"Killing?"
Gu Shaoan was a little confused.
It seemed he hadn't expected that Zhou Zhiruo was sitting alone, lost in thought, so late at night because she was troubled by this question.
"This evening, I heard Second Senior Sister say that Master was taking us along to suppress the bandits this time so we could kill people. She said killing was the only way to build our courage."
Zhou Zhiruo's voice was very soft, and even sounded a little timid.
Gu Shaoan could clearly sense the confusion and fear in her voice.
Gu Shaoan furrowed his brows slightly.
Judging by what Miejue had said during the day, it was true that she might be bringing them along on the bandit-suppression mission to give them some experience.
But from what Gu Shaoan knew of Miejue, she was an exceedingly upright person.
She wouldn't go so far as to force children barely eleven or twelve years old to kill.
Especially when those two children were her own disciples.
Therefore, in Gu Shaoan's view, the most Miejue would do by taking them down the mountain was give the two of them a chance to fight and experience what it was like to face an enemy themselves.
She would never make children of their age stain their hands with blood and tarnish their innocence.
So Ding Minjun had gone too far by saying such things to Zhou Zhiruo.
Thinking this, Gu Shaoan said, "Don't worry, Senior Sister! We've only recently become Master's disciples, and we're weak. Given our age, why would Master make us kill anyone?"
"I think Second Senior Sister only said that to scare you."
Zhou Zhiruo turned her head and stared at Gu Shaoan with wide eyes. Her voice held a note of hope. "Really?"
Gu Shaoan smiled as he replied, "Of course. We're still young, and our characters haven't yet fully formed. Master is kind—how could she make us do something like that so soon? You don't need to worry about it, Senior Sister."
Although Gu Shaoan was her junior, in the month since he had joined the sect, everyone—from Miejue to Zhao Jingxuan and Bei Jinyi—had praised him constantly.
Even Ding Minjun, who was usually sharp-tongued and never held back, couldn't find a single fault with him.
And Zhou Zhiruo was no exception.
In Zhou Zhiruo's heart, although Gu Shaoan was her junior, he was learned, diligent, and far more knowledgeable than she was.
If Gu Shaoan said so, then things were surely as he had said.
At that, the tightness in Zhou Zhiruo's heart eased, and much of the worry weighing on her faded away.
Perhaps the night breeze was chilly. Zhou Zhiruo, whose inner strength was still weak, couldn't help edging closer to Gu Shaoan.
Once her shoulder rested against his, Zhou Zhiruo raised her head and looked up at the sky again.
After a long while, Zhou Zhiruo spoke once more. "Little Junior Brother, do you think we'll definitely have to kill people someday?"
Gu Shaoan stuck his wooden sword into the ground beside him. After thinking for a moment, he answered honestly, "The jianghu is dangerous. Sometimes, even if we don't want to invite trouble, it still comes looking for us. We won't be able to avoid fighting and killing forever."
Zhou Zhiruo asked, "What if we only injure them and don't kill them?"
Gu Shaoan shook his head. "If you strike a snake without killing it, it'll follow your staff right back up to you. We might think we're showing mercy by injuring someone instead of killing them, but whether they'll appreciate that is another matter."
"Those people we let go might still harbor evil intentions, hide in the shadows, and wait for a chance to take revenge."
"When that happens, can you be sure they'll show us the same mercy, Senior Sister?"
Zhou Zhiruo thought it over, then sighed. "Probably not."
Girls tended to mature early. Although Zhou Zhiruo was kindhearted, she wasn't foolish.
If those people were already waiting for a chance to take revenge, they obviously wouldn't simply let things go.
Then, seeing that Zhou Zhiruo still looked troubled, Gu Shaoan thought for a moment before speaking again.
"Senior Sister, what kind of people do you think would fight us in the jianghu?"
Zhou Zhiruo looked thoughtful before answering, "Eldest Senior Sister and Third Senior Sister have both told me that our Emei Sect is an orthodox sect with some renown in the jianghu."
"Friends from other orthodox sects would usually show our Emei Sect some respect."
"In that case, anyone willing to fight us can't be a good person."
Gu Shaoan nodded. "Exactly! If they're bad people, then if we let them live, they'll keep doing evil and harming others."
"You told me about your past, Senior Sister, so let me use you as an example."
"What if, a few days ago, the villains who killed your father had encountered an upright master like ours, but that master had taken pity on them and let them go? Those villains might then have wandered into the place where you lived and killed your father."
"Do you think it would have been right or wrong for that upright master to show them mercy?"
"This..."
Faced with Gu Shaoan's question, Zhou Zhiruo froze. Her thoughts immediately became a tangled mess, and she didn't know how to respond.
Seeing that Zhou Zhiruo couldn't answer, Gu Shaoan continued, "You're right, Senior Sister. Our Emei Sect is an orthodox sect. We only go after evil people."
"To eradicate evil, we must root it out completely. Showing evil people mercy means letting them continue doing evil. Our good intentions could become someone else's catastrophe."
"But if we act directly and stop them from doing any more evil, we can prevent what happened to you, Senior Sister Zhou, from happening to someone else."
"If so, killing those who deserve to die is good, while sparing them is evil. What's there to agonize over?"
"If you're really worried about this, you can make sure you're safe, judge whether the other person is good or evil, and then decide whether to kill them."
"But once you've made up your mind, you can't hold back at all, lest you leave yourself with a future problem."
Gu Shaoan's words were simple and straightforward, but they were also well reasoned.
As she turned over what Gu Shaoan had just said in her mind, Zhou Zhiruo looked thoughtful.
It was clear she had taken his words to heart.
Zhou Zhiruo was still too young. The only thing Gu Shaoan could do now was plant a seed in her heart.
Then, when the time came for her to kill someone, she might find it easier to accept.
As for what Gu Shaoan had just said, it was merely advice for Zhou Zhiruo, not a reflection of his own beliefs.
The jianghu was dangerous. For martial artists, many things came down to life and death, not right and wrong.
The line between good and evil could sometimes be clear, and sometimes blurred.
In the end, the outcome still depended on one's strength.
Therefore, as far as Gu Shaoan was concerned, strength was the ultimate truth.
If you were strong enough, what did it matter if you didn't eat beef?
At that moment, Zhou Zhiruo asked, "If I don't want to kill someone, could I cripple their martial arts or cut off their hands and feet instead? As long as I made sure they couldn't harm anyone after I let them go?"
Gu Shaoan: "??????"
Gu Shaoan really wanted to ask Zhou Zhiruo if she could hear what she was saying.
Zhou Zhiruo's sudden, wildly off-track train of thought left Gu Shaoan momentarily stunned. When he recovered, he shook his head. "If you've already gone that far, Senior Sister, you might as well give them a quick death."
At that, Zhou Zhiruo came back to herself and stuck out her tongue. "That's true!"
Whether her thoughts had simply taken an unexpected turn, or Gu Shaoan's words had given her some new ideas, the worry between Zhou Zhiruo's brows had eased considerably.
As her mood lifted, even the mountain breeze at night seemed a little more lively.
Turning her head, she gazed through the dreamlike moonlight at Gu Shaoan beside her. Though his face still held a trace of childishness, it was already showing signs of handsome features. Zhou Zhiruo smiled gently.
"It's really nice having a little junior brother!"
Before you continue