"You, kid, really...
How should I even begin to describe you?"
If it were before, Huode might have been able to guess what was going on in Gu Qingfeng's mind. As for now, forget guessing, he couldn't even begin to comprehend Gu Qingfeng's thoughts.
In his view, someone who was both a Person of Original Sin, a Self of Illusion, and a Variable of the Present Age—utterly intolerable to heaven and earth—knowing full well that upon awakening, the Three Thousand Great Daos would spare no effort to deal with him... if it were anyone else, wouldn't they just sit back and wait for death?
They would definitely make preparations in advance.
This was just like facing a heavenly tribulation. Knowing the tribulation was perilous, everyone would prepare for the coming calamity ahead of time. No one wanted to die in the midst of the tribulation.
Yet Gu Qingfeng, this fellow, remained utterly unmoved.
Forget making preparations.
It seemed like he hadn't given the matter the slightest thought. Not only had he made no preparations, but he also spent his days leisurely sipping wine and seeking amusement everywhere.
As if...
The one intolerable to heaven and earth wasn't him, but someone else.
Truly.
Huode truly could not understand the thoughts in Gu Qingfeng's mind.
Although Gu Qingfeng's situation was rather special—special to the point of seeming cursed by fate—things had not yet reached an irredeemable stage.
At the very least.
Huode knew Gu Qingfeng's situation was far from that degree.
Not only that.
He believed that if Gu Qingfeng were willing, this matter might not be without a chance for a turnaround.
For instance, by seeking out the Holy Maiden Empress Su Hua.
Huode was well aware that if Gu Qingfeng asked, Su Hua would definitely spare no cost to help him.
Moreover, given the Holy Maiden Empress's current influence, as long as she stepped forward to aid Gu Qingfeng, it could be said that even if the Three Thousand Great Daos truly wanted to move against Gu Qingfeng, they would have to weigh the consequences carefully.
Unfortunately.
Gu Qingfeng would absolutely not seek the Holy Maiden Empress's help, nor did he even bother to see her.
This left Huode quite helpless. What made Huode even more helpless was that his own Previous Life had already mentioned being wary of the Posuo, Mahā, and Kashyapa clans, and also urged Gu Qingfeng to find that specific woman.
Regardless of whether this matter was true or false, they should first investigate and get to the bottom of it. Perhaps finding that woman might indeed bring about a turn for the better.
As for news regarding the Posuo, Mahā, and Kashyapa clans.
That was hardly difficult.
As long as they went to find the Heavenly Mechanism Elder, Genggu Wuming, they would definitely be able to learn news of these three clans, and perhaps even information about the woman Gu Qingfeng was supposed to find.
Unfortunately.
Gu Qingfeng seemed to harbor some aversion toward Genggu Wuming—one could even say disgust—and similarly couldn't be bothered to see him.
Huode pondered.
No matter the outcome, they had to give it a try anyway.
Trying might still hold hope.
If they didn't try, there wouldn't be even a shred of hope.
But Gu Qingfeng now couldn't even be bothered to try. To Huode, it felt as if he was just sitting back waiting for death, resigning himself to fate.
Had Gu Kid truly resigned himself to fate?
Or was it truly as this kid had said: he had already spent his youth struggling for survival and hope in the past, and now, in the future, he didn't want to spend the rest of his life struggling for so-called karma and fate. He just wanted to live, no longer wanting to live for survival hopes or karma and fate—he only wanted to live for himself.
Huode had originally intended to open his mouth and persuade him, but once he thought about these words from Gu Qingfeng, after turning it over in his mind, the words reached the tip of his tongue but ultimately never came out.
Actually.
Come to think of it, sometimes upon careful reflection, Huode also felt that Gu Qingfeng's words made a lot of sense.
A person's lifetime, said to be long isn't that long, said to be short isn't that short either.
Since one is alive, one should live for oneself. Why struggle pointlessly for all those messy, complicated things?
Rather than that, it was better to live each day joyfully, live each day free and unfettered.
However.
This kind of thinking could only remain a thought.
Huode was just Huode. He wasn't Gu Qingfeng. His heart wasn't as vast as Gu Qingfeng's. He couldn't achieve the carefree attitude of Gu Qingfeng, who would eat and drink his fill today even if the sky were to collapse tomorrow.
Every time he thought of this, Huode admired Gu Qingfeng immensely. This admiration came from the bottom of his heart, and it was an admiration that bowed in complete submission.
Night fell.
Gu Qingfeng wandered aimlessly through this realm.
He didn't know if it was because the longer he lived, the lazier he became, or if it was because he was inherently too weak, but nowadays, even slight exertion made Gu Qingfeng feel utterly exhausted.
Earlier, he had been running around following Huode's Previous Life, and then, to suppress Huode's Previous Life, he had indeed worn himself out considerably. After Huode's consciousness had awakened, Gu Qingfeng thought about finding a place to get a good night's sleep.
He had initially thought this should be a mortal world, but after wandering for a while, he found this wretched place didn't even have a single human shadow. Moreover, it was lifeless and dreary. Lifting his head to look, he then realized this world was a desolate one—to be precise, it couldn't even be considered a proper world.
Because here, there was neither the renewal of sun and moon, nor any World Origin. It could only be considered a Secret Realm, and by the looks of it, an abandoned, desolate one at that.
Gu Qingfeng took out his Star Chart and checked. Unfortunately, the Star Chart bore no imprint of this Secret Realm. "Where is this godforsaken, bird-shit place?"
Huode also took out his Star Chart and checked, shaking his head. Clearly, his Star Chart also had no imprint regarding this Secret Realm. Then he successively took out four or five more Star Charts, but unfortunately, none had the imprint of this Secret Realm. He said, "I reckon this place used to be a Secret Realm. It probably encountered some calamity, suffered a cataclysmic disaster. The people inside either all died or all left. In short, this Secret Realm looks exactly like one of those abandoned, desolate realms."
In the Great Desolate, desolate realms like this were too numerous to count.
And they were mostly as Huode described: having suffered some calamity, thereafter becoming desolate, gradually losing vitality, and thus being abandoned.
As for what kind of calamity, that was hard to say.
It could have been the chaotic turbulence and storms within the Great Desolate, or perhaps some natural storm disaster, and so on.
It was also possible they had been slaughtered by demons and monsters.
Such occurrences happened frequently in the Great Desolate and were not uncommon.
Seeing Gu Qingfeng didn't respond, Huode asked, "Gu Kid, where are we heading?"
Gu Qingfeng let out a yawn and said, "First, find a place to sleep."
"Sleep again?"
Huode said gloomily, "Kid, on the ship, besides eating, drinking, and sleeping, you did nothing else. Haven't you slept enough?"
"To keep an eye on your crazy, mad Previous Life, I've been trailing right behind, not slacking off for a moment. After all this running around, shouldn't I, your lord, get some sleep?"
"Alright!
Hearing you say that, I should properly thank you, shouldn't I?"
"What did you think?
I've been jumping up and down for your sake. Shouldn't you, old man, reward your lord properly?"
"Elder Gu, Ancestor Gu, once we leave this place, I'll find a spot to properly reward you, alright?"