"As the principal of Hidden Dragon High Martial, I cannot resort to those despicable, shameless, anything-goes methods, no matter what. Because I personally trained every member of the school's faculty and staff. Everyone watches me and takes me as their example."
"Everyone also knows that these people came here through dubious means, with impure motives and ambitions of their own."
"Everyone feels stifled and miserable. That is the current situation, and no one can deny it."
"But if I likewise used despicable methods-framing them, making false accusations, even assassination-to purge these people, then predictably, every member of the school's faculty and staff would feel relieved, as though they had finally vented their anger."
"At least, that's how you see it, isn't it? Everyone would feel satisfied, feeling that good had been rewarded and evil punished, right? What a satisfying release-blood for blood, tooth for tooth, repaying resentment with uprightness... isn't that so?"
Zuo Xiaoduo nodded. "Yes. Repaying kindness with kindness and resentment with uprightness is precisely what a gentleman does, what a gentleman ought to do. As your student, I see nothing wrong with it. It is only right!"
"But then every teacher would remember this example; it would take root in the deepest recesses of everyone's memory. Later, when they themselves, or their students, faced something that normal methods could not resolve... they would often think in this direction, act in this direction, and teach in this direction."
"They would even tell countless students about it, recounting it with relish: back then, such-and-such happened, and it left us all stifled and miserable. Everyone knew, but our hands were tied. In the end, Principal Ye Changqing decided to fight schemes with schemes, resorting to extreme measures, blood for blood, tooth for tooth... He defeated them, and then this and that