Chapter 461: 2.2 Main – Pinokangni (132)

"I can help you," Huang Quan said.

"For what?"

"The meaning of emptiness… that is also what I seek."

The old man nodded thoughtfully: "…Indeed, how could ordinary people set foot here? Thank you, stranger. May you find the answer on this journey."

"Before that, I have another question…" Huang Quan said, "Admittedly, the deeds of the blood sin spirit, even its whole life, are meaningless from our perspective. But if—if this is exactly the outcome the departed desire, should we still make it change?"

It's a good question, and the old man does not know the answer. Yet his heartfelt hope is that on the day he departs this world, at that moment… someone will lay a bouquet of flowers at his grave.

——

Renya.

In the hotel corridor, Maske, the world's richest man about to go to Mars, was walking behind Grand President Tangnade, his face puzzled as he raised his question: "Huh? You're saying… even deploying the entire nation's army can't capture him? Our beautiful country must swear to a man from the Cherry‑blossom nation? An inviolable oath?"

"Yeah, that's right. From Lao Ke, Lao Bu, Lao Ao… to me, then to Lao Bai, it's always been like that. Every time the presidency changes, we have to swear to that man."

The nearer they got to the room at the far end of the corridor, Tangnade's expression grew increasingly solemn, cold beads of sweat the size of beans streaming down his forehead, dampening the collar of his expensive suit.

"You seem weighed down," Maske asked. "Is the oath unavoidable?"

"Indeed." Tangnade halted, then suddenly posed a seemingly unrelated question to Maske: "Do you know? A crucial piece of information just appeared in the sky‑screen—the Sea‑roving Ranger actually teamed up to kill an Extinction Sovereign. Do you know what that means?"

"I don't know."

"It means… the Extinction Sovereign can be slain by mortals. If one walks the corresponding destiny, there's a chance to kill the mandate." Tangnade adopted an even sterner tone. "But as far as I know, no human on Earth has ever walked such a destiny. If we were to pick the man closest to the extraordinary path… it would undoubtedly be Fanma Yongjirou."

"So we must swear to this man, not to infringe upon anything he cherishes. We are not merely swearing to this man… we are swearing to the 'possibility of humanity walking the destiny'!"

"……"

Maske's whole body broke out in gooseflesh; it felt as if the President had just spoken a wildly reckless speech in an overly passionate tone.

"I think I understand… President, what should I do in a moment?"

"I'm not sure either." Tangnade shook his head. As he reached the door marked 5000, his hand trembled like Parkinson's. "All previous oaths were taken by a single president; since this time is an exception, you should keep quiet for now."

——

"The golden moment, nine systems before the opening of the Harmony Festival."

"When I was a child, my words were childlike, my thoughts childlike, my intentions childlike. Having become a person, I discarded the matters of a child."

"……"

Morning light was like gauze, filtering through the wooden window's cracks, casting mottled shadows on Xingqiri's profile. He sat quietly by the window, brows lowered, listening silently to the old man's confession outside.

"Please grant us your blessing, esteemed spokesperson of Xipe," a Heaven Ring tribe elder bowed respectfully.

"Come forward, family. I have earnestly asked Him to be one with us."

The first confessing man had been an attendant of the Alfalfa family; he had always worked diligently, but before a banquet he accidentally knocked a dish over. Afterwards, out of laziness he lied. Though the family head dismissed him as punishment, he remained uneasy and came to confess earnestly.

The second confessing man was a smuggler; to reach Pinokangni he sold his house, land… even his two children. He fell into destitution, his children would starve with him, and he hopes that once he becomes prosperous he can ransom the two children and raise them. Now he is pursued by the Hound family and seeks Harmony's forgiveness.

The man's terror was such that Xingqiri, representing the family, was willing to tolerate him, letting him no longer live in constant fear.

The last Pipixi, however, was arrogant and boisterous, confessing for wasting half a pizza and a Solada. Yet even facing such a person, Xingqiri still restrained his anger, inhaled deeply: "Do you… wish to atone with good deeds to repay the punishment you ought to have received?"

"Punishment? Acting holy now? Ha, let me tell you, the family has no right to judge me, and you certainly don't. Who doesn't know about your family's little affairs? Forgot the watchmaker? To hell with you, chicken‑wing‑head, I won't swallow your tricks. Fool the Dreamchaser lot enough, but don't fool yourself either."

"From now on, before reciting those scriptures, think carefully… what truly supports the Oak family's current stature, that you can sit here, well‑fed, lofty, overlooking everyone?"

After speaking, the Pipixi magnate haughtily hummed, "The confession time today should be enough for me to enter Harmony Paradise, right? I'm leaving then. Hope you get elected… hmm, don't make me lose money."

"……"

"Triple‑faced soul, please listen to my question…"

"If the power and wealth of the strong can cover their crimes, who can judge them?"

"If the weak must spare no cost to survive, who can guarantee them?"

"If even the purest, most virtuous souls err, who can grant them mercy?"

"If 'the strong aid the weak' truly underpins the Paradise… then who leaves them wailing in suffering among the mortal world?"

——

Spirit cage.

The crisp crack of the nutrient‑aluminum tube being crushed rang especially harshly in the room.

"How dare that Pipixi—!"

Xia Dou suddenly rose from the repair bench, his oil‑splattered face flushed bright red. That Pipixi's arrogance was one thing, but to insult the future head of the Oak family—does such a person even deserve entry into Harmony?"

He should be kicked hard in the butt and thrown out!

"Boss, I feel… Xingqiri this kid is a bit off," Shan Damo rubbed his rough‑stubbled chin, a vague foreboding stirring inside him.

Although Xingqiri appeared calm on the surface, his heart was likely already roiling. Moreover, this surge hadn't formed in just a day or two; during his tenure presiding over confessions, people like the Pipixi magnate had become commonplace, sowing deep doubt in him.