Chapter 8 - Mo Li.

"May I ask who you are?"

"A Mohist, Mo Li." Hearing Xu Xuan's question, the newcomer removed her bamboo hat, revealing a beautiful face, unadorned, of a woman around twenty years old.

"You are a Mohist? And these two carrying the stretcher?" Hearing the other party's question, Xu Xuan seemed to understand something. After all, he had been in this world for more than ten years and had heard a little about the Hundred Schools of Thought.

Although there are no immortal cultivators in this world, there are Qi Practitioners, and there are as many as a hundred sects of Qi Practitioners. Among them, the most famous are the Nine Streams, Ten Schools. The Mohist school is one of the sects known as the Upper Nine Streams. It is also widely recognized by later generations as the originating sect of chivalry.

"Automatons." Seeing Xu Xuan look at the two stretcher bearers, Mo Li said with a smile. At the same time, the two very human-like figures removed their bamboo hats, revealing wooden faces.

"I am Jianxuan, a disciple of the Sword Hall. Thank you for your help." After looking at the two very human-like automatons, Xu Xuan straightened his clothes, then clasped his fists towards the person in front of him.

"You're welcome. By the time I arrived, you had already killed all the monsters in the town. Ultimately, I just gave you a ride because you were exhausted." Mo Li returned the gesture and said with a smile.

"Came here?"

"Yes, I observed the movement of the fog realm and wanted to save as many people as possible, but unfortunately, I was still a step too late." Mo Li said, a hint of sadness appearing on her face: "I wonder how many people in the Sword Hall are still alive now?"

"I don't know either, but probably not many. I never thought that facing such a terrifying fog realm, you would still think of coming to rescue people."

"Saving those we love is what we Mohists are supposed to do."

"Those you love? Do you have a lover in the Sword Hall?" Hearing Mo Li's words, Xu Xuan couldn't help but scrutinize her.

"Not just the Sword Hall, but also the towns at the foot of the mountain, everyone is someone I love." Hearing Xu Xuan's question, the woman smiled and corrected him: "Not a specific person, but everyone, including you."

"What kind of 'King of the Sea' statement is that?"

"What is a 'King of the Sea'?"

"Uh... please don't mind that. I'm more curious, you said that the people of the Sword Hall and the towns at the foot of the mountain are all people you love?"

"Not exactly. To be precise, all human compatriots in the world are people I love."

"Not a 'King of the Sea,' this is a 'Super King of the Sea'!!! And one with an incredibly vast heart!!!" Unable to help but complain, Xu Xuan involuntarily looked at her chest: "What a big heart!!"

"It seems you don't know much about our Mohist school." Seeing Xu Xuan's expression, Mo Li's lips still held a gentle smile. Then she said: "Universal Love and Non-Aggression is originally the core philosophy of our Mohist school. 'Universal Love' means great love, to love everyone in this world, without distinction of quantity, size, or priority, to love every single person in the world equally. If everyone in the world is equal, and everyone in the world holds love for all others, then there will be no more disputes in the world, and humanity will be united as never before. This is the Great Dao that our Mohist school pursues. Therefore, we Mohists love everyone in the world equally. Of course, that includes you."

"Universal Love, so that's what it means? So you rushed over after discovering the Sword Hall was engulfed by the fog realm."

"Yes, wherever people in the world encounter trouble, we Mohists will help." Mo Li said proudly, puffing out her chest.

"..." Although Xu Xuan had heard of the Hundred Schools of Thought in both his past and present lives, his understanding of their core philosophies often remained at the level of stereotypes. However, this era was quite strange; although the national geography and times were different from the history of his previous life, some things inexplicably appeared consistently.

"By the way, what are your plans next?" Just then, Mo Li asked again.

"I don't know. I'm thinking of going to my senior brother Gan Jiang from the Sword Hall. I heard he's at the Jixia Academy in the State of Qi." Xu Xuan thought for a moment and said. There was one thing he didn't mention, which was that he wanted to ask his senior brother if there was any way to break his contract with the Chiyou Sword. Especially after seeing those visions while unconscious, he wanted to get rid of this sword even more.

"The State of Qi? This journey requires passing through the Eastern Chu State, and I happen to have some matters to attend to in Eastern Chu. How about we travel together?"

"Oh? Of course, no problem!" After all, who would refuse a travel invitation from a beautiful older sister with a vast heart?

...

More than a month passed like this.

In the dilapidated temple early in the morning, Xu Xuan was woken up by a slap. That's right, what woke him up was a hand. And Xu Xuan recognized this hand; it was the very hand he had cut off earlier in Jianxia Town. What Xu Xuan hadn't expected was that it would actually join him and Mo Li on their journey.

After all, who could refuse to travel with a great beauty? Especially a gentle, older sister-like beauty. Read at Novels Haven (novelshaven.com)

As for the hand, it was a 'survivor' Mo Li found in Headless Town. She originally intended to deal with it, but after seeing it repeatedly make gestures like kneeling and begging for mercy, the older sister seemed to soften, eventually taking in the hand and treating it as a pet.

However, the hand's attitude towards Xu Xuan didn't seem very good, often ambushing him. Conversely, when it was with Mo Li, it would become very docile, even stretching its body like a small animal in her hands.

As for last night, Xu Xuan and Mo Li spent the night in a dilapidated temple. The reason he needed to be woken up in the morning was that Xu Xuan and Mo Li had talked for a long time before sleeping. If he hadn't set an alarm, he probably wouldn't have woken up at all.

As for what a man and a woman talked about at night?

Of course, Communism and Core Values...

After agreeing to travel with Mo Li, their communication naturally increased. Over these days, he gained some understanding of Mohist philosophies, and also learned a lot about the Hundred Schools of Thought from Mo Li.

Her extensive knowledge and flexible mind also made Xu Xuan wonder if she might also be a transmigrator.

Especially some of the Mohist philosophies, including 'Valuing the Worthy,' almost perfectly coincided with later generations' Communist democratic election systems. After hearing these ideas, Xu Xuan subconsciously blurted out the word 'Communism.' In turn, this word piqued Mo Li's interest.

She actually insisted on pulling Xu Xuan into a long discussion about the core of Communism. This was the first time Xu Xuan had seen Mo Li with such a curious, childlike expression.

Honestly, compared to some of the Mohist ideas and philosophies, Xu Xuan was more interested in Mohist automatons and mechanisms. Unfortunately, this was something only Mohist disciples could learn...

After traveling with Mo Li for some time, Xu Xuan truly understood what kind of sect the Mohist school was. Sometimes, when he was with Mo Li, Xu Xuan even felt a sense of shame. The reason was simple: wherever Mo Li went, to any place where villagers lived, she would help the local people. Whether it was working in the fields, improving farm tools, or teaching skills to sustain livelihoods.

It could be said that wherever Mo Li went, she would inevitably gain the love and respect of the locals. Of course, this also extended their travel time by more than three times. But with Mo Li, Xu Xuan truly felt too embarrassed to offer any suggestions. After all, she was doing great deeds.

For example, she would give money to homeless orphans and tell them to contact Mohists in the city to learn life skills. She would help villagers improve farm tools and production tools. Sometimes, she would even help families who hadn't had time to cultivate their fields.

Watching such a beautiful woman constantly laboring in the fields, Xu Xuan naturally felt too embarrassed to stand idly by.

She seemed to possess a special kind of infectiousness; being around her and not helping people, or having the ability to do good deeds but not doing them, would make one feel very uncomfortable. Xu Xuan even felt at one point that if he didn't do something, he wouldn't be worthy of being human. After all, she had already done so much.

As for why the two slept in a dilapidated temple? It wasn't because they lacked money. After all, when Mo Li dealt with Headless Town, she conveniently took a lot of the town's finances. Since the townspeople were dead, these assets became ownerless. It could be said that Mo Li was now rolling in money.

But along the way, Mo Li still saved money whenever possible. For meals, she only chose food that met the minimum standards. As for drinking alcohol, there was none. This made Xu Xuan too embarrassed to take out the gourd of wine he had filled for himself.

Along the way, Xu Xuan also asked her why she didn't improve her living conditions.

Mo Li's answer was simple: "Frugality is one of our Mohist tenets."

"But don't we have a lot of wealth now?"

"Yes, that's why we should maintain the most basic lifestyle. As for the extra money, I will send it to the Mohist headquarters to help more people in the world." Mo Li said with a smile: "It's not just me; every Mohist disciple, after mastering their skills, must hand over a portion of their earned wealth, keeping only what is necessary for basic living."

"That's a bit too strict, isn't it? Moreover, there are too many people in the world; you can't save them all this way, can you?" Xu Xuan didn't quite agree with the Mohist approach, but Mo Li gave him an answer he couldn't refute.

"The lives of the common people are too hard. Our Mohist school has never been a sect of empty talk, but one of real action. To help everyone in the world, this wealth is far from enough. We can only do our best; for every person we help, there is one less unfortunate person in the world. And frugality was originally proposed by our predecessors, so we should practice it ourselves."

"...Speaking of which, aren't you afraid that those managing this money will embezzle the wealth?"

"No, they won't." Mo Li said with a smile.

"Nothing is absolute in this world."

"Because we are Mohists." Mo Li still smiled, her smile conveying an indescribable confidence.

It wasn't until much later that Xu Xuan truly understood how strict the Mohist rules were; Mohist leaders could even kill their closest relatives in the face of their regulations...