The old man nodded slightly.
"I haven't figured it out yet," Xu Zhengyang said honestly.
The old man said, "So you should stop and think carefully, so you don't end up on a dead end."
"Do I really think I've gone a bit too far?"
“If you continue down this path, you will find yourself on the opposite side of all humanity.” The old man’s tone became much sterner. “You are a smart person; you should be able to realize that, in reality, everyone is unwilling to reveal themselves to anyone or anything; everyone hides something…”
Xu Zhengyang remained silent.
The old man seemed unwilling to remain silent, and his tone softened considerably as he said calmly, "Just do your best. Humans are the most self-contradictory creatures."
"Humans perish in selfishness, both great and small selfishness," Xu Zhengyang muttered, seemingly somewhat resentful.
The old man opened his squinted eyes, revealing for the first time a look of doubt and a hint of hesitation.
"Grandpa, everyone in the world wants to live a happy life, but they always have a selfish mindset and build their own happiness on the suffering of others. It's like a vicious cycle that can only lead to no one being happy and suffering disaster in the end. Don't you think so?"
These words were indeed a bit grandiose, touching on a much higher level. However, given Xu Zhengyang's background, education, and self-awareness, he wouldn't use such high-sounding language.
The old man understood perfectly. After a long silence, he finally nodded in agreement and said, "You don't have the power to change these things, even if a god stands behind you... In the end, it might only bring about annihilation. Human life is very fragile."
"But if there are gods, then there must be an underworld, and human souls can be reincarnated."
According to legend, before reincarnation, people drink Meng Po soup to forget all their memories of their past lives. This is not much different from death as we currently understand it.
"That's why people are reluctant to die, they are afraid of dying."
The old man smiled and nodded: "Those who don't care about life and death are foolish."
"So, people who don't care about the lives of others are smart?"
"In most cases, that's the case."
Xu Zhengyang said, "If I gave you the ability to judge ghosts, well, I mean, if you could be the judge or Yama in the legendary underworld, would you punish evil ghosts and make them regret what they did in their past lives?"
"That means nothing to people."
"But it makes sense if people know and believe that there will be a judgment in the underworld after death."
"Perhaps," the old man said thoughtfully.
“I remember reading in a book that an ancient emperor once said, ‘To establish a city god so that people know fear, and when people have something to fear, they will not dare to act recklessly.’ The intention was to ‘observe the good and evil of the people and to bring them fortune or misfortune, so that neither the living nor the dead can escape punishment.’”
The old man nodded and said, "In feudal times, emperors used this to consolidate the dynasty's authority, intimidate the people and prevent them from causing chaos, and thus ensure the dynasty's eternal existence..."
"I think there are things to take and things not to take. At least, on some moral levels, it is beneficial to people."
"Human beings are progressing, not regressing."
Xu Zhengyang lowered his head and said somewhat absentmindedly, "Maybe."
“Zhengyang, do you know why you’re telling me all this today…” The old man paused, then smiled calmly, “It’s very dangerous.”
"Yes." Xu Zhengyang nodded and said very seriously, "I know you are doing this for my own good... You don't need to worry, I just want to be a good person, I have no other ulterior motives."
The old man seemed a little tired; his eyelids drooped, and he said wearily, "Take care of yourself."
Xu Zhengyang smiled, seemingly unwilling to discuss the topic any further, and said, "Grandpa, how about we play a game of chess in a different way?"
"Hmm?" The old man smiled and asked, "How do I get down?"
“I won’t use chariots, knights, or cannons, just five pawns, a general, and a minister,” Xu Zhengyang said with a smile. “But there’s a condition: I can move two pieces each time, whether it’s one or two pieces. Well, these two moves will still follow the rules of chess… cough cough, there’s another condition: I’ll move first.”
The old man thought for a moment, seemed very interested, and nodded, saying, "Okay."
So Xu Zhengyang picked out all the red pieces in front of him, except for the "pawn", "general", and "minister", and placed them aside.
The old man looked at his red chess pieces, then at the half-board in front of Xu Zhengyang that was clearly much empty, and smiled, "Let's begin."
Xu Zhengyang nodded, and with both hands, his two pawns stepped forward simultaneously.
A very strange game of chess has begun.
An old man sets up a cannon.
A pawn charged forward.
A pawn was killed.
Two more pawns moved forward simultaneously once again.
Set up another cannon.
A pawn stood horizontally in the way, exuding a murderous aura.
Although the four pawns cannot take large steps, their offensive is extremely fierce. They support each other from all sides and rely on each other, not even giving the opponent a chance to fight.
In no time, after losing two more pawns, the black side was completely overwhelmed and scattered.
The two black pawns, like fearless and invincible warriors, charged into the heart of the red side's territory, trapping the red general in a tight encirclement of his own advisors, knights, and chariots, rendering him unable to move.
The old man frowned, looking at the chessboard where the outcome was already decided, his expression one of confusion and bewilderment.
Besides the difference in their playing styles, Xu Zhengyang's individual chess skills were also a key factor in his victory.
However, at this moment, Xu Zhengyang no longer had the profound thoughts he had when he first suggested playing this game of chess. Instead, he easily thought of a picture and the letters on it, which was very interesting and fun. He had seen it online.
It was a picture of the endgame of a game of chess, and the chess position on it was very similar to the one in front of me.
The caption reads: "At this point, what's the use of being handsome? What's the use of owning a car? What's the use of having a girlfriend? You'll still get killed by a pawn, won't you?"
In fact, Xu Zhengyang's original intention was:
As long as a pawn has the ability to take one more step, it doesn't need any chariots, horses, or cannons to support it. As people often say, once a pawn crosses the river, it becomes formidable.
Volume 4, City God Chapter 193: The Only One on the Road
In this world, there are very few people who dare to speak so frankly to this old man, and even those who subtly oppose him.
But Xu Zhengyang did just that.
People often say that great people exude an aura of dominance that inspires fear, dread, and awe in others.
Ultimately, the so-called invisible pressure is actually the gap in strength in reality. When we face someone whose strength makes us look up to them with awe, it's natural to feel intimidated.
Well, of course, there are a very small number of people who are not included in this category.
From a normal person's perspective, Xu Zhengyang is not among that extremely small minority. At least when facing someone with extraordinary strength, he is not even as fearless and brave as Chen Chaojiang. However, Xu Zhengyang is not a normal person. He is a god, and currently, he is the only god in this world.
He knew what the old man was thinking, so he naturally didn't have much to worry about or fear.
First, just as Xu Zhengyang himself described, he wasn't a purely virtuous person, but he was a good person, and a simple, poor boy from the countryside with no education or connections. Even after receiving incredible, special assistance, he never did anything wrong. The old man understood this clearly and appreciated him. Perhaps there was some influence from his granddaughter, Li Bingjie; the old man loved her because of her.
Secondly, just because of this difference in opinion, should we kill a young man who hasn't yet caused any significant trouble and may not even cause any in the future? The old man wouldn't do such a thing; indeed, he wouldn't care much about Xu Zhengyang's life.
Even if we were to nip the danger in the bud, we still had to consider the towering figure behind Xu Zhengyang—a deity who should only exist in the shadows. If anything happened to Xu Zhengyang, who knows what that deity might do?
From the things Xu Zhengyang experienced, it can be seen that the god favored Xu Zhengyang and spoiled him.
Therefore, the old man harbored a deep sense of unease towards Xu Zhengyang, or more precisely, towards the deity standing behind Xu Zhengyang.
Therefore, his thoughts coincided with some of Xu Zhengyang's current ideas. That is, to keep things within a small scope as much as possible, without making a fuss, and to avoid causing a major upheaval—that would be ideal. After all, in today's atheistic world, the sudden public announcement of the existence of God would have an incredibly powerful impact.
This will undoubtedly be a major earthquake in the human spirit. It will trigger a massive tsunami that will impact the entire world.
This would not only lead to a complete transformation of human faith, but would also inevitably result in bloodshed and war. This is absolutely not unfounded worry. Looking back at the history of world wars, consider how many religious or pagan fanatics and extremists are doing what they are doing today…
It must be admitted that Xu Zhengyang didn't see that far ahead. He was simply trying to do something based on his simple yet realistic mindset. Because he was just a twenty-two-year-old rural youth with limited knowledge, his vision couldn't possibly extend that far. Moreover, on this path of religious service, he had no companions, no mentors to guide him, no one to tell him what to do… He was merely groping and testing the waters based on his own guesses, imagination, and the inherent nature of a small person; occasionally taking large strides forward, occasionally pausing to ponder.
Fortunately, he is a god. No one can stop him from taking a step or pausing.
At least for now, there's no real obstacle that poses a threat to him personally. As the saying goes, the will of the people is what matters... No one can prevent people who have experienced supernatural events from not believing in gods, right? Nor can we completely destroy all religious beliefs, right?
This is a side of Xu Zhengyang that he is very confident and proud of.
...
In the City God's Palace of the Void World.
The City God sat behind his desk, flipping through the recently submitted case files, all of which were cases within the territory of Fuhe City that had been dealt with by the ghost messengers or were awaiting his judgment.
Su Peng's ghostly figure strode in from outside and stood a few meters away in the hall in front of the desk. Then, somewhat nervously, he knelt down and said, "My lord, this humble servant is incompetent!"
"Get up." The City God waved his hand without even raising his head. "Don't overthink it. I don't like it."
"This humble servant dares not!" Su Peng stood up and bowed in response.
The City God looked up and calmly said, "Stop this investigation and probing, and go do something else."
"Yes, sir." Su Peng bowed and withdrew.
Now, as the captain of the ghost messengers, Su Peng has the authority to travel freely between the human realm and the City God's Mansion.
After Su Peng left, the City God's figure flashed and disappeared into thin air.
In the real world, Xu Zhengyang opened his eyes, sat up, turned on the light, walked to the computer desk, sat down, took a sip of iced tea, and lit a cigarette. He frowned and pondered.
The things recorded in the historical anecdotes are not entirely fictional or fabricated.
For example, historical records state that ancient emperors and officials were protected by something we can temporarily call divine power. When a human official reached the county level, the ghost messengers could not probe their consciousness, let alone possess their souls, and could not control them.
Su Peng's investigation and probing over the past few days have proven that this situation is indeed true.
The survey results coincidentally echoed a statement Xu Zhengyang had made to the old man: "Grandpa, you probably never thought that in the hearts of many ordinary people, people like you, and some other great figures who have existed in this world and still exist today, are like gods... At least, people think that people like you are omnipotent."
When Xu Zhengyang said those words, he never expected this situation to occur.
In the days following his return from the old man, Xu Zhengyang carefully reflected on his conversation with him and compared it with the records in the ancient books he had read. Only then did he think of having the ghost messengers conduct these experiments to confirm whether such a situation existed.
really……
It seems that human faith is not limited to gods. It also applies to people, especially those in official positions. More precisely, it applies to those holding positions at the county level and above.
This reminded Xu Zhengyang of some things he had done when he was a clerk and judge. When dealing with officials, he didn't let ordinary ghosts possess them. Back then, whenever he needed to do something against an official, he would personally take action.
Why did he do that back then? Xu Zhengyang thought it was probably a coincidence.
It's just that human officials lack something in their bodies and minds, which is why their faith cannot be transformed into true divine power.
Fortunately, no matter how high your official rank, that so-called protective energy surrounding your body ultimately cannot withstand the power of the gods.
Xu Zhengyang pondered for a moment. Could there be rules restricting this as well? If one's rank is low, the rank of the human officials they can probe will also be much lower? For example, if he were currently a Gongcao (a minor official), perhaps he wouldn't be able to probe the old man's mind. This conjecture couldn't be verified for the time being, because he was the City God and couldn't be demoted to verify it, which was a pity.
With a wave of his hand, Xu Zhengyang summoned the city scroll and asked with a smile, "Is this also a rule set by the Heavenly Court?" The reason he asked this was because he remembered that when this jade stone was upgraded from a local record to a county record, Xu Zhengyang had inquired about it, asking, "Which dynasty did you leave behind? Why are the planned local counties and districts exactly the same as they are now?" The jade stone, which had just been upgraded to a county record, told him: "A divine artifact of the Heavenly Court, recording the changes of the world."
Hmm, it's very powerful, a divine artifact that Xu Zhengyang can't figure out.