Nothing Yu Zhengxing had said was wrong. Some of it Hou Niao had already anticipated; some of it had never even occurred to him.
What he had anticipated was that the four True Persons-Hai, Wei, Quan, and Yuan-had long intended to put things in order and introduce reforms. So, although he himself was not quite on their level, he at least counted as a partner.
What he had not anticipated was that there were actually quite a few of those fellows Yu Zhengxing had mentioned, playing the pig to eat the tiger.
He did not particularly mind that. Everyone wanted to climb higher; they merely chose different methods. That was a personal choice, and there was nothing to reproach them for.
In his view, a person could not keep his head bowed for too long. Keep your back bent too long, and you would never straighten it again!
Once a person made forbearance a habit, he lost the courage to stand out in front. Afraid of the light, afraid of noise, afraid of trouble, afraid of being picked apart, afraid of being targeted... what was he even doing out here, then? He might as well stay huddled away forever.
Yu Zhengxing was a senior of his sect who genuinely cared about him, but he was no longer a child who had only just entered the Daoist Sect.
Offering help with restraint, accepting it selectively-that was the world of true cultivators. Not elders all but tearing out their hearts to give to the young, and the young weeping floods of grateful tears... that belonged in storybooks, the fantasies of people whose minds had never fully matured.
Li Chuping and Yu Zhengxing, two seniors who had played important roles in his growth. How interesting!
He walked slowly into the Minister of Justice