Chapter 1100: Not Human

"I still feel it's not right."

Qinglong furrowed his brow. He had practiced these "characters" many times in advance, but he never remembered that these jumbled "parts" could form the character for "father."

"Qixia, what kind of trick are you pulling?" Qinglong asked coldly.

"Trick?" Qixia paused for a moment after hearing that. "Do I need to take Xuanwu to see how I put it together this time?"

"It's hard for me to believe you really formed this character using the existing radicals," Qinglong said. "So, I still need to check it."

"No way," Xuanwu said. "No one checked when you were making your 'character'."

"Have you lost all your reason?" Qinglong frowned and asked. "Can't you see he's cheating?"

"You can't just throw around accusations like that," Qixia said. "Xuanwu can check it; I have no problem with that, but not you."

Amid Qinglong's displeased expression, Qixia led Xuanwu behind the massive wall. In just a few seconds, Xuanwu emerged and said gravely, "No violations."

The expression on Qinglong's face instantly became a mix of emotions. He always suspected that Xuanwu didn't know what scheme Qixia had used, perhaps fooled by some sleight of hand.

But there was nothing he could do; Xuanwu was the judge in this game, so he had to follow her rulings.

Still, even if Qixia hadn't cheated, with Xuanwu as the judge, could "father" really win?

"Fine..." Qinglong said with a gloomy face, "Even if he correctly assembled this 'character'... Xuanwu, how do you plan to judge?"

"I..." Xuanwu lifted her head to look at the screen, paused for a few seconds, and then asked, "What is this character?"

"Father," Han Yimo said.

"Ah," Chen Junnan responded.

"...?"

After hearing the answer, Xuanwu's expression showed hesitation, as if she didn't understand the meaning of the character.

"What does 'father' mean...?"

Everyone was slightly stunned upon hearing that, and they all turned their gazes toward Xuanwu.

"It's your dad," Chen Junnan explained. "Usually, he's a pair with your mom."

"Dad...? Why would this 'character'... be important to humans?" Xuanwu asked again.

"Hmm?"

The people present all showed puzzled expressions.

Chen Junnan hesitated for a moment and said, "Big sister, generally speaking... only if your parents know each other and get together can you exist in this world."

"Nonsense," Xuanwu retorted coldly. "I don't remember ever having a 'father'; I only remember I need 'rice'."

After hearing this, Qixia slowly furrowed his brow, realizing that Xuanwu as a judge was a double-edged sword.

Her judgment of these two "characters" came from her own life experiences. If she were an orphan, then the argument for "father" wouldn't hold.

From her perspective, humans appearing in the world didn't need a "father" at all.

"Whether you admit it or not, you were born by humans," Chen Junnan said. "Although you look impressive now, what about before you came here? Think about it carefully."

Xuanwu remained silent after hearing that, her expression appearing very wooden.

"I don't have a 'father'." A few seconds later, Xuanwu said. "I don't have a 'mother' either. 'Rice' is the most important thing; I only remember I need 'rice'."

Everyone's minds raced upon hearing this; the outcome of the game seemed to have shifted from "forming characters" to "convincing Xuanwu."

"Big sister, is it possible you're the 'judge'?" Chen Junnan tried a different approach and continued, "You have to be fair, just, and open about it. Even if you don't have a 'father', others do."

"Precisely because I'm the judge," Xuanwu said, "I have to judge based on my own rules. I don't need 'father', but I need 'rice'."

At that point, Chen Junnan was completely at a loss for words. Xuanwu seemed to have her own logic, and it was unshakeable.

For someone this stubborn, he usually couldn't get through, but there was someone else present who might be able to talk to her.

As long as that person stepped in, there might still be a chance.

"Old Qiao! You're up!" Chen Junnan said.

"Got it!" Qiao Jiajin nodded. "Leave it to me, Jun Nan boy; I'm the best at chatting."

With that, he stepped forward and said, "Straw Maiden, hello."

"...How dare you," Xuanwu retorted coldly.

"Don't get mad; hear me out first," Qiao Jiajin said. "You see, our topic this time is 'what's more important to humans,' right?"

"Yes," Xuanwu nodded.

"But are you human?"

"I..."

"Straw Maiden, you're not human," Qiao Jiajin said. "We've been discussing this for so long, but it's about 'humans,' not you. How can you judge based on your own experiences?"

"This..." Xuanwu paused after hearing that, realizing it made sense.

"But we are human!" Qiao Jiajin pointed to himself and the others around him. "You should ask us about this question; we'll tell you what's most important to us, right?"

Xuanwu's thoughts stalled slightly after hearing that.

Was she really "human"?

Unable to live or die, wandering in this endless darkness with an immortal body.

Was such a body even "human"?

"I am like a 'ghost'," Xuanwu said. "I am not like a 'human'."

"Exactly! Whether you're a god or a ghost, as long as you're not human, that's fine," Qiao Jiajin laughed. "So, what you think is important might not be important to us."

Xuanwu pondered for a long time and unexpectedly nodded in agreement.

"Right, and don't ask that long-haired guy over there; he claims he's a 'god.' What a 'god' lists would only be important to gods, not humans, so it's pointless to ask."

Xuanwu pondered thoughtfully and murmured, "That makes sense."

Chen Junnan patted Qiao Jiajin on the shoulder: "Old Qiao, it's still got to be you."

"That's not right," Qinglong interjected coldly at that moment. "Xuanwu, don't be confused. No matter what they say, they're just trying to get you to declare 'father' as the winner. Can you really believe that?"

"This..." Xuanwu seemed overwhelmed by the conflicting views and just stood there silently.

"Besides, 'rice' is also very important to 'father'," Qinglong said. "Even if humans are born from parents, don't parents need to eat? If they run out of food, the parents' lives are at risk, so where would the children come from?"

Chen Junnan looked at Qinglong with displeasure: "You're just twisting words."

"You're both right," Xuanwu said. "Although 'father' isn't important to me, it might be to 'humans.' But they still need 'rice' too."

(The next chapter might come after midnight; those who can't wait, feel free to go to sleep first. Sorry about that.)