The sun set in the west, dusk drawing near.
Perhaps having sat for too long, Gu Qingfeng stood up. Gazing at the sunset glow, he stretched his back and asked, "If this Anomaly was not a bearer of Original Sin, would you still consign him to Gui Xu?"
"A bearer of Original Sin may not be an Anomaly," Genggu Wuming replied, having sat upright in her chair the entire time. Her appearance remained ordinary, her eyes calm, her tone flat as ever. "But since ancient times, an Anomaly has always been a bearer of Original Sin."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng's brow furrowed slightly. "That's the first time I've heard that claim."
Turning around, he opened another jar of the mixed brew of Hell Impermanence and Heaven Has the Dao. "Is there a necessary connection between being an Anomaly and Original Sin? Why must an Anomaly be a bearer of Original Sin?"
"Because Original Sin is the root cause of Karmic disorder," Genggu Wuming's tone gradually grew more serious. "It is precisely because of the existence of Original Sin that a series of disordered Karmic threads have appeared since ancient times. And it is precisely this series of disordered Karmic threads that gestates the Anomaly."
She paused briefly before continuing, "Do not underestimate disordered Karma. Even a single disordered Karmic thread can lead to earth-shattering changes between heaven and earth. Because once disordered Karma continues to propagate, it spreads like a plague, drawing many other Karmic threads into its vortex, causing them to become disordered as well. The Three Thousand Great Daos, all living beings, the myriad heavens and worlds, all things between heaven and earth can be affected by disordered Karma, undergoing unknown transformations."
Genggu Wuming spoke slowly, "That period of disordered Karma from the Wu Dao Age caused the Desolate Ancient Era to undergo drastic changes, which in turn affected the Primeval Ancient, Remote Ancient, and even the Ancient Times..."
"From what you're saying... it seems the end of all these eras was caused by the disordered Karma of the Wu Dao Age?"
"Perhaps yes, perhaps not. I do not know for certain."
"So then, what exactly is this thing called Original Sin?" Gu Qingfeng asked very seriously. "To be precise, what exactly in the Wu Dao Age caused the Karma to become disordered?"
Genggu Wuming shook her head. "I do not know that either."
"Heh." Gu Qingfeng drained a cup of wine and began strolling leisurely in the courtyard. "Now that's a rare thing. You, who claim to be the incarnation of Karma and the emissary of Fate, don't know how Karma became disordered, nor do you know how Fate fell."
"I truly do not know..."
"It seems that to truly understand Original Sin, one really must open the Wu Dao Age..." Gu Qingfeng mused, hands clasped behind his back as he paced back and forth. "Only... something about this doesn't sit right with me."
Genggu Wuming remained silent. It was Cang Yan who asked, "What doesn't sit right?"
"I'm getting the feeling that you two coming to see me today isn't just about clearing up some misunderstanding."
"What else could it be? Don't overthink it. We have no other intentions. I don't, and Nameless certainly doesn't."
"But the more I listen, the more it sounds like you two are trying to lure me into opening the Wu Dao Age."
Cang Yan explained, "Don't think too much into it. We absolutely have no such intention."
"No? I'm not so sure. Ever since we sat down, you two have been performing a duet—talking about clearing up misunderstandings, offering apologies, then steering the conversation to Fate, then to Karma, then to Original Sin... finally dragging in the Wu Dao Age. I must say, you two play a deep game, one link leading to another, muddling me up until I'm caught in your net."
"Gu, can you stop measuring the gentleman's heart with your own petty yardstick?" Cang Yan said, exasperated. "What do you mean we steered you towards Fate and Karma? The misunderstanding between you and Nameless was originally caused by Karma and Fate. It's perfectly normal for us to discuss this topic. As for Original Sin, Nameless has already made it clear: the root cause of Karmic disorder is Original Sin."
Cang Yan's expression turned solemn. "No matter how much you reject Karma, no matter how much you disdain Fate, you cannot avoid them. Because you are a bearer of Original Sin. And Original Sin is both the root cause of Karmic disorder and the root cause of Fate's fall, and even the root cause of the Wu Dao Age's end. As the Anomaly of Original Sin, Karma and Fate, and the Wu Dao Age are three insurmountable mountains you can never bypass in this lifetime! Whether you admit it or not, this is an indisputable fact. You cannot hide from it, nor can you avoid it."
Then, Genggu Wuming also explained, "We are not luring you to open the Wu Dao Age. Moreover, even if Cang Yan and I had not come to see you today, you had already decided to seek out the Wu Dao Age, hadn't you?"
"Listening to you both, it sounds quite reasonable," Gu Qingfeng laughed. "I must say, for the moment, I really can't find a reason to refute you."
After speaking, he murmured to himself, "Original Sin is the root cause of Karmic disorder, the root cause of Fate's fall, and the root cause of the Wu Dao Age's end... As the Anomaly of Original Sin, it seems I truly cannot bypass these three mountains in this lifetime."
Gu Qingfeng continued murmuring and strolling. After another moment, he suddenly stopped and looked at Genggu Wuming and Cang Yan sitting in the pavilion. A faint smile touched his lips as he asked, "You two didn't come here today just to brainwash me with sweet talk, did you?"
"I..." Cang Yan seemed utterly exasperated, as if she couldn't even be bothered to explain further. Genggu Wuming also seemed to close her eyes in resignation, letting out a deep sigh.
"If you two really did come to brainwash me, then congratulations. Your little duet has indeed washed my brain. This sweet talk... really has a kick to it. Quite potent, potent enough to make me want to open the Wu Dao Age right now to see what this Original Sin thing really is."
"But then..." Gu Qingfeng changed the subject and asked, "Ladies, may I ask for some advice? How exactly does one open the Wu Dao Age? Is it truly as recorded in the Book of Fate: first become the True Master of Original Sin, slaughter the Three Thousand Great Daos, and then the Wu Dao Age will naturally open?"
As his words fell, though Cang Yan's expression didn't change, a flicker of worry passed through her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to speak, then hesitated and looked at Genggu Wuming.
Genggu Wuming stared at Gu Qingfeng and shook her head in response. "I do not know."
"Do you truly not know, or are you unwilling to say?"
"I truly do not know."
"Fine. I believe you."
Gu Qingfeng walked over to the pile of over two hundred jars of Heaven Has the Dao fine brew stacked like a small mountain in the courtyard. As he admired the jade-ding-like vessels, he asked casually, "I've heard that in the myriad heavens and worlds, there are those who wish to open the Wu Dao Age, but there are also some existences who do not wish for it to open... For this reason... they have been secretly obstructing it all along."