[Trait absorbed: Molded Embryo (White)]
....
The next day, at the incineration facility.
Feng Mu arrived at the incineration room early in the morning and saw Wang Jian squatting on the steps, puffing away with dark circles under his eyes, surrounded by a sea of burnt cigarette butts.
Feng Mu didn’t really want to interfere, but with Wang Jian looking at death’s door, it was hard to pretend he didn’t notice.
He sighed, squatted down next to Wang Jian, and asked, "What happened?"
Wang Jian’s lips quivered, caught in a conflict between wanting to speak and holding back.
Understanding, Feng Mu said, "A secret you don’t want others to know, eh? Alright, when the Calamity Corpses arrive, you can tell them what’s weighing on your heart. I’ll stand guard at the door for you, make sure no one eavesdrops."
"No, talking to the Calamity Corpses - what a chilling scene that would be." Wang Jian pulled Feng Mu back as he made to leave, handing him a cigarette.
Feng Mu didn’t smoke it; he just tucked it behind his ear. "So, what’s up?"
Wang Jian took a few deep drags from his cigarette, his voice hoarse: "Have you contacted Luo Ji recently?"
"Ah, so it’s about Luo Ji." Feng Mu sighed inwardly, feigned puzzlement on his face, "No, has something happened to Luo Ji?"
Wang Jian gritted his teeth, determined to spill the secret: "I might have done something wrong, I might have put Luo Ji in danger."
After saying this, he stared intently at Feng Mu, and only when he saw that Feng Mu’s expression remained calm did his tense demeanor ease a bit. He continued, "A few days ago, the Cyan Wolf Gang cornered me for questions. I was terrified, just thinking about escaping, didn’t think it through and..."
Wang Jian was too ashamed to finish, his face flushing deep red.
"Fresh out of school and still naïve, your conscience is still intact~" Feng Mu slung an arm around Wang Jian’s shoulder and spoke for him, "Luo Ji has indeed behaved oddly since dropping out, it makes sense you’d slip up under threat from the Cyan Wolf Gang."
"Really, I can’t reach Luo Ji now, do you think the Cyan Wolf Gang might have taken him?" Wang Jian’s face was full of guilt, as regret gnawed at his soul.
Feng Mu’s expression remained calm, his timeless gaze seemed to hold a soothing strength.
He said, "Luo Ji might have just followed the Advanced Team into the Hidden Sect, not being able to reach him is normal."
Wang Jian: "But, what if..."
Feng Mu interrupted Wang Jian, placing the cigarette between his lips, the faltering flame from a sluggish lighter illuminating his face in flickers.
"Wang Jian, you’re a good person, Luo Ji is a good person, and I am a good person too. So, do you know what all good people have in common?" Feng Mu suddenly asked as if posing a completely unrelated question.
Without waiting for Wang Jian to answer, Feng Mu provided the answer: "Weakness!"
Wang Jian was stunned; he would have guessed qualities like kindness, honesty, politeness, etc.
Feng Mu exhaled a smoke ring, his gaze obscure, "The essence of the world is the strong preying on the weak, it’s a world where people devour one another. Bad people devour others because they’re ruthless enough, and good people are devoured because of their weakness."
"But is weakness a sin? No, weakness is kindness, a refusal to fight, adherence to rules, the brilliance of humanity."
"So, hypothetically speaking, if good people like you, me, or Luo Ji were forced by survival to do something against our conscience that hurt others, is it the good person’s fault?"
Wang Jian was absorbed in Feng Mu’s words. He felt as if Feng Mu’s voice carried a magical quality, guiding him to think, to ponder over things that his foolish self had never considered before.
Wang Jian answered uncertainly, "No, good people are forced, good people aren’t at fault."
"Exactly."
Feng Mu flicked his cigarette, and the butt fell to the ground, squashing a crawling bug, then crushed into fragments under the descending sole of a shoe.
"It’s never the good people who are at fault; it’s the pressure from bad people, it’s the unrestricted world."
Wang Jian’s eyes brightened, the guilt within him halved. He never would have thought his classmate’s thoughts could be so profound, like a mentor guiding a lost lamb.
"Thank you, Feng Mu, I feel much better." Wang Jian’s heart was full of gratitude.
Feng Mu grinned, revealing his neat white teeth, and said, "Remember the key point I just mentioned?"
Wang Jian nodded vigorously, convinced: "Yes, remember it, we are good people, good people aren’t wrong."
Feng Mu smiled silently, his gaze drifting past Wang Jian to the corpse bags being transported in the distance, a cold sneer rising in his heart: "No, it’s devouring people!"