Guo Jin froze at those words.
How could the Grand Artisan's gaze be so piercing, as though he could read minds?
The thought he had just entertained seemed like a question that could cost him his life. Should he answer honestly?
Though Guo Jin came from the ranks of wilderness rogue cultivators, he had thoughts of his own. After some hesitation, he voiced the doubts in his heart.
Li Chen smiled faintly. "I was wondering what you were thinking just now, with such a conflicted expression."
Guo Jin bowed again. "Please enlighten me, Grand Artisan."
Li Chen said, "I once had the same doubts you do. Only later did I understand that as Heaven moves with vigor, the noble man must strive unceasingly to strengthen himself. That is to say, the common people have absolutely no right to remain ignorant!"
"Such is the working of the Heavenly Dao. Do you understand?"
"Tranquility and nonaction are the way of withdrawing from the world. But we Puppet Masters ought to act with initiative and shoulder our responsibilities courageously. That is the way of engaging with the world."
"As individuals, we naturally hope to withdraw from the world and its dust, quiet our minds, and cultivate in seclusion. But until we achieve true self-sufficiency, we inevitably become entangled in the causes and consequences of the mortal world. While living in this world, how can we speak of escaping it?"
Having returned from his journey to Spirit Province and Sky City, Li Chen had witnessed both the prosperity and the crises of the Puppeteer Dao Path, as well as the threats posed by demons and the Outer Dao. A faint understanding had begun to dawn on him.
Puppet Masters were people who lived in the cracks between ideals and reality, a collection of contradictions.