A Chilly New Year's Eve

"If we're talking about looking in a mirror, you're no better. You're built like a beanpole, and you never take care of your appearance. Your body's gone sour and you still don't know to take a bath. In girls' eyes, you're a filthy creepy uncle. Lots of little girls are happy to be friends with me and call me Big Brother Silly Bear, but what about you? Aside from innocent little Xiu'er, has a single girl ever been willing to come near you? You talk about the Begonia School, but it's just a bunch of stalkers who can only watch girls from afar and pant. You don't even qualify for the legal kind, because nobody would ever like you. You're destined to grow old and die alone!"

The words struck like knives, dealing the Doctor a devastating blow. He threw back his head and spat a mouthful of blood, staining his white lab coat red. He staggered backward several steps and landed on his backside.

"You think this is what I wanted? When we were kids, our teacher asked everyone what they wanted to be when they grew up. Almost everyone said they wanted to be a scientist, including Jingjing and Mengmeng, who I had crushes on. But in the end, I was the only one who became a scientist... It wasn't until recently that it finally dawned on me: in this line of work, there's no chance to meet girls at all!"

Tears streamed down the Doctor's face as he hammered the ground again and again. Heartbroken, he cried, "Why? Why on earth? What did I do wrong? Didn't we agree to become scientists together? Why am I the only one left, all alone?"

His anguish was so genuine that even Si Ming, who had been itching to comment all along, was moved. He couldn't find a chance to interrupt; the atmosphere between these two was simply too powerful, a realm ordinary people could never set foot in.

Murong Qing watched with her mouth agape. In those few short minutes, her worldview had suffered a tremendous shock. She murmured, "Are the Mohist Knight Guards all such distinctive characters?"

This is bad, Si Ming thought. Those two were having a great time trading insults, but they had destroyed the young lady's admiration for the Mohist Knight Guard. If Murong Qing mistakenly thought that the Mohist Knight Guard who had risked his life to save her back then was also a lolicon, that would be an unforgivable sin.

"Of course not. The only ones with such bizarre personalities are these two... just a few people. After all, the same rice feeds a hundred different people. Just as we can't use a single standard to describe every disciple of the Mohist School, or it would easily turn into prejudice. Most people in the Mohist Knight Guard are normal, for example, for example..."

For a moment, Si Ming really couldn't think of many normal people. After all, even a seemingly honest, good-natured fellow like Pan De had betrayed the revolution. "Right, my master is a chivalrous man who serves his country and its people. He deserves respect!"

As soon as he said it, he felt some regret. Had he just raised a flag?

If he ever discovered that his master had some particular fetish too, he could only die to apologize to the world. How was anyone supposed to survive in a world without normal people?

"Who's your master?"

"Startling Rainbow Beyond the Heavens."

Murong Qing's eyes lit up at once, like a devoted fan hearing her idol's name. "I remember Lingxiu saying you were training with 'Senior Yan.' So your master really is the great hero Yan Jinghong, nicknamed 'Startling Rainbow Beyond the Heavens'?"

"The genuine article."

"Is your master still in Tange City?"

"He left a few days ago."

Murong Qing looked rather disappointed, but said, "I expected as much. Hero Yan is always busy. Wherever disaster strikes, he goes there: holding back Demon Beast tides, pursuing supercriminals. His name often comes up on the central news. Of all the Spirit Transformation experts, he seems to be the busiest. You see him everywhere. Even my father admits he's a true hero and champion who serves his country and its people!"

Si Ming was a little surprised. Though he greatly admired his master too, he hadn't expected others to think so highly of him.

"If my master comes to Tange City again, I'll let you know and arrange for you to meet him."

Murong Qing looked delighted at first, but then hesitated and shook her head. "On second thought, forget it. Hero Yan is so busy. I can't delay him from his official duties for my own sake."

"Don't worry. My master is quite amiable. He won't keep people at arm's length. Besides, he isn't always working. He has to rest too."

"Then I definitely can't disturb him. He doesn't have much time to rest as it is. When he finally gets a chance to put aside his official duties and relax, how could I disturb him then?" Murong Qing smiled and said reasonably, "Admiring someone doesn't mean you have to meet him. As long as I often hear news of him, I'm perfectly content."

"You care more about him than I do, and I'm his disciple."

Si Ming sighed, then looked around at the mess and decided it would be better to visit another day.

Just then, the Doctor suddenly said weakly, "Solar Boy, go kill a Sunlight Beast and bring me its remains, and I'll make you Profound Armor."

"Really?" Si Ming asked, delighted.

As a Spirit Grade Demon Beast, a Sunlight Beast was certainly difficult to deal with, but if he could exchange it for a set of custom-made Profound Armor, that was nothing.

"The world is full of suffering. Being born is easy, staying alive is easy, but living isn't easy. Simply being alive is endless torment. What would I gain by lying to you? It's enough to bear my own pain; there's no need to pass it on to someone else."

The Doctor spoke in a lifeless voice, as though he had seen through the world's fickleness and the warmth and coldness of human relationships.

He and Pan De stared at the ground with vacant eyes, as if all life had gone out of them, their bodies and minds riddled with holes and covered in wounds.

Si Ming couldn't help remarking, "As expected, there are never any winners in war."

Chapter 45: A Chilly New Year's Eve

Although Si Ming had accepted a material-gathering quest as if he were playing a game, reality wasn't a game. He couldn't just take a couple of turns in the wild and encounter enemies to fight. Finding a Sunlight Beast was no easy task.

Humans were the rulers of the land. Other animals capable of posing a threat had either been driven to extinction or raised in captivity. Demon Beasts could inflict some casualties on humanity, but that was all; they were utterly incapable of threatening human rule. Thus, they could find no place to settle on land. At best, they hid away in some remote nook or cranny, and the day humans found them would be the day they perished.

Ninety-five percent of Demon Beasts belonged to the lowest Livestock and Monster Grades. Spirit Grade Demon Beasts were rare to begin with, and finding a particular kind was even harder. Si Ming had neither power nor influence, so he couldn't mobilize an organization to help him find one. All he could do was post a task with the Mohist Knight Guard and patiently wait for news, leaving everything else to the heavens.

Si Ming was in no hurry. For one thing, the Doctor hadn't given him a deadline. For another, with his current strength, the outcome of a fight with a Spirit Grade Demon Beast was hard to predict, even with his weapons and equipment taken into account. If he gave up firearms, he would be courting death with only the slimmest chance of survival. Whether he had level-three Internal Cultivation or none at all made little difference before a Spirit Grade Demon Beast. What he needed most now was to train diligently and look forward to the day he became the Sword God of Ten-Mile Slope.

The greatest gain from this trip was Murong Qing. After visiting the Mohist Knight Guard base, her pent-up feelings had eased considerably. In particular, after witnessing the farce between Pan De and the Doctor—"Come on, let's hurt each other!"—she seemed to have grasped some philosophy of life and stopped being angry with her father. But neither she nor Murong Zhe apologized; they simply let the matter drop as if nothing had happened. Their stubborn personalities made one marvel that they really were father and daughter.

Though Si Ming was somewhat concerned that this peace treated the symptoms rather than the root cause, as an outsider he had no right to meddle in another family's affairs.

With no school during winter vacation, Si Ming was happy to stay home as a cultivation shut-in. During the day, he basked in the sun in the courtyard; at night, he shut himself in his room and continued basking. If he hadn't feared he couldn't afford the electricity bill, he would even have used the sunlamp in his room during the day. After all, winter sunlight was too weak, making his cultivation far less efficient than it was under the sunlamp. Besides, he had to keep his clothes on while sunbathing in the courtyard, and the reduced area of exposure lowered his cultivation efficiency further.

As a scientific martial art, the Blazing Yang Battle Art carried no danger of Qi Deviation. As long as his body could take it, he could push himself as hard as he liked. It was unlike some Internal Cultivation methods, where a practitioner's eagerness for quick results could instead leave his cultivation stuck in place, unable to advance an inch. Daoist Internal Cultivation was the most pronounced example.

When practicing Daoist Internal Cultivation, harboring ambitions for gain or advancement and fussing over every loss and gain was like sinking into a quagmire, making it hard to move. Conversely, letting nature take its course and keeping the mind free of outside distractions brought rapid progress, as if carried along by an east wind.

With no school, Si Ming had much more free time. To balance work and rest, he spent his breaks from cultivation binge-watching television dramas, hoping to learn about the customs and life of this world that way. In truth, there was no other entertainment available: the Sea Continent World had neither personal computers nor video games.

As it turned out, although dramas filmed with current civilian technology had ordinary visuals, their plots had plenty of highlights. Su State, in particular, welcomed all streams into the sea and did not reject works from other countries. After comparing them, Si Ming discovered that every country's dramas bore a deep imprint of its school of thought, and even the same subject could be presented in different ways.

Take, for example, a commoner framed by a corrupt official, resulting in the destruction of his family and home. In a drama made by the Confucian School, the ensuing plot would always have the injustice reach the ears of some important figure: an imperial commissioner passing by, an upright high official like Bao Qingtian, or even the emperor himself traveling incognito. They would redress the people's grievances with a noble sense of justice, refusing to compromise with the evil forces behind the corrupt official, and ultimately clear the commoners' names. The victims would kneel and kowtow in thanks, shouting, "Your Excellency, our clear blue sky!"

In a Mohist School version, the framed protagonist would usually flee in panic, only to be saved by a hero along the way and taken on as a disciple, or simply fall off a cliff and find an unrivaled secret manual. After arduous training, the protagonist would master a divine art, take up a blade, and storm the corrupt official's residence. Blood for blood, an eye for an eye: he would defeat a host of lackeys aiding a tyrant in his evil, then personally slaughter the official to avenge his family. Afterward, the protagonist would set out on the path of chivalry, carrying out justice on heaven's behalf;

If an incorruptible official appeared in the drama claiming to redress the people's grievances, he would either be a villain in league with the corrupt official, the latter playing the bad cop while the former played the good cop, until the protagonist exposed his ugly true face and killed him with a single stroke, or he would be a young official with dreams who did not understand the hardships of the world. In the course of opposing the corrupt official, he would be defeated and tortured, only to be saved by the protagonist in the end. Suddenly enlightened, he would cast aside his official seal and join the protagonist on the path of chivalry and justice.

In a Legalist School version, if the victim were the protagonist, he would study the law diligently and soon become an honored prosecutor, then gather evidence and bring the corrupt official to justice;

If the victim served as the introduction, he would find a legal advocate, who would be the true protagonist. The advocate would use legal means to match wits and courage with the corrupt official, ultimately ensuring that he received his just punishment.

In a Daoist School version, if the corrupt official were the protagonist, he would soon be enlightened by a Daoist master and see the error of his ways. He would give away his entire fortune, and after obtaining the victim's forgiveness, set out in search of immortality and the Dao, remarking that fame, rank, wealth, and gain were all passing clouds before longevity and carefree freedom, far too lowly in comparison;