Foolish Game of the Chapter 1424: Go See Him

She clearly had not.

Not that she wasn't ready — she simply had no idea what she was supposed to prepare for.

The confusion on Hu Xuan's face rivaled Cheng Shi's own from back in the day. It had always been this way. The Sage's path was unlike anyone else's. She never felt anxious about the future, because whenever the road ahead dead-ended — she would simply have a child.

'Sought a child from the Eternal Sun, and thus beca Birth's offspring. Sought a child from Birth, and thus beca Birth Herself...'

By that logic, if she sought a child from Fixed Destiny, then perhaps the world had a future after all.

If that was the kind of preparation required, she had long been ready.

Cheng Shi, however, had absolutely no intention of entertaining the Sage's "brilliant notion." He told her he would co find her again and explain the road ahead, but first he needed to visit one more place — sowhere he could settle the last lingering attachnt in his heart before the final move.

With that, he departed.

Hu Xuan stood in place, pondering for a mont. Quite curious about this so-called preparation, and since Cheng Shi hadn't restricted her movents, her first instinct was to consult soone else.

As for whom — surely no one was more suited than her Life-path sibling god and Cheng Shi's good friend, Hong Lin.

But the mont Hu Xuan descended beside Hong Lin and caught sight of the iridescent seven-hued radiance swirling wildly over the woman's body, she froze on the spot.

"What are you—"

"One fewer person we have to hide it from. Long ti no see, Sage, but your timing's bad.

Stay away from . I'm very dangerous right now."

...

Elsewhere — the Void, mory's Collection Hall.

mory's collection was vaster than Li Jingming had ever imagined. Even after inheriting the Hall, he had yet to survey every mory within it.

Not because he didn't want to, but because there was no need.

mory's Authority was sufficient for the Dragon King to know everything. But to Li Jingming, not every mory was interesting.

The mories of the Land of Hope, for instance, were far less fascinating than those of his own companions. Compared to the lives of unrelated strangers from ages past, he clearly preferred to commit the present to record.

Which also ant he had learned far too many secrets he was never supposed to know.

He had long anticipated that soone would co knocking because of those pasts. What he hadn't expected was that the first visitor would be none other than Cheng Shi.

When Cheng Shi materialized inside the Collection Hall, Li Jingming wasn't the least bit surprised. He had even guessed why he was here.

He smiled: "I thought you'd co later. What — did inheriting the Pact's Proxy accelerate the march of the era?"

Faced with the Dragon King's teasing, the heaviness on Cheng Shi's face finally cracked to admit a sliver of a smile — whether self-deprecating or resigned, perhaps a bit of both.

"You know it accelerated, and you still dare to laugh?

Aren't you worried your laughter might affect the Universe's search for its future?"

The Dragon King chuckled:

"If I were that important, I'd have inherited the Pact's Proxy, not mory.

Whether we laugh or not ans nothing to the Universe. But you, Cheng Shi — you should let yourself smile properly.

You're the world's guide. I know you've shouldered far, far too much on our behalf. But carrying that weight with such a grim face makes it hard for the people sheltered behind you to feel any hope.

Perhaps the future isn't that important. The journey we've shared — that's the mory worth enshrining forever.

Do you even rember the last ti you laughed from the heart?

Not a surface smile — a genuine one. If you can't recall, I can help jog your mory."

"..."

Though Cheng Shi knew the Dragon King was trying to comfort him, the words still carried a whiff of self-congratulation. He curled his lip and waved dismissively:

"Yes, yes, we all know you're mory now. Very impressive. Happy?

Want

to give you a round of applause?"

And he actually did clap — feebly, listlessly.

The Dragon King shook his head with a laugh, turned, and began walking:

"Only when I inherited the Divine Throne did I truly understand the aning of rembrance. Only then did I find my own will of mory.

Living beings fixate on the past. Perhaps it's because of the misfortune before their eyes — but more often, it's because they're chasing the person they used to be.

For many, who they were in the past feels more like who they truly are. The version of themselves struggling under present hardship? They refuse to accept it — won't even commit it to mory.

Yet Existence is Existence. It never bends to preferences or aversions.

All we can do is accept the present, look back on the past, rummage through our mories for who we once were, give ourselves a little encouragent — and grit our teeth to keep going.

I know where your encouragent lies. Co with . I've already taken it out."

"...You peeked?"

"I did not peek. I looked, in broad daylight.

Don't forget — I am mory."

"And don't you forget — I am the Pact's Proxy with unilateral voting power. In front of , you can also not be mory."

"..."

The Dragon King's stride hitched. His eyelid twitched violently. Then he walked on.

Cheng Shi followed behind, bantering on the surface — but inside, his thoughts were a tangled ss.

He was here to see Old Jia, of course.

Though he had so guesses about the road ahead, he had no certainty about how things would actually play out. Whether the world's future could break free of Origin's control, whether he could win a tomorrow for the Universe — all of it remained unknown.

The greedy Cheng Shi wanted to win this gamble. But the steady Cheng Shi had already prepared for the worst. So before the world lost hope entirely, he wanted to see his father one last ti.

He knew Old Jia was a good father. But he had never known how Old Jia had beco one.

Cheng Shi's life contained only the second half of Old Jia's. What had the first half been like?

It wasn't curiosity. He simply missed his father.

He wanted to understand Old Jia. To know him. To reunite with him. To say goodbye to him... and then go make the decisions that had to be made.

As they walked, a pure-white wall of the Collection Hall blocked their path. On that wall, a single exquisitely frad Collection hung, within which a blurred silhouette flickered to and fro.

The Dragon King halted before the wall, gazed up at the piece, and murmured with infinite feeling:

"He was a great father. And only he could have raised a you like this.

Go see him. Love can transcend mory.

Rest easy. I swear on mory — no, on the na of Cloud Field Temple — that as long as the world endures, as long as the Collection Hall stands, no one will ever tamper with these mories.

They will live here quietly, forever."

Cheng Shi nodded. He whispered a soft "thank you," then looked at the Collection, trembling hand reaching forward.

Fingertips touched the bubble. Ripples spread through mory.

A torrent of mory's power surged forth and swallowed Cheng Shi whole, carrying him back to a past he had never known.

...