"I originally thought I could rely on him and work peacefully, striving in my cultivation."
"Now it seems, it was nothing but seeking a tiger’s skin."
He noticed that Luo Chen was still in a daze, so he could only shake his head and pat Luo Chen on the shoulder.
"Don’t think too much, at least now you have more freedom than before!"
Luo Chen gave a sound of acknowledgement, and, walking along the paved stone path made of large green stones, went deeper into Crescent Valley.
Behind him, Qin Liangchen let out a sigh and stayed outside the house.
Oh, Ol Mi, you have only one line of blood left.
Even though there were a lot of disputes in the past, the ones who passed away are gone, there’s no need to involve the family.
After all, Ol Mi once had kindness towards them.
...
"President!"
"President!"
The sound of this title rang in his ears.
Luo Chen seemed not to hear, step by step he arrived at the top of Crescent Valley.
He had come up here before, but back then it was just a bare mountain top.
Standing on it now and looking down, he realized the scenery had changed.
After acquiring the Small Five Elements Array from Miao Wen, the plan to remodel Crescent Valley, both inside and out, was altered.
Under Duan Feng’s leadership, large areas of trees were transferred in.
The mountain’s rocky veins were redirected, hence creating an unusual sight of gold and earth.
There were others who diverted the mountain spring of Crescent Valley into several little ponds inside and outside.
Additionally with the terrain situated southward, residing in the power center of the palace, combined with the ongoing activities of the cultivators, it achieved the element of fire.
Thus, inside and outside Crescent Valley, the Five Elements were realized.
This transformation was not possible overnight, right now it was merely in its initial stages, and in the future it would require constant improvements.
But at least the Luo Tian Creed now had a foothold.
However, looking at all this, Luo Chen who should have been happy, showed no signs of joy.
In his mind, he kept remembering Miao Wen’s satisfied smile.
"Lured the snake out of the hole by leaving the clan? "
"Expel the future troubles, kill one to warn others?"
"All these are just incidental reasons to what happened in Absolute Cloud Mountain Magnetic Valley. It’s nothing more than to kill three birds with one stone."
"Even if these things didn’t happen, I wouldn’t go against him."
"Then why did he even bother to use Mi Li in the end?"
"Did he guess that I would interfere with the Luo Tian Creed in the future? Is that why he wanted to intimidate me in advance?"
Luo Chen squatted on the ground, clutching small stones, and throwing them from time to time, causing small holes on the mountaintop.
But why was he so satisfied?
He hadn’t really made any decisions!
Why?
Just when Luo Chen was deeply puzzled, he suddenly remembered those words.
"You are a clever man!"
"A clever man!"
Luo Chen stiffened all over.
After a long while, a hint of bitterness gradually crept onto his lips.
"Yeah, what he was satisfied with was that I was a ’clever’ man."
Before the decision to preserve Mi Shuhua’s lineage was made, there was Qin Liangchen’s instinctive act of resistance as a reference.
With this as a reference, when Luo Chen fell into the dilemma of making a decision, he had actually already achieved Miao Wen’s objective.
At that time, whether Luo Chen directly refused to kill Mi Li, or resolutely crushed the flower with a heavy hand, both were results that Miao Wen did not want to see.
Because in this way, Luo Chen, as revealed, would either be a gentleman who acts on instinct and emotion, or a villain who purely considers self-interest.
Neither of these was what Miao Wen wanted to see.
The former is prone to mistakes, driven by emotions, and cannot achieve great things.
The latter is easy to betray. As long as someone can offer better benefits than Miao Wen, he could change sides at any time.
What Miao Wen wanted was a partner who could weigh pros and cons, not impulsive, not reckless, yet having independent thinking capabilities.
Such a person is easy to manage, and won’t hold him back!
That sentence, "Luo Chen, what do you think?"
Was clearly a Heart Torment test.
Under the layered setup, Miao Wen had left satisfied.
Luo Chen put on a complex expression. After understanding all of this, he somehow felt a sense of loss.
"It turns out, I’m this kind of person!"
Being subjected to Heart Torment, and the result that came out, left him somewhat uncomfortable.
Or moving say, anyone would find it difficult to face the "real self".
Because they always beautify themselves unconsciously, making up for anything they do.
Luo Chen had always been like this.
He always thought he was a decent person, who would draw swords for his friends, not bully the weak. He was, within his capacity, a relatively good person.
Yet, under the scorching sun, all the ugliness had nowhere to hide.
He, Luo Chen, was neither a real gentleman nor a pure villain.
He was just an ordinary "clever" person in the world.
Under the suppression of a Foundation Establishment powerhouse, he would bully Mi Li, a more vulnerable person.
If Miao Wen were to take out his anger on Qin Liangchen, he would be powerless, and most likely just watch the other party go to his death.
Such supposed kindness, was nothing more than the mercy of the strong!
In front of Miao Wen, he was not the strong one, so he wasn’t kind.
"But!"
Unknowingly, Luo Chen was trembling all over, clenching his teeth, his forehead veins prominent.
"None of this was my intention!"
"Why should others force me to make a decision!"
"And why should I be subjected to Heart Torment!"
"Regardless of being a gentleman, a villain, or a clever man, the underlying cause is simply survival of the fittest!"
"If I were strong enough, whether to be a gentleman or a villain would be a matter of choice, and goodness or evil deeds would be just a matter of the heart."
Suddenly, Luo Chen stopped shaking and released his bloody lips.
He smiled bitterly at himself.
What was his fault in all this?
Weakness was the original sin!
If he too were in the Foundation Establishment stage, Miao Wen would not have bothered to put him through the ruthless Heart Torment questions.