Durin's Diary

Chapter 973 Unspeakable

Old Pang's dinner was quite impressive. Du Lin hadn't had such hearty local dishes in a long time, especially the Dongpo pork. Old Pang learned it from Director Sun, and then personally cooked it today. The pork melted in his mouth, which moved Du Lin deeply.

After all, the last time I had such authentic and delicious meat was back when I was still in the tower. Since leaving the tower, I haven't had such melt-in-your-mouth stewed meat.

As expected of one of the most prestigious families in the capital, Old Pang's extraordinary status seems to have guaranteed the family's prosperity to some extent. He doesn't care about anything else, he just leads his children and grandchildren to serve in the Three Passes and Four Seas. The fact that the Chang Tang Dynasty has changed three royal families and none of them are willing to turn against him is clear evidence of this.

Other families may rise and fall, but the fact that the name of Grand Tutor Pang has been passed down for a thousand years is irrefutable proof.

As for Mr. Yan, Du Lin finally understood—this old man was a freeloader, because he came from a concubine's branch of the Yan family. Although he was a talented person, he was not the head of the Yan family.

The reason is simple: his generation produced a total of nine Zhulongs. His eldest brother, third brother, fifth brother, sixth brother, and he, the ninth brother, all survived the battlefield. It was really not his turn to be in charge of the Yan family.

Although he, the ninth son, ended up being the strongest fighter, none of his children survived the war, so after his wife died, he rarely returned home.

Dulin understood that going back would only bring more sorrow, and it was indeed better not to return at all.

As for the old man, he was much better off. His three sons and two daughters had all returned from the battlefield and had many children. One of his great-granddaughters even married into the Luo family, thus establishing the lineage of Prime Minister Luo.

As for the Pang family, their descendants heard that their grandfather's health had greatly improved after eating the fruit given by Du Lin. During the banquet, they took turns toasting Du Lin, saying things like "You can drink as you like, I'll finish mine." Hundreds of young people got Du Lin so drunk that he almost slipped under the table.

Fortunately, Old Pang came to Du Lin's rescue, saying, "You kids, don't get my esteemed guest drunk," which saved Du Lin from his predicament.

After eating and drinking their fill, the old man and Mr. Yan took their leave one after the other, while Du Lin decided to return to the Candle Dragon Pavilion to rest.

Old Pang personally escorted him to the gate.

Looking at the wrinkles on the old man's forehead, Du Lin first opened the door and told the girls to go back. After thinking for a long time, he finally spoke up: "Why didn't you call me when she came?"

Old Pang paused for a moment, then shook his head with a bitter smile: "I knew when she came that this was the last test my mother gave me. I came to the ecosystem and fought for this land for a thousand years, but I have never been to the places she ravaged. I feel ashamed to face her, after all, I have failed her love."

“You still love her.” Dulin put his hands in his pockets—even though the old man said that, he still understood him, because on that night he finally faced a girl who was willing to spend the rest of his life with him, but in the end he chose to be loyal to those who had died.

Everyone has their own aspirations. Whether one focuses on their conscience rather than their actions, or on their actions rather than their conscience, these are merely expressions of helplessness and struggle when faced with choices.

Right or wrong?

That's just history's judgment on you and me.

“No, I just felt guilty. I thought that if I had asked her if she was willing to come with me, she might have come with me instead of following Chief Shalis. But I was prejudiced against her… Later I realized that I was the one who wronged her first.” Old Pang looked at Dulin: “But I couldn’t wrong all living beings in this world, so when she came, I knew that I could never escape her in this life. So I killed her and gave her head to my mother…” At this point, Old Pang took out his cigarette case. He looked at the street in the distance, the dim lights of thousands of homes seemed irrelevant to him at this moment: “Was I too heartless, child?”

“I once killed a girl who swore to spend the rest of her life with me, just because…” Dulin told the story hidden in his heart.

There was no sighing, nor any regret.

“Even today, I still believe I only did what I was supposed to do.” Dulin accompanied the old man: “I once naively thought that I would grow old with her and have a lot of children with her, until that night, for the tower, for the friends and warriors who fell along the way, I chose to kill her… I lived in regret and loneliness in my past life. I know I deserved it, I know I deserved to die, but I really cannot let down those who put justice above life.”

At this point, Dulin opened the portal again, looked at Old Pang and said with a smile, "I'm actually very happy to be able to live again, because I've met so many girls who are willing to stay with me. Although they all have their own purposes, what in this world is selfless? Even the purest love has the principle of wanting to be loved, doesn't it?"

In Dulin's view, love that doesn't require reciprocation is no different from stalking.

Visorship is no different from perversion.

Therefore, as a healthy person, one has the right to desire to be loved.

The old Candle Dragon nodded: "Yes, I came here to save all living beings on this land. My offspring have sacrificed too many lives. Their youth lived in the blood of themselves and their friends, in the trenches and in flesh and blood. And isn't this the day I've been asking for? The right way is for all things in the world to be begged and answered."

"That's why I thought, if sacrificing my own future and their happiness can save this world and so many worlds after it, then my sacrifice, their sacrifice, and my children's sacrifice will be rewarded... If every request is answered, then that's good." After Dulin finished speaking, he reached out his hand to the old man: "I'm leaving now. Please live a few more days and see this land no longer suffer the pain of the Three Passes and Four Seas."

“I promise you… Thank you, Dulin.”

"No need to thank me, thank yourselves. It is you stubborn old men, those young people lying in the mountains, and all living beings on this land that made me understand the meaning of my coming to this land." After saying this, Dulin walked towards the teleportation portal.

"But on behalf of my descendants, I still want to say thank you. Without you, their descendants would still face endless sacrifice and suffering."

“That’s impossible. Even without me, someone else will step forward and become a new nameless one… I believe our people will definitely make the decision that is most beneficial to civilization.” Dulin turned around and retreated towards the portal while saying to Old Pang, “At the same time, I also hope that our people, when faced with an existence that threatens civilization, will show the determination to fight against heaven and earth, to give destruction back to destruction, to give death back to death, and to give the end… back to the end.”

As Dulin walked into the portal, the old man muttered to himself.

"Only with lofty aspirations can we dare to change the world." After saying this, he looked up at the brightest star next to the moon in the night sky.

This was what his mother told him; it was a proverb spoken by a great man.

No one dares to forget, because forgetting means betrayal.

(End of this chapter)