"It's because the nation had perished, and the only reason he was still alive was that the enemy country, out of respect for his loyalty, spared him a way to survive. He had to maintain his blind allegiance to continue living. The mont he left the general's tomb and returned to his own ho, he would be eradicated."
"Was this trusted follower truly loyal?"
"No, he, too, was a person without choice."
"This is the second type of person, the Tomb Guardian who died at the general's grave."
"There's also a third type of person."
"There was soone in a troupe who played the suona. He had been in this line of work for about forty years and could be considered a Senior Who Played Suona for a Lifeti. When eting anyone, he wouldn't say he particularly loved this line of work; it was all handed down by his ancestors, and he had to pass it on."
"People also admired him greatly."
"But did he really like this profession?"
"Not really, he simply had no other choice. Apart from this skill, he was unable to do anything else. He could only follow this profession. But being known as a stinking suona player didn't sound good, so he had to hypnotize himself, telling everyone that he truly loved what he did."
"This is the third type of person, the Senior Who Played Suona for a Lifeti."
"Do you understand?"
The old man in the security room, who had already packed up his belongings, looked at Chen Miao with profound aning and started speaking with a smile, "The reason the ancients were pure isn't because they were really that kind, but because they didn't have many choices."
"When there are no choices, people naturally beco very pure."
"However, once there are more options, people change."
"Loyalty and filial piety, these two virtues that have been extolled since ancient tis, only appear when there are no other choices. If there were other options, no one would choose loyalty and filial piety."
"Since you are willing to take with you, I will just chat casually with you."
"Just take it as the ramblings of a dying man."
"When are we leaving?"
"..."
Chen Miao stood in place, frowning in deep thought, not speaking. The old man had just ntioned three types of people:
1: The Filial Son from a poor family.
2: The Tomb Guardian who had guarded a general's tomb for decades.
3: The Senior Who Played Suona for a Lifeti.
All these three types of people shared one thing in common: without choice, they persisted in sothing for a very long ti, and that thing even beca a virtue. He vaguely felt that the old man was hinting at so kind of ssage to him.
But...
He kind of didn't understand.
What exactly did it an?
"Hey."
At this mont, Hungry Monkey, standing beside Chen Miao, finally couldn't help but retort, "I say, old man, aren't your words a bit too biased? According to what you said, only poor people would be filial? Rich people can't be filial?"
"I haven't seen many rich people who completely ignore whether their parents live or die."
"Heh heh."
The old man, having stepped out of the security room, showed his tobacco-stained yellow teeth and started speaking with a laugh, "It's different, completely different. One is filial piety without choice, the other is filial piety with choice."
"They are completely two different things."
"You'll understand eventually."
"And I never said what I'm saying is correct, did I? I just finally had soone to talk to, just shooting the breeze, that's all. Just take it as talking nonsense."
...
Chen Miao pondered for a long ti, still not understanding what ssage the old man was trying to convey. Eventually, he decided not to think about it anymore. Lately, there had been too many things he couldn't make sense of, like the acrostic poem the mayor left behind after his suicide, which he also didn't understand.
"I found him."
Who the hell did you find?
He was starting to feel annoyed with these cryptic people. If there was sothing to say, why couldn't they speak plainly? Say it if you can, remain silent if you can't. Instead, they had to co up with sothing like this, making it unbearable for everyone involved.
Oh well, no more thinking about it.
Soon—
A bus slowly stopped at the entrance of the cetery, and Chen Miao, having packed up all his luggage, took one last look at the Eternal Cetery. This place held too many mories for him; when he first arrived in this world, he was penniless.
Hungry Monkey had taken him in here.
From then on, he used this place as a base, gradually building up his power and improving his strength.
Now, this place could no longer contain him, and it was ti for him to leave.
Hungry Monkey seed even more sentintal, "I spent several thousands to buy this cetery plot at that ti. Although I don't lack the money now, it still saddens to think about it. My first love ended before it could even begin."
"But now, I have co to terms with it."
"If I ever get the chance to see that woman again..."
Just then—
Zhou Shen also strode over with his daughter, standing next to Chen Miao with a complex expression, "Miao."
"Hmm?"
Chen Miao looked at Zhou Shen and his daughter in surprise, crouched down to gently stroke the little girl's head before standing up and smiling at Zhou Shen, "Why are you here? Didn't I tell you to continue expanding in Fengtian City?"
"We are just moving, not that we will never return to Fengtian City."
"Don't forget, I still have to represent Fengtian City in the city-state competition later."
"Why do you look as if you're saying goodbye?"
"It's not a farewell."
Zhou Shen's face looked a bit gloomy, as if he was struggling to hold back his sadness, "I want to go with you, Miao. I resigned from my position at the Events Bureau with the Federal Governnt in Fengtian City before I ca here this morning. I sold all my belongings yesterday, and I brought my daughter with because I want to leave with you all?"
"Resign?"
Perplexed, Hungry Monkey finally got his bearings after confirming Zhou Shen wasn't joking, "Do you know how much Miao sacrificed to get you that position as director of the Events Bureau? You've just reached this point not long ago, and now you're resigning?"
"Didn't Miao say it?"
"We're just moving, it's not like we're cutting ties with Fengtian City?"
"No."
Zhou Shen took a deep breath, looking at Miao with a very serious expression: "To tell the truth, Miao, I really like the position of the director of the Events Bureau. That office is really big, everybody respects you. With just a word or a glance from you, everyone takes notice."
"The feeling of power is indeed very addictive."
"I'm no exception."
"But I am well aware of how I got to sit in this position; I can say that without you, Miao, I would have never beco the director of the Events Bureau in my lifeti. Now that the mayor has died in a strange suicide, and you've left…"
"Having spent so much ti with everyone, I have long considered myself a part of the Tomb Guardians, even though I haven't officially joined the Tomb Guardians. But while everyone else is out there fighting, I'm alone in Fengtian City, living the high life."
"I'm not comfortable with that."
"No matter what happens after this, I want to face it with everyone. Miao, I want to go with you, no matter what we encounter ahead, I, Zhou Shen, will definitely be at the very front."
"..."
Hungry Monkey's mouth slowly dropped open, a look of astonishnt in his eyes. He finally understood what education was for: to be able to keep a straight face and flatter effectively when the ti cos, look at this display of loyalty— who wouldn't be moved?
Yuan Buping looked at Zhou Shen, who was expressing his loyalty, and nodded thoughtfully without saying a word. He seed to suddenly understand what the old man ant when he said that people are the purest when they have no choices.
Zhou Shen is being quite pure now, isn't he?
But Zhou Shen did have choices.
In his heart, Zhou Shen had many options, and each one was not a bad choice.
"Okay."
Chen Miao glanced at Zhou Shen, not saying much more, but walked straight toward the Hell Bus stopped in the middle of the road with a smile, "Then get on board. Oh, Hungry Monkey, add Zhou Shen to the 'Tomb Guardians,' we still have spots available, right?"
"No, wait—"
Chen Miao paused, flipped through the list of the Tomb Guardians mbers, then frowned at Zhou Shen, "Haven't you joined the Tomb Guardians already?"
Just having woken up from a 50-year dream, he was a bit unclear about many things. Zhou Shen's wholehearted speech just now, about not having formally joined the Tomb Guardians and wanting to beco a real mber, made him think Zhou Shen wasn't part of the group yet. But suddenly, he rembered it seed Zhou Shen had joined the Tomb Guardians a long ti ago.
"Yes!"
Zhou Shen took a deep breath and said solemnly, "Thanks to Miao's favor, I joined the 'Tomb Guardians' early on. What I ant by not truly becoming a mber is that while everyone lives in the Cetery, I am the only one who lives in a big office."
"In the days to co, I want to advance or retreat together with everyone and truly integrate with you all!"
In fact, he was very sad inside.
He really didn't want to part... with his office, his power, the position of director of the Events Bureau that he obtained with such difficulty. He struggled all night long, bags under his eyes, rushing over to the Cetery early in the morning.
In the end, he still chose to follow Miao.
Miao left.
Even if he could continue to live it up, that good life wouldn't last much longer. As Miao's influence in Fengtian City gradually weakened due to his long absence, his position would be coveted by many. By then, returning to Miao's side would be as hard as scaling the heavens.
...
ps: It's been a while since I last posted a ps. Nearly two months have passed since this book was published. The updates have been fairly consistent every day, and the performance is approaching the premium line. For an average author, this is actually a very good accomplishnt. Many struggling authors might even refer to premium authors as big shots.
This book has completely exhausted .
The reason is my poor editor, who suddenly resigned when I was newly published, leaving to fight alone. Being suddenly left as a lone individual in the vast Starting Point was, to put it mildly, tragic.
I actually expected my editor to leave.
Ever since I inadvertently learned that I was the highest-performing author my editor had, I knew my boss probably wouldn't last long... after all, the performance wasn't exactly ideal. I just didn't expect that while I was still holding on, my boss would take off first.
This book will be about 1.5 million words, which ans it will finish around April or May after the new year. The small goal for the near future is to keep updating over the New Year's period.
Yeah, that's about it.
I hope everyone has a good new year and that you all are happy, everything goes well, and the Year of the Dragon is very auspicious!
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