I was engaged until evening, until Xu Zhao Tin brought me back to reality to eat; it was about ten o'clock by then. After eating quickly, I went to bed. Starting tomorrow, my mini-week of hell will likely begin, so I need to get a good night's sleep.
As soon as I fell asleep, I found myself in a forest near Huzhou. It wasn't difficult to understand, as I had just passed through here today. Looking around, I noticed nothing; it was very strange, usually, some unknown nonsense happens that makes me tremble with fear, but now... now everything is calm, strange. Without thinking, I walked wherever my legs took me; I had no other option, but the further I walked, the more goosebumps ran down my spine; it was clearly not for nothing.
Soon I came out into a clearing. On one side stood the old man I was going to become a disciple of, and on the other stood my pseudo-self; he had his usual devilish smile, which sent shivers down my spine, making me shudder. I already guessed what would happen next.
They stood for literally a couple of seconds after my appearance, after which my pseudo-self began to attack the old man. The first attack was identical to mine; it was quite logical, as my pseudo-self always repeats all my actions with great accuracy. But the end of the confrontation was different; at the moment when the old man was about to send me flying with a spinning kick to the stomach, my pseudo-self pushed off with the only foot standing on the ground and literally jumped onto the old man's leg!
After his jump, he crouched and kicked his opponent in the face, forcing him to step back a couple of steps, and blood flowed from his nose. As for my pseudo-self, he calmly jumped back and landed on both feet. It was incredible and slightly mesmerizing; my pseudo-self clearly surpassed me in combat skills! Or did he just analyze my fight and adopt a more effective plan of action? And who is this pseudo-self, anyway?
Meanwhile, their battle continued and did not stop, as I initially thought. My pseudo-self attacked the old man with varying success; after all, this old man has the strength of a junior leader, and if he uses techniques, then a true one! Their fight was like a combat scene from some action movie; it was mesmerizing, and I couldn't take my eyes off it; the fear of my pseudo-self began to gradually subside. I tried to remember all his movements to repeat them later when I met the old man, if necessary. After a couple of minutes of intense battle, my pseudo-self flew towards me and straightened up, looking directly at the old man.
"Enough," a slightly otherworldly, bone-chilling voice sounded from his lips. I looked at his face, thinking that my pseudo-self would be upset saying this, but instead, he smiled even wider. What is going on?!
The old man bowed and turned into black smoke; the surrounding forest also turned into colorful smoke. I couldn't understand what was happening, only watched as buildings appeared from the smoke. They were unfamiliar to me, but vaguely resembled Bo City, its outskirts, which were destroyed during the catastrophe!
"Look what your inaction has led to, soft-hearted fool!" my pseudo-self laughed, dissolving into bloody smoke.
I stood in a stupor, not understanding what was happening, what inaction? What is he even talking about? Meanwhile, the roar of monsters was heard; one-eyed wolves and rats surged onto the peaceful street, tearing people apart; blood flowed, drenching everything around. I wanted to try to help them, but I couldn't move! It was as if I were tied down.
Innocent people died right before my eyes; it was difficult even for me to watch. Also, the words of my pseudo-self irritated and frightened me more and more; I began to guess what he meant. Did he think I could have saved Bo City if I had tried? No, it was absolutely impossible! First, no one would have believed me, and second, I alone couldn't defend the whole city from monsters! Not now, and even less so then! I am too weak!
On the other hand, why should I care at all? What do I care about these people? Why should I have saved them if it meant risking my life? While I was lost in thought, a crowd of beasts ran past me, knocking over everything in their path and leaving no one alive. After them, countless human souls stood; these were all those who had just died; they gathered and surrounded me.
"You could have saved us!" they began to say in unison, making my ears ring.
"How could I have saved you!" I shouted back at them, with a slight tremor in my voice; my mental state had clearly been shaken recently.
"You could have told us about the disaster!" they chanted again in unison.
"Who would have believed it! I'm just a small, ignorant child!" I shouted back at them in a more confident voice.
"Even if they didn't believe it, they would have listened and been prepared," they continued to chant in unison, while my eardrums were ready to burst! "There would have been fewer victims!"
"So what? They would have been there anyway!" I replied, shouting at the top of my lungs; their words made me feel terrible, and I wanted to convince them at all costs. I also remembered how many thousands died in that catastrophe; could I have saved them all? Unlikely, and if I had told them, would everything have turned out as it should? If I drastically change the canon now, there will be unforeseen changes that, first, could lead to Mo Fan being unable to save the world, and second, I myself will lose some of the bonuses I plan to receive! After thinking for a moment, I said, "Should your desires concern me? I have my own!" Although I understood that it was selfish, I didn't care.
"What is more important, the desire of one or the majority?" the souls asked in unison, after which they turned into smoke and transformed into a powerful storm raging around me.
It calmed down as quickly as it began, showing the familiar landscape with destroyed buildings around. I looked around and noticed that in the place where one of the houses used to be, a young man was sitting on his knees. Approaching closer, I recognized Xu Zhao Tin. I remembered that all his loved ones died during the tragedy; could I have saved them?
"Are you ready to tell him that you turned a blind eye to the death of his parents?" my pseudo-self's voice sounded next to me.
"And why should I tell him that?" I asked him, continuing to look at Xu Zhao Tin, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Could I have saved them? All your arguments are baseless," I said, calming down slightly, but I felt a pain in my chest, as if my heart were breaking into many pieces, but I also understood that I was powerless then, and everything that was said earlier was just a way to confuse me.
"Glad you understand that, soft-hearted one," my pseudo-self chuckled.
"And didn't I understand that before?" I asked, looking at him with slight surprise.
"Who knows what happens in the depths of people's souls? What are they willing to put up with, and what not? What are they willing to decide, and what not?" my pseudo-self said spatially. "The question is, are you willing to decide to kill people?"
"And haven't I already killed a whole bunch of them?" I asked, as goosebumps ran down my spine.
"You killed them, but did you accept it?" he asked, looking at me. "Are you willing to kill someone again, for the sake of achieving your goals? Do you have enough will and determination for that?"
"Of course, otherwise how would I have killed those people before?" I asked with a stone face, and meanwhile, a tremor ran through me.
"If so, then let's look at those you killed; will you be able to say that afterward?" my pseudo-self chuckled.
Everything turned into smoke again and swirled in a furious vortex. Suddenly, Jiaxing Shan emerged from the vortex, and next to him stood Jiaxing Ju; they were chatting amiably about something. A moment later, everything transformed into a cozy room. Approaching them, I heard a rather sweet family conversation.
"Jiaxing Shan, maybe we should refuse this task; after all, I recently found out that I'm pregnant," Jiaxing Ju said innocently.
"Don't worry, I'll try to negotiate peacefully with that guy; nothing strange should happen," Jiaxing Shan said with a kind smile.
"Maybe we should just kill him quickly and not dwell on it; I don't think the elders will leave us alone if we let him go," Jiaxing Ju said worriedly, looking into Jiaxing Shan's eyes.
"They themselves said to get the dragon's tooth by any means, whether by the death of the traitors' son or if he willingly gave it. The elders don't care about his life as long as he doesn't claim the inheritance." Jiaxing Shan said with a smile.
"But I think he should still be killed!" Jiaxing Ju said angrily.
"First, I'll try to persuade him." Jiaxing Shan said confidently.
"Yes, you'll tell him about his past, before he dies?" Jiaxing Ju chuckled. "You're quite merciful, husband."
"Ah, you're too aggressive, we weren't told to kill him, only to take the dragon's tooth!" Jiaxing Shan said confidently. "We don't necessarily have to take such a sin upon ourselves!"
After these words, everything dissolved into smoke again, which slowly settled, and I found myself in the middle of a bloody lake, facing a pseudo-me standing with his arms crossed. I was, to say the least, shocked by the scene. It turned out that the hunters from Bao Qing Che's team weren't such bad people after all; they had their own aspirations and desires, just like everyone else, and like me, they wanted to live peacefully. And I so easily deprived them of all that.
"Well, do you still think you can kill people peacefully? Everyone has the same stories as these two." said the pseudo-me, taking a couple of steps forward.
"And they were going to kill me!" I shouted back at him.
"Are you sure they would have killed you if you had just given up the tooth?" he asked with a smirk.
"It's my tooth! It helps me develop; if I lose it, I'll lose a huge advantage!" I cursed at my pseudo-me.
"And for that, you're willing to kill such decent people?" the pseudo-me chuckled again. "You're just a little brat who regrets killing people in his heart! Are you willing to kill to gain personal benefit and protect your loved ones? I don't deny you can kill, but are you ready to accept the consequences in your heart?!"
"I..." I stammered a little, not knowing what to answer. At first, I wanted to shout that I was ready, but after thinking about it, I realized I wasn't! To take people's lives, their aspirations, and their peaceful lives just to gain an advantage, is that so easy? As the pseudo-me said, I can kill people for my own protection, as it was with Bao Qing Che's hunters, but I still haven't been able to forget them! They weren't bad people, and I deprived them of everything!
"You need to be more decisive if you want to succeed in this world." said the pseudo-me, looking me straight in the eyes. "You know this perfectly well, but you can't! Deep down, you're a coward who is unworthy of anything!"
"Leave me alone! Go away!" I couldn't stand his words and tried to lunge at him.
But I just fell off the bed and woke up. Looking around, I realized that Xu Zhao Ting was still asleep. After sitting on the floor for a while and coming to my senses, I decided to cast aside everything I had experienced in my dream. Now I needed to concentrate on completing the old man's task if I wanted to protect myself and my loved ones, as well as live with pleasure!