Chapter 65: The Little One

The sky was just beginning to brighten, with mist swirling and rising.

On the dilapidated mountain road, a mule cart struggled forward, and a heavy tolling of a bell rang out, shattering the morning fog.

A procession, like a long dragon, walked slowly along the road, leaning toward the direction of Chiyang County.

The group was not long, numbering about a hundred people.

These were the villagers of Shihe Village, who, under the protection of the Demon Slaying Division, were rushing toward Chiyang County.

"Senior Brother."

"Why do the adults always fight with each other?"

"They fight among themselves, and sometimes they fight with wild beasts."

"Life is so fragile, yet so precious."

The little one looked at the bag in his hand, feeling somewhat unhappy.

Inside, Xiao Yanzi lay dying, looking extremely weak.

"Why can't they just sit down and have a good talk?"

On the mountain road, Zhao Zheng followed behind Li Xiang, asking with some confusion.

At this moment, half an hour had passed since they left Shihe Village.

Along the way, wild beasts would occasionally charge out from the mountain road, crashing toward the crowd.

The Demon Slaying Division guarded both sides of the crowd, slaughtering many demon beasts, a stench of blood clinging to them.

Because there were not many of them, some were already injured.

Today, the little one had seen many new things.

He had seen the deaths of many living beings.

This was his first time facing death, and he felt a bit lost and uncomfortable.

He did not understand why this world was always full of strife.

Listening to the little one's childish question, Li Xiang smiled.

He was still just a child, after all.

His understanding of this world was still quite limited.

He lacked the majesty of the First Emperor, who could suppress everything.

*Ahem. *

Li Xiang cleared his throat, holding the little one's hand as they walked slowly.

He turned his hand behind his back, and a white mountain fruit appeared in his palm.

He placed the fruit in front of the little one and spoke slowly:

"Do you want to eat it?"

"Yes!"

"But Senior Brother wants to eat it too, so what should we do?"

"Then, Xiao Zhenger won't eat it; I'll let Senior Brother have it!"

"But if you don't eat, you'll starve to death, so what then?"

"Resources are always limited. If you want to survive, you have to fight Senior Brother for this fruit, and if Senior Brother wants to survive, he has to fight you for it."

"Everyone wants to live, and everyone wants to obtain more resources."

"That is why there must be fighting, and where there is fighting, there is slaughter. The world is like this; it cannot be avoided."

Li Xiang spoke slowly, wanting to explain the essence of this world to the little one.

However, he suddenly felt his hem being tugged and stopped mid-sentence.

A crisp, clear voice reached his ears:

"Mm~ Then, then Zhenger will plant many, many fruits so that Senior Brother and Zhenger can both be full."

"We need many, many fruits—so Senior Brother can be full, Master and Uncle can be full, the people in the village can be full, and Xiao Yanzi too. In short, we must make sure everyone is full."

Zhao Zheng opened his large eyes, looking at Li Xiang, his eyes full of light.

*Emmmm... *

The way you put it, it seems... it seems there's nothing wrong with that?

Li Xiang was momentarily speechless; the little one's logic seemed very clear, and he hadn't been educated (or bamboozled) by him at all.

He thought for a moment, then spoke again:

"But land is also a resource, and the fruits you can plant are limited."

"You can only feed a portion of living beings. Once they are full, they will multiply, and after they multiply, the demand for resources will be even greater. With more demand, they will go hungry again."

"If they are hungry, they must continue to fight for resources, and if they continue to fight, other living beings will also go hungry."

"Therefore, in the end, they will still have to fight."

"Once they fight, there will be slaughter, and lives will be lost."

"So, we must become strong to compete for living space, compete for resources, and be able to eat our fill."

"Xiao Zhenger, do you understand now?"

Li Xiang nodded, feeling that he had finally explained the essence of this world.

But on second thought, he felt that what he had said might have been a bit too profound.

The little one was only a few years old; he probably still didn't understand.

Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly saw Zhao Zheng holding the bag with Xiao Yanzi, asking with some confusion:

"Senior Brother, you know so much. It feels just like Master and Uncle—you're all so amazing!"

"But Zhenger still doesn't quite understand."

"If resources are limited, why can't we just distribute them from the beginning, so that every kind of living being has its own resources?"

"We have our own territory, and Xiao Yanzi has its own home. Let those that belong to nature rest in nature, and let those that live in cities continue to live in cities."

"Everyone lives their own lives without disturbing each other—wouldn't everyone be able to eat then?"

The little one expressed his views with confusion.

He felt that if the living beings between heaven and earth all had order, wouldn't everyone be able to live in harmony?

Li Xiang frowned.

He wanted to refute the little one, but for a moment, he didn't know where to begin.

After pondering for a long time, he finally let out a sentence:

"Order."

"Desire."

"So, Xiao Zhenger, if everything requires order and all life is constrained by rules, then peace can indeed be achieved. But then, who should set the rules?"

"Will the rules satisfy all life?"

"Living beings have desires. You set the rules, but do those rules really satisfy their desires?"

"You must know that the desires of living beings are infinite."

"After Senior Brother is full, he wants beautiful clothes, and after having beautiful clothes, he wants a big house. These are all resources."

"Moreover, little one, you must know that even within humanity, resources are distributed very unevenly. Some live in deep palaces with pools of wine and forests of meat, while others in the borderlands cannot even get a meal."

"The rules within each race are imperfect, so how can we set the distribution of resources for all life?"

Li Xiang spoke slowly, wanting the little one to realize that this was a world of the jungle, where one must learn to strive to become strong and learn to strive to compete for resources in order to live well.

The little one seemed to have taken it in.

He followed behind him, not saying a word.

It wasn't until half an hour later that the little one suddenly tugged on Li Xiang's hem and asked.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother, is the Heaven that Master always talks about qualified to set rules for all life?"

"Heaven?"

"Yes, the Heaven that Master mumbles about every day!"

"He says that destiny is ordained, that everything is already determined, and that if you want to defy Heaven, you must pay a terrible price. Does that mean Heaven has already arranged all the rules for everyone?"

Li Xiang smiled.

"Destiny."

He hadn't expected the little one to even know this term.

"Little one, do you think destiny is fair?"

Once these words were spoken, the little one didn't know how to answer.

"Senior Brother, you know so, so much!"

"It feels like you know even more than Master!"

"Don't talk nonsense! Senior Brother is just rambling."

"By the way, have you thought of the answer?"

Zhao Zheng shook his head.

"Heaven doesn't seem fair either."

"Smart, Xiao Zhenger. Do you understand now?"

Li Xiang looked at the little one happily.

Being able to make the little one understand the principle of the jungle early on would be more beneficial for his character development later.

This was a man-eat-man world; only the strong could live with dignity.

If you don't want to be stepped on, you must strive to climb up, to fight, to kill, and to seize those resources.

That is the majestic, domineering, and intelligent First Emperor of our family.

The little one nodded thoughtfully.

"Senior Brother, I understand now."

"Oh? What do you understand?"

The little one suddenly straightened his back, carefully tucked away Xiao Yanzi's bag, and looked up at Li Xiang.

"Heaven is unfair, and the rules it sets are wrong."

"Therefore!"

Before he could finish.

A bolt of thunder streaked across the sky on the flat ground.

"Zhenger will be the one to set the rules in the future!"

Li Xiang: "???"

(End of chapter)