Chapter 3160: Seeking But Not Obtaining
The one who initiated this death challenge was Liu Yi. She controlled some of the variable factors, while the challenged party was Xu Huo, who also controlled some variable factors. Yet neither of them expected that they ultimately wouldn't truly participate, but instead, another uncontrollable factor would complete the prophecy.
"What role do you want to play in this matter?" Xu Huo asked. "The universe?"
Liu Yi shook her head slightly. "I'm just one of the variable factors in this whole thing. Haven't you noticed? Even if neither of us were here right now, the event would still happen. But if Si Si hadn't made a move, those two might have died because of us."
"Only the dead are the necessary roles."
"The killer isn't?" Xu Huo raised an eyebrow. "Did you foresee the entire process of you killing me, or just me standing beside your corpse?"
"You mean to say someone else intervened in between, and what I foresaw was only a fragment." Liu Yi smiled. "If it weren't for killing you, how else would we have crossed paths?"
That was the absolutely uncontrollable variable.
"You should leave District 009." Xu Huo paused after saying this himself. A prophecy couldn't cover every detail. Liu Yi believed she would die in District 009, but was that really District 009?
Liu Yi had obviously thought about this long ago. "Who says that taking the initiative to leave isn't part of the chain that leads to the final outcome?"
She had seen District 009, but what if it was a place similar to District 009?
So whether she left or not, she couldn't cut off all the variables. Rather than wasting effort, it was better to go with the flow.
"I've already given up," she added. "But if you have any good ideas, you can tell me, and I'll cooperate."
After saying that, she sat back down to wash the wine glasses and plates, while Xu Huo remained sitting outside, drinking wine and gazing at the scenery.
Soon, more people appeared on the beach. The noise lasted from mid-afternoon until late at night. He sat there until deep into the night, until Liu Yi and the others were ready to close up and go home.
Xu Huo booked a hotel nearby and checked in. That night, he slept quite soundly and didn't wake until broad daylight the next morning. After breakfast, he went back to the beach.
Liu Yi and Dai Si were running their shop as usual. He didn't go inside but casually found a spot to sit down and gaze into the distance.
Seawater repeatedly washed over his feet. Occasionally, a small crab crawled by, and shells were washed ashore. Bubbles in the water burst and reformed—chaotic and disorderly, yet never ceasing.
"Smack!" A small shovel fell into the water. Two children nearby started fighting, both shouting that the sandcastle beside them was their own creation and forbidding the other from touching it. The parents nearby initially watched with amused smiles, but when the kids began pulling each other's hair and scratching at each other's eyes, they hurried over to stop them.
Children only recognized right and wrong from their own perspective. They refused to let go and demanded that the adults judge who the castle belonged to.
The adults were also troubled. It wasn't worth arguing over such a trivial matter. So one parent crouched down to persuade their child, saying that the other kid had also helped carry sand and contributed effort, so they deserved a share of the credit.
The other child's parent said much the same thing.
But the two children were unconvinced, even feeling wronged to the point of wailing. The first child said he hadn't used any of the sand the second child had brought. The second child insisted the first had used it but wouldn't admit it.
The crying was so loud that it drew the attention of people nearby. Both sets of parents felt embarrassed and ended up scolding their own children. In the end, the second child kicked the castle to pieces.
The first child wouldn't let it go, lying on the ground and howling. The second child, not to be outdone, kicked it a few more times.
Then both of them each got a slap on the backside and were dragged away by their families.
The ruined castle remained where it was, occasionally stepped on or kicked by running children, until it merged back into the sand, washed by the water into an ordinary, common bump.
Xu Huo's gaze shifted to the layers upon layers of footprints on the beach. Countless similar incidents must have occurred on this stretch of sand. Countless times, the sand had been shaped into different forms, only to return to its original state. In the end, everyone on the beach would leave, the sand would become flat again, and the seawater would continue to wash over it night and day.
Everything was so taken for granted that it seemed insignificant.
He grabbed a handful of sand, feeling the wet grains slip through his fingers. His eyes darkened. Why was it insignificant? What right did it have to be insignificant?
"It's raining!" someone shouted.
A dark cloud was blown over by the strong wind, and raindrops as big as beans came crashing down on the beach. People ran—some toward the shore, some toward the sea. The sand in Xu Huo's hand was completely washed away by the heavy rain.
An old lady walking very slowly shuffled over and placed an empty basin on his head. "Young man, take shelter from the rain. Getting soaked in this rain will make you sick."
"Thank you." Xu Huo held the basin with one hand and supported her with the other as they walked toward a small shop on the shore.
"Don't worry about me. You go first." The old lady waved her hand. "I'm wearing a hat."
"I'm young. A little rain won't hurt me." Xu Huo refused.
The old lady chuckled. "The rain will stop soon. When it does, you can keep playing. You're young, so running there and back will be quick."
"Isn't that great? When you reach my age, you won't have the energy to play even if you want to."
"When the heavens want it to rain, what can we do standing on the ground? Put on a hat or open an umbrella. The rain will stop eventually—it's only a matter of time."
She patted the back of his hand meaningfully. "Things in this world are like rain. When the time comes, it falls. It's not because someone is unlucky, nor is it deliberately tormenting anyone. When it's over, just shake off the rain and move on."
Xu Huo smiled wryly. "Ma'am, I wasn't planning to die."
The old lady gave him a look that said "Don't think you can fool me" and rambled on. "You young people always say one thing and mean another. You think too much and always talk about success and achievement. When trouble comes, you feel you were born at the wrong time or have bad luck, blaming heaven, earth, people, and yourselves. From my perspective—someone with one foot in the grave—it's because your eyes are looking too far ahead and you can't see the path beneath your feet."
"Young man, listen to me. Don't always fixate on the good things you see in the distance. Sitting on the beach and basking in the sun right now—isn't that a good thing too?"
"Isn't a good life of success and achievement exactly like this?"
"What more are you seeking?"
"People don't understand themselves. Maybe what you're seeking has already been obtained, but you just don't have the eyes to see it..."
The old lady kept talking, as if she were persuading Xu Huo, or perhaps pouring out her own regrets. But the rain was too brief. By the time they reached the small shop on the shore, it had already stopped.
Xu Huo handed the basin back. The old lady patted his head. "Youth is wonderful. Look forward."