Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

On a certain day much later on, Demon Lord Nero watched as a blizzard of snow fell from the heavens and was swallowed up by the abyss behind the Demon Palace. He was suddenly reminded of that snowfall in White Emperor City.

Xuelao City was assailed year-round by snowstorms, and he had borne witness to countless, but none of them had left a deeper impression on him than that particular snowfall.

White Emperor City was located in the south, so its climate was gentle and warm. It was also near the Western Sea, so it rarely saw snow, but the snowfall on that day was incredibly heavy.

In just half a night, that city along the banks of the Red River was covered in snow, the yellow sands in the courtyard painted white.

The Demon Lord drew his gaze back from the abyss and said to Chen Changsheng, "I was wrong. On that day, I should have paid every price to kill you."

Nanke indifferently said, "I think so too."

Chen Changsheng was covered in blood, but his expression was very calm. "That's already a matter of the past."

……

……

In this snowstorm from far in the past, Chen Changsheng arrived at that courtyard near the Xiang clan's estate.

The Demon Lord truly had not intended to kill him, at least in the beginning.

Chen Changsheng opened the gate of the courtyard and entered, his shoes making a satisfying crunch as they stepped on the soft and fresh snow.

He wore a plain Daoist robe, though he had also added a large cape to his attire.

The cold wind blowing against the mantle of snow quickly erased his footprints and also lifted up a corner of his cape.

Deep within the courtyard was a tree. A small clay stove had been placed under the tree, with a pot of tea boiling on it. Two seats had been placed around the stove.

The Demon Lord sat on the seat to the north.

The seat to the south was empty and waiting.

Chen Changsheng walked under the tree.

The pot of tea was just beginning to boil, letting out a pleasant whistle.

As pleasant as the Demon Lord's voice.

"A thousand years."

Chen Changsheng understood the meaning of the Demon Lord's words.

It could be presumed that anyone who knew of today's talk would feel a similar melancholy.

Exactly one thousand years ago, Emperor Taizong and the previous Demon Lord held a conversation in Luoyang.

It was an extremely famous conversation that no one in the continent did not know about. Even after a thousand years, it was still a topic reminisced on and sighed about by the populace.

Even after tens of thousands of years, this conversation would probably still occupy the most important chapter in the annals of history.

This conversation had decided the future of the entire continent.

The Human race would submit and pay tribute; the Demon race would have their wolf cavalry return to the north.

To the Human race, this conversation should have been the greatest humiliation, but because Zhou Dufu had appeared amongst the willows, it took on a different meaning.

From this standpoint, this conversation was not only between Emperor Taizong and the previous Demon Lord. Rather, it was a discussion between three great individuals.

A thousand years later, the leader of the Human race and the Lord of the Demon race met once more, soon to partake in another conversation.

How could it not feel dizzying?

Chen Changsheng said, "Today, there are no bystanders to our conversation, so it might be very quickly lost in history."

The Demon Lord answered, "In the future, I will have a historian record our conversation today and even demand that every child be able to memorize it."

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "I will not do this, because I do not feel it will be very important."

These two statements took opposite positions but had very similar meanings.

Both the Demon Lord and Chen Changsheng had revealed an extremely formidable, almost frightening, self-confidence.

How one recorded it in the history books or if it was even recorded was the right of the victor.

……

……

With the conclusion of their opening remarks, the courtyard fell quiet for a long time.

The tea on the stove boiled, but the Demon Lord had no intention of pouring tea. He quietly stared at Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng quietly stared at the Demon Lord.

This was not their first time meeting. More accurately, it was their third time.

But on their first meeting, he had not been able to clearly see the Demon Lord's face.

Just like the majority of the Demon Imperial clan, the Demon Lord had a very pale face, though it was not like jade or snow, but something rather strange.

Yet it was not a state of illness, instead seeming like a symbol that one was different from the world, a feeling that one was inhuman.

The Demon Lord suddenly smiled.

He had a rather unique way of smiling, revealing more of his gums. When contrasted against his pale complexion, there was nothing too ugly about it, though it gave off a rather cruel and sanguine aura.

"You really are an interesting person."

The Demon Lord said, "Or maybe you aren't a person, because your body does not give off the smell of a human. It's more like… a tool?"

Chen Changsheng recalled that the Demon Lord might have had some idea about his background, or perhaps knew even more about it.

But it did not matter.

Whether he was a tool or a fruit, he knew who he was, so that was enough. This comment naturally would not disturb his Dao heart.

Seeing no reaction, the Demon Lord gradually drew back his smile, indifferently saying, "I came to White Emperor City this time primarily to do three things."

Given his prudent way of doing things, those three things were assuredly matters of utmost importance. Chen Changsheng thought and thought, but he could only think of one matter.

The Demon Lord naturally would not discuss what he had encountered during the baptism of the Wildfire in the Celestial Tree. He said, "At this point, I have finished one and a half, and now we come to today."

Chen Changsheng asked, "It has to do with me?"

The Demon Lord replied, "Of course, because the most important matter was meeting you."

Chen Changsheng asked, "When you left Xuelao City, you were already sure that you would meet me here?"

The Demon Lord answered, "I was prepared to marry Princess Luoluo and the Demi-human race was prepared to ally with me. You would definitely come, and so we would definitely meet."

Chen Changsheng asked, "Why must you meet with me?"

The Demon Lord explained, "I thought that if I didn't kill you, I would like to ask you a question."

Chen Changsheng inquired, "What question?"

The Demon Lord asked, "What is our purpose in living?"

Chen Changsheng fell silent.

Several days ago, after Bie Yanghong left this world, he had sat in the courtyard and gazed up at the innumerable stars, sensing that black void like the mouth of a well, pondering this question.

In truth, in the many nights after the coup of the Mausoleum of Books, he had pondered this question.

In the view of the common people, questions like this were too abstruse. They had a tart taste and smelled of books, were liable to make others laugh.

But this was truly a question worth contemplating.

People like him and the Demon Lord naturally understood this principle.

"In different positions, one must do different things, consider different questions."

The Demon Lord apathetically said, "We are the highest existences in this world, so we must see the farthest."

Chen Changsheng quietly pondered this statement, then asked, "Where does your gaze lie?"

The Demon Lord answered, "Above the sea of stars."

Chen Changsheng understood his meaning.

The Demon Lord added, "And also a thousand autumns, ten thousand generations."

A normal person would have found these responses incomprehensible, but the Demon Lord knew that Chen Changsheng would understand.

Chen Changsheng really did understand, because he thought the same, because he was the Pope of the Human race.

The Demon Lord continued, "This is duty, and also pressure. But it is also the greatest source of pleasure, the firmest meaning to exist."

"Just what is above the sea of stars? The other race of the Sacred Light Continent?"

Chen Changsheng calmly gazed into the Demon Lord's eyes and asked, "Just what is your relationship with them? What are the stealers of fire?"