Under One Person: Sincerity Moves the Gods

Chapter 2 4 people in the House of Commons

"Creak..."

Li Cunzhen, carrying her luggage, pushed open the door.

They entered the lower courtyard that Zuo Ruotong had mentioned.

The courtyard looked quite old; most of the plaster on the walls had dried and cracked, revealing the weathered blue bricks underneath, and the roof tiles were covered with a thick layer of moss.

He looked into the courtyard and saw a row of large water vats, taller than himself, about half a meter high and as thick as two people could hug. He wondered how many times he would have to carry water to fill them.

Opposite the water vat was a pile of stacked burlap sacks. I didn't know what was inside, but it was probably grains like rice and flour.

There was also a white-haired child holding a wood-chopping knife.

Just then, he heard the noise and turned around, only to meet the Li brothers in bewilderment.

Upon their first meeting, Li Cunzhen took the initiative to break the ice.

"My name is Li Cunzhen, and this is my younger brother, Li Muxuan. We are here to participate in the assessment."

He cupped his hands in greeting, introduced himself, and sized up the white-haired child in front of him.

He appeared here at this time, and still had a head of white hair.

Li Cunzhen had already recognized who this person was.

Lu Jin, the future head of the Lu family and one of the Ten Elders, is known as a flawless man whose actions are so impeccable that even his enemies cannot find fault with him.

Although he's still just a kid now, he'll be a big shot in the industry in the future. Even if you include all the characters who have appeared in the whole book, his combat power will be at least in the top twenty.

As one of the characters with a significant role in the comics, Li Cunzhen is quite familiar with his life story. For example, he knows that Li Cunzhen killed the Old Celestial Master and that he doesn't care at all. Also, his younger brother Li Muxuan, whom he took for granted in this life, died at Li Cunzhen's hands.

It's a sad story, a series of unfortunate coincidences that ultimately left no one with any way to turn back.

Thinking of this, Li Cunzhen glanced at Li Muxuan, who seemed well-behaved, beside him.

"My name is Lu Jin, and I am also participating in the assessment."

Lu Jin cupped his hands in reply.

"So it's Brother Lu Jin. My brother and I are new here and don't know much about the place yet." Li Cunzhen then asked, "Brother Lu, are there any rules here? What are we supposed to do?"

Having read the comics, Li Cunzhen was someone who knew everything in the entire Under One Person world, so he naturally knew the rules of the Lower Academy assessment.

However, the necessary formalities still need to be followed, otherwise unnecessary trouble may arise.

"Ah, there's nothing particularly special about the rules."

Lu Jin frankly said, "Here, I mainly do chores like cleaning and washing every day, and prepare firewood and water for the mountain to use."

As they spoke, their gazes turned to the rows of large water vats beside them.

There are three rows of water tanks, with five openings in each row, for a total of fifteen openings.

It doesn't sound like much, but the vat is huge. It would take at least thirty buckets of water to fill one vat. In addition, the people in the lower house are all children under ten years old. Filling it up would obviously be a difficult task.

"This...the three of us have to do it all?"

Li Muxuan's lips twitched.

"Ha, there's another brother here. Besides, the immortals of the Trinity Sect didn't require us to fill the water tank completely."

Lu Jin looked at the water vat in front of her with a sense of helplessness.

Clearly, when he first arrived at the lower courtyard, he, like Li Muxuan, was somewhat apprehensive about these large vats.

During their conversation.

A sound of panting came from behind.

"Huffing...huffing..."

Li Cunzhen and the other two turned around to look.

A chubby young man wearing glasses, a white shirt, and black trousers walked into the yard carrying a large bucket full of water.

After entering, he ignored the other three people in the courtyard, went straight to a water vat, and then laboriously lifted the bucket over his head.

With a whoosh, all the clear spring water was poured into the water vat.

After doing all this, he seemed to be exhausted. He sat down leaning against the water vat, panting heavily.

"Don't be fooled by the fact that most of these water tanks are full," Lu Jin explained somewhat sheepishly, "Actually, I only did a little bit of this; most of it was done by this brother Liu Deshui."

As he spoke, he looked at Liu Deshui.

"Brother Liu, these are Brother Li Cunzhen and Brother Li Muxuan, they are also here to participate in the assessment."

"Greetings, Brother Liu."

Li Cunzhen and his companion clasped their hands in greeting to Liu Deshui.

"Greetings, Brothers Li." Liu Deshui rose with difficulty to return the greeting, and smiled apologetically, "I haven't finished fetching water for today, so I can't have a long talk with you two brothers."

Then, as if he had rested, he carried the bucket of water out of the courtyard gate.

Their enthusiasm was just like that of a young calf.

Li Cunzhen had to admire Liu Deshui's perseverance; he truly deserved to be one of the Thirty-Six Thieves in the future.

Like Lu Jin, Liu Deshui, who had just left, was also a figure who would become famous in the future.

Although he failed to become a disciple of the Sanyi Sect, he joined the Yanwu Hall, which suited him better, and his external martial arts skills were unparalleled.

His failure to join the Sanyi Sect was not due to any shortcomings on his part, but simply because his personality was incompatible with the sect's techniques.

At this introductory stage, Liu Deshui's experience was not a bad thing, and Li Cunzhen did not have the habit of interfering in other people's affairs, so he did not intend to offer any advice.

"However, I've vowed never to lie in my life. If Liu Deshui asks me if he can become a disciple of the Sanyi Sect, what should I say?"

For no apparent reason, this thought popped into Li Cunzhen's mind.

But the next moment, he put the thought out of his mind.

After all, he was not familiar with Liu Deshui, so the possibility of such a thing happening was not high.

Just as Li Cunzhen's thoughts rose and fell.

Seeing Liu Deshui like this, Li Muxuan and Lu Jin stopped chatting and joined the ranks of carrying water and chopping wood.

Li Cunzhen also quickly turned around, put down his luggage, and picked up the bucket.

Of the four in the lower courtyard, Lu Jin and Li Muxuan worked until evening, while Liu Deshui worked non-stop until sunset. The people from the Sanyi Sect took away all the water tanks and firewood that the four had filled before they rested.

As for Li Cunzhen, he was the first to return to his room, and after only a few hours, he collapsed onto the bed and fell fast asleep.

This continued for several days in a row, every single day.

This made Liu Deshui and Lu Jin wonder if Li Cunzhen had given up on joining the Sanyi Sect.

Li Cunzhen, of course, did not give up.

As a time traveler, he knew that the focus of the Trinity Sect's assessment was not how much work they did, but rather whether they were sincere.

In other words, as long as you dare to express your true self, you can pass this test.

After all, the San Yi Sect accepts disciples, not child laborers.

Unfortunately, sincerity, though seemingly simple, is the most difficult thing to do.

Aside from himself, the transmigrator, the three people who participated in the assessment in the original story—Lu Jin, Liu Deshui, and Li Muxuan—were all top-notch talents who would be treasured and cherished by any other sect.

But in the end, only Lu Jin passed the test.

But if you ask what's difficult, what Lu Jin did was actually quite simple.

Work at sunrise, and rest at sunset.

Rest when you're tired, drink water when you're thirsty, work when you have energy, and lie down for a while when you can't hold on any longer.

This is what sincerity means to Sanyimen.

As for the other two, Liu Deshui was too ambitious. In order to show off, he carried water and chopped wood non-stop. Although he worked the hardest, he could not be considered sincere.

Li Muxuan, confident in his intelligence, believed he had seen through the purpose of the San Yi Sect's assessment and intentionally imitated Lu Jin's sincere actions. However, since it was an imitation, it was certainly not sincere. In the end, Zuo Ruotong discovered his deception, and coupled with his reputation as a troublesome child in his hometown, he failed the assessment directly.

However, Li Cunzhen did not have a bad reputation as a naughty child in his hometown; on the contrary, he was nicknamed "Cheng Geda" (meaning "honest and lovable").

Because he speaks regardless of the occasion and only tells the truth.

He was confident that if he were to imitate Lu Jin's behavior, even if his acting skills couldn't fool Zuo Ruotong's eyes, he, as the dignified head of the Sanyi Sect, couldn't possibly keep an eye on things here every day. Without the burden of a bad reputation, entering the Sanyi Sect was a sure thing.

However, the so-called cultivation of the Tao is also called cultivation of truth.

Since one is cultivating truth, one must naturally eliminate falsehood.

If one is solely focused on seeking the Dao, and were to engage in such a deceptive act simply to join the Trinity Sect, it would be putting the cart before the horse.

Therefore, Li Cunzhen did not do that.

Instead, they lived within their means, replenishing only the amount of water and firewood they used each day.

On top of that, a little more, no more, no less, at the local market price, would just offset Li Cunzhen's daily food expenses.

The attitude is very clear.

I will make up for my own losses through hard work, and what about others' losses is none of my business.

This is Li Cunzhen's true nature.

In some ways, it is similar to Quanxing.

Of course, the "wholeness of nature" here does not refer to the beasts of later generations who indulged in desires, but rather to the concept of Yang Zhu, the founder of the wholeness of nature.

Not a hair is plucked, not a hair is taken.

As for whether Zuo Ruotong will accept him or not.

The dignified Immortal of Great Abundance, the leader of the righteous path.

If one's understanding of sincerity is so narrow, then it means that he is nothing more than a figurehead.

Anyway, I don't really crave the Reverse Life Triple Technique; I just want a cultivation method that can refine my life force.

If the three are not retained.

You can always look for another job.