"Little Friend Qingfeng, there's no need to be puzzled by this matter."
Old Senior Feng Zhu picked up the wine bottle and poured another cup for Gu Qingfeng.
The wine bottle, though exquisitely crafted, was very small. By its capacity, it could hold at most four or five cups, yet now he had already poured thirty or forty cups without it running dry.
Gu Qingfeng reckoned this thing must have some hidden space within, but he wasn't in the mood to appreciate it now. He only wanted to know what Old Senior Feng Zhu was really up to. "Why?" he asked.
"The reason is simple. This old man wants to gamble."
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng was quite surprised. "Gamble?"
"That's right. Gamble."
"Gamble on what?"
"On whether that Omen Object in Little Friend Qingfeng's hands will ultimately have a good or bad influence on the Heaven-Earth Great Dao and all living beings."
"Since it's an Omen Object, its influence is naturally bad. How could it become good?"
"No matter how ominous an object is, it is still inanimate. But people are alive."
"I don't disagree with what you're saying, Old Senior, but don't forget that damn Omen Object is in my hands. Even if it could have a good influence on the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, it might also have an even worse one."
Old Senior Feng Zhu stroked his white beard. "That is precisely why this old man has decided to gamble."
"Knowing the outcome could be terrible, why insist on gambling?" Gu Qingfeng asked curiously. "Aren't you afraid of losing?"
"Of course I am."
"Then why gamble?"
"Because I'm afraid of losing, that's all the more reason to gamble."
Gu Qingfeng was a bit confused. "What kind of logic is that?"
"Little Friend Qingfeng is the ultimate Anomaly. With the Omen Object in your hands, two extreme outcomes will emerge. If its influence on the Heaven-Earth Great Dao is good, it will be the best possible influence. If its influence is bad, it will be the worst possible result."
"In that case, why gamble?" Gu Qingfeng shook his head, speechless. "You, Old Senior, have endured from the Desolate Ancient Era until now with just a wisp of remnant consciousness. Could it be just for the sake of a gamble? If I were you, I definitely wouldn't pin my hopes on someone else. Even if forced to gamble, I'd find a reliable person and a safe method. That way, even if I lost, I wouldn't lose too badly."
"Heh heh."
Old Senior Feng Zhu gave a faint smile and suddenly asked a completely unrelated question. "Does Little Friend Qingfeng like to gamble?"
"Passably," Gu Qingfeng shrugged in response. "I wouldn't say I like it or dislike it. When the mood strikes, I'll play a couple of hands occasionally."
"Has Little Friend Qingfeng ever lost?"
"Rarely." Gu Qingfeng laughed. "When gambling with people, I generally don't lose. But if... if gambling with Fate, I've never won."
"Hahaha!"
For no apparent reason, Old Senior Feng Zhu laughed, a laugh that seemed inexplicable.
"What are you laughing at, Old Senior? What's so funny?"
"Gambling with Fate is like gambling with yourself. You'll never win, and you'll never lose..."
"Why?"
Old Senior Feng Zhu smiled without answering.
As for Gu Qingfeng, he murmured this phrase, seeming to gain some insight, and also found it very reasonable.
"Little Friend Qingfeng, may this old man ask you another question?"
"Of course."
"If you had gambled once before and lost terribly, so terribly that you were left with only a family heirloom, with nothing else and no way out, and you were given only one more chance to gamble, forced to stake that family heirloom... at that moment, how would you gamble? Would you seek victory through caution, or would you go all out? Seeking victory through caution, the outcome is unknown. As you said just now, winning would only be a small win, and losing wouldn't be too terrible. But if you go all out, if you win, you'll win back everything you lost before. If you lose, you'll lose absolutely everything!"
"This..." Gu Qingfeng pondered carefully for a while. After a long time, he finally responded, "As the saying goes, character determines Fate. Given my character, I think if I really reached that point, I would definitely choose to go all out and fight for it. If I win, I win completely. If I lose, I lose completely. A small win would at best quench a momentary thirst. Rather than that, I'd rather lose everything and be done with it."
"In that case, Little Friend Qingfeng should be able to understand this old man's meaning, right?"
Yes.
Gu Qingfeng understood.
When Old Senior Feng Zhu asked him, he had already understood.
Old Senior Feng Zhu said he had gambled once before and lost terribly. In Gu Qingfeng's mind, that time must have been the great calamity of the Desolate Ancient Era. Old Senior Feng Zhu had lost everything, leaving only a wisp of remnant consciousness and that Omen Object as his 'family heirloom'. Now, he no longer wanted to seek victory through caution but wanted to go all out completely—win completely or lose completely.
However.
In worldly matters, understanding is one thing, comprehension another. Sometimes, one simply doesn't want to act accordingly.
Gu Qingfeng sighed. "Old Senior, your words put a lot of pressure on me. It feels like you've staked your family heirloom as a bet on me."
"No! You are mistaken."
"How so?"
"It is not this old man who placed the Omen Object on Little Friend Qingfeng. It is that Omen Object that chose Little Friend Qingfeng. This old man has no power to influence its choice."
"Although you cannot influence the Omen Object's choice, you decide whether I stay or leave."
"Is Little Friend Qingfeng suggesting that this old man trap you in this Spatial-Temporal Illusion?" Old Senior Feng Zhu said with a faint smile. "Let's not even mention that this old man has no desire to trap you here. Even if I had such intentions, I might not truly be able to keep Little Friend Qingfeng confined."
"If I could get out, I would have done so long ago. I wouldn't have gone back and forth struggling for so long."
"Not being able to leave now doesn't mean you won't be able to leave in the future. This old man believes this Spatial-Temporal Illusion can confine you for a time, but not for a lifetime."
"I don't even have confidence in myself, yet you have great confidence in me."
"Given the circumstances, this old man can only try to think positively, can't I?"
"Hahahaha!" Gu Qingfeng laughed heartily. "Now that's an honest statement."
The two chatted while drinking the Consciousness Wine. Gu Qingfeng wanted to know what exactly that Omen Object was, but no matter how he asked, Old Senior Feng Zhu remained tight-lipped, only saying that once the Omen Object emerged, it would inevitably influence the Heaven-Earth Great Dao, all living beings, and even the opening of the Daoless Age.
Gu Qingfeng thought it over and over, and no matter how he considered it, he felt that Omen Object was most likely related to Original Sin.
Based on what he currently knew, only Original Sin influenced both the Heaven-Earth Great Dao and all living beings, as well as the opening of the Daoless Age.
But if the Omen Object was related to Original Sin, then what kind of existence could it be, and what was its relationship with Original Sin?