The Human Emperor had privately sought out Chenghong three times. The first time, he pointed out Chenghong's frequent private interactions with Gu Junshi.
The second time, he came to tell Chenghong about his past with Gu Junshi.
The third time, the Human Emperor arrived with a greatly depleted spirit and a dazed expression, as if he had suffered a massive blow. His words revealed a will to die.
He was a Ghost King who had cultivated by devouring malevolent souls. He had used the death qi of the "Yellow Springs Gate" to reshape a physical body. As long as a shred of malevolent intent remained within him, he could achieve immortality as an evil spirit.
In the past, he had committed numerous wicked deeds in the mortal world and was sealed within the Dusheng Taoist Temple for many years. This only weakened his ghostly and dark power but could not completely eliminate him.
However, if the Human Emperor himself no longer clung to life, willingly dispersed his ghostly qi, and allowed a Buddha's son to ferry his malevolent soul to rebirth, everything would be different.
When the Underworld was still connected to the Five Realms, Buddhist cultivators could supercede ancestral spirits, ferry malevolent souls, and guide the departed. Based on their merits in life, they would bestow offerings to the beings of the ghost path, helping them escape the suffering of the cycle of reincarnation and hell.
But now that the Underworld had separated from the Five Realms, if the Human Emperor chose to be superceded, he would forever dissipate between heaven and earth, with no possibility of reincarnation.
Chenghong had indeed considered having Gu Junshi distance herself from an evil ghost like the Human Emperor, who was entangled with malevolent intent. However, the Human Emperor had been renowned for a long time and was no longer an ordinary ghost cultivator. Even the abbot of the Maha Meditation Temple could not do anything about him, so Chenghong was temporarily at a loss.
He had once asked the Human Emperor, "You have no lingering desires in the mortal world, but what about Gu Junshi? What does she represent to you?"
The Human Emperor seemed to have anticipated this question. His expression remained unchanged. On his ghastly pale face, only his brows and eyes were a deep ink black. He smiled immodestly and said, "Her? She cannot be my salvation."
At that moment, a trace of regret and… relief flashed in his eyes.
Salvation?
Was that how he viewed Gu Junshi?
Chenghong was somewhat surprised.
He had always believed the relationship between the Human Emperor and Gu Junshi was one of subservience. He controlled her life, and she relied on him for growth. Their relationship was not entirely normal, yet deeply intertwined.
But judging by the Human Emperor's words, Gu Junshi's significance to him was more akin to solace and expectation, only in the end… he could not be redeemed by her to achieve rebirth.
The Human Emperor knew.
She did not possess that fervent and persistent affection for him. He could not elicit the response he desired from her eyes, so… he chose to let go, because she never truly belonged to him.
But the Human Emperor was, after all, forged from a malevolent soul. Even if he could feign the appearance of "when a person is about to die, their words are good," his heart would forever be hollow and dark.
He did not wish to live, but he also did not intend to allow Gu Junshi and Chenghong to smoothly achieve their perfect union.
He wanted to turn his death into a "thorn," forever lodged in the hearts of both of them.
The "benevolence" of a malevolent soul was always merely a means. It could not learn to complete or bless; it could only flow with thick black water and wicked intentions.
At the time, Chenghong had no idea that before the Human Emperor met his end, he had "notified" Gu Junshi to come in an unexpected and ingenious way.
Afterward, he learned everything and gradually understood the malicious intent the Human Emperor had harbored.
Chenghong recalled the Human Emperor's last words to him before he dissipated.
At this moment, the chilling black qi that perpetually surrounded him dispersed like melting frost turning to dust. It was as if he had been purified, shedding his malevolent thoughts and hatred, regaining the mixed colors and soul form that a "person" should possess.
With a clear gaze that seemed to comprehend everything, he said to Chenghong, "Chenghong, she likes black, and she likes white. She especially likes the mystery and purity woven from black and white. She will never like a ruler that defines her boundaries of black and white. You are not her father, you cannot teach her right from wrong that is already etched into her soul. You are not her faith, nor can you change someone whose will is more resolute than yours…"
The Human Emperor indeed understood Gu Junshi better than him and saw more clearly.
In the end, the one who would be changed was not Gu Junshi, but himself.
As his life experience grew, having witnessed all sorts of things and tasted the myriad flavors of life, he also understood the meaning of the Human Emperor's final words.
Gu Junshi should not be defined by him into a single category. What made her special, more than anyone he had ever seen, was… her ability to accept all the evil and good in this world. This trait was similar to the "gods" in the twenty-eighth heaven.
There is a saying, "Heaven and earth are not benevolent; they regard all things as straw dogs."
This saying can be understood as: Heaven and earth are indifferent to benevolence. They lack love and treat all things like straw dogs, allowing them to live and die as they will.
But from another perspective, heaven, earth, and saints are all the same. They are selfless. They treat all things in the world as they treat straw dogs, without any favoritism.
Because selflessness is actually the scrutiny that a supreme being should possess.
Otherwise, you might think you stand on the side of benevolence, you are good, but how can you know that the opposite of benevolence will inevitably be malice?
Those who have lived for a long time know that in adult thinking, things cannot be simply judged by right and wrong, black and white, because between black and white lies a murky gray area.
At that time, how should this gray area be defined?
Attributing it to black or white would be inaccurate.
—
Liu Jiangfusheng raised his eyes and fixed them on the two for a moment. An itchy sensation crawled in his throat like ants. He clenched his fist and coughed lightly, suppressing it.
The next second, he moved with incredible speed, his shadow shifting several zhang. He instantly appeared beside the two. A dazzling sword light descended like a curtain, followed by a surge of vast spiritual power. The sword intent, like a white-scaled flood dragon, lunged towards the Human Emperor to "bite" and entangle him.
The Human Emperor flicked his gaze to the side. He could tell this sword technique was extraordinary. His expression tightened, and he extended a hand. Black qi coiled from his arm, transforming into a wispy water column that charged towards the "flood dragon."
With a bang, the black python and the white dragon wrestled, refusing to yield, and finally intertwined.
At this moment, the Human Emperor was undoubtedly fighting two against one. If it were someone like Lu Ziyin, he could easily handle many more. However, Chenghong and Liu Jiangfusheng clearly possessed considerable cultivation, and with the suppression of their innate spiritual roots on his ghostly and dark attributes, they exerted a certain degree of pressure on him.
But the Human Emperor was, after all, a legendary figure with countless battles under his belt. He was not entirely without recourse. However, he worried that Gu Junshi's third "Yunlei Letter" might arrive while he was occupied. If she truly did as she said and expelled him, wouldn't that play right into Liu Jiangfusheng's hands?
He had no time for such a foolish transaction.
Since his objective of "declaring sovereignty" had been successfully achieved, if they wanted to kill him or do something else, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future.
He made up his mind not to continue entangling with the two. He swept his sleeves, and a pair of "black wings" suddenly unfurled behind him, causing a fearsome impact on the surroundings. With another step, he soared into the air. He spun in mid-air, his condescending face wearing an uncomfortable smile.
"Liu Jiangfusheng, I welcome you to Fengdu Ghost City in the near future to attend the grand wedding hosted by Gu Junshi and me. Until then."