“Benevolence…”

Aqing muttered, saying, “Aqing, lacking benevolence?”

She lowered her head and looked at the bamboo tube in her arms.

“Does that mean… I shouldn’t raise bugs?”

Chen Changsheng shook his head and said, “The art of Gu insects isn’t wrong for raising bugs. What’s wrong is the way you raise them.”

“It’s like what you did, Aqing, putting dozens of bugs together to fight and kill, just to find the strongest one. True, this method is very efficient. But it’s inhumane. As spirits of Heaven and Earth, we should have a kind heart towards all living creatures in the world.”

Aqing pressed her lips together and asked, “Then… how can I find Xiao Qing?”

Chen Changsheng said, “There are many other ways, but you need a wise eye.”

“For example, like the peaches at your home.”

Chen Changsheng went on, “The Peach Grove is so big, with countless nice peaches. But if you want to pick the tastiest one, you need enough knowledge about peaches. That’s the way of experience.”

Aqing nodded. “Yeah, I know. The ones with golden fuzz are the best.”

Chen Changsheng said, “Not just that. Look at how bright red they are, and how heavy they feel. Usually, the brightest red and decently heavy ones are the sweetest and juiciest.”

Aqing fell into deep thought.

The deep frown on Yan Huanglou’s face eased up too.

He said to Chen Changsheng, “You’d be good at teaching. Actually, dressed like that, you look like a schoolteacher.”

Chen Changsheng said, “I can explain small truths well. As for the Great Dao…”

He shook his head. He felt it was a complete mess to him.

Afraid he’d mislead students.

Aqing looked up. “Aqing gets it now!”

She stared at Chen Changsheng. “Just… just see the bugs as peaches! Then I can find the strongest one.”

“So this way…”

“No bugs need to die. Right?”

Chen Changsheng reached out and patted Aqing’s head. He smiled, “Exactly. You understanding this shows you’re clever.”

Aqing grinned, but soon frowned again. “But this is really hard, isn’t it?”

Chen Changsheng said, “Naturally, it’s not a simple idea. When finding peaches, you don’t know which one is best at first either.”

Aqing blinked. She gazed at Chen Changsheng, staying silent for a long time.

She felt strange. After this conversation, her understanding had grown. New things were in her mind.

Her father had never told her this.

What was right. What was wrong. What benevolence meant. And what it didn’t.

Although it sounded all jumbled up.

Aqing truly grasped some sense from it.

Chen Changsheng smiled. “Still, I don’t advise you to raise bugs. Whether a girl or a boy, having a bug with you just seems odd to others. If you want to protect yourself, or protect your father, you can raise something else. Like a dog. That might even be easier than raising bugs.”

Aqing shook her head firmly. “No.”

“Dogs aren’t good?”

“Not good.”

Aqing didn’t like other things. She liked bugs.

She was different from other girls.

Aqing asked, “Longevity, both you and my father say no to bugs. And why is it odd?”

“Some things are just hard for most people to accept.”

Chen Changsheng said, “Kinda like when someone picks up pickled vegetables from a dish, but dips them in sugar. Most people think… that’s just not done.”

Hearing this, Aqing pictured it – pickled veggies smeared with white sugar. She smacked her lips. “What’s it taste like?”

Chen Changsheng chuckled. “Probably not nice.”

Aqing pffted twice. Secretly, the idea of trying it nestled in her mind.

Chen Changsheng said, “Whether you raise a dog… or a bug, remember the right way. Raising Gu through killing is cruel and lacks benevolence. Never use it again.”

“Aqing knows.”

Aqing gave a big, toothy grin. Then Chen Changsheng patted her head again. “Alright, off you go. Find your father.”

Aqing nodded. She hugged her bamboo bug jar tightly and walked away from the Tea Stall.

Yan Huanglou took a slow sip of tea. Watching the girl disappear down the street, he couldn’t help shaking his head. “Just how little sense does that girl really have?”

Chen Changsheng said, “Enlightenment isn’t easy. Sometimes… even many grown folks don’t recognize even a few words.”

“True enough.”

Yan Huanglou let out a long breath. “Though, listening to you earlier, I got curious about that Gu-raising method myself.”

“You know, there are lots of ways things get raised like Gu. Not just bugs. Take those death row prisoners here in Qingshan City, for instance.”

“Every year, there’s a big fight. Kill or be killed. The strongest prisoner gets to live. Sent to guard Frontier Pass. But since they’re condemned already, guess you can’t say it’s unkind.”

Chen Changsheng smiled faintly. “Sometimes, efficiency is a choice. But as for the Gu Insect Art…”

“The true danger in Gu Insect Art isn’t just the Gu method. Mostly… it’s because what gets raised are poisonous insects.”

Yan Huanglou’s arm trembled. “Poison insects?”

Chen Changsheng nodded. “Poisonous things fight and eat each other. What survives… becomes the deadliest. That’s a vicious tool. Could kill unseen. Once the Gu is inside someone, no cure. Just… wait for death.”

Yan Huanglou thought for a moment. A shiver ran down his spine. Sudden fear prickled him.

“Does that… really work?” Yan Huanglou asked.

Chen Changsheng shook his head. “If it were so easy, someone would have mastered it long ago. This Gu-raising idea… well, Chen Changsheng wasn’t the first to imagine it.”

“Huh…”

Yan Huanglou breathed out, patted his chest. “Well! Scared me half to death there!”

Chen Changsheng grinned. “What if I could?”

Yan Huanglou froze. He stared hard at Chen Changsheng.

“Oh…”

“You wouldn’t know so much… if you couldn’t do it!”

Yan Huanglou sucked in air sharply. “You! Stay away from me! Don’t you dare feed me any poison!”

Chen Changsheng laughed outright. “Just teasing, old friend. No need for me to brew Gu poison.”

“Besides, people who raise Gu can be good or bad. Poisonous Gu might be raised… but healing Gu too, I’ve heard. Cure all sicknesses, they say.”

“This Gu Insect Art… rests on the person’s heart. Doing good to the good, and harm to the harmful. Use it rightly? Then it’s worthwhile.”

Yan Huanglou grunted “Hmph,” nodding. “Makes sense.”

His tone shifted then. “But that girl… You were the one who taught her the Gu method. Teaching her now might be fine… but later? Hard to tell.”

Chen Changsheng shook his head. “I never taught her to raise Gu. I just mentioned the Gu Insect Art. Didn’t even explain what it truly meant. Yet… she seemed to understand it all by herself.”

“Honestly… looking at her knack for Gu Insect Art… she’s got top-tier talent.”

“Is that so…”

Yan Huanglou muttered under his breath. Tsked. “If the girl ever really takes to brewing poison later…”

Chen Changsheng took a sip of tea.

His gaze drifted to the roadside. The girl with the peaches, calling out to customers. Her smile, so bright and innocent.

“If that truly happens… then a part of that Karma… rightly lands on me too.”

“But what comes after? Who can say for sure?”