Chapter 1614 - Good and Evil (1/2)

Bang!

Yun Che and Zhou Qingchen killed yet another giant profound beast before Qianye Ying’er extracted its undamaged profound core and stored it safely. It was clear from her movements that she was very practiced.

“Miss Qianying’s movements are truly elegant. I guess the two of you are here very often,” Zhou Qingzi praised. It was the umpteenth time he had praised Qianye Ying’er… even if he never got any response out of her.

“Well, she definitely did a good job extracting the profound core.” Yun Che sounded like he was praising, but it elicited a cold snort from Qianye Ying’er.

“Speaking of which, you haven’t claimed any resources for yourself even though this is your first here. I don’t even see any greed in your eyes.” Yun Che smiled at Zhou Qingchen and said, “The fur of this ancient Divine Sovereign beast alone is priceless to most people, but not you. Quite the opposite, actually. You must have an incredible background.”

Zhou Qingchen smiled, but didn’t deny it. He unconsciously stared at Qianye Ying’er’s back again and said, “You and I are kindred spirits, so I have no wish to lie to you, Brother Ling. It is true my background is incredible, but both our bodies are still made of flesh and blood, and our souls filled with emotions and desires. Incredible background or not, our essences are the same.”

“You think you envy me, but I’m the one who envies you, Brother Ling.”

“You… envy me?” Yun Che shot him a sideways glance.

Zhou Qingchen smiled without giving a reply, but his eyes were drifting.

“Are you envying me because of her, Brother Chen?” Yun Che asked suddenly with a half-smile on his face.

Zhou Qingchen’s expression froze abruptly.

“I was wondering why a powerful, noble profound practitioner like you would want to accompany us on our excursion,” Yun Che explained with a smile. “I often noticed you looking in her direction, and every time we ran into a profound beast you’ll move in front of her immediately to protect her from any possible harm.”

“Also…” Yun Che turned cool on the inside when he sensed that he had shaken Zhou Qingchen a little. “You’re praising her a little too much, don’t you think?”

Zhou Qingchen avoided his gaze and shook his head self-derisively. He smiled and said, “You are truly attentive, Brother Ling. I’ve made myself look like a fool in front of you.”

“Wait, you’re actually interested in her?” Yun Che asked in an astonished tone before shooting Qianye Ying’er a sideways glance. The latter was standing far away from them and seemingly out of earshot.

But Zhou Qingchen shook his head before looking at the sky. He let out a sigh and asked, “Brother Ling… What do you think is the most difficult thing in this world?”

Yun Che didn’t answer his question. Instead, he replied in a casual tone, “That answer differs depending on the person. I’d like to hear your answer first, Brother Chen.”

Zhou Qingchen closed his eyes and said, “My background is rather special. I was told since I was young that I am different from others, but the status came with a price; a ‘mission’. ‘Righteousness’ is the thing I value the most in my life, and ‘desire’ the least.”

Yun Che, “...”

“It is why I’m the way I am. I’m strictly a pacifist, and I’m not interested in any form of conflict.”

“After I had reached a marrigeable rage, my father and my clansmen introduced me to many women… Maybe it was because of how I cultivated my mind, but I was uninterested in all of them. Even if someone managed to leave a good impression, I would forget about them in the blink of an eye. I thought this would never change until one day, I met her…”

“Brother Ling.” Zhou Qingchen asked, “Do you... believe in love at first sight? The kind that leaves a permanent mark you’ll never forget for as long as you live?”

“I don’t,” Yun Che replied without hesitation.

When he fell into Phoenix Perching Valley and saw Feng Xue’er just before he fainted… When Shen Xi cast away the mist of light covering up her appearance and made him felt like his soul was departing his body...

He had experienced those feelings, and he would remember them for as long as he lived. But they were gone… and so he would never, ever feel the same again, now or ever.

“I used to think the same as you, until…” Zhou Qingchen’s voice grew a little shaky, and his features involuntarily tightened. “I simply glimpsed her from a distance, but in that moment, I felt like I was dropped into a nightmare I could never awaken from.”

“Is that so?” Yun Che sounded like he couldn’t quite believe him.

Zhou Qingchen said, “I know how funny I must sound, Brother Ling, but… if one day you caught a glimpse of her true face, you would understand the ‘nightmare’ I speak of. She wasn’t smiling at all, and her eyes were filled with indifference and even a bit of disdain, but she’d still trap you in a permanent nightmare. No one can escape from it.”

“I see…” Yun Che put a finger to his chin and asked, “So, to you, forgetting her is the most difficult thing in the world, am I correct?”

“That’s right,” Zhou Qingchen replied. “I have tried countless ways to wipe her from my memory, but the ability is simply beyond my grasp, even when she did the unthinkable and transformed into a…”

He suddenly cut himself short right there.

Yun Che smiled and said, “You have successfully piqued my curiosity, Brother Chen. Now I want to see this woman myself.”

“On the contrary, Brother Ling. I hope that you’ll never encounter her. It is usually a wonderful thing to meet the one you love, but her… meeting her will only end in disaster.” Zhou Qingchen exhaled once before whispering, “There is no one in the world who is deserving of even a warm look from her.”

“That’s not necessarily true. Some women only look arrogant, when in reality…” Yun Che placed his hands behind his head and answered cheekily. He didn’t finish his sentence though.

Zhou Qingchen shook his head with a smile and looked at Qianye Ying’er again. He said, “Miss Qianying is very similar to her. I guess that’s why I couldn’t stop looking at her for even a moment. I guess you can call it…”

He smiled self-derisively at himself before finishing, “...a pathetic form of solace.”

Yun Che replied, “I see… It is true that I haven’t been disciplining her properly, so her manners are lacking when she’s outside. Do forgive her, Brother Chen.”

“It’s fine,” Zhou Qingchen said. “One should maintain their distance and caution toward a stranger who approached them without invitation. They are… similar even in this regard.”

Qianye Ying’er continued to stare toward the front, searching for the Eternal Heaven Guardians’ aura with her spiritual perception. Although she could hear Zhou Qingchen clearly, she didn’t respond to his words at all.

Qu Hui was following them from very far behind. It was clear to him that Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er didn’t want anything from Zhou Qingchen. In fact, they were maintaining quite a healthy amount of caution and distance toward him. Their attitude actually assured him they were being genuine because Zhou Qingchen was the one who had asked to accompany them on their excursion.

Zhou Qingchen’s words also entered his ears. He said to himself, “What a sinful creature that demon spawn of the Brahma Heaven God Emperor was. I hope she’s already dead.”

When Zhou Qingchen came back to himself, he didn’t wish to dwell on this matter any longer. He changed the subject and asked, “So, what is the most difficult thing to you, Brother Ling?”

Yun Che closed his eyes and answered, “It’s probably the line between good and evil.”

“Oh?” Zhou Qingchen looked at him in confusion. “Why do you say that, Brother Ling?”

“What are good and evil to you, Brother Chen?” Yun Che turned the question back on Zhou Qingchen.

Zhou Qingchen thought for a moment before answering, “There are many kinds of good in this world. Kindness, benevolence; they are all good. There are many ‘smaller’ goods that exist in this world, but ‘greater’ goods are so much rarer.”

“What is a greater good to you, Brother Chen?” Yun Che asked in a casual tone.

“There is one person that I have deep respect for,” Zhou Qingchen replied sentimentally. “For the sake of world peace, he chose to defy his principles, break his promise, and tarnish his reputation. He was even willing to give up his own life to satisfy the affected person’s thirst for revenge. This is the greatest good I’d ever witnessed in my life. I doubt there’s another person in the world who can do what he did.”