Ye Liangcheng hoarsely said, "Elder Huo Qing, he has confessed everything. I've recorded it; do you want to listen to it yourself, or should I briefly summarize it for you?"

He Kao waved his hand and said, "No need to say it, I heard it all... Ye Liangcheng, are you scared? Why are you trembling all over?"

Ye Liangcheng suddenly fell to his knees and said, trembling, "Elder, you have given me a new life, an恩恩恩恩恩恩情恩恩恩恩请恩恩我恩恩恩恩, I can never repay in this lifetime. From now on, I am willing to go through fire and water for any task you have, but..."

At this point, he seemed unable to continue.

He Kao kindly said, "But what? Just speak freely."

Ye Liangcheng: "But I can't, or do what Big Cannon Platform did."

So he was truly afraid of this!

Elder Huo Qing suddenly appeared here, claiming to have old ties with Bitter Tea and informed him that Bitter Tea had met with an accident, then continued guiding his Secret Technique Cultivation, and taught him Techniques that Bitter Tea never did.

Ye Liangcheng couldn't fathom the origins and intentions of this Elder Huo Qing, whether Huo Qing wanted to expose the true faces of Bitter Tea and its disciples or replace Bitter Tea, integrating the forces and resources Bitter Tea left behind.

Ye Liangcheng was clear, if Elder Huo Qing intended to replace Bitter Tea, he absolutely refused to do what Big Cannon Platform had done.

If Huo Qing merely wanted to integrate Bitter Tea's remaining forces, Ye Liangcheng could not oppose, but he still wished to persuade Elder Huo Qing—not to become another Bitter Tea, but he conveyed this rather tactfully.

He Kao laughed, looking at Ye Liangcheng, "Oh, so you're worried about this. If you're being honest, I won't punish you."

Ye Liangcheng kowtowed and said, "It's indeed from the bottom of my heart! I don't know what kind of relationship you have with Bitter Tea, elder, but I also wish to plead with you, don't repeat Bitter Tea's actions."

He Kao pondered, "Is that so? I don't want to become another Bitter Tea, but Ye Liangcheng, listen carefully, I can give you two choices.

Firstly, the first path is, you can replace Bitter Tea, bringing the disciples of Bitter Tea under your command. You won't need to personally do the dirty work, there will be others to do it for you.

The Secret Transmission taught by Bitter Tea is incomplete; not only the Fundamental Heart Method is lacking, but various Applied Techniques were also not fully taught, and I will teach all these to you. You just need to cultivate well, listen to me when there is a task.

The second choice is, you don't even know my identity, and I'm not afraid of you leaking any secrets. I will take away everything Bitter Tea left in this base, and from now on, you will be on your own."

After He Kao finished speaking, Ye Liangcheng just knelt there, forehead touching the ground, his shoulders trembling without any movement for a long time.

Eventually, it was He Kao who spoke first, "Have you thought it through? I don't have time to wait for you until dawn."

Ye Liangcheng lifted his head, his face full of tears, "Elder, I won't choose the first path."

He Kao: "So it's the second choice then?"

Ye Liangcheng: "Yes!"

Suddenly, He Kao changed the topic, "Before you came upstairs a moment ago, you seemed to want to pick up that bottle of wine, why?"

Ye Liangcheng: "I wanted to pour it down Feng Zilong's throat."

He Kao: "Why didn't you do it?"

Ye Liangcheng: "I didn't dare to act without consulting you first."

He Kao: "There's an idiom you should have heard, 'Put down the butcher's knife, and immediately become a Buddha.' If you want to do so, I don't oppose it, just follow through with your intention."

When Ye Liangcheng heard this "idiom," he initially thought He Kao intended to spare Feng Zilong, taking him in for his use, which inevitably disappointed him, but when he heard the latter part, it wasn't what he expected, so he couldn't help but exclaim.

He Kao: "What doubts do you have?"

Ye Liangcheng: "You said 'put down the butcher's knife, and immediately become a Buddha', I thought you meant to spare him."

He Kao: "I'm not a monk, but I've also heard a saying that all beings have Buddha-nature, both you and he have it. What I just said refers to you; choosing the second path is truly putting down the butcher's knife.

I don't want to become Bitter Tea, nor do I want to nurture you into another Bitter Tea, but I'm not sure what you want for yourself, so I pointed out two paths for you to choose.

If you choose the first path, you could gain everything Bitter Tea once had, along with the various Secret Techniques I would teach. But you chose to give it up, preferring the second path, and that's the true meaning of putting down the butcher's knife."

After a moment's thought, He Kao added, "That's my understanding of the true meaning!

During my postgraduate studies, I read a lot of miscellaneous books, including some on Buddhism, and this is how I personally interpret that saying, unrelated to the monks in the temple."

Ye Liangcheng was somewhat surprised, "Elder, you also pursued postgraduate studies?"

He Kao: "I'm not an ancient person, and with so many people taking graduate exams nowadays, why shouldn't I study?"

Ye Liangcheng realized his question was abrupt and awkwardly said, "True, it's a pity I haven't studied."

He Kao: "If you want to study, just go take the exams! Let's get back to business."

This little diversion, although Ye Liangcheng's tears hadn't dried, made him feel inexplicably lighter, so he asked, "What about Big Cannon Platform? Didn't you say he also has Buddha-nature?"

He Kao: "Do you think he deserves to die?"

Ye Liangcheng gritted his teeth and said, "Deserves to die, absolutely deserves to die, utterly heinous and wicked to the bone!"

He Kao shrugged, "Then a bottle of wine down his throat, would he still be able to pick up the butcher's knife? This is helping him! It's also called putting down the butcher's knife, and instantly achieving bliss; when he goes to the other side, he might still become a Buddha isn't he?

Where he wishes to achieve Buddhahood is up to him, I just asked if he could, didn't say whether he's dead or alive... Either I'll pour that bottle into him, or you do it yourself."

Ye Liangcheng hurriedly said, "How could I trouble Senior to do it personally?"

He Kao: "Then you send him off."

"At your command!" Ye Liangcheng agreed immediately, got up and went downstairs, his steps lighter than before.

In no time, Ye Liangcheng returned, bowed his head, and said, "Elder, that bottle of wine he has finished, do we need to open another?"

He Kao: "The dosage of one bottle is sufficient, don't waste it."

Ye Liangcheng: "Not really a waste, there are three bottles that have been poisoned by him anyway, and they can't be drunk."

He Kao: "Keep them, perhaps they still have other uses, just make sure you don't drink them yourself.

Even if you don't drink, when you later cultivate Artifact Identification Skill, you can use them for comparative reference with normal wine, so you won't have to struggle to distinguish like today."

Ye Liangcheng: "Then I will follow Senior's instructions."

He Kao: "The wine doesn't cause someone to leave immediately after drinking it, Big Cannon Platform won't be able to reach Western Heaven right away, it'll take a while, why did you come back so soon?"

Ye Liangcheng lowered his head even more, "I've never killed anyone, and I don't want to watch..."

He Kao interrupted him, "A gentleman stays away from the kitchen, I understand your feelings."

Ye Liangcheng: "Elder's knowledge is truly awe-inspiring! Is there anything else you wish to instruct me?"

This was sincere; today, He Kao had explained two idioms, "put down the butcher's knife, and immediately become a Buddha" and "a gentleman stays away from the kitchen", making Ye Liangcheng feel like he truly learned a lesson!

He Kao said leisurely, "Someone dying here would be quite a bit of trouble for you, I'll take him away later.

The two choices before, they were really questions of moral integrity. You chose to put down the butcher's knife, that's great! Given that, I will offer you a third path.

By whatever means, find out the identities and past actions of other disciples of Bitter Tea, just like investigating Feng Zilong today, and help them put down the butcher's knife.

Either like you, or like him.

I will continue to guide your Secret Technique Cultivation, teaching you various Applied Techniques, none of those people should be your match. Do you have any ideas on how specifically to do this?"

The two choices He Kao gave earlier determined whether Ye Liangcheng would live or die.

Either Ye Liangcheng was kind and upright, choosing not to do evil, or Ye Liangcheng was clever and perceptive, guessing He Kao's intentions... In any case, he chose right, for whatever reason, actually having both intelligence and kindness is the best.

Then He Kao told Ye Liangcheng, there is also a third path.

Ye Liangcheng replied, "To find those people, there are two ideas. One is to continue to guard here; many people will likely be like Big Cannon Platform, unable to resist coming back to investigate over time.

The other is another existing clue.

Just now, you also heard, Big Cannon Platform confessed to 'Redwood's identity, the person he intended to impersonate, Gao Chenshu. I can investigate Gao Chenshu, and maybe take him a bottle of wine too, perhaps it can provide more information."

**

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