Originally located at a train station hundreds of kiloters away, Dong Che was actually captured by the sudden appearance of white fog and brought to Moon Concealing Mountain—It seems that the fog phenonon, which appeared to rely lurk around Moon Concealing Mountain, was more mystical and far-reaching than I had imagined.
And whether Dong Che subsequently managed to locate the young traveler who acted on his own initiative was clear at a glance. Since he is now acting alone, it ans he is still in the process of searching. He continues to worry about the young traveler he t by chance, which can’t help but make sowhat reflective.
I wonder if he’s realized that if he weren’t an achieved level demon hunter but rely a youth as frail in appearance, the nature of the incident would have been quite different—Upon realizing that he could finally extricate himself from trouble, the adult traveler, who was old enough to know better, actually left a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old child in a remote and treacherous mountain village and took off, which is truly hard to comnd from a common moral standpoint.
I myself am not soone with conventional moral views and have no position to criticize the young traveler, whereas Dong Che is different; he can angrily condemn the person and wash his hands of the matter. Wanting to know how Dong Che views this incident, I deliberately pointed it out.
"I forgive him," Dong Che said unflinchingly.
"Forgive?" I asked.
"Because I am strong, even if he leaves behind, it won’t cause much harm. On the contrary, he will have to bear the risk of facing the unknown dangers in the fog alone," Dong Che said matter-of-factly, "Just as a sound mind needs to reside in a sound body, a strong spirit also requires powerful strength for support. If I were weak and saw him abandoning , I would invariably feel hateful toward him and harbor many weak and dark emotions. The sa applies to him.
"Because he is weak, he cannot withstand the consequences of failure. rely getting lost in the mountains can make him feel the shadow of death; seeing strange villagers, he also has to wonder if they bear ill will. And after finally finding a way out, his mind naturally fills with the joy of being saved, and it’s reasonable to accidentally forget , his fellow traveler.
"The heart of a weak person is fragile, and within that fragility, selfishness and darkness can sprout. After all, he is just a mortal, while I am a strong man... Perhaps from your perspective, Elder Zhuang Cheng, my saying this might seem shaless, but at least relative to him, I am indeed the stronger one. Thus, I must tolerate him and not react vindictively to anything minor he does to ...that would be too immature."
If I were in Dong Che’s position, I would certainly, like the young traveler did to , cast aside the traveler’s safety as well, and this probably is what Dong Che refers to as the immature act of "reacting in kind."
However, I don’t think my judgnt is wrong. How others treat , I shall treat them. Although I am a supernatural power user with formidable strength, at least on a spiritual level, I am equal to others.
In so sense, I might also lack the self-awareness of being strong. If you ask what a true strong person looks like, I can’t answer clearly, but I at least understand that to be vindictive and petty is unbecoming of a strong person.
Maybe Dong Che, in his philosophy, is closer to a real strong person than I am, while on the other hand, I also feel that Dong Che doesn’t regard that young traveler as an equal human being.
It’s as if he’s just reacting to a roadside cat or dog baring its teeth at him—he seems to be showing this kind of attitude.
He appears to be implenting the policies of Governance Ideology in his actions, yet he seems to reveal an undertone of Extraordinaryism.
"Unfortunately, I didn’t find him afterward and then I t you all..." Dong Che looked at and Mazao in confusion, "May I ask... Elder Zhuang Cheng, what are you doing here?"
"I’ve acquired a clue to Yinyue’s whereabouts; Yinyue is likely on Moon Concealing Mountain, and my visit here relates to this," I decided to reveal so information.
"Yinyue!?" His face drastically changed, "Then, this fog, could it be..."
"It might be related to Yinyue as well. But let’s not get into that for now. Can you guide us to Ancient Moon Village?" I asked.
"Ancient Moon Village?" He looked puzzled.
"It’s Hu Family Village," I said.
"I can, but I still have to look for that traveler; he might have encountered danger sowhere..." he said worriedly.
If nothing unexpected, the young traveler he ntioned should be the body Mazao and I previously discovered.
Although based on ti, the young traveler that Dong Che was looking for should have been alive not long ago and not decayed to such a degree, yet in this fog, ti could very well be in a state lacking order. An individual who was alive monts ago might be discovered again already decayed as if they’ve been dead for several days—such occurrences are entirely possible here.
Not to ntion sothing of this degree—the sudden revival of a long-decayed corpse, walking over and chatting with us as if nothing happened, I am now able to accept.
"Was that traveler wearing a black and green windbreaker?"
I first confird this piece of information, and as expected, Dong Che nodded. Then I continued, "We found his corpse before."
Upon hearing this, Dong Che paused for a mont, then tried to confirm other features of the person with , such as the color of his pants and shoes. I had not observed carefully at the ti, but I could easily answer as long as I retrieved the relevant information from my mind.
After a few questions and answers, Dong Che confird that the person was indeed dead. He didn’t say much, just sighed with apparent regret.
"I can show you the way, but..." He showed a troubled expression, "I might also not know how to get back to Hu Family Village... No, I rember the route, but as you may have discovered, this fog has peculiar properties. Even if we ticulously follow the sa route we ca, it’s not guaranteed that we can return to the original place."
"Not a problem, you just have to walk." Mazao suddenly spoke up, "As long as you walk with us, and strongly desire in your heart to return to that place, I can try to help you get back."
So Mazao could actually help others return to their starting point? She has surprised once again.
Dong Che, though puzzled, did not ask further. Perhaps he understood that this was a unique ability of Mazao’s, and so he followed the unspoken agreent among demon hunters to not pry into each other’s abilities. He simply nodded and then honestly led the way.
Mazao and I followed behind. Mazao stared intently at Dong Che’s back, and I did not take Dong Che lightly either.
Just like the last ti, the current Dong Che still gave off an uncanny sense that he was not entirely human. I had even doubted whether he was Yinyue in disguise, although the likelihood was minimal. For one thing, Yinyue had no reason to impersonate Dong Che to approach ; for another, if it were really Yinyue, it would be hard to believe that she would expose herself so easily in front of . But perhaps Dong Che’s true form was so other kind of ghoul.
Considering that this Dong Che has so far been friendly towards , as long as he doesn’t harm us, I won’t try to destroy him. Therefore, I at least want to see his true intentions first. According to my previous thoughts, the real Dong Che might already be dead, and he could be a ghoul that took his place, and might even consider himself the real Dong Che.
So, if I unmask him face to face, what kind of reaction would he show?
"Dong Che," I called him.
"What is it, Zhuang Cheng senior?" Dong Che turned around with a puzzled look.
I bluntly said, "You might be a fake Dong Che."
"Ah?" He looked even more puzzled, "Zhuang Cheng senior... what are you talking about?"
"I saw your obituary at the foot of the mountain."
With this sentence, I simply laid out all my doubts about him. He couldn’t help but stop in his tracks and listened to my words with a stunned expression.
In so ghost stories, a ghoul disguised as a living person, upon having its identity exposed, would be unable to maintain its human appearance. Even in the Ming Dynasty’s "Fengshen Yanyi," there is the story of Bi Gan’s heart being dug out, and after a vegetable-selling woman pointed out "vegetables can live without a heart, but a person dies without one," he t his end. Whether it’s a demon hunter or a ghoul, their self-awareness carries power. And once that self-awareness is lost, the incredible power of disguise also vanishes like smoke.
However, I know that my words themselves may also carry power. Now, I am gradually leaning towards the realm of Impermanence, and the words I speak might contain mysteriousness. To prevent this power from affecting the true outco, I purposely chose so words that leave room for interpretation. Now, my task is not to forcibly instill my thoughts into Dong Che, but to prompt Dong Che to think about what the truth is.
My judgnt of morality is relatively lenient. Even if he killed the real Dong Che, as long as he does not revert back to his ghoul self-awareness and still regards himself as Dong Che, or at least plans to continue being a good person, I don’t mind continuing to be friends with him.
As for the true Dong Che whom I have never t, even though I would feel sowhat sorry for him, that does not provide a reason for to beco enemies with this Dong Che. Of course, if this Dong Che is punished by demon hunters for what he has done, I won’t help him. That is a debt of life he owes, and it is up to him to repay it.
After hearing what I said, Dong Che stood incredulously in place. While he was still processing the information, Mazao slowly moved behind him.
Mazao raised her left hand, which had the Black Rope Heart-locking Ring on her middle finger. The ring was still in a burnt and damaged state, and then the Power of Return surged, and the ring restored to its undamaged state as if ti had reversed.
Her hand turned into an illusion form and entered Dong Che’s back heart.
Now she must be holding Dong Che’s heart.
"Dong Che, answer —" I said, "Are you Dong Che?"
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