Chapter 798: A Dilemma

Upon seeing Zheng Yingxiong's expression, the three girls standing nearby couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

His eyes were red and filled with tears, yet he kept his lips tightly pressed together, refusing to let out a sound.

They had spent some time with Zheng Yingxiong and had never heard him express what he wanted before; this might be the first time he had spoken up on his own.

"Give them some time," Tiantian said, pulling three "Dao" from her pocket and handing them to Zheng Yingxiong. "We'll wait for you outside."

The three of them nodded in unison toward Zheng Yingxiong, who carefully accepted the three "Dao" and turned to pass them to Renhou.

Renhou's gaze pierced through the rotting mask, as if conveying gratitude, and he nodded slightly to the trio before naturally taking Zheng Yingxiong's hand and leading him into his game area.

The two of them looked like long-lost brothers, one wearing a decayed baboon head covering and the other sporting a crown made from newspaper; their retreating figures exuded an oddly warm strangeness.

Yet Yunyao couldn't fathom what events could have occurred in such a place to bring a "Shengxiao" and a "Canyu zhe" together after so long apart.

Although Renhou's mask appeared fierce and menacing, everyone sensed he wasn't a bad person and wouldn't pose any danger to Zheng Yingxiong.

As he opened the door, the three peered inside at the layout; the game area was extremely rudimentary, containing only a single table with two old cardboard boxes on it.

Yunyao had seen this room once before, and it felt just like a sealed-off restroom—tiny in size and without any windows to let in light.

In many cases, for these human-level "Shengxiao," a small room and a set of very basic game props made up their entire existence.

Even if they spent all their time trying, they might not win enough three thousand six hundred "Dao" from the "Canyu zhe" to hand over to their overseeing earth-level "Shengxiao." And even if they miraculously gathered the required amount, it would depend on whether their "teacher" was willing to go through the effort to apply for a "Shengxiao Ascension Gambling Contract" from "Tianlong" on their behalf.

If they were lucky enough to succeed at that stage, they would then have to immerse themselves in the "Interview Room" for years on end, potentially trapped in an endless cycle there or, against all odds, breaking through that minuscule probability to become a new earth-level "Shengxiao."

And once they finally escaped it all to reach a new height, they would discover that the path from earth-level to heaven-level was even harder to achieve. These "Shengxiao," who had spent years striving for their lives without losing their memories, would then fall into the trap of "sunk costs."

After all, no one wanted to abandon years of hard work and revert to the status of a "Canyu zhe," and no one dared to act out of line and be reduced to a mindless "ant."

Though the facts were laid bare time and again, no one wanted to believe that earth-level was the end point, so they could only remain in that position, continuing to serve "Tianlong" in hopes of that slim chance to rise.

Ahead lay fog, and behind, a cliff.

No way forward, and no way back.

Yet this path had a strange logic to it—

No one had ever promised the "Shengxiao" anything; each of them thought they had discovered the true "path" and willingly donned the mask.

The phrase "consequences at your own risk" might never have been spoken to them, but it was etched into their hearts as the price of wearing the "Shengxiao" mask. Once it was on, no one would guarantee what happened next.

The Renhou before them was just one of many tragic "Shengxiao," and unfortunately, he had realized early on this road that there was no turning back.

He turned and gently closed the door, then switched on the dim light in the room.

Zheng Yingxiong stared at the familiar yet strange figure before him; though he had a thousand words he wanted to say, he feared the rules of the "Shengxiao" and worried that a careless word might make the other person vanish forever.

In the entire "Zhongyan Zhidi," few people mattered to Zheng Yingxiong, but Gu Yu was one of them.

Renhou moved the two cardboard boxes from the table aside, then turned his back and fiddled with them for a while. After a few minutes, he brought them back and placed them on the table again.

"Renhou..." Zheng Yingxiong called out, "don't you have anything you want to ask me?"

"Seeing you here all alone... maybe I don't have any questions left," Renhou replied somberly. "The ending was set in stone long ago and won't change, no matter how much time has passed."

Zheng Yingxiong said nothing, just nodded slightly and looked at the two boxes on the table.

"Three 'Dao' in each box; we'll rock-paper-scissors to decide the order," Renhou said.

"No need; you go first," Zheng Yingxiong replied.

Renhou nodded, took one "Dao" from the box on his left side, and it seemed he wasn't concerned with winning—he just wanted to spend a little more time with Zheng Yingxiong.

"Look at this 'Dao'," Renhou said. "There are three in the box, and this one is the first to leave. Though it escaped the box first, it can't decide its own fate; it just sits on the table for now. In the end, the 'winner' will take it away, so even its path ahead is out of its control."

"I know," Zheng Yingxiong said sadly, nodding. "But maybe you'll win? You'd take the 'Dao' and decide where it goes."

"I can't win," Renhou said with a tone of deep defeat. "I should have realized that from the start... I can't do it on my own. I can't take this 'Dao' with me; I can't decide its path."

"Is that so...?" Zheng Yingxiong stared at the "Dao" on the table and nodded. "But it's free now."

"Free..."

"No matter who takes it, this 'Dao' has left the box, and that's a good thing," Zheng Yingxiong said, reaching out to gently touch the golden bead, his voice heavy. "I once searched for this 'Dao' with another Renhou, but that one didn't feel familiar. In the end, I came here."

Gu Yu nodded after hearing this: "Yes, after all, the 'Dao' in the box are always trying to escape..."

The two of them quietly took the "Dao" out one by one from the boxes. When only two were left in the box on one side, Zheng Yingxiong reached in and grabbed one.

But he didn't hold it steady, and it rolled away across the floor, disappearing into a corner of the room.

Seeing the "Dao" roll farther and farther until it vanished, Zheng Yingxiong's tears finally broke free.

"But she's gone..." Zheng Yingxiong cried out in pain. "Jiejie is gone... There were only the two of us left in the box, but she left first..."