Chapter 957: A Life of Being Threatened
"Wait for you...?"
Sand and gravel rained down from above the two of them. It seemed that many faceless people had already collapsed from exhaustion and died.
But within the city, new faceless people kept rising into the air, filling the vacant positions.
Heavenly Dragon let out a slow, cold laugh. "White Goat, once I awaken, the entire Taoyuan will tremble for me. I will see countless terrified faces. But you still need someone outside to receive you... Such is the fate of mortals. How pathetic is that?"
"If I heard correctly... every time you wake up, the first thing you see is pairs of eyes that don't want you to awaken," Qi Xia replied. "I, on the other hand, am the exact opposite. There are people who look forward to my awakening and will rejoice because of it. I don't know which of us is more pathetic."
Heavenly Dragon fell silent for a few seconds after hearing this, feeling as though he had been struck somewhere sensitive.
In this vast Taoyuan, how many people actually looked forward to his awakening?
Qi Xia keenly caught this moment of hesitation and quietly committed it to memory.
A few seconds later, the only mouth left on Heavenly Dragon's face slowly curled into a cold smile.
"Why should I care about them...?" he said. "If these people don't want me to wake up, let them kill me and send me into eternal slumber. But throughout the entire Train, who can accomplish such a thing?"
Heavenly Dragon took a step forward through the air.
"White Goat, Azure Dragon has no way to touch me, so he has to assign the task of assassinating me to someone else," Heavenly Dragon continued. "Unfortunately, none of the Zodiacs—Heaven, Earth, or Man—dare to accept this mission. Because Azure Dragon is unpredictable. They can't tell if he's just testing them, or if he genuinely wants me dead."
"So the task can only be entrusted to an outsider," Qi Xia said. "Even if some Zodiac did dare to take it, they would become the enemy of all other Zodiacs. After all, the ignorant ones are in the majority. They still hope that you, Heavenly Dragon, will grant them promotions, so they can't let you die."
"It seems you understand this principle even better than I do," Heavenly Dragon grinned. "So even if none of them want me to open my eyes, I will still awaken on the tenth day. Who can stop me?"
"Look at the world you govern," Qi Xia said. "Not only is Endland filled with lies, but even the Zodiacs on the Train don't know who to believe. Heavenly Dragon, your rule is an utter failure. You have also told a monstrous lie."
"Me...?" Heavenly Dragon paused for a moment, then threw his head back with a few laughs. "What 'monstrous lie' is this? White Goat, all mortals spend their entire lives being threatened and intimidated. It's the same in Taoyuan as it is in the real world. I've only done something perfectly ordinary. How is that a monstrous lie?"
"Spending their entire lives being threatened and intimidated?" Qi Xia frowned. "Ridiculous..."
"Is my understanding of 'mortals' wrong?" Heavenly Dragon laughed. "All mortals are threatened from a young age—if they don't eat properly, they're doomed; if they don't study hard, they're doomed; even if they don't get into a good university, don't find a good job, don't buy a car and a house before a certain age, or fail to get a promotion within a few years—someone will tell them their life is over. I simply extended these threats and intimidations to the Train. I told them not to cross me, or else their life would still be ruined. Where did I lie?"
Qi Xia listened quietly, saying nothing, only staring at Heavenly Dragon as if trying to understand the other party's thinking from the perspective of a madman.
Heavenly Dragon continued, "If all mortals were experiencing this kind of threat and intimidation for the first time, how could they be as unfazed as they are now? No matter whether they see this place as their 'workplace,' their 'school,' or their 'family,' they find that the rules I set match perfectly with those in real life. So in the end, they gladly accept all of this."
"Your sophistry sounds plausible," Qi Xia replied. "Unfortunately, the people who utter these 'threats' to mortals don't actually want their lives—but you do. Your motive for voicing these threats is to prescribe a reasonable cause of death for everyone."
"Oh?"
"Don't try to convince me with your theory anymore," Qi Xia went on. "I don't believe a single word you say. What makes a 'person' a 'person' is that they are alive. Yet you have exhausted every means to erase the traces of their existence. You deliberately turn people into monsters, take away their sanity, and rob them of their lives. That is the evil karma you have committed."
"I really thought you were about to go mad..." Heavenly Dragon grinned. "But you still seem to be thinking clearly."
"Is that so?" Qi Xia rolled his neck. "Heavenly Dragon, since you can't subdue me with brute force, now you've switched to a mental attack. But if I were so easily defeated, how could I be standing here confronting you?"
Heavenly Dragon pondered for a few seconds, then nodded. "True."
"So give up. This time, go back on your own. Don't let it come to mutual destruction," Qi Xia said.
Heavenly Dragon lowered his head, his face turning toward Qi Xia's arm. He noticed that the arm was trembling slightly now.
Creating such a massive scale of "Life Everlasting," even if the beings he made were all faceless, could not be without effect on him.
"White Goat, the next time I awaken will be the moment of everyone's collapse," Heavenly Dragon said again. "Are you ready to see me in reality?"
"Maybe you won't wake up at all," Qi Xia replied. "Tomorrow night, I might lead a group of people and beat you to death."
"Hahahahaha!" Heavenly Dragon laughed, pointing at Qi Xia's trembling arm. "With this?"
He drifted forward a few more meters, until he was almost standing in front of Qi Xia, and asked softly, "White Goat, if we were in reality, even if everyone in Taoyuan unleashed their immortal arts... who do you think could beat me to death?"
"In that case... I also have a question for you."
The stair of flesh and bone beneath Qi Xia's feet rose again, bringing him closer to Heavenly Dragon.
"Oh?" Heavenly Dragon nodded. "What is it?"
"Heavenly Dragon... tell me honestly..." Qi Xia asked in a low voice. "Can the Train... really get out?"
"Hm...?" Heavenly Dragon paused.
"That so-called 'next station'—where is it?" Qi Xia asked. "Have you been there?"
Heavenly Dragon was silent for a long moment, then spoke. "White Goat, I could lie to you... but I don't mind telling you the truth. Whether it's the 'next station' or the 'previous station,' there is nothing there. Not even darkness. It is pure nothingness."
"Is that so...?"
"So give up hope," Heavenly Dragon said. "If you still want to feel the sensation of being 'alive,' you have no choice but to stay in Taoyuan."