Chapter 87 A thousand years of achievements, all gone to waste. ...
Xie Heng—who should now be called Zhiheng—sighed softly and gently.
He's still wearing that modern leather outfit, standing here in a suit and tie, completely different from the Immortal Lord Zhiheng who wore the robes of the Kunlun Immortal Lord in the past. But the look in his eyes behind his glasses is almost exactly the same as in his previous life.
This was the first time Shu Qing had seen him since regaining her memories of her past life... If her memories had not been sealed by Jiu Su, or worn away over the long course of more than a thousand years, she should have been able to recognize him at first glance.
The Immortal Lord Zhiheng, who once ruled Kunlun, was so gentle that it seemed he would never get angry with anyone, and he had almost no temper... Well, who would get angry with a bunch of worthless people?
As for killing her later, it was nothing more than smashing a pot of orchids that he had personally nurtured. Perhaps it was a bit of a pity, but that was all.
“A-Shu,” Zhiheng sighed with a smile, “it was fine if you didn’t remember before. But now that you’ve recalled everything, to still say such things, wouldn’t that only hurt your teacher’s feelings?”
He actually managed to say the word "sad," and Shu Qing couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Jiu Su's gaze swept over Zhi Heng and landed on Jin Wanli beside him. Jin Wanli remained expressionless. When Zhi Heng raised his hand, he raised his hand; when Zhi Heng turned around, he turned around. If it weren't for the huge difference in their heights, he would have been like Zhi Heng's shadow.
A chill swept over the area, and Jiu Su stared at Zhi Heng with a half-smile, saying in a low voice, "I think we should skip the reminiscing. Ashu doesn't have many old stories to tell you—but it turns out that the Immortal Lord has been working in the Super Management Bureau for so many years just to study these things? That's quite a far-sighted plan."
Even though Zhiheng was a top immortal in the ancient Kunlun Mountains, he has now lost all his power and can only be resurrected by borrowing the body of someone who died in the Kunlun ruins. Jin Wanli, on the other hand, is the most powerful demon besides Jiu Su. Zhiheng was able to control Jin Wanli, obviously relying on the various restraint devices of the Super Management Bureau.
The origins of these devices are quite obvious—this imposter "Professor Xie" must have put a lot of thought into them.
Despite it being a sarcastic remark, Zhi Heng smiled upon hearing it and even nodded to Jiu Su: "You're right. I put in so much effort at the Super Management Bureau, and it really was for these things. Now that it's finally done, all those years of hard work haven't been in vain."
Shu Qing smiled, then pulled out two futons from somewhere and helped Jiu Su sit down. She even took out two chocolates from her pocket, tore off the wrappers, and popped them into her mouth.
Zhiheng shook his head and said, "This is, after all, a shrine for those who died in the battle of Xiandu. Ashu, your words are disrespectful."
"Is that so? Master, if you really have such 'respect' for these victims, then you knew that there would inevitably be a conflict between Xiao Hong and me when we came to find you, so why did you wait for us at the shrine? What were you thinking?" Shu Qing said without giving any face. "Do you expect me to unilaterally restrain myself for the sake of these deceased souls in heaven? I'm afraid that's impossible."
Zhiheng's expression finally showed a slight change after she exposed his words, but only someone who knew him well would not have noticed it.
He sighed, then sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, adopting a posture as if he wanted to have a long talk with the client.
“Ever since you learned that the war between the two races was related to me, you’ve always assumed that’s what I mean,” Zhiheng said. “I chose to talk to you here because I hope you will consider the bigger picture and avoid unnecessary conflicts.”
“You mean,” Jiu Su laughed mockingly, “that your causing the monster to go out of control was a ‘necessary’ sacrifice, and your control over Wanli was also a ‘necessary’ control. And our coming to save him is an ‘unnecessary’ struggle?”
Zhi Heng shook his head, glancing at Jiu Su with a hint of pity. "You still think that I caused the demons to go out of control?" His gaze then fell on Shu Qing. "Shu, do you still believe that I aroused Tai Yu's ambition, which led to this great war between the demon race and the immortal capital? Is that right?"
"Isn't that right?"
“Of course not,” Zhiheng said calmly. “You should know what my ‘Dao’ is.”
"It can only make people see what they truly desire, but it cannot create out of thin air thoughts that they don't already have. Taiyu did that because he harbored ambitions to invade the Immortal Capital; as for these monsters now, their out-of-control attacks on humans are also because they inherently hate humans and have the intention to attack them. Do you understand?"
Shu Qing finished chewing and swallowing the chocolate in her mouth, feeling that the energy she had just used up during the long journey and high-speed flight had finally recovered a little.
“You said the same thing to me more than a thousand years ago, and my answer remains unchanged,” she said. “Judging things by their actions, not their intentions, does having this thought necessarily mean that it will happen?”
Zhi Heng smiled. "If they hadn't harbored ill intentions, even if I had enlightened them with the 'Dao,' they wouldn't have done this." He glanced at Jiu Su lightly. "For example, isn't this little demon king a case in point?"
Jiu Su was slightly taken aback, then smiled gently, revealing a hint of "as expected" in her mockery. Shu Qing, on the other hand, was startled and subconsciously grabbed Jiu Su's hand, wondering what symptoms the virus called "Dao" would have on Jiu Su.
“At that time, I sensed the aura of his demonic body being reshaped, and when he was still confused and his mind was not yet awakened, I cast my ‘Dao’ on him.” Zhi Heng said calmly, “He neither devoured the other demons around him nor harmed anyone; he simply chose to reshape his demonic body by your side.”
He gazed at Shu Qing's suddenly contracting pupils and smiled, "You see, what truly determines everything is the thought that arises from one's own heart. What have I ever been able to decide?"
Jiu Su squeezed Shu Qing's hand and said calmly, "He can only do things when I'm asleep. I'm awake now, so he can't do anything to me, and I won't be manipulated by him anymore. Don't worry."
Shu Qing was slightly relieved—although Jiu Su liked to show off, she wouldn't let a time bomb be buried in her body, ready to blow them both to pieces at any moment.
The snake egg that she bought by chance and that hatched unexpectedly in her home was the beginning of everything.
So all along, they've been under the influence of Zhiheng...?
Zhiheng continued, "Even if I don't enlighten his heart, and he doesn't rebuild his demon form by your side, in the future, he will eventually be unable to resist taking a look at you. Once he looks at you, he will probably do it again. At most, you will meet in a different form, but you will still recognize each other and still come to this point. Am I right?"
Neither of them could deny it. Jiu Su herself knew very well how blustering her "never see you again" resolution was, and Shu Qing was even more self-aware. Even if she hadn't found the snake egg, even if Jiu Su hadn't appeared before her until she was thirty or forty, she probably still wouldn't have been able to suppress her restless heart.
However, this is just an isolated case. If Zhiheng wants to use this to shut them down, they are dreaming.
“That’s right, Xiao Hong and I will definitely end up together. And then?” Shu Qing laughed heartily. “Are you going to say that this proves that people will eventually follow their own hearts, and that those out-of-control monsters will eventually attack humans? You learned all that in college, you didn’t study logic at all, did you, Master? ‘Generalizing from a few examples’ is one of the classic logical fallacies.”
Zhiheng shook his head tolerantly and said, "Of course not. What I want to say is that in this day and age, if a monster has a change of heart, humans have almost no power to fight back; and with such a huge disparity in strength, how can humans still treat monsters as pets, and even 'protecting monsters' has become a consensus? Isn't that foolish and ignorant?"
What do you want?
“You should know that with the decline of spiritual energy and the collapse of Kunlun, there will be no more cultivators in the world... Ashu, only you, the ‘goddess’ chosen by the world, are an exception.” Zhiheng said slowly, “And mortals are becoming more and more prosperous, and strange skills and tricks are flourishing. The era of ‘Tao’ has ceased to exist, and the era of ‘Technique’ has taken its place. This is the way of Heaven, which cannot be reversed by human power. If it can really be so, it will be a great thing.”
"However, the ancient immortals had already accepted their destiny, while only the demon race fled into the secluded snow realm. They used this secret realm to avoid the depletion of spiritual energy, but they were unwilling to be lonely and re-emerged from the snow realm, becoming the only exception and once again breaking the balance of the heavenly way."
Jiu Su, understanding his implied meaning, glanced at the countless stars representing the deceased and said sarcastically, "You mean, you want all supernatural beings to disappear and the world to return to your so-called 'balance'?"
Zhiheng said calmly, "That's right, this is the best outcome. It's just a pity that when I returned to the human world, 'supernatural beings' had become rampant, making their disappearance hopeless. I had no choice but to settle for second best."
In this so-called "age of skills," an era of highly developed science and technology, what is "secondary"? It is, of course, using the "skills" that people have mastered to suppress those monsters who still retain the bloodline of the ancient times.
Zhiheng arrived at the Superpower Management Bureau and devoted himself to studying modern technology. He finally came up with a solution: he established regulators and combined ancient Kunlun Taoist techniques with modern technology to put shackles on all "supernatural beings." The other end of the shackles was in the hands of "ordinary" people.
All the employees of the Superpower Bureau's "Special Operations Department" were his research subjects. He believed he had succeeded; if this technology could be implemented, people's fantasies would come true, and monsters could truly coexist in this era as human pets.
It wasn't until two consecutive public outcry accusing him of "abusing monsters" that Zhiheng realized it was all just wishful thinking on his part. The people he wanted to protect had long been indulging in their comforts, oblivious to the dangers posed by the monsters.
What else can we do?
"Forget it, Master. You might be able to fool yourself with these words, but I'm afraid they won't fool me." After listening to this heartfelt and earnest speech, Shu Qing suddenly laughed. Jiu Su had always known that she was good at talking, but this was the first time she had seen her so ruthless, with every word like a knife, stabbing at other people's sore spots.
"You instigated the war between the Immortal Capital and the Demon Race, and painstakingly suppressed these 'outcasts.' Your deeds are truly great and your achievements remarkable," Shu Qing said mockingly. "However, fate is cruel. In later generations, the immortals no longer exist, but the ancient demon race still does. Isn't this going against the natural order? So you must step on the bones of these monsters and the victims to set things right again—"
She said, word by word, "All your great achievements have come to naught, and you are just unwilling to accept it, Master."
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