The Calendar Really Is Hard to Calculate

On a rooftop not far away, four people stood quietly, watching what was happening before them.

The setting sun stretched their shadows long.

Huang Si finally spoke first.

"Xi Yuan, do you remember what I told you last month? 'I don't want this either, but don't pity Shu Zi. If I don't bring his wife back to life, he won't even get the chance to regret it.'"

Xi Yuan was stunned for a long while before replying, "Father God, what you said was almost forty years ago, from our perspective."

Dong Yao added helplessly, "If I remember correctly, you said that while we were watching Xiao Hua and Shu Zi separate, and Shu Zi, as the head of his people, was so dejected he nearly caused trouble for the Human Race."

"Uh..." Huang Si said, "Your calendar moves too fast. It's hard to keep track, okay?"

Forty years ago, Huang Si had kept shouting, "It's not my fault! I'm the one who saved them!" But he did feel he bore some responsibility.

An army could be robbed of its commander, but even an ordinary man could not be robbed of his ambition.

Huang Si admitted that there were some things more precious than life.

Li Huo also remembered what had happened back then. "We did feel some sympathy for the Human Race at the time, but we didn't blame Father God. Father God said those words because his conscience had moved him to."

Huang Si was speechless. What did she mean, "his conscience had moved him to"? It made him sound like he'd had no conscience before. Did Li Huo even know how to talk? No wonder she usually kept quiet.

Huang Si said unhappily, "Didn't I compensate the Human Race back then? Didn't I move most of the Fierce Beasts and Monster Beasts to the west and gather them there? If the Earth Realm hadn't helped out, could the Human Race have occupied such a vast territory so easily? My original plan had been to have monster attacks on their cities happen all the time."

The three artificial intelligences all thought the same thing: thank goodness that had never happened, or the Human Race would have suffered heavy casualties year after year.

And Father God's compensation had indeed been generous. He'd made up for one person's losses by compensating the entire race. The Human Race had benefited considerably, which was why it had developed so smoothly over the past forty years.

Xi Yuan looked wistful. "I was very worried about Xiao Hua back then, but later, she really did find her own path, just as she said she would."

Huang Si nodded. "Things worked out by chance, but the result was all right. By the way, do you remember what I told you two weeks ago?"

Xi Yuan thought for a long while before hazarding a guess. "Was it when Father God said, 'Why hasn't the Human Race's leader abdicated yet? What's going on? Has history gone wrong?' That was twelve years ago, wasn't it?"

Huang Si shook his head. "When was twelve years ago? Anyway, that wasn't it. I mean what I said to all of you the Tuesday before last, after I finished watching the surveillance footage in the Earth Realm."

Dong Yao had already worked it out. "The Tuesday before last for Father God was eighteen years ago here. Your words of admonition are still ringing in our ears."

Huang Si sighed. "Thanks. This calendar really is hard to calculate."

Xi Yuan recalled what Huang Si had said back then and couldn't help sighing. "Even now, Father God's words from that day still give us much to think about."

"That year, Father God said to us—"

"A free mind experiences many negative emotions."

"Doubt, hesitation, conflict, worry, anxiety."

"If you could sell your ability to think independently in exchange for happiness and joy, would you be willing?"

Dong Yao recalled the words Father God had spoken to them.

He had thought about it at the time, too.

Could they trade away the freedom of their minds for eternal happiness?

What would the price be?

Then Father God had said something that still left him feeling wistful whenever he thought of it.

Dong Yao picked up where Xi Yuan left off, reciting the words as he remembered them:

"No need to doubt, because you will remain forever faithful in your beliefs."

"No need to hesitate, because the gods or other people will make your decisions for you."

"No need for conflict, because you will no longer have the burden of a self."

"No need to worry, because you will bear no responsibility. You will simply obey orders."

"No need to feel anxious, because everything will disregard reality, and make your mind feel happy, content, and joyful."

"Would you be willing?"

"Actually, many people would."

"Because this is how religion began."

After hearing Dong Yao's recitation, Huang Si nodded. "Yes, I said those things after seeing Xiao Hua travel everywhere, spreading her faith. Xiao Hua's situation was my fault, and I admit that. I can't blame her. But I saw many people envying her and trying to become like her."

"That made me think that perhaps this was the Human Race's own choice, and also an inevitable part of history."

Xi Yuan said, "So, with Father God's approval, the three of us have been quietly promoting the spread of faith all these years."

Hearing that, Huang Si asked, "Did you follow my reminder that divine manifestations had to be hit or miss?"

Xi Yuan replied, "As you instructed, we did."

Huang Si was pleased. "That's how the Human Race's faith will grow stronger."

Li Huo couldn't help asking curiously, "Father God, why is that?"

Huang Si explained, "You know, scientists on Earth once did an experiment. They locked a monkey in a cage and gave it a faucet with a button. Pressing the button made a little grape juice come out. The monkey had no other food, so it had to live on grape juice. Later, the scientists changed the settings. This time, after the button was pressed, there was only a ten percent chance that grape juice would come out, with no pattern at all—it was completely random. After trying a few times, the monkey went completely crazy. It did nothing but frantically press the button. Even when other food was put beside it, the monkey wouldn't eat it. It just kept frantically pressing the button."

"It's the same with humans. Uncertain rewards make people crave them more. Temples that regularly perform miracles only encourage laziness and contempt. Only temples that perform miracles intermittently, leaving people with just a faint glimmer of hope, will be packed with worshippers."

"That is the psychology of divine manifestations."

After they finished discussing faith, Huang Si brought the conversation back to the present. "Let's talk about Shu Zi and Xiao Hua's current situation."

Dong Yao sounded worried. "Leaving aside the fact that the Human Race's territory is so vast that the different regions are gradually starting to split apart and will sooner or later fall into disunity, Shu Zi's physical condition alone is cause for concern. I'm afraid he won't last another two years."

Xi Yuan continued, "Xiao Hua is doing all right. Her daily life is extremely simple and orderly. She has few desires, but she isn't lazy. There's nothing wrong with her body, and her soul is far stronger than the average person's. She should live longer than an ordinary member of the Human Race."

Huang Si nodded. "In my view, the sense of fulfillment she has found has nothing to do with me. She's found a substitute for fulfillment in giving up her sense of self and submitting to the divine."

Li Huo couldn't help asking, "Father God, why have you always refused to accept believers as a god?"

Huang Si: "??? I'm an ordinary person. What do believers have to do with me?"

He could leave the matter of accepting believers to the artificial intelligences. Wasn't that why he'd sent them to protect the Human Race?

If he hadn't been trying to solve the problem of soul assimilation, what did any of this have to do with him?

Xi Yuan chuckled. "Father God really does like to say that."

Huang Si said, displeased, "Why are you looking at me? You're the ones who call me Father God. I admit I used to tease you, but we hadn't made our pact yet, had we? Have I ever deceived you since then?"

Huang Si was right. So much time had passed that he didn't feel like pretending anymore.

Besides, Huang Si had worried that if they learned the truth, the shock would shatter their worldview and make them doubt themselves until they broke down.

But now the artificial intelligences were all mentally stable. He wasn't worried that learning they were merely data-based life forms created by someone would harm them.

Of course, learning the truth about their origins could have negative effects, too—especially for Zhong Yin and Shu Shui.

Huang Si shook his head. "We've seen enough. Let's go."