Chapter 2836 - 87: I Dare Not Speak Its Name_2

"Little girl." He Huating curled his lips: "What you say, old ancestor just finds it amusing. Since ancient times, the victor is king and the defeated villain! I die here, no one remembers me. I kill you all, who will know? If I successfully resurrect, go to your era and continue the myth, then I am the myth!"

"The victor is king and the defeated villain?" Zhu Lanruo said: "There is such a pair of great enemies. The victor is Emperor Yuan Xi, hailed as the strongest Demon Emperor since the new realm, achieving the most brilliant battle results after the demon clan’s fall to the Celestial Prison. The defeated is Yu Zhen Ancestor, still a legend of our demon clan, revered by all. We are currently in the world he left behind!"

"You better ask your question quickly. Don’t let your youth prevent you from valuing time." He Huating said coldly: "I will answer you truthfully."

Zhu Lanruo said: "The He Huating of those years would never be so tense."

"Little girl, speaking such words!" He Huating said: "Do you not think, if I were still that person back then, would you have had the chance to converse with me? Even your ancestor, what counts? How could he have the qualification to play against me?"

These words are somewhat overbearing.

Zhu Lanruo might not have the chance to converse with him. But Absolute Summit is always Absolute Summit, no matter what achievements He Huating had, Zhu Yi would never lack the qualification to play against him.

Arrogant words must originate from an arrogant heart.

This character active in Emperor Yuan Xi’s era, his heart must have been stirred somehow!

"That unparalleled young master He, indeed cannot return." Zhu Lanruo said with emotion: "This might still be the year 3922 of Yuan Xi, but 3922 of Yuan Xi, after all, has passed!"

He Huating looked at her: "Little girl, you beat around the bush, do you think you can disturb my mind?"

The old man sitting on the Qingshi, painfully and dying, said: "Old ancestor’s heart has long been dried by time, more wrinkled than my face now, without a bit of blood!"

"Old sir misunderstood!" Zhu Lanruo said: "I said these things, just reminiscing a bit of childhood confusion, how can it move your heart or help solve this situation?"

She held the folded fan in one hand, the broken string tied at its midpoint. And with the fingers of the other hand, she inattentively twirled the broken string.

Her beautiful eyes slightly lifted, suddenly showing a bit of pride different from usual, making other demons almost unable to look directly: "Why should I need to do this?"

Before He Huating could say anything more, she directly said: "In those years He Huating used ’enmity’ to form his path, this situation you set up, must involve ’enmity’ as well.

If I am not wrong, the unspoken rules you designed lie in whether the answerer’s responses trigger enmity. And this enmity needs to be born between us. You need fresh enmity to activate your Dao Principles, so that this dried-up you can grasp onto something.

And once the enmity reaches your need, the key to triggering it must be related to this Eternal Youth Spring. Given your current state, you have very few choices."

Zhu Lanruo’s features, not particularly sharp, yet as she spoke confidently, the expression on her lovely face showed an inner conviction.

She undoubtedly has the heart of a strong person!

"Let me guess, Xiong Sansi’s earlier question must have frightened you! You paid a huge price to smooth over the impact of the rules, and only then could you nonchalantly speak of your malice!"

Zhu Lanruo continued: "But no matter what price you paid, you cannot bear a second time; otherwise, you wouldn’t be so urgent, so tense."

She finally looked at He Huating, her gaze calm, her voice also announcing the end: "A similar question, if I ask you once more, you’re finished."

Facing these extremely beautiful eyes, He Huating of course knew he had already lost!

This question-and-answer game was a desperate choice in the first place, far from exciting, with the rules thoroughly guessed and having lost his privileges, no target would fall for it again.

Just like that Chai Asi said, these young demons present, each has substantial skills, they are pillars. They will never give him another chance...

But he only smiled slightly: "Then why don’t you ask?"

"You are still trying to bluff me, but it is meaningless now, senior He." Zhu Lanruo said: "After Xiong Sansi and Chai Asi passed one after another, your opportunity no longer exists. Perhaps being worn down here too long, not only is your spirit worn out, but your eyes are not sharp enough anymore!"

She sighed lightly: "Even if you had ten thousand more chances, you wouldn’t capture any live source. It might not be easy for us to do other things, but to control our enmity is truly too simple."

She revealed the game rules, announced the method to oppose the game, dissecting He Huating’s chess play thoroughly.

He Huating finally no longer smiled so uglily, he sat alone by the spring, letting his reflection ripple in the ripples, saying desolately: "So what are you waiting for?"

"I actually have many questions to ask you."

Zhu Lanruo said: "But I don’t want you to leave in such shame."

"At this moment, this question I don’t want to ask anything else. I want to ask on behalf of the younger self, ask that high-spirited He Huating—"

She asked: "What was your ideal back then?"

What kind of dangerous question is this!

He Huating twisted his dry lips, quite nonchalant, and said: "My ideal back then was—"

Perhaps choked by the wind.

Perhaps the already sparse strength had been consumed to near nothing.

He suddenly couldn’t continue speaking.

The words he thought he could easily say, for some reason, were so heavy they refused to escape his lips.

His lips moved, moved, and finally pressed together.

A toothless mouth, when pressed tightly, would also cave in.

Once I was a young boy too.

Soul burning hot, blood boiling.

Now my body and mind are exhausted, appearance repulsive.

As for the ideal, I dare not speak its name.

He Huating showed a very strange expression, as if crying, as if laughing, as if sad, as if happy. He covered his deeply wrinkled face with those claw-like skinny hands. No longer watching any young soul and not letting anyone see him again.

All the demons could only see him sitting there with sunken shoulders and a hunched back. His skin-and-bones chest heaving like a bellows, laboriously rising, then caving in.

He gathered the last bit of strength in his dried-up body, then extremely difficultly tilted his head to the side... his whole body also fell—

Plop!

Just like that, he fell into the Eternal Youth Spring!

The evenly distributed Water Pattern of the Eternal Youth Spring had already dissipated by this time.

The ripples distinguishing between true and false words were covered by larger waves, and then all returned to calm, returned to dead silence.

The clear water surface swallowed He Huating, like a glass of water embracing a drop of water.

He Huating disappeared just like that.

Just like that, drowned to death.

Above the Eternal Youth Spring, a white web from Virtual Solidification appeared as if trying to capture something, but it caught nothing. Finally, it gradually faded, disappearing.

All the demons remained silent.

Did He Huating after all see this web and wish not to become a collection of Zhu Yi?

Or had he recognized his own defeat, exhausted, and no longer struggled?

Or was it simply that he could not face the ideal of his youth?

There would be no answer anymore.

Until the Divine Mountain shook again, and flowing light flew past outside the mountain.

Lu Qilang suddenly asked: "Did you really read his biography? Did you really admire him?"

Zhu Lanruo casually tossed the folded fan into the spring as well, watching it swallowed by ripples, and said indifferently—

"What do you think?"

...

...

The Crane Mother asked: "Does the son desire to wield the Longsword, lead a thousand troops, capture the enemy’s head, and be crowned through the ages?"

Huating practiced the sword without answering.

Another ten years: "Does the son desire to annotate the classics of the Hundred Schools of Thought, create one’s own doctrine, establish a name through the ages, and found a sect?"

Huating read the scriptures without answering.

Another hundred years: "My son, you have worked hard relentlessly, braving cold and heat for a century, finally achieving today’s success. Yet you do not pursue fame and fortune, nor add wealth and beauty. What do you seek?"

Huating replied: "I seek fame, everlasting fame. I seek gain, gain for the world. I seek wealth and beauty so that there are no poor clans in my demon clan. In life, I seek greatness; in death, I seek the sages."

—From "Ancient Scripture·Biography of He Huating"