"I say, Ancestor Gu, can we please not make jokes like that in the future? My guts are small, I can't handle the fright!"
"Alright, alright, I won't. Come, let's drink!"
"Young Gu, I know you've always resented the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, but..." Gu Qingfeng shook his head, "Resent it? No, I'm just a bit displeased, that's all. And to be honest, I can completely understand why the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth couldn't tolerate me back then."
Da Xing the Mad Monk seemed surprised by Gu Qingfeng's words, doubting, "Really?"
"What's there to be real or fake about? Just think from their perspective. After all, the Book of Fate records Original Sin as the Calamity of the Present-Ancient Era. If I were the Great Dao of the Heavens, I wouldn't tolerate those bearing Original Sin either. I'd nip the threat in the bud, and definitely wouldn't let it grow. What if it grew up and actually became the Calamity of the Present-Ancient Era? Then it would be beyond control."
Da Xing stared at Gu Qingfeng in astonishment. After a long while, he finally praised, "Young Gu, impressive! I never noticed before that you had such profound understanding."
"I'm sick of you Buddhas and your talk about understanding and realms. What does this have to do with understanding and realms? Everyone is just trying to survive. There's no point talking about right or wrong, hatred or grudges. We're all just pawns played by fate in this chess game of the Present-Ancient Era."
"Who says it isn't so."
Gu Qingfeng and Da Xing the Mad Monk chatted idly while drinking. When the topic turned to the Tribulation-Bearers who carried the True Mandate, Da Xing suddenly remembered someone and asked, "After your nirvanic rebirth, have you seen Su Hua?"
"Su Hua?"
Perhaps not expecting Da Xing to suddenly mention Su Hua, Gu Qingfeng's brows furrowed slightly. He lowered his head, took a sip of wine, remained silent for a moment, then shook his head, "No. After I was reborn, I was recuperating inside secret realms the whole time. I've only just stepped out."
"That girl Su Hua has been waiting for you all this time. Did you know that?"
"I've heard."
"Just heard? And then? You're not planning to look for her?"
"Let it be as fate wills."
"What do you mean 'let it be as fate wills'? Are you really going to be this heartless? Su Hua waited for you for over ten thousand years! And back then, after you ignited the Original Sin Karmic Flames on Wudao Mountain and turned to ash, do you know how heartbroken and pained she was? She wept every day, became depressed and gloomy, her spirit troubled, staring blankly at every sunset."
"Back then, everyone thought you were dead. Only Su Hua firmly believed that one day you would come back to life. Even so, we all knew that Su Hua couldn't be sure you would revive. She just couldn't accept the fact that you had died."
Speaking of Su Hua, Da Xing couldn't help but sigh, "For ten thousand years, that girl Su Hua traveled across the myriad realms of the heavens, trekked through countless mountains and rivers, healing the sick and saving the world, enlightening all living beings. Do you think she did it to forget you? No! It was to wait for you, and to search for you. She hoped to meet your reincarnated self in some minor world, or encounter your nirvanically reborn self somewhere."
"That girl Su Hua is so devoted to you. If you had truly died, that would be one thing. But since you've been reborn, why not go find her? Can you bear to let her keep waiting? Keep searching?"
"I say, Da Xing, you're supposed to be a Living Buddha in this world," Gu Qingfeng said. "Why the hell are you so interested in worldly, mortal affairs?"
"You said it yourself, I'm a Living Buddha. Since I'm a Living Buddha, I naturally live within the mortal dust of the secular world."
"Is that so..." Gu Qingfeng smiled faintly and said no more.
"Tell me, what's the real reason? Are you worried about implicating that girl Su Hua? Come to think of it, you are a bearer of Original Sin, and the purest, most primitive one with the greatest variables. And Su Hua? She's a Tribulation-Bearer who carries the True Mandate, also the purest, most primitive one with the greatest hope of stopping the Calamity."
Da Xing lamented, "You two are like fire and water, incompatible. Yet you're a pair of star-crossed lovers. That's why they say fate plays tricks. These matters of karma and fate can be so damn infuriating sometimes!"
Changing the subject, Da Xing added, "However... I reckon this shouldn't be too big a problem for you. If nothing else, with your abilities today and that girl Su Hua's skills, if you two really wanted to be together, I'm afraid not even the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth could stop you, let alone karma, fate, or destiny's tricks."
"If it's not that worry, then why on earth won't you go find her?"
Da Xing poured himself another drink, eyeing the silent Gu Qingfeng. He leaned forward and asked, "Could it be you're really like the rumors say?"
Gu Qingfeng asked curiously, "What do the rumors say about me?"
"You don't know?"
"I really don't."
"Since you don't know, I'll tell you. The rumors say you're the most famous and greatest heartless scoundrel in all the heavens and earth. How did that saying go again? Something about you being a 'cold-hearted monarch yet sentimental man,' and calling you a 'faithless You Di, a heart-stealing thief.' All sorts of nonsense, saying you love to leave traces of affection everywhere, and you're especially skilled at playing with emotions..."
"Stop! Enough!" Gu Qingfeng cursed angrily, "Who the hell spread that?"
"How would I know who spread it? That's just what everyone says. All those legendary stories about you say the same."
"Damn it!" Gu Qingfeng said gloomily, "I slept for ten thousand years, and when I wake up, I've become a heartless scoundrel? And the most famous and greatest one at that? How am I heartless? How am I faithless?"
"Do I need to spell it out for you one by one? Don't you know what you've done? Feng Zhuyue? Tang Henghao? Ye Tianlan, Yun Nishang, and Jun Xuanji, plus Su Hua."
"That was ages ago."
"No matter how long ago, it still happened."
"These matters involve karma. It can't be explained in a sentence or two."
"Don't give me that karma nonsense. The fact is, you've been involved with all of them, right?"
"I..." Gu Qingfeng started to explain, then shook his head, too lazy to continue. "So what if I've been involved with all of them? Does that make me the greatest and most famous heartless scoundrel in all the heavens and earth?"
"Just look at who they are, what their statuses are. Do you think Feng Zhuyue is just anyone? She's the damn Empress of the Nine Nether Demonic Dao! Do you think Tang Henghao is just anyone? She's the Empress of the Nine Heavens Immortal Dao! Do you think Ye Tianlan is just anyone? She's the Empress of the Nine Firmaments Heavenly Dao! And Yun Nishang? She's the damn Empress of the Great Nature, the incarnation of the damn Mother of Great Nature! And Su Hua... she's now the Holy Maiden Empress! And Jun Xuanji? She's the damn Empress of the Daoless Era!"