Chapter 922: Ruo Xue Knows Not the Spring
"Destroy...?" I let out a bitter laugh after hearing that. The core principle of "Ji Dao" has always been to protect this place, yet she wants to tear it all down.
"It's just so powerless..." Jiang Ruoxue stared at me, her eyes bloodshot. "Before I left, I said I'd go check out the situation there first. If I liked that 'seed' and 'flower,' I'd take them away. If I didn't like them, I'd let them sink there."
"Yeah..." I nodded. "Didn't you already have a clear plan?"
"But I really feel so powerless," Jiang Ruoxue said. "I really liked that 'flower' and 'seed,' but I couldn't take them away. My strength alone was too little. I did everything I could... yet it was all in vain. That place was like a true hell on earth."
Jiang Ruoxue then described to me in detail what had happened in "Jade City."
For a city that had already become completely diseased, force and intellect were both useless. She discussed things with Li Siwei, the then-leader of Jade City, for a long time. Eventually, they settled on a plan: to make a disease seem like it had disappeared, they had to inflict an even worse sickness on the city.
So they personally created a "Goddess"—a being that surpassed all previous leaders of Jade City. She was wrapped in myth, possessed supernatural abilities, and offered a beautiful spiritual value that could soothe everyone's hearts.
But this was a path destined for destruction. After all, the "Goddess" had no way to lead anyone to escape. The colors painted onto her were all fake. And when others discovered she was just an ordinary person, they would tear her down from the altar with the most brutal methods.
So that was just the surface plan. The core plan was to preserve the "seed."
For this plan, the "Goddess" would lead thousands of people to their deaths.
"I witnessed that farewell with my own eyes..." Jiang Ruoxue said, her eyes red. "The faith of the 'flower' and 'seed' shattered into pieces. They could only move forward relying on faint glimmers of light. They would never see each other again. So why do good people have to suffer so much?"
"Ruo Xue..." I slowly placed my hand on her shoulder, but I didn't know how to comfort her.
Ever since she left "Heaven's Gate," her mood had been low. She'd only recovered for a few days before enduring the tragedy of Jade City. I was really worried about her mental state.
"How carefree the villains here are..." Jiang Ruoxue's voice trembled. "They don't need to be as thorough as we are in everything. They just live for their own interests..."
"Yes," I nodded. "The more selfish someone is, the better they live here. But that's wrong. If there were no selfish people at all in this 'Land of the End,' and everyone united, we would have escaped on the very first day we arrived here."
"But that's impossible..." Jiang Ruoxue said. "There will always be villains, selfish people, cowards, and those who dream of getting something for nothing. And yet in this godforsaken place, they all manage to live well, while those who hold fast to their principles are the ones who get hurt."
I had no way to refute that.
After all, I'd been killing indiscriminately in the games lately too. I was only doing it to train my skills and my "conviction," but for those people, even if they begged me for mercy, I would still kill them.
Because my ultimate goal was to "liberate this place." Even if I softened my heart and let them survive in the games, they still wouldn't be freed.
"Only those who are selfless with a broad vision can do it," I said. "Ruo Xue, let's become that kind of person."
Jiang Ruoxue hung her head helplessly after hearing that. I knew all of this was hard for her to accept.
Just as we were talking, three people suddenly burst in through the door. It seemed the day was getting late, and they'd come to spend the night in the building.
But these three didn't look pleasant. One had blond hair, one had green hair, and one was bald.
"Oh... a couple of beauties here..." The green-haired man in front grinned lewdly. "We three brothers sure are lucky tonight."
I ignored them and spoke to Jiang Ruoxue in the gentlest tone I could manage. "Ruo Xue, don't overthink it. At least in my eyes, Brother Yang isn't that kind of person... and I won't be that kind of person either. Even if we do many selfish things, our ultimate goal isn't selfishness."
"Zhi Chun..." Jiang Ruoxue grabbed at her hair in agony. "My heart is such a mess... You didn't see that scene... Thousands of people being stewed in a giant pot... They were still smiling as they died, thinking they'd ascended. And the root of it all was just a pyramid scheme leader. He only had to move his mouth to drive the whole city toward destruction..."
"Didn't he get his comeuppance?" I said. "Ruo Xue... your state of mind is too chaotic right now. That's not good for you."
"Hey, beauties! Whatcha chatting about?"
A blond-haired man walked right up to me with no sense of boundaries and tugged on my arm.
The green-haired and bald men followed, all three of them standing behind me.
My eyes went ice-cold instantly. These people had no idea how close they were to death. I was trying to comfort Jiang Ruoxue, and seeing her like this had already put me in a terrible mood.
Did they have to cause trouble right now? I hadn't killed anyone in three whole days.
I glanced back. They all had daggers tucked into their waists. That might intimidate others around here, but with me, it was just asking to die.
Slowly, I reached my hand toward my own waist. The three behind me instinctively drew their daggers.
As their faces twisted in horror, I brought my hand up to my own neck—and they mimicked me, pressing their daggers against their own throats.
"Ruo Xue, I'll prove it to you with my actions," I said. "In this place, those who do evil never end well."
"What—what are you doing, miss?" The green-haired man behind me stammered in terror. "We were just trying to chat! What kind of ability is this?"
"Zhi Chun, I don't want to be a good person anymore." Ruo Xue slowly stood up, her expression calm. "I'm really tired. I'm not happy."
Hearing that, my brows furrowed, and my heart ached sharply.
"Handsome guys." Jiang Ruoxue forced a carefree, heartless smile and said to them, "Got any alcohol? Can you take me out for a few drinks?"
My hand froze in midair, and my conviction began to waver.
"Zhi Chun, let them go." Jiang Ruoxue said. "If you kill them just for striking up a conversation, how are you any different from the villains?"
At those words, my conviction shattered completely. The three men broke free from my hold and scrambled back a few steps.
Jiang Ruoxue stepped forward and hooked her arm around one of theirs. Then she turned back to me with a bitter smile. "Don't blame me. I just want to make myself happy."