Chapter 431

Xiao Changsheng rubbed his eyes dazedly and woke up; opening his eyes, he looked at me pitifully and said, "Uncle, I'm hungry."

His sleepy, dazed cute look melted my heart, and I unconsciously skipped the topic of sending him home, hurriedly taking out the few pastries and bottled water from my pack and stuffing them all into his hands.

Xiao Changsheng was also starving; he picked up a pastry and eagerly tore open the paper wrapping. But this time Xiao Changsheng had learned his lesson, remembered my words, took a sip of water first, then ate the bread.

Watching his chubby, sturdy figure happily munching on the pastry, a strange feeling welled up in my heart; I believe not only I, but many people would feel this: when looking at a child, stroking its head, your heart drifts with a warm, comforting sensation. It has nothing to do with blood relation; it's an indescribable feeling that naturally draws people closer.

Sigh, this child must have been frightened out of his wits. First he got lost with his parents, then he was chased for a long time by the Mountain Goblin Spirit's hand; he must be utterly exhausted.

After a quiet sigh in my heart, I took out a bottle of water, twisted off the cap, and gulped a large mouthful.

"Uncle, is your back okay? That scar is long and scary!" Xiao Changsheng, his mouth full of pastry crumbs, pointed at my back and asked about my injury.

I smiled and said to him, "Uncle's fine; I just got scratched by a monster yesterday by accident, and it's already healed."

Xiao Changsheng hummed, set down the pastry in his hand, then propped his chin and thought for a long time before asking me, "Uncle, did we know each other before?"

Though I found it strange, I honestly shook my head and replied, "We didn't know each other before."

"Then why did you save me?! Aren't you afraid you'll die saving me? Do you get money for saving me?" Xiao Changsheng stared at me, asking seriously.

I was instantly choked by his question—a tiny kid actually asking me such a philosophical and realistic question.

But why would I go save him? Although the question is a bit nonsensical, once Xiao Changsheng asked it, I couldn't help but want to find an answer.

Perhaps it's just the hot blood in my heart, or perhaps because this child gave me a moment that made me think of starting a family and establishing a career. Or maybe... because I'm a good person.

But am I a good person? I can't figure that out either; I've agonized over it before. All I can say is that I'm not a great villain, just an ordinary person among the masses.

After thinking for a long time, I couldn't come up with an answer, and I felt rather ridiculous for agonizing over this with a tiny kid; I really am becoming more childish as I live.

Finally, I smiled, rubbed Xiao Changsheng's head, and said something.

"Don't think too much about it; perhaps this is just fate."

This answer, I think, is the standard reply I can give as a Daoist.

Xiao Changsheng nodded as if half-understanding, then after a moment asked me bewilderedly, "Uncle, what is fate?"

This time, I didn't speak carelessly; instead I tried to answer him in the simplest, most understandable way: "Fate—no one knows what it is; you can't see it or touch it, yet it often makes you marvel at the wonder of worldly affairs."

Seeing Xiao Changsheng still looking puzzled, I shrugged and said, "Just like me and you—meeting here in this desolate mountain ruined temple is fate. I don't know why I would throw myself into danger to save you; that instant feeling gave me the impulse to reach out and grab that monster's claw for you. Afterwards I don't regret it, but if you ask me why I saved you, I clearly have a thousand answers in my heart, yet when they reach my lips I can't utter a single word; after thinking it over, I can only come up with 'I don't know.'"

I drew circles on the ground and said, "This world is like a circle; we live inside it. Sometimes we inexplicably meet a person; sometimes, after we've become good friends, we occasionally burst out laughing. Damn, how did I become good buddies with this oaf! What the heck is my connection with him? At times like this you rack your brain, but no matter how you think, you just can't remember."

"Everything seems to have no clue at first, but afterward it all falls into place; the trajectory within is unfathomable to anyone—perhaps that's destiny, perhaps that's fate." I shrank my shoulders and sighed.

In fact, the question of fate and destiny has lingered in my mind for a long time; I've asked myself more than once what fate is, what destiny is, and whether people really ought to follow their destiny.

Those of us in this line of work know destiny best, yet we're also the most repressed. Every time we hope to break free from the predicted trajectory, we hope for a different outcome, but in the end we discover that, even if we don't want to admit it, we still intentionally or unintentionally walk along that path. Destiny is like a rapist, and we who study the Yi are like prostitutes—we can only lie down and be ruthlessly taken by destiny.

But if one says destiny's trajectory is unchangeable, it can still change. I have personally witnessed a person's fate shift, and I have also seen someone turn disaster into blessing through their own efforts, creating a future that shouldn't have existed.

Thus, after several rounds of entanglement, I realized that the more I tried to clarify that trajectory, the deeper I sank, the more prone I became to going berserk. Nearly falling into depression, I finally gave up, lying down honestly to enjoy destiny's ravage. Since I can't beat you, Grandpa will just lie back and enjoy it properly—will you bite me? I won't provoke you; will your blowing make me swell?

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but emulate Ah Q's spirit, loudly laughing as if I had "defeated" destiny.

"Uncle, you're a good person!" Xiao Changsheng, his face covered in pastry crumbs, suddenly blurted out, making my laughter cut off abruptly.

"Cough cough..." I blushed a little, but still shamelessly covered up, saying, "This is something anyone can see; you'd better not say it, lest others call you stupid for not even noticing such a simple problem." Without a doubt, I've already grasped a bit of the thick-skinned technique of Pangzi and Fan Wuchang.

Time drifted by in our idle chat; Xiao Changsheng took much longer to eat the pastry this time than before. Perhaps because he'd been frightened, even though he was hungry, his eating speed remained slow.

So I said to him, "Xiao Changsheng, Uncle will take you down the mountain to find your mother! We'll walk and eat."

Xiao Changsheng gave an "oh," stood up, and honestly stood behind me.

After packing everything into the travel bag, I slung it over my shoulder, preparing to first take Xiao Changsheng down the mountain before saying anything else.

Who would have thought, Xiao Changsheng tugged at my pant leg and said in a childish voice, "Uncle, actually there's more than one monster on the mountain; when I got lost last night I also saw another one."

"Oh, you say there's another monster on the mountain—what does it look like?" I put down the travel bag, squatted down, and looked at him doubtfully.

Could it be that the Mountain Goblin Spirit left behind another severed hand? I wondered like that, but regardless, if there's a monster on the mountain we should promptly perform a rites to lay it to rest, lest it linger and harm people again.

Of course, my primary purpose this time is just to seek medicine. Not to mention that I've lost my spiritual power; even if I had it, I couldn't spare the time, since Chen Zheng and Dong Yumin are still waiting for me to rescue them. So even if there are monsters, I can only wait until everything is settled before going up the mountain with Pangzi.

While I was pondering, Xiao Changsheng scratched his head, recalling, "That monster looked like the ginger my mom uses for stir-frying—very fragrant, very fragrant. When I saw him last night, he seemed afraid of me and immediately burrowed into the ground."

"Haha... Xiao Changsheng, you're not bragging, are you? First you encountered the Mountain Goblin, and now you've also met a monster... like the ginger used for stir-frying..."

I opened my mouth and burst out laughing, but the next moment I seemed to sense something was off.

"Holy crap... doesn't Solomon's seal look just like ginger?"

I smacked my rusty head hard and suddenly came to my senses.