The last time they met, Gu Qingfeng and Ren Tianxing had seriously discussed a topic: why they wanted to break free from Original Sin and take control of their own Fate.
Gu Qingfeng still remembered Ren Tianxing saying it was for a woman.
A woman he loved.
Hearing this at the time, Gu Qingfeng had been greatly shocked. In his mind, Ren Tianxing trying to break free from Original Sin for a woman was even more unbelievable than Ren Tianxing trying to save someone.
He had initially thought Ren Tianxing was joking.
Only later did he learn the guy was serious.
He really was trying to break free from Original Sin for a woman he loved.
Gu Qingfeng himself had encountered many inexplicable karmic entanglements, and none of them were as simple as they appeared on the surface. Who knew what unspeakable secrets lay behind them?
Ren Tianxing was in the same boat, both being Variables of Original Sin. So, Gu Qingfeng had advised Ren Tianxing not to easily trust any karmic entanglement, lest he be sold out without even knowing it. Perhaps the woman he loved was just a pawn of Fate.
And the result?
Ren Tianxing said he didn't care at all.
He didn't care whether the woman he loved was an arranged karma or a pawn of Fate.
He only cared that he had fallen in love with her and was willing to do anything for her. That was enough.
Thinking of this, Gu Qingfeng asked curiously, "Old Ren, where's your Qing'er?"
Ren Tianxing shook his head. "She's outside, not in this Desolate Ancient Black Hole."
"Ah, what a pity! A real pity!"
Beside them, Mo Wentian asked, "Brother Gu, what are you pitying?"
"Pitying that I couldn't see with my own eyes the woman who has Old Ren so utterly bewitched."
Indeed.
Gu Qingfeng had always wanted to see what kind of woman could bewitch a solitary, proud, cold, and ruthless Demon Emperor like Ren Tianxing to such an extent.
"What's there to pity? Once we leave the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, there will be plenty of chances. We can go find Brother Ren then," Mo Wentian said with a laugh. "I'm sure Brother Ren will bring Miss Qing'er along to properly entertain you, right?"
"Deal, it's settled then. After we finish our business in the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, Brother Mo and I will make a personal visit."
Gu Qingfeng also teased, "Old Ren, don't get upset if we ask your beloved wife to pour us a few drinks then, hahaha!"
"Don't worry," Ren Tianxing said. "When the time comes, Qing'er and I will definitely drink our fill with the two of you!"
The three raised their cups together, made their pact, and drank heartily.
Although their words spoke of plans after leaving the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, all three knew in their hearts that whether they could leave the Desolate Ancient Black Hole alive was completely unknown. None of them had any certainty.
Mo Wentian didn't. Ren Tianxing didn't. And Gu Qingfeng had even less certainty in his heart.
However.
None of the three spoke it aloud.
They simply drank cup after cup of fine wine, taking the vast, boundless Desolate Ancient Black Hole as their heaven and earth, and the endless chaotic currents as their scenery.
As the saying goes, with a close friend, a thousand cups are too few.
The three were not only close friends but also shared the same destiny—all were people of Original Sin, all were Variables of the Present Era. Beyond that, the three shared another commonality: each of their names contained the character 'Tian' (Heaven). Was it coincidence, happenstance, or destined to be so?
One, the Weiyang Demon Emperor, Ren Tianxing!
One, the Carefree Great Emperor, Mo Wentian!
One, the Nine Nethers Emperor, Gu Tianlang!
"Brother Gu!"
After several cups in a row, Ren Tianxing spoke up. "The last time you and I met, I asked you a question. I wonder if you still remember?"
"What question?"
"I asked if you had resigned yourself to Fate. You said you had."
Gu Qingfeng nodded. "That's right. What about it?"
"And now?" Ren Tianxing asked. "Have you changed your mind?"
"Changed my mind?" Gu Qingfeng shook his head with a laugh. "Nothing of the sort. Last time we met, I told you I had resigned myself to Fate. I still say the same now. At least, that's how I still think up to this point."
"Are you serious, Brother Gu?"
"Old Ren, when have I ever joked with you?"
Ren Tianxing frowned slightly, as if unable to understand. "If you've already resigned yourself to Fate, why did you come to stir up the muddy waters of this Desolate Ancient Black Hole?"
"You think I wanted to come stir up this mess?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't even mention it! Just thinking about it makes me furious!" Gu Qingfeng, having just finished a cup, waved his hand repeatedly. "I was tricked by Da Xing the Mad Monk. That old bald donkey had long since set his trap and dug his pit for me, luring me in step by step."
"You were tricked in by Da Xing the Mad Monk?"
"What, you don't believe me? If you don't believe me, ask Brother Mo. Both of us were tricked here by that old bald donkey, Da Xing the Mad Monk."
"There's such a thing?" Ren Tianxing looked curiously at Mo Wentian.
"Well..." Mo Wentian seemed unsure how to answer the question. He looked at Gu Qingfeng and asked, "Brother Gu, are you sure you were lured in by Da Xing the Mad Monk?"
"Of course I'm sure!" Gu Qingfeng retorted. "Aren't you? Don't tell me you think Da Xing the Mad Monk really called us in here to help him guard some damn Zen Sect ruins? Was it just a coincidence that the Zen Sect ruins collapsed and swept us in?"
"No! Brother Gu, you misunderstand me." Mo Wentian said, "I don't know much about your situation. Whether Da Xing the Mad Monk calling the two of us to help guard the Zen Sect ruins had other purposes, I don't know. That's not important to me, because even without Da Xing the Mad Monk, I would have entered this Desolate Ancient Black Hole myself."
Gu Qingfeng suddenly understood. "So that's how it is."
"Brother Gu, leaving aside for now whether Da Xing the Mad Monk really tricked you into coming to the Desolate Ancient Black Hole, if there were no Da Xing the Mad Monk, would you have entered on your own?"
"That's really hard to say..." Gu Qingfeng rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment. "Even without Da Xing the Mad Monk, it doesn't mean there wouldn't have been others. I can only say that if it were up to my own choice, I probably wouldn't have entered the Desolate Ancient Black Hole to stir up this mess."
Hearing this, Mo Wentian showed slight surprise. He glanced at Ren Tianxing, then looked back at Gu Qingfeng and asked sincerely, "Brother Gu, although Brother Ren just asked you, I want to ask you again: do you truly not wish to break free from Original Sin and take control of your own Fate?"
"If I said I didn't want to, that would be pure nonsense!" Gu Qingfeng said. "Who doesn't want to break free from Original Sin? Who doesn't want to take control of their own Fate?"
"If so, why did you just say you've resigned yourself to Fate?"
"What else can I do but resign myself?" Gu Qingfeng put down his wine cup and looked at Ren Tianxing and Mo Wentian. "How about you two teach me how to break free from Original Sin and how to take control of my own Fate?"
Ren Tianxing and Mo Wentian exchanged a glance. Both chose silence simultaneously. Neither answered the question.
It wasn't that they didn't want to answer.
It was that they, too, didn't know how to break free from Original Sin or how to take control of their own Fate.