Ye Qingzhu knew he could no longer avoid it.
The name was enough for the world to know that Ye Qingzhu was a guest minister of the Mohist school. The uproar when he left the neutral faction to join the光明 (Guangming) faction was immense, and the world knew that Guangming was responsible for technology, the neutral faction was mostly civil officials or soldiers, and the shadow was the secret weapon operating in the dark. The three factions had an unspoken division of labor.
The vast majority of disciples from the three factions, especially those from prominent families, had no choice in the matter. Targeted training from childhood made it impossible for the very few to even consider a career change, and the Ye family was not even considered a proper family.
The Ye family had once been glorious, but due to the corruption of one individual, they were nearly wiped out, leaving only two half-siblings: Ye Feng and Ye Qingzhu.
The Gong family and the Ye family had a marriage alliance. At the request of Gong Tingjian, the Gong family took in his elder brother, Ye Qingzhu, while Ye Feng was thrown into an orphanage.
What followed was the most dramatic turn of events. For reasons unknown, Ye Qingzhu, who had received the best education from the Gong family, caused a huge scene and severed ties. With his excellent scientific knowledge, he joined the Mohist school. This caused a great stir, and the Gong family didn't even know when Ye Qingzhu had taught himself such obscure knowledge.
Meanwhile, Ye Feng, whom they had abandoned, rapidly rose to prominence, marrying into the Bai family and becoming a winner in life by all accounts.
The two children left behind by the neutral faction's Ye family, one rebellious joining the Guangming faction, the other marrying into the Shadow faction, had no contact with the neutral faction. Ye Qingzhu's rebellion, in particular, caused the Gong family to lose face, and even Gong Tingjian found himself disliking Bai Cha.
At that time, Tu Ruolan, the old ancestor of the Tu family, Zhi Lingtian, the former patriarch of the Zhi family, and Mo Yunhan, the collateral branch family head of the Mo family, made a tripartite oath. The three hit it off immediately, discussing the origins of the world and vowing to pursue the truth of the world. However, the world did not know that there was a fourth person among them: Ye Qingzhu.
Although Ye Qingzhu had been educated by the neutral faction since childhood and was arrogant, he possessed great talent in philosophy and science. What was a flaw and something to be avoided by many became something highly praised by the three in this field.
Mo Yunhan was the first to be discovered and executed by Bai Cha, which was entirely within Ye Qingzhu's expectations. Mo Yunhan was young and promising, and had a close relationship with Ye Qingzhu. Moreover, Mo Ziye was also on good terms with Bai Cha. Ye Qingzhu did not expect Bai Cha to show such disrespect to the Mo family.
In fact, what he didn't realize was that Bai Cha had postponed the execution plan precisely because of Mo Ziye. The evidence had been gathered nearly complete back in the generation of Ye Feng and Bai Qingyuan.
The second to die was Zhi Lingtian. This time, it was due to the pig-headed teammate Zhi Lintao. He knew that Zhi Yue had a delicate relationship with the meddlesome Bai Cha. Yet, he still kidnapped Zhi Yue and attempted an experiment, leading to the exposure of their lair.
Not long ago, Ye Qingzhu had manipulated public opinion and guided the situation from behind the scenes, finally pushing Bai Cha into a corner. Ye Qingzhu breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was all over.
But Bai Cha appeared again.
She should have been dying. No one could escape the White Mandragora.
"You were the one who orchestrated the zombies and asuras going mad, weren't you?" Ye Qingzhu finally dropped his pretense, fending off the guards beside him. He stepped forward and stood before Bai Cha, his face somber. "They are more cautious than us. You leaked information that caused them to panic and resort to desperate measures, leading to the fall of all laboratories."
Their plan was enormous. The great "God Creation Project" was not something any single country could solve. Every nation had its share of mad scientists. Ye Qingzhu and his collaborators had spent nearly twenty years to spread this plan across the world.
They proceeded cautiously, attempting to create gods, control them, and then dissect the world.
"There's an idiom that can summarize this: reaping what you sow." Bai Cha smiled faintly, arrogant and disdainful. "It's the simplest method, isn't it?"
"The sudden agitation of those asuras was triggered by the aura of the Asura King on you, wasn't it? You also leaked the information to other countries, which is why they were able to establish protective shields and safe zones so quickly." Tu Ruolan's face was extremely grim.
These asuras were the culmination of their life's work. After sacrificing so many people, they had been incited by Bai Cha's bloodlust and lost control. Furthermore, the failure to cause widespread casualties and mutations already foreshadowed their defeat.
This experiment had been proposed by someone hundreds of years ago, and fragmented experiments had been conducted by successive individuals. It was only in his generation that it truly flourished.
Before it could reach its peak, it was destroyed!
"Uncle Ye, why did you do this?" Mo Ziye walked over. Even though he had learned the truth in his previous life, hearing it from someone he cared about and who was close to him in this life still sent shockwaves through his heart.
"Why? Why! Mo Ziye, you dare to ask me why? Do you know that our life's purpose is to seek truth?" Ye Qingzhu, who had been calm in front of Bai Cha, seemed on the verge of a breakdown upon hearing Mo Ziye's words, as if betrayed by someone he trusted, making him furious.
"My Ye family was once just a part of the slums. The Gong family took me in but looked down on me. I climbed up on my own!" Tu Ruolan roared at Mo Ziye. "I dedicated my life to this cause, and you dare to ask me why!"
"You are defying human ethics! How could you conduct human experiments!" Mo Ziye's face turned red with anger. "Science is meant to contribute to humanity, not for your selfish desires!"
"I have touched upon the truth, the truth! Look at those asuras, they are the kin of gods. One day, I will explain the divine!" Tu Ruolan roared. "Stop criticizing me with your righteousness. Your righteous demeanor is utterly disgusting. No wonder Bai Cha doesn't want to associate with you."
At these words, the world fell silent. Mo Ziye stiffened, his gaze fixed on Bai Cha, who stood calmly nearby, unable to speak.
There was only this that he couldn't refute.
"Mo Ziye, you're wasting your breath arguing with me here, trying to lead me back to the right path. How naive. How can one's stance be so easily swayed by a few words?" Tu Ruolan snorted. "You should learn more from Bai Cha. From the very beginning, your 'Xiao Bai' never intended to let me off."
"Bai?" Mo Ziye swallowed.
Yes, Tu Ruolan had hit the nail on the head. Mo Ziye wanted to save Tu Ruolan.
Although Mo Ziye knew that his Uncle Ye had indeed violated moral ethics, he also remembered that his mother had died when he was young, and his father was too busy with his research to pay him attention. During that time, it was this uncle who visited him every few days, gave him candy, and told him about the wonders of the universe.
He remembered that Uncle Ye's embrace was warm, and his large hand held his small one as they stood in the sun, smiling as he explained the mysteries of the sun, igniting his enlightenment in science.
When he was a child, his father would sleep in the laboratory and not come home. He could only sleep alone. When he couldn't sleep, he would call Ye Qingzhu. Ye Qingzhu could always tell him all sorts of strange stories, and as he listened, he felt less afraid. They would even chat about many interesting scientific facts, the two of them, one big and one small.
"...You must study hard, of course, and also maintain a correct mindset, so that you can become a superman and lead us to explore the mysteries of the universe."
"I will, Uncle. I must take over your work!"
"...It's your father's work you should take over. I have no work to take over; I only manage a branch laboratory. Your father is the head of the entire laboratory."
"I don't want to, I only want to take over Uncle's work. Uncle is good to me, better than Dad!"
"...Hmph, you brat."
In the sunlight, Mo Ziye remembered pulling on Ye Qingzhu's clothes. At that time, Ye Qingzhu was even his most admired figure.
Mo Ziye stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly. He saw Bai Cha looking at him in surprise, then walking up to him and caressing his cold cheeks.
"Are you that sad?" Bai Cha's eyes couldn't help but show a trace of heartache.
Mo Ziye wept. It was the first time he had shed tears in front of so many people, but Mo Ziye couldn't hold back. His words were choked with sobs, and even the Golden Holy Sword fell to the ground.
"But, Uncle Ye, these are the principles you taught me." Mo Ziye covered his face, not wanting Bai Cha to see him in such a disheveled state, but he couldn't stop trembling. This was the person closest to him, the kind of care his father had never shown him.
"Back when we still lived in the south of the city, you held my hand and told me stories of mermaids and warriors. You told me to protect the person I liked and not let her down and turn into foam, and that I should be righteous like a warrior and protect everyone."
Mo Ziye sobbed uncontrollably. Bai Cha had also never seen Mo Ziye so vulnerable. Just as she was about to step forward to comfort him, she frowned and moved forward, blocking an attack from a hyper-magnetic cannon as thick as a forearm.
The brilliant electromagnetic cannon was dispersed and turned into fire, which was quite dazzling. Mo Ziye squatted on the ground, staring blankly at Ye Qingzhu, who had suddenly launched an attack.
Bai Cha's expression remained indifferent. With a wave of her hand, she dispersed the residual shockwaves, doing so with such ease that Ye Qingzhu suddenly had a conjecture.
"Bai Cha, you have become a god." Tu Ruolan's eyes radiated fanaticism, a kind of madness and excitement. "You've become a god, haven't you? You truly are the child of Ye Feng and Bai Qingyuan. That's right, they were so outstanding, only missing a little, so their child would naturally be even more so."
"Uncle Ye..." Mo Ziye murmured, feeling that the person before him was utterly unfamiliar.
"No, I was also just a little short." Bai Cha let out a cold snort. Five golden holy spears materialized around her, instantly pinning Tu Ruolan's limbs, and the last one pierced Tu Ruolan's heart.
"Uncle Ye!"
Mo Ziye tried to rush over but was grabbed by Bai Cha by the collar.
Their eyes met, and as life ebbed away, a kaleidoscope of memories flashed before Ye Qingzhu's eyes.
Mo Ziye's eyes had always seemed so pure. Ye Qingzhu vaguely remembered being drawn to this child the moment he first met him.
This child was very much like his deceased brother.
Ye Qingzhu remembered when he first went to university, he was admitted to the best class at Junyao, but his family couldn't afford the travel expenses to the capital.
But his father was very happy. He grabbed the last two hens the family had for laying eggs and left the slums, wanting to sell them to scrape together tuition fees.
Ye Qingzhu was the hope of the family. It was just their last bit of property, and the whole family was very supportive. As long as Ye Qingzhu got into Junyao, there would be subsidies, which would not only allow the family to move out of the slums but also raise their heads.
At that time, the family had two younger brothers: his full brother Ye Xiaoyun, and Ye Feng, the son of his stepmother.
That day, the family waited for a long time, but their father didn't return. Ye Xiaoyun volunteered to go look for him. He often went to sell vegetables and eggs with his father and was more familiar with the surroundings than his brother, who stayed in school every day.
Ye Qingzhu and his stepmother stayed up all night, coaxing the newborn Ye Feng. By the next day, his brother still hadn't returned.
The terrible news arrived: his father and brother were arrested for unlicensed sales and animal cruelty and were at the police station. His stepmother was a timid woman with a heart condition. Upon hearing the news, she couldn't catch her breath and died of a heart attack.
That day, Ye Qingzhu didn't even have time to bury his mother. Holding Ye Feng in swaddling clothes, he rushed to the police station to bail out his father and brother.