Chapter 76: Life Is Just Countless Choices (Part 2)
The Old Heavenly Mechanism frowned slightly and said, "What did you say?"
"I said... there is no such thing as fate."
Chen Changsheng lifted his head, his gaze calm and resolute: "So naturally, there is no destined nemesis either."
The Old Heavenly Mechanism looked at him with a grave expression and said, "Fate lies within the stars."
Chen Changsheng replied, "Then please calculate it clearly first, and then tell me who I am and what I should do, rather than making me decide for myself."
"There aren't many things I can't 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 certainty of breaking it."
Hearing the name of the Demon race's strategist, Chen Changsheng's mood turned somewhat strange. "...Does this matter involve the Black Robe?"
"If my guess is correct, your departure from Xining to the capital is a conspiracy aimed at Her Majesty." The Old Heavenly Mechanism seemed fatigued, perhaps because he had expended too much mental energy trying to persuade him. "I can't calculate exactly what they will do, but it definitely involves you."
Chen Changsheng fell silent again.
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 at his teacher and His Holiness the Pope.
"I... will not cooperate."
These were five simple words, but 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 doubt toward his teacher and His Holiness the Pope.
Perhaps his teacher and the Pope were using him for some great goal.
Just like the scheme at Cold Mountain to severely wound the Demon Lord.
He could endure it, but he didn't 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 pressed on with three harsh, even cold and ruthless questions.
And it didn't end there. Several more questions rained down on Chen Changsheng's face like a cold, icy storm.
"If you truly are Crown Prince Zhaoming, why did Dean Shang and the Pope send you to the capital?"
"Did they think they could fool Her Majesty's discerning eyes? No, they even deliberately let Her Majesty see you and take notice of you."
"Why? Could it be that they wanted to offer you to Her Majesty to be killed, thus completing her reversal of fate?"
"Chen Changsheng, don't try to answer these questions, because by the time you see the answer, you will already be part of it."
"Before all this happens, leave, disappear, and don't let anyone find you again."
Chen Changsheng didn't want to listen anymore.
He stood up, looked at the Old Heavenly Mechanism, and said, "Actually, there's a simpler way to solve this problem."
"What?"
"You could just kill me right now."
"No, I won't kill you."
"Why?"
The Old Heavenly Mechanism looked at him calmly and said, "Because I won't make a choice for Her Majesty."
Chen Changsheng gazed at him steadily and replied, "Then please don't make a choice for me either."
With that, he didn't linger. He turned and walked toward the thick fog outside the garden.
Watching his retreating figure, the Old Heavenly Mechanism said wearily, "Disappear, just like Su Li did—that would be the greatest kindness to this world."
Chen Changsheng paused but said nothing.
He took a bite of the peach in his hand and then walked into the fog.
...
...
The fog gathered and dispersed; people came and went.
Not long after Chen Changsheng left, Xu Yourong took a boat to the island in the center of the lake and sat down in the same spot he had occupied.
The Old Heavenly Mechanism said, "Actually, before you and Chen Changsheng, someone else sat here too."
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."
That a renowned assassin of the world would give Chen Changsheng such an evaluation made Xu Yourong feel somewhat peculiar.
"And you? In your eyes, what kind of person is Chen Changsheng?"
The Old Heavenly Mechanism asked her calmly.
The question was too calm, and the old man's gaze too calm—as if he already 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 hadn't expected Xu Yourong to hold him in such high regard.
Thinking back on the things that had happened to Chen Changsheng over the past two years, he found this evaluation to be quite accurate.
"To still maintain a childlike heart amidst the mundane world is indeed not easy."
The Old Heavenly Mechanism sighed, then said, "Tell Her Majesty: 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 the world all wished to kill him.
The garden was very quiet. The sound of lake water lapping against the island's shore was clear and distinct.
Xu Yourong said nothing, just looked at the old man.
Her fluttering white veil could conceal her perfect face, but it couldn't block her calm yet forceful gaze.
The Old Heavenly Mechanism didn't meet her eyes. He stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and gazed at the lake surface beyond the fog. His voice was utterly devoid of emotion. "If you can't bear it, then take him and leave. Use affection, use intention, use the white crane, use childhood—use whatever means you have. The farther you go, the better."
Xu Yourong looked at the old man's back and asked, "What exactly did you calculate?"
The Old Heavenly Mechanism didn't turn around. "He was unconscious for three days and three nights, and I calculated for three days and three nights. Still, it was 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 do you make?"
...
...
Back in the small pavilion, standing by the railing and looking out at the vast lake before him, Chen Changsheng didn't feel his mind expand.
He thought about what the Old Heavenly Mechanism had said—that leaving like Su Li would be 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.