Chapter 510: Two Old Men
After the old bookman recited “I desire nothing more than righteousness” ten times, Shen Mo asked, “Who remembers what comes after this line?”
Du Lai looked at Fu Miaoxue.
Fu Miaoxue rolled her eyes, “Don’t look at me, I only remember the first two parts!”
Shen Mo looked at Bai Youwei.
Bai Youwei let out an irritated sigh, “Fine, I know.”
Du Lai and Fu Miaoxue were confused.
Shen Mo told them, “Wait here for a while.”
“Where are you going?” Du Lai asked in confusion.
“Outside.” Shen Mo glanced at Bai Youwei, “We have something to discuss.”
He led Bai Youwei outside the second door.
As Du Lai was puzzled, he faintly heard a lowered conversation from outside, like an old man sighing heavily, “Ah, this is a classic verse that every junior high student must memorize…”
“I didn’t attend junior high!” Bai Youwei’s voice overwhelmed his.
The old man was silent.
Fu Miaoxue tightly clung to Du Lai’s arm, whispering, “It’s so scary~ Another old man has suddenly appeared…”
Du Lai frowned, looking towards the threshold.
After a few seconds, an elderly voice from outside recited, “Life is what I desire, but there’s something I desire more than life itself, thus I wouldn’t abandon it for trifling gain; death is what I detest, but there’s something I detest more than death itself, thus there are troubles that cannot be avoided!”
The old bookman inside the door, a little startled, responded, “If there’s nothing we desire more than life, then why wouldn’t we do whatever it takes to prolong it?”
The old man outside insisted, “If there’s nothing we detest more than death, then why wouldn’t we deter troubles at any cost?”
The Old Bookman responded again, “Thus, there are things more precious than prolonging life; thus, there are hardships one wouldn’t avoid at any cost!”
The old man countered again, “Precisely! There are things we desire more than life itself, and things we detest more than death itself!”
“And it’s not just the wise who know this…”
“Everyone knows it, only the wise do not lose sight of it!”
These two old men, one responding to the other. Back and forth between them!
One with full expression!
The other, passionately eloquent!
One with robust power!
The other, melodiously graceful!
In this gloomy old house, two old men passionately intoning together, reciting the entire verse of “Fish is my desire”!
Fu Miaoxue was terrified.
Listening to two old men reciting poems in the middle of the night, it was just too damn scary!
Finally, when they finished reciting, the old bookman laughed heartily three times:
“Splendid! Splendid! You are all so talented, with your ready wit and profound knowledge, I am truly impressed! Your esteemed presence brightens up my humble abode!”
He bowed to them, “Please, come in, please come in quickly——”
As he spoke, he pushed open the main hall door with a loud thud!
Fu Miaoxue let out a short scream, then jumped into Du Lai’s arms!
Du Lai’s face looked even worse than hers!
(After all, he is not a puppet, his expressions are more vivid.)
Inside the brightly lit hall was a long blood-red table with fruit and incense in the middle and high-backed chairs on either side, each occupied by a paper figure!
The paper figures were made of white paper, with painted black eyes and red mouth. They were dressed in exquisitely vivid paper robes!
The old bookman with white hair bowed to the two paper figures, saying, “Father, mother, we have guests from afar. I invite them to sit for a while.”
Fu Miaoxue clung to Du Lai’s neck tightly. If she were still alive, she’d surely be crying by now!
Du Lai was being strangled to the point of gasping for air.
When Shen Mo and Bai Youwei came back and saw the paper figures in the hall, their expressions shifted.
After the old bookman explained the situation to the paper figures, he walked out to the door of the hall and bowed to them, “Esteemed guests, please come in quickly——”