Buying Osmanthus and Wine for a Shared Journey, Yet It Could Never Be Like the Wandering Days of Youth

Zeng Anmin was caught somewhat off guard by the sudden question.

Fortunately, he had long been mentally prepared.

He had also anticipated that his father might grow suspicious of him.

"Heart Inquiry?"

Zeng Anmin's expression changed. He widened his eyes and stared at Zeng Shilin in disbelief.

"Father, you subjected me to a Heart Inquiry?!!"

"When did that happen?!"

"You distrust me that much??"

"Fine. Tonight, I'll burn paper offerings for Mother and tell her about this. I'll have her come question you tonight!"

As Zeng Anmin spoke, his eyes even reddened. After finishing, he still did not feel appeased and added:

"And the last time you went to the Jiaofang Division! I'm telling Mother about that too!"

The moment those words came out, Zeng Shilin's face froze.

Zeng Anmin's words made his scalp go numb.

He forced himself to meet Zeng Anmin's heartbroken gaze, guilt stirring in his heart.

Especially when Zeng Anmin mentioned the word "Mother," something clogged in his chest.

Facing his son's faintly accusatory gaze, Zeng Shilin gave a light cough.

"Ahem. Let's put that matter aside for now. How has your progress on the Confucian Path been lately?"

Since his father had chosen to change the subject and stop dwelling on the matter,

Zeng Anmin naturally knew to quit while he was ahead.

At the mention of his Confucian Path Realm, Zeng Anmin looked somewhat helpless. Rubbing his aching forehead, he said:

"Ever since entering the Purple Mansion Realm, I haven't made an inch of progress. These past days, I've tried reading more, speaking with people more often, and getting out more, but I still haven't gained any new insight."

After saying that, he muttered, "I wanted to hurry into the Sixth Grade. If I could conduct Heart Inquiry on people, solving cases would be much easier."

Zeng Anmin's words darkened Zeng Shilin's expression.

"Hurry into the Sixth Grade? With such lofty ambitions and a mind set too high, you'll never enter the Sixth Grade in this lifetime!!"

After saying that, he felt he might have been overly harsh. His tone eased as he patiently advised:

"Once the Confucian Path enters the Purple Mansion Realm, there is no longer any process of accumulation. What remains is only comprehension of the sages' ultimate teachings, comprehension of all things between Heaven and earth, and a plan for the things you intend to do..."

At that point, his father paused, then smiled.

"But there's no rush. Your father himself was stuck at this realm for over three years."

"Other than insight, is there no other method?"

Zeng Anmin toyed with the jade pendant left for him by the girl from the Profound Formation Division and asked with a puzzled expression:

"Can't it be faster?"

Seeing his son so impatient, his father's face, which had only just relaxed, darkened again. He said unhappily:

"Matters of the heart and mind are understood once they are understood. If they are not understood, then even if others explain them a thousand, ten thousand times, they still will not be understood."

Zeng Shilin had gone through that stage himself, so he naturally knew how impatient his son was right now. His brows drew together as he spoke sternly, with a hint of warning:

"You must not rush things, understand?!"

"Fine." Zeng Anmin curled his lip, his reply distracted.

His father's expression eased slightly as he earnestly said:

"When you have time, return to Shuidu Academy. Read more of the sages' handwritten works in the Hall of Sages."

"Confucian learning is like life. You have studied life's principles since childhood, but truly comprehending them often comes much later. It may take five years, perhaps ten, or perhaps an entire lifetime without ever reaching understanding."

"When something you once learned is borne out in the things you do, you may suddenly attain enlightenment. You gain new insight and deeper understanding, and words will spill forth from your heart."

"And those words that spill forth are your insight—an insight belonging to you alone."

"Even if you use the Words of the Sages to speak them, they are still your insight alone."

"Even if the same words exist in this world, there can never be the same understanding. Everyone's insight is different."

"That sentence will be your opportunity to step beyond the Purple Mansion Realm and enter the Gentleman Realm."

"At that time, your every word and deed will affect those around you."

"And the Vast Righteous Qi within your Purple Mansion will no longer affect only evil spirits and ghosts."

Having said this much, Zeng Shilin continued to teach by word and example:

"Take how your father disrupted Qi Linxian's Instantaneous Movement Array. Vast Righteous Qi possesses a certain restraining effect on every kind of supernatural power between Heaven and earth."

"The wonders of the Confucian Path will only slowly reveal themselves after the Gentleman Realm."

Listening to his old father's words, practically wanting to chew up the meal and feed it directly into his mouth,

Zeng Anmin fell into thought, his gaze sinking into memories.

Naturally, he understood his father's painstaking intentions.

His father had practically used the simplest and clearest language of this era to tell him how to advance.

Put plainly, it was that the principles learned from books in childhood were not understood at the time.

Then, when something happened after you grew up, you suddenly recalled what your teacher had said in class long ago. Your mind gave a violent shudder, and only then did you truly understand that principle.

"At first reading, one knows not the meaning in the book; upon reading again, one has become the person within it."

Zeng Anmin suddenly recalled a line from his previous life.

He truly felt it deeply.

There had been an essay in his textbooks in his previous life called "Lilac Knots."

"Everyone encounters many things in life that do not go their way. Once one matter ends, another arrives, so lilac knots bloom every year. Knots cannot all be untied, just as the problems in life cannot all be solved. Otherwise, would life not be too bland and flavorless?"

When he had first learned it, he had merely been in sixth grade. How could he have understood such fine nourishment?

He had only memorized it in a daze.

Later, after twice ten years had passed, he happened to open that textbook again.

With a single glance, he stood rooted where he was for a long while, unable to recover his senses.

As he recalled this matter, Zeng Anmin's state of mind slowly began to change.

"What are you spacing out for? Listen carefully to your father..."

Zeng Shilin had been speaking when he suddenly noticed his son standing there in a daze. His face showed displeasure, and he frowned.

Just as he was about to sternly rebuke him, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Then his expression went blank.

"Desiring to buy osmanthus and share wine upon the road, yet it could never be like the wandering days of youth."

Zeng Anmin slowly came back to himself, his expression complicated as the words spilled from his heart.

BOOM!!!

After speaking, he suddenly felt thunder rumble through his sea of consciousness.

Zeng Anmin froze, then his expression changed. He hurriedly immersed himself in his sea of consciousness.

Within his sea of consciousness, the phantom of the Dragon Survey Map still stood at the very center.

But the mass of Vast Righteous Qi to the right of the Dragon Survey Map's phantom was now churning without stop.

Like clouds and mist, it was undergoing an astonishing transformation.

At last, the vast righteous qi slowly changed color.

One wisp of azure qi, then two wisps...

BOOM!!!

Wisps of azure qi drifted about, ultimately forming a single sentence.

"Desiring to buy osmanthus and share wine upon the road, yet it could never be like the wandering days of youth."

Every word carried an ancient, vast resonance.

After the sentence formed, the azure qi slowly gathered together again, inseparable and tightly bound.

This...

Zeng Anmin abruptly opened his eyes and stared blankly at his father.

He seemed to have... broken through just now??

The Sixth Rank Gentleman Realm of the Confucian Path??!

Vast Righteous Qi could exert a certain influence on the people around him?!

Wasn't this far too fantastical?

He wanted to ask something.

But his father's eyes were even more vacant than his own.