Chapter 1441: I Will Guide the Way for You

Tears spilled from Tao'er's eyes. She let Tong Zhihuan wipe them away, but they simply would not stop.

She covered her mouth, unable to hide her profound grief.

How could they not have anticipated this day? They had accepted this matter of life and death long ago.

There was no true immortality in this world. The longer one lived, the more attachments one formed to the mortal realm.

She had thought it through completely, but when the moment actually arrived, her heart still could not let go, and her tears broke like a shattered dam.

Suddenly, a flash of sword light arrived from the north.

Mister Qingshan landed within the temple. Seeing this scene, Chen Changsheng couldn't help but freeze.

Tao'er recovered her senses and said, "Dummy, Mister Chen is here. Mister Chen came back to see you."

Chen Changsheng hurried forward and looked at Tong Zhihuan in Tao'er's arms.

Tong Zhihuan raised his eyes to look at the Mister and called out, "Mister..."

Chen Changsheng said, "How did it... come to this..."

Tong Zhihuan smiled warmly, coughed, and said, "Mister, aren't birth, aging, sickness, and death something everyone must experience?"

Chen Changsheng asked, "You won't make it past today?"

Tong Zhihuan nodded. His time of death was already upon him.

Chen Changsheng took a deep breath and spoke a single word.

"Alright."

"I will guide the way for you."

He should have had many things he wanted to say.

But upon seeing this scene, and seeing the relief and acceptance in Tong Zhihuan's eyes, those words faded away.

Tong Zhihuan said softly, "Thank you, Mister."

That night, the Yellow Springs Gate opened.

The City God and the underworld deputies came personally to receive him.

Chen Changsheng stepped forward, leading Tong Zhihuan's soul into the Yellow Springs.

They saw the Sand Sea, and they saw the Underworld.

With a raise of his hand, Chen Changsheng opened a path.

Tao'er followed beside them all the way to the front of Mengpo Hall.

Meng Po seemed to have heard the news long ago. She walked out of the hall and looked at the approaching people.

Manyue's figure descended as well.

She raised an eyebrow slightly, not understanding the purpose of Chen Changsheng's actions.

Chen Changsheng stepped forward, bowed before the two of them, and said, "This is This Chen's disciple. I ask that you look after him."

Meng Po and Manyue exchanged a glance before resting their eyes on Tong Zhihuan.

Finally, they nodded in agreement.

Tao'er stood outside the hall, watching Tong Zhihuan.

She wept, watching from afar without saying a single word. Perhaps she covered her mouth just to keep herself from speaking.

Tong Zhihuan tipped his head back and drank the bowl of Meng Po Soup.

Guided by the Underworld's underworld deputies, he walked step by step onto the Bridge of Naihe.

Tao'er watched from a distance. In this moment, it was as if something in her heart had finally settled.

"...We will meet again in the next life."

She murmured, and the figure on the bridge drifted further away, eventually swallowed by the sea of departed souls.

Chen Changsheng watched, his heart heavy and stifled.

Even after Tao'er returned to the mortal realm, he remained in the Underworld, sometimes sitting in a daze within the Sand Sea, his thoughts constantly drifting far away.

Sometimes he thought about it—after death, a person would at least have a next life.

But remembering that all those memories would dissipate with the Meng Po Soup, he felt it was entirely meaningless.

He should have been able to let it go a bit, but only a bit.

Manyue sat down and handed Chen Changsheng some wine.

Chen Changsheng paused in surprise and asked, "There's wine in the Underworld?"

"There is."

Manyue said, "In my early years, I opened up a quiet place here and grew some flowers and fruits. I often brew a little."

The wine slid down his throat, and indeed, it carried a burst of fruity fragrance.

Chen Changsheng wiped his mouth and glanced at the wine pot, feeling that its sweet and mellow taste was wildly out of place for the occasion.

Manyue seemed to see through his thoughts and said, "There's no strong liquor. Don't be too picky."

Chen Changsheng returned to his senses and shook his head in denial.

"Just having some is good enough."

Manyue sat beside him and said, "The people around you are leaving, one by one..."

Chen Changsheng looked at her and asked, "What about you? Back in that spirit cage, you witnessed countless lives and deaths. How did you feel?"

"I have no emotions."

"Is that so."

Chen Changsheng merely gave a calm reply and said nothing more.

Manyue propped up her head and looked into the distance. She asked, "So, what does parting feel like?"

"It's hard to describe," he replied. "Painful, I suppose."

"I see..."

Manyue's thoughts drifted, as if she were particularly curious about this feeling of 'pain.'

She tried to understand it, but didn't feel much.

After a pot of wine, Chen Changsheng felt a slight tipsiness. The wine was gentle, but it could still intoxicate a person.

Being drunk always made him feel a bit better.

It was like suddenly letting out a long breath, finding a fleeting moment of peace.

Manyue asked, "If everyone leaves, what will you do?"

Chen Changsheng froze for a moment. After some thought, he simply answered that he didn't know.

Perhaps he would hide himself somewhere and fall into a long, deep dream.

Manyue didn't quite understand. She said, "Sometimes I feel that the biggest difference between you and me is that you have emotions. But other times, I feel like you're no different from me—that you are also a heartless person."

"Why do you say that?" Chen Changsheng asked.

"You have feelings for others, but you are ruthless toward yourself."

"..."

Chen Changsheng fell silent once more.

There were indeed some things he couldn't answer.

Manyue was right. He, Chen Changsheng, indeed cared for many people, but when it came to himself alone, he was a ruthless man.

He was not free-spirited, nor was he at ease, much less unfettered.

If he had to put it into words, his life up until now had been a failure.

Chen Changsheng watched these people leave one after another. Everyone he knew and was familiar with was vanishing before his eyes.

Suddenly, he no longer understood the meaning of continuing to live.

He was lost once again.

He had never tried to resolve this problem.

Perhaps it really was exactly as the Demon Sovereign had said: people like them could only keep living by relying on hatred, lest they turn into walking corpses and running meat.

Chen Changsheng couldn't help but feel some admiration for the Demon Sovereign.

Although this man made him feel some hatred, the fact that he could survive until now showed just how resolute his heart was.

As for Manyue beside him...

She had no such troubles. She wouldn't end up like Chen Changsheng because of emotions.

Sometimes, she felt that both Chen Changsheng and that demon were miserable existences in this world.

Changsheng, yet unable to be free of emotion.

This was no different from a heartbreaking torture.

It was far more devastating than any physical torture, driving one to a state of grief beyond endurance.

The key issue was that they couldn't even decide their own life or death.

Manyue let out a breath and said, "What's the point of living like you two do? It's nothing more than living out a segment of memories. Once one segment passes, another begins. It's as if you are only borrowing this body to exist."

"Yes..."

Chen Changsheng paused after hearing this.

'Body...'

His gaze once again focused on his own physical body.

Previously, the Demon Sovereign had tested this body, but the answer he finally gave Chen Changsheng was a denial.

Thinking of this, Chen Changsheng couldn't help but feel a trace of doubt once again.

What exactly was going on with this body of his?