Almighty painter

Chapter 691 Ending: Destiny Flight (IV)
Those faces.

Those eyes.

This fate is watching.

The hustle and bustle of this world.

Brother Hao is afraid of this world. He thinks it is dark and without light. When Chen Shenglin taught Gu Weijing to paint the "Good Luck Orphanage in the Sun", he believed that the dark light from the Virgin Mary would forever cover this land. This is a curse that fate cannot escape.

All people are just puppets of fate.

and so.

Brother Hao felt fear in this painting and under the gazes of all the people.

In the interweaving of light and darkness, as his thoughts and heart extended, he seemed to see a painful, frightened, uneasy, dying face.

He saw fear.

The bald man hates this world. He is used to speaking with violence, bullying men and women, and crushing the dignity of small people with his fists.

and so.

The world also hates him.

His mind is far less delicate than Brother Hao's. He does not understand art and does not know how to appreciate Impressionism.

But good works of art do not need to be appreciated, you can just feel them with your heart.

His feelings are much simpler than Brother Hao's and more direct than Chen Shenglin's.

He just instinctively hated this painting, hated those gloomy colors, and hated those cold eyes staring at him.

He clenched his fists, his hand on the pistol on his belt, but he was unable to make the faces and people in the paintings lower their heads.

and so……

This sturdy man, who liked Rococo as a pornographic painting, instinctively hated the gloomy tones and this painting style. He felt that this painting was clearly a provocation and hostility towards them.

He couldn't help but feel that the painting was very "outrageous".

And Gu is the classic.

Gu Weijing loves this world.

Even if fate is really not kind to him, there are still many people in this world who love him, and there are so many lovely people.

There is the bald grandfather, the childlike Mr. Cao, the blonde aunt with a very poisonous mouth, the sloth who is very kind to him, and the fat and round uncle Sakai...

There was Miss Koko who said to him, don't be afraid, I'm here.

There are so many people to love in this world.

and so.

Gu Weijing heard warmth and felt courage amid the hustle and bustle of the world.

This world is so full of warmth. He really hopes to be happy and live a long life with the lovely people and the people who love him.

but.

If the price of going forward is to make myself a stranger, and to make the eyes that once looked at me full of enthusiasm become strangers, and I will no longer be able to look at them with those enthusiastic eyes.

Then.

Gu Weijing could also try to be brave and try to be like Ophelia in the painting, humming a song and lying calmly in the stream.

The painting depicts his death.

It is also his struggle.

Chen Shenglin got one thing wrong from the very beginning.

This painting was never "Judgment Day," never "Inferno," never "The Wrath of Angels," or anything else.

This painting is "Human Noise".

His paintings are about the human world.

Gu Weijing is using his paintbrush to welcome a storm, rather than trying to summon a storm.

"Brother Hao, you are wrong. This painting is not my call of destiny..." Gu Weijing paused and held the deadly poison in his palm.

“This painting.”

"It's my answer to fate."

Perhaps religion is an anesthetic for the spirit, perhaps gods are a refuge for the soul, but there are people in this world who can face pain without anesthetics, and there are also people who do not need shelter and can still stand upright in the sun or in the wind and rain.

Courage has nothing to do with conversion.

Courage is all about believing.

Gu Weijing thought of the faces in Mr. Cao’s paintings again.

Reminds me of the military songs sung during the march.

I remember the wall of people in camouflage uniforms jumping into the roaring river in the wind and rain, and in the flood that was about to burst the dam.

There is something in their faces, their eyes, their voices, a common courage that transcends race, religion, and ideology.

Cao Xuan believed that these faces and these eyes meant hope.

Gu Weijing believes that these faces and these voices constitute the human world.

"If I die today, and I fall here, every drop of blood I shed will tell you clearly that we are different."

Gu Weijing said to Chen Shenglin.

"Every drop of blood I shed is telling you that you are doomed to never find peace. You will always be judged by fear until the last second of your life."

"Until eternity."

“This is the judgment of fear on you. This is the judgment of your heart on your heart.”

"Brother Hao, stop pretending. You are a very insecure person. You once thought you were powerful enough. You had this manor that seemed to have no end, you had little brothers who followed you everywhere, you had thugs all over the streets, and you had countless dollars with zeros in your account."

"But today, at the moment when you are about to die, you are suddenly afraid. You become that helpless country boy again. Because you find that no matter your subordinates, thugs, magnificent manor, or billions of dollars in your account, these things can no longer bring you any sense of security in the face of death."

"You want to do good things, you burn incense, you chant. You are so patient with me, you say you like Koko, and you don't get angry when Koko slaps the file in your face. It's not because you suddenly changed and became a good person. It's because suddenly... you found yourself afraid."

Gu Weijing's voice was calm and peaceful.

It filled Chen Shenglin's ears.

It drowned out the sound of his breathing, the sound of his heartbeat, and all the noise and bustle in the world.

"If you find that your illness is cured, and if you still have twenty years to live, you will immediately turn back into that terrifying Godfather. If I reject you, you will chop off my hands, you will have someone pour a frying pan of oil on my grandfather's face, and you will skin Awang and put him on my bed. If Koko's father investigates you, you will kill his daughter without even a frown, and then send a lock of hair to her father in an envelope."

"That's what you normally do."

Ordinary people are just ordinary people.

Ordinary people are powerless, insignificant, and as insignificant as grass and duckweed.

Ordinary people cannot pull out a tree as thick as that outside Xiangguo Temple in one go, cannot kill a gangster like Zhen Guanxi with three punches, and cannot give Gao Yanei three hundred hits with his Zen stick.

But ordinary people can also stand on the bank of Qiantang River.

Wave the Zen stick at fate, roar like a god, and laugh to the sky.

This is not the rage of the beast.

This is human dignity.

Gu Weijing took Koko's hand and placed the poison pill in her palm.

"You are strong, as strong as destiny, but you have a fearful, insecure, and cowardly heart. I am standing here to tell you that we are afraid, but we are not afraid."

“We are afraid of losing each other, but we are not afraid of you.”

"We will always be together."

"You...you are just too serious." Chen Shenglin panted heavily. "Young people always see the world too simply."

The middle-aged man suddenly thought of something, as if he had grasped a life-saving straw.

"Many, many years ago, when I was still a very poor street painter, I met your grandfather in your painting and calligraphy shop. When your grandfather found out that I was a painter of imitation oil paintings, he just smiled at me and didn't say much."

"Your grandfather understands what the real society is like better than you do. In a few years, when you grow up and experience more, you will understand that sometimes -"

"No. I don't know what my grandfather was thinking at the time, but I know that turning a blind eye and allowing a starving person to steal an orange from his home is completely different from allowing a person to become a billionaire by stealing."

"My grandfather may just want to show you some kindness. He may just want to give you a chance to learn painting. Giving a poor person a chance to learn is probably not a bad thing. But he knows that you have become this kind of person now. I believe he will regret his choice."

"Brother Hao, be clear about this. Don't pretend to be a godfather and fool yourself. This is your true self. You are a bad guy, a complete bad guy."

"I thought that a gangster like you would at least have some courage to face up to what you have done. You——"

Gu Weijing spoke word by word.

"You have committed many evil deeds."

"No, you misunderstood. I didn't do anything really bad. I was just laundering money. I was just laundering money. I wouldn't touch any business that involves blood."

The middle-aged man said in a hoarse voice.

He explained again and defended himself again.

There was no need for him to explain himself to an insignificant person like Gu Weijing, and Gu Weijing was not qualified to listen to the explanation of a big shot like Chen Shenglin.

But Gu Weijing understood.

The other party is explaining to fate and justifying his own life.

"What is a truly bloody business, and what is a non-bloody business? You think that selling war is a truly bloody business, and you think that laundering money for those arms dealers that sell war is a non-bloody business? You think the government is incompetent and dark, and that the people are living in misery, but you think that laundering money for those corrupt officials, winning over those people, and bringing down more people is a non-bloody business?"

Gu Weijing couldn't help laughing again and again.

Gu Weijing had never thought that Brother Hao was so childish.

He knew it wasn't childish.

This is just a cop-out.

This world is such a dark humor.

In the past six months, Gu Weijing has been trying desperately to escape.

Brother Hao forced him into a desperate situation with ease, just like trapping an ant on the table with a matchstick.

now.

Gu Weijing seemed to have been completely restrained by Brother Hao and trapped in the studio of Xihe Guild Hall, where his life and death could be controlled at will.

but.

Whether it is Brother Hao or fate, they can only control the life and death of a person.

When that day came, when Gu Weijing was finally ready to stand there and face death.

His soul is like a pair of wings.

He soars from his nature.

then.

It turned out that the seemingly powerful Hao Ge was running away, arguing and defending himself, while Gu Weijing was chasing him.

He is extremely powerful, yet extremely fragile.

He was extremely fragile, yet extremely powerful. "Brother Hao, when did you become so naive?" Gu Weijing couldn't help but laugh again and again.

He found that he was really expressing his contempt from the bottom of his heart, and he was also feeling happy from the bottom of his heart.

"When you talked about your dream just now, I wanted to laugh. This is one of the funniest jokes I have ever heard in my life. You said your ideal is to build a city like Rio de Janeiro, where slums are everywhere and the government and police are powerless and incompetent. They have no way to govern the streets, so the gangs take over the government's place to maintain order. They hold their own art festivals and music festivals, where... everyone laughs happily."

"What the hell! What kind of bullshit gangster utopia is this?"

Gu Weijing also felt that he was having fun.

Yes.

When you are no longer afraid, you can certainly face death with contempt, you can certainly no longer be respectful and docile, and you can certainly become whoever you want to be.

Someone as sensitive and gentle as him can also become as hard as iron.

You waved your Zen stick, and the tide of Qiantang River came like waves.

The tide of Qiantang River surges in.

You waved your Zen stick.

He scolded Brother Hao mercilessly, his words as sharp as a needle.

"You only see children playing football on the streets, artists painting gang graffiti on the streets, and foreign tourists waving glow sticks at concerts. But in places you can't see or hear, there are more. Hundreds of children have died because they were used as human mules for transportation and because they were involved in drug wars. Hundreds of children have no schooling, they are displaced, they are controlled, they are torn and bitten in the mud, and even raped. Some artists don't want to paint gang graffiti, and some people can become artists but don't become artists because of the chaos caused by gangs. At concerts, outside the venues of art festivals, on those streets, some tourists are robbed, extorted, and even shot!"

"Isn't the source of all this the mafia? How can you sell sacks of cocaine on the street while denouncing the incompetence and weakness of the police and the government? How can you mess up this city while casually lighting a candle and think you are the light of humanity?"

"You must be kidding. Brother Hao, you are a gangster godfather! You are a big shot who has made billions of dollars in the underworld. How can you tell me not to be naive and say such naive words without changing your expression? You are the godfather of the underworld, how can you let an 18-year-old kid like me tell you what the underworld looks like? No, you are not naive, you are not deaf, you are not blind. You can hear and you can see. You are just avoiding yourself."

Gu Weijing paused.

He said softly.

"But people, people can't escape themselves. No matter how you run, your heart will catch up with you, and your fear will grab you."

"Brother Hao, wake up. You don't even believe what you said. Otherwise, why do you see so many contradictions and fears in this painting?"

"This is the fear in your heart. No one can bear these things for you."

Chen Shenglin looked at the oil painting on the wall with pale eyes.

The man in the painting was also looking at him, his dying face, his cloudy eyes...desperate and empty, wailing hoarsely and painfully to him.

This was the siren's voice from which he could never escape.

Chen Shenglin suddenly bent down and burst into an extremely painful cough. The man who looked so strong was now as fragile as a piece of paper.

He covered his chest, knelt on the ground, coughed again and again, and gasped for breath.

The bald man was shocked.

He wanted to rush over to support Brother Hao, but Brother Hao was supported by someone who was closer to him.

This is Gu Weijing.

"Hey, take a deep breath, take a deep breath, don't be impulsive, calm down." Gu Weijing patiently patted Brother Hao's back and asked in his ear with concern: "Do you want to drink some water? Or do you need to take any medicine?"

"Brother Hao, you must not die like this, you must take good care of your body. I hope you live as long as possible, and spend the rest of your life as slowly as possible. This way you can clearly feel yourself rotting away on a mountain of gold, and feel the maggots of fear growing in your heart, gnawing at you bit by bit - that restless, painful eternity."

Gu Weijing whispered in the man's ear.

Chen Shenglin has been a winner at the poker table all his life.

He kept his cards hidden in his palm all his life and saw through the cards of countless opponents.

But this time.

Maybe it was the last game of his life.

He was seen through.

He did not get into Gu Weijing's heart, but Gu Weijing got into his heart...a fragile, empty heart that could not be protected by the golden armor.

So the Giants only have a mountain of chips.

He was——

A sword pierces the heart.

The huge body or the empty soul made a silent but loud noise like a landslide, and in an instant, it turned into rubble and dust.

The elegant and graceful middle-aged official at the wine table first had his illusion punctured and turned into an old zombie with a green face and fangs. He was then penetrated by the vast and scorching sunlight and turned into white bones falling to the ground with clanking sounds.

Tears rolled down Chen Shenglin's cheeks.

He knew he lost.

Totally lost.

This is a gamble with souls as chips. He will not suffer any material losses and he is still surrounded by gold.

But fear and panic will accompany me for the rest of my life.

Koko tilted her head.

In the bag in her hand was a loaded pistol.

If she wanted to, now would be a good opportunity to shoot Chen Shenglin in the back of the head, like an execution.

But what Gu Weijing said was right.

She no longer needed to shoot.

Fate has already executed his soul.

In this situation, letting him live slowly would be the greatest judgment on him.

Chen Shenglin was panting.

"Someone has to do these things, Gu Weijing. When a person is surrounded by such huge wealth, no one can give up easily. The senator is doing the same thing. Isn't the Elena family also--"

"Then the Elena family should go to hell."

Gu Weijing was tired of hearing all this.

He interrupted Chen Shenglin rudely.

"I don't understand politics, but if, if the Elena family made their fortune in the same way as you did, then the Elena family should go to hell. If, if the California senator really takes pleasure in selling war, selling turmoil, and selling chaos, then the California senator should also go to hell."

“I believe that all the evil people in the world will go to hell. I also believe that all those who have devoted their lives to the cause of human liberation and the well-being of the world’s people will go to heaven and receive eternal life.”

"It has nothing to do with who he is, where he's from, what color he is, what his ethnicity is, what his social status is. It has nothing to do with whether you're going to hell."

“This world is complicated, but it is a struggle between angels and demons, and the struggle between angels and demons is only about good and evil.”

Gu Weijing walked over, picked up a marker, and signed a line of text in the blank space at the bottom of the picture.

"I sat on the top of the mountain, sitting here and creating mankind in my own image, making this race the same as me, to suffer and cry, to rejoice and be happy. And like me... I despise you."

In the book "Burning World", many of the background stories are inspired by ancient Greek myths and legends.

When Gu Weijing completed the illustration task for the publishing house, Mr. Sloth prepared a lot of additional reading materials for him, so that he could not understand them in detail, but he could just flip through them whenever he had time when he was drawing.

Gu Weijing just flipped through it casually.

He read most of the reading materials and then forgot about them.

But Gu Weijing only realized at this moment that he had only read this sentence casually.

But he remembered it clearly.

This is the last sentence of the poem "Prometheus" written by Goethe in his youth with ancient Greek mythology as the background.

This was casually written by Gu Weijing at this moment.

The poem is written in the voice of a Titan who is tied to the top of a mountain and has his liver eaten day and night, expressing his contempt and ridicule for thunder, fate, and all the gods in the world.

This sacred, noble contempt.

I...despise you.

Defy fate.

"You said that when a person is surrounded by such huge wealth, no one can give up easily. No, not everyone can be bought by money. We are different. We are absolutely different."

Gu Weijing stared at Chen Shenglin, who was kneeling on the ground, holding on to the floor.

"I believe that Tantalus, who fooled his guests with the dead body of a child, and Prometheus, who stole fire for the world, are both subject to the eternal punishment of the gods. Tantalus will be forever regretful and tortured. Even if Prometheus is tied to the top of a mountain, he will gaze at the world with noble and calm dignity."

"The blood he shed was also burning gold."

“This is the words I give to you, and also the words I give to myself. This is the painting I give to you, and also the painting I give to myself.”

Gu Weijing reached out and gently stroked the hair of Chen Shenglin who was kneeling on the ground.

Gently wipe away the tears from the middle-aged man's face with your fingers.

Gu Weijing is much younger than Chen Shenglin.

But at this moment, the arrogant Brother Hao was as fragile as a baby, while the eighteen-year-old young man, standing in the sun, looked like a giant.

This scene of gently stroking the wet forehead really looks like a godfather blessing his godson.

At the baptism ceremony held in the church.

There will be a priest who will wash away a person's sins with holy water, and there will be an adult elder standing beside the newborn to swear in the church for him, touch his forehead, and serve as a guardian in the newborn's education.

He or she will then become the child's godfather or godmother.

In the Christian world, this is a sacred covenant relationship, even stronger than blood ties.

When an elder becomes a child's godfather, they often say some auspicious words of blessing, such as "she will live a long life" or "he will be successful."

But this time.

"I don't believe in gods, but I hope there is a hell after death to accommodate people like you. Chen Shenglin, you are a bad person."

The godfather whispered beside the child.

"If there is an item called 'bad people' in the census, you have to fill in the mark in this column properly. If you have to fill in your occupation in your passport, you have to write 'I am a bad person' (note). If there is a hell in the world, you have to go to hell obediently. If there are 18 levels of hell, then you have to go to the 18th level."

"If the hell in this world is Western, then you will have to go to the sulfur spring. If the hell in this world is Eastern, then you will have your tongue dug out and be thrown into the oil pan. If hell happens to be a fusion of Eastern and Western, then you will have to go to the sulfur spring and be thrown into the oil pan. If there happens to be no hell in this world."

"Then even if you happen to be lucky, you will still be tortured by endless fear before you die."

Gu Weijing is not predicting the lives of newborns.

Gu Weijing was reading out the verdict of Chen Shenglin's fate on his behalf.

"Chen Shenglin. Your parents named you Dahuo. They hoped that you could illuminate the world with happiness like the stars in the sky, but no, you only brought disaster and misfortune here. You could have become an excellent painter, with a promising future and a name to be remembered in history. Maybe you could have gone further than me in the art world, which is beyond my reach. Or maybe you would lack a little bit of luck and fail to become a brilliant master, but you could also be an ordinary person who is mediocre, kind, and brave."

“But none of that happened.”

"But this will never happen again. You said you would give me $3 million, and you said the money was clean, innocent, risk-free, and flawless. No, you can wash the money clean and make it safe, but it will never be clean money. You can wash yourself into a senator, but you can never wash the mud off yourself. You can't wash yourself clean."

"Maybe you have won again and again in your life. Maybe you can buy everything you can buy. Maybe..."

Gu Weijing spoke word by word.

"But, Chen Shenglin."

"If what you really want most is to die peacefully while saying 'Life is so beautiful', then -"

"Please wait until next life."

(End of this chapter)