Chapter 717: I Don't Need the Swallow
"Yes." Sister Siwei nodded. "The moment you mentioned the crown and the sword, the first thing that came to my mind was 'The Happy Prince.'"
I'd heard many stories before, but not this one.
"Could you tell it to me?"
Sister said that a long time ago, a swallow was flying south for the winter but accidentally fell behind its flock.
It landed on a statue standing in the center of the city—the statue of the "Happy Prince." The statue's eyes were made of precious gems, and its body was covered in gold leaf.
He stood tall in the city's heart, watching his suffering subjects every day. The swallow originally wanted to leave for the winter, but the Happy Prince begged the swallow to pluck out his two gemstone eyes and give them to the poor, and then to take the gold leaf from his body.
That winter, they helped a great many poor people.
When I heard this part, I was very happy. Yes, this was exactly the kind of prince I wanted to be—one who helps everyone, a hero to all.
Even if he was only made of stone, even if he could do nothing else, he could still give everything he had.
I thought I had finally found my direction, but the ending of this story gradually made my expression fall.
Sister said that because the swallow had delayed its journey and never flew south, it froze to death in that bitter winter.
As for the "Happy Prince," after losing all his decorations, he became exceedingly ugly and was soon torn down.
In other words, after the Happy Prince and the swallow helped all the poor people in the city, those very people sent them straight to hell.
After finishing the story, Sister Siwei asked with a sorrowful expression, "Little hero brother… do you want to be the 'Happy Prince'?"
"Sister…" I slowly lowered my head. "I want to be the 'Happy Prince,' but I want to do it alone."
"Alone…?"
"The swallow could have flown away, couldn't it?"
"Hm?"
"The swallow could have flown away at any time." Tears welled up in my eyes. "It didn't have to stay with the 'Happy Prince' forever, and it didn't have to save those poor people. If the swallow had left that cold winter earlier, it wouldn't have frozen to death."
"Ha." Sister Siwei was amused by me. "But without the swallow's help, the 'Happy Prince' alone couldn't have helped those poor people at all. So wherever there's a 'Happy Prince,' there's a swallow—they've always been together."
Even though she said that, I was really scared.
I wanted to be the "Happy Prince," but I didn't need a swallow by my side.
I was terrified that the ending from the story would happen to me.
"Little hero brother…" Sister Siwei said. "Do you know? The 'Happy Prince' was doing what he loved, and so was the swallow."
"I…" I nodded, but my expression was sad.
The "Happy Prince" was just a statue. He couldn't move at all, couldn't go far away.
Sister Siwei smiled and rested her chin in her hands. "How about this… since your big sister here is quite knowledgeable, why don't you wait for me downstairs tomorrow morning? I'll tell you where to find the crown and the sword. How does that sound?"
"Mm."
The next day, after I had "judged" the smells on everyone, I went to the main entrance to wait for Sister Siwei. She had disappeared for a whole day after chatting with me yesterday morning. Did she know where to find the crown and the sword now?
When I got there, only the "Executioner" not far away was staring at me. This was the first time I had observed the "Executioner" up close. She had a dark brown, gaunt ox face with two tiny horns on top of her head.
"Hello…" I smiled.
This "Executioner" sister gave me a strange feeling… The smell on her was complicated.
She had a pleasant fragrance, but also a stench that belonged to the "Shengxiao."
"Hello." The "Executioner" sister said coldly.
Seeing her return my greeting, I grew a little curious about her.
The "Executioner" stood here motionless every day. Where did she come from, and where did she go to rest? What did she eat and drink?
She could clearly talk directly to us, but she never spoke to us voluntarily. What was she thinking?
"Executioner sister…" I slowly walked toward her.
"What is it?" She looked down at me.
"Do you stand here every day?" I asked.
"Yes." She nodded. "But I'm not the 'Executioner.' I'm a 'Shengxiao.'"
"I'm not the 'Hero' either… I'm 'Yingxiong'…" I said softly.
"What?"
"Nothing…" I smiled. "Shengxiao sister, tell me… this question of 'who we are'—is it determined by us, or by others?"
"I don't understand."
"I mean… others call you 'Executioner,' but you think of yourself as 'Shengxiao'… But others call me 'Hero,' so am I…"
"Does that make you a true 'Hero'?" the Shengxiao sister asked. "Don't you know who you are yourself?"
"I… I don't know…" I said quietly. "No one has ever told me who I am. Before, I only knew what I should and shouldn't do, but I didn't know who I was. And now… I don't even know what I should or shouldn't do anymore."
The Shengxiao sister pondered for a moment, then spoke. "First of all, what you should do right now is stay away from me. After all, in others' eyes, I'm the 'Executioner' and you're the 'Hero.' It's not good for you to be talking privately with me."
"Ah…?"
"Secondly, you should find a way to kill everyone in the city… at least twice in a row." she said. "That's what you ought to do."
"Why…?" I looked at her, puzzled.
"That way you can forcibly reshuffle the city. Not only will you be safe, but the city's 'illness' can be cured as well."
It was only then that I realized I had made a serious mistake. Why hadn't I talked to the "Executioner" sooner?
She was someone from here—she must understand this place better than we did.
"But if they don't produce a 'fragrance'… then after they die, they won't have any memories."
"Isn't that the goal?" The Shengxiao sister glanced around, and after confirming no one was nearby, she said seriously, "Child, what destroys them is their 'memories.' In this place, even without that man named Wan, very few people can stay sane while retaining their memories for a long time. As the number of cycles increases, you'll become more and more endangered."
I felt like I understood what the Shengxiao sister meant.
"Don't think you're safe just because you're the 'Hero' now." She continued. "If these people could kill that man named Wan, they could kill you too. After all, killing here comes with no consequences. I advise you not to keep testing human nature, or else you really will die."
"I was just messing around with him for fun—I didn't expect him to take it seriously. Oh well, since he wants it so badly, I'll give that little dog a way out…"