792 Choice

What had the high heavens created?

Where was the edge of the vast earth?

Where had everything come from, and where was it going?

From the moment that humanity had opened their eyes and stared at the world, they began to guess: where did it all start from? Or they had had even more foolish questions.

Was there truly a paradise in this vast universe? Was there a way of liberation for humanity? Did heaven exist in the world?

Could humans have souls?

Ye Qingxuan had no interest in any of this.

He was in the Originator.

But he was not here to find any answers or truths.

He was just here to bring a girl back.

Since they had parted in the Sacred City, he had missed her so many times, tried so many times, and failed so many times.

This alone Ye Qingxuan absolutely had to do.

He could not give up.

Then, he finally saw Bai Xi.

In the sound of the mighty stone chime, the clouds parted yet again, revealing a bustling imperial palace. As the vermillion gate rumbled open, a hundred ministers with jade boards marched over the white jade towards the solemn palace between heaven and earth.

Under the huge dragon head statue made skillfully and painstakingly of poured black gold and beautiful jade embellishments, they kowtowed towards the only master of this world.

The highest ruler of heaven and earth.

"Bai Xi?" Ye Qingxuan stared in shock at the cold silhouette that was worshipped behind the curtain. He got a glimpse of her slender eyes. In them, he beheld the power over life, death, and indifference.

The Empress looked down at Ye Qingxuan and frowned slightly.

"Shameless! Who dares speak the holy name?" someone yelled in a shrill voice. "Get him! Get him! Get the traitor quickly!"

A burly figure rushed towards Ye Qingxuan with heavy footsteps.

Ye Qingxuan unconsciously stepped back and raised his hand, but he did not feel an impact. The stocky guard seemed to be made out of mist, and he dispersed into pieces, and with him went the mythical, majestic palace and ministers as they once again disappeared into the mist.

"What are you looking at, cousin?"

Ye Qingxuan heard the soft voice behind him. He turned around in shock and saw her delicate face. She looked close enough to touch, and she looked up at him.

She smiled softly and happily.

"What's wrong? You don't like my outfit?" Bai Xi saw his suspicious expression and unfolded her sleeves and turned around in a circle to let him see her light yellow cloak fluttering in the wind.

Her long hair was like silver as it reflected the warm light.

Her eyes were like water, calm and quiet.

Although the world was so large, she had eyes only for him. Her smile was full of satisfaction and happiness. Then, she carefully hid something behind her and winked at him.

"I have a present for you, cousin."

Crack! Ye Qingxuan heard the sound of bones fracturing. He quickly turned around and saw blood flowing onto the ground. Someone fell to the ground behind him as an ax separated her head from her body and blood splashed in all directions.

She was dead.

But Ye Qingxuan could not see her face; he could only see the crown of the Anglo Kingdom floating in the blood, still so beautiful.

Before his eyes, a slender figure lifted its foot and stomped it down on the head in the blood, and there was a sickening sound as it was crushed. She looked back at him with her flushed face.

Her face was not as arrogant and spoiled as in the past, but had become quite charming.

It was like a corpse had blossomed in the mud.

There was a dark, insane atmosphere.

The ax was thrown into the pool of blood.

Bai Xi looked at herself and grinned, but it was a chilling smile.

"I've given you everything, cousin, so why are you still thinking about her? I know, I must have done something wrong, made a mistake, made you angry, I'll do anything..."

She left a row of scarlet footprints on the ground as she walked towards Ye Qingxuan.

Her voice was weak in her throat, as if she was suffocating. "It must be this flirtatious hussy's fault. She must have seduced you. Look at me, cousin. I beg you, look at me, ok? You see? I've worked so hard..."

Ye Qingxuan shut his eyes.

The tragic sound disappeared.

But the suffocating feeling continued.

When he opened his eyes, the corpse's head and Bai Xi had disappeared.

There was only a figure standing alone in the distance.

It was Bai Xi.

It was like she had aged greatly in an instant. All the tenderness of a young woman was gone.

She turned around, and her white hair was tied up in a bun behind her head. She wore a long black dress that contrasted with her pale white skin. Black gauze hung down from her cap, covering half her face.

She did not take notice of Ye Qingxuan behind her.

She was lost in misery.

She quietly stared at the tombstone in front of her, mourning her husband, who had died young. Tears fell from her cheeks and landed on the tombstone, finally leaking down to the name on it: Ye Qingxuan.

Ye Qingxuan felt like he had been struck by lightning.

Someone was kneeling on the ground and pulling at his trousers. "Hey mister, God bless you."

The sly and deformed beggar dragged a rotten leg behind her as she crawled on the ground. Her white hair was falling out, revealing her wrinkled scalp and the malign sores on her face.

She was changed beyond recognition.

She held up a broken bowl and stared at the stranger in front of her. Her voice was as shrill as an owl's. "Have pity on me, mister. I beg you."

The impassioned sound of a horn rang out.

The song of the end of the night and the upcoming victory of the dawn played.

A stake descended from the sky, crushing the beggar, and chains wrapped around Ye Qingxuan.

At that moment, Ye Qingxuan snapped out of his shock. He thought he was under attack by the Church. But when he turned around he saw a purification musician behind him playing "Night on Bald Mountain."

She wore clothes as black as a crow, and her eyes were cold and gloomy.

"Give up, Sinner Ye Qingxuan."

But then a new image appeared. With a sharp whistle, the Black Knight's warship crashed through the waves. On the deck, the pirate queen's short silver hair flowed in the wind. Her mature, lovely cheeks had been tanned bronze, and there were scars in the corners of her eyes.

"Enough!" Ye Qingxuan roared. "Stop it!"

Everything stopped.

A vague shadow appeared beside him, staring at him quietly. Its eyes seemed to be full of pity, and it seemed to be a thousand miles away.

"Where is this… No, the Originator shouldn't be like this."

A calm voice answered his question. It was as soft as a woman's voice, but it was both distant and cold. "The Originator is not here, Ye Qingxuan," it said. "The Originator is not anywhere that humans can find. You cannot find it. Where you are is just the Originator's outline on the ground. You are swimming in an ephemeral reflection, like a flower in a mirror or the moon in water. But this does not matter to you. What you are looking for is here."

"Bullsh*t!" Ye Qingxuan yelled at the shadow. "I don't want an illusion! Do you want to play with me? I'll give you all you can handle!"

"You have not seen any illusions, Ye Qingxuan. What you have seen is nothing more than the future. Countless futures caused by countless choices in countless pasts..."

The vague shadow led him forward, once again returning to the majestic palace to see the Empress.

"This is Bai Xi," it said. "She has abandoned herself in the balance between love and ambition. She does not need Bai Heng to defeat the Empress. She thinks she can be even better than the past Emperors could even imagine. Better than anyone could imagine. Empress Bai Xi."

They moved forward.

Ye Qingxuan once again saw that smile of joy. Her eyes lit up at the sight of him. Out of anything in the world, she could only look at him.

"This is Bai Xi after she has given up her self, Ye Qingxuan. She depends on you, loves you, and cannot leave you. She only wants to win your smile and warmth. She only wants to be with you forever. The Bai Xi that no man could refuse."

Then, there was the girl in the pool of blood.

"She loves you down to her very bones. She goes crazy due to your betrayal. The insane Bai Xi.

"This one is after ten years of marriage with you. After you die of illness, she takes charge of your funeral. The Bai Xi that has abandoned herself to despair.

"This Bai Xi did not meet you after leaving Cloud Tower. She trusts another man and is sold into prostitution, and becomes a beggar after her youth fades. She begs for your pity in the mud. Ah, the pitiful Bai Xi.

"And this one, on the day she was chased she did not see Old Phil and did not run into the alley where you were reunited. She hides in Westminster Church. Mephistopheles adopts her and regards her as if she was his own, and sends her to the Holy City. She is the person in charge of the Purification Bureau. The catastrophe lamenting Bai Xi.

"There are more, infinite Bai Xis. This is the Bai Xi that did not go to the Anglo Kingdom but instead went to the Illusion Islands to become a pirate queen. This is the one that was saved by her uncle Yunlou Qinxi before he died, received the Yunlou inheritance, and killed her father and sister. The Duchess of Yunlou Bai Xi. Bai Xi the sage who replaced Hermes. Bai Xi the inheritor of the Yunlou family bloodline...countless pasts, countless choices, countless futures."

The drifting figure halted and looked at him askance. "This is what you sought from the Originator, Ye Qingxuan."

"What are you?" Ye Qingxuan looked closely at the vague figure. He could only tell that it looked like a woman, but it was difficult to see its face. "Or, should I call you 'The Originator'?"

It was like looking in a reflection in a mirror.

In the face of a human's questions, it gave a human-like self-deprecating chuckle.

Then, it shaped itself out of nothingness and ambiguity. It took on the form closest to perfection from Chaoyue and Bai Xi's memories, the full face of motherhood.

"I am a reflection," it replied indifferently. "What you are facing is nothing more than a hollow outline formed by the personalities of the two vessels. The information fills the logic machine and a face is revealed to enter into dialogue with you and answer your questions. I am a vessel for miracles. Of course, you may call me the Originator. For humans, there is no difference between us."

"You finally reveal your face." Ye Qingxuan looked into its eyes and could not hide his rejection and hostility. "I don't care what you want to do. What meaning do you have for humans? I don't have any questions that I need you to answer. I came here only to get Bai Xi. So don't get in my way, no matter what you are!"

There was no anger nor snobbish mockery. There was no astonishment or resentment, or even unhappiness at the antagonism.

There was just calm.

It was like it did not care what Ye Qingxuan did. 

"The land will not refuse people cultivating it, nor will it stop people from harvesting. The Originator is the same. From beginning to end, the only ones who want to change are humans.

"You are free to do what you want, Ye Qingxuan. No one will stop you, at least not for the next five minutes."

It looked at him and its eyes pierced through him. It was careless, as if their conversation was absolutely meaningless. "No matter what you do, you are the only one responsible for your choice."

"But where on earth is Bai Xi?!"

"Right behind you."

Ye Qingxuan turned and saw Bai Xi. Thousands of Bai Xis, standing there quietly.

Bai Xi the Empress, Bai Xi the lover, Bai Xi the mad, Bai Xi of the Yunlou family, Bai Xi the catastrophe lamenter, Bai Xi the pirate queen...

At that moment, countless pasts and futures were superimposed in the projection of the Originator. Countless kinds of Bai Xis with countless kinds of fates had appeared there.

They were staring at him.

Ye Qingxuan could no longer suppress his anger. He yelled at the projection of the Originator, "I don't want these fake things! Give me Bai Xi, the real Bai Xi! Or I'll find a way to kill you!"

"Is what you have seen not the Bai Xi that exists within the countless choices, Ye Qingxuan?" asked the projection of the Originator. "Can you not choose now? From a human perspective, it is difficult to observe the endless changes, and now the Originator has given everything to you. Every one of them here is the real Bai Xi. The only difference is which one you will take with you. This is not a trick, Ye Qingxuan. It is a simple choice. The one that you choose will be the one that is left in the world."

The Originator looked at him closely and waited for his choice. "You can change her whole destiny, fix all her pain, give her a new life as you please. She can be free of all bondage, even if the one who binds her is you. Do you still not understand, Ye Qingxuan? Only you can let her obtain salvation."

Ye Qingxuan was stunned.

He looked back at the countless Bai Xis. They were all watching him.

Gentle, cold, cruel, lonely, jealous, compassionate, peaceful, happy, gloomy, gentle...

Each one was completely different, but at the same time, each one was Bai Xi.

There were thousands of Bai Xis, and he had to choose one to take with him.

What the h*ll was this?

The generosity and charity of the Originator?

He could choose one at random.

Find the Bai Xi that he loved the most from thousands of futures, from thousands of hers, or choose the Bai Xi that loved him the most… 

What did he want?

One-third gentle and lovely, one-third childish, plus a little spontaneous and naughty?

Or strong and self-reliant, not needing him to worry about her and protect her. One who could fight side by side with him and face the world's storms.

Or one that was free from the world, holy and pure, a beautiful flower of a goddess.

Any of them, Ye Qingxuan, any of them.

He could create the perfect form that he created in his mind. There were countless choices here. He could choose the one that he liked most at will, and she would love him as he loved her.

In his trance, he remembered that girl from the past seemed to be blowing in his ear, urging him to make a choice.

Which one do you like, cousin?

Of course, I… 

Ye Qingxuan was shocked.

His reverie came to an abrupt end.

He bowed his head dumbly and looked at his hand and saw a faint flash of light at his fingertips. It was so weak that it was hard to see, but it followed the debris that had left with him from the labyrinth.

It was the last remaining trace of Chaoyue.

"You idiot!" He slapped himself hard. "I'm such an idiot!"

At that moment, Ye Qingxuan's consciousness was opened up in a flash of electricity, ushering in his long lost realization and comprehension.

This was a late discovery.

But when Ye Qingxuan discovered it, it was already meaningless...

He suddenly turned and looked at the shadow beside him, as if he understood that it knew what it was asking.

"They're one, right? Bai Xi and Chaoyue were originally one body! Bai Xi is Chaoyue's opposite, but Chaoyue is also a part of Bai Xi!" He seemed to be trying to confirm the truth. "In the beginning, she was only one, but she was divided into two, right?" He stroked his hair regretfully. 

"I should have understood this earlier, but I ignored it because of the huge difference between them. I'm an idiot. How can they be two? How can they be sisters? Even though their height and figures are different, could this not be a difference that was deliberately cultivated? Otherwise, how could they have kept in such close contact? Both Bai Xi and Chaoyue are her!"

In the silence, the projection of the Originator did not answer. It just smiled at him without speaking.

But Ye Qingxuan had found his final answer.

He looked back at the countless silent, waiting eyes, and could not help but smile bitterly.

He finally sort of understood what Mr. Hu had said to him.

"'Accept another side of her.' This makes sense, but Mr. Hu, you didn't say the other side of her was so big and so frightening..."

Ye Qingxuan finally realized that he had never really understood Bai Xi.

"So, what right do I have to choose?" he whispered. He raised his finger and there was a faint flash of light. "So let her choose herself!" Ye Qingxuan gave his final answer to the projection of the Ultimate. "Listen well, this is my request. Let her choose what kind of self she wants to become!"

It was fine if she chose to be Bai Xi, or if she chose to be Chaoyue.

She could be the Empress above all, the Duchess of Cloud Tower, the executioner of the Silence Governance, or the bird in the cage that had abandoned herself because of Ye Qingxuan. Even the jealous madwoman...

She could be anything.

Let her choose freely!