Chapter 269 - Demolition (1/2)
Big Sister looked blankly at Mu, utterly lost for words as to how she should respond to the question. But she was hardly the only one speechless; around the table, Lin Feng, Chongxi, as well as the others, were all equally speechless.
Mu inhaled his cigarette so quickly that it was burnt right down to the stub in just seconds. He was just crushing it when Big Sister finally shook her head in dismay. She had no idea how to answer his question. Mu chuckled and nipped at his Coke. “There’s no need to feel troubled,” he said, “You’re not the only one. It’s normal. Nobody has the right answer to this question. There is no such thing as fully differentiating good from evil, for there is no such thing as being absolutely good or infinitely evil. No clear line that borders good and bad. The definition of good and evil is subjective, they are just matters of perspective and angle.”
Big Sister took in a long, deep breath, finally understanding Mu’s words. “That’s Mu for you,” Zhang Er’ge chucked and quipped, saying, “Whenever he speaks, he sprouts teachings and enlightenment like a monk or a rabbi. Even I fail to get half the things he says.” That made me giggle, although I smiled knowingly at Mu. I had indeed learned much just by listening to him.
At the table, everyone mulled in contemplative silence. Mu spoke again, breaking the pall of gloom, “Well, there’s no need to so be so opinionated about good or evil. Everyone has their goals and pursuits, and that’s all. That prince wishes for his empire to return. So let him be. You wish to stop him. So, just do it! The way I see it, there’s hardly any need to differentiate if anything we do is actually good or evil.”
I exhaled deeply. Indeed, why does it even matter anyway? Why should I even be wondering on whose side Jin Qichen will be at after this? Na San is asking for me help. So I should. Helping Na San is not contradictory to my goals anyway. So what if Lu Shengnan is the enemy? What if she is a friend? She needs my help and so I should help her.
I looked at Mu again. Nothing about him seemed rough and vulgar anymore. What I felt from him was not the vile and nefarious presence thugs and ruffians often had, but rather a spirit of freedom. An air of unbridled sophistication.
For years, we had been stuck in the past. I reflected quietly, yet none of us had met anyone near our age with such transcendence in perceiving the nature of the world around us. Perhaps this was what he had been doing; living in the city, immersing himself in the midst of the hustle and bustle of society while working to maintain a true and objective view of the world like how a blade was sharpened with a whetstone. Closing off oneself like a hermit was by no means any way to study and achieve enlightenment. Perhaps this gaunt, bespectacled man that looked so mundanely ordinary was actually a true sage of this era.
Big Sister looked at Mu no longer with any hint of disdain, but rather with renewed respect in her gaze. The lesson he just gave us was a simple one. But one that none of us had ever delved or thought about.
Mu extinguished what was the last cigarette from his pack and stood up. “Well, it’s time now,” he said, “We should be going.” He waved goodbye and all four of them left the restaurant.
We watched them leave, silent and brooding. None of us said a word, even Xiao Yu and Yuanyuan, who were still oblivious at what was happening.
It was very late when we got back. I had Na San arranged to stay temporarily at the upstairs of the Center and supplied him with some fresh set of clothing. The Shaman was tearing with gratitude, mumbling inscrutable words of thanks when we left him. In truth, I had never seen Na San as a slave or any lowborn creature. Perhaps that was why I always felt uneasy whenever he expressed his thanks in his overtly-modest way.
The next morning, we met at the Center as we prepared to go to the site of the building team that Yuanyuan told us about.
Chongxi came down the stairs, chewing a fried dough stick. But he was not alone. Xiao Yu came down with him. All of us gawked with wide eyes and Xiao Yu’s face was blazing red by the time the pair reached the bottom of the stairs. Edelweiss and I held Chongxi with a knowing grin, nodding furtively at him, but not before I flashed him a thumbs-up and that made Xiao Yu blushed even more furiously.
To Edelweiss and I, the fondness and desire that a couple had for each other were normal. We ourselves got together when our passion burned the hottest.
Na San was also hardly bothered by this. Ji Qichen must have had no lacking of female companionship that even Na San had grown indifferent.