Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

Changzhou, Datong Academy.

Decades have passed in the blink of an eye, but everything in Datong Academy remains exactly the same as before.

After Zhuang Sheng's death, Wan Shu, who inherited the academy, put a lot of effort into preserving the house she and Zhuang Sheng once lived in intact.

To this day, everything inside the house remains exactly as it was.

Unlike Zhuangzi, Wanshu had no intention of governing the country or bringing peace to the world from the very beginning.

It wasn't there when I was a child, and it's still not there now that I'm an adult.

Even though she inherited the cause of Datongdao, she still couldn't feel much love for the world, nor did she have the heart to change the world like Zhuangzi.

Just like Zhuangzi's tragic fate, Wan Shu, as Zhuangzi's disciple who was raised from childhood, also had a tragic fate.

Orphaned at a young age, she went from being the daughter of a high-ranking official to a beggar on the street, living by begging alongside other beggars.

Wan Shu has witnessed the purest malice in the world, and also the most despicable aspects of human nature.

Her parents, her relatives, and the beggar children who begged with her all perished in this malice.

The extreme disparity brings with it a hatred that can never be erased.

Even though everything was in the past, and even though Zhuang Sheng treated her very well afterward, making her feel incredibly warm, Wan Shu still couldn't let go of her childhood experiences.

Her parents and relatives died due to being framed by the imperial court, and the beggar children who begged with her died on cold nights.

Such a childhood experience prevented Wan Shu from feeling compassion for others.

……

People like Zhuangzi, who grew up in the rain but were still willing to hold an umbrella for others, are ultimately too few and far between.

Even if Wan Shu inherited Zhuang Sheng's will, she was not Zhuang Sheng, and could never become a person like him.

She will feel sad, upset, tired, hungry, and have all sorts of bad thoughts.

Like millions of ordinary people, she sometimes has thoughts of giving up when faced with difficulties and feels lost about the future.

Wan Shu has always stubbornly believed that all her efforts were to repay Zhuang Sheng's kindness, rather than out of her own goodwill.

When she was young, Zhuang Sheng saved her life, raised her, and taught her many things. She had long ago made a vow to dedicate her whole life to Zhuang Sheng.

Unfortunately, Zhuangzi only cared about the common people and had no interest in personal relationships.

In order not to affect Zhuang Sheng, Wan Shu deliberately buried all the emotions that arose in her heart during this process.

The final question Zhuang Sheng asked before deciding to die had exhausted all of Wan Shu's strength.

Without Zhuang Sheng, Datongdao would be nothing more than a heavy responsibility in Wan Shu's eyes.

This responsibility weighed on her shoulders and accompanied her throughout her life.

……

In the first decade, Wan Shu was passionate. She devoted herself wholeheartedly to the development of Datongdao, and her complex feelings for Zhuang Sheng fueled her great motivation.

In the second decade, Wan Shu continued to work diligently, doing her best to make Da Tong Dao grow stronger and establish itself in the world.

But as time went by, in the third and fourth decades, Wanshu gradually discovered...

She is tired.

It's really, really hard to stick to doing something you don't like.

……

In the nameless pavilion under the ginkgo tree, Wan Shu lay on her back, gazing at the lush greenery above.

The ginkgo tree in the courtyard was planted by Wanshu and Zhuang Sheng together eighty years ago. From the small tree at the beginning to the lush green tree it is today, it has changed so much.

Wanshu could preserve all the furnishings in the courtyard exactly as they were, but she couldn't restore the grown ginkgo tree to its original state.

Su Xiaoyu, now a married woman, sat in the middle of the pavilion, flipping through letters sent from the Datong Palace.

Wan Shu knew that her student was there to speak on behalf of her brother, but she didn't really want to respond.

Wan Shu is very tired now and doesn't want to care about Datongdao anymore, and she also knows this in her heart.

In today's world, it's simply impossible for these students to succeed at what they want to do.

Faced with overwhelming momentum, their fervent patriotism was ultimately futile, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Long, long ago, Wan Shu, who traveled the world with Zhuangzi, had already understood the truth of the world.

The world's course is never determined by mortals. In the Nine Realms, if you want to do anything earth-shattering, you must get the approval of the immortals and gods who stand at the pinnacle of heaven and earth.

Only with the support of immortals and gods is it possible to realize one's grand ambitions.

This was true in the past, it is true now, and it will be true in the future...

It just depends on at what age you realize these things.

The idea that humans can conquer nature is because nature doesn't concern itself with human actions and allows the world to develop freely.

Heaven may not care about human affairs, but the gods do.

These beings, referred to as gods or immortals, have their own thoughts and their own will.

They treat the entire world as a giant chessboard, letting the game unfold in the direction they desire.

In their eyes, ordinary people are no different from ants on the ground, and a dog they keep may be more important than hundreds of millions of ordinary people.

In the last years of his life, Zhuangzi would make plans and compromises time and time again because he had realized the truth of the universe.

Ultimately, the future of the world is determined by those gods and immortals.

Wan Shu, who was by Zhuang Sheng's side, understood all of this.

Unfortunately, Su Xiaoyu's elder brother, Su Xiang, did not understand, nor did the students of Datongdao.

Or perhaps, even if they understand, they are unwilling to believe it and continue to cling to their own ideas.

No matter what, it's far too late to start thinking about reforms now.

……

"Master Wan, my elder brother sent a letter from Qi'an City. According to the letter, the current emperor is wise and willing to make good use of the students of the academy."

My elder brother, along with his comrades, was selected for the cabinet, intending to carry out an unprecedented reform, following the plan that Master Zhuang had devised in Qi'an City…”

Upon hearing the word "reform," Wan Shu, who was lying on the bench, narrowed her eyes, covered her eyes with her hand, and sounded somewhat displeased.

"You've already started your own business, so why are you still asking me?"

Seeing that Wan Shu's tone was rather unfriendly, Su Xiaoyu felt somewhat helpless. If it weren't for her brother's plea, she would never have acted as the middleman.

only……

After hesitating for a while, Su Xiaoyu sat down next to Wanshu and relayed the contents of the letter in the most tactful way possible.

"Master Wan, you are the one who understands Master Zhuang the most and are most familiar with the reforms of that year. Now that reforms are being implemented again, your opinion is naturally of paramount importance."

Although my brothers have established their own schools, they are still your students and members of the Great Harmony Path.

What my brothers are doing is also to fulfill Master Zhuangzi's wish from back then, so why are you so bothered by it...?

Wan Shu, who was lying down, sat up abruptly, startling Su Xiaoyu.

Ignoring Su Xiaoyu's startled reaction, Wanshu directly reached out and took the letter from her hand.

After looking at it for a while, Wan Shu, expressionless, threw the letter on the stone table and lay down again, her loose hair covering her face.

"It won't work... It was true then, and it's even more true now... Reform is a dead end."

"Master..."

"No need to say more. Now that we've separated, what they want to do is none of my business."

Looking at Wan Shu like this, Su Xiaoyu didn't know what else to say.

Quite inexplicably, she thought of Qin Xiucai back then. When they were in "Sin Village," Qin Xiucai was just as dejected.