“I still have to focus on cultivation, so I don’t have the time to deal with all this random business.” “Sigh, I’m not accustomed to being tied down.”
“The old man is clearly messing with us again. We can’t let him get his way!”
They all conceded, refusing to climb up. As they bickered away, someone said, “We might as well let old Yao go!” It actually led to a complete agreement. “If the old man wants to continue being complacent, then we’ll let the weakest, most useless old Yao become the hero king!”
“Li Yuanfei, you’re the one who’s the weakest and most useless. Let go of me! I don’t want to be the hero king!”
As a result, they passed the young man up one by one. Only he objected loudly, except his body was frozen stiff, so how could he put up any resistance? He was delivered all the way to the edge of the cliff, so panic-stricken that he even turned red.
At this moment, a large hand extended right before his eyes. Gazing up along the arm, he saw Li Qingshan smile.
“Alright, I promise you, if you don’t want to do it, then you don’t have to!” Then Li Qingshan glanced down. “Hehe, old man? You idiots!” However, according to the standards of a regular human, he was indeed an old man that was already over a century old.
Everyone cursed inside, We’ve been fooled by the old man again!
By the time they had all reached the top of the cliff, they were so exhausted that even Li Fengxian no longer bothered with her appearance, laying on the ground and gasping for air.
Li Qingshan stood on the side of the cliff with his hands behind his back, his gaze passing through the destroyed gate. After several decades of erosion from the wind and snow, even the ruins no longer bore any semblance to the Mountain Manor of the Divine Ape of the past.
This was where he had started off in this world. Now, it was also where everything would end.
“My children, I’m leaving!”
The princes and princesses were all surprised. They knew that this day would come sooner or later, but they still found it to be extremely sudden when it actually arrived. Perhaps they had accepted a certain false impression a long time ago, that this man would stand in the distance forever, like a mountain, until the end of time. They could not help but become filled with a multitude of emotions and even a reluctance to see him go.
Li Guinian sighed. He stood up and clasped his hands. “Father, there are still many matters that you haven’t dealt with properly. The world-”
“What does the world have to do with me?”
Li Qingshan blinked his eyes. At that moment, he actually seemed even younger than his children. Perhaps some prisoners would fall in love with their prison in the end, but he would not, whether he was trapped for a century or for a millennium.
“Amitābha, but you are the hero king!”
Everyone felt like he owed the world a responsibility, even when he had not actually been up to anything serious during the recent years. Just his title of the hero king alone could deter all crooks and troublemakers. It was even more effective than Gu Yanying’s strict and fair laws.
“I am the hero king. I am also your father. I have many, many identities and names, but actually, I’m Li Qingshan. Now, Li Qingshan is going off to do what Li Qingshan wants to do.”
Li Qingshan clapped his hands. What lord of the world? What authority over the world? He tossed it all aside like an old shoe, making his way towards the gate of the mountain manor with ease. Gu Yanying was waiting for him there.
“Amitābha. Father, please stay for a little longer. The world will descend into chaos with how suddenly you’ve left!”
“You put amitābha first, so why are you begging me? The world is not the hero king’s world, nor is it the World’s society’s world, but the people of the world’s world. If the people of the world think the world should be in chaos, then let there be chaos!”
Li Qingshan had never actually believed in Gu Yanying’s set of strict and fair laws. It brought the world peace, such that even sleeping with unlocked doors and finding items exactly where they were lost had become commonplace. As a matter of fact, they had almost achieved universal equality. However, when princes broke laws, they suffered the same punishment as common people. The powerful were unable to oppress the weak. The clever were unable to manipulate the foolish. Groups made concessions for individuals. Was this actually logical?
Everyone had a liking towards the good and an aversion to the bad, but good and bad were unable to explain everything at the end of the day. It had never been an absolute standard either.
This age of peace and order was only a grand dream they had created through methods that surpassed this world. It was a dream that belonged to Li Qingshan and Gu Yanying. Now, they were finally waking up from it.
He had never considered maintaining the World’s society through all ages. Was there really a thing in the world that did not come to an end sooner or later? He had never considered making his descendants coexist peacefully in love and devotion to one another either. If they wanted to butcher each other like insects trapped in a jar, then they were free to do so. They had their own paths to take.
He had already given everyone opportunities. The various secret martial arts manuals were so widespread in this world that they could basically be found on every corner of every street. No one could seal it away and monopolise it anymore.
“Children, if you want the world to turn out a certain way, then go and make that come true with your own hands! If you want to do good, then go do good. If you want to do bad, then go do bad. I’ll be watching you from the heavens and laughing at your foolishness.”
Li Qingshan laughed aloud, stepping through the gate and vanishing into the ruins.
The children all looked at one another. For a moment, they had no idea what to say.
Suddenly, a dark-azure cloud shot through the sky, directly crossing the horizon. It went from the northern region to the central region, even falling down to the southern region, obscuring the skies with a wonderful, even texture.
All of the children raised their heads in surprise. Everyone in the world could see it as long as they raised their heads.
A great cry that could not be described with words rang through the sky. The dark-azure layer of clouds suddenly began to fall, which made everyone feel like the sky was collapsing. The cowardly had already curled up on the ground.
Great winds rose!
It was not fierce and cold like the snowstorm. Instead, it possessed warmth like the summer wind from the sixth month. It made all the ice and snow in the world melt as it whistled and surged.
A verdant colour appeared in the sea of trees, bending over like tiny blades of grass. Great waves began to surge through the eastern ocean.
The children all found it difficult to breathe. Right when the dark-azure clouds were about to weigh down on them, it abruptly rose up again, shrinking by a hundred times in the blink of an eye. Only then did they clearly see what it was. It was a giant bird. It made them all widen their eyes as they could not feel more shocked. They felt like their minds had been burst open, feeling the endless breadth of the land. Before they knew it, their faces had already become strewn with tears.
However, they felt no joy or sorrow inside. They all felt extremely insignificant, actually unaware of why they were crying.
As the great winds rose, the peng took flight!
In the blink of an eye, the kunpeng had travelled far away. The stars glimmered in the clear universe.
The children all stood on the cliff for a very long time. When they returned to their senses, they felt a little dispirited. Everything they had believed to be extremely important in the past had suddenly seemed insignificant now.
“Father is gone,” said Li Guinian.
“Is he really gone?” the young man asked blankly, “Didn’t he say he would be watching us from the heavens?”
Li Yuanfei patted his shoulders casually. “Old Yao, you really are far too young. To think you would even believe something like that. It’s more like he’ll forever live in our hearts.”
As soon as he said that, the weather began to change. Wisps of clouds surged forth, forming a great big smiley face under the moonlight. It was like a child’s drawing, yet it also bore some resemblance to Li Qingshan.
Li Yuanfei murmured, “This… surely isn’t a coincidence, right?”
“How annoying!” Li Fengxian lowered her head, but she could not help but smile.
The young man suddenly yelled at the sky, “Father, just you watch! We definitely won’t disappoint you!”
Ape howls immediately rang out from the cliff, and the cloud face gradually dispersed with the winds.
