Actually, the opposite of what Lao Liu said was true.

It wasn't Jun Jixue who went to Lao Liu, but Lao Liu who went to Jun Jixue and took the Chun Qiu Jian (Spring and Autumn Scroll) from him.

The aura of righteousness on Lao Liu's body was something he borrowed from the Chun Qiu Jian through a sleight of hand. Although he couldn't directly fight people, he could still bluff them.

Lao Liu needed to arrange his next move in a way that would legitimately prevent him from using the Confucian righteousness.

The Jin Ru Zhuang (Confucian Restraining Posts) outside were the perfect solution to Lao Liu's problem.

If the unfettered Lao Liu was a fierce tiger who had sheathed its claws, deterring people from provoking him easily,

then the current Lao Liu was like a scorpion hidden in the sand, ready to deliver a fatal blow to its prey at any moment.

Yan Xing, however, only felt that Lao Liu was unfathomable and obediently said, "The Yan family ancestors left a selfish plan. When the Ban Xian Zhuang (Half Sage Manor) was built, they secretly constructed an escape tunnel."

"Only the head of the Yan family and the Great Confucian guarding the Stele Forest know about this tunnel."

Lao Liu said in a deep voice, "Where are the exit and entrance of the tunnel located?"

Yan Xing replied, "The exit is in the back mountain, and the entrance is in a corner of the Stele Forest."

"Hmm?" Lao Liu looked at Yan Xing. "You said the entrance is in the Stele Forest? If something drastic happens to Ban Xian Zhuang, you'll escape to the Stele Forest?"

Yan Xing lowered his head deeply and said, "In the ancestors' opinion, preserving the Yan family's elite was the key to continuing the family. As for the other disciples, they can only... only sacrifice themselves for the greater good."

"Hmm!" Lao Liu's expression turned cold, but he was secretly delighted. "Tell me! How do you enter the tunnel?"

Yan Xing explained the method of opening the tunnel in detail, and Lao Liu passed the message to us.

Although Ban Xian Zhuang had closed its mountain gate, it had not cut off communication. Coupled with Chen Shuyu's secret communication method, Lao Liu's message was successfully delivered to my hands.

Holding the message, I couldn't help but feel troubled. "How should we respond to the current situation?"

Butcher Wang said, "How about we split into three groups? Two groups enter the manor according to the routes on the map – one according to Old Qiao's instructions, and the other straight through the middle."

"Li Po, you and Ye Yang enter the manor through the Yan family's secret passage and go directly to the Stele Forest."

"We'll distract Xia Chuan, and you can take care of your business."

I pondered, "That won't work. You won't be able to attract his attention."

"Since Xia Chuan left traps in the underground tunnel, he must have surveillance. If I don't show up, he won't fall for it."

I said in a deep voice, "We'll all enter the Yan family's tunnel and go straight to the Stele Forest."

Butcher Wang said, "Xia Chuan should have calculated the approximate time of our return. If we don't show up, won't he become suspicious anyway?"

I shook my head and said, "Since Lao Liu can send us messages, it means he's okay. With that old fox's personality, he won't be so quiet. I estimate that his next step will be to turn Ban Xian Zhuang upside down."

"Let's go first!"

Facts proved that my judgment was correct.

When we quietly绕到 (raodao – circled around to) the back mountain of Ban Xian Zhuang, Lao Liu had already started to make his move inside Ban Xian Zhuang.

At that time, Yan Xing had been anxiously watching Lao Liu. "Sir, has Liang Jie Tang (Two Worlds Hall) replied yet?"

"If we keep waiting like this, how many more disciples will Ban Xian Zhuang lose?"

"Should we... should we take some action?"

Lao Liu shook his fan and said, "Yan Xing, let me ask you a question."

"In ancient times, civil officials were all Confucian disciples, especially during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Why were some of these people righteous, some evil, some loyal, some treacherous, some capable, and some枭雄 (xiao xiong – ambitious and unscrupulous)?"

Yan Xing lowered his head and said, "Student... Student doesn't know how to answer."

Lao Liu smiled and said, "It's not that you don't know how to answer, but that you don't dare to answer. Alright, go and rest! I can take care of the rest."

Yan Xing lowered his head even further. "Student wants to serve you by your side!"

Lao Liu smiled and said, "Since that's the case, it won't hurt for you to stay!"

"Do you know why I call myself: Chan Hun (Repentant Soul)?"

Without waiting for Yan Xing to answer, Lao Liu said, "The meaning of Chan Hun is repentance from the soul. Repenting of my own soul, and also leading others to repent."

"There is no one in this world who is without fault, only those who are at fault and do not know they are at fault."

"Only by questioning from the depths of the soul can one rectify one's heart and one's qi. Don't you think so?"

Yan Xing prostrated himself on the ground. "Student respectfully obeys teacher's teachings!"

When I later heard Lao Liu tell me about this process, I was confused. I specifically asked him, "What were you talking about?"

Lao Liu told me, "Actually, he didn't know what he was talking about either."

"If you want to fool someone more knowledgeable than you, you have to pretend to be profound and say something that you yourself don't understand, but sounds somewhat reasonable."

"You give them an idea, and they will think about it themselves, and the more they think about it, the more profound they will find it."

"It's like that joke on the internet:"

"A science graduate student asked a question in a group: If a drop of water falls from a high altitude, what effect will it have? As a result, a group of people listed formulas, calculated, and used gravity acceleration and thousands of meters of altitude."

"Finally, someone asked in the group: Haven't you ever been rained on?"

"This is the habitual way of thinking. The more knowledgeable a person is, the stronger their habitual way of thinking is. You give them a point, and they may think of many things."

The point that Lao Liu gave Yan Xing was to make him deeply believe in himself, so that Lao Liu could arrange his next plan.