Chapter 582: Life Is Nothing But Countless Choices (Part 2)
The Old Heavenly Mechanism slightly frowned and said, "What did you say?"
"I said... there is no such thing as destiny."
Chen Changsheng raised his head, his gaze calm and resolute. "Then naturally, there is no destined nemesis."
The Old Heavenly Mechanism looked at him with a grave expression and said, "Destiny lies within the starry sky."
Chen Changsheng replied, "Then please calculate it clearly first, and then come tell me who I am and what I should do, rather than letting me decide for myself."
"There are not many things I cannot calculate clearly, and few people—and you are one of them." A trace of weariness suddenly crept into the Old Heavenly Mechanism's brows and eyes. "Because your teacher can obscure the Heavenly Mechanism, and the Black Robe can as well. If this is their scheme, I truly have no confidence in breaking it."
Hearing the name of the Demon race's strategist, Chen Changsheng's mood turned somewhat strange. "...Is this matter related to the Black Robe?"
"If my guess is correct, your departure from Xining to the capital is a conspiracy aimed at Her Majesty." Whether it was because he had expended too much mental energy in persuading him, the Old Heavenly Mechanism appeared somewhat fatigued. "I cannot calculate exactly what they will do, but it is certainly connected to you."
Chen Changsheng fell silent once more.
He recalled the words Xu Yourong had spoken to him that night.
He remembered what Tang Tang had said to him long ago in the National Academy.
Those words, along with the Old Heavenly Mechanism's earlier remarks, all pointed directly to his teacher and His Holiness the Pope.
"I... will not cooperate."
These were five simple words, yet for Chen Changsheng, it took a long time to force them out from between his lips.
Because this meant he had begun to harbor some suspicion toward his teacher and His Holiness the Pope.
Perhaps his teacher and the Pope were using him for some great goal.
Just like the recent scheme at Cold Mountain to gravely wound the Demon Lord.
He could endure it, but he did not like it.
Once was acceptable, but not too many times.
"But... what if you have always been part of this conspiracy?"
"What if you have been living inside a conspiracy all along?"
"What if your very existence is itself a conspiracy?"
The Old Heavenly Mechanism did not relent because of his answer. Instead, he asked three questions with extreme harshness, even coldness.
And it did not end there. Several more questions came like a freezing rain, slapping against Chen Changsheng's face.
"If you truly are Crown Prince Zhaoming, why did Dean Shang and the Pope want you to enter the capital?"
"Did they think they could deceive Her Majesty's keen eyes? No, they even deliberately let Her Majesty see you and take notice of you."
"Why? Could it be that they wanted to deliver you to Her Majesty to be killed, thus completing her reversal of fate?"
"Chen Changsheng, do not try to answer these questions, because when you see the answer, you will inevitably have already become part of it."
"Before all of this happens, leave, disappear, and let no one find you again."
Chen Changsheng did not want to listen any longer.
He stood up, looked at the Old Heavenly Mechanism, and said, "Actually, there is a simpler way to solve this problem."
"What?"
"You could just kill me right now."
"No, I will not kill you."
"Why?"
The Old Heavenly Mechanism looked at him calmly and said, "Because I will not make a choice for Her Majesty."
Chen Changsheng gazed at him steadily and said, "Then please do not make a choice for me either."
With that, he did not linger any longer. He turned and walked toward the thick fog outside the garden.
Watching his retreating figure, the Old Heavenly Mechanism said with a hint of exhaustion, "Disappear, just like Su Li did—that is the greatest kindness you can show this world."
Chen Changsheng paused in his steps but said nothing.
He took a bite of the peach in his hand, then walked into the mist.
...
...
The mist gathered and dispersed; people came and went.
Not long after Chen Changsheng left, Xu Yourong took a boat to the islet in the middle of the lake and sat in the same spot he had occupied earlier.
The Old Heavenly Mechanism said, "Actually, before you and Chen Changsheng, there was another person who sat here."
Xu Yourong asked, "Who?"
The Old Heavenly Mechanism replied, "Liu Qing."
Xu Yourong thought for a moment before recalling the name.
"I asked Liu Qing what kind of person Chen Changsheng was."
The Old Heavenly Mechanism continued, "He thought about it very seriously for a long time, then said to me... Chen Changsheng is a good person."
For an assassin renowned throughout the world to give Chen Changsheng such an evaluation, Xu Yourong found the feeling rather subtle.
"And you? In your eyes, what kind of person is Chen Changsheng?"
The Old Heavenly Mechanism looked at her and asked calmly.
The question was too calm, and the old man's gaze was too calm—so calm it seemed he knew many inside details.
No one knew what Xu Yourong was feeling. Her white veil fluttered lightly in the lake breeze, as if about to merge with the mist.
Her voice pierced through from beneath the veil, soft and certain.
"He is a true person."
Hearing this, the Old Heavenly Mechanism was slightly moved. He had not expected Xu Yourong to hold him in such high regard.
Thinking back on the events that had happened to Chen Changsheng over the past two years, he found this evaluation to be quite accurate.
"To still maintain a pure heart amidst the mundane world is indeed no easy feat."
The Old Heavenly Mechanism sighed, then said, "Tell Her Majesty that if Chen Changsheng returns to the capital, kill him without hesitation."
One moment he was praising him, the next he was calling for his death.
The capital was filled with grandeur, yet all the world seemed to want him dead.
The garden was very quiet. The sound of lake water lapping against the island's shore was clear.
Xu Yourong said nothing, merely looking at the old man.
The fluttering white veil could conceal her perfect features, but it could not block her calm yet resolute gaze.
The Old Heavenly Mechanism did not meet her eyes. He stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed at the lake surface beyond the mist, his voice utterly devoid of emotion. "If you cannot bear it, then take him away and leave. Use affection, use sentiment, use the white crane, use childhood—no matter what means, just go as far as possible."
Xu Yourong looked at the old man's back and asked, "What exactly did you calculate?"
The Old Heavenly Mechanism did not turn around. "He was unconscious for three days and three nights, and I calculated for three days and three nights. It was still all fog, except for one beam of light."
Xu Yourong murmured, "A beam of light?"
"That beam of light was extremely clear, like Su Li's sword..."
The Old Heavenly Mechanism concluded, "If he returns alive to the capital, Her Majesty will die. What choice will you make?"
...
...
Returning to the small building, standing by the railing and facing the vast lake, Chen Changsheng did not feel his heart broaden.
He thought about what the Old Heavenly Mechanism had said—leaving like Su Li was the greatest kindness to this world.
Then where was this world's kindness to Senior Su Li? And where was its kindness to me?
Leaning on the railing, facing the wind, he was silent for a long time.