There is an old saying: "A scholar who knows no present affairs ends up a fool; a person who does not accept advice becomes a reckless ghost."
The True Man’s kind advice, in the end, proved to be a futile effort.
Among the disciples in the mansion, none truly understood his intentions.
Most only learned some superficial skill from outside teachings.
Even when they hurriedly descended the mountain, they remained entangled in the sea of suffering, unable to let go.
Time passed swiftly, more than fifty years went by without notice.
The Great Water Ape Sage had been doing rough work around the mansion all this time—over a hundred years now.
He saw people come and go but never grew impatient.
This made the True Man quite appreciative.
Since the founding of the mansion by the True Man, seven generations of disciples had come and gone.
In these seven generations, no one truly cultivated the heart—most were mere passersby.
This was a matter that deeply moved the True Man, making him often reminisce.
When the ancestral master first opened the mansion, not many disciples were retained either; this is the norm.
One day, as the True Man was quietly cultivating in the meditation chamber, he suddenly felt a stirring in his heart.