Chapter 122 I'll defend you against all the wrongs.
"Good and evil are inherently relative; in the end, it's simply a matter of evil not prevailing over good, or good not prevailing over evil. There will always be a victor. You and I are both on the same side, so why not join forces to take down Kunlun? Kunlun now resembles the half-destroyed statue left behind by the Heavenly Fragrance Goddess—long broken and inanimate. Only by completely eradicating it can a new place for discussing the Dao be established," Chu Xun said.
"Can killing one person solve all the problems? Will destroying Kunlun prevent the same thing from happening again?" Shen Cangyu asked.
In the past, people destroyed a celestial revelation site; now, they destroy a site for questioning the common people; and in the future, they will destroy Kunlun Mountain. People think they are making progress, but in reality, it is just history repeating itself over and over again.
People sense the slightest sign of trouble and think about destroying everything and starting over. The search for the Way is like this, and so is creation.
Does killing one person solve the problem? Will scrapping the entire outline and rewriting it make it better?
Seeing that Shen Cangyu remained unmoved, Chu Xun changed his approach and tried to persuade her: "If Shen Qingyan doesn't die, you will be the one who dies."
“You’re exaggerating,” Shen Cangyu laughed. “I don’t want to die, and no one can kill me.”
Shen Cangyu turned her head to watch the setting sun on the horizon being swallowed by the mountains little by little. She said, "Moreover, the ending of this story doesn't necessarily have to involve bloodshed. It's not that one side has to be wiped out for the other side to survive. And the ending isn't necessarily the end."
"How arrogant... If you don't want to kill, what are you trying to do back in Kunlun? You're not here to persuade me to lay down my sword, are you?"
“Of course…” Shen Cangyu’s eyes curved into a smile, “I need to borrow your Taoist magic for a bit.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the figure in front of her turned into mist and vanished into thin air, while a paper figure floated down from the roof beam. Looking at the fallen paper, Chu Xun suddenly realized that Shen Cangyu had now acquired Xu Qiubai's abilities. The more he talked to Shen Cangyu, the longer he stayed, the more she saw through him. Shen Cangyu could acquire Daoist abilities from others, and as he was persuaded by her, his abilities were also transferred to her.
Shen Cangyu's words were vague, but Chu Xun understood her meaning. She wanted to mix the people of Kunlun and the Five Evils together and let them live in peace? How could that be possible? Copper coins only have heads and tails. When you toss a copper coin in the air, it will land either heads or tails. There is no third way.
Chu Xun had not considered a third solution either.
But according to Shen Cangyu's wishes, she didn't care about front or back; she wanted to melt down the copper coin and cast it into a ball, so that there would be no distinction between front and back, and both sides would be the same.
This is utterly insane. Even if people were willing to follow Shen Cangyu's advice, Heaven wouldn't allow her to do this; it's practically defying the will of Heaven.
If the ending of a story doesn't meet the author's expectations, the author will continuously revise the plot, and the world will start anew.
Can we really trust her? Chu Xun looked at the scattered bamboo strips and dust on the ground and thought, "Perhaps there is no other way but to trust her? After all, she is the only variable in this world, the one everyone hopes for. If Shen Cangyu can't write this ending well, then they can't either. Let's just do as she says."
You lied to me. You promised me you would help me overthrow Kunlun and create a perfect ending so I could fulfill my wish.
"Yes, I'm helping you fulfill your wish. Making dumplings, a happy reunion, what a wonderful story! A happy ending, right?"
[No… You sent Wanqian back to Kunlun to transform the entire region, to build a harmonious society where everyone can live together. But the prerequisite is that you must first kill Shen Qingyan, otherwise he will definitely stop your actions. So your next action is to kill Shen Qingyan, kill that transmigrator, and then transform Kunlun. This is the sequence of events, do you understand?]
"All I could tell was that you really wanted to kill him."
The central theme of this story is killing the time traveler. It's either you kill him, or he kills you. According to the plot, only when one of you dies can the story come to an end.
"Then I'll discuss it with him when I have time, and figure out who should die."
【you! 】
"Sect Leader?" The disciple of the Hall of Good and Evil looked at Shen Cangyu with a wary gaze. "What brings you here, sir?"
"Is there any progress in the research on the Spirit Pearl?" Shen Cangyu asked. She was now using Chu Xun's Taoist magic to transform into Shen Qingyan's appearance through paper dolls.
"This..." This question hit the sore spot of the disciples of the Hall of Good and Evil. They had been busy looking for the Five Evils in Kunlun, so how could they have time to care about this Spirit Pearl? This Spirit Pearl had been left in the Hall of Good and Evil for many years, and the research had not made any progress. The dust on the box had accumulated to countless layers, and everyone had long forgotten about this Spirit Pearl.
"Have you forgotten the purpose of the Five Evils coming to Kunlun? They came to Kunlun to find this Spirit Pearl. If it weren't for this Spirit Pearl, why would they come to Kunlun and go to such great lengths to turn people into the Five Evils?" They are quick to arrest people, but these people are really only concerned with arresting people and have completely forgotten that Wuliangsheng came to Kunlun to find this Spirit Pearl. The Spirit Pearl is clearly the key.
Shen Cangyu thought to himself, "Shen Chunrong, you've really done all sorts of bad things, using this method to trick people into working for you."
The author remains silent.
"Back then, sending the Kunlun Immortal Master to immortality was for the sake of the plot. Now, using this spiritual pearl to lure the Five Evils to Kunlun is also for the sake of the plot. Asking me to kill Shen Qingyan is also for the sake of the plot. Is the plot really that important?"
Readers read novels for the plot, of course. What else would they read? The characters?
"Then what are you trying to achieve by writing this childish, make-believe scenario? Making countless people fight over a useless glass bead—look at how childish your plot is! Can you even convince yourself of that?"
[Who said those were ordinary glass beads? They're clearly very important; you just haven't discovered their wonders. Why are you saying I'm wrong!]
"So what exactly is its use?"
Figure it out yourself; don't try to trick me into telling you anything.
The disciples of the Hall of Good and Evil said, "This spirit pearl is related to longevity and becoming an immortal, but it is not a pill and has no effect when taken. We guess that it is probably a useless thing."
“Take me to see it,” Shen Cangyu said.
The disciple of the Hall of Good and Evil hesitated, but Shen Cangyu looked at him calmly and said, "Didn't you say it was useless? Why won't you let me see it?"
The disciple from the Hall of Good and Evil sighed and said, "Then I'll take you there." Walking through the dark passage, he couldn't help but wonder why Shen Qingyan seemed different today. Could it be that he had recently survived several assassination attempts and undergone a transformation?
As Shen Cangyu passed through the tunnel, she looked up at the flickering candlelight around her and the Ten Kings of Hell surrounding her.
When she first came here, she thought she was a ghost who had forgotten to drink the Meng Po soup and escaped from the Naihe Bridge to be reborn. So she dared not look Yama in the eye, for fear that Yama would come back to life and take her soul away.
Shen Cangyu is no longer afraid. After all, the King of Hell judges right and wrong. She was reborn through her own abilities and did not escape the rules. She did nothing wrong, so why should she be detained?
The Hall of Good and Evil also judges good and evil, placing people on a scale and weighing their good and evil deeds until a clear distinction between right and wrong is reached. But can good and evil, which arise from subjective human judgment, truly be clearly distinguished?
"This is the Spirit Pearl." The disciple of the Hall of Good and Evil wiped the dust off the brocade box, opened the lid, and the Spirit Pearl lay inside, unchanged for years. He handed the box over, and just as Shen Cangyu was about to raise his hand, a voice came from behind him: "A rare guest."
Shen Cangyu turned around and saw Huang Menglu standing at the door looking at her. Her figure was both strange and familiar, and the scene overlapped with the scene from back then.
When the disciples of the Hall of Good and Evil saw Huang Menglu arrive, they quickly took the box back.
“If she wants it, then give it to her,” Huang Menglu said, looking at Shen Cangyu. “I’m at ease knowing the Spirit Pearl is in her hands.”
Shen Cangyu only asked to take a look at the Spirit Pearl, but Elder Huang immediately handed over the ownership of the Spirit Pearl to Shen Cangyu.
The disciple of the Hall of Good and Evil opened his mouth, unsure how to explain. He couldn't make a decision on this matter, and if Hall Master Huang blamed him, he would be in trouble.
"Don't worry, my brother has already promised."
The disciple of the Hall of Good and Evil touched his waist; the recording bead was still there. Since Elder Huang had spoken and the recording bead was his witness, he closed his eyes and released the spirit bead. He then picked up the brocade box again and placed it in Shen Cangyu's hand.
Shen Cangyu put it into his sleeve and walked towards Huang Menglu.
She bowed to Huang Menglu, and as she lowered her head, she heard Huang Menglu say, "It is a true promise. I did not lie to you. We have been waiting for you to take the Spirit Pearl away. It is of no use to us if it stays in our hands. Perhaps only you know its destiny."
Shen Cangyu looked up at Huang Menglu and asked softly, "What if we bet wrong?"
"Is there really right and wrong in this world?" Huang Menglu laughed. "Right and wrong, black and white, are determined by people's words."
*
Moonlight Soup.
Mingzhao took a breath and continued running forward, passing through forests, mountains, and rivers, before entering the Forest of All Beings.
She considered leaving Kunlun, but her foot, hovering on the dividing line, couldn't move forward. A voice inside her said, "What would it mean if I left now? I know that leaving Kunlun would bring me spiritual liberation, but if I leave, I might regret it for the rest of my life."
She turned and ran, and with each step she took, a new idea popped into her head, until the moon was high over the mountain, and new visions filled her mind. The moonlight spilled across the ground, like salt falling on the wound in her heart; she felt pain, yet also a strange joy.
When she rushed into the Forest of All Beings, she saw a figure standing in the forest, blocking her way, but at a distance.
Lu Yuan stared at her and said, "What are you doing here? You're not welcome here."
“I know what to do,” Mingzhao said, breathing heavily as he walked toward her. “I’ve found a perfect solution.”
The prejudice against Wen Cangsheng stems from a lack of understanding of him. If Wen Cangsheng could simply share his story, allowing others to empathize and truly understand him, the conflict would dissipate, and the issue would be resolved. All conflicts originate from the "intolerance of those who are not of us" mentality, leading to factionalism and exclusion. However, if everyone were on the same side, these disputes would cease to exist.
“They want to kill us, they can find a million reasons, they don’t care whether I’m on the same side as them or not. You say you’re going to help me, how are you going to help? If the people from the Discipline Hall come to convict me tomorrow, how are you going to stop them? Just based on your golden words?” Lu Yuan said, but when she saw her coming, she didn’t back down.
“Yes, just because of my golden words and my eloquent tongue,” Mingzhao grabbed her hand and stuffed the warm lizard pendant back into her hand, “If the people from the Discipline Hall want to arrest you, I will argue with them. I don’t care about being condemned by thousands or having a lot of opinions, I don’t care about sophistry or nitpicking, I will defend you against them all.”
A person can probably only do one thing in their lifetime.
Mingzhao thought that she couldn't do anything great; protecting those who cared for the common people was her greatest wish right now. Forget about grand ambitions and lasting fame; she only wanted the present.
“This is only the first step,” Mingzhao said. “If the people in the Admonition Hall want to convict you, I will clarify the charges for you. Besides you, there is Sister Lusheng, and everyone in Wencangsheng. I have studied Wenxin Diaolong for so many years so that one day I can make words work, whether with a pen or with a mouth. After I have defended you, we will spread the knowledge of Wencangsheng so that more people can receive Wencangsheng and become familiar with it.”
After a long silence, Lu Yuan finally spoke: "I hate writing books."
“It’s alright, I’ll write it,” Mingzhao said. “Tell me your perspective on the plight of the people, and I will spread it to the world for you.”
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