"Da Xing, after saying so much, what are you planning to do?"
"What do you mean, planning?"
"This Lord means to ask you, will you stand on Fate's side, or on Original Sin's?"
Faced with Gu Qingfeng's inquiry, Da Xing the Mad Monk shook his head vigorously and responded, "This Old Monk will stand on neither Fate's side nor Original Sin's."
"What's that? You plan to remain neutral and just watch the show?"
"What else?"
Da Xing the Mad Monk said, "Though This Old Monk sometimes enjoys a gamble, this particular bet has too many variables. This Old Monk dares not wager."
"You have so little confidence in This Lord?"
"Heh heh!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk said with a serious expression, "Kid Gu, This Old Monk asks you, do you have confidence in yourself?"
"Nonsense! Of course This Lord has confidence in himself!"
"I spit on that! You don't have a shred of confidence!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk cast an utterly contemptuous glance at Gu Qingfeng. "These days following you around, This Old Monk has seen clearly. You've never taken this matter seriously from the start, just drifting along step by step, wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly. Don't you see what damn time it is now?"
"I say, Da Xing, isn't that a bit much? It's true This Lord is taking it step by step, but wasn't that what you taught me? You said the situation is unclear, told This Lord to be careful, cautious, to understand the whole matter before making a decision. That's what you said, and that's what This Lord is doing. How come you're blaming me now?"
"Yes! This Old Monk admits I told you to be careful and cautious, but you… you're too damn careful and cautious! No! You're not being careful and cautious at all, you're just following your whims and going with the flow! You don't give a damn about this affair. Being with you, you seem more like a spectator, while This Old Monk feels more like the fated Child of Original Sin!"
Da Xing the Mad Monk seemed deeply disappointed in Gu Qingfeng. He opened a jar of fine wine and took several gulps. "To be honest with you, kid, This Old Monk did want to stand by your side from the beginning, and hoped you could ascend to become the True Master of Original Sin and thus obliterate Fate. But damn it, after all this journey, you've made This Old Monk more and more disappointed. My confidence in you is dwindling."
"Oh ho! Finally willing to speak the truth, eh?"
"What 'finally willing'? This Old Monk has always been honest with you, alright?"
"Honest?"
Hearing Da Xing say this, Gu Qingfeng couldn't even be bothered to mock him. "I knew long ago you old bald donkey had ulterior motives dragging This Lord into this Primordial Black Hole. Seems that's exactly the case."
He paused, then questioned further, "Da Xing, tell This Lord honestly, did you set a trap for me back when we met at the First Thread Heaven forbidden ground? Talking about some Prophet Buddha of the Thousand Machines Heaven Domain, you knew This Lord would surely figure out the Prophet Buddha was Great Master Fu, and predicted This Lord would definitely head to the Thousand Machines Heaven Domain to search. Then you had your disciple waiting for me there, lured me into your Zen Sect's space through a teleportation array, and then under the pretext of protecting the Zen Sect ruins, step by step tricked me into this Primordial Black Hole."
"Heaven and earth bear witness! Kid Gu, you can drink wine recklessly, but you can't speak recklessly! This Old Monk has always been upright and aboveboard, absolutely incapable of such despicable deeds…"
"Enough, enough! This Lord can't be bothered listening to your nonsense. Just tell me one thing: why do you want to obliterate Fate?"
"What 'why'? Didn't This Old Monk just say? Fate isn't a person, it's a law. Whoever masters Fate masters all things between heaven and earth, all living beings. This Old Monk doesn't want my fate to be controlled by others."
Gu Qingfeng continued asking, "Throughout the ages, in all the myriad realms, who wants to control Fate? And who can control Fate?"
"This… This Old Monk truly doesn't know."
"Really don't know, or don't want to say?"
"This Old Monk genuinely doesn't know."
Gu Qingfeng did not give up and pressed on, "Is it those Ancient Clansfolk?"
"This…" Da Xing the Mad Monk perhaps hadn't expected Gu Qingfeng to suddenly mention the Ancient Clansfolk. His heart gave a start. Staring at Gu Qingfeng, his eyes showed a flicker of evasion. First he shook his head, then nodded, sighing. "Perhaps. This Old Monk truly doesn't know."
Although Da Xing the Mad Monk repeatedly denied it, Gu Qingfeng's heart already had an answer.
To this day, he still vividly remembered that after fusing with that drop of Lone Star Tear back then, a voice inexplicably appeared in his mind. That voice told him that the Ancient Clansfolk had been looking for him all along, warned him to be careful of the Ancient Clansfolk, and not to trust them.
"Da Xing, I remember hearing you say… Gengwu Wuming seems to be one of the Ancient Clansfolk, right?"
"K-Kid Gu! This Old Monk never said such a thing! Don't you spout nonsense!"
"That's not right. Although This Lord's memory isn't great, some words I remember clearly. You not only said Gengwu Wuming is one of the Ancient Clansfolk, but also said that mysterious Witch Empress is one too."
"This Old Monk only suspected, I never said they definitely were…"
"Suspicion must have a basis, right? You old bald donkey couldn't suspect them for no reason, could you?"
"This Old Monk was just idly speculating, and only mentioned it casually. You kid, don't take it seriously."
"Tell me… what kind of existence are the Ancient Clansfolk, exactly?"
"This… how could This Old Monk know?"
"That makes This Lord even more puzzled. If you don't even know what the Ancient Clansfolk are, on what grounds do you suspect Gengwu Wuming and the Witch Empress are Ancient Clansfolk?"
"This Old Monk… This Old Monk already said I was just idly speculating!"
Gu Qingfeng looked at Da Xing the Mad Monk, who grew increasingly uncomfortable under his gaze. He cleared his throat twice. "I say, Kid Gu, don't be so damn suspicious, alright? Don't you trust This Old Monk? Would This Old Monk deceive you?"
Gu Qingfeng shrugged. "That's hard to say."
"I say, Kid Gu, you're too ungrateful! This Old Monk…"
Before Da Xing the Mad Monk could finish, Gu Qingfeng directly cut him off and asked, "Are you one of the Ancient Clansfolk?"
This sudden, unexpected question from Gu Qingfeng thoroughly stunned Da Xing the Mad Monk, leaving him rooted to the spot, dumbstruck. It took a good long while before he snapped back to his senses. "You kid…"
For some reason, Da Xing the Mad Monk's voice had become somewhat hoarse and sharp. He hurriedly coughed twice. "How… how could you suspect This Old Monk is one of the Ancient Clansfolk? How the hell… how the hell could This Old Monk be one of the Ancient Clansfolk? I…"
Gu Qingfeng patted Da Xing the Mad Monk's shoulder and gave a faint smile. "Take it slow. Don't be nervous."
"Nervous? When has This Old Monk ever been nervous? Which eye of yours saw This Old Monk being nervous? This Old Monk is perfectly composed…"
"Da Xing, This Lord knows you're not one of the Ancient Clansfolk. That was just a joke, don't mind it. Besides, even if you were one of the Ancient Clansfolk, so what? This Lord wouldn't hold it against you."