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"Beyond the pale! Truly beyond the pale!"\n\nThere is an elder in Mohist City whose official title and lineage hardly anyone bothers to remember, simply because he has far too many nicknames. Just mention "Brother Pail," and everyone immediately knows who you mean, a cheeky phonetic play on his favorite catchphrase. From there, titles like "Mr. Strongman" (for carrying all those pails), "King of Nine Pails," and "One More Pail" sprang up like mushrooms after rain, multiplying with endless creativity.\n\nElder Shrike's reaction to all this is always the same: "Beyond the pale! Truly beyond the pale! Have you all forgotten your respect for your elders?"\nYet, when other elders tried to step in and ordered the disciples to stop giving him nicknames, he simply sighed. "Using authority to pressure the younger generation... Is this the 'Universal Love' we preach? Absolutely beyond the pale!" \nThe other elders didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and eventually ended up apologizing to the disciples alongside him.\n\nElder Shrike's dedication to decorum is absolute, and he applies it to everyone equally.\nOnce during a lesson, he frowned deeply after reading an essay. "Total fabrication! Utter nonsense! How did such an absurd piece of writing make it into the Master Collection? Beyond the pale!"\nUpon checking the author's name, he realized it was his own work from years ago.\n"Even if I wrote it back then, it's still complete garbage," he declared without missing a beat. "For me to spew such nonsense in a classroom... is completely beyond the pale! Pah!" \nHe never spared himself from his own harsh criticism.\n\nHowever, his strict sense of decorum occasionally leaves room for flexibility, shifting with the times.\nIn his youth, Mohist Hill was on excellent terms with the Inkbound Order, and they often engaged in scholarly debates. He would grow furious, stringing together five "beyond the pales" in a row: \n"Mohism is the opposite of Confucianism! The Inkbound Order operates on Confucian ideals. They preach benevolence but are really just chasing fame. It's best we ignore their nonsense!"\nLater on, as Mohist Hill became increasingly isolated and had little contact with the Inkbound Order, the disciples read far fewer Confucian texts. Elder Shrike, who had once debated extensively with the Order's students, muttered "beyond the pale" a dozen times to himself: \n\n"Mohism was born from the critique of Confucianism. If they know absolutely nothing about it, how can they grasp the true essence of the Mohist way?"\nHis standards of propriety had completely reversed, yet at its core, one thing remained unchanged. To him, "decorum" always meant holding fast to the highest ideals one's current wisdom could comprehend.\nAs he grew older, officially took on the mantle of an elder, and managed the daily affairs of the young disciples, his sense of decorum was challenged more and more often.\n\n"Running around the city so recklessly, absolutely beyond the pale!"\n"Passing a teacher without a proper greeting, beyond the pale!"\n"Boys and girls teasing and grabbing at each other in public, beyond the pale!"\nWith so many trivial matters came countless cries of "beyond the pale," but he never stopped at just scolding them.\n\nFor the reckless disciples, he tempered their impatience. For those too timid to greet their teachers, he helped build their confidence. And when true affection blossomed between disciples, he taught them how to genuinely care for one another.\nWhile guarding his own sense of propriety and constantly exclaiming "Beyond the pale," Elder Shrike never forgot to try and understand the decorum of others.\n\nWe all stand at different points in the great river of time, scattered across this vast world. It is only natural that our standards of propriety change and differ.\nBut everyone needs a sense of decorum, no more and no less. And the world will always need those who hold steadfast to their own.