Under One Person: The End of Technique, Company Building

The motion-sensor lights in the corridor buzzed twice more.

Zhang Chulan stood in the corridor outside the door, his back against the wall, his hands in his hoodie pockets, watching Zhuge Qi walk towards him from the direction of the ward.

He actually wanted to leave, but he felt it wouldn't be appropriate to just leave like that.

Zhuge Qi walked up to him, stopped in front of him, and asked, "Want to go downstairs for a walk?"

Zhang Chulan hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

There is a small garden downstairs in the inpatient building, where several ginkgo trees stand in a crooked row, most of their leaves have turned yellow, and a thin layer has fallen to the ground.

The afternoon sun pierced through the tree canopy, casting dappled shadows on the paving stones.

The two walked along the cobblestone path for a while. Zhuge Qi walked at a moderate pace, his leather shoes making a soft rustling sound as they stepped on the stones.

Zhang Chulan followed beside him, half a step behind, like a subordinate being led on a walk by his boss.

After walking for a while, Zhuge Qi spoke first, without any pleasantries or preamble, getting straight to the point: "Have you accepted the invitation to the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony?"

Zhang Chulan hummed in agreement, took out the folded name card from his pocket, waved it, and then put it back in his pocket.

What do you think of him as a person?

Zhang Chulan was taken aback by the question. He thought for a moment and said, "Junior Uncle, quite... upright."

Zhuge Qi chuckled, a short laugh that sounded like a hum from his nose, carrying little hint of sarcasm.

What do you want right now?

The question came suddenly, and Zhang Chulan paused for a moment. The cobblestone pavement hurt his feet a little. He didn't answer immediately, but took a few steps with his head down before speaking: "I want to... be an ordinary person."

"Ordinary people?" Zhuge Qi repeated the word, his tone flat. "What qualifies as ordinary?"

"No one bothers me in the middle of the night, no one watches my every move, I don't have to live in constant fear, I can go to school when I want to go to school, sleep when I want to sleep, and I don't have to check if anyone is watching me before I can eat a hot meal." Zhang Chulan said this long string in one breath, and even he found it a little funny after he finished.

When did he become such a complainer?

He used to keep everything to himself, even his breathing was done in secret.

Zhuge Qi didn't laugh at him, but listened to his words very carefully, nodded and said, "This wish isn't big, but have you considered that in your current situation, simply 'wanting' it isn't enough?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your current situation is very delicate," Zhuge Qi said gently, brushing aside a drooping ginkgo branch. "You say you want peace and stability, but what you carry on your shoulders makes it impossible for anyone to feel at peace."

"Rates are good at hiding, but how long do you think they can hide by just hiding, by playing the fool?"

Zhang Chulan didn't answer, because the answer was obvious. He knew in his heart that the "playing the fool" life he had lived for the past few years had not really protected him, but only postponed the storm. What was bound to come would eventually come; it was just a matter of time.

"The grand ceremony at Longhu Mountain is much more elaborate than you think. What is his purpose in holding this event? On the surface, it is to select the next Celestial Master, but in reality, it is to pave the way for the person he has chosen."

"The chosen one?" Zhang Chulan frowned. "Wasn't it said that the position of Celestial Master basically belonged to True Person Lingyu?"

Zhuge Qi laughed, a laugh that seemed to say, "You really are still a child," but without any sarcasm, only a hint of helplessness from someone who had been through it all: "Master Lingyu? That's just what everyone thinks."

The person the Celestial Master truly wants to promote is you. The Celestial Master is holding this grand Taoist ritual so that you can rightfully take that position.

Zhang Chulan's heart skipped a beat.

He could sense that this grand Taoist ritual was closely related to him, and that the old Celestial Master might be able to help him get out of trouble. He just didn't expect that it was actually organized to make him a Celestial Master.

"You are now faced with two choices: choose Longhu Mountain, live a peaceful and uneventful life as an ordinary person, and once you reach that position, all the troubles in the world will be irrelevant to you."

"The second option is to choose to trust the company. You will be directly drawn into the vortex, but this is also the only way for you to personally address and resolve the root cause of everything."

"The choice of which path to take is up to you, and the company will unconditionally support your decision."

Zhang Chulan stopped and stood under a ginkgo tree. His shoes crunched softly on a half-yellow leaf. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling his face like scattered gold.

Something was slowly taking shape in his mind. His previously vague idea gradually became clearer after Zhuge Qi's words.

He seemed to have a vague idea of ​​what Zhuge Qi wanted to say.

"You mean, no matter which path I want to take, I have to break the deadlock first?"

"I don't like to hide things. Since you asked, I'll tell you the truth. I have no personal feelings of kindness or malice towards you. You are a variable to me, a variable that will affect the whole situation."

Zhuge Qi spoke slowly and deliberately, his face still bearing that calm smile, "I'm helping you because you're in the right position, doing the right thing, which is beneficial to my plans. If one day you stand on the opposite side, I will not hesitate to suppress you."

These words were so frank they were almost cold, but Zhang Chulan felt relieved after hearing them.

He was terrified of those who smiled and said, "I'm doing this for your own good," because while they claimed to be thinking of you, they could be tearing you apart and making soup out of you behind your back.

Zhuge Qi's open and frank approach at least gave him some peace of mind.

"I understand," Zhang Chulan said.

Zhuge Qi patted his shoulder lightly but meaningfully, "Before the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, stay in North China and prepare whatever you need to prepare. Xu San and Xu Si will arrange it for you. Once you arrive at Longhu Mountain, you will naturally know what to do next."

As they talked, the two began to walk back.

Zhang Chulan suddenly asked the other person a question, "Section Chief Zhuge, if you were me, what would you choose?"

Zhuge Qi chuckled lightly, but did not answer the question directly. Instead, he brought up another matter, "Did you know that people in this world can actually be divided into four categories?"

The first category is the general public, mediocre and unproductive; the second category consists of people who are skilled but lack moral principles, stand out from the crowd, yet are perplexed by ordinary life.

The third type is those who possess great power but do not know where to go, and the fourth type is those who have both skill and principle, and are willing to sacrifice themselves for what they should do.

The first category is the most numerous, followed by the second, then the third, while the fourth category is extremely rare.

"You are now at the third hurdle. If you take the wrong step, it may be difficult to turn back. However, you are not a bad person, and there are people who will support you. You can actually be bolder and don't have so many worries."

Zhang Chulan seemed to understand, but not quite, yet he grasped the other person's meaning and nodded. "So, what kind of person is Section Chief Zhuge?"

"Me?" Zhuge Qi adjusted his glasses, straightened his chest, and said frankly, "Right now, I guess I'm a half-finished product."