Forge a path to success

That will no longer be a small-scale skirmish between a few of us; it will be the entire backbone of the righteous alliance mobilized. But we must secure our internal stability before fighting external threats! With the infighting in Shura Island looming in our rear, where will we find the strength to attack Heavenly Prison?

Ji Huaisu clapped his hands: "Master Fan, that's brilliant!"

"High my foot! Chu Hengkong can see this out outright. It's only because you lot are too lazy to think that I have to explain it to you," Vande sighed. "When are we going to hire a real advisor? I'm just a writer; I don't want to use my brain..."

"You're not even a brain," Chu Hengkong reminded him.

"I'm brainless, yet I'm explaining the situation to you guys. What are you doing with your brains?!"

Fander was furious and ate three large pieces of melon rind. Gulibo quickly picked up his plate: "Don't steal my Bo!"

"Gulibo... what about you?" Sethlen asked curiously, "Will you... travel in the future too?"

“That one trip was enough!” Gulibo jumped up in fright. “I’m going to continue taking the certification exam in Jingsha. I passed the Level 1 Gardener exam last week, and I’ll take the Special Grade exam in two more years.”

"This guy said something amazing in such a nonchalant way."

"Once I pass the top-level certificate exam, my salary will definitely increase!" Gulibo said expectantly. "After that, I'll work honestly at the bookstore and never go back to... that shabby place again!"

“Oh, really?” Van der squinted.

"Gulibo doesn't have much fighting power after all, so he shouldn't be unlucky enough to get dragged into this again... right?" Ji Huaisu said hesitantly.

"Why are you using such an uncertain tone! It definitely won't happen!"

Just then, shouts came from outside the small boat, and a faint light appeared in the sky. Everyone glanced at their watches and realized that an hour had unknowingly passed.

They rushed out of the cabin, just in time to see dazzling fireworks bloom in the night sky, their petal-like sparks illuminating everyone's eyes. The laughter and chatter subsided, and everyone quietly watched this peaceful and beautiful scene.

"This is wonderful," Qingye said softly. "Looking across the entire Shendong Realm, there's no other place where I can play without a care in the world."

"This is truly a blessed burial suit," Ji Huaisu stretched. "It was worth coming all this way!"

Qingxia brought out the wine bottle, and everyone poured themselves drinks, leaving lingering sparks in their glasses. As she handed Chu Hengkong her glass, she suddenly asked, "Chu Hengkong, what do you plan to do after you find the person you're looking for?"

Everyone looked curiously at this man who was just going with the flow. Chu Hengkong glanced at his wine glass and smiled upon hearing this.

"In one's lifetime, there are only a few things to do: cultivate oneself, manage one's family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world."

"I am of good health and have no rush to start a family or govern the country. I will wait until my personal matters are settled..."

He downed the wine in his cup in one gulp: "Why not go and pacify this world!"

Chapter 319 Hiding in Seclusion (1)

"Guardian Spirits in the Clouds", p. 78.

The clouds were unstable tonight, with wandering ghosts drifting about – a bad omen. I carefully parted the clouds, guiding the little ghosts away from their flight path. Balanse Skee, the delivery boy who had almost been possessed by a ghost, sat blankly behind me, seemingly incapable of thinking.

“I don’t understand,” Balanse said.

“You don’t need to understand,” I told him. “The techniques for manipulating groups are complex; it’s not as simple as boxing.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Balanse said, carefully choosing her words. “Look at all the terrible work you’ve been doing! You’ve protected so many people, and why do you stay anonymous?”

"Why should we make such a big fuss?" I countered. "Look at the passengers beneath our feet. They play cards, read books, sleep, and fly at an altitude of 13,000 meters without a care in the world. They have a strong sense of security, a sense of security that is a combination of the 'credit' of modern life, including technology, management systems, and social credibility. They believe in their lives."

"But what about you? You big oaf, if you went back to your seat now, would you feel comfortable joining them?"

“I can’t,” Balanse said immediately. “I have to watch you! If you mess up, we’re finished.”

“Look, you’re scared. When people realize that the safety of aircraft depends on us little people, they lose their sense of security.”

I used a long pole to part the clouds and spoke eloquently to my rare audience: "They'll think this is terrible! How can so many lives be entrusted to the conscience of one person? Is there no one to keep an eye on these guardian spirits? What if the guardian spirits mess things up? Who vouches for these little things? Who is responsible for them?"

They will experience fear, doubt, and complaints; most importantly, they will no longer be able to live carefree as before. Gradually, they will hesitate about everything they see, and they will slowly lose trust in the world around them. Because they realize that the world is not solid ground, but a fragile, solitary boat, and its safety depends solely on the boatman.

"That's the scariest thing, buddy."

Barland pondered for a while, then adopted a comforting tone: "In any case, everyone should thank the guardian spirits. You've all been doing a great job."

I scoffed: "Not always."

Have you ever made a mistake?

“Even delivering food can go wrong sometimes,” I told him. “Don’t ask, buddy. Knowing too much won’t do you any good—just remind me when we get to the station, I need to erase your memory, otherwise how can you be a happy young man?”

·

Chu Hengkong clipped the bookmark to the book and told himself that this was the end of his reading for today.

The new book highly recommended by the bookstore was quite good in terms of its storytelling. Although the writing was immature and the dialogue was verbose, it conveyed a sense of passion between the lines. He planned to read a few pages each day and finish it all at once on the day he left the city-state.

“Dude, it seems like you’ve been practicing martial arts less and less lately,” Vande said.

"I've reached a bottleneck; training alone won't help. I need to overcome this mental hurdle to take the next step."

Van De was still writing furiously; judging from the length, the contract should be nearing completion. Chu Heng went down to the first floor and smelled the aroma of small cakes. The bookstore was having a promotion today; the editor ordered five full metal trays of cupcakes, and anyone who spent over 10 Cuizhi would receive one free. Bangbangji stood guard beside the trays, strictly watching to prevent the store manager from stealing any, munching on something with its mouth.

"You're stealing from your own workplace," Chu Heng chuckled.

Manager Yu quickly glanced around and tossed him two small cakes: "Shh!"

The cupcakes were covered with a layer of pale white icing, perfect for pairing with hot tea. He went to the counter to ask for half a cup of black tea—behind the counter of the Poison Otter store was a large beverage machine covered with colorful buttons, offering all sorts of drinks he had heard of or hadn't heard of, and they all tasted pretty good; he could get a cup as long as he sat down in the bookstore.

The beverage machine was already running, and the Otter editor was chatting with a customer.

"Let me guess, do you have an idea for the next book?"

"Yes, yes. The two weeks I spent researching in the library gave me a lot of inspiration..."

"Please, no way," the venomous otter waved its paw. "Another Parrimanism?"

"You've misunderstood! Actually, I plan to critique it in the next book..." the customer hurriedly explained, his eyes lighting up when he caught sight of the book in Chu Heng's empty hand: "Oh, are you reading my book?"

This was a short young woman with large round glasses and a stuffy bob haircut. Poison Otter turned to pour tea: "Let me introduce you, this is Iron Sparrow 987, the author of 'Guardian Spirit'."

"You can call me Miss 987..."

She lowered her head shyly, but her eyes revealed the smugness unique to young authors, the air of someone who felt like a big shot. The otter editor chuckled behind her back.

"The book is good, although I haven't finished reading it yet." Chu Hengkong handed her a small cake. "It would be even better if the dialogue were more concise."

"I'm so glad you like it!" 987 said a little nervously. "I... I'm usually very talkative. When I talk about my thoughts, I always go on and on, it's a bad habit of mine..."

"It's your bad habit to always get easily sentimental," the Poison Otter said mercilessly. "I remember last month there was a guy who didn't want to write a book because of mushrooms—"

987 hurriedly interrupted: "That's different! I thought we had lost our meaning because of mushrooms."

“You see, the inability to face even the slightest setback is a common trait among you Parrimanists.”

Chu Hengkong found it interesting and asked, "What is Parrimanism?"

987 looked at the editor with a puzzled expression, who explained, "He's from out of town."

“No wonder!” she said lightly. “This is a new trend of thought with a thorny edge, which encourages people to bury information and embrace life.”

The venomous otter let out a loud "tsk".

·

The origins of Parrimanism can be traced back 20 years, to the last shift in the front.

At that time, the attacks from the heretical forces were extremely fierce. They targeted the gaps in the battle lines and launched a lightning-fast raid. At that time, reinforcements from Longquan Township had not yet arrived, and the rear had lost support due to the destruction of the Netherworld Kingdom. The defenders of Jingsha's homeland managed to repel the enemy with difficulty, but also suffered considerable casualties.

The battle ended in a Pyrrhic victory, but the effects of the war would not end there. Nearly 40% of the soldiers died in the war, and countless others were wounded. Jing Sha had not suffered such heavy losses in a long time, and many citizens, who had been looking forward to the return of their families after the rotation period, were met with news of their deaths instead.

The misalignment of expectations and the pain of losing loved ones plunged Jingsha into sudden sorrow 20 years ago. The emotionally sensitive citizens of Jingsha were overwhelmed with grief; the temple was overflowing day and night, society nearly ground to a halt, and calls for an end to the war and demonstrations against it occurred daily. Despite a series of emergency measures implemented by the authorities, the shift in social sentiment was almost irreversible.

At this time, a politician named Parryman proposed a novel idea: to block information about the war, cease reporting on casualties, and lock existing materials in the Great Archives to physically isolate any "information that might incite extreme emotions among citizens." He believed that the shift in social atmosphere was closely related to citizens' associative abilities; if the mediums that triggered these associations no longer existed, people would have the courage to return to their lives.

The information blockade measures, implemented in localized areas, have had a positive effect far exceeding expectations. Citizens in this positive atmosphere have shown significant recovery, with some even voluntarily depositing their letters and belongings in the large archives as a way of "saying goodbye to the past."

Starting with this proposition, the order of the thorny shroud gradually returned to stability. In this process, postwar emergency measures transformed into a new trend of thought: in order to maintain the present life, information should be actively sealed off, the past should not be mentioned unless necessary, and media that evoke grief should be isolated.

This ideology, named after that politician, is now known as "Palimanism."

·

"That is, to bury one's head in the sand," Chu Hengkong said.

"You're too blunt..."

"This fragile, sensitive, and confused post-war generation can't survive without nestled in their warm information cocoons," the toxic otter slammed. "What's that 20 years ago! When we were fighting the Great War—"

“Editor, when you were in the army, even Captain Trek wasn’t born yet,” Gulibo interjected. “That was back when my great-great-grandfather was farming. He can’t even tell the difference between mung beans and soybeans now.”

"Your great-great-grandfather can still eat beans..."

"My teeth are in bad shape, so I can only eat bean paste now."

Chu Hengkong imagined a white mouse with long eyebrows and a mustache leaning on a cane and saying "boo," and felt a subtle amusement. He coughed and said seriously, "Even if the written records are sealed, what happened will not change."

"I think someone like you who has experienced change would be more inclined to think of the past as a driving force. But it's hard for people without power to think that way," 987 said earnestly. "People die, people get hurt, the world is cruel, and even if you firmly remember that, most people are powerless to change anything..."

Without the innate talent to embark on the path of advancement, even the strongest motivation will only lead to increasing numbness in life. Consequently, people naturally tend to suppress their sorrows. The task of changing the situation is left to the strong; even in an artificially created greenhouse, if one, lacking power, can regain a joyful life, that too is a kind of 'happiness.'

After saying all that, she immediately covered her mouth and whispered, "I'm sorry for talking too much... Thank you for liking my book!"

987 ran shyly out of the bookstore, looking like she was fleeing in panic. The editor, Poison Otter, shook his head: "You're quite the charmer for young girls."

"My looks are just average to above average."

"With those red eyes of yours, you'd be more than qualified to be the top male escort at a host club."

Poison Otter carefully put away the draft of 987 and asked, "Shall we go to the main archive?"

"I'm planning to look through some old books."

"Be prepared. In this era of Parrimanism, it's very difficult to get into the dusty sections of the Great Archives."

Chu Hengkong put down his teacup, indicating that he understood. When he returned to his room, Fan De had just finished writing the contract.

"I'm exhausted!" Vande slumped onto the table. "I drafted a version based on the course, but I can't guarantee it's absolutely safe. I suggest you have Professor Vlatatri take a look; he's an expert at playing word games."

"Forget it, I trust you more."

"You really intend to sign a contract with that Kanin guy?"

“Feeding him some demonic scum is nothing,” Chu Hengkong said. “I want to see who’s really standing behind him.”

Chapter 320 Hiding in Seclusion (2)

The lighter Kanin gave him emitted a bluish flame that shot out in one direction like an arrow. Chu Hengkong followed the flame for a while and arrived at a secluded bar.

Kanin was smoking by the door.

“You’re right on time, Inspector Chu,” Kanin greeted him. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

"After careful consideration, I think it's worth a try."

"Come on, you're naturally adventurous, you enjoy the feeling of being in control of a crisis."

Kanin's tone was confident; perhaps demons are born with a knack for seeing into people's hearts. He entered, a cigarette dangling from his lips, the rising smoke cut off by the creaking fan blades. The old ceiling fan whirred listlessly. The bar was dirty and dilapidated, with a few drunkards slumped around the small wooden table, and the bartender staring absently at the water curtain.

Kanin didn't clear the room, but took a seat at the innermost table. The table was already occupied by a short man in a cloak. As he looked up, Chu Hengkong suddenly felt a surge of familiarity. He abruptly realized he had seen this man before, but hadn't reacted at all.

The man removed his hood, and the candlelight illuminated the indifferent face of the child.

“We meet again, Chu Hengkong,” Olek said.

Chu Hengkong drew his sword with incredible speed, so fast that even Kanin nearly missed it. However, even faster than the flash of the blade was the silver prosthetic body. The Calamity Arm clamped down on his right hand, pinning the slash back into its sheath.

"You use my power against me?" the demon said contemptuously.

He casually waved his hand, loosened his grip, and his left hand returned to its usual function. Chu Heng clenched his fist and then released it, pulling out a chair and sitting down.

"Your new spirit fragment is quite strong."

“It’s an old thing, a container with a mass limit of 5.” Olek said, “An inorganic contract body, without a living contractor—after all, it’s the territory of the Divine Tree, there’s no need to break its rules.”

Kanin whistled as he walked to the bar and struck up a conversation with the bartender, his face clearly saying, "This is none of my business." Chu Heng suppressed the urge to lash out and said, "You came to me using your ambition."

“Ambition is a good messenger, but I don’t need it,” Olek said dismissively. “After you break through the wilderness, that small town won’t be able to protect you. Where else can you go in a short time besides the Thorn Robe? Now put down your sword, and we will not fight today.”

Chu Hengkong was on high alert, but he knew in his heart that his opponent hadn't come for battle. He knew very well how troublesome the power of misfortune was; both of them were in the city-state of Jingsha, and Olek could kill him without even showing his face. Moreover, this old bastard was even more cautious than Kanin; he wouldn't even glance at a dead man unless absolutely necessary.

"What do you want to know."

“I need information on ‘Vander’,” Olek said, emphasizing, “all information.”

Chu Hengkong immediately denied it: "I would never tell you my friend's background."

"For safety?" Olek sneered. "How loyal you are... But if I hadn't kept the information under wraps, your existence would have reached the king's ears long before you took the anonymity talisman. At that time, even the divine tree wouldn't be able to protect you. So shut your mouth and listen to me before my patience runs out."