Dual Cultivation God Returns

Chapter 724: Weight of Words



"But you know, even if you can't tell whether I pretend or not, or if I am the kind of person to do so, the truth is that I don't really have a reason to pretend to begin with", Wu Long's words returned her thoughts to their conversation.

"How come? You're not going to say that you have the same morals she does, right?"

"Haha, of course not, if you ever catch me saying that, you can confidently declare that I'm lying, most people will agree with you as well"

"Then?"

"It's because Lan'er is not pushing me to change my behavior. If anything, she's troubled by her belief that she is making things harder for me. Even though I try to find a solution to those worries or hers... but that's beyond the point... The fact is, I am the one who is choosing to seek new answers. So why would I need to pretend?", Wu Long's words caused Hong Yue to make a doubtful expression.

Why would someone like him, possessing that much power, that she herself was in awe of not that long ago, choose to start restricting himself of his own volition? In her view, the morals and whatever that 'empathy' that Wei Lan woman had were only shackles.

"Your eyes tell me you're not believing me", an involuntary giggle escaped his lips as he saw her expression above her silver mask.

"Do you even have to ask why?", she said, and then widened her eyes at the voice that came out of her own mouth, finding herself unusually expressive in her reactions today. As that phrase was somehow dripping with sassiness, not only in its content, but her tone and the look she had on her face as well.

Maybe it was because she was startled by that 'consideration' he showed before.

Or perhaps because it extremely rare that a conversation lasted this long for her, especially as confrontational in ideas as this one, and that possibly for the first time in her entire life it was a conversation she didn't need to, but wanted to have with someone other than her sister.

She didn't know the true reason either, but to her own puzzlement, the usual cold indifference in her usual demeanor was starting to falter.

"I suppose that's fair as well...", his smile became a bit troubled since whatever approach he tried to answer her questions, it all crushed against a wall of disbelief. Something quite difficult to overcome with reasoning by its nature.

"But... why would I need to pretend or lie to you?", he then simply asked in a neutral tone, "It's your choice to believe that, but I'm curious to know why you would think that"

Her eyes intently looked into his, as she asked herself the same question, and couldn't find a satisfactory answer. If she knew that, perhaps she wouldn't have been so perplexed.

And more than that his interest in her opinion itself was disorienting.

But after a long pause, she remembered that she already had the same unexplainable confusion that she was experiencing now. And most recently, she felt it during his talk with Old Yen about loyalty and sincerity.

She remembered the question that appeared in her head back then, and the one that popped up when she made that doubtful expression just a few moments ago.

And then, she finally arrived at a conclusion that she already knew what kept her so adamant about him either lying or pretending.

"I don't think you have any reason to do that, that's what is puzzling me... the truth is that even if you didn't have any reason whatsoever to lie, I still have no choice but to not believe you... because the reasoning of genuinely acting in that way doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever. Why would anyone who has strength restrict themselves with the well-being of others, that too, of someone weaker?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Hearing that answer, understanding flashed in Wu Long's eyes, as he wryly thought, 'Ah, of course, it was silly of me to overlook that...'

It was not like she wanted to believe that Wu Long lied, pretended and was faking his behavior, because she had some preconceived idea of who he was or because she believed he had some ulterior motive for it.

It was that she just didn't know why people act morally in the first place. And the confusion of seeing that behavior became distrust, that birthed rejection. From the very beginning, it was unrealistic of him to expect her to understand his reasoning.

It was a simple oversight on his part, but a crucial missing piece in solving this puzzle. And he knew that the reason this missing piece escaped his eyes in the beginning, was also a key that would allow him to bridge that gap in understanding between them.

His expression became more sincere, a look that she could not understand appearing in his eyes once more.

"The answer to that question is in how you view the world.

It is certainly true that in the world of cultivators, the strong prosper while the weak are trampled.

I don't have to make a long wordy speech to recite the harsh realities of such a world in detail to someone who knows it firsthand like you, that phrase alone will suffice to let you know what I am talking about.

And in such a world, yes, using your strength to achieve your goals, whether they are driven by necessity, greed, something as frivolous as a whim, or anything else, is extremely natural. That is true.

I don't have the tiniest bit of intention to deny any of that, and if I did, I would be the biggest hypocrite that ever walked the Seven Boundless Worlds. My path itself is perhaps one of the greatest examples of those undeniable truths"

Wu Long didn't exert any pressure or really do anything, his demeanor was completely the same as before. And even the things he talked about were something she already knew.

But while he spoke, still in that calm and neutral tone, as if speaking about weather, Hong Yue couldn't help but listen.

There was a certain weight behind his words, that she couldn't ignore.

"But...", he then made a slight infection in his tone for that single word, "...even if all of that is true about this world, that doesn't mean it is all there is to it"

He made a wry smile, slightly changing his tone to match that expression, "Don't you think that for a vision of the world propped up by people who call others naive, childish and stupid, because they don't see that it's 'how the world outside of a cozy home' really works, it is a bit too narrow?"

His question took her by surprise.

'Narrow?', the word echoed in her head, since it was applied to the vision of the world she knew. That was the whole, and a whole cannot be narrow or wide, it is whole, it is everything.

But if it was narrow...

"While boasting about the complexity of the world to support their claims for that vision, they presume such a simplistic view of its true nature", as he spoke, it dawned on her that

there was something missing in that 'whole' that she saw.

"Then...?", she spoke with slight hesitation that was highly unusual for her.

"Mm, the world we live in is far too complex to wrap it so neatly in one explanation, especially as single-minded as that one. That worldview being true, as I've already said I don't deny, doesn't really negate anything outside of that vision. Everything that doesn't fit is

just conveniently cut out for being 'wrong' ", he nodded.

"What for?", Hong Yue instantly caught the word 'conveniently'.

"Hmm, how should I explain it...", he touched his chin and looked to the side in thought,

since it was not easy to explain to someone with an upbringing such as Hong Ye or Hong Yue

had, "Mm, but this might be a good chance..."

He nodded to his thoughts, as he seemingly came to some kind of a decision.