“May I ask who you are?”
“I’m a Mo practitioner, Mo Li.” Upon hearing Xu Xuan’s question, the newcomer removed her bamboo hat, revealing a beautiful face around twenty years old, unadorned yet strikingly lovely.
“You are from the Mo Family? Then who are these two carrying the stretcher?” With her response, Xu Xuan seemed to understand something. After all, having spent over a decade in this world, he had heard a bit about various schools of thought.
Although this world lacks cultivators, it is home to Qi Practitioners, of which there are hundreds of sects. The most famous among them are the Nine Streams and Ten Schools. The Mo Family is recognized as one of the Upper None Streams, known in later generations as the origin of chivalry.
“Mechanism people.” Seeing Xu Xuan gaze at the two stretcher bearers, Mo Li smiled and the two humbly removed their hats to reveal wooden faces.
“I am Jian Xuan, a disciple of the Sword Hall. Thank you for your help.” After checking his clothes, Xu Xuan cupped his fists in greeting.
“No need to thank me. By the time I arrived, you had already killed all the monsters in the town. I only helped carry you a bit because you overexerted yourself.” Mo Li returned the courtesy and smiled.
“Came to help?”
“Yes, I noticed the movement of the Mist Realm and thought to save as many people as possible, but unfortunately, I was still a step too late.” Mo Li’s expression turned slightly somber as she added, “I wonder how many people from the Sword Hall are still alive now?”
“I’m not sure, but it shouldn’t be too many. I didn’t expect that you would come to save people in the face of such a terrifying Mist Realm.”
“To save those we love is what the Mo Family should do.”
“Those you love? Do you have a beloved in the Sword Hall?” Hearing Mo Li’s words, Xu Xuan examined her closely.
“Not just in the Sword Hall, but also the towns below the mountain—everyone is someone I love.” The woman smiled at Xu Xuan’s inquiry and corrected, “Not one person, but all people, including you.”
“What kind of large-hearted statements are these?”
“What is a large-hearted person?”
“Uh… never mind that. I’m more curious about your statement. You say that the people from the Sword Hall and the towns below are all your loved ones?”
“That’s not entirely accurate. To put it more precisely, all human kin in the world are those I love.”
“Not just a large-hearted person, this is a TM super large-hearted person!!! And a remarkably magnanimous one at that!!!” Unable to help himself, Xu Xuan glanced at her chest and exclaimed, “What a big heart!!”
“It seems you don’t know much about our Mo Family.” Despite Xu Xuan’s expression, Mo Li maintained a gentle smile. Then she said, “Jian Ai, Fei Gong is our Mo Family’s core philosophy. Jian Ai refers to great love, the love for everyone in the world, without distinction of quantity, size, or order, lovingly and equally for every person in the world. With everyone equal in the world and all caring for each other, there will be no more disputes, and humanity will be united like never before. This is the great path that we Mo practitioners pursue. Naturally, we will love everyone equally, including you.”
“Jian Ai, is that how it is? So you came as soon as you found out the Sword Hall was trapped in the Mist Realm.”
“Yes, wherever there are people in trouble, we Mo Family will help.” Mo Li proudly said.
“…” Xu Xuan had heard of the various schools of thought both in this life and the last, but his understanding of their core philosophies often remained in stereotypes. However, this era was quite strange; even though the geography and times weren’t quite like those of his previous history, some things appeared bizarrely consistent.
“By the way, I wonder what your plans are next?” At that moment, Mo Li spoke again.
“I’m not sure. I was thinking of going to find my senior brother Jian Gang at the Sword Hall. He seems to be at the Academy of Ji Xia in the State of Qi.” Xu Xuan contemplated before speaking. There was something he hadn’t mentioned, which was to ask if his senior brother had any way to break the contract with the Chiyou Sword, especially after seeing those scenes while he was unconscious; he wanted to get rid of the sword even more.
“The State of Qi? This route will pass through the Eastern Chu Kingdom. I happen to have some matters to attend to in Eastern Chu, so why don’t we travel together?”
“Ah? Of course, no problem!” After all, who could refuse the invitation of a beautiful big sister with a grand heart?
…
More than a month passed just like that.
In the ruined temple early in the morning, Xu Xuan was awakened by a slap. Yes, he was awakened by a hand. Moreover, he recognized this hand; it was the one he had chopped off in Sword Hero Town. What surprised Xu Xuan was that it had followed Mo Li on this journey.
After all, who could refuse to travel with a gorgeous beauty? And especially one with a gentle big sister vibe.
As for the hand, it was a “survivor” Mo Li had discovered in Headless Town, which she had originally intended to deal with. However, seeing it continually kneeling and begging for mercy, the big sister seemed to soften and eventually took the hand in, treating it as a pet.
However, this hand didn’t seem to have a good attitude toward Xu Xuan, occasionally launching sneak attacks on him. Conversely, when in Mo Li’s possession, it became very docile and even displayed animal-like stretch gestures in her grip.
As for the previous night, Xu Xuan and Mo Li had spent the night in a ruined temple, and the reason he needed to be awakened in the morning was that they had talked for a long time before falling asleep. Without setting an alarm, he likely wouldn’t have been able to wake up at all.
And what did a man and a woman discuss at night?
Of course, communism and core values…
After agreeing to travel with Mo Li, their communication naturally increased. Over these days, he gained a certain understanding of some of the Mo Family’s philosophies and learned a lot about the various schools of thought from Mo Li.
Her erudition and flexible mind led Xu Xuan to question whether she was also a traveler from another world.
Especially since some of the theories included in the Mo Family’s philosophies, such as “valuing the worthy,” closely matched the later generations’ ideas of democratic elections in communism. Upon hearing these concepts, Xu Xuan unconsciously uttered the term “communism,” which piqued Mo Li’s interest.
She insisted on discussing the core of communism with Xu Xuan for a long time, and it was the first time Xu Xuan saw her exhibit such a curious expression.
However, honestly speaking, compared to the Mo Family’s ideas and philosophies, Xu Xuan was more interested in the Mechanism Techniques of the Mo Family, but unfortunately, only those who became Mo disciples could learn them…
After traveling with Mo Li for a while, Xu Xuan truly understood what kind of sect the Mo Family was. Sometimes, when he was with Mo Li, he even felt a sense of shame. The reason was simple; whenever Mo Li arrived at a place where villagers lived, she would help the local people. Whether it was working in the fields, improving farming tools, or teaching techniques for sustainable living.
In each place Mo Li visited, she would undoubtedly earn the love and respect of the locals. Of course, this journey extended the time spent on the road threefold, but Xu Xuan really didn’t have the heart to voice any objections, considering she was doing nothing but good deeds.
For instance, giving some money to homeless orphans and sending them to the city to learn skilled trades from Mo Family members. Helping villagers improve farm tools and production tools. Sometimes even helping those who couldn’t plant their fields in time.
Watching such a beautiful woman toil in the fields, Xu Xuan naturally felt reluctant to remain idle.
It was as if she had a special charisma; being around her made it uncomfortable not to help others. Xu Xuan even had moments where he felt unworthy to be human if he didn’t do something, as she had already done so much.
As for why they were sleeping in a ruined temple, it wasn’t due to a lack of funds; after all, Mo Li had taken many of the town’s finances while dealing with Headless Town, and with the townsfolk dead, these assets were now unowned. One could say Mo Li was wealthy beyond imagination now.
However, on their journey, Mo Li continued to save money wherever possible. Meals were only chosen to meet the minimum standards, and as for alcohol, it was completely absent, making Xu Xuan reluctant to bring out the gourd of wine he had brought with him.
Xu Xuan had even asked her why she didn’t improve her living conditions.
Mo Li’s answer was quite simple: “Frugality is one of the precepts of the Mo Family.”
“But we have quite a bit of wealth now, don’t we?”
“Yes, and so we should maintain the most basic living standards. As for the excess funds, I will send them to the Mo Family headquarters to help more people in the world.” Mo Li smiled and said, “Not only me, but every Mo disciple must donate a portion of what they earn after learning their skills, retaining only what is necessary for basic living.”
“Isn’t that a bit too harsh? Moreover, there are too many people in the world; can we really help everyone?” Xu Xuan did not quite agree with the Mo Family’s approach, but Mo Li gave him a rebuttal that he could not argue against.
“The common people struggle too much. The Mo Family has never been a school of empty talk but rather one of concrete action. To help the world, wealth is far from enough. We can only do our best; helping one more person means one less person in need. Additionally, frugality is something we proposed, and we should lead by example.”
“…By the way, aren’t you afraid that those managing the money might misuse the wealth?”
“Not at all.” Mo Li smiled and said.
“There are no absolutes in the world.”
“Only because we are the Mo Family.” Mo Li said with a smile that radiated an indescribable confidence.
It wasn’t until much later that Xu Xuan understood just how strict the Mo Family’s rules were; even its higher-ups could eliminate their own kin in the face of these regulations…
