"I'm being wronged here, you little brat! This old monk never once thought that, nor did I mean it that way!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk originally wanted to explain, but Gu Qingfeng had no interest in listening. Waving his hand to cut him off, he mocked, "Enough, Da Xing. Why are you pretending to be a fool with me here?"
"Who's pretending with you, you little punk?! This old monk really doesn't mean it like that!"
Perhaps due to a guilty conscience, when Da Xing the Mad Monk met Gu Qingfeng's deep, dark eyes, he swallowed his next words.
After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up, "So you're not going to look for Su Hua because you suspect her motives aren't pure? You suspect she wants to use emotions to restrain you?"
"Da Xing, you old scoundrel, your face is getting thicker and thicker. Are you still playing dumb with me even now? Dare you say there's nothing fishy between me and Su Hua? Not just Su Hua, but Tang Hengshu, Feng Zhuyue, Ye Tianlan, and Yun Nishang..."
"This..." Da Xing the Mad Monk was momentarily speechless, not knowing how to respond.
"I've said it before, in the chess game of the Present Era, both you and I are mere pawns. I don't know exactly who is playing this chess game of the Present Era, but there's one thing I can guess: the mess between me and Su Hua and the others is definitely not as simple as just Karma."
Gu Qingfeng said, "Someone used the Karma between me and them to set up this game. Perhaps it was Su Hua and the others themselves, and this 'themselves' could be their past lives, or perhaps they received guidance from someone from the very beginning."
"You're saying Su Hua and the others started planning this in their past lives? Trying to use emotions to restrain you?" Da Xing the Mad Monk asked, "And you even suspect they received guidance from someone? Who? Do you mean Genggu Wuming?"
"One who knows the past and future, holds command over Fate and Karma, deduces the cosmos and primordial chaos, and comprehends the mysteries of heaven and earth—I'm afraid that can only be Genggu Wuming."
Gu Qingfeng stood up, stretched lazily, and said in a languid tone, "Da Xing, dare you say you know nothing at all about this matter?"
"If this old monk says he doesn't know, you little brat probably wouldn't believe it anyway. But I truly didn't know before. However... later, after you ignited the Original Sin Karmic Flame and turned to ashes, when Feng Zhuyue and Tang Hengshu's past-life memories awakened and they returned to the Great Wastelands, I could more or less guess a little of what was going on."
Da Xing the Mad Monk sighed, "Their identities are all extraordinary, and each is more complicated than the last. In a sense, they all represent their respective Great Daos. If it were just one reincarnation forming Karma with you in the mortal world, it might be a coincidence. But the key point is, it's not just one; they're all like this. Then this matter is hard to explain. However..." After thinking for a moment, Da Xing took a sip of wine and said, "If this matter really was guided by Genggu Wuming behind the scenes, what would the purpose be? To use emotions to restrain you? To prevent the Cataclysm? But looking at you from any angle, you don't seem like someone who can be restrained by emotions."
Gu Qingfeng sneered, "That's exactly why I say that little girl Genggu Wuming is terrifying."
"How is she terrifying? Could it be that using emotions can really restrain you?"
"The word 'emotion' is the greatest variable between heaven and earth. Fate cannot determine it, Karma cannot bind it, and Humans cannot control it. It can be described as profoundly mysterious and wonderfully subtle, both indescribable and inexplicable. No one dares claim they will never be moved by emotion in their lifetime. Even a sage who has transcended all worldly attachments probably cannot, and I think even Genggu Wuming herself wouldn't dare guarantee it."
"Then what do you plan to do, kid?"
"Do about what?"
"You've seen through everything so clearly now. This old monk reckons nothing can be hidden from you anymore. So, do you plan to continue down the path of Original Sin? Or what?"
"I don't want to walk it, but do you have a way to point out another path for me?"
"Then you'd better keep walking. This old monk has no ability to point out a path for you."
"Then that settles it. I have no choice but to walk it now."
"If you continue down the path of Original Sin, how do you plan to walk it?"
"Don't know."
"Don't know, or haven't thought it through?"
"Don't know."
For some reason, when he heard Gu Qingfeng answer 'don't know,' Da Xing the Mad Monk seemed somewhat pleased. He said, "So that means you have nothing to do right now, right?"
"You could say that."
"In that case, why don't you accompany this old monk to the Qianji Heavenly Domain?"
"Qianji Heavenly Domain? What for?"
"The situation is like this. My senior brother, White-Brow, has run into a bit of trouble in the Qianji Heavenly Domain. I'm thinking of going over to help him, and by the way, leave this foolish disciple of mine with my senior brother again. When the time comes..." Before Da Xing the Mad Monk could finish, Gu Qingfeng shook his head and refused, "Not going."
"Damn it! You have nothing to do anyway. What's wrong with accompanying this old monk for a trip? And I guarantee you won't go in vain. Once you get there, you'll definitely have unexpected gains."
"Oh?"
"You'll naturally know once you go."
"Tell me first, then I'll consider whether to go."
"I said, you'll know once you go."
"Then forget it."
"You little punk!" Da Xing the Mad Monk seemed to know he couldn't keep playing this game, so he said, "Fine, I'll tell you. Our Buddhist Path has given birth to a Prophet Buddha, who is currently in the Qianji Heavenly Domain. If you come with this old monk, you can seek some advice from the Prophet Buddha. You said you don't know how to walk the path of Original Sin, right? Just ask the Prophet!"
"Prophet Buddha?" Gu Qingfeng had seen records of Prophets in some ancient texts before, which said Prophets could foresee the future. "Even Prophets have popped up in the Present Era?"
"What do you think?" Da Xing the Mad Monk rolled his eyes, then said proudly, "Only one Prophet has emerged in the Present Era, and he's from our Buddhist Path. What do you think? Interested?"
"Not interested!"
"What? What? Didn't you say you don't know how to walk the path of Original Sin? Don't you want to know?"
"I indeed don't know how to walk the path of Original Sin, but I also don't want to know how to walk it. And you know, I've always been disgusted by these mystical, enigmatic existences. One Genggu Wuming is already sickening enough. Now another Prophet pops up. If you piss me off, I'll slaughter the whole damn lot of you."
"Little brat, don't get it wrong. A Prophet is a Prophet, and Genggu Wuming is Genggu Wuming. They're different!"
"There's no difference. So-called Prophets foreseeing the future ultimately can't escape Karma and Fate. They're all birds of a feather, not a single good one among them."
"This..." Faced with someone as stubborn as Gu Qingfeng, who was neither moved by soft words nor cowed by threats, Da Xing the Mad Monk truly had no way to deal with him.
"Alright, we've talked, we've drunk, and it's about time. It's time for me to leave. You have fun playing here by yourself."