The King of Curses

Chapter 329 Existential Crisis

"Meng Huafan", who is looking for a host everywhere, essentially has a personality with a strong self-destructive tendency. As the saying goes, "the old does not go, the new does not come", but before Chen Jiu, no one saw this.

Whether it is the host or outsiders, there are only two attitudes towards the existence of "Meng Huafan": fear or rejection.

Just like the Snail Girl before, if they want to break free from the shackles that bind them and get rid of the fear that everything may be taken away at any time, there seems to be only one way left for them:
They wanted to resist, to expel and to kill the soul of "Meng Huafan".

But this cannot be done.

Meng Huafan actually didn't care about resisting.

On the one hand, there is no longer anything in this world that can truly kill "him"; on the other hand, "he" does not need to take away the consciousness of others. On the contrary, everything he does is based on "giving".

"He" chose to give up himself, to give generously, and to integrate without reservation, just to let the next successor have special power and everything belonging to "Meng Huafan", even if that person was unwilling to call himself "Meng Huafan" anymore.

How to defeat such an opponent?

"He" is not afraid of death at all, his purpose is only to abandon and inherit; if the host can luckily refuse this time, for "him" it will just be a matter of changing someone else, and this cycle of exile and devouring will continue forever.

Therefore, Chen Jiu’s idea was never about the destroyer, but about replacing it.

And if he just changed his identity, from the perspective of "Meng Huafan" now, if he was reborn and called himself Chen Jiu, he would be able to gain the favor of several powerful people who were originally threatening to him. This might not be a bad choice for him.

This is not a lie, because at that time, "he" was indeed Chen Jiu. Whether others would accept it or not is one thing, in short, "he" has no burden on "self".

If Chen Jiu wants to win, it is also very easy. He just needs to admit now that the new special curse master in the future is the continuation of "Chen Jiu".

"Chen Jiu, there is no doubt that you are a genius."

The figure lurking in the dark corner of consciousness finally spoke.

As the Snail Girl was created by him personally and was in a sense an "artificial human", their spirits had actually begun to penetrate each other's for a long time.

The reason why Chen Jiu was able to master Meng Huafan's research in a short period of time was because the other party's knowledge and beliefs were constantly flowing into her brain and permeating her body and mind.

"The Snail Girl is the host that Meng Huafan carefully prepared for himself." This is not empty talk.

“I’m not a genius. I’m just the only one who is willing to embrace and accept the gift.”

"So, who do you think I am?"

“…Undoubtedly, it’s a monster.”

……

The personality flowed between the bodies, finally turning Meng Huafan into an unprecedented freak.

It's not just the body or the soul. He can discard the body while making sure that the remaining part can't be destroyed like a ghost.

The current "he" is more like a belief, a cognition, and a "knowledge", which is passed down by every new Meng Huafan.

"I've always found it strange. After countless replacements, how much of the original you, the original Meng Huafan's thinking and personality, can be found in the current subject consciousness?"

This is exactly what the Ship of Theseus, an ancient thought experiment, says:

Legend has it that before becoming king, Athens King Theseus led warriors to Crete and killed the Minotaur. In memory of him, people named the ship where Theseus made his achievement "Ship of Theseus".

However, as time went by, the parts of the ship gradually decayed and people kept replacing them with new ones until all the parts were replaced. This raises the question, is this ship still the same ship? If so, why? If not, when did it stop being the same ship?

"Father, do you still remember what you liked and hated? Do you still remember your original personality?"

"This kind of trivial and irrelevant thinking is not suitable for our communication."

The voice in my heart answered.

"This is important!"

Chen Jiu believed that the person who could become a special-class spell-binding master must be an extraordinary madman, otherwise he would not use himself as an experiment.

But he made a fatal mistake: he only passed down power and knowledge. As for other things, the first "Meng Huafan" treated them as things that could be discarded at will.

The Snail Girl he created himself is an example of this concept.

They are excellent hosts because they are deprived of their past. Even if their brains can recall it, they still feel a sharp disconnect from everything they have experienced.

Ma Jing tried to question her own existence once and fell into semi-madness; what if this situation happened dozens or hundreds of times?

"Father, you have fallen into an existential crisis and should not continue. A person can confuse who is who, but cannot confuse who I am."

The figure that exists deep in the cognition fell into silence.

The young girl, at this moment, is more like a philosopher and an elder; and this famous special-class spell-binding master is a child in confusion.

...Although judging from the other party's performance, it is impossible that "Meng Huafan" was unaware of the problems he had, his true nature remained unchanged, which meant that he could not be easily persuaded.

Ever since Meng Huafan pressed the switch at the beginning, "he" has become a derailed train, rushing towards an endless abyss, and no one can stop it.

The other party even laughed nonchalantly.

"Chen Jiu, what exactly do you want to prove? You don't want me to take your body away, and you don't want to merge with me, so you plan to refuse, right?"

"Do not."

"That is acceptance. There are only these two paths before you. Since you know my current situation very well, you should be more aware of your own situation."

Meng Huafan persuaded softly:
"Don't be afraid. When you become one with me, you and 'us', you will find your past obsessions ridiculous and all those doubts you had just now meaningless."

……I know.

"Of course I know." Chen Jiu said, "I will choose to accept it, but not in your way."

"Want to change your name? I support you. You can choose to abandon your current identity and concentrate on adapting to the power. The property and power under the name 'Meng Huafan' are nothing but external things. As long as you have the power of "Boundless Sea of ​​Bitterness", you can take it back at any time."

"He" said indifferently.

"It's not about the name... No, that's not right. Of course the name is important. The name symbolizes the value of our existence. It's because you take it too lightly that you end up in this situation."

Chen Jiu was firm in his attitude.

"If I replace 'Meng Huafan', I must give up this absurd form of existence."

"give up?"

"Yes, there won't be a next time." The girl said, "I will become the last host of "Boundless Sea of ​​Bitterness" and give up reincarnation in this way of 'occupying the magpie's nest'."

"Meng Huafan" was not angry.

He guided the students like a teacher and raised new questions:
"What are you going to do? If you choose to merge with me, your persistence and your beliefs will be completely submerged."

"There is a way, as long as you give up." This answer was obviously unexpected, and even "Meng Huafan" did not respond immediately. After a long silence.

"…Are you kidding me?"

"No, this is research. I'm resuming the research you once abandoned."

"With the power of 'Boundless Sea of ​​Bitterness', whether to create a 'new me' and keep the 'old me', or to merge the two and leave only one 'me', both paths are feasible. You just choose to walk the same path because you are afraid."

"What would happen if there were two 'Meng Huafan' in this world? This possibility that makes you fear and eventually reject me is now in me."

*
"here we go."

Cen Dongsheng's head tightened slightly, and then he heard Lou Jia, who was sitting above him, speaking in a rare serious tone.

A "?" popped up in the man's head, not understanding what this incoherent sentence meant.

"What are you talking about?"

Ever since Loujia appeared in front of him in this villainous manner, he has been in a noisy state. He didn't speak for a while just now, and he was a little uncomfortable.

"I need someone to help me. Don't you care whether the little girl named Chen Jiu can defeat Meng Huafan?"

Cen Dongsheng suddenly realized.

"…So it was you." He said, "She insisted on doing what she wanted. Was it because you were secretly instigating her?"

"No, it was all her idea. I just gave her some support at the right time. I don't know much about humans, but she is indeed a special child."

“She matured very early.”

"I originally just wanted to get information about Meng Huafan, so I contacted her. But when I heard from this girl that she wanted to have a fair talk with Meng Huafan, I was deeply moved, so I became interested."

Loujia's attitude was sincere.

"And this is just as meaningful to you. If she can really replace Meng Huafan, doesn't it mean that there will be one more special forbidden spell master standing on your side? They also have the possibility of reaching the 'highest realm' for humans. If all of them can achieve a breakthrough, no one in this world will be your enemy anymore."

"…But I care about you more than her right now."

Cen Dongsheng really wanted to complain, but he didn't know what to say specifically.

"Care about... me?"

Loujia's expression suddenly changed.

"Oh my, oh my~ Dongsheng, are you trying to cheat on me?"

The little man held his face in his hands, made a lot of noises on his head, and even shook his legs excitedly.

"That's right. After all, I am the 'strongest' when I am asleep. Although your women are powerful, they are still a little bit inferior to me... Rather than expecting the people around you to become stronger, it would be most convenient to just go straight to the point and make me your woman, right?"

"..."

Cen Dongsheng was speechless, but he did not continue to dwell on this topic because he knew he would not get an answer.

What is Loujia's purpose, why did she target herself, and why did she stay with him and entangled with him? If she doesn't want to say it, no one will know the answer.

As for Chen Jiu, he had said everything he needed to say, had made adequate preparations, and had his elder sister watching over him. Whether it would work out or not, he would just leave it to fate.

……

Cen Dongsheng walked on the empty corridor.

The vast majority of guests had either voluntarily evacuated early or left the sinking cruise ship under the guidance of the Super Working Committee.

There were a few people who stayed behind just to join in the fun and watch the battle between the world's top masters up close. It must be said that these guys were really brave.

But even they will continue to stay on this ship and have better positions.

The deeper you go, the more it feels like you are walking in a steel ruin. There are cracks all around, and the whistling wind and surging water make a "buzzing" sound in your ears.

The seeping seawater flowed slowly along the cracks in the bulkheads onto the floor. The sound of sneakers splashing water; almost at the same time, the sound of leather shoes stepping on the water surface came from not far away.

The two men stared at each other through the broken wall.

Cen Dongsheng saw the person he wanted to see.

He was a thin middle-aged man, and his appearance and clothing gave people an impression of being gentle and refined.

"What a coincidence! I was looking for you."

"Me too. Mr. Cen, long time no see."

Zhang Shidao responded.

"Let's talk."

Cen Dongsheng was about to continue, but the other party raised his hand to stop him.

"Before you speak, I want to explain one thing: Before the banquet began, Meng Huafan and I had a secret conversation and signed an agreement."

"..."

Cen Dongsheng recalled that this was indeed the case.

When "Meng Huafan" announced the convening of the Paradise Feast, he walked out side by side with Zhang Shidao.

"Since this is a 'private conversation', it seems that you can't share the content with me?"

The young man smiled slightly.

"Then please don't forget that we also had an agreement between us."

The other party sighed and looked troubled.

"It is precisely because I have not forgotten and I hope to be a trustworthy person that I am in such a dilemma."

"You guys are overreaching. It's only been a few weeks since the trip to the ghost market, and you've caused such a stir. I didn't expect the agreement with Meng to come in handy. To me, this should have just been an occasion to watch the fun."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man's eyebrows had already twisted into the shape of the Chinese character "川".

"Meng Huafan confessed to me that he had a feeling that he would need to change his body during this period and asked me to help. At that time, I just felt strange. After all, he was a special-class spell master. Why did he need to do such a small thing himself? Unless there was an opponent of the same level who was determined to stop him..."

His next words were quite blunt:

"——You, An Zhizhen, and that Yi Qingyan, are you planning to join forces and hunt down your 'kind' one by one?"

(End of this chapter)