Volume 3: Heavenly Tribulation Chapter 102: Don't Understand

  The white paper is spread out, the brush is raised, and Junna proudly raises her head, striking a "come on" pose, clearly confident and well-prepared.

  Chen Jianchen habitually held a ruler, with one hand behind his back, pacing in the study. With each step, he would open his mouth and recite a new character. Then, Nao Nao heard it and quickly picked up her pen to write on the white paper.

  One thought, one write. The speed is quite fast, and it won't take long before the 30 new characters taught yesterday are all read out loud, and Joana has also written them down, filling up three sheets of white paper.

  Chen Jianchen took over the white paper and looked at it, unable to help but laugh awkwardly.

  Jiona couldn't help but look over and said with a huff: "What are you laughing at?"

  Chen Jianchen's face turned stern: "You must address me as 'sir'!" In the classroom, a teacher must maintain sufficient dignity to keep the class in order. Even if Jiana had multiple clones, she wouldn't be able to match him in this regard.

  Miss Joana said with a hint of annoyance: "What are you smiling at, sir?"

  Chen Jianchen pointed at the characters above with his ruler and said: "Huangfu Xiaoyu, your handwriting is basically all correct."

  Joanna puffed out her chest and said proudly, "Needless to say!" She had been writing by the candlelight last night, working diligently for a whole hour.

  Chen Jianchen's tone changed and he continued: "The words are correct, but the font size is inconsistent, the strokes are twisted and crooked, and it doesn't look good."

  Jiona's handwriting on the white paper was as ugly as Xiaoyi's when she first started writing with her paws, with loose strokes and a chaotic structure, and if you didn't look carefully, you couldn't even make out what the characters were.

  "As long as I write it correctly, who cares if it looks good or bad."

  Chen Jianchen smiled: "The words are like the person, the difference between good and bad is obvious. For example, if you wear clothes just to cover your body and hide your shame, why bother wearing stylish ones? Just wrapping a piece of cloth around would be enough."

  Jianna puffed out her chest and said: "I have nothing to say to you..."

  Chen Jianchen pressed his advantage and counterattacked: "Then do you know why you can't outdo me?"

  Jianna was speechless... She was usually sharp-tongued, but for some reason, she became tongue-tied in front of Chen Jianchen and couldn't express the many thoughts in her mind.

  Chen Jianchen said calmly: "Because I have justice on my side, heaven and earth are big, reason is the biggest."

  Jianna was still unconvinced in her heart, and she muttered to herself: The heavens are vast, the earth is vast, but a fist is the most powerful... If it were someone else, Ben Xiaoqiang's sister would have punched you in the mouth with one fist, smashing that mouth of yours that spouts flowery nonsense, and see how you can still come up with any more crap.

  "Huangfu Xiao'e's sister, grind the ink!"

  "Upon hearing this, Joana immediately raised her head: 'Sir, are you intentionally sending me on a fool's errand?'"

  "No. Students grinding ink for their teacher is a normal way of showing respect."

  Chen Jianchen made Zhenna do this and that, mainly to grind off her rebellious edges, severely cutting her temper, not letting her rebel for the sake of rebelling.

  Jianna was still unwilling to take action, but after being glared at by Chen Jianchen, she felt guilty and nervous, so she rolled up her sleeves, revealing her jade-like wrists, grabbed the ink block without understanding its weight, and rubbed it fiercely on the inkstone.

  Splash!

  She was too vigorous and ink splashed everywhere, suddenly splashing onto her face, a little bit, like black plum blossoms, very comical.

  Chen Jianchen shook his head, looking very disappointed. "Alright, you're not grinding ink, you're fighting with it! Is this ink block your enemy or something? Hmm, today I'm adding an extra learning task - learn how to grind ink properly. Xiang'er should know how to do it, go ask her to teach you. Tomorrow, come back and show me again. Don't look at me like that, as the saying goes: 'When three people walk together, one of them must be my teacher.' Xiang'er may be a servant, but she also has some good qualities..."

  He paused for a moment, then said seriously: "Huangfu Xiaoyu, the master wants you to learn how to grind ink, but it's not just about learning how to grind ink. It's about teaching you an attitude towards learning, do you understand?"

  "I don't understand!"

  Jiona suddenly threw away the inkstone in her hand and rushed out of the study room with great agitation.

  "Little sister Xiaoxiao, little sister Xiaoxiao!"

  Xiao Ju stomped her foot and gave Chen Jianchen a white eye, then hurriedly chased after him.

  Chen Jianchen muttered to himself, "Even if one cultivates for a hundred years but doesn't understand the teachings, their inherent nature will always be hard to change, just like a stubborn child's regret... Whether it's vented out or suppressed in one's heart, neither is a good thing..."

  Compared to Yining, Jiona is also a fox spirit, but her birth and cultivation are far superior. However, their personalities differ greatly. Yining is knowledgeable and well-mannered, showing exceptional learning ability and ambition; whereas Jiona is arrogant, impulsive, and hot-headed, often letting her primal instincts dictate her actions.

  In comparison, the difference is obvious.

  The students left, and the class naturally couldn't continue. Chen Jianchen didn't think there was anything wrong with that. The way of teaching is to be strict when it's time to be strict, and to relax when it's time to relax. Letting Jiaona figure it out for herself would be a success. If she can't figure it out, then another round of criticism is unavoidable.

  Chen Jianchen always believed that time was on his side.

  No need to attend classes, Chen Jianchen was delighted to have some leisure time, so he walked out of Hu Village and went around to take a look and observe the terrain.

  Huzhuang relies on the mountain and is beside the water, with a willow forest in front of the gate. The geographical location is extremely superior, and the momentum is extraordinary. It's likely that Huangfu Yewai established this large manor with great effort... Although he is an old fox spirit who has attained the Tao, he guards the Taoist temple and won't do anything reckless or thieving to accumulate wealth.

  Consequently, one will be tainted by wealth and material possessions, gain gold and silver but lose faith, ultimately losing more than they gain.

  The moral foundation is like a dike, built with great difficulty and hardship, but once a small flaw appears, it will lead to disastrous consequences like "a thousand-mile dike collapsing due to an ant hole..."

  In the Hu Zhuang, there were more than a dozen servants, but they were all ordinary people, local residents of Suzhou. When they saw Chen Jianchen come out, they respectfully greeted him, and it was clear that Huangfu had instructed them not to neglect their guest.

  Thinking about this, it's a bit absurd. Two fox spirits who have attained the Tao, father and daughter, set foot in the mortal world, transformed into ordinary people, living in the suburbs for many years without being discovered, nor did any cultivators come to stir up trouble, hiding in plain sight, joyful and carefree. If the truth of the matter were to be made public, what kind of stormy repercussions would it bring about?

  Chen Jianchen also thought of the current court situation, which seemed to be peaceful and prosperous on the surface but actually had signs of a great collapse: corrupt officials and evil gentry were everywhere, and even the Imperial Guards, who were considered the foundation of the country, were arrogant and lawless, bullying and killing people at will... The current emperor was also unusually enthusiastic about introducing Buddhist monks into the Central Plains, wanting to compete with Taoism, which would inevitably lead to endless conflicts between the two religions...

  It can be summed up in one sentence: A storm is brewing!

  The overall situation is about to become chaotic.

  When people encounter chaotic times, where should they go and what path should they take?

  Looking up and gazing out, the mountains stretch far and wide, with rain and wind hiding many dangers. Chen Jianchen also has much he doesn't understand.