<h4>Volume 9 – Chapter 24: Withered and Thriving, A Sinful Live (Part 1)</h4>


    Lan Kai gradually calmed down. As the helmsman of argepany, if he did not have a strong will, he would not have sacrificed his life in a crisis to this day when the previous generation of helmsman suddenly died.


    “Xin Yue, marry me, okay?”


    “I do not ept your marriage proposal in this manner.”


    Xin Yue still hugged Lan Kai, rubbing his skin with her fingers gliding through his hair, “No matter the venue or the atmosphere, it showed that you did not have any sincerity.”


    “You are right.” Lan Kaiughed at himself. “I’m fine.”


    Xin Yue then let him go...because of confidence. So, she let go of Lan Kai, then walked behind Lan Xiu. She reached out her hand to carry him who had fallen on the ground, and it appeared to be strenuous.


    Lan Kai looked and subconsciously said, “This guy is not conscious at all. Why do you still care for him?”


    In the end, Xin Yue put Lan Xiu’s hands on her shoulders, using her strength to support both their bodies, looked up at Lan Kai, and said, “Even if he is just a stranger, you can’t just let him die without saving him, right? I grew up with you. Isn’t it the same for Lan Xiu?”


    “You always do unnecessary things.” Lan Kai frowned and walked to Xin Yue’s side to help her. The two of them worked together to help Lan Xiu get back on the bed.


    He did not know if he was more concerned for Xin Yue, or just as she said, even one could not let a stranger die without saving them. Not to mention Lan Xiu...


    Lan Kai said in a daze, “Go back to the hospital. I should be by Xiaorou’s side even more at this time.”


    “I’ll apany you.”


    ...


    Suddenly, Qian Xiu kind of missed the humble mage who would persistently fish in this ce.


    It might be human nature. When one is alone, one always yearns for some sound around themselves.


    It did not need to be the voice of one speaking to oneself. The focus did not necessarily need to be on oneself. What was needed may be just another person talking to themself or a conversation between two other people?


    “The Golden Carp King, there is such a thing?”


    Probably it was an instinctive self-defense mechanism after experiencing extreme pain. The brain circuit automatically switched to some innocuous problems to achieve the effect of diverting attention.


    The body was threatened by the brain’s thoughts at this time, and moved ording to the brain’smand to achieve the effect of escape again.


    He opened his hazy eyes vigorously. When the alcohol in his body had been umted to a too high level, it seemed that the speed of thinking had been slowed down indefinitely.


    Qian Xiu squatted on the small bridge’s side, looked at theke below, and finally sank into theke.


    The icy water of theke concealed the resplendent starlight of Jade Fantasy at night in an instant. The coolness of the water first entered into the body from the nose, sealing all breathing possibilities.


    When the body was hot, it seemed that he could not feel theke’s real coldness. Instead, he felt cool, as if it opened a channel that was cracked between the hot and cold for him.


    He seemed to have forgotten his death count, and his frozen thoughts made him unable to remember anything. In this state of weightlessness, Qian Xiu felt that his body and mind were in extreme relief.


    If this was the case, could he erase all traces of himself?


    In that case...


    If that was it.


    ...


    The bell of Zhongguan City suddenly rang.


    At the top of the tower, the auditorium, which was ruined by the chaos, had been restored to its original appearance a long time ago. The priest stationed here supported his chin with his hands and dozed off on the podium at the auditorium’s front.


    But, the sound of the bells ringing ten times awakened him.


    The priest seemed to be taken aback. He opened his doddering eyes, took a look at the night scenery outside. He then took a casual nce at the enclosed auditorium. At this moment, a woman was sitting on a bench below, with her hands clenched together, making her prayer towards the idol behind the priest.


    The bell rang for a short while. It stopped when it reached the tenth time. While praying, she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at the priest.


    She seemed unsure. So, she asked, “Priest, what time is it?”


    “It’s ten o’clock, Miss Thousand Delicate Feathers.”


    “Isn’t it only nine o’clock?” She stood up, walked directly to the podium, and raised her head, “I only heard the bell rang nine times!”


    “It is indeed ten o’clock,” the priest said with certainty. “Also, Miss Thousand Delicate Feathers, concerning the damage you inflicted on the auditorium previously, I hope you can give a rtivepensation after the reservation time is over.”


    “You are just an NPC designed by someone! If it is not for this ce forbidding any fight, believe it or not, I would have already killed you!”


    The priest closed his eyes. “If youy a finger on the clergy, you will be punished ordingly. Miss Thousand Delicate Feathers, you must think about it before acting.”


    Seeing the priest’s indifferent attitude, her anger towards him suddenly droppedpletely.


    Then, she sat down on the podium with her back to the priest, hugging her knees, and suddenly asked, “Do you believe in God, priest?”


    The priest said, “Science cannot prove that a certain object does not exist.”


    Xiaorou was taken aback, “You, a clergy, still believe in the existence of science?”


    The priest said, “After crossing the ice-bound valley and reaching the Gaelda Prairie, you can see the kingdom of the goblin gates. They are an ethnic group that is capable of making new creations with science.”


    Xiaorou shook her head, “Yes, I have forgotten that the world view set in this game is that science and theology coexist. Forget it; just forget that I ever asked you. Then... what’s your opinion on ethics?”


    The priest said, “Definition 1: Ethics is an academic discipline that investigates what is good and what is bad, as well as discussing morality and obligations. Definition 2: Ethics is a series of concepts that guide behavior, and it is a philosophical reflection on moral phenomena from a conceptual perspective. It contains the behavioral norms in handling the rtionship between people and people, between people and society, and between people and nature. They contain the profound principles of regting behavior ording to certain principles. Definition 3: Ethics is...”


    “Stop!” Xiaorou hit the podium that was behind her back, making a banging sound, “Stop talking! I don’t want to listen to this kind of information! It looks like I asked this question for nothing.”


    She could not help butugh at herself... She would ask a bunch of data designed by programmers.


    The priest suddenly said, “When the great Father God created the first humans, there was no ethics. The first humans devoured raw meat and fowl, walked ording to their instinct, and were undoubtedly no different from beasts. Later, the Father God had regted the rules of ethics for the first humans. The humans then gradually gained order until now, which made the world so prosperous.”


    “In other words, ethics is necessary, right?” She raised her head, unable to see the priest, only able to see the mural on the auditorium ceiling above the podium.


    The priest said, “It’s needed.”


    “Being needed...” Xiaorou sneered. “Then, if the social order is broken and bes chaotic again, or the existing principle of ethics is no longer suitable for the development of the world, can it also be overthrown and abandoned and then create new ethics and order? No longer confined to the so-called etiquette, the current morality, the established rtionship between people?”


    She had stood up with her gaze pierced through the priest’s body like a sword, but she saw the priest standing motionless, with even his expression seemed toe to a pause.


    She was only disappointed for a while... How could these simple piles of data answer such questions?


    Probably being able to provide the answer to the question of ‘Being Needed’ had already proven the conscientiousness of the programmer who designed it.


    No one could give her an answer... When the eleventh-night bell rang in Zhongguan City, Xiaorou silently looked at everything outside the tower.


    Why has it be so quiet?


    ...


    A quarter past eleven.


    A quarter past eleven... thirty seconds away.


    Suddenly, Xiaorou took a deep breath, turned around, walked toward the priest, and said with a smile, “Priest, prepare for the ceremony.”


    The priest said, “Miss Thousand Delicate Feathers, you cannot hold a ceremony alone.”


    Xiaorou smiled and said, “No, it’s two people...It will be two soon.”


    The priest curiously asked, “Why are you so sure?”


    “Because, no matter when the moment is, as long as we have an agreement...” Xiaorou said with tears. “He will arrive half an hour early. It will always be like this.”


    At a quarter past eleven, the door of the auditorium suddenly opened with a bang. He was wet and panting. Qian Xiu, who appeared in an extremely sorry state, grabbed the door lock’s handle with both hands and gave an angry stare.


    She trembled slightly. She lost all theposure a few seconds ago as if she had been drained of all her strength. She turned around in an instant with panic and anxiety as she stood in front of the podium. Her eyes swept through the long red carpet and looked over.


    “Are you crazy?! You have to pick such a high ce with spiraling stairs?!” Qian Xiu took a few breaths, strode to the stars, and quickly walked towards Xiaorou.


    “I know you wille back.”


    “If I don’te, after twelve o’clock, you won’t even stay in this world. You will find a ce to end your life, right!”


    She nodded with a poignant face.