"Huh? Why, Senior Martial Sister? You haven't even spoken yet, so how could he know you need his help?"
Bai Chou said, "Throughout the myriad realms of the heavens, if he wishes it, nothing can be hidden from him."
"Senior Martial Sister, you came this time to invite him to change fate together and break free from Original Sin. I think if he truly knew, he wouldn't refuse, right? After all, he's also one of Those with Original Sin, and as you've said, he's the one who's fallen deepest into Original Sin. If that's the case, he should want to break free more than anyone else. How could he possibly refuse? And..." Remembering how Gu Qingfeng had looked sitting on the cliff's edge drinking just moments before, Wolan felt an indescribable ache in her heart. "He looked truly lonely just now, truly desolate... His sorrowful appearance makes one... feel... heartbroken."
"Lonely? Heh..." Bai Chou murmured. "He has walked this path alone all along. To this day, he may not be able to enjoy loneliness, but he has long since grown accustomed to it. How could he be sorrowful because of loneliness?"
Wolan said, "Perhaps it's truly as You Di himself said—he may have lost himself within Original Sin. Or perhaps he doesn't even know if he's still himself anymore..."
After she finished speaking, Bai Chou suddenly laughed, a laugh that seemed utterly inexplicable.
"Senior Martial Sister, what are you laughing at?"
"Junior Sister, I can tell you seriously: even if I were lost, even if all Those with Original Sin between Heaven and Earth were lost, he probably wouldn't be."
"Why? Didn't Senior Martial Sister say that the deeper one falls into Original Sin, the easier it is to get lost? You Di has already fallen so deep. Why do you say he won't get lost?"
"Why? Heh, because he is You Di, a unique existence between Heaven and Earth, and also the most unfathomable existence. He follows his whims, capricious in joy and anger. When happy, Heaven and Earth rejoice; when angry, Heaven and Earth weep. Throughout the heavens above and the earth below, no one can take his pulse. Don't be fooled by his usual casual, unserious demeanor when he's joking around. He knows better than anyone what he wants and what he doesn't."
Bai Chou continued, "For any of us, as our Mental State changes, the dreams we pursue change with it. For example, in our youth, our dream might be to possess a beautiful flying sword. After obtaining the flying sword, we dream of becoming immortals. After becoming immortals, we dream of roaming the world with sword in hand alongside our beloved. Human desire is endless, never satisfied."
Shifting her tone, Bai Chou added, "But he is different. His dream has only ever been one thing, from beginning to end, and it has never changed."
"Senior Martial Sister, do you know what You Di's dream is?"
"His dream is to have no dream."
"Huh? A dream of having no dream?"
"Yes, a dream of having no dream."
"A dream of having no dream... wouldn't that mean having no pursuits at all? What meaning is there in living like that?"
"You're quite right. Having no dream means having no pursuits, and living would have no meaning. Yet, he just so happens to live exactly like this—without any dream, without any pursuit, without any meaning. And, you know what? He likes living this casually. He doesn't care about anything, doesn't mind anything, is indifferent to everything. If he can be happy for a day, he'll be happy for a day. If he can be carefree for a day, he'll be carefree for a day. If he can't be happy or carefree anymore, he wouldn't mind dying either."
"Before, I didn't understand. I didn't understand how he could transcend the great Dao and all living beings, transcend life and death, good and evil, transcend worldly morality, even transcend himself, yet why he alone hadn't transcended his own heart, leaving behind the seven emotions and six desires. Later, I gradually understood. It wasn't that he couldn't transcend, but that he didn't want to. He simply doesn't want to be a desireless, detached sage who has transcended everything. He only wants to be a common person who follows his whims, lives leisurely and freely, and is indifferent to everything."
"Now do you understand why I said that even if all Those with Original Sin were lost, he wouldn't be?"
Wolan nodded. She understood.
Bai Chou's meaning was simple. She said Gu Qingfeng had neither dream nor pursuit, was indifferent to and didn't care about anything, and just lived casually. If he could live, he'd live; if he couldn't, so be it.
In other words, for other Those with Original Sin, being lost might truly mean being lost...
But for Gu Qingfeng, being lost or not was the same, because he simply didn't care and was indifferent anyway. Since he was just living casually, did it matter whether he was lost or not?
The answer was certain.
It didn't matter in the slightest.
"Junior Sister, do you know what kind of Mental State this is for him?"
Wolan shook her head. She didn't know.
"I don't know what kind of Mental State this is either. Probably no one between Heaven and Earth knows. I only know that this Mental State of his gives the three thousand great Daos a headache, leaves all Those with Original Sin helpless, and leaves Heaven and Earth, karma, Fate, and everything related to the Present Era's cataclysm utterly at a loss. If Original Sin truly had consciousness, I imagine it would be utterly exasperated facing this fellow."
"He doesn't take initiative, doesn't refuse, doesn't take responsibility. If someone makes a move, he counters it. If no move is made, he doesn't counter. If someone fights him, he fights back. If someone drags things out with him, he drags things out too. If someone grafts his karma, he doesn't stop them. If someone sets a trap for him, he lets them set it. If someone helps him, he lets them help. It feels like encountering a scoundrel impervious to both fire and water, immune to both soft and hard tactics, leaving everyone completely unable to deal with him."
"In the Present Era now, whether it's the great Dao or Heaven and Earth, whether it's those bearing Heaven's Mandate to face the tribulation or those lawless, deluded Those with Original Sin, whether it's karma or Fate—everyone is watching him. Because his existence directly influences the future shifts of the Present Era's situation. His attitude is crucial. But after waiting so long, no one knows what his attitude is. Precisely because he has no attitude, everyone is stuck in this stalemate, can only remain in this stalemate, anxiously waiting. No one has a solution, and no one dares make a rash move."
Wolan asked, "Senior Martial Sister, does You Di... truly not want to break free from Original Sin?"
"Perhaps he wanted to before. But as for now..." Bai Chou shook her head with sorrow and helplessness, sighing. "He probably simply doesn't care anymore whether he breaks free from Original Sin or not."
Sighing repeatedly, Bai Chou looked up at the night sky's firmament and murmured, "No wonder Gugu Wuming said this trip of mine would be in vain. It seems she had long foreseen this outcome."
"If Lady Fate personally descended to the mortal realm, could she persuade You Di?"
"Gugu Wuming will not meet this fellow."
"Why?"
"The specific reason, I don't know either. I only know that Gugu Wuming gets a headache whenever this fellow is mentioned."