The doors slowly closed. Zhao Fangxu took a deep breath, feeling more tense than ever. Looking at Feng Baobao and Lin Xian, he said gravely, "From this point onward, I, Zhao Fangxu, speak only for myself as I ask the two of you three questions."
"Depending on the severity, I will report this to the company level by level and place it in the highest-classified files."
"Perhaps never to be declassified."
"Old Zhao, you..." Xu Xiang's eyes widened. As one of the company's founding veterans, he knew very well what Zhao Fangxu was doing.
He was staging a rebellion against himself. If Zhao Fangxu were not the company chairman, Xu Xiang would have suspected him of being a spy and called Xu San and Xu Si in to tie him up and drag him off for a reward.
"Old Xu, don't be surprised."
Zhao Fangxu adjusted his glasses, lowered his head, and said quietly, "I understand better than you why the company exists. It is to preserve the balance and stability of the Inhuman World. Nothing is more important than that."
"I will not allow anyone to destroy this hard-won peace."
"Anyone." Xu Xiang repeated those words, his voice somewhat hoarse. There was fear in his eyes as he looked at Zhao Fangxu. Over these past decades, it seemed he had never truly seen through this colleague of his.
"Yes, anyone."
Zhao Fangxu remained calm. Only those who had emerged from those years of raging war could understand the yearning for peace, could understand the weight of life. Once someone died, they were truly dead.
Anyone who wished to shatter this peace was his enemy—whether they came from above or below, whether they were ordinary people or Otherworlders, even if that person was Zhao Fangxu himself.
This peace had been forged inch by inch from flesh and blood, from one unyielding soul after another.
"I volunteer..."
Each echo surged into his marrow like a current of heat. Zhao Fangxu straightened his back and slowly sat down. His aged soul gradually lifted its head, moving slowly, yet it felt as though time were howling past his ears.
When he had fully straightened himself, his voice rang out firm and powerful. It was as if a young warrior in his prime sat alone at the negotiating table and declared with resounding force, "Zhao Fangxu requests a conversation with the two immortals."
"There are no immortals in the mortal world." Lin Xian shook his head. "There is only one person who went from mortal to immortal—one true person."
Zhao Fangxu's expression remained placid, without the slightest ripple. He merely nodded and changed his wording. "Then, Perfected Lin, may I ask where Immortal Feng came from?"
"She came from Wugensheng." Xu Xiang was still dancing on the line between life and death. Though weak and near death, he struggled to speak. "But all these years, Awu has been with the company. Old Zhao, you know that perfectly well. Why ask when you already know?"
"Wugensheng, the Eight Extraordinary Skills, the Jia Shen Turmoil..." Zhao Fangxu's eyes darkened before he nodded. "It is merely procedure, a confirmation once more. Old Xu, you are also an old hand at the company. I hope you can understand."
Then he asked his second question. "Feng Baobao, who do you think you are?"
"Who am I?" Feng Baobao pointed at herself with a blank, adorable expression, seeming a little uncertain.
"That's right." Zhao Fangxu asked again without expression, though his gaze drifted toward Lin Xian. Inwardly, he broke into a cold sweat for himself—and for everyone else.
Who was I? Who am I? It was not merely a philosophical question, but a question of position.
"I... I'm Awu." Feng Baobao thought for a moment, then looked at Xu Xiang without hesitation and flashed a radiant smile. "Gou Wazi knows me. If you don't believe me, ask him."
"So that's how it is."
Zhao Fangxu removed his glasses and let out a breath of relief. The situation seemed far better than he had imagined.
After wiping his glasses, Zhao Fangxu put them back on and posed his final question. "You have found your past, Awu. Where do you plan to go?"
"I don't know. I've always followed Gou Wazi." Feng Baobao shook her head blankly. A pure heart only needed to stay alive; other people had far more to consider.
"Xu Xiang is dying." Zhao Fangxu sighed and looked at Lin Xian. "Will you leave with this Perfected One?"
"I don't know." Feng Baobao was always like this. Only three words: I don't know.
Lin Xian rose and rubbed Feng Baobao's head. "If you don't know, how about I show you a path?"
"Sure." Feng Baobao nodded haphazardly, her bun loosening as dark hair flew free and spilled down to her waist.
Seeing this, Lin Xian shook his head. He gathered her hair and slowly tied it back, his voice deep and carrying a touch of solemnity. "You came from Nonbirth; you must go to Immortality."
She was Feng Baobao, and she was also Awu.
She had come from Nonbirth; she had to go to Immortality.
That was her path.
"Then... where is Immortality?" Feng Baobao asked instinctively.
The atmosphere immediately fell silent, and everyone held their breath.
This was the crux of every question, the source of every conflict. Immortality could trigger enormous chaos and destroy far more than just the Inhuman World.
This was also why Zhao Fangxu had come.
"Where is Immortality?" A brilliant smile suddenly appeared on Lin Xian's lips. Turning back, he asked, "Old Zhao, have you heard of Amway?"
"Amway?" Within Zhao Fangxu's bloated body, that indomitable and valiant soul froze. What the hell was that?
"Come, come, come. Old Zhao, as the saying goes, it's better to guide than to block, and better to lead than merely guide..." Lin Xian's voice was low. He did not sound like an immortal, but like a devil tempting someone. "Rather than let secrets related to immortals brew a storm in the shadows, why not pour them out and create an iconic scene?"
"An iconic scene?" Zhao Fangxu froze again. What the hell was that?
No one knew how much time had passed. It was so long that Xu San and Xu Si were nearly convinced something had happened to their father and Feng Baobao, and were about to throw down with the guards.
At last, the doors opened, and Zhao Fangxu slowly walked out.
"President Zhao, how's my dad!"
"President Zhao, where's Baobao?"
"Old Xu doesn't have much time left." Zhao Fangxu sighed. "Spend more time with him."
"Dad!"
The two brothers cried out and rushed into the hospital room, only to be beaten up by a vigorous and lively Xu Xiang.
"Dad, y-you're not dead..." Xu Si stammered.
"You little brat, you're the one who's dead!" Xu Xiang cursed. "This is a final burst of vitality, the last stage of my life."
"A final burst that strong?!"
The two brothers stood dumbfounded. This was a little too abnormal for a final burst, wasn't it?
"Shut up, both of you. Perfected Lin stimulated the last trace of my Innate Qi. Don't be fooled by how spirited I look right now—I'm actually an empty shell." Xu Xiang said solemnly, "Come over. I need to give my last instructions."
The two brothers, who usually clashed like needle and awl, obediently knelt by the hospital bed at this moment and listened to his final words.
Zhao Fangxu shook his head at the sight. Then he looked out the window at that fleeting golden bridge and murmured, deeply puzzled, "Could ascension truly exist?"