Fang Yun had been to the Confucius Mansion once.
It is not the largest residence of the Kong family in Kongcheng, nor is it the Confucius Mansion in Qufu, but the place where Confucius lived after he was canonized. It is now part of the Confucius Temple.
The Confucius Mansion is often closed and only opens on particularly important occasions.
Today, Fang Yun came to visit in the middle of the night, dressed in blue.
The Confucius Mansion is a large mansion with nine courtyards. The plaque on the main entrance reads "Holy Mansion". Legend has it that Mencius wrote the inscription himself after the Confucius Mansion was built.
After that there are two doors and a screen door... Fang Yun walked all the way down.
To the back garden.
In the back garden of the Confucius Mansion, there is a pavilion standing quietly, an old man sitting alone, with a table and a pot of tea.
A night of moonlight.
Fang Yun stepped forward, climbed up the steps to the pavilion, and looked at the old man.
The old man's hair was draped at the back and tied up in the middle. White, black, gray and silver hair were mixed together. It was not dirty, but a little shabby.
The old man's face was covered with brown age spots, like diseased vegetable leaves.
The old man's eyes were extremely turbid, like amber in dirty water, but the moment he saw Fang Yun, the turbidity disappeared, replaced by a pair of eyes as clear as a child's with distinct black and white.
"Greetings, Duke Yansheng." Fang Yun bowed and saluted, just like the last time they met.
The old man smiled. What was strange was that although his face was old, his teeth were as white as jade, and his lips and tongue were as new as ever.
"Sit down and talk." Duke Yansheng flicked his index finger, and a teacup with a slight notch on the rim slid gently and stopped on the edge of the stone table in front of Fang Yun.
In the eyes of ordinary people, this teacup is so shabby, but in Fang Yun’s eyes, the holy power of the teacup is like fire, rising three feet straight up.
The teapot flew up and poured clear brown tea into the teacup.
When the tea falls into the cup, there is a sound like thunder.
The teapot fell, and the tea in the teacup swayed slightly, making a sound like a tsunami.
In the tea, there was a black tea dragon struggling hard.
Fang Yun lifted his robe and sat on the stone bench.
"Thank you, Lord Yan!" Fang Yun was so happy when he saw the tea dragon that he didn't even taste it. Instead, he drank it all in one gulp like a cow chewing a peony. The tea and the tea dragon went straight into his throat.
Fang Yun heard bursts of dragon roars and thundering sounds starting from his throat. The sounds went straight into his stomach and spread to his limbs and bones. His skin, muscles, blood vessels, bones and bone marrow were all shaking.
This is the dragon tea picked and cultivated by Confucius himself. It is most suitable for the human race and the only one in the world.
Fang Yun held his breath throughout the whole process. After a long while, Fang Yun let out a breath reluctantly.
Then I saw a white cloud dragon rising straight into the sky, and in an instant it turned into a cloud thousands of miles long, constantly changing its shape in the sky.
“Good tea!”
Fang Yun only felt that his whole body was washed and felt extremely comfortable.
“It may not be as good as Mr. Fang’s magic tea.” The old man’s tone was gentle and very pleasant, like spring water flowing, without the slightest sense of oldness.
"My tea has no other advantages except that it is older," Fang Yun said modestly.
Duke Yansheng smiled slightly and said, "I wonder what important matter has brought Saint Fang to visit you tonight?"
Fang Yun looked at Duke Yansheng, looked into his clear and penetrating eyes, and said, "Recently, I have been thinking about one thing: do the scholars in this world respect the Confucius family or Confucius?"
There was a loud thunder in the sky above Confucius, and it disappeared in an instant.
Duke Yansheng slowly picked up the teacup, took a sip, put the teacup back, and then habitually tapped the side of the cup with his right index finger before withdrawing his hand.
"What do you think is the difference between our ancestors and the ancestors of all the worlds?" Lord Yansheng did not raise his head to look at Fang Yun, but stared at the tea dragon in the cup.
"Learn." Fang Yun said only one word.
Duke Yansheng frowned slightly, then raised his head and looked at Fang Yun.
"Why?"
Fang Yun raised his lips slightly and said, "Do you know how the races in the myriad worlds are different from the human race?"
Duke Yansheng shook his head slowly and said, "My knowledge is far inferior to that of the sage Fang, so I dare not show my weakness."
"cheap."
Duke Yansheng raised his eyebrows.
Fang Yun explained: "It means being humble, being inferior to others, and being servile."
"This... is it always like this?"
Fang Yun said: "Of course not. There is right and wrong in learning, and there is right and wrong in being humble."
Duke Yansheng shook his head again and said, "I am not very knowledgeable and it is difficult for me to understand."
Fang Yun said: "I have traveled through the myriad worlds and once encountered a very interesting tribe. This tribe itself is not strong, but it has an extreme temperament and is particularly good at infighting. This tribe became strong... well, it was strong for a few decades at most, and then it split because of infighting and began countless years of exile. Moreover, it continued to fight among itself and was constantly suppressed and attacked by other tribes. During its exile, this tribe created a fictitious saint ancestor, believing that this saint ancestor was omnipotent, the creator of heaven and earth, and the only strongest person."
Duke Yansheng's eyes moved slightly, but he did not speak.
Fang Yun smiled and said, "Sir, you will definitely find the problem. A tribe that is not that strong keeps failing. If they create an omnipotent ancestor, isn't that the same as using their own experience to deny the ancestor? If the ancestor is really omnipotent, if the ancestor really has pity on them, why doesn't he help them? So, the people of this tribe invented a magical thing, innate sin. They created a false story, thinking that their ancestors were perfect and loved by the ancestor, but because they made mistakes, they fell into the present. Everyone in their tribe carries the innate sin of their ancestors. The reason they were exiled, the reason they fought among themselves, and the reason they suffered, was because of this innate sin. In other words, all their suffering was deserved."
Duke Yansheng exclaimed: "I don't understand this ethnic group, but I have to admit that this ethnic group's methods are clever. I have concluded that this ethnic group is not actually strong, but relying on this virtual saint ancestor, that is, the spiritual common ancestor, it has become extremely tenacious. Once they are given a stable soil, they will take root and survive because of this common ancestor. However, as you said, this ethnic group is still too self-deprecating and despised by the human race."
"I wonder if you have thought of another possibility?" Fang Yun asked.
Duke Yansheng thought for a moment and nodded, "That's right. This kind of group will inevitably go to two extremes. Either they become exceptionally kind because of their innate sins, or they use their innate sins as an excuse to commit crimes, thus becoming hypocritical, or cruel, and losing their humanity."
Fang Yun exclaimed: "As expected of the Duke of Yansheng, you saw the truth at a glance. This ethnic group has split many times. Some people have become kind, some have become hypocritical, and some have become cruel."
"But why do you say there is right or wrong when you despise yourself so much?" Duke Yansheng asked in confusion.
Fang Yun smiled slightly and said, "Some people look down on themselves, but what if a tribe looks down on even their Saint Ancestor?"
"Great!" Duke Yansheng understood immediately and couldn't help but praise.