Virtuous Person

"With the New Year approaching, Ah Hui would like to wish all listeners a Happy New Year in advance. She would also like to remind everyone to avoid Virtue Praise Cliff when traveling or visiting relatives and friends."

I'm sure everyone has seen the news in the newspapers. The situation at Virtue Praise Cliff has been very tense recently. It is said that more than 200 people died in the fighting just yesterday... Luo ZhengNan nodded slightly. Ah Hui's voice is still the most pleasant to listen to.

Li Banfeng sensed something amiss with the fierce battle at Virtue Praise Cliff and asked Luo ZhengNan to send someone to investigate. Fearing his subordinates might be unreliable, Luo ZhengNan went himself. Upon arriving at the entrance to Virtue Source Village, Luo ZhengNan saw a group of people gathered there. He assumed another battle was about to begin and sought a suitable vantage point to observe the situation.

Having just found a suitable spot, Luo ZhengNan discovered that this wasn't a war, but rather seven or eight people beating up a child, about four or five years old. What had this child done wrong? And why were these people—men and women, young and old—targeting only him?

You slap him, he kicks him; they don't kill him, they just torture the child. The child's face is covered in blood, he can't even cry anymore, he's about to die, and they laugh as they hit him.

"You shameless and immoral scoundrel, did you know you'd meet such an end?"

"Don't play dead, you thief! Stand up! Today I'll teach you to be a virtuous person."

"Your father and mother are wicked and immoral; it's your good fortune that you're receiving our guidance today!"

There was a saying in the underworld back in the day—"De Xiu has neither father nor mother, his reputation is as foul as a latrine." De Xiu's reputation in the underworld was even more offensive than a latrine. But De Xiu didn't care. He said that the underworld was full of immoral people, and their slander of him Mingde he had hit a nerve!

From the day they began practicing virtue, no one in this Daoist sect has ever cared about their reputation. Just look at what's happening right now; this is something no human being could do.

Luo Zhengnan couldn't stand this. When he was the head of the Medicine King Hall in the Jiangxiang Gang, he didn't allow his subordinates to kidnap children. How could he tolerate this scene? But if he fought with these virtuous people now, what would happen to the things Seventh Master had entrusted to him?

Just then, a blond, blue-eyed man walked into the crowd and picked up the child. Luo ZhengNan looked at the man and recognized him Doctor Cui from the Boundless Hospital in Green Water City.

What is he doing here?

Cui Tike held the child and silently surveyed the crowd.

The group of cultivators were a little scared. This foreigner had suddenly appeared in the crowd and made almost no noise, which proved that his cultivation level was not low.

A man in his thirties mustered his courage and shouted, "His parents are both immoral people, so he is destined to be immoral. What business is it of yours to come here?" The man's words immediately emboldened the crowd, and others gathered around, whispering incessantly in Cui Tike's ear.

"Virtue is the foundation of character, regardless of age!"

"Those who lack virtue should be severely punished so that they can correct their behavior; we are doing this for their own good!"

"What right do you, an outsider, have to interfere in our village's affairs? Put that thief down, and don't think you can bully Virtue Praise Cliff!"

Luo ZhengNan was worried for Cui Tike. If Cui Tike lost the argument, he might be suppressed by this group of virtuous cultivators and unable to fight back. Cui Tike didn't argue. He didn't say a word and left with the child in his arms.

These German cultivators had no intention of letting Cui Tike go. They knew that this foreigner was highly skilled and difficult to deal with. The current situation of besieging him was just right, forcing the foreigner to be unable to speak. If they added some techniques to their words, they might be able to take him down!

They had their techniques ready, but now the foreigner turned and left, giving them no chance. He even took that little thief with him; they had to chase after him!

But if no one takes the lead, they are not too bold to follow suit; no one wants to be the first to stick their neck out.

Seeing the foreigners had gone far away, an old woman mustered her courage and used a move called "Great Virtue Carries All Things." Cui Tike was thrown off balance by the brute force and fell to the ground.

He shielded the boy in his arms, got up, and continued walking forward.

Seeing that Cui Tike was unharmed, the group of Descenes did not dare to pursue him. However, after what had just happened, they felt that they had gained the upper hand and were much more at ease, with proud expressions on their faces.

The old woman who had just intervened clapped her hands and said, "Shameless foreigners, how dare they cause trouble here? Don't they know their own limitations?" A young woman asked, "What's the background of this foreign devil? Could he be reinforcements sent by Virtue Good Village?"

An old man standing nearby, puffing out his beard, said, "How dare they! This is an internal matter of Virtue Praise Cliff. How dare Virtue Good Village invite outsiders to interfere? They've forgotten their own bloodline and ancestors!"

A woman around fifty years old took a different approach, offering a perspective no one else had considered. "Let me tell you, don't you think this little thief doesn't look like one of us from Virtue Praise Cliff? He has deep-set eyes and a high nose bridge. Could he be the offspring of this foreigner?"

An old woman nearby nodded and said, "I think so. His mother looked like a demon when she was alive. Don't expect her to be virtuous!" "I also think her husband is a useless man. How could he possibly control such a shameless and immoral woman!"

"That's right, this bastard is the offspring of that shameless woman and that foreigner! Otherwise, why would that foreigner have taken him away?" "This bastard even brought outsiders into Virtue Praise Cliff! This bastard deserves to be torn to pieces!"

These words sound absurd. This child grew up in Virtue Praise Cliff and suddenly became a foreigner's child.

Luo ZhengNan knew that this situation was very common in Virtue Praise Cliff. They might seem to be talking nonsense, but in no time, they could confirm the lie. Unless the child could prove his innocence, he would be Cui Tike's Shengzi.

"Pah!" The old woman spat. "That bastard should have been beaten to death with a stick just now, pah!" She spat again, this time with more force, and the spittle made a sound when it landed.

That sound is so crisp and clear.

"Sister," another old lady looked down and said, "Why are your teeth popping out?"

The old lady licked it, and sure enough, her back molars popped out. "Ouch, what happened to me..."

Her speech became increasingly slurred, as if something was choking her. After coughing twice, the old woman vomited a clump of sticky, bloody flesh. Where did this fleshy flesh come from?

"Sister, what happened to you? Did you get hurt in the battle yesterday?"

"Hoo-hoo, ya-ya..." the old woman kept talking, but no one could understand what she was saying. The old woman moved her cheeks a few times, feeling that something was missing from her mouth.

She stared at the crowd with her mouth agape, and a man shouted, "She's lost her tongue!"

The old woman had lost her tongue; the lump of rotten flesh she had vomited on the ground was her tongue, yet she felt no pain at all. The group was terrified, asking her questions with concern, but no one dared to approach her.

An old man sensed something was wrong and started to leave, leaning on his cane.

After taking only a few steps, his right hand suddenly went limp. His skin first became sticky, then cracked, and clumps of pus and blood flowed out of the cracks. His entire arm detached from his shoulder and fell to the ground along with his crutch.

The group of virtuous cultivators were stunned, not knowing what was going on. A young woman whispered, "Is this retribution?" "Nonsense!" a woman next to her shouted, "What's wrong with punishing that bastard? Why should we be punished?"

That's what they said, but the woman's legs were shaking. She had kicked the child several times earlier, and now her legs felt numb. Numbness meant it was almost time.

The woman trembled twice more, and her right calf fell off her knee and turned into a bloody pulp. The man was so frightened that he cried, and both of his hands fell off his shoulders.

None of these seven or eight virtuous men escaped; some lost hands, some lost feet, and some lost both hands and feet.

Luo ZhengNan was also somewhat afraid.

It was unclear whether this condition was due to external injury or disease. Having gathered enough information for the day, Luo ZhengNan quickly left Virtue Source Village.

Virtue Sincerity Mountain is the highest mountain in the Virtue Praise Cliff area, Cui Tike chose a cave there.

The cave is well-ventilated, and there is a spring inside. Cui Tike checked it and found that the water is drinkable.

He put the child in the cave, applied medicine to his wounds, and then opened a can of beef, feeding the child the meat and broth.

Cui Tike's medicine was very effective. After eating something, the child quickly regained his energy and was able to walk with a limp.

"May I have your name?"

The child lowered his head and remained silent.

"You can't speak?" Cui Tike examined the child's throat and vocal cords, which appeared to be undamaged.

"My name is Tang Xinde." The child raised his head, his voice quite loud, as if he wanted to prove that he could speak.

"How come your name also has the character 'De' in it? I've asked several people, and their names all contain the character 'De'."

The child stared at Cui Tike for a while, then shook his head. He couldn't answer such a complicated question.

Cui Tike then asked, "How old are you?"

"She'll be six years old soon."

Cui Tike nodded. "I have a little trouble pronouncing your name. I don't mean to offend you. From now on, I'll call you Xiao De, okay?" The child nodded.

Where are your mom and dad?

"He's dead."

"What's the reason?"

"They said my parents were immoral people, that they did immoral things. They got married when they were young, which was immoral; they knew Grandpa Pan, which was also immoral; they didn't fight against the village, which was immoral; and everyone in our village was immoral..."

The child spoke in fragmented, disjointed sentences, leaving Cui Tike completely confused. "Forget it," he said, "Just tell me something I can understand. Is your village called Virtue Source Village?"

"No!"

"What's the name of your village?"

"Virtue Good Village".

"What's your Village Chief's name? How high is his cultivation level?"

The child looked bewildered.

"How many villages are there in Virtue Praise Cliff? And how many of them are under the command of Virtue Source Village?"

The child remained silent.

"You do not know?"

The child shook his head.

Cui Tike frowned and said, "You know nothing, so you're not of much use to me."

The child still couldn't understand; he lowered his head, his body trembling.

Looking at his tattered clothes, Cui Tike asked, "Why are you trembling? Are you scared or cold?"

The child remained silent.

"You stay here. I'm going out to play a game. Don't follow me." Cui Tike got up and left the cave. He walked up the hillside and took out a few seeds, burying them near the cave entrance.

After walking a few dozen meters, he planted a few more seeds.

They continued walking downhill for a few dozen meters before Cui Tike took out the seeds and glanced back at them. Xiao De stood at the cave entrance, filled a tin can with water, and poured it onto the seeds.

Cui Tike quickly stopped the child: "What are you doing?" "Playing a game with you."

Cui Tike sighed and said, "Your mental fortitude is truly remarkable. Your parents just died, and you almost died yourself. How can you still be in the mood to play games?" The child lowered his head, clutching the tin can in his hand, his lips tightly pursed.

Cui Tike led him back to the cave and opened two more cans of food. "You stay in the cave and don't go out. Eat this if you get hungry."

(You'd better remember something of value to me before I get back.)

Also, don't water the seeds outside anymore, otherwise they'll grow too big quickly." The child asked, "Don't you want them to grow big?"

"I just don't want them to grow too fast."

The child must have been traumatized; he still had the audacity to ask so many questions.

Cui Tike left, and the child, clutching the can of food, silently peered into the cave entrance.

In Virtue Source Village, Village Chief Song Demei sits in the courtyard.

Not long ago, she killed the Local Earth God appointed by the Peddler.

Now that the situation is very favorable, several of his villagers have suddenly been injured.

They all had varying degrees of ulceration, but none of their injuries were life-threatening. "Where did these foreigners you're talking about come from?" Song Demei asked.

The old man, who had lost a leg, said, "We don't know where he came from. We didn't say anything, and he just attacked me!" "How did he do that?"

The old man looked at the woman beside him with a broken arm, and the woman looked at the man with rotten hands... The group looked at each other, and finally all looked at the old woman who had lost her tongue.

The old lady babbled incoherently, unable to make herself clear.

No one knows exactly how the foreigner made his move; to be precise, the foreigner didn't make a single move.

Song Demei looked at everyone, her expression calm yet tinged with anger. "Outsiders are trying to take over our Virtue Praise Cliff again. We absolutely cannot allow it." The people in the courtyard echoed in unison, "Absolutely not!"

Cohsicd

A man ran into the courtyard and said, "Village Chief, we've found that foreigner. He's been going back and forth between several surrounding villages, buying rice, flour, and oil. It seems he wants to settle down here. He's even buying clothes at Chen Laoliu's tailor shop right now."

"I'll go meet him and see who sent him." Song Demei left the courtyard, followed by a group of people. In the tailor shop, Cui Tike picked out a new set of clothes and gave Chen Laoliu one hundred Huan Country Notes.

Chen Laoliu laughed and said, "This outfit, including labor and materials, cost ninety-eight yuan. I only made money from shouting; I really didn't make any money off you." Cui Tike didn't quite understand what Chen Laoliu meant and thought he was asking for a tip: "Keep the change."

Chen Laoliu waved his hand. "The price was agreed upon, how could I ask for more? I just hope you will come often in the future to make us friends."

Cui Tike nodded and said, "I will definitely come often."

"With your words, my business deal wasn't in vain. You wait here, I'll go get the change for you, not a penny less."

The shopkeeper made tea and offered cigarettes to Cui Tike, and even folded and boxed the clothes Cui Tike had chosen. Cui Tike was quite surprised; he hadn't expected Virtue Praise Cliff to be so honest in business. But for just two dollars, Cui Tike waited for several minutes, and the shopkeeper still couldn't find it.

"Really, there's no need to look anymore. I'm leaving now." Just as Cui Tike reached the door, he saw Village Chief Song Demei leading a group of people to the tailor shop. Cui Tike understood Chen Laoliu's meaning this time. He turned back and asked, "You were stalling for time just to wait for them?"

Chen Laoliu pulled out a hundred-yuan bill and threw it at Cui Tike, saying righteously, "You think I want to do business with you? I'm just afraid you, this foreign devil, will run away!" Cui Tike picked up the hundred-yuan bill and asked Chen Laoliu, "Are you saying all this so righteously just to prove your loyalty to this Village Chief?"

Chen Laoliu stood tall and straight, his expression unchanged.

Song Demei asked Cui Tike, "Outsider, did you hurt our villagers?" "Yes," Cui Tike did not deny it.

"Tell me why you're here. What gave you the right to hurt them?"

"They are beating a child, bullying the weak and taking advantage of the strong, committing immoral acts, tarnishing the reputation of Virtue Praise Cliff, and disgracing all virtuous people in the world."

Cui Tike put in considerable effort to memorize this passage; he came prepared, aiming to disrupt Deshu's rhetoric and logic, thereby interfering with Deshu's technique of suppression. The old man with the broken leg sought justification in the cause. "We are here to punish the immoral."

Cui Tike said, "You beat up a five-year-old child."

The woman with the broken arm changed tactics, trying to justify herself by blaming the child. "Even a young child can cause endless harm if they are immoral." Cui Tike retorted, "A whole group of you are beating up a defenseless child."

The man who had lost both hands began to seek reason in a higher realm. "If one acts with a virtuous heart and virtuous deeds, even if the methods are somewhat inappropriate..."

Cui Tike interrupted the man, "Several adults ganging up on a child, have no shame at all? You've lost all sense of decency, what right do you have to talk about morality?" These few words of argument seemed mundane, but to Cui Tike, every word was a matter of life and death.

This is a common trick of Dexiu, a Dexiu technique. It Seeing Virtue, Think of Equaling It. This technique is not high-level, but it is very powerful. Even if the opponent only says one sentence, it will put Cui Tike at a moral disadvantage, which will greatly limit Cui Tike's combat power and thus greatly reduce his combat power.

Cui Tike defused their moral pressure, but Song Demei was not so easy to deal with. She changed the subject and said, "Punishing the immoral people of Virtue Praise Cliff is an internal matter of Virtue Praise Cliff. Even if they are wrong, it is not for outsiders to interfere!"

Cui Tike shook his head and said, "I'm not an outsider. I'm a virtuous person. Virtue Praise Cliff is the hometown of virtuous people, and I'm a part of Virtue Praise Cliff." "What makes you claim to be a virtuous person?"

"I have evidence." Cui Tike opened his shirt, revealing four large characters tattooed on it. "A Virtuous Person."

Song Demei was speechless for a moment. She looked at the group of injured people and asked, "The way you hurt people reminds me of someone, the Green Water Beggar from Green Water City. What is your relationship with him?" Cui Tike told the truth, "He is my Dao Gate Ancestor."

As soon as the words were spoken, the onlookers quickly retreated, and the villagers who were originally responsible for looking after the injured all hid far away.

Tailor shop owner Chen Laoliu was terrified. He had just accepted money from Cui Tike, and although he had returned it, he had touched the banknote. Song Demei gave a cold smile, "Did Green Water Beggar send you? He wants the territory of Virtue Praise Cliff?"

Cui Tike shook his head and said, "This has nothing to do with my Dao Gate Ancestor. It is my morality and conscience that brought me here to stop this war that should never have happened."

"Village Chief of Virtue Source Village, how many innocent people have already perished in this war because of your own ambition? If you are still a cultivator under the Dexiu sect, if you have even a shred of conscience left, please heed my advice and end this war immediately. Don't let others be buried with your ambition."

Song Demei shook her head and said, "I don't want to fight. Everything I've done is for Virtue Praise Cliff. I have a clear conscience. As long as Virtue Praise Cliff remains in the hands of virtuous people, this war can be avoided!"

"I believe your statement that you have a clear conscience. I believe that a truly virtuous person will become the leader of Virtue Praise Cliff. I will stay in Virtue Praise Cliff for the foreseeable future until this war is completely over."

Cui Tike pushed the small cart next to him, which contained the food and daily necessities he had just bought.

He didn't believe any of Deshu's promises, nor did he want to risk arguing with the group of Deshu, but this was a task the Peddler had given him. He had to decide for himself who should be killed and who should be spared, striving to resolve the issue with the least amount of bloodshed.

He pushed his cart halfway up the mountain when suddenly a ditch appeared beneath his feet. The cart fell into the ditch and overturned. Cut Path Opening Road; there were Travel Cultivator nearby.

Song Demei's subordinates weren't limited to Dexiu; Cui Tike, judging from his senses, estimated that at least thirty cultivators surrounded him. Should these people be killed? Was there even a need to debate this?

According to the rules Cui Tike himself established, it shouldn't be necessary.

As darkness fell, Song Demei sat in the courtyard, her expression grave.

None of the people she sent returned; they were probably killed by those foreigners.

To control Virtue Praise Cliff, they had to get rid of that foreigner, but this foreigner wasn't so easy to deal with.

That night, Cui Tike returned to the cave. The car was smashed, most of its contents were destroyed, and he was injured. The boy sat silently in the cave, exhausted but struggling to stay awake.

Cui Tike sat opposite the child, bandaging his wounds as he asked, "Have you remembered anything of value?" The child shook his head; he didn't understand Cui Tike's words.

Cui Tike looked somewhat helpless. "You'd better think about it quickly. My patience is very limited. I'm in a dangerous situation here, and I don't want to waste too much time with you..." Before he could finish speaking, the boy handed Cui Tike a can of food with both hands.

The box contained some soil, and a wildflower whose name I didn't know was stuck in the soil.

Cui Tike took the can and looked at it. "These are very pretty flowers. You can water them."

The child was delighted. Cui Tike put the canned food box aside and counted the remaining cans in his backpack. "We don't have much food left. We won't have any more canned food in two days."

The child handed two cans of food to Cui Tike, which Cui Tike had opened before leaving. "You didn't eat any?"

"Waiting for you to come back."

"You're waiting for me to come back?" Cui Tike was stunned for a long time; the words sounded somewhat unfamiliar to him. The child nodded, his stomach rumbling; he was very hungry.

Cui Tike looked at the canned goods and pulled out a small cloth bag from his pocket. "I brought back some flour and some leavening agent. We should be able to bake some bread. Have you ever eaten bread?" The child shook his head.

"It's best if you haven't tried it before. If you haven't tried it, you won't be too picky," Cui Tike said, taking out another box from his pocket. "I bought this for you." The child opened the box, and inside was a set of cotton clothes.

Cui Tike took some water and started kneading the dough while saying, "I've set a rule for myself: anyone who attacks me first must die. Anyone who doesn't attack me first can live temporarily, depending on the situation. Sometimes I forget the rule, so you'll have to remind me often."

The child still didn't quite understand what Cui Tike was saying. He put on his cotton coat, buttoned it up incorrectly, and looked at the asymmetrical hem, not knowing what he had done wrong. Oh well, it's wrong if it's wrong.

He stood in front of Cui Tike, proudly showing off his new clothes.

Cui Tike put down the dough in his hand, helped the child re-button up, and nodded, saying, "It looks very nice."