Chapter 887: The Opposite Path
"What are you trying to say?" I asked.
"Zhichun, you work for him, help him out... will he ever treat you as a pawn too? No... or perhaps you already are one... I'm worried that one day he'll replace you... because he'll always find someone stronger. I suggest you get away from him as soon as possible. He's not on the same path as us. Your current situation is very dangerous."
Jiang Ruoxue's words plunged me into deep thought.
What a subtle feeling this was?
The more I understood White Sheep's power, the more fascinated I became with him.
That dangerous, exhilarating feeling...
That sense of despair—"If you're not strong enough, you'll be abandoned"...
That tension of wanting to strive desperately and keep up with his pace...
That anticipation—the possibility of dying at any moment, yet also the possibility of growing stronger at any moment...
That fear that chilled my entire body every time I stared into his eyes...
All of these feelings fascinated me.
I knew my judgment was right. As long as I stayed in contact with White Sheep, I would definitely become stronger.
White Sheep was a massive, immensely powerful double-edged sword capable of splitting heaven and earth.
He was the "master" I had chosen.
"Zhichun... are you listening to me?" Ruoxue asked from the side. "Don't follow White Sheep anymore."
"No..." I shook my head. "Ruoxue, this is the only thing I can't promise you."
"What?" Jiang Ruoxue's eyes flickered slightly.
"I can't promise you. I will continue to help White Sheep," I said. "Until I see it through to some result."
"You...!" Jiang Ruoxue seemed anxious, and with her pale complexion, she looked especially sickly in that moment. "Zhichun... what's wrong with you? Didn't you understand what I just said...? White Sheep and Celestial Dragon are essentially the same kind of person... Following him is too dangerous!"
"I know it's dangerous... but this is also the path I've chosen." I said. "Ruoxue... just leave me alone."
"You... you..." Jiang Ruoxue looked furious. She staggered to her feet, leaning on the wooden planks. "You think I want to bother with you...?"
Seeing her like this, my heart ached... Jiang Ruoxue had shown me great kindness.
In principle, I would agree to any request she made. Even if she told me to kill myself right now, I would die without hesitation.
But I couldn't break away from White Sheep.
Not just me, but even the entire "Jidao" couldn't break away from White Sheep.
I couldn't be as carefree as Jiang Ruoxue. I couldn't just do whatever I wanted. I only knew I had to strive toward what I desired.
"Zhongyan Land" really couldn't continue like this anymore... This place was filled with overwhelming resentment, blood staining the path. Everyone was slowly rotting here.
They were rotting from both body and soul... Someone had to change this place.
If I gave up on White Sheep now, I could only make the next few days of my life a little more pleasant—but that was it.
The resentment here would still surge to the heavens, countless people would still cycle endlessly, and everyone would continue to rot.
I couldn't just focus on the present. I needed to see farther.
I also wanted to free everyone.
"Infuriating... you're really infuriating me..."
Jiang Ruoxue coughed violently a few times. I instinctively reached out to support her, but she shoved me away.
"Don't touch me." Jiang Ruoxue's tone was abnormally cold.
"Ruoxue... don't be like this..."
"Choose." She said after steadying her breathing. "Yan Zhichun, if I stop caring about you, you'll really die! Choose between me or White Sheep. If you're going to keep helping White Sheep, I won't say another word. I'll leave right now."
I had never seen Jiang Ruoxue's eyes like this... She was truly disappointed in me.
"Ruoxue..." I swallowed hard after hearing that. "Can you not say things like that...? You're not only the most important person to me in 'Zhongyan Land' and my best friend, but also the only person in this life I can open my heart to... You mean so much to me..."
"Do you even realize that...?" Jiang Ruoxue frowned at me. "Do you realize that I'm someone you can open your heart to?"
She walked slowly forward, tears swirling in her eyes.
"Yan Zhichun... we've known each other for so many years... Have I ever asked anything from you?"
For some reason, my mind could only recall the first time Jiang Ruoxue appeared—she told me that because she knew we would become good friends in the future, she treated me like a close friend from the very beginning.
She said it and she did it. But I had let her down.
"I don't want anything! Whatever you want to do, I'll do it with you! I really don't want anything bad to happen to you...!"
"I know. I know all that. But Ruoxue... Only White Sheep has the ability to free everyone!" I said. "Besides him, no one else has such means... Are you willing to keep cycling here forever...?"
"I don't want to hear that!" Jiang Ruoxue said. "What 'freeing this place,' what 'scheme within a scheme,' what 'brilliant tactics'... Do any of those things have anything to do with me?!"
"Ruoxue..."
"I just want you to survive! I want you to remember me! I want you to remember everything that happened in 'Zhongyan Land'! I don't want to see you one day, only to find you've become cold and closed-off again! Nor do I want to suddenly discover that you've become a Native or a rotting corpse!"
"I'm sorry..." I bowed my head deeply, my heart aching as if cut by a knife. "I'm sorry..."
I could only say I was sorry.
Why wasn't there any book that explained how to handle a situation like this...?
I was never good at communicating with people... How was I supposed to deal with this...?
What effect or principle could take effect at this moment? Who could help me?
I was truly miserable... I wanted to change this place together with White Sheep. I wanted to free everyone, and I also wanted Jiang Ruoxue to be happy.
"That White Sheep manipulates everyone in the palm of his hand... How could he be a good person?" Jiang Ruoxue pressed on. "Why are you so foolish? He plotted against the 'Zodiac' and the 'Participants,' and even plotted against you and me! How could he be a good person?!"
"Ruoxue... I'm sorry... Can you please not be angry first..." I said, my voice trembling. "Although White Sheep used many schemes... his starting point wasn't to scheme against others... Ruoxue, you..."
As soon as I finished speaking, tears spilled from my eyes.
Even though I was talking to Jiang Ruoxue, I knew I was about to lose her.
I pressed my thumbnail hard against the tattoo on my finger. Perhaps this was the last bit of strength supporting me.
"Yan Zhichun, you're going to keep helping White Sheep, right?" Jiang Ruoxue asked.
I didn't know what to do. I could only reach out and grab her wrist... Her wrist was as cold as my palm.
"Fine... fine..." She nodded blankly, then wiped the corner of her eyes with her hand. "I told you... I'm like this... If we get along, we stay together. If we don't, I turn and leave. Yan Zhichun, let's end it here..."
That day, I said more words than I had in my entire life.
But I still couldn't keep Jiang Ruoxue.