Cowherd Boy seemed somewhat stubborn and immediately retorted:
"But the schoolmaster said it! To see what is right and not do it is to lack courage!"
The farmer glared at Cowherd Boy and said:
"I should never have sent you to that wretched school!"
With that, he quickened his pace and strode toward the village.
Just as the two disappeared from view, a woman and a powerfully built old man appeared on the hillside.
With his arms folded, the old man smiled at the departing father and son and said:
"Teacher Zi Jin, isn't that one of the little ones from your school?"
The woman beside him pressed a hand to her forehead and said somewhat helplessly:
"That child has a quick enough mind. He just runs his mouth too much."
The old man laughed heartily, then turned to the woman with a serious expression and said:
"Liu Zijin, are you truly going to accompany me to the Heaven-Demon Battlefield?"
Rather than answer, the woman looked at the old man curiously and said:
"Cui Tiegu, I still haven't figured out why you gave up being emperor of the Great Qi Kingdom and chose to go to the Heaven-Demon Battlefield now."
These two were none other than Cui Tiegu and Liu Zijin.
Cui Tiegu smiled and said:
"I grew tired of being emperor long ago."
As he spoke, his gaze sharpened. He looked up at the projected scene in the sky and said solemnly:
"As the saying goes, when the nest is overturned, no egg remains whole. Rather than watch helplessly as the Nine Abysses Demon Mother slaughters her way into the Mortal Realm, I might as well go fight on the Heaven-Demon Battlefield."
With that, he looked back at Liu Zijin, seemingly waiting for her answer.
Liu Zijin also looked