Chapter 900: Breaking and Establishing

"Go through all of them...?" I hesitated for a moment.

"I will first go find a Mian Ju and hide it in a secret place in Dao Cheng, then return to Yu Cheng for a desperate fight." After Gu Yu finished speaking, he looked at me. "Zhi Chun Jie, you're right. I should extend help as much as possible while ensuring my own safety. If I can help, I will; if not, at least I've tried my best."

"But have you thought it through?" Jiang Ruoxue asked. "Sheng Xiao might not even escape; it would only let you survive."

"Surviving is enough," Gu Yu said. "If I don't act quickly... I'm afraid I'll be trapped in the Mian Shi Fang Jian forever."

His eyes were filled with deep sadness. I knew both paths were difficult for him, but he had to choose one.

If he decided to stay in Yu Cheng, he would have no chance at all.

"Zhi Chun Jie, some people in Yu Cheng want to escape but can't. I'm already lucky." Gu Yu gave a bitter smile. "Just as you said... we'll all be destroyed one day, but I hope that by then, our rulers can send 'hope' to Dao Cheng."

"Send 'hope' to Dao Cheng...?" I frowned at Gu Yu. "What do you mean?"

"Someone has to carry the last hope of an entire city forward," Gu Yu said. "We've all struggled here... even those who have been brainwashed can't deny their fights. So I'm not willing to let everyone disappear here. I want to demand an accounting from those above."

"But my advice is for you not to go back," I said. "I don't understand this choice. You know there's risk, yet you're still diving in. Gu Yu, you seem like a smart person. Think carefully—is there really such an illogical choice in this world?"

"No... Zhi Chun Jie..." Gu Yu sighed. "This isn't a problem that can be solved with 'logic'... That city has people who gave me hope. I can't just abandon them."

"So you want to change that city?" I asked.

"Yes," Gu Yu said. "Zhi Chun Jie, you just said 'unity' leads to destruction, so the moment I go back, I'll try to create some chaos. If I can directly overthrow the leader, that would be even better... In such a divided situation, there might be a slim chance."

"But that will be very difficult."

"Yes... even if there's only a one-in-a-million chance, I have to go back and try," Gu Yu replied. "Otherwise, if I become a Sheng Xiao standing there, I'll regret it forever. I'll always wonder, 'What if I had gone back—would everything be different?'"

"Very well..." I nodded sadly, and finally I understood.

So often, I stand from a rational perspective and find it hard to understand why people make such unreasonable choices.

But now I get it.

Even if all the 'rational' paths are laid out before us, humans can still be driven by 'emotion'.

For example, I've always said that in this world, I only love myself, but if Jiang Ruoxue were trapped in that city, I'd probably risk it too.

I gave a bitter smile. "Gu Yu, you're a good person. I hope we meet again someday."

"I hope so too." Gu Yu nodded, looking at me and then at Jiang Ruoxue. "Xue Jie, Zhi Chun Jie... Thank you for meeting me this time, and thanks to Lao Sun Ge for chatting with me, and to Zhou Mo Jie for those days of punches and kicks... This might be the most wonderful memory I've had since coming to Zhong Yan Zhi Di."

"Don't conclude too soon." I shook my head. "Your time in Zhong Yan Zhi Di is far from over."

"I know." Gu Yu smiled. "But it will never be better than this."

He slowly walked over to us and picked up that plastic rose from beside me.

That faded, discolored fake flower made my heart sink.

It was just a magic trick... How high were people's expectations for it?

It had already done so much beyond its duties; it had tried its best...

"I'm leaving now."

Gu Yu tightened the rosebud in his hand and tucked it back into the black stick.

I never imagined that something so beautiful could be crammed into such a narrow black stick for so long.

It never saw the light; it couldn't bloom in color.

It struggled in pain within those iron walls.

When would it bloom again?

"Choose Hou," I said.

"Hou...?" Gu Yu's hand paused slightly on the black stick.

"All Sheng Xiao have characteristics." I stood up and looked into Gu Yu's eyes. "Hou's characteristic is 'cheating'. You're a magician, so choosing Hou will give you a better chance of surviving."

"Okay..." Gu Yu nodded. "Thank you, Zhi Chun Jie..."

"Returning to a city of despair, only to be reborn as Sheng Xiao." I looked at him helplessly. "It's truly Bu Po Bu Li."

"What...?"

"Remember Bu Po Bu Li," I told him. "Whether you go back to Yu Cheng or become Sheng Xiao, don't slack off. I look forward to seeing you again."

"Okay." Gu Yu seemed to make a decision after hearing my words. "I'll remember, Zhi Chun Jie, Xue Jie... If you ever see a strange monkey greeting you on the road, I hope you'll talk to it."

"I will."

Though I said "I will," I couldn't feel happy about it.

If Gu Yu really became a Hou and stood there, it would mean Yu Cheng had completely fallen, and all the people important to him had vanished.

He'd be left alone in Dao Cheng.

As we watched him turn and leave, Jiang Ruoxue and I exchanged sad glances.

"Hey!" Jiang Ruoxue suddenly realized something was wrong and shouted toward the direction Gu Yu was going. "Gu Yu, leaving the city isn't that way—you're going the wrong direction."

"I know." Gu Yu turned back and said to Jiang Ruoxue. "I'm not planning to go to Wo Cheng to find the Sheng Xiao mask. I'm going to gamble for a monkey right here in Dao Cheng."

"What...?" I was slightly stunned. "There are safer paths, yet you're not taking them?"

"Um, something too safe isn't right for me," Gu Yu said. "The other side cheats, and so do I. I want to test my own limits. If I can gamble my way to a Sheng Xiao, that means my strength has at least reached 'human level', and I'd handle ordinary participants easily."

"But you already know Sheng Xiao were once participants too—can you still go through with it?" I asked.

"This is Shi Zhe Sheng Cun," Gu Yu said. "If I'm stronger than him, I'll take his place as Hou. If he wins in this life-or-death gamble, then that's just as far as my abilities go. I'd die without regrets."

"You..." Jiang Ruoxue asked, "Do you need us to go with you?"

"No." Gu Yu shook his head. "Xue Jie, I'm not sure if I'll win, so you don't need to watch me die miserably. Just stay with the hope that we might meet again."

That day, Gu Yu left.

I didn't think he was particularly pitiful; after all, he was just one of the many pitiful people in Zhong Yan Zhi Di.