When a Child Ran Into Trouble, He Would Instinctively Seek Out an Adult
What does a frozen memory look like?
Bai Yushan stared at him blankly, the shock in his eyes still lingering.
It seems plausible but is actually wrong.
The man before him had Bai Junlang's appearance, Bai Junlang's aura, and even his gloomy and repressed temperament was exactly the same as Sea Tiger in his memory.
But he still couldn't understand.
Why?
Why does a memory that is clearly just a fragment of my mind suddenly transform into a living, breathing human figure and appear in my Ghost Brain?
Can memories really develop their own sentience?
Bai Junlang watched him quietly, and could clearly sense the doubts surging deep within Bai Yushan's heart.
He wasn't in a hurry, and simply sat down slowly opposite Bai Yushan.
His movements were steady and casual, carrying an air of complete composure.
"You want to know why?"
He brought the cigar to his nose, sniffed it gently, and his gaze became distant. "Alright, I'll tell you."
Because I am the person who has had the most profound influence on your heart.
Bai Junlang raised his eyes, his dark gaze fixed on Bai Yushan. "The electric current and magnetic field power you possess are, in essence, a form of Spirit Power."
Spirit Power?
Bai Yushan's heart skipped a beat.
"Don't think that you can get this power by simply rubbing the cells in your body together a few times."
Bai Junlang's voice was deep and magnetic, each word seeming to strike Bai Yushan's heart. "Cellular friction is merely a symptom. What truly sustains this strength is your heart."
"It is precisely because our minds are strong enough that we strong people can do whatever we want."
He stretched out his hand, slowly clenching each finger. "Slaughter, salvation, destruction, rebirth... Do whatever you want. No one can stop you, because your heart is strong enough."
"A twisted mind, a strong mind, a kind mind, an evil mind, a noble mind, a base mind..."
Bai Junlang's gaze was as deep as an abyss. "None of these things matter. The strength of the mind has never cared what kind of person you are. It only depends on one thing—how strong your will is."
(None of these things matter. Mental strength has nothing to do with who you are. It depends on only one thing—how strong your will is.)
"It depends on whether you have a firm inner desire."
Bai Yushan listened quietly, feeling as if a bolt of lightning had struck his heart.
The refinement of will.
Hold fast to your inner aspirations.
These words were not the first time he heard similar principles.
The Electric Current Push and the Magnetic Field Rotation both require a foundation of willpower.
But hearing these words again from Bai Junlang's mouth at this moment, he felt a completely different kind of emotion.
Because these words are being used to analyze himself.
But you are different.
Bai Junlang changed the subject, his calm black eyes fixed intently on Bai Yushan, as if trying to see right through him.
"Those of us who have become strong, which one of us hasn't experienced countless vicissitudes and hardships in life? Our hearts have been carved out, one cut at a time, through mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and the torment of time."
(Which of us who have become strong hasn't experienced countless hardships and displacements? Our hearts have been carved out, one stroke at a time, amidst mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and the torment of time.)
"But what about you?"
Bai Junlang's tone softened slightly, a rare occurrence. "After all, you're just a child."
Bai Yushan's body trembled slightly.
"A ten-year-old child."
Bai Junlang looked at him, a complex light flashing in his eyes, "However, your tumultuous past and present lives have filled your heart with a longing to be loved, as well as hostility towards the unknown."
"It's these two things that have made you into this contradictory person you are today."
The longing to be loved.
Hostility toward the unfamiliar.
Bai Yushan sat there in a daze, as if he had been frozen in place.
He wanted to refute it, but when the words reached his lips, he realized he had no way to refute it.
Because everything Bai Junlang said was correct.
He longs to be loved, to be cared for, and to have someone to lean on when he's tired.
Bi Ji's gentleness, Na'er's dependence, Gu Yue's bickering, Leng Yaozhu's protectiveness...
He didn't say it, but he cared about these things more than anyone else.
At the same time, he was filled with instinctive hostility and wariness towards this world.
He distrusts outsiders; he is accustomed to arming himself with killing and madness to face the unknown.
These two completely different things were fiercely clashing and tearing at him within his body, creating his current contradictory appearance of being both mad and lucid, wild and tender.
"Just like now."
Bai Junlang's voice continued to echo in the mental space, "If you want to protect those you love, you must face the predicament of death. You know your strength is insufficient, you are afraid you cannot protect them."
(If you want to protect your loved ones, you must face the prospect of death. You know you are not strong enough, and you fear you cannot protect them.)
"So, deep within your heart, subconsciously, I have been formed."
Bai Junlang pointed to himself, "It has condensed into Bai Junlang, the figure you have idolized in both your past and present lives, the strongest person in your heart."
At this point, a rare hint of tenderness flashed in the serious eyes of this man who had always been gloomy and aloof, seemingly incapable of ever showing emotion.
That tenderness, fleeting yet heavy, weighed down on one, making it hard to breathe.
"You loser."
He spoke, his voice low and gentle, "I, in truth, am also you."
"However, I am the way you imagine me to be when I'm all grown up."
(However, I am exactly how you envision me growing up.)
Bai Yushan suddenly raised his head, and his eyes, without warning, reddened.
What I imagine myself to be like when I grow up.
These words, like an invisible hand, gripped his heart tightly.
Bai Junlang watched him quietly, without urging him.
When children encounter difficulties, their first instinct is to seek help from adults.
(When children encounter difficulties, they will instinctively seek help from adults.)
He spoke slowly, his tone calm yet carrying an indescribable sense of vicissitude, "This is the instinct of all children."
"But in your past life, you had no elders."
Bai Yushan's body trembled slightly.
"As an orphan, you have no idea how to find an adult who can help you. When you're wronged, no one listens to you; when you encounter difficulties, no one teaches you what to do; when you're exhausted, there's no warm place you can go back to."
(As an orphan, you have no idea how to find an adult who can help you. When you're wronged, no one listens; when you encounter difficulties, no one teaches you how to solve them; when you're tired, there's no warm place you can go back to.)
"So, after coming into this world, you naturally lost that habit."
You've gotten used to carrying everything on your own.
Bai Junlang's gaze was deep, "But your heart is not like that."
"You've always longed for it."
"I long for someone to lean on when I encounter difficulties, someone to give me an answer."
(I long for someone to lean on when I encounter difficulties, someone to give me an answer.)