Upon hearing that Da Xing the Mad Monk also intended to stake a bet on You Di, Xuehe was quite surprised.
Cang Yan turned around, looking at Xuehe, and said, "However, what they're betting on regarding You Di may not be the same as you."
"I'm betting on You Di ascending to the pinnacle as the True Lord of Original Sin. Aren't they?"
"No, at least I don't think so."
"If they're not betting on You Di becoming the True Lord of Original Sin, then what are they betting on?"
"Don't forget, You Di's existence is a variable, and the greatest variable at that. Although all signs indicate he might be the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, he is a variable. Being a variable means his karma is inconstant and his fate unknown. He might ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, or he might not. Not only might he not, but he might even protect the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth, and conversely, it's not impossible for him to prevent the opening of the Daoless Age."
Cang Yan slowly sat down, slightly tilting her head back, closing her eyes, and gently tapping her forehead with her hand. She looked both weary and troubled.
"Since you've secretly observed You Di, you should have some understanding of him. He is absolutely capable of doing such things, even...
You two share many similarities. You would do anything for those you care about, even if it means abandoning your own dreams."
She let out a soft sigh and said, "You Di is the same. He would also do anything for those he cares about. You would give up your dreams for those you care about; he would give up his dreams for those he cares about. Moreover, your dream is the Daoless Age, but his dream is not the Daoless Age. As far as I know, he has never had a dream. So, whether the Daoless Age opens or not, he simply doesn't care."
Xuehe fell into deep thought. After a moment, he asked again, "Is this the reason you said earlier that I shouldn't bet on You Di ascending as the True Lord of Original Sin?"
"That's only one reason."
Cang Yan said with great distress, "The reason I said you shouldn't bet on You Di is because you've overlooked something very important."
"What is it?"
"You Di's attitude."
"You Di's attitude? What attitude?"
Hearing this, Cang Yan opened her eyes and looked at Xuehe with a feeling of both amusement and exasperation. "My dear husband, sometimes you're so foolish it makes me want to bite you!"
Xuehe opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.
"I really don't know what you've been secretly observing about You Di all this time!
His cultivation? You haven't figured it out. His destiny? You haven't figured it out. His strength? You haven't figured that out either. Even the most important thing—his attitude—you haven't figured out. Tell me, what exactly have you been observing?"
Even if Cang Yan hadn't said it, Xuehe would have felt utterly ashamed.
In his life, he had rarely secretly observed others—almost never.
Secretly observing You Di was the first time in his life, and it might also be the last.
What Xuehe hadn't expected was that his first attempt at secretly observing someone would be such a failure, failing to observe anything at all.
Just as Cang Yan had said, he didn't know You Di's cultivation, didn't know his destiny, and everything about You Di was filled with unknowns. The more he observed, the more unfathomable You Di seemed; the more he observed, the more mysterious and unknown You Di's existence appeared.
"My dear husband, tell me honestly, when you were secretly observing You Di, were you only observing how he indulged in romantic affairs and flirted with those women?
If that's the case, then you've truly disappointed me. You didn't even clearly observe You Di's flirting techniques. No, wait—perhaps you did observe them clearly, but you just didn't flirt with me; instead, you flirted with other women?"
Xuehe was already quite frustrated about the matter of observing You Di, never expecting Cang Yan to tease him like this at such a time.
In response,
he could only choose silence. He had no other choice.
He was a man of detached emotions; it was his nature, and it became even more pronounced after he fell into demonhood. It wasn't that he lacked the so-called seven emotions and six desires, but he hid them very, very deeply—so deep that he didn't want anyone to detect them.
"Let me ask you, what does You Di's potential to ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin depend on?
His cultivation and strength?
His karma and fate?
The right timing and favorable circumstances?
These may all be important, but they are not the most important. The most important thing is You Di's attitude—whether he wants to ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin. That is the most crucial. If he doesn't want to become the True Lord of Original Sin, what use is great strength?
Even if he is the True Lord of Original Sin recorded in the Book of Fate, so what?"
Hearing Cang Yan's words, Xuehe suddenly understood, realizing that he had indeed made a grave mistake by overlooking the most important thing.
Yes.
When he was secretly observing You Di, he had been too focused on observing his cultivation, destiny, the trends of the times, and his fortune. How could he have forgotten You Di's own attitude?
As Cang Yan said, if You Di didn't want to ascend as the True Lord of Original Sin, what did it matter if he was the one recorded in the Book of Fate?
"My foolish husband, do you know what You Di's attitude is toward the True Lord of Original Sin, or even toward the Daoless Age?"
Demon Emperor Xuehe shook his head. He truly didn't know.
"If you don't know, then I can tell you You Di's attitude toward Original Sin and the Daoless Age. His attitude is that he has no attitude. It's like his attitude toward his own life, like his attitude toward those women he's been involved with, and even like his attitude toward the unknown destinies upon his own body. He has no attitude—neither accepting nor refusing. Everything follows fate."
At this point, Cang Yan suddenly laughed, a very ironic laugh. "To put it nicely, it's called 'going with the flow.' To put it harshly, it's called 'resigning oneself to fate.'"
After saying this, Cang Yan laughed even more heartily, and her laughter grew even more ironic, as if mocking something.
Xuehe seemed to sense the mockery in Cang Yan's laughter. "Are you mocking me?"
"Hehehe..." Cang Yan continued to laugh, even somewhat maniacally. "My foolish husband, you can actually tell I'm mocking you? Don't you think you're pathetic?
You Di himself has resigned himself to fate, yet you foolishly insist on betting on him."
"Hehehe..." As she spoke, she laughed loudly. "However...
you shouldn't take it to heart, because there are people even more pathetic than you. For example, Da Xing the Mad Monk. He staked everything he had on You Di, yet...
You Di ultimately chose to resign himself to fate. The most pathetic thing is that Da Xing the Mad Monk stubbornly stayed by You Di's side, constantly trying to change You Di's attitude. He spared no effort in trying to alter it."
"And the result...
in the end, not only did he fail to change You Di's attitude, but he made You Di's attitude even more noncommittal..." "You Di chooses to resign himself to fate. Betting on him is equivalent to betting on fate itself...
If that's the case, then what's the point of betting?
Why not just follow fate's arrangement directly?
Hehehe..."
Laughter.
Cang Yan's laughter grew increasingly maniacal.
"My foolish husband, do you know?
There's someone even more pathetic than you and Da Xing the Mad Monk—it's Genggu Wuming...
Hehe, she actually also wants to stake everything on a bet on You Di...
An incarnation of karma, an envoy of fate, yet she wants to bet on fate through a You Di who resigns himself to fate. Don't you think this is a very contradictory and absurd thing?"
Xuehe said, "I have my reasons for betting on You Di. I believe that whether it's Da Xing the Mad Monk or Genggu Wuming, since they are both betting on You Di, they must have their own reasons too."
"Reasons?
Hehehehe..."
Finally,
Cang Yan stopped laughing and instead raised her cup to drink.
If Xuehe was a man of detached emotions by nature, then Cang Yan was a woman of extreme passion and nature.
After Xuehe fell into demonhood in a single thought back then, although he became mad and demonic, he gradually found himself again.
But when Cang Yan fell into the demonic path back then, she was even madder and more demonic than Xuehe. Although she later also found herself again and even ascended to become the only one in Heaven and Earth to hold the dual supreme imperial authority and destiny of both immortal and demon.
Everyone knew that immortals and demons were like water and fire, mutually restraining each other. Cultivating both immortal and demon paths was already difficult to master, let alone holding the supreme imperial authority and destiny of both paths.
The reason Da Xing the Mad Monk called Cang Yan a madwoman wasn't because she had a heart as venomous as a snake or scorpion, but because Cang Yan was half-immortal and half-demon, sometimes an immortal, sometimes a demon. In her immortal state, she was dignified and noble; in her demon state, her heart was as venomous as a snake or scorpion.
An unknown amount of time passed.
Cang Yan took a deep breath, turned to look at Xuehe, and asked, "Do you still want to bet on You Di?"
"I want to bet."
"No regrets?"
"No regrets."
"What if you lose the bet?"
"If I lose, then I lose. I can afford to bet, so I can afford to lose."
"The Daoless Age is your dream."
"I've said before, in this world, only you are someone I cannot afford to lose. Everything else, I can afford to lose. What does a dream matter?"
"What if you lose your dream and also lose me?"
Xuehe fell silent for a moment, then said, "If you don't want me to make this bet, then I won't. I'll listen to you in everything."
"Truly my good husband."
Cang Yan raised her cup and drained the wine in one gulp. She walked over, stopping right in front of Xuehe, eye to eye, face to face, and smiled. "However, this time, I want you to bet!"
"Why?"
"Because I've also always wanted to bet, only...
before, I lacked a reason to stake everything on a bet. As you said, whether it's Da Xing the Mad Monk or Genggu Wuming, since they dare to bet, they must have their reasons. What their reasons are, I don't know, nor do I want to know. I only know what my reason is."
"What is your reason?"
"Silly husband, my reason, of course, is you. You would do anything for me, and I would do anything for you. Since my husband wants to bet, his wife will naturally accompany him."
Xuehe asked, "No regrets?"
Cang Yan shook her head in response. "No regrets."
"What if we lose the bet?"
"If we lose, then we lose. I can afford to bet and I can afford to lose. I can afford to lose Original Sin and the Daoless Age, and I can afford to lose the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth. I can afford to lose karma, and I can afford to lose fate. The only thing I cannot afford to lose is you."
Just moments ago,
when Xuehe said he wanted to bet, Cang Yan had questioned him with these words.
Now, when Cang Yan said she wanted to bet, Xuehe questioned her with the same words.
Both asked the same question, and both gave the same answer.