Chapter 1248: The Weight of these Two Words ‘Great Teacher’!
“My friend was brought to the laboratory, and I wanted to save him!”
Kong Yuxin did not hide anything. After all, this was a scandal involving the great teacher world. If it was leaked out, the ones embarra.s.sed would be Hu Xingjiang and the others.
“…”
Sun Mo did not know if he should continue listening. This thing was definitely a secret. If he were to find out, he might be killed and silenced.
“You can’t be thinking that the Prison of Desolation is where the prisoners are kept, can you?”
Kong Yuxin chuckled mockingly. “It’s actually a laboratory. Many forbidden arts that are banned in the Nine Provinces can be conducted here.”
Most forbidden art experiments, even if they didn’t involve humans in the early stages, would definitely use humans in the later stages. Only then would the data be the most accurate.
“Generally speaking, criminals who committed serious crimes can forget about leaving this place alive. For criminals of lighter crimes, if they want to have their sentence reduced, they can choose to be experimental subjects. But to be honest, there’s a high chance that they will die in the experiments.”
Kong Yuxin looked sad.
He had made a good friend in the Prison of Desolation, someone who understood his love. That was why he had taken the risk to go to the laboratory on the lowest floor to save him. Unfortunately, it was too late.
Kong Yuxin had failed in the attempt to save his friend and had his trump card exposed. Hence, he had no choice but to escape in advance. Otherwise, if he were to stick to the original plan, he would not have been discovered at all.
The Gu technique he cultivated was called Worm Transformation Replacement Art. It could nurture his lifeblood and soul into a vital Gu worm in his body.
This bug could then engulf its owner and then spit them out whole.
The drawback was that the user would eventually become an existence that was both a human and a worm. They would gradually forget whether they were a human or a bug on the consciousness level.
If it wasn’t for the sake of escaping, Kong Yuxin would not have cultivated this forbidden technique.
“Sun Mo, you should hurry up and run. A few major characters in the laboratory are very interested in your body and want to experiment on you.”
Kong Yuxin reminded Sun Mo. This was a piece of information that he had obtained without anyone knowing while he was attached to a host in the form of a bug.
“What are you planning to do next?”
Sun Mo grabbed his wooden blade.
“Head back to the Nine Provinces and propose!”
Kong Yuxin’s answer was given without any hesitation.
“It’s been 30 years. Do you think your disciple will still be waiting for you?”
Sun Mo’s question struck straight at his soul.
“She will!”
This was the only answer Kong Yuxin could give. Otherwise, his 30 years of persistence would have been in vain. “She said that she would stay in the countryside and wait for me to return!”
“Since you can even give up your ident.i.ty as a great teacher for her, why can’t you live in seclusion with her?”
Sun Mo frowned. “Love between a teacher and a student is against moral ethics.”
“I want to give her a perfect wedding. I want to live an upright life with her!”
Kong Yuxin persisted.
“Wedding is just a ceremony. Why can’t you understand that?”
Sun Mo was furious. “Even if you invited all the saints and emperors in the Nine Provinces to congratulate you, what meaning is there to that?
“In my opinion, the congratulations from the Saint Gate can’t be compared to the mutual respect between husband and wife or the simple meals on the dining table!
“Kong Yuxin, the reason you’re so insistent is because you know in your heart that a love relations.h.i.+p between a teacher and student is disgraceful. Those rumors and strange gazes are harmful to that girl! So you want to obtain people’s recognition.
“But I’m telling you, that’s impossible!”
Kong Yuxin became anxious. “Why is it impossible? We’re truly in love with each other!”
“Have you thought about it? If the Saint Gate approves of your marriage, then it would be treated as a norm for great teachers to marry their female disciples in the future.”
Sun Mo’s tone was solemn. “Some female disciples covet their teacher’s cultivation arts, secret manuals, and alchemy prescriptions. They will take the initiative to seduce and marry them. Also, some despicable great teachers will use these benefits as bait to tempt their female disciples.”
Kong Yuxin fell silent because the situation that Sun Mo had mentioned was present right now.
“Once such private transactions are exposed, the reputation of great teachers will be ruined. However, if the love relations.h.i.+ps between great teachers and their students are accepted as being reasonable, great teachers will just get another wife or even a concubine. Even if there are disagreements, it will be a conflict between husband and wife. Who will be able to manage such problems?”
Sun Mo tried to persuade him. “Is the love you guys want a formality? Or to be helping each other even in difficult situations?”
Kong Yuxin looked ashamed.
“Kong Yuxin, to be honest, I look down on you very much. Even if your student loves you, you should stop her.”
Sun Mo sighed. “You’re a great teacher. Your duty is to teach people, not to love them. You should have told your student how big this world is, taught her to have courage, and taught her the ability to take on this ‘world’. What you should have taught her is not love.”
Kong Yuxin was stunned. Sun Mo’s words were very enlightening that they instantly shattered his pride as a teacher.
“You said that you’ll give up on being a great teacher for love?”
Sun Mo sneered. “In my opinion, you’re not fit to be a great teacher. We should be the lighthouse for students, the starting point for them, not their final destination!”
Sun Mo flew away and gave him a final warning.
“Kong Yuxin, you’ve never hurt any prison guards, nor have you done great evil. Therefore, I won’t capture you. I also hope that after you return to the Nine Provinces, regardless of what kind of life you see that girl leading, you won’t harm her.”
Kong Yuxin’s thoughts were in a mess. He drifted on the spot for a few more minutes, bowed to Sun Mo, and started thinking of ways to return to the Nine Provinces.
Nine months later, Kong Yuxin finally returned to land after going through great hards.h.i.+ps. He was currently very weak. But fortunately, he was rescued by a fisherman.
After recuperating for another three months, Kong Yuxin disguised himself and hurried back to his hometown without stopping.
…
The last time Kong Yuxin was home was before he went to work. Coupled with his 30-year prison term, it could be said that Kong Yuxin had not been home for nearly 60 years.
The old poplar tree at the village entrance was still lush, but its bark was filled with wrinkles, making it look like an old man with wrinkled skin and thinning hair.
The small river that meandered through the village still looked the same. However, Kong Yuxin no longer recognized the women was.h.i.+ng clothes by the river.
Someone cast a suspicious and wary gaze at Kong Yuxin, but he ignored them. He stumbled and staggered as he went along the road and rushed to the entrance of his house.
The door was half-closed, and the sound of weaving could be heard from inside.
Kong Yuxin reached out to push open the door, but he did not dare to. He was trembling uncontrollably.
“Is it the Li Family’s daughter-in-law?”
However, a question rang out from the room.
Although this voice was a little old, it was still as clear as it had been in Kong Yuxin’s memories. Thinking of the sweet memories, he could no longer control himself and pushed open the wooden door.
The person in the house didn’t hear any reply and thus walked out.
It was a woman in her forties. She was dressed in rough clothing and had a handkerchief on her head. When she saw Kong Yuxin, she froze on the spot.
She covered her mouth with both hands, tears gus.h.i.+ng down her cheeks like a torrential flood.
“Teach… Teacher!”
Hearing this gentle address, Kong Yu was immediately filled with varying emotions. Sun Mo’s words surged into his heart.
When they parted, she was in her youth, like the peach blossoms in March or the clear flowing spring water, full of youth and vitality.
But now, she was already past her prime, and no longer had the childishness and beauty of a young girl. What she was left with was only old age.
“Lan`er!”
Kong Yuxin’s voice trembled slightly as he called out this name. However, it brought about a piercing pain.
He finally understood Sun Mo’s words.
Great teachers should be the starting point for students, not the end point.
Lan`er’s life shouldn’t have lived several decades in this dilapidated and poor village. She had once been a genius and yearned for the great world outside, wanting to learn powerful cultivation arts and become a great teacher like himself. However, he…
He had held her back for her entire life!
Lan`er suddenly rushed forward and hugged Kong Yuxin.
“You’re back? You’re really back?”
Lan`er was in disbelief. She hugged Kong Yuxin tightly and felt his warmth.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”
Kong Yuxin was very reproachful.
“Everything is in the past now. It’s good that you’re back!”
Lan`er consoled him.
“Lan`er, tell me, do you regret it?”
Kong Yuxin looked at his disciple’s eyes. He felt antic.i.p.ation, hesitation, and nervousness.
“I’ve been weaving cloth and lived as a village woman for 30 years. It’d be impossible to say that I don’t regret it. After all, my heart would be filled with bitterness whenever I saw my good friends and schoolmates achieving success in their careers or having blissful families even if they didn’t get great fame. But when I think of you, I don’t feel any pain anymore.”
Lan`er revealed a gentle smile. “Don’t think too much about it. I had waited for you willingly!”
“That’s right!”
The pain in Kong Yuxin’s heart was like having limbs torn off. (You had done it willingly, but I had held you back for life because of this ‘love’.)
(Why didn’t I let you go back then?)
Unfortunately, time was merciless. It was also cold and would not give anyone the chance to make amendments.
(If only I had met Sun Mo back then and been enlightened by him!)
Kong Yuxin did not regret staying in prison for 30 years. However, he regretted letting Lan`er lose the most wonderful period of her life.
Sun Mo was a man that didn’t let down his ident.i.ty as a great teacher!
At this moment, Kong Yuxin finally understood the weight of the great teacher t.i.tle. Before loving Lan`er, he should have first done a good job as a teacher, telling her how she should live her life!
…
When Sun Mo returned to the isolated island, he had only taken a few steps before he saw Hu Xingjiang standing by the cliff, looking at the scenery with his hands behind his back.
Sun Mo paused. He had been gone for so long, so Hu Xingjiang had probably guessed what he had done, right?
“I feel very upset!”
Hu Xingjiang looked at the clouds in the sky with a dejected expression.
“Teacher, why do you say that?”
Sun Mo was perplexed.
“When Kong Yuxin was sent here, I investigated and found that there was indeed love between him and his student. I wanted to let him go because that girl was waiting for him, but I couldn’t do it!”
Hu Xingjiang sighed. “Do you know why?”
Sun Mo shook his head.
“Because if I had done that, it’d be even harder for Kong Yuxin to understand the meaning behind the two words ‘great teacher’!”
Hu Xingjiang leaned forward as if he was about to jump into the sea. “In order to let Kong Yuxin understand the weight of being a ‘great teacher’, I might have let a girl lead a life by herself for 30 years. I was the one who had wasted her youth.”
“Is that why you made things easier for Kong Yuxin and eventually decided to let him leave on the 30th year of his prison term?”
Sun Mo spoke bluntly.
He had long since been suspicious of how a person could easily break out of prison so many times without being targeted.
“Teaching and nurturing people is the foundation of great teachers. Sometimes, I’d wonder if it’s a sin to hold up others in order to educate Kong Yuxin.”
Hu Xingjiang looked at Sun Mo with a lost expression.
“The moon has periods of waning, and people experience joys and sorrows, unions and separations. How can there be anything perfect in this world? We just need to do our best to have a clear conscience.”
Sun Mo did not want to think about this problem because it was one without a solution.
“If it were you, what would you do?”
Hu Xingjiang asked.
“Punish Kong Yuxin.”
As a teacher, Sun Mo would definitely not agree with a love relations.h.i.+p between a teacher and a student. “A female student is still a child. What would she know about love? Moreover, the proportion of love in life is not everything. As a teacher, it is a huge mistake not to establish the right values and perspectives for students.”
In the Nine Provinces, teachers were like half a parent. For example, if Sun Mo killed Lu Zhiruo, even if it was by accident, he would at most be blamed, but he wouldn’t need to be sentenced.
That was why love relations.h.i.+ps between teachers and students were despised and boycotted. It was like a father falling in love with his daughter. It was unacceptable ethically and morally.
In this case, Hu Xingjiang was an open-minded person. If a stubborn old man was in his shoes, they would have long since killed Kong Yuxin in prison.
“Teacher, the matter has pa.s.sed. Let’s not look for trouble anymore!”
Sun Mo turned to leave. “I’ll go find someone to spar with.”
“Do you want to enter the laboratory to take a look?”
Hu Xingjiang suddenly asked.
“Hmm?”
Sun Mo blinked and pretended to be puzzled.
“Stop with the pretense. Since you saw Kong Yuxin, how could he not tell you about this matter?”
Hu Xingjiang was also a crafty old fox and had seen through everything.
Sun Mo felt very awkward. “The more one knows, the faster one dies. I’ve never played with any of the famous prost.i.tutes and top courtesans in the Qinhuai River and brothels!”
“Let’s go!”
Hu Xingjiang led the way.
Although he looked calm, his heart was in turbulence, feeling great astonishment.
(Isn’t Sun Mo too amazing? To think that he even knows about the rare Worm Transformation Replacement Art?)
Ding!
Favorable impression points from Hu Xingjiang +1,000. Respect (3,200/10,000).
Sun Mo was stunned for a moment when he heard this voice. He then heaved a sigh of relief. (Since he has given some favorable impression points, I don’t think that he’ll silence me, right?)
The two of them entered the prison, but Hu Xingjiang did not bring Sun Mo down directly. Instead, he walked past one prison cell after another and told him about the convicts who had been detained in the past.
There were heinous b.a.s.t.a.r.ds, malicious villains, and unlucky scapegoats.
The more Sun Mo listened, the more he felt that something was amiss. (Why are you telling me these things? Are you taking care of things before your death? Or are you going to nurture me to become the next prison warden?)
The day pa.s.sed just like that, but Sun Mo didn’t find it annoying because Hu Xingjiang would tell him some of the prisoners’ ultimate arts and experiences.
An opportunity like this was far too precious.
Sun Mo went all out and memorized them.
Hu Xingjiang actually admired Sun Mo a lot and wanted to take him in as a disciple. However, as he thought about how his ident.i.ty would make things inconvenient for Sun Mo, he gave up on that thought. He only used this method to impart some knowledge to Sun Mo.
This was the guidance of a secondary saint that others could not even hope to obtain.
Half a month pa.s.sed just like that, and the two of them arrived at the fifth level.
Hu Xingjiang looked at Sun Mo, feeling increasingly satisfied with him. Look at his learning ability. It was simply off the charts. No matter what it was, Sun Mo would understand it after he explained it once, and he’d also be able to draw inferences from it.
How nice would it be if this was his student!
Hu Xingjiang sighed. He wanted to ask Sun Mo if he wanted to take a rest. However, the entire prison suddenly shook. The snakes, insects, rats, and ants that were hiding in the corners and cracks in the walls also crawled out and surged in one direction like a tide.
“F*ck, what’s happening? An earthquake?”
Sun Mo panicked. “Teacher Hu, what should we do?”
Save the others?
Or to escape first?
The Prison of Desolation was underground. If it were to collapse, many people would be buried..