Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 616 Helping Others and Oneself

Chapter 616 Helping Others and Oneself

Outside Beiyu City, on the main road, Xu Ying's caravan was making its way to the city without stopping.

As they approached the first city, everyone in the caravan showed expressions of joy.

After a long and arduous journey, without encountering any dangers, we finally arrived at our first destination. Being able to enter the city and rest properly was naturally something to be happy about.

Lu Zheng sat in a carriage, looking at the ancient city that appeared before him.

Even if we don't say that the city is filled with demonic energy, it is still a place where all kinds of evil and malevolent auras are mixed together, so it can't be considered a good place.

Beneath the high walls outside the city stood many figures, including humans, demons, and half-demons.

These people were dressed in tattered clothes, barely covering their bodies, and many were even naked, revealing their emaciated bodies.

Some people even had straw tags stuck in their heads, selling them as goods.

The buyers of the first items were mostly children, but there were also some adults.

Lu Zheng frowned, jumped off the carriage, and headed straight for that area.

Ignoring the filth, mud, and pungent odor, Lu Zheng walked up to the group and inquired about the situation.

He soon learned what had happened.

These people are buying and selling their own children because they simply can't afford to raise them, and this is a common phenomenon here.

These people who sell themselves into servitude may be bought by humans or demons and used as slaves.

If you're unlucky, you'll end up being bought as food.

Looking at these people and demons, whether adults or children, Lu Zheng saw that their eyes held almost no expectation for life, only numbness and confusion.

Not far away, a child was secretly observing Lu Zheng.

The child's face was furry, with a pair of long rabbit ears, and a pair of big, bright, blood-red eyes that revealed both curiosity and timidity.

This is a half-demon child, with bloodlines of both humans and demons. He was born with a human form, but also had obvious demonic characteristics.

If they don't engage in cultivation, such half-demon will basically remain in this form for their entire lives.

The child looked at Lu Zheng and felt that this person had an aura that was different from others.

The half-demon child mustered his courage and stepped forward, his voice still childish, "Sir, please buy me. I'm very hardworking and don't eat much..."

Lu Zheng turned his head and looked at the thin child with rabbit demon blood in front of him, his eyes filled with a complicated and unreadable expression.

Just then, Xu Ying walked to Lu Zheng's side and said softly, "If it's inconvenient for you, Young Master Lu, I'll buy them and then settle them in Wei."

Xu Ying knew that Lu Zhengren was kind and couldn't stand such things, so she decided to do some good deeds and buy these people away.

Of course, that's all she can do to help.

Such incidents are commonplace in this region.

Even if she buys all the people here today, there will be other people or demons here to put up their bids and sell their heads tomorrow.

Lu Zheng's eyes flickered, and he said quietly, "Back when I entered the Confucian and Taoist scholar realm, I went to the countryside to study and witnessed the suffering of many people. Only then did I realize how difficult it is for ordinary people to survive in this world."

"At that time, I was thinking that Kaiyang County was just one county in Hongzhou, and Hongzhou was just a corner of Anguo. And looking at the whole world, Anguo was not that vast..."

"In this world, how many people are suffering? Since I have come into this world, I feel that I should do something."

Lu Zheng turned to Xu Ying, whose expression was one of astonishment, and took out a bag of spirit stones. "Miss, you are quite familiar with this place. Please trouble someone to buy some houses in the city so that they can settle down temporarily..."

Xu Ying quickly replied, "It's nothing, there's no need for you to pay, young master." Xu Ying then instructed the two caravan workers to go into the city to handle the matter.

The caravan members had mixed feelings about Lu Zheng's actions. They had seen too much of the world and were numb to it, so they wouldn't do something as benevolent as Lu Zheng. But they also admired people like Lu Zheng.

"How could the world have become like this!"

"It's the caravan's guard Liu Yuan," Liu Yuan said indignantly.

Upon hearing this, someone nearby sighed and said, "Hasn't it always been like this?"

Not far away, at the foot of the city wall, a bald-headed monk dressed in tattered clothes was leisurely basking in the sun.

He glanced to the side, looking at where Lu Zheng was, and muttered to himself, "May Buddha have mercy... How rare, how rare..."

The monk scratched his head, swayed as he got up, leaned on a wooden stick in one hand and held a chipped bowl in the other, and slowly walked towards Lu Zheng.

At this moment, Lu Zheng was holding a handful of malt sugar blocks and distributing them to the adults and children around him, asking about the living conditions of these people at the bottom of society.

Suddenly, a broken bowl was brought up in front of Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng glanced to the side and saw a middle-aged monk grinning at him.

The monk was filthy, with a bald head covered in sores.

The monk smiled and said, "You are merciful, benefactor."

Seeing this, Lu Zheng placed a piece of sugar in the broken bowl.

The monk couldn't help but say, "Benefactor, why not give more? Buddha will bless you with peace, prosperity, and the attainment of enlightenment..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng smiled and said, "I treat everyone equally."

A strange light flashed in the monk's eyes. He scratched his head, took back the bowl, put the sugar cube in his mouth and ate it with relish, mumbling, "Excellent, excellent!"

The monk smacked his lips and continued, “I see that you, benefactor, are full of compassion and are a person of great kindness and benevolence. However, this world is chaotic, and people like you are prone to great calamities. What a pity, what a pity. As the Buddha said, ‘To save others, one must first save oneself…’”

Lu Zheng couldn't help but ask, "If you want to help me overcome this calamity, what Buddhist teachings will you impart to me?"

The monk paused slightly, thinking to himself, "He hasn't even finished speaking, and this person already knows what he's trying to do? Could it be that this line of reasoning is outdated?"

The monk smiled and said, "I see that you have a connection with Buddha, so I've come to establish a good relationship..."

Lu Zheng smiled slightly and said, "You're too kind, but it's not necessary."

The monk glared and asked, "What makes you say that?"

Lu Zheng said unhurriedly, "I once heard a Bodhisattva in Buddhism say, 'I will not become a Buddha until hell is empty.' In my opinion, saving others is saving oneself. Therefore, your Buddhist teachings are not suitable for you. You should seek someone else."

Lu Zheng sensed that the monk in front of him seemed to be something special, but he really had no interest in practicing Buddhism.

The bald-headed monk looked surprised. "Which Bodhisattva said this? I've never heard of it before. But these words..."

"Tsk tsk, helping others is helping yourself, there's no doubt about that. You young man are truly insightful, it would be a real shame if you didn't become my disciple!"

The monk looked at Lu Zheng, his interest growing stronger.

Suddenly, the monk's expression changed slightly. "Hmm, your aura... Confucian and Taoist righteousness? No, it seems a bit different. What do you cultivate?"

The monk had just discovered that Lu Zheng was a cultivator, but now, after getting closer and sensing him more closely, he found that he couldn't quite see through Lu Zheng's path.

He felt that Lu Zheng was like a Confucian scholar, but there seemed to be something different about him.

(End of this chapter)