Chapter Five Hundred and Three: The One Behind You
Faced with Young Master Sang’s questioning.
Li Shanyan remained silent for a long time, and finally, a trace of weariness and a sigh flashed across his youthful face.
“Young friend… your guess is indeed not wrong.”
“I have known about the Heavenly Treasure and Earth Repository for a long time and have even seen a fragment of the First Holy Emperor.”
“Back then, I, too, swore to protect the entire world just like you, to keep those deities and demons at bay.”
At this point, Li Shanyan’s face revealed a defiant pride.
“For this, I deliberately immersed myself in research for over a hundred years, seeking a sliver of a solution.”
“Finally…”
Young Master Sang looked at him expectantly.
“… I gave up.”
“Don’t you dare give up, hey!”
“I couldn’t help it,” Li Shanyan said innocently, “I pretty much went through every possible scenario of the demons’ arrival.”
“But even the fragment of the First Holy Emperor told me that the world’s destruction is unavoidable, and I am too weak; no matter how hard I struggle, I can’t change this outcome.”
“Later, I gradually realized that if the First Holy Emperor’s true form is indeed a Primordial Deity, then he must know certain inconvenient truths.”
“Though it’s inconvenient to speak, many things remain thought-provoking.”
…First, after the deities and demons obtain the Heavenly Treasure and Earth Repository, for some reason, this world will definitely collapse.
This means that from the very beginning, the possibility of offering the Heavenly Treasure and Earth Repository to the deities and demons to survive didn’t exist.
Secondly, I am too weak to change anything.
This statement seems to imply.
It suggests that the one who can change everything is not myself.
But someone else.
“What I couldn’t figure out back then was.”
Li Shanyan whispered: “Since the First Holy Emperor could leave behind a fragment, existing through endless ages and still powerful enough to make me wary.”
“Then with the Emperor’s abilities, even if his essence returns to the outer world, he could still unify this realm and bring everything under control.”
“Yet, he not only let that fragment hide in an unseen royal tomb but also hardly ever mentioned the search for the Heavenly Treasure and Earth Repository to the descendants of the Holy Kingdom.”
“This is illogical. If he is a Primordial Deity, there’s no reason not to continue searching for the Heavenly Treasure and Earth Repository.”
Seeing Young Master Sang also fall into contemplation, Li Shanyan continued:
“I considered many possibilities back then. However, after eliminating them one by one, I arrived at one major possibility.”
“The First Holy Emperor… is wary of something.”
“No, or rather.”
“All Primordial Deities are wary of something in this world.”
Upon hearing this.
Young Master Sang felt a stir in his heart.
“Wary of what?”
“If I knew the answer,” Li Shanyan smiled bitterly and shrugged, “I wouldn’t have had to endure humiliation later, pretending to flatter Ancestral Cang.”
“So, your agreement with Ancestral Cang to collect the Repository’s treasures was also a deception?” Young Master Sang asked.
“After all, this is a rare opportunity to interact personally with the demons.”
Li Shanyan waved his sleeve casually: “Before this, the whole world could be said to know nothing about the existence of demons. Even I merely stayed at the level of ‘I heard this name from the First Holy Emperor’s fragment.'”
“And in reality, demons are not much different from my imagination.”
“They are powerful, arrogant, unrestrained, and lawless. Their words and actions constantly reveal a sense of superiority over all beings.”
“They don’t care about order or rules, because these things are created by them.”
“And we, in their eyes, are merely white mice in a cage.”
Seeing Young Master Sang fall into silence, Li Shanyan softly added:
“However, I believe your efforts aren’t misguided.”
“I once pondered whether there was a way to bring everything to ruin to force the demons to compromise with us.”
“However, I have run the calculations countless times, and the results were merely passable. My nature is ultimately a bit cowardly; the older I get, the more I think, making me ill-suited for such high-stakes gambles.”
“Until… I met you.”
“If it’s you handling it, perhaps you can do better than I can.”
Young Master Sang shot him a sharp glare: “You’re just trying to throw the mess onto me again, aren’t you?”
“Now, now, don’t be so quick to get angry,” Li Shanyan said innocently, “I wouldn’t be here working for you if you hadn’t dragged me back from the underworld.”
“Rest assured, for miscellaneous tasks within my capability, I will naturally take care of them.”
“But as for truly deserving to set up situations and preside over the world.”
“I still… fall short.”
Young Master Sang shot him another sidelong glance, then silently withdrew his gaze.
Such sweet talk.
Who knows if this old man is again just finding an excuse to avoid responsibility.
But before he could finish his thought, Li Shanyan’s next words made Young Master Sang’s expression change sharply.
“By the way, since we’re already laying everything bare.”
“Young friend… aren’t you going to introduce the person behind you?”
Young Master Sang’s body stiffened, and after a moment of silence, he looked up.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Li Shanyan shook his head slowly: “You know very well.”
Who told you about the Heavenly Treasure and Earth Repository?
Who taught you the Dreamworld Dust Technique?
Who made you grow from an inconspicuous employee in the Punishment Department?
To become the famed Punishment Demon Lord?
“Haven’t I already said? Including the First Holy Emperor, it seems the demons hold a bit of wariness towards this world.”
Li Shanyan’s gaze was clear and deep, fixed intently on Young Master Sang: “Could it be that they’re afraid of something… or do you truly know nothing?”
Young Master Sang fell silent.
He looked at Li Shanyan with eyes as calm as a deep abyss.
The two stared at each other for a moment, and the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy and silent.
Suddenly, Li Shanyan smiled lightly:
“Since you have your suspicions, I can rest easy.”
“After all, I was just dragged back by you to do some work.”
“These matters, I don’t need to know.”
“Everything, you can decide for yourself.”
Young Master Sang suddenly laughed lightly: “You’re just going to trust me with the world?”
“You’re not afraid… that the person behind me is like Ancestral Cang and the others?”
Li Shanyan’s gaze remained as calm as when he bid farewell in that dream. It was both serene and irritatingly fatherly.
“I trust you, young friend.”
He gently clasped his hands together.
The child’s form was enveloped by a large robe, making his gesture appear somewhat comical.
Just the wide sleeves of the robe nearly dragged on the ground.
Yet, he still performed the gesture correctly, then finished his meal and turned to walk toward the office Young Master Sang had prepared for him.
Whether it was due to this new body or not.
Li Shanyan felt his steps were lighter than ever.
A carefree smile unconsciously spread across his face.
However.
When he opened the office door.
Seeing the mountain-high stack of documents piled on the desk, his smile vanished completely.
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