Chapter 168: Chapter 147: People Are Not Plants

Qian Yu felt that he was probably going insane.

There must be something wrong, otherwise, he wouldn’t be sitting like an idiot at the table, listening to someone tell him a story about a tree—alright, though he admitted, the story was indeed well-crafted, but what did it have to do with him?

"This is what I’ve been struggling with recently, I seek your guidance, sir."

After speaking, Du Chengfeng looked into Qian Yu’s eyes, with a very sincere attitude.

But Qian Yu at this moment just wanted to flip the table.

It made no sense, it really made no sense, someone whose will should be as strong as iron with Evil Qi radiating outward, was saying in front of him that he was confused—Qian Yu thought there must be something wrong with his own ears, otherwise, such an absurd thing wouldn’t have happened to him.

You’re so conflicted, not to mention radiating Evil Qi, how did you even pass the stage of Evil Qi entering your body?

But such words could not be spoken outright, after all, the other party hadn’t shown any ability to radiate Evil Qi, and for him to blurt it out would reveal his own identity first.

However, while he said nothing, Du Chengfeng spoke up.

"In the past, I wouldn’t have thought so much about it. At that time, I thought that no matter who came to pick the fruit, as long as the tree uprooted itself and killed them all, the problem would be solved. But now, well, sir, you’ve heard the story too, do you think uprooting the tree would really solve the problem?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

You ask me, who am I supposed to ask?

Suppressing the urge to punch, Qian Yu took a deep breath to calm his emotions.

Fortunately, it could be considered a good thing, after all, the metaphorical nature of the tree story was so strong. How could he not see that the tree in the story was actually a metaphor for Du Chengfeng himself—in other words, the plight of the tree also meant the plight of Du Chengfeng, the confusion of the tree was also Du Chengfeng’s own confusion.

If you think of it that way...

It seems there’s no need to think. He hadn’t done anything yet, and Du Chengfeng was already confused himself. Though it was hard for him to understand why a man with a firm will, capable of radiating Evil Qi, insisted on being stuck here like a normal person, did he need to understand what a madman was thinking?

Obviously, he didn’t need to.

He only needed to know how to kill the madman.

With this thought, he looked at the short man beside him.

The short man holding a bundle merely shook his head.

Inside the bundle was a large shield; the short man had never let the weapon leave his side. In contrast, Du Chengfeng, although armed as well, had left his weapon in the saddlebag at the door—a situation where one was armed and the other unarmed seemed to clearly favor the armed.

But why did this shield-wielding expert with radiating Evil Qi say it wasn’t feasible?

Really not feasible.

The short man vigorously shook his head. He wanted to explain this right away, but with the three of them all sitting at the table, he hadn’t had the chance to clarify the matter with Qian Yu.

Even though he knew it was a good chance to strike, he could clearly feel that Du Chengfeng wasn’t truly unarmed—the dangerous sense should come from sharp objects like a dagger or short knife, and at this distance, his shield would be a beat too slow.

Of course, if it were just a matter of weaponry, a resolute mindset could make up for it.

However, the issue lay in that.

Clearly, the man named Du Chengfeng was talking about being confused, but the short man could clearly sense that if he tried to strike amidst this confusion, he would be the first to die.

Troubled in words, but not at all in action, at that moment, the short man himself felt the twisted absurdity.

Like Qian Yu, he sensed an inexplicable contradiction, like a monstrous killer sitting there talking about how concerned he was whether the two goldfish released in the morning could survive—in theory, such a person shouldn’t be able to radiate Evil Qi, or even withstand the most basic Evil Qi entering the body.

However, this indecisive person had managed to accomplish it...

"Wait?"

The short man suddenly realized something.

Is it possible that obsession can also be confusion itself?

Indeed, it seems so, for no one had said that confusion couldn’t exist as an obsession—or rather, confusion itself stems from having too many choices, like entering a restaurant and facing the chef’s menu, most people might hesitate for a moment.

Yet this hesitation isn’t negative, but because there are simply too many dishes to choose from.

If a person with firm resolution were to decide, perhaps they would quickly select a few dishes, but for the confused, each dish on the menu seems worth a try—in other words, rather than being confused, Du Chengfeng might be deliberately maintaining a state where he could explore anytime, which is the obsession itself!

At this moment, the short man felt he understood everything.

This made him involuntarily take a cold breath.

"Hiss..."

"What’s wrong?"

Du Chengfeng turned his head upon hearing the noise.

"Do you have something to say too?"

"No... just that the food is a bit hot."

The short man said nothing, fearing his words would affect Qian Yu’s performance.

What he could see, surely Qian Yu could see as well.

And to destroy such a rare obsession, the real act is to go the other way.

"I already know the answer, sir."

As expected, in the short man’s line of sight, Qian Yu said what he wanted to say.

"Why fixate on the tree’s issue? You’re not a tree, the tree in the story is bound by others, but you in reality are not, so why not do what you want to do?"

"This... huh? That seems to make sense indeed."

Du Chengfeng was momentarily stunned, then nodded repeatedly.

"That’s right, I’m not a tree, so why get caught up with that story?"

"Exactly, just go and do what you want to do."

Qian Yu stroked his beard, smiling.

True, as long as Du Chengfeng remained indecisive, without a clear direction, he could freely find any path—for at the moment of his satisfaction, his will would be at its weakest. At that point, even with all the strength in the world, Du Chengfeng wouldn’t be able to use much of it.

At that time, a random expert could easily...

"Wait, where are you going?"

Seeing Du Chengfeng rise and run out, Qian Yu was taken aback.

"Where do you intend to go?"

"To do what I want to do."

Mounting his horse, Du Chengfeng didn’t look back.

"I’ve been wanting to try this for a long time."

"Quick, follow him!"

Grabbing the short man next to him, Qian Yu hurried out of the tavern, and the two rode out at full speed, pursuing long past the city limits.

The opportunity to kill Du Chengfeng was within reach, they both felt it.

But the longer they chased, the more they sensed something was off.

"...Wait."

On the third day of pursuing Du Chengfeng, Qian Yu suddenly realized.

"Isn’t this the road back to Jiankang?"