第十章 周处自新

In ancient times, there was a young man named Zhou Chu.

Zhou Chu was strong and bold. But he had a bad temper and often used his strength to bully others.

If someone accidentally offended him, he would hit them; if he wanted something of others, he would just take it.

As soon as the villagers saw him, they would close their doors and hide.

But Zhou Chu didn't think he had done anything wrong.

He thought he was just straightforward, and others feared him because they were too weak.

Near the village there were two other dangers.

In the mountains there was a fierce tiger that often harmed people and livestock. In the river there was also a legendary water monster, which ancient people called "jiao", and the riverside people were very afraid of it.

The villagers called the tiger, the water monster, and Zhou Chu the "three scourges."

But Zhou Chu never knew about this.

One day, he heard a few people talking about the fierce tiger in the mountains and the water monster in the river.

Zhou Chu walked over and said, "What's so hard about that? I'll go and eliminate them."

The villagers did not stop him. They secretly hoped that after Zhou Chu fought the tiger and the water monster, at least one or two of the three scourges would die.

Zhou Chu first went into the mountains to find the tiger, and after a dangerous fight, he killed the tiger.

Then he jumped into the river to look for the water monster.

The water monster fled down the river, and Zhou Chu kept chasing. Three days and three nights passed, and he still hadn't returned.

The villagers thought Zhou Chu had died in the river.

Someone said happily, "The tiger is dead, the water monster is gone, and Zhou Chu hasn't returned. All three scourges are finally eliminated!"

The village resounded with sounds of celebration.

But Zhou Chu was not dead.

After eliminating the water monster, he returned to the village very tired. He had thought the villagers would welcome him, but from afar he heard everyone celebrating.

Zhou Chu initially thought they were celebrating the elimination of the tiger and the water monster.

As he got closer, he heard someone say, "From now on, we no longer need to fear the three scourges."

Zhou Chu stopped in his tracks.

The tiger was one scourge, the water monster was one scourge. Who was the third?

He walked up to an old man and asked this question.

When the old man saw Zhou Chu was still alive, his face changed immediately, and he dared not answer.

Zhou Chu didn't get angry, and only said, "Please tell me the truth."

The old man was silent for a long time, then said, "The third scourge is you. The tiger and the water monster appear only occasionally, but you have always lived among us."

For the first time, Zhou Chu understood that people closed their doors not because they were timid.

Zhou Chu left his hometown to visit a learned man named Lu Yun.

He said to Lu Yun, "I now want to change, but I have already wasted many years. Is it too late?"

Lu Yun replied, "It's not too late to realize it now. If you keep doing what you understand today, the road ahead is still long."

After Zhou Chu returned to his hometown, he first returned the things he had taken and then apologized to those he had bullied.

At first, not many people believed him. Some people who saw him approaching would still close their doors; they thought he was just putting on a good act temporarily.

Zhou Chu was not angry.

He no longer hit people or took others' things. He began to study and also helped the villagers deal with dangerous matters.

One day cannot eliminate years of fear, so Zhou Chu continued to change over many days and many months.

Later, when he walked into the village again, the people by the roadside did not run away, and the nearby doors were not hastily closed.

Zhou Chu just walked over quietly like an ordinary person.

Later, people used "reforming oneself" to mean: after doing something wrong, one is willing to correct the mistake and start anew.