Perhaps not expecting Gu Qingfeng to suddenly laugh, and to laugh so bizarrely, Su Hua frowned and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing," he replied. "It's just that today, twice in a row, I've heard people call me a shameless, rotten scoundrel. I find it rather amusing. Maybe I really am just such a shameless, rotten scoundrel."
"Who else called you that?"
"Another woman. A woman as beautiful as you, and probably just as disappointed in me."
Su Hua pursed her lips. Though she wanted to ask about this woman Gu Qingfeng mentioned, after a moment's thought, she didn't press further.
"Listen, sister, thanks for thinking of me as a hero before. But to be honest, you really overestimated me. The word 'hero' carries too much weight; I can't shoulder it, and I'm not worthy of it."
"No!" Su Hua shook her head. "You definitely weren't like this back then. After you faked your death and vanished from this world, what exactly did you experience? How did you fall to such a state?"
Su Hua had always regarded Monarch Chixiao as a hero. Even now, knowing Gu Qingfeng was Monarch Chixiao, she still felt the same—at the very least, she was certain the Monarch Chixiao of the past had been one. As she had said, she had walked every path he'd taken, visited every place he'd been, and learned of every deed he'd done.
In her mind, only a peerless hero like Monarch Chixiao could have traversed that perilous, heaven-defying road of life and death, dared to commit those earth-shattering, soul-stirring acts of madness, played those stirring, magnificent melodies, and created such inconceivable divine arts.
She believed something terrible must have happened to Gu Qingfeng after he left this world. Otherwise, how could a heaven-defying hero have degenerated into today's shameless scoundrel?
"Stop your wild imaginings," Gu Qingfeng chuckled. "I can tell you plainly: I am a thoroughgoing, shameless bastard and scoundrel. Have been since I was a kid. It's my nature, can't be changed. I'll be like this my whole life. As for 'hero'? That's something completely unrelated, not even remotely close."
Su Hua wanted to say more, but Gu Qingfeng cut her off. "I say, Sister Su, do you have business or not? If there's nothing important, let's not waste time chatting. My brothers are still waiting for me to go back and drink."
"Aren't you drinking right now?"
"Is that the same?"
"What's the difference? If you want someone to drink with, I can keep you company."
"Alright, alright, forget it. You wouldn't understand, being a woman. So, is there something or not? If there is, spit it out. Don't waste time on useless talk."
"You, this person..." Su Hua was utterly speechless. She swore that if she didn't know Gu Qingfeng's true identity, she would never be able to connect this fellow who sat casually on the ground, fond of his drink, with the peerless hero Monarch Chixiao in her heart. The gap between them was like that between demon and Buddha, Heaven and Earth—utterly incomparable.
"Forget it. I don't want to say more about other things. But there's one matter I must ask clearly."
"What is it? Go ahead."
"Do you know why I reincarnated into this world? And why I went through such hardships to track you down?"
"Ah, yes. Why? Tell me."
"For Karma."
"Stop!" Hearing the word 'Karma,' Gu Qingfeng immediately felt a headache coming on. He tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead. "Sister, spare me. Really, I can't hear those two words right now. They give me a headache."
"Why?"
"No reason. Just a headache."
"You are a person of Original Sin, fused with the Blood of Original Sin, and inextricably linked to the Karmic Black Hole of the Wu Dao Age in ways that are unclear and indescribable. What's even more terrifying is that the Karma of Original Sin is destined to plunge one into the Sea of Bitterness. I haven't even said I have a headache yet. Why are you complaining?"
"Oh ho! Looks like you know quite a bit."
"Nonsense. Otherwise, why do you think I sought you out?"
"What? Do you have a way to escape it?"
"No."
Su Hua shook her head. "As far as I know, no one can escape the Sea of Bitterness. At least, no one has managed it to this day."
"If there's no way out, why do you seem so... cheerful?"
"Where do you see me being cheerful?"
"You're not exactly cheerful, but you don't look very worried either."
Gu Qingfeng thought it over carefully, feeling rather puzzled. Yun Nishang, Jun Xuanji, Feng Zhuyue, Tang Heng... they all knew that their Karma with him would lead to the Sea of Bitterness. They either sealed themselves away, lost their egos, or reincarnated. So why did Su Hua, who also knew about the Sea of Bitterness, not seem as concerned?
Gu Qingfeng asked, "Aren't you afraid of falling into the Sea of Bitterness?"
"I am."
"Since you're afraid, why are you getting involved in Karma with me?"
"Do you think I wanted to?"
"Alright then. Do you know exactly what the Karma between us is all about?"
Su Hua shook her head again. "I don't know. Perhaps it's arranged by Fate. Perhaps it's due to Karma from a past life. Or perhaps it's related to the Karmic Black Hole."
"Karmic Black Hole?"
"The Karma of Heaven and Earth is already in chaos. The appearance of the Karmic Black Hole has intensified the disorder. Many people have inexplicably become linked by Karma. Whether it's Fate's arrangement, unresolved Karma from the past, or the chaos caused by the Karmic Black Hole between you and me, I don't know."
Gu Qingfeng wasn't unaware of the rumors about the Karmic Black Hole.
He'd heard this thing was born from the Wu Dao Age, and that it was something concocted by that Venerable Wu Dao.
They said that during the Wu Dao Age, Venerable Wu Dao discovered the greatest secret of Heaven and Earth, which was why The Gods judged him. To protect this secret, The Gods even launched a cataclysm that reduced the entire Wu Dao Age to ashes.
Another version was that Venerable Wu Dao did indeed discover the greatest secret of Heaven and Earth back then, but he wasn't judged by The Gods. Instead, he buried himself in the Wu Dao Age and used some heaven-defying divine art to make the era vanish into thin air.
Yet others said Venerable Wu Dao wasn't judged by The Gods but severed his Karma, became a God, transcended Heaven and Earth, and hid the greatest secret of Heaven and Earth within the Karmic Black Hole.
After all, these were just legends. No one knew how much was true, and Gu Qingfeng had no idea how credible any of it was.
However, the idea that the Karmic Black Hole caused Karmic chaos was something people often mentioned.
They said the Source of Karma had been cursed, causing the laws of Karma to fall into disorder long ago. Various Karmic threads became entangled by sheer coincidence. Moreover, legend had it that 'after three cycles of reincarnation, the ancient appears; past lives and present lives meet through Karma.' In other words, in this era, it was possible for one's present self to encounter one's past self.
As for whether severing Karma could make one a God, many had tried. But throughout the ages, no one had ever truly managed to sever their Karma.