"Sometimes I truly don't understand what you're thinking. He clearly turned you from free, vibrant beings roaming heaven and earth into pigs and sheep penned behind fences, yet you still wag your tails at him in gratitude!"
By the end, Xuanyuan's voice was filled with undisguised mockery and deep disappointment.
He stared at the three as though examining a group of incomprehensible creatures. "Why do you like being ruled this way by the Underworld Office? Or perhaps I should ask, why... do you like being ruled so much?"
He paused, tracing his finger through the air as though outlining an absurd world. "Without the Underworld Office, perhaps something else would rule you-a group of demons, or a band of jingguai-and you would apparently accept them gladly too, wouldn't you?"
"Imagine," he said, his voice growing colder, carrying a beguiling power, "that one day, a group of demons killed my brother, overthrew the Underworld Office, and invented a new 'Demon Human Code' to replace its system, forcing you to obey."
"They would proclaim that as long as you worked diligently every day and handed over your finest crops to the demons, they would give you something like 'Demon Approval Points.'
"They would use these meaningless numbers to measure your worth in life and judge whether you were 'successful.'
"They would also tell you that once you accumulated enough 'Demon Approval Points,' when your yang lifespan ran out, they would seize your souls and let you possess new bodies, be reborn into wealthy households, and enjoy riches and glory."
His voice suddenly rose, almost in interrogation. "Would you defend them just as you defend the Underworld Office now, standing before those who sought to expose the demons' deception and righteously declaring, 'Having a human code like this is truly wonderful. It gives