"Old Ren, there's one thing I can't figure out. Why do you want to shake off Original Sin so badly?"
Gu Qingfeng asked, "As someone tainted by Original Sin, isn't it just that Heaven and Earth can't tolerate you? There are only two outcomes: either Old Heaven kills you, or you kill Old Heaven. Neither outcome should be a big problem for you, right? Even if it ends up triggering the Present-Ancient Cataclysm and wiping out all living beings, you shouldn't care, should you? Since that's the case, why bother trying to escape Original Sin?"
"Brother Gu, before I answer your question, may I ask you something? Why do you want to escape Original Sin?"
Ren Tianxing said calmly, "As far as I know, Brother Gu also fears neither Heaven nor Earth, and doesn't care about the countless beings of the Great Dao. So why do you want to escape Original Sin?"
"You're right, I really don't fear Heaven and Earth, and I don't care if these beings live or die. But..." Gu Qingfeng chuckled, "I'm a lazy man. I don't like trouble. I just want to live a leisurely, carefree little life. Since Heaven, Earth, and the Great Dao can't tolerate me, they come looking for trouble every few days, endlessly causing me grief. I'm sick of it. I can't stand it anymore."
"If that's the case, why don't you just wipe out Heaven, Earth, and all living beings? Then no one would ever bother you again."
"Don't mention it, I've actually thought about it."
Gu Qingfeng said, "If I had the ability, I might really have done it. The key is, I don't have that kind of power. How can Heaven, Earth, and the Great Dao be so easily destroyed?"
"Hah!"
Suddenly, Ren Tianxing, who had remained stern the entire time, laughed softly, then shook his head and poured Gu Qingfeng another cup of wine. "It seems I've been overthinking things all along. Brother Gu doesn't consider me a friend."
"Where did that come from?"
"I admire Brother Gu's character and hold you in high esteem. I've always considered you a kindred spirit. That's why, upon meeting this time, I've been so open and sincere, speaking from the heart."
"What are you talking about? It's like I'm hiding something or holding back. Old Ren, I haven't deceived you. Forget our friendship for a moment; just based on how you threw out a whole pile of Hell's Unpredictable Wine without a second thought today, I wouldn't lie to you."
"Good. Let me ask you again: Is your desire to escape Original Sin truly just because you don't want to get caught up in the huge mess of the Present-Ancient Cataclysm?"
"Absolutely true."
"What if you can't escape it?"
"Nothing. If I can't escape it, then I won't. So be it."
"Brother Gu, have you resigned yourself to Fate?"
"You've already asked me that. I said I've resigned myself to Fate, and I still say the same thing now. I've accepted my Fate."
Ren Tianxing didn't continue questioning. He just stared at Gu Qingfeng.
"If you don't believe me, I can swear a Heavenly Oath right now."
"No! I believe you."
"That's the right answer."
Gu Qingfeng tilted his head back and drank, sighing, "Old Ren, our tempers click. You like me, I like you, that's why we can chat like this. But there's one thing about us that's different."
"What's different?"
"You are a Demon. I am a Human."
"What's the difference between Demon and Human? When Humans go mad, they become more demonic than Demons. And while Demons are born without the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, without concepts of good and evil or morality, that doesn't mean they can't develop them later. Back in the Nine Nethers, you've seen Demons who were more human than Humans."
"Don't be in such a hurry. Can you let me finish what I'm saying?"
"Go ahead."
"I'm not saying Demons and Humans are different, and I'm certainly not discriminating against Demons. I'm just saying the two of us are different. You are a Demon, I am a Human. Our origins are different, our personalities are different, the things we've experienced are different. So, our states of mind are also different. What I want may not be what you want, and what you want may not be what I want."
Pausing briefly, Gu Qingfeng continued, "I know the reason you want to escape Original Sin is because you don't want to be bound by Karma, and you don't want to become a Chess Piece of Fate. Am I right?"
Ren Tianxing nodded.
He was inherently proud and solitary, even more so than Gu Qingfeng. He could not allow, nor tolerate, his entire life being bound by Karma. He could not allow himself to become a Chess Piece of Fate. That was why he was willing to pay any price to escape Original Sin.
"To be blunt, I also didn't want to be bound by Karma before, and I certainly didn't want to become a Chess Piece of Fate. Who doesn't want to control their own destiny? Everyone does. For that, I too once spared no effort trying to sever Karma and change Fate. Isn't that why, when the Wu Dao Mountain descended back then, I even gave up the chance to achieve Sainthood and instead ignited the Original Sin Karmic Flame? Why? To escape Original Sin."
"When I ignited the Original Sin Karmic Flame back then, I didn't think about whether I'd come back to life later. To tell you the truth, when I ignited it, I simply didn't want to live anymore. It would have been better if I died completely, because I knew that if I came back to life, not only would I fail to escape Original Sin, I'd sink even deeper into it."
"Unfortunately, I did come back to life later. And just as predicted, I didn't escape Original Sin, and sank even deeper..." He raised his cup again, drank again, and said, "Old Ren, I don't have your lofty ambitions. Even if I did before, after struggling for most of my life, they've long been worn away..."
"When you think about it carefully, my life has truly not been easy. In the first half, for the sake of survival, I spent every day fighting and killing. My precious youth was fucking spent on killing! As the old saying goes, youthful memories are like green apples—sour and sweet. But my youthful memories? Aside from killing people, it was still killing people. To this day, thinking about it still makes me sick!"
"You say there's no difference between Demon and Human. I agree with that. You say Humans can sometimes be more demonic than Demons. I agree with that too. You say Demons can also develop the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, concepts of good and evil and morality. I also agree. But that's only 'later'."
"Humans are different. Humans are born with the Seven Emotions and Six Desires, with concepts of good and evil and morality. Back then, every person I killed tormented my conscience. That sense of guilt was agonizing; you simply can't understand it. Although I've transcended good and evil and morality now, I haven't ascended to the point of forgetting emotions. I still have the Seven Emotions and Six Desires. Many things aren't forgotten just because you've transcended them, nor can you simply stop caring..."
"To put it plainly, I'm tired. In my last life, for the sake of survival, I wasted my precious youth. I don't want to fucking waste my next life on something as trivial as Karma and Fate."
"Original Sin, Illusory Self, Karma, Fate, whatever fucking Black Hole, whatever fucking Cataclysm—I really can't be bothered to think about them anymore. Right now, I just want to live my own life, to live for the sake of living for myself."
He raised his cup and drank.
The jar was empty.
Gu Qingfeng stood up, stretched lazily, and said, "As for whether I'm bound by Karma or a Chess Piece of Fate, let it be. Whatever will be, will be. When Heaven sends rain, a mother marries off her daughter. What shouldn't happen will never happen. What is destined to happen will eventually happen. No one can stop it."
Turning around, Gu Qingfeng looked at Ren Tianxing and said, "So, Old Ren, stop struggling pointlessly. Accept your Fate. What's the point of useless struggle? You'd be better off having some fun with that time. As far as I know, you've never been with a woman in your life, have you? How about this: later, let's go visit a brothel. I'll call a couple of courtesans for you to play with."