People from other sects should never leave their backs to Travel Cultivator, otherwise they will never have a chance to turn back.

Li Banfeng suddenly took a step forward, crushing a stone on the ground.

Several pieces of gravel hit the back of their heads.

P. S.: "I've eaten more salt than you've crossed bridges." Is this statement true or false?