"Fate..." Dragon Duke sighed, his face awash with deep complexity. He took a few steps, sat down on a boulder, then patted the spot beside him, signaling Hong Ting to sit.
Hong Ting imitated Dragon Duke and sat cross-legged.
"Look." Dragon Duke pointed at the boulder beneath him.
Hong Ting hurriedly looked over and saw a small group of ants beside the rock, marching in a line as they carried food back to their nest.
"This is fate," Dragon Duke continued.
"Ah?"
"Look again." Dragon Duke pointed up at the sky.
Hong Ting looked up and saw white clouds floating overhead, each in a different shape.
"This too is fate," Dragon Duke said.
Hong Ting's heart stirred, and he seemed to grasp something. "Master, you mean..." He could not continue. He had gained some insight, but for the moment, he could not put it into words.
"Ants carry food, bees gather honey, the breeze blows, white clouds drift. All things in this world travel along their own paths. To us, they may seem to follow no pattern, but in truth, they all move according to the great laws of Heaven and Earth."
"Look at the sun and moon. Every day, the sun rose and the moon set; the moon rose and the sun set. Look at life and death. No matter what kind of person one was, even an Immortal Venerable or Demon Venerable had to die. All went from life to death."
"All of this was fate."
"Every one of us, every living being, even every boulder, every drop of water, every flame—since it existed in this world, it must have meaning and value. Good and evil were the same. Without good, where would evil come from? Without evil, why speak of good?"
"You were so eager to eradicate