Talking of Killing Under the Moon

"Kill people?"

Gu Shaoan was a little confused.

It seemed he hadn't expected Zhou Zhiruo to be sitting here alone at night, lost in thought, because of this problem.

"In the evening, I heard Second Senior Sister say that the reason Master is taking us to suppress bandits this time is to take us to kill people. Only by killing can we build courage."

Zhou Zhiruo's voice was very soft, even giving a timid impression.

Gu Shaoan could clearly feel the confusion and fear in Zhou Zhiruo's tone.

Gu Shaoan frowned slightly.

Judging by what Miejue said during the day, it was indeed possible that they were being taken along to gain experience.

However, from Gu Shaoan's understanding of Miejue, she was a person of great righteousness.

She wouldn't go so far as to force children of only eleven or twelve years old to kill.

Especially when these two children were Miejue's own disciples.

Therefore, in Gu Shaoan's opinion, the most Miejue would do by bringing them down the mountain this time was to create an opportunity for the two of them to experience facing enemies firsthand.

It was absolutely impossible for them to have blood on their hands and their hearts tainted at such a young age.

Naturally, Ding Minjun saying such things to Zhou Zhiruo was a bit excessive.

Thinking of this, Gu Shaoan spoke, "Senior Sister, don't worry! We only recently joined Master's tutelage, our abilities are weak, and considering our age, why would Master let us kill people?"

"I imagine these words were just to scare you, spoken by Second Senior Sister."

Zhou Zhiruo turned her head, her large eyes fixed on Gu Shaoan, her voice carrying a hint of anticipation, "Really?"

Hearing this, Gu Shaoan responded with a smile, "Of course. We are still young, our hearts are not yet settled. Master is kind-hearted, how could he let us do such things so early? Senior Sister need not worry about this."

Although Gu Shaoan was the junior disciple, in the month since he joined, not only Miejue, but also Zhao Jingxuan and Bei Jinyi had praised him constantly.

Even Ding Minjun, who was usually sharp-tongued and unforgiving, couldn't find any fault with Gu Shaoan.

Let alone Zhou Zhiruo.

In Zhou Zhiruo's heart, although Gu Shaoan was her junior disciple, he was learned, diligent, and understood far more than she did.

Since Gu Shaoan said it, things would surely be as he said.

At this, Zhou Zhiruo's heart relaxed, and the worries weighing on her mind lessened considerably at this moment.

Perhaps the night wind was a bit cool, and Zhou Zhiruo, whose Internal Energy foundation was still rather weak, couldn't help but move closer to Gu Shaoan.

After her shoulder leaned against Gu Shaoan's, Zhou Zhiruo looked up at the sky again.

After a long while, Zhou Zhiruo spoke again, "Junior Brother, do you think we will have to kill people in the future?"

Placing the wooden sword beside him, Gu Shaoan thought for a moment before answering truthfully, "The martial world is perilous. Sometimes, even if we don't seek trouble, trouble will still find us. Fights and killings are unavoidable in the future."

Zhou Zhiruo asked, "What about injuring but not killing?"

Gu Shaoan shook his head, "If you don't kill the snake, it will strike back. We might think we are showing mercy by injuring someone, but whether others will appreciate it is another matter."

"Perhaps these people we let go will harbor ill intentions, hide in the shadows, and wait for an opportunity to retaliate."

"At that time, Senior Sister, can you guarantee that those people will show us mercy?"

Zhou Zhiruo thought for a moment, then sighed, "Probably not."

Women mature early. Although Zhou Zhiruo was kind, she was not foolish.

Since those people would choose to retaliate, they naturally wouldn't give up easily.

Then, seeing that Zhou Zhiruo was still frowning, Gu Shaoan pondered for a moment before speaking again.

"Senior Sister, what kind of people do you think we would fight against in the martial world?"

Zhou Zhiruo appeared thoughtful, then said, "Eldest Senior Sister and Third Senior Sister have both said that our Emei Sect is a righteous sect and has some reputation in the martial world."

"Generally, friends from righteous sects will give our Emei Sect some face."

"Therefore, those who would fight us are naturally not good people."

Gu Shaoan nodded, "Exactly! Since they are not good people, if we let them live, they will continue to do evil and harm others."

"Senior Sister mentioned her past earlier. Let me use your situation as an example, Junior Brother."

"If the villains who killed Uncle Zhou had met a righteous expert like Master a few days ago, but that person had shown mercy and let them go, it would have led to these villains going to the place where Senior Sister lived and killing Uncle Zhou."

"Senior Sister, do you think it was good or bad for that righteous expert to show mercy?"

"This..."

Faced with Gu Shaoan's question, Zhou Zhiruo was stunned, her mind a tangled mess, unsure how to respond.

Seeing that Zhou Zhiruo couldn't answer, Gu Shaoan continued, "Senior Sister is right, our Emei Sect is a righteous sect, and we only target villains."

"And to eradicate evil completely, showing mercy to villains is allowing them to continue their evil deeds. Our good intentions become their downfall."

"But if we act directly and prevent them from doing evil, we can prevent what happened to Senior Sister Zhou from happening to others again."

"Since that's the case, killing those who deserve to be killed is doing good, and letting those who deserve to be killed live is doing evil. Why dwell on it?"

"If Senior Disciple Sister truly minds this, she can first determine if the other party is good or evil, and then decide whether to kill them, all while ensuring her own safety."

"But once it's decided, you can't hold back at all, lest you raise a tiger that will bring disaster."

Gu Shaoan's words were simple and direct, yet reasoned and logical.

Mulling over Gu Shaoan's recent words, Zhou Zhiruo's face showed a thoughtful expression.

Clearly, she had taken Gu Shaoan's words to heart.

Zhou Zhiruo was still too young, and all Gu Shaoan could do now was plant a seed in her heart.

When the time truly came to kill,