Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 333 Deep Sea
Neither Li Yin nor Zheng Jingxi were people Li Wuxiang liked; one was foolish and cowardly, the other utterly lacking in integrity. But since they were both sect leaders, they weren't entirely without merit. For instance, out of concern for their own situation, they were quite attentive to some seemingly trivial matters. Among these were things concerning Tong Xu—things that would be considered gossip in their local context.

Li Wuxiang easily figured out why Tong Xu was so hostile towards the Taiyi Sect and him—her son was Mu Tieshan, and her husband was Mu Jinchuan.

After learning about this, Li Wuxiang almost felt guilty. You practically killed someone's entire family, and then came to bully an orphan and a widow... wait, there's no orphan left, only a widow.

He immediately dismissed the idea of ​​appealing to emotions. Often, even family members can't let go of their hatred when their own family members commit unforgivable crimes, let alone Mu Tieshan and Mu Jinchuan.

Their deaths were different from those of the Heavenly Craftsmen. The Heavenly Craftsmen were truly anti-human; even the Six Departments of the Mysterious Sect might temporarily align with the Taiyi Sect in the face of the world-ending calamity they were about to unleash.

The cause of death for these two men was entirely for the benefit of the Juque Sect. While the swordsmen were known for their good reputation and righteous actions, ultimately they were all acting in the interest of the Taiyi Sect; they were essentially no different. Morally speaking, at least within the Juque Sect and Tong Xu's group, they wouldn't believe that Mu Tieshan and Mu Jinchuan had done anything wrong.

Then we can only reason with them. This reasoning isn't about logic, but about interests—enough to make Tong Xu let go of his hatred, interests that are significant enough to make him willing to sacrifice his pride.

"For example, the thirty-six sect leaders of the thirty-six sects are still too many people. It's impossible to gather all thirty-six people to discuss every single matter. It's not just troublesome, it's also exhausting. Everyone has different ideas, and to reach a consensus on a matter, you might have to persuade them one by one—these are, of course, problems for the future, but we need to think about them now."

"So you see, the Juque Sect, Qingxiao Sect, Qianji Sect, Tiangong Sect, and Suhua Sect were not self-proclaimed, nor were they deliberately arranged by anyone; they were simply the result of natural evolution. When there are enough people and sects, leaders will naturally emerge. If the Taiyi Sect wants to subdue the thirty-six sects, it will have to do the same."

“For example, the three families of Shangchi, Qingpu, and Shendao have spontaneously banded together, along with one or two other sects nearby, forming a small group. Such a small group always has a leader – let Tong Xu be the leader. Her power surpasses that of the Qingpu Sect's leader and is close to that of the former Juque Sect's leader. If the interests are large enough, they can become a principle.”

It was already dark when they said these words. Li Wuxiang and Xue Baoping sat side by side by the Heavenly Pool—on the same rock where Tong Xu had sat that day—watching the moon slowly rise from the edge of the mountains.

Before them sat a small charcoal stove, on which a cleaned fish, its bones removed and laid flat, was grilled, held between two iron meshes. The early autumn evening was already chilly, and Xue Baoping listened to Li Wuxiang speak while warming her hands above the stove.

"Would she agree?" she asked.

"Possibly. A person who can become a sect leader is not driven by pure hatred; they will definitely consider interests, either the interests of the sect or their own."

"What if you don't want to?"

"That means the reasoning isn't clear enough. We can try to find out what she wants."

"What if it's troublesome or difficult to find something she wants? Or what if she's just... what was it again, emotional? And just refuses?" Xue Baoping couldn't help but laugh as she said this. "Am I arguing with you?"

The two usually chatted and laughed, but this time Li Wuxiang didn't laugh; he only slightly curled the corners of his mouth. He paused for a moment, glanced at the firelight in front of him, and then turned to Xue Baoping: "Do you really want to know?"

This attitude surprised Xue Baoping: "Is it a secret? If it's a secret you're reluctant to share, then I—"

Li Wuxiang shook his head: "It's not a secret. It's just some methods and techniques, and I'm not sure if you want to hear them. Aquarius, are you still thinking about traveling around the world, seeing things you've never seen before?"

Xue Baoping's expression gradually turned serious, and she nodded: "Yes. Isn't this what we said to Senior Sister Mei when we went down the Great Calamity Mountain?"

Li Wuxiang sighed: "Actually, there are two ways to look at things. One is to take a cursory look—for example, you go to an unfamiliar city or town, and you spend several days walking around the streets, looking at the beautiful things and tasting the delicious food. Then you go to the next town and see it, one after another, and slowly you start to feel that these towns are all pretty much the same. The food is different, but not by much, since it's all food for people. The customs are different, but not by much either, since it's all the same way of life for people. Gradually, after seeing more and more, you might soon feel that the places you haven't seen yet should be similar to what you've seen before—and that's actually the case."

Xue Baoping frowned and thought for a moment: "So you mean... traveling around is actually quite boring? Ah, no, you mean there's another perspective."

Li Wuxiang nodded: "Yes. The perspective I mentioned earlier is like looking at the sea. You can only see the surface, the waves, and the white clouds. But if you dive into the sea, you will discover how deep it is, how many fish there are, and how beautiful the things at the bottom are. That's the second perspective—diving in."

“You’re not just watching, you’re participating. Living with people in a town, getting to know it better, you’ll discover so many interesting things—this is what they do here, that is what they do there, what happened, what history they have, and now you’re involved, you’ve become part of the interesting things too. Like me, I started cultivating, and I learned about the Taiyi Sect, the Six Departments of the Mysterious Sect, the Thirty-Six Sects, and the spirits and gods in Mount Ling. I know there are so many things, instead of just one impression that ordinary people have when they think of these things—immortals.”

Xue Baoping remained silent for a long while before speaking: "You mean, what we're doing now is just taking a walk and seeing the world. For example, coming to Dapan Mountain, we saw not only the houses and Tianchi Lake, but also the affairs of Xie Qi, Li Jianbai, Li Yin, and the Shangchi Sect..."

"Yes. It's more interesting than the house and Tianchi. I think it would be quite interesting to dive down and see it."

Li Wuxiang shook his head slightly: "When you dive down, you'll see not only many fish, but also danger. The seabed will be very dark and the pressure will be immense. When I asked you earlier if you really wanted to know, I meant that if you really want to use this perspective, then I'll have to slowly tell you some things that aren't so good. But these things can help you."

"Then tell me."

Li Wuxiang nodded: "Yes. If she's just very emotional and completely unacceptable of any benefits, then we'll use another method—"

He paused slightly: "Find something or someone she cares about, and use that as leverage, either to harm or benefit her, to force her to submit."

Xue Baoping was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "What if this doesn't work either?"

"Then get rid of her."

For a cultivator, these words might not seem like a big deal. Xue Baoping herself had killed quite a few people and knew that cultivation was often accompanied by killing and death. But she hadn't expected that while she felt one way when she did it, hearing the words from Li Wuxiang's mouth evoked a completely different feeling... something seemed a little off.

She asked again, "If... that person wasn't Tong Xu, but someone else... a good person like Zeng Jianqiu, and they acted like this for whatever reason, then..."

"It's nothing more than these methods." She realized something was wrong. She also understood what Li Wuxiang meant by the darkness in the deep sea. She could understand these things, but she never expected him to say them.

She fell silent for a moment.

Li Wuxiang remained silent with her for a while: "These are all the methods I use, but I may not necessarily use them. I'm just telling you what methods are available. There are some things you can do, but you can't be ignorant of them."

Xue Baoping turned to look at him: "Have you used it before?"

"I've never used it here."

The word "here" took Xue Baoping a moment to process. Then she opened her mouth, slowly widened her eyes, and realized that the "here" Li Wuxiang was referring to probably didn't mean Dapan Mountain, but rather...

When they were in Jinshui, before he went with Zeng Jianqiu to find Zhao Qi to invite the Kitchen God, she cried and said to him, "If you remember who you are or where you came from, you must come and tell me no matter where you are."

After they met again, she didn't ask him about such things, because back then she thought he might die, but now, just having each other's company was enough for her. But now, he said "here"—

"You...you remembered?"

Li Wuxiang tilted his head slightly back to look at the sky: "When I'm not here, I rarely do those things I mentioned. But I've seen others do them, and I've learned from them. That person could be considered my teacher; his name is Zhao Yanqing—"

He turned to look at Xue Baoping and smiled: "My name used to be Li Xiao, Xiao as in dawn."

Xue Baoping felt her heart pounding. But she simply nodded and repeated softly, "Li Xiao, the Xiao of dawn."

“I work for a company called ‘Good Days Labor Dispatch Company’—the company is like a sect. My position in that company is ‘Senior Project Manager’—not exactly a sect leader or an elder, but the highest position below both. It’s like an inner disciple, senior brother, and senior sister in a sect, but there are several senior brothers and sisters.”

"Hmm. So... is Zhao Yanqing your master?"

Li Wuxiang smiled and shook his head: "I guess so. Many of the methods I just mentioned were learned from him, so I guess you could say I picked them up from him. He's a very capable person, but not a good one. Now that I think about it, he's like a mentor to me. But actually, he's my enemy."

"...So, did you get your revenge?"

"Did not have time."

This statement seems quite ordinary, but upon closer examination, it's rather strange. Li Wuxiang has already reached the Nascent Soul stage; he didn't have time for revenge before, but now he certainly can. However, he has never mentioned revenge before, so…

"The place you used to live in wasn't in the central continent, was it?"

“No.” Li Wuxiang was silent for a while. “I’ve told Senior Sister Mei about these things, so I felt I should tell you too. We just happened to be talking about this today, so I’ll bring it up. Bao Ping, what I want to say is… sometimes people are not in control of their own lives, including a Yang Spirit like Senior Sister Mei, they are not in control of their own lives.”

Xue Baoping leaned on his shoulder and whispered, "I know what it means to be powerless. If you had been powerless before, no matter what you did, I would—"

Li Wuxiang shook his head: "I just told you that it would be very dark when you dive into the water. Now I also want to tell you that this darkness will slowly stain you black, especially when you were still a small fish. You have no idea what I did in the past."

"I...I've killed a lot of people."

"I've killed a lot of people too."

“It’s different. When you killed people, you were with Zeng Jianqiu. I can’t say whether those people deserved to die or not, but I know that when you did it, you must have felt that what you were doing was right. But I was different before. Many times, I knew that what I was doing was wrong.”

"Many people don't deserve to die, and some shouldn't even be alive. I wish I had been a good person, someone who could live with a clear conscience, and I'm sure you think so too. Unfortunately, I'm not... Some things I said and did, if they happened in this world, Zeng Jianqiu might have attacked me. I used to have my own set of rules for doing things, and I wanted to live with a clear conscience back then, but the sea was too dark, and I couldn't—"

Li Wuxiang lowered his head and stared at his fingers for a while: "No, it's not that I don't have a way. I can avoid that path and those things. If it were Zeng Jianqiu, he would have done it—doing it would have meant my own death, but Zeng Jianqiu wouldn't have hesitated on that choice; he would have sacrificed himself for righteousness. But I never did."

Xue Baoping slowly reached out and took his hand. After holding it for a while, she whispered, "Then, in the very beginning... in the very beginning where you came from, was that what you wanted?"

Li Wuxiang let out a soft sigh: "I... have no parents, and I was alone like you when I was very young. Then once I saved someone, just like you saved me. When you saved me, I was probably a good person. But when I saved that person, she probably wasn't a good person. She—"

He grasped Xue Baoping's hand tightly in return and asked, "But do you want to listen?"

"I want to hear what you want to say."

Li Wuxiang nodded, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "I was just fourteen years old when I met her. It was my tenth birthday."

(End of this chapter)