Chapter 376 Solution
This exchange with the fortune teller has been very beneficial to me.
Not only did they gain a lot of information about the apocalypse, but they also learned about the attitudes of the Great Impermanence towards the apocalypse, and at the same time, they gained a new understanding of transcendence and governance.
In the past, whenever I heard the opposition between transcendence and politicization, I immediately assumed it was nothing more than a vulgar political infighting. It didn't align with my vision of magical adventure; it felt too mundane. Therefore, while I might consider the information about it necessary to gather, I didn't want to get too involved.
The Diviner Master, however, offered me a new perspective. The Great Impermanence's view of civilization is drastically different from that of the ordinary demon hunters of Luoshan, far surpassing it in both spatial scale and temporal scope. While demon hunters and ordinary people are still struggling for social power in this era, the Diviner Master seems to have seen much further. Perhaps everything undergoes a process of quantitative change leading to qualitative transformation, and the Great Impermanence seem to have experienced this phenomenon as well.
As for the divination master's theory that "while the Great Impermanence still has the power to bail out civilization, civilization should be allowed to make more mistakes, for example, by letting the transcendentalism rule society for three or four centuries," I do not completely agree.
It's not that I have concrete objections; it's simply that I lack historical and political knowledge, so I can't really comment on whether I agree or disagree. I feel that the fortune teller's claims are indeed self-consistent, but in my past life experiences, I've often encountered this situation: a theory that initially seems reasonable is always refuted by another reasonable theory, and at the same time, the theory that refutes the other is refuted by an even newer theory. Therefore, I won't completely trust a theory just because it sounds self-consistent.
Moreover, even though I now have a more discerning view of the opposition between transcendence and politicization, I still can't muster the same intense interest in it as I would for "adventure." At most, I'm just less impatient than before.
Mazao and I headed towards the sanatorium. We had originally planned to visit Shenzhao again, but since the fortune teller had predicted that I would encounter Old Fist God after returning, I decided to go back and check first.
As I looked at Ma Zao holding my hand and felt the warmth of her palm, I recalled the words she had spoken to the fortune teller.
"I'm sorry, Ma Zao," I said.
Mazao looked at me with a puzzled expression, then asked, "Why are you apologizing all of a sudden?"
“When the fortune teller asked you if you wanted to get rid of your jinx constitution, I actually didn’t want you to.”
Although she didn't ask, I still chose to be honest about my true thoughts. To be honest, I felt a sense of relief when Ma had rejected the fortune teller's suggestion before I could give an answer. However, this relaxation could be considered despicable, and keeping my true feelings hidden was also a form of escapism, something I couldn't allow myself to do.
“I know,” Asaho said, “because that’s why you accepted me.”
Not only that, I believe I genuinely like Asahi. I have both a desire to use Asahi and a genuine affection for her as a person; both are part of me. However, since my heart has tipped towards the former, discussing the latter in front of her would only make her feel I'm being insincere. Therefore, I can only keep my mouth shut.
Mazao, however, seemed completely oblivious to anything amiss, her face radiating genuine joy.
“Zhuang Cheng, I want to help you,” she said. “As long as you’re happy, I’m willing to give you anything and do anything for you.”
“And you, Mazao,” I asked, “is there anything you want from me?”
"Me?" she asked, puzzled.
“Yes, anything is fine, just tell me,” I said.
As if she had been stumped by the question, Mazao pondered for a moment, then looked troubled before finally saying, "...I can't think of anything."
I want her to make requests of me, even unreasonable ones, and I want to fulfill them. Why do I have this thought? Is it because I feel that a relationship where I'm the only one using her is unhealthy? Or is it because I think that by fulfilling her needs as much as possible, I can sacrifice her without any worries in the future?
After she gave that answer, I felt a sense of emptiness. Whatever my true feelings were, one thing was certain: just as she seemed to derive pleasure from my demands, I also wanted to find satisfaction in her demands.
Even I was surprised by my own thoughts, because I had never had the desire to be taken from by anyone, let alone thought that I could possibly get satisfaction from being taken from.
Just as I was thinking this, Asaha seemed to be observing my expression before continuing, "So... can I save this for later?"
"In the future?" I felt as if my soul had been injected with new vitality.
“I’m already very, very full, but…” Asaha seemed to be mustering her courage, “maybe I’ll become insatiable in the future and want to ask you for more… so let’s save this request for later.”
“Okay, I’ll wait,” I said.
"But back then you might have thought I was greedy." Asahi seemed a little uneasy.
"Absolutely not," I said firmly.
Ma Zao nodded hesitantly, then asked, "...Zhuang Cheng, do you think what we're doing now won't work?"
“Maybe one day I’ll choose adventure over you,” I said. “Although this kind of either-or question sounds like worrying about nothing, a similar option was just presented to me.”
"I think even if I made that choice, I wouldn't regret it, but that would be me after making that choice. Right now, I might..."
I'm unsure how to choose the right words. The adventurous me and the sentimental me—while both are who I am, making a choice will inevitably damage one of me. It's not just sacrificing Asahaya for adventure that will lead to this; sacrificing adventure for Asahaya will also make me someone else.
Perhaps this is why many people feel that just bringing up this dilemma is enough to provoke disgust; neither side can be considered a good choice, and the more you think about it, the more contradictory it becomes.
When Asaho heard what I said, she gave me a look that said, "So that's all there is to it?"
"Isn't this problem easy to solve?" she said.
"Simple?" I felt like I was being challenged. "Then tell me, how should I do it?"
She stared straight at me.
“I will go on adventures with you, to the ends of the earth, until you are very, very full… When that time comes, choose me,” she said.
These words struck me like a thunderbolt. After saying them, she seemed a little insecure and nervously added, "As long as you haven't grown tired of me yet."
“…There’s not a single thing about you that I can’t get tired of.” I held her hand tighter.
-
Not long after, I returned to the sanatorium.
Considering I was likely to encounter the old boxing god, whose strength far surpassed mine and whose character was unknown, I decided to be cautious and left Mazao outside while I went in alone. Soon, I arrived at my room and pushed open the door.
An uninvited guest had already appeared in my room.
However, there were not one person in the room, but two people, and neither of them was the Old Fist God.
They are all apostles of the Void Realm.
"You're finally back. Did you just go to see the fortune teller?"
Shenzhao stood in the middle of the room and spoke to me. Before I opened the door, he had already sensed my approach and turned to look at the doorway. Of course, I also sensed his presence in advance.
Yuchi sat on a stool nearby, seemingly lacking common ground with Shenzhao. He had been meditating with his eyes closed until I opened the door. At first glance, he seemed to have a more imposing presence than Shenzhao, the Great Impermanence, but I felt it wasn't because Shenzhao was easygoing, nor because Yuchi was arrogant; it was simply that neither of them had any worldly sense of hierarchy or etiquette. Stools are something anyone can sit on, that's all.
For some reason, I had a strange feeling, as if I had overlooked something, but I just couldn't remember it.
"Shenzhao...do you need something from me?" I asked.
“Yes. It’s a very important and secret matter,” Shenzhao said.
As he finished speaking, the feeling of ignoring something suddenly disappeared, and now I couldn't continue to investigate even if I wanted to.
“I was hoping you would come to visit me for the past three days, but you were so arrogant. You knew I had invited you to come over, but you still didn’t come. Was it because your injury was serious? That’s understandable. Anyway, I’m free now, so I took the initiative to come to you.” Shenzhao continued, “On the way here, I remembered that Yuchi was also at headquarters, so I grabbed him as well.”
Yuchi let out a soft snort, as if he was dissatisfied, but he didn't dare to show his displeasure in front of Da Wuchang, so he could only express his negative emotions in a somewhat cowardly way.
Shenzhao glanced at Yuchi and said, "You are someone who is determined to defeat the old Fist God. If you have any ideas, you might as well say them directly."
Yuchi remained silent.
"You want to talk about topics related to the Void Realm, right?" I said to Shenzhao. "Where are the other Void Realm apostles? Aren't they coming?"
"Besides the three of us, the others are either formidable enemies like Xuanming and Xugou from Luoshan, or people from the future, and there's also a guy who hasn't spoken to us at all... It would be strange if he came."
As Shenzhao spoke, he made a simple gesture towards the air.
The door behind me closed automatically, and at the same time, a complex surge of magical energy enveloped the room, completely sealing it off like a sphere. This seemed to be to prevent information from leaking out; from this moment on, even the Great Impermanence could not easily spy on the conversation inside.
With Shenzhao and I here, even if our only intention is to prevent information from being leaked, this place will automatically become an unassailable divine realm. And Shenzhao's actions at this moment undoubtedly emphasize the confidentiality of this conversation.
"Then let me state my purpose first."
Shenzhao lowered his hand, looked at me and Yuchi, and then continued, "I will kill the Lord of the Divine Seal."
(End of this chapter)
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