Chapter 68 People are different, yet each has their own sorrows
"Everyone must be tired today, so let's go home and get some rest."
Outside the Great Soul Arena, Qin Ming looked at his exhausted juniors with concern in his eyes.
He glanced in the direction where Flander hadn't returned yet, and said in a deep voice:
"As for the specifics of going to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, take good care of Dean Flander. Ultimately, it all depends on him."
Everyone nodded, said goodbye to Qin Ming, and dragged their heavy steps back to Shrek Academy.
It's late at night.
The dilapidated village academy has returned to tranquility, with only the tireless chirping of cicadas echoing around, making the academy seem exceptionally empty.
At this moment, Shrek seemed to have lost a bit of its human warmth.
On the playground, a figure was cultivating alone in the dead of night, just as he always did.
Ye Liuyun did not sleep.
He was practicing boxing.
Without using his soul power, he relied solely on his physical strength to execute each punch in every battle.
The punches whistled through the air, the movements were fluid and graceful, carrying a unique rhythm.
But today, he stopped after practicing for a while.
He finished the movement and exhaled.
Ye Liuyun stood in the middle of the empty playground and subconsciously glanced to the side.
At this time of day, there would usually be a black-clad girl sitting there, also not sleeping, silently cultivating.
But tonight, the place is deserted.
Only the cold moonlight shone on him alone.
"She's gone..."
Ye Liuyun withdrew his gaze, put his hands in his pockets, and a strange, indescribable feeling welled up in his heart.
He and Zhu Zhuqing didn't have a deep relationship; in fact, they barely interacted.
But this sudden separation still leaves one with a sense of inexplicable melancholy.
This parting is a long and arduous journey, and whether we will ever meet again is unknown.
"Call..."
Ye Liuyun sighed deeply, his brows furrowing slightly.
He was thinking about a question—had he done something wrong?
As a reincarnated person familiar with the plot, he knew very well Zhu Zhuqing's original destiny.
As long as she endures the current pain, follows Tang San, and continues with the Shrek Seven Devils, although the process is somewhat frustrating, she will eventually become a god.
She will forgive Dai Mubai, and in the end, the two of them will both have eternal life and supreme status.
But now, because of those few bowls of toxic chicken soup, because of those few truthful words he spoke in order to "clear his mind," he's being blamed.
She left.
She dropped out of school, left the main characters, and may even have missed the chance to become a god.
"Wouldn't I... ruin someone else's happiness and future because of my momentary slip of the tongue?"
Looking at the moon, Ye Liuyun began to doubt his own interference for the first time.
Just then.
A series of unsteady footsteps broke the silence of the night.
Ye Liuyun turned his head and saw Flander and Zhao Wuji supporting each other as they walked back.
The two men reeked of alcohol, clearly having had a drunken night at the village tavern.
Flander, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, spotted Ye Liuyun standing on the playground, lost in thought.
"Hiccup... you brat."
Flander pushed up his crooked glasses and asked, slurring his words:
"What are you doing here in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
Ye Liuyun looked at the dean, who seemed to have aged ten years, and instead of being as indifferent as usual, he sighed, appearing mature beyond his years.
"I'm so worried."
"Hey! You little brat... what are you worried about?"
Upon hearing this, Flander burst into laughter, plopped down on the stone steps by the playground, slapped his thigh, and complained:
"I'm the one who's worried!"
"Do you think it's easy for me? I've worked so hard for so many years to build this lousy academy in this run-down village."
"Outsiders say I, Flander, am greedy, stingy, and cunning... But what am I after?"
Flander pointed to the simple yet sturdy school buildings around him, his eyes reddening:
"I cheated and swindled, I gambled in the Great Soul Arena, I even took those low-class advertisements... all just to save up a few more gold soul coins, to buy some good meat for these little monsters, and to build you a decent simulated environment!"
"Now that I have you little monsters, as long as I persevere for a few more years, your strength will definitely exceed all expectations."
"I've worked hard to get the qualification over the past few years, and then you guys will win the championship the year after next."
"My Shrek Academy has become famous. All my years of hard work have paid off. I succeeded and proved myself."
"But now... I really have to give up."
"I really can't bear to send this whole family, along with this signboard, to the Heaven Dou Royal Academy to live under someone else's roof!"
As he spoke, this level 78 Soul Saint suddenly covered his face and began to sob like a child.
Zhao Wuji patted his back, looking dejected, but didn't know how to comfort him.
Ye Liuyun listened quietly.
Only after Flander had calmed down a little did he ask softly:
"Have you thought it through?"
Flander wiped his face, looked up at the night sky, his eyes still tinged with drunkenness, but with an overwhelming sense of resolve:
"I've thought it through."
"I don't know what the future holds, or whether that decision was right or wrong."
"But right now, I should offer you a better future."
"You are monsters, you are geniuses. I shouldn't keep you trapped in this wretched village where you don't even have the qualifications to participate, just because of my own pitiful pride."
"I cannot persecute my students in order to prove myself."
"I cannot stop my students' present for the sake of a future that is only a conjecture and cannot be confirmed."
Upon hearing these words, Ye Liuyun remained silent for a long time.
He looked at the shrewd, greedy, and even somewhat cunning middle-aged man in front of him.
Based on his previous performance, he is a person full of flaws.
Ye Liuyun looked at Flander and said seriously:
"You are a qualified and good dean."
Flander paused for a moment, then gave a wry smile and waved his hand:
"Small in stature but big in mind."
He picked up the wine jug again, took a swig, and looked at Ye Liuyun:
"And what about you? You just said you were worried, what are you worried about?"
Ye Liuyun looked up and gazed once more at the rooftop where Zhu Zhuqing had once sat.
This time, the confusion in his eyes disappeared.
"I'm not worried anymore."
Ye Liuyun shook his head, a relieved smile playing on his lips:
Who knows what the future holds?
"If the so-called 'bright future' is built on the pain and distortion of the present, then it's better to give up on it."
He figured it out.
If Zhu Zhuqing were allowed to stay, she would be forced to connect with the person she currently dislikes, to practice that damned Martial Soul Fusion Technique, and to compromise herself for a vague and illusory "divine position."
Today you force yourself to suffer for this, tomorrow you'll force yourself to accept that.
That's not happiness.
That is a murder of personality, a trampling of dignity.
They lost themselves and became a part of someone else's life.
There are always people who like to use "for your own future" as an excuse to blackmail others and sacrifice their present.
Transform a person with a strong personality into someone you are satisfied with.
But at this moment.
Just as Flander chose to abandon the academy for the sake of his students, Zhu Zhuqing chose to leave for the sake of her dignity.
Humans always have the right to choose the present moment.
"I decide the process..."
Ye Liuyun muttered to himself, repeating Zhu Zhuqing's last words.
Since she chose freedom according to her own will, that is the best outcome.
People always yearn for success, even if they are covered in wounds.
But what is the definition of success?
Even if you don't become a god, as long as you live like a human being, it's actually pretty good.
Many people envy freedom.
Life is precious, but love is even more valuable.
For the sake of freedom, both can be sacrificed.
Living a fulfilling life is already a great success.
Ye Liuyun looked at the moon and thought that Zhu Zhuqing was probably doing whatever made her happy right now.
Then he thought about himself. Before, because he was already quite old, he was too lazy to bother with a scoundrel like Yu Xiaogang.
But now he's decided to beat up Yu Xiaogang before he leaves.
There was no particular reason, it was just because that guy had been nagging him all along.
A beating would have been satisfying.
Flander slapped Ye Liuyun on the shoulder.
"Go to bed early, you need to grow tall."
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[end of the chapter]