Chapter 361: Life and Living

"What a pity, I can no longer know what happened afterward." Wei Chengye felt regret in his heart and sighed slightly. He had finally managed to confirm the existence of the Forest Cabin with his own eyes and even learned the true appearance of the shopkeeper, but this was far from enough; the information he had obtained was, in the end, too little.

However, at least Wei Chengye now knew how a person could go to the Forest Cabin.

"Entering the Forest Cabin does not necessarily require one's physical body; a projection of consciousness is also possible." After pondering to himself for a while, Wei Chengye glanced at the brain in the water tank and made a decision in his heart.

……

Jingle-ling—

"Is this the Forest Cabin?" Wei Chengye pushed the door open and entered, looking at the surroundings that were dazzling yet filled with a ghostly aura, as if the very air here was permeated with a chilling sense of crisis.

Yet Wei Chengye was not afraid. He had a special experience in his childhood; although it had turned his body in the Real World into a decrepit, ghostly state, it had also granted him wisdom and rationality beyond the reach of ordinary people. This was precisely why he was able to become the leader of the Xuanmi Group. Moreover, he had gained an even more special talent: after that experience, he had completely lost the emotion of fear. He never felt uneasy or afraid, and even in the face of cataclysmic danger, he would not waver in the slightest.

"Oh, you really chose an inconvenient time to come." A fresh and bright voice rang out from the end of the cramped aisle formed by the shelves. Wei Chengye looked over and saw a white figure moving between the shelves.

"Is it not open for business now?" Wei Chengye stepped forward, asking as he walked toward the shop counter. His gaze swept over the bizarre merchandise on the shelves to his left and right; he felt as if every item was casting a mocking gaze upon him, while simultaneously harboring a sense of expectation and yearning that Wei Chengye found incomprehensible.

If you have ever been to a pet shop, you might have seen puppies and kittens with spiritual intelligence. When they see a strange customer like you arrive, they will joyfully spin around in their cages, making the loudest noises and causing the biggest commotion to vie for your attention, hoping you will take them home.

The merchandise on these shelves was the same, yet from a normal perspective, they clearly should not possess life.

"It is still open; this place never closes, twenty-four hours a day."

A young man's gentle chuckle reached his ears. Wei Chengye, however, did not feel relaxed; he felt as if he had walked through a tunnel of an underground tomb, passing through darkness filled with the stench of corpses and gloomy, eerie shadows. The moment he stepped out from the enclosure of the shelves, the view finally opened up, and his body relaxed accordingly. He looked back at the exit behind him, which was dark and unlike anything in the human world.

A lack of mental sensation could not completely block out physiological stress responses.

Wei Chengye looked left and right, finally seeing the young man in white lying on a recliner. He looked exactly as he had appeared in Wang Han's memories: his features were amiable and gentle, his build was average—neither tall and imposing nor small and wretched. He was ordinary, yet his entire being radiated a solemnity and greatness from an unknown source, making one subconsciously become serious and keep a certain distance just by looking at him. At the same time, his gentle smile and tranquil eyes carried a strange infectiousness and affinity, making one involuntarily want to get closer and harbor a desire to confide in him.

The person was filled with strange contradictions from head to toe: young yet heavy, approachable yet serious, ordinary yet great... It was this complex of contradictions that made him yearn to find the other party day and night.

"Sit down and talk." Lin Ling said with a smile, gesturing for him to take a seat.

Wei Chengye followed the gesture and looked behind him, only then discovering that a chair had appeared behind him at some point. He remained silent for a moment, moved the chair, and sat closer to the other party.

"Hello, Lin Laoban." Wei Chengye greeted him and introduced himself, "I am the Group Leader of the Shenzhou Region's Abnormal Affairs Investigation and Handling Organization, Wei Chengye. I have long admired your existence."

"I know you; Wei Jiang mentioned you to me." Lin Ling nodded, "He said you have never visited in person, not even at the Xuanmi Group's main headquarters; you have always contacted organization members through projections."

"Yes, due to some personal reasons." Wei Chengye admitted, somewhat surprised, "I didn't expect you to have paid attention to me."

And Lin Ling smiled and gave Wei Chengye an answer that made him lose his focus for an instant: "Of course I remember you. You came to my shop when you were still small, and you even bought something here."

After a brief moment of distraction, Wei Chengye regained his senses and used his cold hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, "Sorry... I don't remember that."

He had been to the Forest Cabin? When did that happen, and why did he have no impression of it!?

Wei Chengye could not help but associate this with the abnormal experience that had turned him into a cripple. He tried to recall that experience in detail, only to find that something seemed strange in his memory.

Lin Ling clearly saw what Wei Chengye was thinking and said with a smile: "It is very normal that you don't remember and have no impression. The human brain is the most gentle yet deceptive tool a person has. When you want to recall a memory, it creates and connects based on fragments of memory, your life experiences, your beliefs, desires, and so on, re-stitching the parts of your memory you have forgotten to ultimately construct the memory you expect."

"... How can one determine if their own memory has been fabricated by their own brain?" Wei Chengye was silent for a moment before humbly asking for advice.

Lin Ling picked up the teacup at his side without haste, took a light sip of the flower tea, and then said: "Examine the loopholes in your memory carefully. Try hard, recall it in detail... there will always be some details that have been blurred."

"Details..." Wei Chengye muttered to himself, his mind struggling to review that memory.

Seeing the wrinkles gathering between Wei Chengye's brows, Lin Ling reminded him with what seemed like good intentions: "Do you still remember how you safely survived that incident?"

"I remember, there was a bird, a bird with a face like an old witch... for some reason, it targeted me and wanted to plunder me, but in the end, I used a spell to drive it away." Wei Chengye recalled.

"Where did the spell come from?" Lin Ling was like a teacher now, guiding him step by step.

The wrinkles on Wei Chengye's brow gathered even more deeply and clearly, and he replied: "I learned it from a book, an Ancient Book from my grandfather's bookshelf. It recorded knowledge about all kinds of abnormal creatures, as well as methods to teach people how to deal with and drive them away."

Lin Ling grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth: "Where is that book now?"

"Originally, I stored it in the Xuanmi Group's collection vault, but I scanned an electronic copy and uploaded it to our Xuanmi Group's database." Wei Chengye replied again. He felt that the other party was suspicious of trying to deceive him, and he was incomparably convinced that his memory was not wrong; everything was the other party's trick.

"Then are you sure that the book really contains those contents?" Lin Ling asked with a smile, "If you don't believe it, why not take another look at it?"

Wei Chengye stopped speaking. He glanced at the tactical watch on his wrist and then looked at Lin Ling: "If it's not in there, I still can't be sure what is true and what is false. After all, I entered here as a projection of consciousness, and everything here is your domain; you might be able to manipulate all the truth and falsehood here. I am just an ordinary human and cannot distinguish it."

"What you say makes a lot of sense." Lin Ling's smile did not fade; he nodded in agreement with the other party's statement and said, "Actually, whether you believe this past or not is not important. Things have reached this point, and there is indeed no need to dwell on it too much."

Wei Chengye let out a breath, wanting to pull the initiative of the conversation back into his own hands. He looked left and right, "I know that our late, sacrificed Xuanmi Group member, Wei Jiang, is now living here in another form. I wonder where he is now?"

"That is why I said you chose a very inconvenient time to come; he is tired for the moment and needs to rest." Lin Ling said with a smile.

Wei Chengye did not judge the truth of Lin Ling's words, but instead continued to ask: "I heard that Li Jiahong is also here with you. Where is he now?"

Lin Ling wore a compassionate expression and sighed: "The child at home is sick and needs care right now; he is upstairs taking care of the child."

"Is the child you are talking about Li Yuning?"

"Yes, he hasn't adopted a second child."

"Is Li Yuning just sick?"

"She is very sick."

"Wang Han is already dead, and she is just sick?"

"They are all dead; isn't that sick enough?" Lin Ling shook his head.

Wei Chengye's mouth twitched. He felt that the thought process of the person in front of him was a bit off. Although what the other party said sounded correct at first glance, he felt as if he had fallen into the other party's logic; there was a clear discrepancy between the things he emphasized and the things the other party perceived.

Wei Chengye took a deep breath and asked seriously: "Lin Laoban, please tell me, what is your purpose in running this shop?"

Facing Wei Chengye's inquiry, Lin Ling remained smiling and explained patiently: "The purpose of running this shop is naturally to make money. Those who come want help, and every child here wants to go out. This is a three-party cooperation, a win-win-win. If you count being able to help others in the Real World escape disaster, then it is a win-win-win-win. Why not do it?"

"No... it's not entirely like that. Although the... merchandise in your shop has indeed helped many customers here, those items have ultimately brought misfortune to the customers who have been here, leading them to die unnatural deaths. And the merchandise flowing out of your shop has also brought other harm to Earth. I think you are very clear that those items all carry a Curse." Wei Chengye stopped pretending and stopped probing, laying his cards on the table directly. He felt that the other party did not seem like an irritable or easily angered person; he seemed to have no temper at all.

Moreover, the other party's way of speaking was very strange. When you tried to talk to him in a roundabout way, he would communicate with you in the same roundabout way. When you spoke directly, the other party's speech would also become straightforward.

Thus, Wei Chengye felt it would be better to just be frank. Whether it would provoke the other party's displeasure was another matter; in any case, he did not fear death.

Meow.

Just then, a black cat with strangely sturdy limbs walked past Wei Chengye's feet. Its footsteps were silent, and its form perfectly blended into the shadows, as if it were walking on the dark side. If it hadn't made a sound, Wei Chengye would not have noticed its existence.

The black cat gave a light hop, jumped into Lin Ling's arms, and lay on Lin Ling's lap, letting Lin Ling stroke it while purring comfortably. Only, before it closed its eyes to sleep, it gave Wei Chengye a strange look.

The moment he was stared at, Wei Chengye felt his hair stand on end and his heart rate accelerate. The long-lost emotions of unease and fear had suddenly returned.

Wei Chengye's breathing could not help but become heavy. He looked at the black cat that had closed its eyes, then looked at Lin Ling. The emotion of fear was like ignited dry grass, growing more and more intense.

Lin Ling, as he had expected, said straightforwardly: "To this world, those are actually a Blessing, the most important part of the world's original state, and... a large part of it."

Hearing this, Wei Chengye only felt it was absurd. Just as he was about to open his mouth, he saw Lin Ling anticipate the question he was about to ask, then chuckle and say, "This world is inherently crazy and chaotic; that is its true nature. The reason humans consider them a Curse is simply because they are not suited for humans. From the human perspective, they naturally would not be a Blessing."

"Of course, if humans could understand the meaning behind the existence of a Blessing, then they would actually discover that in this crazy universe, they might not be anything less than a Gospel for humanity."

Wei Chengye took a deep breath, struggling to calm his uncontrollable heartbeat, and asked Lin Ling a crucial question: "Lin Laoban, are you human?"

Lin Ling blinked and said without the slightest hesitation, "I naturally am."

"No, you are not," Wei Chengye shook his head and said in a low voice, "If you were, you would not sell products that you know will bring evil consequences to other humans, nor would you think of spreading a Blessing to let more people live under them, because this will only bring more death."

"Yu Lianyun is dead, Li Yuning is dead, Wang Han is dead, Li Jiahong's wife as well... so many people have died because of the products you provided. Do you not feel even a shred of guilt?"

Facing Wei Chengye's rebuttal, Lin Ling remained calm, asking back unhurriedly, "Do you think there is a difference between existing and living?"

Without waiting for Wei Chengye to answer, Lin Ling rose from the recliner holding his cat, pacing as he said, "Existing is life, living is an art. Existing is the foundation of living, while living is the drive and spirituality of existing."

"Nowadays, humans facing an Abnormal think just like you do—that is, to preserve their lives, believing that preserving life is the only way to keep living. But in reality, choosing only to preserve life will only result in becoming a walking corpse."

"Yet, in truth, the vast majority of Abnormalities do not care about human lives at all. They only need human resources; whether it is external human resources or internal human resources, what they ultimately demand is human 'living'."

"Merely preserving life is far from enough. Most Abnormal races that humans have come into contact with actually made the same choice you humans are making now, thinking that this way they could see hope, but that is impossible."

He suddenly turned around, looking into Wei Chengye's eyes: "You should know that as a youth, you actually made the choice to live, which is why you became the person you are now."

Facing those eyes like the dark of night, Wei Chengye felt as if time and space had frozen in an instant.

However, all of this thawed as quickly as Lin Ling blinked.

Lin Ling turned and lay back down on the recliner, saying on a whim, "How about this, I will tell you a story. Would you like to hear it?"