Chapter 717: I Don't Need Yanzi

"Yes," Siwei Jiejie nodded. "When you mentioned the crown and sword, I first thought of the 'Kuaile Wangzi'."

Although I had heard many stories, I had never heard of this one.

"Could you tell me about it?"

Siwei Jiejie said that long ago, a swallow was flying south for the winter but accidentally got left behind. It landed on a statue in the center of the city, and that statue was the "Kuaile Wangzi." The statue had two eyes made of jewels and was covered in gold leaf.

He stood tall in the middle of the city, watching his suffering subjects every day. The swallow originally planned to leave for winter, but Kuaile Wangzi begged it to take out his two jewel eyes and give them to the poor, and then to remove the gold leaf from his body.

Together, they helped a great many poor people that winter.

When I heard that part, I felt happy. Yes, that's the kind of prince I want to be—he would help everyone, a "hero" to all.

Even though he was just a statue made of stone and couldn't do anything, he could still give everything he had.

I thought I had finally found my direction, but the story's ending made my expression gradually turn to disappointment.

Siwei Jiejie said that because of the delay, the swallow didn't fly south and instead froze to death in the cold winter.

Kuaile Wangzi also became extraordinarily ugly after losing all his decorations and was soon dismantled.

In other words, after Kuaile Wangzi and the swallow had helped the poor people of the entire city, they were sent into hell by those very people.

After finishing the story, Siwei Jiejie looked a bit sad and asked, "Yingxiong Didi... do you want to be the 'Kuaile Wangzi'?"

"Sis..." I slowly lowered my head. "I want to be 'Kuaile Wangzi,' but I want to do it alone."

"Alone...?"

"The swallow could have flown away, right?"

"Hmm?"

"The swallow could have flown away at any time," I said with tears in my eyes. "She didn't have to stay with 'Kuaile Wangzi' forever or save those poor people. If she had left earlier and escaped this cold winter, she wouldn't have frozen to death."

"Ha," Siwei Jiejie laughed at my words. "But without the swallow's help, 'Kuaile Wangzi' couldn't have aided those poor people on his own. So where there's 'Kuaile Wangzi,' there's always the swallow—they're always together."

Even though Siwei Jiejie said that, I was really scared.

I wanted to be 'Kuaile Wangzi,' but I didn't need a swallow by my side.

I was afraid that the story's ending would happen to me.

"Yingxiong Didi..." Siwei Jiejie said, "do you know? 'Kuaile Wangzi' was doing what he loved, and so was the swallow."

"I..." I nodded, but my expression was sad.

"Kuaile Wangzi" was just a statue; he couldn't move at all or go anywhere far away.

Siwei Jiejie smiled and rested her chin on her hand. "How about this... Since I'm quite knowledgeable, tomorrow morning, you go downstairs and wait for me. I'll tell you where to find the crown and sword, okay?"

"Okay."

The next day, after I had "examined" the scents on everyone, I went to the gate to wait for Siwei Jiejie. She had talked with me yesterday morning and then disappeared for the whole day. Did she know where to find the crown and sword?

Once I arrived, only the nearby "Xingguan" was staring at me. It was my first time observing "Xingguan" so closely. She had a thin, deep-brown cow face with two small horns on her head.

"Hello..." I smiled.

This "Xingguan" sis gave me a strange feeling... Her scent was complex.

She had a somewhat pleasant aroma, but also the foul smell of "Shengxiao."

"Hello," "Xingguan" sis replied coolly.

Seeing that she greeted me back, I suddenly became curious about her.

Did "Xingguan" just stand there every day? Where did she come from, and where did she rest? What did she eat and drink?

Even though she could talk directly with us, she never initiated conversation. What was she thinking?

"Xingguan" sis..." I slowly walked toward her.

"What?" She looked down at me.

"Do you stand here every day?" I asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "But I'm not any 'Xingguan'—I'm 'Shengxiao'."

"I'm not any 'hero' either—I'm 'Yingxiong'..." I said quietly.

"What?"

"Nothing..." I smiled. "'Shengxiao' sis, tell me... Is the question of 'who we are' decided by us or by others?"

"I don't understand."

"I mean... Everyone calls you 'Xingguan,' but you think of yourself as 'Shengxiao'... Yet everyone calls me 'hero,' so am I..."

"So does that make you the real 'hero'?" "Shengxiao" sis asked. "Don't you know who you are yourself?"

"I... I don't know..." I said softly. "No one's ever told me who I am. Before, I only knew what I should and shouldn't do, but not who I was. And now... I don't even know what I should or shouldn't do anymore."

"Shengxiao" sis pondered for a moment and then said, "The first thing you should do now is stay away from me. After all, in others' eyes, I'm 'Xingguan' and you're 'hero,' so talking to me privately isn't good for you."

"Ah...?"

"Second, you should find a way to kill everyone in the city... at least twice in a row," she said. "That's what you should do."

"Why...?" I looked at her, puzzled.

"That way, you can actively reshuffle the city completely—not only will you be safe, but the 'illness' of this city can be cured too."

At that moment, I realized I had made a serious mistake. Why hadn't I talked to "Xingguan" earlier?

She was from here, so she must understand this place better than we do.

"But if they don't produce any 'fragrance'... then after they die, they'll have no memories."

"Isn't that the point?" "Shengxiao" sis glanced around, making sure no one was nearby, and then said seriously, "Child, it's their 'memories' that are destroying them. In this place, even without that person surnamed Wan, hardly anyone stays sane while keeping their memories for long. As the cycles of reincarnation increase, you'll become more and more dangerous."

I think I understood what "Shengxiao" sis meant.

"Don't think that just because you're 'hero' now, you're safe," she continued. "These people could kill the one surnamed Wan, and they could kill you too. After all, killing here comes with no consequences. I don't recommend you keep testing human nature, or you really will die."