Absolute Choice
chapter-458

The truth is typically harsh and cruel because it packages the true rotting nature of something in sugar-coated lies.

At the age of three, Dawn had already understood this harsh reality.

The nefarious people who had left her on the uninhabited island did not know that the intelligent three-year-old girl had been pretending to remain unconscious. From the very beginning, she had seen the sins they had committed.

The lone island that was left stranded in the middle of the ocean did not exist in the human world, but situated in a particular land of trials. It was an extremely easy land of trials meant to train neophytes, but to a three-year-old, it was no different from hell.

Furthermore, the island she was on was not the only island in the land of trials. In it, there existed thousands, if not tens of thousands of islands similar to the one she was on.

Therefore, she was not the only child left alone on the uninhabited island. There might have been hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands. But all these children had a common trait, they were all orphans.

These thousands of orphans were placed in beast-infested islands in the land of trials, allowing them to attempt to survive unaided in a perilous environment. Such an extreme plan of selecting talent was termed "Project Orphan".

When "Project Orphan" began, despite being a progeny of the Li family, due to her only direct family member, her mother, dying from an illness, the parentless her was just considered a collateral relative. Therefore, she was unluckily chosen to make up one of the numbers, making her one of the targets of the project.

And most ironic of all was that the faction behind the project was the Li family. Their initial goal was to nurture a batch of 'outstanding' assassins. If a three or four-year-old could survive independently for three years in a danger-riddled island, it was obvious how monstrous the child's abilities and willpower was. Regardless of the number of children sacrificed, as long as about ten were left behind, or even a few excellent budding candidates made it all worth it. After all, those children were bought cheaply or even freely adopted orphans.

However things seldom go as one expected. The project was still overly ambitious. After three years, when the Li family was prepared to 'reap in the harvest', they realized that among the thousands of orphans, only a six-year-old girl had survived.

But what delighted the proposer of the project—the Li family's Patriarch—was that the six-year-old girl was of the Li family bloodline. Even though she was just considered a collateral relative, there was no doubt that this girl who had 'accidentally' entered Project Orphan had Li family blood flowing in her.

As the only survivor, the girl's value exceeded any previous estimations. And having a Li family bloodline resulted in a substantive change in her fate.

After a short test of the fruits gained from the girl's survival on the uninhabited island, the Patriarch seemed to see a more glorious future for the Li family from her.

The follow-up plans of nurturing the girl into an assassin were immediately overruled. The Patriarch adopted the girl on the spot and proclaimed to the public that he had found a long-lost grandson.

Maybe it was on a whim or because the male progeny was too mediocre, the Patriarch made a bet after a lot of thinking. He decided that the girl who could survive three years on an uninhabited island would be nurtured as his successor. Therefore, he hid the truth of the girl's sex from the public.

What happened was the cruel truth. It was a truth that Dawn was extremely familiar with all along.

But the Patriarch, who was mistaken to think that Project Orphan was carried out flawlessly, did not know that the girl long knew of the truth. The lies he painstakingly crafted was a beautiful layer of sugar-coating that concealed the rotten truth.

The 'harvesters' sent to the island were explained as rescuers. They claimed that she had fallen victim to the Li family's enemies, and that they had never given up searching or hopes of rescuing her. It took them three years to finally find her.

The Patriarch told her in tears that her father was actually an illegitimate son of his and that she was his granddaughter. After that, he said how all the heir candidates of the family clan were mediocre and wished for her to disguise herself as a male, and work hard to inherit the role of Patriarch.

The six-year-old looked at the Patriarch's exaggerated performance with a deadpan expression. In her heart, she could only silently sneer.

If she did not know of the truth, she might have been grateful to the Patriarch and the Li family for their kindness, eventually becoming the most loyal clansmen of the Li family.

However, even after she was six, when she really gained the treatment as the Li family's successor and the Patriarch treated her as his real granddaughter, allowing her to grow up in an enviable environment, she never lowered her caution.

That was because she knew very well that everything was an illusion that could be shattered at any time.

If she did not work hard enough or lacked the talent, she would not be able to demonstrate her value as a 'successor'. Then, all that she possessed would be gone. The Patriarch would also take back his kindness and benevolence.

But thankfully, she was more hardworking than anyone else. The talent she possessed was unprecedented. The value she demonstrated far exceeded the Patriarch's expectations.

The antisocial personality that was a result of her surviving in the uninhabited island for three years was naturally pardoned. She did not need to meet anyone nor attend any family gatherings. She did not even need to deliberately act the part of the Patriarch's grandson. All she needed was to constantly become stronger and become so dazzling that she would become the apparent heir of the Li family.

Although everything was constructed on a bed of lies, there was no way to deny that such a life was beautiful.

However, having seen through the lies and deceit, while understanding what human nature was, the six-year-old her left a lingering scar in her heart.

From the age of six, Dawn became germaphobic.

...

Being a germaphobe was having a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It treated objects that were considered hygienic by normal standards as dirty. One would feel anxiety and a strong urge to clean, examine and reject any item that was 'unclean'.

Dawn's germaphobia was rather unique. What she rejected as 'unclean' was limited to only one thing—people.

She refused to be close to anyone, nor did she allow anyone to come close to her. It was just like how a germaphobe would not be able to stand a tiny bit of dust, once someone came close to her, she would find it nauseating.

Dawn knew that she was abnormal, be it 'not being able to hear voices', or 'rejecting humans', they were very serious mental illnesses. However, she never thought of changing because she was accustomed to being alone. She was accustomed to a world without humans that only had plants, rocks and birds.

Only at that moment in time did she finally realize that it was not because she did not want to change but because she had no way of changing. It was not that she could not hear, but because the voices of humans could not reach her. It was not that others could not approach her, but because the ugly nature of humans could no longer be cleaned in her heart.

But that was not necessarily the truth.

That was because a boy named Shi Xiaobai had shattered what she believed to be an immutable fact.

He allowed her to hear a voice.

Against absolute power, not only did he not retreat, he instead held a firm obsession for victory. He used all his strength to slash out a strike without any regret, and through that, emitted the most beautiful light of humanity.

He is special, different from everyone else.

If it were him, it would be fine.

She mustered her courage to take the initiative to approach him. Indeed, she did not find it gross. She hugged him in an embrace while enduring her embarrassment. She did not find it repugnant, and instead she recalled the warm memories of her lying in her mother's arms at the age of three.

The feeling was very beautiful and warm. It made her unable to extricate herself from it.

But how long could such a feeling last?

She suddenly understood for the first time, what it meant to be mindful about one's personal gains and losses.

"Sigh, so you really are... are not human after all, right?"

Dawn muttered to herself, but she regretted it the moment she said it.

Shi Xiaobai had clearly said he was open to chatting about anything, but she had unknowingly fallen into a daze. It was because she had already forgotten how to have a chat in an ordinary and casual manner. She did not know how typical conversations even began.

You are really not human after all, right?

Dawn never expected that she would have a brain fart to be so stupid that she would start the chat with a sentence that would ruin the mood. That was the worst beginning ever.

"Calm down."

"Anyways, quickly change the topic."

Dawn hurriedly racked her stiff thoughts, but she never expected to hear Shi Xiaobai's voice of sudden excitement.

"This King never expected you to realize that so quickly. Clever girl, This King is obviously not human!"

When Dawn heard that, she felt her heart jump as her body immediately stiffened.

Hey, hey, what is this strange development?

So he wasn't human at all?

Could it be because he did not possess ugly human nature which allowed her to conquer her disorder and muster the courage to approach him?

That, can't be true right?

"So...you are really...the Infernal King of the world of the seventh level?"

Dawn tried her best to calm herself down as she helplessly realized that she had failed to distinguish which words of Shi Xiaobai were true or false.

Shi Xiaobai's reaction had once again exceeded her expectations. She heard him suddenly chuckling disdainfully, before he said with a sneer, "The Infernal King of the world of the seventh level? Please do not use the idiocy of this world's demons and gods to compare with This King. A mere soldier from the real divine and demon races can wipe out the gods and demons of this world. As for This King, he lords over the true demons and gods. This King is a supreme and lofty existence!"

"Listen well, This King's true identity is...the King of kings! Be it the king of humans, the king of Celestials, the king of Infernals, or the other kings of the myriad worlds, they all bow before This King as his subjects and would loudly proclaim 'Sire'. This King created good and evil. This King rules over the goodness and evilness of the myriad worlds and because of This King's existence, the war between good and evil could come to a pause. As This King trampled on the ambitions of the various kings, peace was ushered into the myriad worlds."

The boy's voice slowly turned excited. Words filled with eight-grader syndrome left Dawn stunned for a moment. After she slowly calmed down, she realized that nothing about what he said could be believed. She had been silly enough to consider if it were true.

Dawn found it amusing, but she did not dislike it. She could not help but make a joke, "Then wouldn't I be someone who accidentally beat the King of kings to the point of him not having the strength to even speak? Could it be that my identity is actually not so simple?"

With that said, she immediately felt from her shoulder that Shi Xiaobai was turning his head from left to right. She heard him grunt softly and say, "Naive girl. This King was only blindsided by the kings of the myriad worlds. This King's holy body was destroyed, and his indestructible soul was sanctioned by thousands of seals. This King had no choice but to reincarnate into an mortal body. This King's true strength is only sealed. Now, This King's strength is not even a quadrillionth of his original strength. Of course, you should be proud that you can tie with a quadrillionth of This King's strength. You are one of the few true geniuses among humans."

His confident tone made it seem like he was narrating facts, but yet they sounded like preposterous lies.

A quadrillion? Did he know how many zeroes there were in that number?

It was obviously a speech filled with eight-grader syndrome, yet for some reason, Dawn's mind gradually relaxed. The lost feeling of not knowing how to create a topic of conversation completely vanished.

The casual chat he mentioned was really casual. It was so casual that she could not grasp it, but she also felt like anything would fly with him.

"Since you have been reincarnated into a mortal's body, are you now a human?"

First confirm what his designation is before naturally asking questions that I still mind.

Dawn thought to herself. She felt her 'tiny scheme' had an indescribable joy to it.

Shi Xiaobai hesitated for a moment, as though he was in a dilemma about his answer. Finally, he said with a sigh, "This King is temporarily...temporarily...a human."

"Temporarily!"

After admitting that he was human, his voice rapidly decreased in volume, but he immediately used a stressed tone to emphasize that it was only 'temporary'. Although his face could not be seen, the expression that would appear on his delicate face surfaced naturally in Dawn's mind.

It was definitely very adorable.

Dawn barely managed to stop herself from laughing. For some baffling reason, she felt her body turn ethereal, as though she was in the clouds while floating in the sky.

Ah, what a ridiculous joke. Why did she want to let it continue so much?

"Then, the King of kings that will eventually win back his throne, when you sit back on that throne that rules over good and evil, what would be the first thing you want to do?"

Dawn found herself weird, but she did not reject it. She even went along with his 'performance', and followed up on the topic. It made her feel very happy.

There was no need to deliberately make the topic relaxed or serious, but it was so natural. By following his cue and listening to what he wanted to say most, and chat with the topic he was most willing to continue on. Everything was so easy and perfect.

Heh, she was really irredeemably silly.

But, the voice she heard from Shi Xiaobai clearly did not sound as excited as anytime before. She felt once again that it did not matter even if it was sillier. That was because the voice she kept wanting to 'hear' was one that was filled with self-centeredness and extraordinary. It was definitely not a voice that would follow the crowd.

"What would be the first thing you want to do after winning back the throne?"

The boy fell deep into thought as he began seriously considering the question. He was so serious that she nearly thought it as something real. After a few moments, Shi Xiaobai finally said lightly, "This King will re-establish the concept of good and evil. What is true goodness and what is true evilness. Be it humans, demons or gods, it has been adulterated. People have always been using their own judgment to make mistaken conclusions, and some even do evil in the name of goodness. And correcting this and giving the best answer so as to distinguish good from evil is what This King wishes to do the most."

Dawn was left dumbfounded for quite a while, as she ruminated over Shi Xiaobai's answer with complicated emotions.

If that was a question on an exam, most examinees would answer 'seek revenge against the kings that blindsided me' or 'crush the ambitions of the kings, restoring peace to the myriad worlds'. That was because those were the answers that matched the situation the best.

But Shi Xiaobai's answer sounded overly-realistic. It was as though it was not a simply-posed question. It was as though he was really in the capacity of the king of good and evil as he pondered over the answer to the question. It was as though he was once a king that wielded good and evil.

What was the reason for that odd feeling?

Dawn slowly breathed out as she whispered, "Then, from your point of view, what is true good and what is true evil?"

"This King does not know either."

Shi Xiaobai sighed gently and said, "When good and evil was born, it was when This Silly King defined such a vague and ambiguous good and evil. For a long period of time, This King always believed that his definition of good and evil was correct until a particular human asked This King a question. This King realized his mistake, and just as his beliefs wavered, This King was blindsided by the various kings. One of the reasons This King was reincarnated as human was partly to search for the true answer."

The topic of conversation suddenly became heavy.

However, Shi Xiaobai was not only fabricating a series of ridiculous stories. Instead, he was attempting to express certain thoughts of his.

That was probably an opportunity to go one step further in understanding him.

Dawn suddenly became nervous as she hesitated for a moment before she asked. "What did that human ask you?"

The boy's head that was resting on her shoulder moved gently once again, but almost without any time needed to think, he responded. It was as if the question that made the King of kings realize his mistake really existed and was not something he made up from a flash of wit.

"The god that created the world and humans cursed a teenager on a particular day. He was cursed to see to feel excruciating pain if he were to see people in suffering."

Shi Xiaobai began describing the question that changed the fate of the King.

"In order to avoid feeling pain, the teenager gave a helping hand to the people in suffering."

"Not long later, the Creator made a counterfeit replica of the teenager."

"The replica did not have a will of its own, but would do the same actions as the teenager. It would also give a helping hand to people in suffering."

"The Creator gave the teenager and his replica the names 'Good' and 'Pseudo-good'."

"Which do you think is Good and which is Pseudo-good?"

It was not considered a complicated question, but the moral behind the story was not simple, and what was even more remarkable was the question at the end.

Between the teenager that gave a helping hand to the people in suffering and the imitation who was modeled after the teenager by the creator, which of them were named 'Good' and 'Pseudo-good' by the Creator?

There were only two possibilities to the answer which had a two-choose-one question.

Even if one answered with one's intuition, there was a fifty percent chance of being correct.

In order to let the conversation continue on at a greater speed, saying the answer that immediately flashed in her mind would be the best choice, but this time, Dawn was not in a hurry. Instead, she began to seriously contemplate over the question.

To be able to hear his voice and his thoughts was obviously good.

But that was not enough to satisfy her. She needed too many things, and once she needed it, she would not be easily satisfied.

Only listening and pandering to him was not 'chatting'.

Now, it was her turn to transmit her voice!

"First, the teenager is real, while the imitation that was a replica of the teenager can be considered a counterfeit. It can be said that one is real and the other is fake. Second, the teenager gave a helping hand to the people in suffering is no doubt an act of goodness, while the replica does not have a will of his own, so the goodness he does is only purely mimicry. Therefore, the teenager should be named 'Good', and the imitation should be called 'Pseudo-good'. That is probably the answer that makes most logical sense."

Dawn suddenly wished to move back a distance and see the expression and eyes of the boy, but she knew that doing so at that moment would be 'against the rules', so she could only forcefully curb her impulse.

"So, is that your answer?"

Shi Xiaobai said gently after a moment of silence.

A smile could not help but suffuse across Dawn's lips because Shi Xiaobai had used an emotionless tone to ask his question. It was one that she was extremely proficient at, and it was obvious that he did not wish for his voice to reveal any effective information.

What a strict examiner.

She gradually shook her head and said softly, "Although it's the answer that makes the most logical sense, it is not my answer, nor could it be the real answer. That is because 'Good' that pursues logic happens to be nothing but 'Pseudo-good'.

"Yea."

Shi Xiaobai grunted slightly and whispered, "Continue."

Dawn nodded and slowly said, "Although the teenager lent a helping hand to everyone, the reason why he did so was because of the curse of the Creator. He was doing good only in order to avoid pain to himself. Although he was doing good, the motive was for himself. That is no doubt a form of pseudo-goodness.

"The imitation is different. He did not have his own will, and he was simply replicating the teenager's actions. Lending a helping hand to everyone was a part of his existence, and his actions were out of instinct. There was no complication for personal gain, so he is the purest of pure good."

"The teenager is Pseudo-good, while the imitation is Good. That is my answer!"

After providing her answer in one breath, Dawn immediately pushed Shi Xiaobai out of her embrace and reached out her hands to hold him by his shoulders. At the moment she opened up a distance, she leveled her eyes with his.

Indeed, that pair of black eyes were still as bright and dazzling. Although it should be like a black night sky, it was shimmering with the luster of stars.

"Well, is my answer correct?"

Although she could tell from his expression that she got the answer she wanted to know, she was eager to get actual confirmation.

Shi Xiaobai looked into her eyes for a moment before suddenly grinning. "At the beginning, This King answered the human in such a manner. You gave an identical answer like This King."

Dawn was not surprised about the correctness of the answer, but when she heard the outcome, she still felt somewhat happy. She could not explain if she was feeling happy because of her correct response or if it was because she had the same answer as the boy.

Eh, the answer is correct?

Dawn suddenly thought of something and asked, "After you gave your answer, what did the human say in response? Is our answer correct?"

Dawn keenly noticed that Shi Xiaobai had mentioned that their answers were the same, but he did not directly answer her that her answer was correct or not.

Indeed, Shi Xiaobai's expression suddenly turned serious as he looked deeply into her eyes and said, "That human did not give an answer, but instead questioned This King."

Dawn asked in surprise, "Questioned you?"

Shi Xiaobai paused slightly, as though he was preparing the mood for the discussion. After that, he said words that were pregnant with meaning, "The reason why the imitation can purely do good is because it does not have his own will. It can't think for itself. The teenager lent a helping hand to everyone but is called Pseudo-good because the good he does benefits him. His starting point is for himself, but the root of the reason was that the teenager possesses his own will. He knows how to think for himself. The difference between Good and Pseudo-good actually has to do with the motives behind the good-doer being self-serving or not."

"Then, as a question, can humans with their own will be able to pursue pure goodness?"

"Humans are not machines. They have their own wills. It is impossible for them to be selfless even if they do good at the cost of their own interests. That is because he or she can receive a psychological fulfillment, and psychological fulfillment is also an interest that serves that person. It's just the sacrifice and exchange of physical interests for psychological interests."

"For example, a teenager sacrifices his life to save a hundred people. Why would he do so? That's because in his mind, 'saving a hundred people is 'greater than' saving himself'. After his own thought processes, he comes up with a choice he thinks is most right. By doing so, not only is he doing it for the hundred people, he is also doing it for himself, because the person who made the choice was himself. Of course, there exists the thought of 'saving himself' but he eventually acts to 'save a hundred people'. Under such situations, his choice was clearly forced and not out of his own intentions. However, looking at it from another perspective, he had already made a choice between 'acceptance' and 'resistance'. His actions are still part of his own intentions!"

"In the aforementioned description, it is impossible for humans to do pure good because humans have their own will. Humans can make choices, and the choice itself is an act that would serve oneself! Therefore, the 'Good' of humans cannot be called 'Good', but 'Pseudo-good'!"

"Pseudo-good is called pseudo, and when the 'pseudo' is greater than 'good', it is actually distorted into 'Evil'! When humans do something to satisfy their will in the name of doing good, proselytize one's choice as Good, then 'Good' will become a weapon to conceal 'selfishness'. Wouldn't that change it to 'Evil'?"

"Think about it, if the teenager was lending a helping hand to people in suffering because of the curse, and if one day, he encounters a sufferer that cannot be saved or redeemed, he would constantly endure the pain of the curse. But no matter how much he tries, he is unable to save the person from the abyss of suffering. Then, with saving ineffective, what would the teenager do to stop his pain? The teenager could very likely kill the sufferer that cannot be saved to save himself! That's because when 'Pseudo-good' is forced to its extremes, it can unbridledly become 'Evil'."

"There is good and evil among people, but how is it to be distinguished? It is impossible for humans to do pure good. Most of it is pseudo-good, but even if it's pseudo-good, it's just a question of degree of evil."

"Then, can good and evil really define the actions of human?"

"Does the concept of good and evil have any meaning to humans?"

"Is good and evil a prison for the 'original sin', or it is restraining one's self-centeredness?"

"Although Your Majesty is the King that created good and evil, here's a question. Was what Your Majesty created really good and evil?"

Shi Xiaobai's expression turned mixed and complicated. When he reproduced every question, it was as if he was not only recounting a story from his memories, but also questioning himself once again.

He used a long silence to end 'that human's' monologue and looked into the ice-blue eyes silently for a long period of time. Shi Xiaobai sighed and said, "That is what 'that human' questioned This King with the question that only had two options. It was also 'that human''s...last words."

Dawn was slightly surprised as she asked, "You killed him?"

Shi Xiaobai slowly shook his head, "It wasn't This King. It was good and evil that killed him. Although good and evil is not life, it is an eternal law that transcends life. They were created by This King and they have no thoughts. They abide by the rules but somehow accidentally possessed a 'personality'. It was surprisingly furious regarding 'that human's' choice of sowing discord. Therefore, his existence was completely wiped out."

Dawn could not help but smile, "A law with 'personality'? That's a very fresh and interesting way to put it. If I'm not wrong, you do not think that that human's questioning was sowing discord. In fact, you generated doubts about the laws of good and evil, to the point of 'revising' it. Therefore your position as King wavered. Is that it?"

Shi Xiaobai's eyebrows pricked up slightly before he said with a nod, "Yes, you guessed right. But This King never expected you to so quickly understand what This King is talking about and also be able to analyze its profound meaning. It's a joy chatting with you."

"Likewise."

A smile suffused across Dawn's lips. At that moment, she clearly looked like a handsome boy, but the way she smiled had the youthful charm of a girl. She had always looked deadpan and treated everything coldly also to perfectly hide the fact that she was a female in disguise. But in front of Shi Xiaobai, she had lost all her defenses and opened up her heart. Of course, she would not mind revealing the emotions she had strictly sealed inside her.

However, the smile did not last for very long as Dawn's expression suddenly turned solemn. She looked into Shi Xiaobai's eyes and said seriously, "I'm only a person listening to a story and should not have too many comments, but since it's a 'chat', I think I shouldn't hide my true thoughts. Honestly, that human's questions are very interesting. The questions in rapid succession seem to be reasonable, but could it be that there were other reasons for you to question the laws you created by you?"

"That human's question does stand on reasonable grounds, but it's actually simply resorting to sophistry as justification. It is obviously not enough to use the words good and evil to define complicated human nature, but isn't it a bit forced to question if good and evil has any meaning to its existence for humans?"

"Regarding the teenager's hypothesis of going from 'Pseudo-good' to 'Evil', it is after all just a hypothesis. It is a problem of probability. It can only be said that there is a high probability that the teenager would kill the unredeemable sufferer to save himself from pain. But there is an extremely small probability that the teenager will eventually bear the pain but not give up trying. At this point, it can be certain that the teenager's 'Pseudo-good' has sublimed to pure 'Good'."

"Humans do have their own will, but against the various choices in life, they can make their choices of their own free will. This is obviously considered an action in one's self-interest. But if they are forced to make a choice that goes against their will, their own will cannot be carried out as they wish. 'That human' said that when forced, one can make the choice of 'acceptance' and 'resistance', and that being forced is also a 'self-centered act'. Isn't that expanding the concept of 'self-centered acts' and exaggerating the existence of 'self-centered acts'? Wouldn't the definition of 'selfishness' become too all encompassing?"

"In summary, I believe that a part of the human's questions are worth contemplating over, but it's not sufficient to waver your will. I believe that for me to be able to see something amiss with it, it must also mean that you can see it. Therefore, I believe that the reason why you are doubting the laws of good and evil is not as simple? Or could it be..."

When Dawn said to that point, she suddenly came to a halt. In fact, she wanted to say, "or could it be that you fabricated a story in a rush so you did not think of the loopholes?". But in order to continue chatting 'happily', she decided to silently agree that whatever Shi Xiaobai said was real. There were indeed many parts of the story that could be faulted on, but if one questioned the story itself, there would be no end to the debate. She wished to understand Shi Xiaobai's thoughts through a chat, and not understand Shi Xiaobai's ability to engage in a debate.

Of course, by directly pointing out the loophole in Shi Xiaobai's fabrication of the 'questions posed by that human', she was actually trying to see how fast Shi Xiaobai's reaction speed was. When his fabricated story was exposed as having several loopholes, how long would he take to think in order to fix the loopholes?

But what surprised Dawn once again was that Shi Xiaobai had responded the moment she finished her words.

Shi Xiaobai said with a smile, "This King has underestimated you. This King never expected that you were not only listening to the story, but you were standing from the point of view of god to consider the story in such a clear manner. What you said is right. It was not so simple for This King to question the laws of good and evil. In fact, after 'that human' died, This King traveled to the human world on a whim. To This King, who is a supreme existence, the human world was like an ant's nest, a place he would never step foot on. But after this trip to observe the human world, This King realized that he had committed a grave error."

"In the human world, This King saw many illogical situations. A child that steals food for his starving mother was considered a 'scoundrel' and was beaten to death. The cruel punishment of slashing a murderer and putting him up on a pole to die from exposure is deemed by people as a 'good act'. As an act of pity, a rich young lady gives a beggar a few pieces of gold, causing the beggar to attract trouble because of his wealth. Not only was the gold stolen away by thugs, the beggar was also crippled. The rich young lady's 'benevolence' was actually an 'act of evil'. In order to satisfy his ambition, a king instigated a war causing countless of deaths. If the invasion were successful, it would be deemed as a grand act of 'good', but if his invasion failed, he would be cursed for ages as a 'savage king'..."

"There is no end to such unreasonable matters. Good and evil is frequently distorted and misunderstood in the human world. It even goes as far as confusing right from wrong. Although judgment of good and evil needs to consider the viewpoint of the judge, but the biggest problem is that the viewpoint of the majority becomes the true definition of good and evil. And no matter if the viewpoint of the minority is 'right' or not, their viewpoint will be distorted into being 'wrong'. Good and evil is governed by 'strength', so whichever side is 'stronger' is the side that is 'good'."

"The original understanding This King had of humans was that of inferior beings in a lower plane of existence. But it is because humans are inferior beings that result in their requirements and desire to be much higher than superior beings. Their requirements and desires result in their nature being even more complex than gods and demons. This King, who had been focused on superior planes of existence, never noticed this. Although the good and evil created by This King is more suitable for gods and demons, it is far from sufficient for humans."

"Why did 'that human', who worked hard to cultivate for millennia allowing him to go from a mere human to an existence that transcended gods and demons after all sorts of trials and tribulations, choose to come before This King and ask such questions that ended up 'courting his own death'?" Why was he willing to risk questioning good and evil despite the possibility of him being killed by good and evil? The reason why he would do so was because the laws of good and evil was not only the imprisonment of 'original sin' in the human world, but shackles for 'self'. To humans, strength is the source of good and evil."

"He loved humans deeply, but he also hated humans a lot. But he was helpless when it came to changing the present situation, so instead of saying he was questioning This King, it would be better to say that he was using his life to implore This King."

After Shi Xiaobai said that, he took a deep breath as though he was cherishing the memory of that great human who was willing to bring destruction on himself. It also seemed like he was sympathizing with the contradiction of good and evil in the human world.

Dawn fell into a daze for quite a while when she finished hearing his monologue. She had underestimated Shi Xiaobai's reaction speed and even more so, she had underestimated Shi Xiaobai's ability to fabricate a story. After hearing the full story, she was surprised to suddenly feel a sense of repression, as though the story was true. Although concepts like the 'King of kings' and the 'laws of good and evil' were so exaggerated and fake, she could not confidently determine if the story was real or not.

Was it because he had perfected his story in an extremely realistic manner?

Or was his acting extremely realistic? That look of him cherishing the memory made her feel like she was looking at a former monarch who was questioning his creation of good and evil.

Or was it because she understood the ugliness of human nature too well that she felt that the story he fabricated and the reason behind it resonated with her?

Dawn suddenly felt her chest turn heavy, as though something was blocking it. She took a deep breath and said, "That is not the fault of good and evil, but a problem with human nature. Human nature is like that. As humans, questioning human nature is equivalent to questioning ourselves. The only thing we can do is to work hard to exercise restraint in the face of darkness, but there is no way we can change the darkness of human nature."

Yes, that was her understanding all along.

She was unable to change the good or evil nature of anyone. The Patriarch was the instigator of Project Orphan. He was the mastermind behind her being thrown in the uninhabited island for three years, but the Patriarch had treated her like his very own granddaughter. He had given her the best of everything, and had compensated her with the best environment for growing up as well as the brightest future.

She could not change the Patriarch's nature, nor could she judge if the Patriarch was good or evil. She did not know if she should hate or be grateful to him.

Human nature was too complex and she too was living it.

What she could do, or the only thing she could do was to act in accordance to what she felt was good and evil, and by doing so, not let the darkness of human nature devour her.

She could not change human nature.

So she chose to distance herself from it.

So she was willing to live in a world of her own.

That was her understanding. Was she wrong?

"You aren't wrong."

At that moment, the boy in close proximity suddenly lifted his hand to touch her head. It was as though he was comforting a lost girl.

But he quickly removed his hand that made her embarrassed but not repulsed. Suddenly, he grinned and his eyes burned with a fiery beam as he said loudly to her, "You aren't wrong. Humans cannot change human nature. They can't change good and evil, but This King is not human. Don't forget that This King is the King of Kings that created good and evil! There is nothing This King can't do!"

"This King has the right and the obligation to revise the imperfect good and evil! The current laws of good and evil are only suitable to superior beings with relatively simple requirements and desires, but it is not suitable for humans with complex human nature! If the laws of good and evil can be sufficiently perfected, so perfect to the point of it not being able to be twisted by human nature and strength, or make true good and true evil to become an irrefutable truth, then everything would change!"

"Although This King hasn't thought of the perfect laws of good and evil, but This King will search for it, and will continue searching for it! When This King finds the correct answer, This King will snatch his sealed throne and change the laws of good and evil!"

The boy's voice was filled with energy and excitement. It was like a wave that surged into the sky while constantly heading for the firmament of freedom.

Dawn widened her eyes and fell into a daze.

So that was the reason.

So that was the reason why he was different.

So that was the reason why she could hear his voice.

The words he said that sounded like bullshit were all filled with his profound feelings. Be it that strange confession of 'are you willing to be a side hoe' or the ridiculous story of 'This King is the King of kings that created good and evil', they were filled with innumerable thoughts and reasoning despite them being words said on a whim. And these thoughts and reasoning were not said on a whim, but treasures that had long been engraved in his heart.

Those were his thoughts and reasoning!

Ah, I finally understand.

Why were his eyes clearly black, yet they looked as bright as the stars?

Why were his eyes filled with unprecedented brightness despite knowing more than anyone about the twisted nature of good and evil as well as the darkness of human nature?

That was because he believed that he was not a sorrowful human, but a 'King of kings', who could change the laws of good and evil!

He firmly believed in the light that he looked forward to, so he faced the darkness in front of him straight on!

She had failed to do so, so she chose to let her back face the darkness. But by doing so, her back was also facing the light that was covered by darkness.

But in truth, what she looked forward to was light as well!

"Badump! Badump! Badump!"

Dawn seemed to hear her own heart beat. Her heartbeat was beating more rapidly and energetically than it ever did before. It was brimming with vitality.

A warm, red glow gradually suffused from her cheeks.

For the first time, she felt that her distance from Shi Xiaobai was too close.

To be looked at him at such a close distance could result in such nervousness?

Ah, how was she able to hug him without any reservations previously? What happened a moment ago was her first hug with a person of the opposite sex, but she did not find it problematic. But why did she feel as if her heart was being scratched when she now recalled it?

Too close, it's really too close, but I have no intentions of pushing him away.

But it was also the first time that she felt that she was too close to Shi Xiaobai. To him, she was a figure from three thousand years ago, or she could very well be a fake existence replicated by the assessment program. To her, where he came from, which era he lived in, or whether he was the Infernal King or a trial-taker were things she did not know.

They might not be people from the same era, and could also be people from different worlds, to the point of one of them being fake, an existence that could be destroyed at any time.

Time, dimension, reality were the three biggest obstacles that separated them.

But she felt like they were too close.

Dawn could not help but feel a sense of sorrow as she slowly lowered her head before she suddenly looked back up!

It was too far, so there was an even greater need to cherish the time when she could see his appearance and hear his voice.

What should I say? I can't waste the time in silence.

That story should be fake. He might not be human, but he definitely can't be the King of kings that created good and evil.

But what effect would the story's authenticity bring?

No, even if the story was faked, it would not lead to anything.

That was because he believed that whatever he said was true. He believed that the light he saw existed. He believed it, so no one could question it. It would be useless no matter who questioned him!

And she...

...believed in his belief!

"Work hard and you will definitely find it. No, you will definitely find the true answer! You will definitely be able to change the laws of good and evil into a truth that human nature is unable to distort! When you sit back on that sealed throne, I'll stand by your side. If possible, i want to stay by your side, to the ends of your ideals."

At that moment, the girl who was always expressionless beamed the purest of smiles. It was inexplicably beautiful, like cherry blossoms in spring.

Shi Xiaobai was stunned seeing this.

For some reason, he suddenly recalled what a similarly beautiful purple-haired girl said to him.

"Shi Xiaobai, although in the eyes of others, you who call yourself 'This King' might sound silly, but to me, you are very cute!"

"I understand, Shi Xiaobai. I understand why you call yourself 'This King'."

"It is not because of hubris, nor is it because of narcissism, much less you indulging in fantasy!"

"You are doing so just to believe in yourself!"

"But in my eyes, you are not weak. You are stronger than anyone, so Shi Xiaobai, in the future when you are in front of me, address yourself as 'I', alright?"

Back then, he had only gotten to know the purple-haired girl for only an hour, but she understood him more than anyone else did. She understood him and even believed him.

And ever since she said those words, she became an extremely special existence in his heart. It could be said that in this alternate world, she was the most important existence to him.

The purple-haired girl's name was Kali.

And at that very moment in time, the blond girl who disguised herself as a male had said "you will definitely find the true answer!"

"When you sit back on that sealed throne, I'll stand by your side."

"If possible, I want to stay by your side, to the ends of your ideals."

At that moment, she resembled Kali, who once told him, "In my eyes, you are not weak. You are stronger than anyone".

Similarly, he had only gotten to know her for only about an hour.

Some people might be partners for life, but they might never know what each other was thinking.

Some people might only know each other for an hour, but it felt like they had known each other for life.

To Shi Xiaobai, there was one more to the special existence of the latter.

Dawn naturally did not know what Shi Xiaobai was thinking, nor did she know that her truthful words from her heart dealt such a severe blow on the boy in front of her.

She felt that her heart was beating faster as her face turned hotter. A baffling impulse seemed to grow in intensity.

He was looking at her.

His eyes were focusing on her without looking away.

Previously, she did not feel anything when she locked eyes with him in this manner, but now, while being focused by him at such close proximity, to the point of her figure reflecting in his eyes, she felt there was something restless in her chest. It made her short of breath.

Her mind began sprouting strange thoughts.

So is that how I look in his eyes?

Ah, short male hair is indeed too short. If it's slightly longer, it would be better. Will he like short-haired girls? Or does he prefer long flowing hair?

With me using a special makeup technique to masculinize my neutral facial features, I look more like a boy to him, right?

Hey, Shi Xiaobai, I'm actually a girl. Although I wrapped my chest to be as flat as a boy's, but actually...actually, I'm developing normally.

The next time...the next time we meet, I want to let you see me wear a dress for the first time.

Yes, I want to let you see how I look like as a girl.

The next time we meet.

The next time...is there still a chance of meeting again?

Time seemed to slowly pass while their eyes locked in silence.

Perhaps it was because the boy and girl looked too glaring in each other's eyes, or perhaps it was the constantly effusing thoughts that made them forget, or perhaps it was the natural instinct of attraction between man and woman, the two heads that were less than half a meter apart began to rapidly close the distance without them realizing it.

Forty centimeters.

Thirty centimeters.

Twenty centimeters.

Ten centimeters.

Five centimeters.

The boy's head and the girl's head grew closer. The soft lips also naturally approached each other.

Three centimeters.

Two centimeters.

One centimeter...

Time seemed to come to a halt. The air seemed to turn into an ambiguous pink. The boy and girl's lips would touch each other gently at the next moment. It was a mutual attraction, but an instant that they did not notice as they came into contact with each other's warmth.

"Roar!"

A deafening roar suddenly sounded, alarming the boy and girl at the worst possible time when they had already forgotten to breathe.

The kiss that could have been sealed in less than a centimeter came to a sudden halt.

Dawn was jolted awake and like a frightened rabbit, she subconsciously retreated backwards. Instantly, she was a few meters away.

Shi Xiaobai was also given a shock. Thankfully, his body had already barely recovered a bit of strength. He hurriedly used his hands to support himself, preventing him from collapsing because of the girl's sudden release.

After Dawn retreated in shock, she immediately looked up subconsciously at Shi Xiaobai. Noticing how he had recovered some of his strength, she heaved a sigh of relief as an indescribable embarrassment overwhelmed her.

She hurriedly turned, making her back face Shi Xiaobai. She breathed in deeply to calm her mind and raised her hand to gently touch her burning face.

Phew, it's so ho t.

Dawn Li, what were you thinking?

How could you...

Why...

Could it be...

"That...that..."

Dawn stuttered and tried to calmly say a few words to attenuate that embarrassing situation, but she did not even have the courage to turn around. The voice she said from her burning and vexed chest had the embarrassment of a girl, while her mind was in a mess. She could not even form a complete sentence.

"What just happened is very normal."

On the other hand, Shi Xiaobai happened to appear much calmer. After the initial shock, he quickly calmed down. After all, he was a person who had seen much in life and was a man with experience. He coughed gently and said, "When man and woman are too close, it's very natural to have something like that happen. It's a very normal matter!"

Shi Xiaobai recalled the scene when he was in Riko's home, when he was attracted by Kali's beautiful golden eye. He could not help but approach it so that he could see it clearly. Unknowingly, the tip of his nose had touched her nose tip. Immediately after that, Kali had suddenly used her lips to give a quick peck on his lips.

It was probably something very natural.

A very common matter.

"It's far from being normal, alright?!"

When Dawn heard what Shi Xiaobai said, she immediately could not feign her calmness. She turned to glare at Shi Xiaobai before immediately turning back. She could not help but pucker her lips.

Although she had no interest in matters between men and women, she still had such general knowledge.

What they had just done was clearly things only couples would do!

And he actually said it was normal?

What sort of joke was that?

If the person who nearly stole away her first kiss wasn't him but anyone else, she would definitely feel so grossed out that she would vomit.

No, just the thought of it was enough to make her feel like vomiting.

Eh? Why did she feel that even if it were him, it would not be something unacceptable if not for the interruption?

Indeed...

Was it indeed like that?

Dawn was always proud of her intelligence, but this time, she hated herself for being smart. Why did she immediately figure out a nontrivial matter?

But since she had figured it out, she could not avoid it any further.

Face it.

Dawn Li, you aren't even afraid of death, so what's there to be afraid about?

Do not hesitate. Maybe this might be the last moments that you can spend with him. Maybe this is the only chance!

Do not let yourself regret!

Isn't it just...

Dawn turned around suddenly and while facing Shi Xiaobai, she took a deep breath and roared out, "Shi Xiaobai!"

Shi Xiaobai was given a fright by her sudden imposing stance as he hurriedly responded, "Huh?"

Dawn closed her eyes slowly and took a deep breath once again.

When she opened her eyes, the look in her eyes had finally calmed down. She focused on Shi Xiaobai's eyes and said slowly and calmly, "The time we have gotten to know each other is extremely short. It's so short that it might seem to be a rush to even become friends, but what I will say next might make you find it weird, but please believe that those are truthful words from my very heart. It's the truth that I have to say or I will definitely regret."

"Shi Xiaobai! The matter that happened just now isn't normal. It's something impossible for me to do, but it really almost happened. However, even if it had happened, it has nothing to do with us being too close to one another, much less is it because of a superficial reason like the attraction between man and woman. The reason why I nearly... with you, is because..."

Dawn came to a halt when she said that as her hands began to tremble slightly. She lowered her head to look at the ground. Even her ear lobes were flushing pink.

Shi Xiaobai gulped a mouthful of saliva as he felt that the mood had suddenly turned serious. He suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of nervousness. "It's because?"

Dawn fell silent for a long while before she slowly clenched her fists.

Mom, please give your daughter that bit of courage.

"It's because..."

Dawn suddenly looked up and enunciated every single word, "It's because, I...like..."

"Roar!"

Another deafening roar sounded suddenly at the most critical moment!

At the same time, an intense slamming sound erupted as the ground began to quake violently. It interrupted Dawn's sentence in a relentless fashion and at the same time diverted Shi Xiaobai's attention.

The courage the girl went to great pains to muster from her prayers collapsed immediately. She could only turn to look in the direction of the sound in anger!

"Darn bastard!"

Dawn swore that she had never been so furious before!

Heavens, that courage that was so difficult to muster and the mood she prepared was all gone!

She definitely could not do another confession again!

Looking through the translucent turtle shell, Dawn saw a three-meter-tall three-headed hound. It was raising its heads and roaring. Suddenly, it lifted its claws to slam on the Shell of the Black Turtle. It caused the Shell of the Black Turtle to quiver!

She stared at the three-headed hound angrily. If not for the need of the Shell of the Black Turtle to protect Shi Xiaobai from the black beams of light that were constantly falling from the sky, she would have definitely charged out to dice the darn dog into pieces!

The three-headed hound clearly sensed the killing intent from the girl, but it did not seem to feel any fear. Instead, it roared angrily once again and forcefully slammed the translucent turtle shell once again.

It was venting, it was venting the anger of a bachelor dog!

Shi Xiaobai calmly surveyed his surroundings and immediately noticed that at the end of the horizons, there were several massive figures. There were also gigantic monsters surging from the ends of the sky towards them. It was apparent that the danger in this unfamiliar world was not only limited to the black beams of light. A three-headed hound was already enough to cause the turtle shell to quiver. If a few more monsters came, it was unknown how long it could last.

"Sigh, it looks like it's time to talk about proper matters."

Shi Xiaobai slowly moved his body towards Dawn and said with a serious voice, "Back to the proper topic. What is the situation right now? Where is this place? What happened after the clash of our final strikes? Why did we appear here? What should we do to leave this place? Tell whatever you know to This King."

Due to the promise of having a 'casual chat', Shi Xiaobai had allowed the girl to decide on the topic of conversation. He held back the questions that filled his mind and joined her in a casual chat.

But now, it was no longer the time to have a leisurely chat. He needed sufficient information to think of a way to resolve the situation they were in.

Dawn clearly realized this as well. She turned to look at Shi Xiaobai and gaped. Her eyes blinked as she cast her gaze to her side. She said in an nearly inaudible manner, "I don't know."

Shi Xiaobai said in surprise, "What?"

Dawn lowered her head slightly and whispered, "Sorry, I don't know. The questions you asked me. I...have no way of answering any of them."

Shi Xiaobai stared with widened eyes. "Didn't you say that...the situation is very complicated?"

Didn't you say that the situation was very complicated and that we needed to have a good chat?

Dawn gave an embarrassed smile as she stuttered, "Although I do not know what had happened, it's true that...the situation is very complicated."

As she felt slightly guilty, the way she lamely argued had a hint of sultriness.

The reason why she said the 'situation was very complicated' was so that she could say 'need to have a good chat'. It all boiled down to a girl's selfishness after having 'heard' a person's voice. But in fact, she did not know why they had suddenly appeared in the unfamiliar and dangerous place.

Shi Xiaobai was dumbfounded for a moment, but he quickly calmed down. He said seriously once again, "Do you really, really not know a thing?"

In the present situation, even a trivial piece of information might be a life-saving straw.

Dawn immediately sat solemnly and frowned to think hard about the situation from before. She was not an unknowing girl that did not know any better. When she was serious, there was no way she would lax on it.

"When the white and golden light mixed together, almost nothing could be seen at that instant. But I still remember...that interspersed between the white and golden light was a few beams of pale golden light. As the paleness was relatively similar, I once thought it as an illusion, but now on careful thought, those pale beams of golden light seemed to shoot from the ground into the sky."

With a contemplative look, Dawn said, "If I didn't guess wrongly, those beams of golden light should be the activating light of an array formation. The ground we were standing on was probably a massive, pre-laid out invisible array formation. In addition to the momentary mental fuzziness and the loss of weight, that array could very well be a teleportation nexus."

Shi Xiaobai frowned slightly, "That is to say someone had laid out a teleportation nexus ahead of time. It was activated at the moment when we used all our strength. As we were unable to divert our attention, we were transported to this world?"

Dawn nodded and said, "That's likely the case. But to be able to teleport a person in an undetectable and involuntary manner is the first I've encountered. So, it might not be a teleportation nexus as well. But it is certain that all of this was plotted by someone. In order to kill us, the person had made thorough calculations to lay out such a meticulous plan."

Shi Xiaobai sighed gently and said, "If that is the case, that person must have considered the exit command. It's unlikely that the exit command can be used to escape this world. The black beams of light and the monsters that are coming should be endless. We can last for a while, but not forever. Escaping this world is the only way to live on."

After Shi Xiaobai said that, he surveyed his surroundings once again. Other than the massive three-headed hound that was slamming the turtle shell, there were dozens of strangely-shaped behemoths that had approached them. And at the ends of the horizon and sky, there were more and more figures swarming over.

How long more could the turtle shell protect them?

When the time came, they would be facing endless black beams and a monster scourge. How were they to survive?

Escaping this world might sound simple, but they did not have any information regarding the world they were in. There was also no way to know of the way to escape the world. They were facing an absolutely despairing situation!

A perplexed look flashed in Shi Xiaobai's eyes before it disappeared. Immediately, it was filled with firm willpower.

No!

They had to live on!

At least!

At least she had to live on! IChooseDogLeading (我选择狗带) when read in Chinese sounds like I Choose Go Die. It was a meme that resulted from a former member of famous Korean boygroup, EXO, TAO (Huang Zitao). At a concert, there was a part in a rap that where he said "", but due to a mispronunciation, it sounded like he will not easily choose to be led by dogs. This phrase now means 'I'd rather die/I choose death'.