Chapter 251: How Interesting It Is…

For some reason, Gou’er suddenly sensed that everyone’s gaze upon him seemed different. Within those gazes lay something he had never seen before.

“What is it…”

He pondered inside but couldn’t find the answer right away.

When receiving his Dry Cake after work as usual, he stood there waiting for someone to ‘take’ the cake from his hands.

Then he saw a dark crowd moving toward him.

Nearly a hundred people stood before him, blocking his view.

He froze for a moment before spreading his hands and saying, “There’s only one piece of Dry Cake. Not enough to share.”

Those facing him fell silent.

Then, one by one, they stepped forward, voluntarily handing their Dry Cakes to Gou’er.

Gou’er was dumbfounded.

“You all…”

One Dry Cake after another was pushed into his arms.

One, two, ten, twenty…

A small mountain of Dry Cakes piled up before him.

Then, without saying a word, the nearly hundred people left.

Gou’er saw many faces among them – those who had once snatched his Dry Cake, and those he had once helped. Each face etched itself deeply into his mind.

At that moment, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

But from his eyes, two drops squeezed out.

Now he finally understood what that something extra in their eyes was.

It was pity, something he’d never seen there before.

A flicker of life had returned to those pairs of hollow eyes.

In a daze, Gou’er felt that everything he had done was worth it.

He had changed these people through quiet and gradual influence.

He stuffed the Dry Cake into his mouth, eating while his tears flowed.

“I did it. I really changed them…”

That night, Gou’er went back to the forest he had visited before.

Only to find trees stripped of their bark and the ground bare of grass.

He looked at the scene and remained silent for a long time…

While Chen Changsheng waited for the City Platform to be built, he thought Gou’er wouldn’t come again.

This time, he cooked only one fish.

Unexpectedly, just as the fish was ready, Gou’er stepped into the lakeside area again.

Gou’er arrived before Chen Changsheng, his clothes bundled around chunks of Dry Cake.

Chen Changsheng looked at him, then heard Gou’er speak: “I did it.”

Chen Changsheng stared at the Dry Cakes, silent for a long while.

He raised his head and looked toward the thin strand of Buddha’s Light between Gou’er’s brows.

That strand of light seemed more solid now.

This child already had one foot firmly on that path.

Chen Changsheng offered him the single fish: “Eat the fish.”

Gou’er shook his head. “I’ll treat you with the Dry Cakes instead.”

Chen Changsheng laughed hearing this. “Alright then.”

He took a piece of Dry Cake. It was dry and hard to swallow, definitely not tasty. But Gou’er handled them carefully, wrapped in his clothes, treating them like treasures.

“How is it?” Gou’er asked.

Chen Changsheng chewed and swallowed. “Tastes good,” he said with a smile.

Gou’er smiled brightly, naively. “See? There are other ways. Rules don’t have to be forced upon others to change things.”

Chen Changsheng nodded. “You’re right.”

He just hadn’t expected anyone could be so… simple, or that this child’s persistence could run this deep. Perhaps this child, from birth, was destined to walk such a path – using his own suffering to ease the suffering of the world.

Gou’er had proven himself. Chen Changsheng was happy for him, yet still felt the need to offer a reminder: “Are you sure? If you walk this path, your life afterward… it will only get harder.”

Gou’er just smiled. “Everything’s hard anyway.”

Chen Changsheng nodded slightly after hearing this. He added wood to the fire, and without realizing it, a smile curved the corner of his lips.

When Gou’er left, he left behind two Dry Cakes.

Chen Changsheng accepted them quietly and watched him leave.

Under the moonlight, the small, thin figure suddenly appeared much taller.

Chen Changsheng watched, though it wasn’t clear if he was looking at Gou’er or at that faint strand of Buddha’s Light.

Chen Changsheng let out a soft breath and suddenly chuckled. “How interesting it is…”

In the blink of an eye, winter passed.

Scuffles over Dry Cakes beneath the City Platform became much rarer. Emptiness faded from people’s eyes, replaced by pity and kindness toward others.

Gou’er watched it all, his heart full of warmth. Everything seemed to be heading in a good direction.

After the start of spring, the weather gradually grew warmer.

Then, on a certain day, the last massive stone was set upon the City Platform.

“It’s done…”

Everyone gazed up at the towering structure. In that instant, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Some felt fortunate to have survived. Others worried about the days ahead. A mix of emotions hung below the City Platform, but that moment of peace was savored by all.

At the exact moment it was completed, something seemed to respond across the Heaven and Earth. The scarce Spiritual Energy in the area began to gather here.

Out fishing, Chen Changsheng lifted his head.

“Is it done?”

He stood up and, with a light touch of his toes, flew toward the City Platform.

He saw the Power of Heaven and Earth, seemingly tracing symbols and incantations – Talisman charms – all over the City Platform. They gradually interconnected, using the Platform as the Formation Core and the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy as the power source, shaping into a large Formation Array.

Chen Changsheng observed the rotating Formation Array, his brow furrowed.

“This Formation… feels strange…”

Chen Changsheng opened his Dharma Eye, following the threads of Spiritual Energy, trying to find an answer. But, not being deeply knowledgeable about formations, he ultimately couldn’t discern the purpose of this particular one.

He raised his head once more to look at this piece of Heaven and Earth, feeling an inexplicable strangeness.

…

The day of the Sacrificial Ceremony approached swiftly.

On that day, everyone who helped build the City Platform was required to attend.

And following its completion, many ‘important people’ arrived at the once desolate spot.

Their clothes varied, and their accents were different, seeming to have come from across the land.

“This is the first one finished this year, right?”

“Yeah, the other four in Eastern Prefecture are slower.”

“Probably quite a few folks will come for this one.”

“I’m thinking of waiting. Let this first one pass. Too many people come for the first one. More people mean more who might die… the chance becomes too slim.”

“I think the same.”

Their conversation was cryptic. Their brief exchange hinted at a coming slaughter.

…

The middle of the night was quiet, the moon bright, the stars sparse.

Gou’er sat by the lake chatting with Chen Changsheng.

Gou’er said happily, “Tomorrow’s the Sacrificial Ceremony. Then I’ll see the Divine Child then. Wonder what the Divine Child looks like… definitely very impressive, right?”

“Maybe,” answered Chen Changsheng.

He had examined the City Platform closely during the day, and something about it felt persistently wrong to him.

Therefore, when Gou’er was about to leave,

Chen Changsheng, just to be safe, secretly directed a wisp of his Magical Power into the brow center – the Brow Chakra – of Gou’er.

“It all depends on tomorrow.”