Chapter 206 - 204: My Evil, My Shadow

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Chapter 206 - 204: My Evil, My Shadow

Ying’s wrinkled body trembled briefly, his slit-like eyes that seemed to contain the essence of his age dimmed considerably. An unfathomably deep sigh left his trembling and fragile lungs. "You should go then," Ying said. He turned his body and sought to re-enter his hut in peace.

In a few moments, he left.

Wei Wuyin didn’t stop him. Instead, he turned his head to view the serene lake nearby. It was crystal clear, lacking a hint of purity. With a relaxed stride until he was directly at its side, looking down as he could see the very depths of the lake. He squatted down and sat beside the lakeside. His silver eyes observed the fishes that swam freely within the lake.

For several hours, he simply sat there. He hadn’t said a single word or bothered the old man before. In fact, if one were to casually walk by, they might not even notice his existence.

Creak!

Soon, the thatched hut’s make-shift door squeaked after opening. An old man garbed in a fisherman’s outfit, carrying a rod and a fold-out chair, walked out with a somber aura. He walked for a moment while carrying two buckets before pausing, his eyes noticing Wei Wuyin’s quiet figure. A slight frown emerged between his brows before he walked forward and set up his fishing spot just a few meters away from Wei Wuyin.

Seemingly unbothered, Wei Wuyin just calmly kept staring at the fishes and faint ripples in the water. Just as Wei Wuyin ignored Ying, Ying ignored Wei Wuyin as he sat and sent his fishing line into the lake in a well-practiced manner.

From then on, Ying fished. In such a clear water lake, it was quite easy for cultivators to observe the movements, patterns, and current locations of the fish, but Ying remained silent and kept his eyes closed. He hadn’t used any bait, simply a hook. For hours, he received no response.

After six hours, he retrieved his line and packed up before returning to his thatched hut. At the same time the next day, he would once again return to the lake and fish in the same manner. Despite his apparent skill, he seemed to have no intent to strive for a successful capture. In fact, he merely napped during and was rather neglectful.

For three full days, always at the same time, Ying performed the same task. As for Wei Wuyin, besides looking around, staring at the sun, or watching the fishes, he never once said a single word and merely sat there. His existence was at the bare minimum, affecting absolutely nothing.

On the fourth day, Ying brought his chair over and sat, his eyes glancing at Wei Wuyin briefly. Since this young man had arrived, he had only spoken two sentences. This stroked the old man’s curiosity, and it was set further ablazed by his odd actions. What was he trying to achieve? Did he really think he would accept him as a shadow? Whatever that meant.

"Young man, you’re wasting your time being here. You should spend your time cultivating or enjoying your life rather than being here." Ying’s tone tried to contain a sense of an advising elder. He didn’t directly ask Wei Wuyin what he wanted, because he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer.

Wei Wuyin’s silver eyes shifted slightly, moving directly towards the fishes that swam freely. He said, "Do you think fish know that their world is forever limited? That they are in a cage, unable to escape?"

"..." Ying frowned, unsure of what Wei Wuyin was trying to get at. Was he trying to observe these fishes to obtain some form of enlightenment or something? He took a moment, his eyes observing the fishes that seemed to be swimming as they wished. "What is their cage?" This question was one of his first thoughts, and he didn’t know why he asked.

"The water, the lake, the continent, their bodies, their breadth of mind, their own intelligence, none of this...all of this?" Wei Wuyin quietly responded.

Ying shook his head after a momentary thought, "Do you think you know that your world is forever limited? That you are in a cage, unable to escape?" He repeated Wei Wuyin’s question, but threw it back at him, implying his own limits.

Wei Wuyin grinned slightly, "You’re perfect."

"Perfect?" Ying was immediately confused. This young man was confusing in both his words and actions.

Wei Wuyin sat up and stretched his arms and legs a bit, revealing his excellent physique from the robes that tugged briefly against his muscles. "I want you to join me; I want you to become my shadow."

Ying was a man who had lived a life for others, killing for others, and he had grown tired of that life and merely wished to wash away his sins slowly until his inevitable and closely approaching death date. He obtained Shadow Intent, a very rare Ethereal Intent that allowed him to establish his name and reputation after decades of work. From this, he felt that Wei Wuyin was just another person who wanted to use him for their own goals.

As for this ’become my shadow’ business, it was ridiculous.

"Why do you do it?" Wei Wuyin abruptly asked.

Ying wasn’t someone who generally liked having company, and he felt this interaction was pointless, but Wei Wuyin kept driving his interest forward. He blurted out, "Do what?"

Those words echoed once more, and he bit his lips.

He had killed infants...

The scene changed to the moment he met his first infant, one which was abandoned at an orphanage. They weren’t very protected and those who operated it was negligent and incompetent, so with a brief plan, he infiltrated and found a lovely two-month old boy.

He saw his dirty, smelly, and broken self grasp the body as if it was the most precious treasure. He absconded away with the baby in his arms.

Later that night, he executed the Evil Method obtained later that week and fed on its warm blood. The cries that were rampant and then abruptly ceased haunted his life even to this day.

In a flash, he returned to a world of whiteness. His body couldn’t stop trembling as he lifted his youthful hands and saw them rapidly age, covered in blood that dripped without end. His lips trembled and his nose looked as if it had smelled something sour.

Wei Wuyin’s figure was still present. "Do you know what evil is?"

"Ahhh!" Ying screamed. He bared his teeth and hands like claws as he snarled at Wei Wuyin. "I get it! I’m evil! I’M EVIL! I DESERVE PUNISHMENT!! I DESERVE A HORRIBLE DEATH!!! I...I..." He fell to his knees with a heavy thud, closing his eyes as he felt his memories overtake his mind. Everything he felt on those days was his evil.

The world flashed once more, changing into different shapes and colors causing Ying to shout like a frantic monkey. "Stop! I GET IT!"

But his words couldn’t stop the scene from changing. On a rainy day, the squeals, cries, and grunts of a young woman were drowned out. She was drenched, a tall, bulky man pressed her down to the ground with a hot gaze.

"Pl-PLEASE! Stop, stop, please stop!"

A head flew into the sky.

The blood no longer drowned out screams of terror and pleading, but the thud of a headless corpse. It fell atop the woman who pushed it off her, regaining her bodily freedom as she was confused, but after a moment, she ran away. She never looked back.

From the rain, a shadow flickered into existence and formed a desolate figure with cold eyes and a sanguine blade.

The world changed until it became white. The next sequence of events displayed all of Ying’s actions, his numerous acts of interference as he sought redemption for his hands. It was numerous, spanning over two hundred or so years.

"Do you know what evil is?" Wei Wuyin’s voice resounded one last time, causing Ying to still. He looked at those silver eyes of his and felt unsure, confusion in his eyes. In a blink, he returned back to his original self, the wrinkled and near death version of himself. The lake, fishes, suns, and sky returned.

"While others might be of a different opinion, my personal belief of Evil is rather simple: Evil acts without a purpose. Evil acts for the sake of one’s own interest or enjoyment. Evil regrets nothing even in death.

"It is vile, emotionless, and selfish. It isn’t wrong, but it certainly isn’t right. It permeates the world we live in, inseminating itself into our hearts, but our hearts naturally reject it. Those who accept it, they are, to my belief, Evil.

"You, to me, are not Evil. You’ve acted with a purpose. You acted against your own conscience, self-interest, your own heart for the sake of this purpose. You regret everything." Wei Wuyin calmly said, his words spoken in a leveled cadence. They caused Ying to open his eyes, revealing a black unlike anything in this world, reflecting everything within.

"I offer you a chance at redemption. One where you can save lives, without taking them. A legacy that will result in countless changes to our world and ripple beyond what you could ever imagine, all in your name. It is yours, if you want it." Wei Wuyin stated.

In the mind of Ying, there was a storm within. He recalled Wei Wuyin’s first sentence, and he felt as if he was the fish in the lake, limited and restricted in manners he hadn’t even conceived of. He didn’t know what this redemption was, or why he trusted anything this young man said, but he opened his eyes and saw a ray of hope. Not in death, but in redemption.

"What do you want?" Ying slowly asked.

Wei Wuyin smilingly said, "For you to be my ’Shadow’. For as long as you do so, so will your chance at redemption remain."

"...Deal."

Whether he was accepting the deal with a devil or an angel, he wasn’t sure; nevertheless, he wanted, no, needed to try.