Chapter 609: Chapter 508: Aftereffects
Telling Chen Yuanshan the truth, the wish of his son that Ye Qiu painstakingly kept hidden, might be shattered.
And if he doesn’t tell Chen Yuanshan the truth, he will have to live forever in his own dreamland.
Shen Zheqi masticated the youtiao, feeling somewhat uneasy.
Just when he was about to speak and decide to tell Chen Yuanshan the truth, Chen Yuanshan surprisingly spoke first.
"Why are you eating so little? Is there something on your mind?" Chen Yuanshan glanced at the half piece of youtiao left on Shen Zheqi’s plate and smiled.
Shen Zheqi looked up, his gaze meeting that of the breakfast shop owner he had known for a long time, in mid-air.
Uncertain if it was an illusion, Chen Yuanshan’s eyes seemed to be filled with something.
"My son, Chen Shaotian... Shaotian, he is actually already dead, isn’t he?"
It was unexpected that Chen Yuanshan would say this directly.
Did he know all along?!
"The tone is indeed alike, the handwriting has no issues, and even some childhood anecdotes known only to him and me he can clearly recall."
As Chen Yuanshan spoke, he used his eight arms to open those letters one by one.
"Since that’s the case, why do you think he’s already dead, Uncle Yuan Shan?" Shen Zheqi asked.
Ye Qiu has always been prudent in his dealings; even after battling the Apostle and having a period of mental instability, he would have prepared his subordinates’ farewell messages long ago.
It’s not Ye Qiu’s fault, so where did it go wrong?
Chen Yuanshan shook his head.
"Because they are too ’stable’, stable to the point they feel like a routine task."
"Sorry, I shouldn’t use this word to describe the person who painstakingly faked all of this; he must be a very kind person."
"But, as a father, I do not feel the emotions in these letters."
Lies can deceive, but emotions cannot.
If you want to deceive emotions, you must immerse yourself into them first.
Obviously, the person who forged the letters could not put themselves into the identity of Chen Yuanshan’s son.
"I see." Listening to Chen Yuanshan’s explanation, Shen Zheqi suddenly understood a point, which is why Chen Yuanshan’s Desire Dream Realm does not feature his son!
If Chen Yuanshan’s desire was to reunite with his son, there should at least be an image of his son in the Desire Dream Realm.
But ever since Shen Zheqi entered the Desire Dream Realm, he was still in this breakfast shop of three acres.
Could this also indirectly indicate that Chen Yuanshan already knew his son was dead, and these letters were all fakes?
"Then why do you still..." Shen Zheqi thought of this and looked at Chen Yuanshan again.
He clearly knew everything.
Yet he was still lured by desire, entering a mutated state.
"Everyone harbors an obsession, even if rationality tells them there’s a 99.99% probability of failure, he would still gamble on that 0.01% chance."
"I’m the same."
"No matter how much I console myself, telling myself that my son might have fallen on the battlefield, but, what if?"
This isn’t just about deception and being deceived, but the difference between refusing to believe and choosing to believe.
"But no matter how beautiful this dream is, there should be a day to wake up, shouldn’t there?"
As Chen Yuanshan said this, he put down the pots, pans, knives, spatulas, spoons, and chopsticks in his hands, looked at Shen Zheqi, and said:
"So, tell me the truth."
Upon hearing this, Shen Zheqi also took a deep breath.
Finally, he exhaled this turbid breath and said, "Uncle Yuan Shan, your son, Chen Shaotian, as a member of the Qiulin Guard in the Third War Zone, has already died in the battle against an Old Covenant Apostle."
Crack.
Crack.
As soon as Shen Zheqi finished speaking, the Desire Dream Realm before his eyes began to shatter inch by inch like a mirror.
Soon, the Desire Dream Realm was entirely shattered.
Shen Zheqi also returned to the original breakfast shop.
Opposite him, Chen Yuanshan, released from the frozen frame state, his eight mutated arms vanished, and he returned to his original human appearance.
The sadness in Chen Yuanshan’s eyes flashed by and was gone in the blink of an eye, returning to normal.
Perhaps this pain had brewed in his heart countless times, that’s why he was so quick to let go, or perhaps, buried it deeply.
"Thank you, Xiao Shen." Chen Yuanshan thanked Shen Zheqi, who shook his head.
"Uncle Yuan Shan, we can discuss pleasantries and comforting words later. For now, tell me how you felt after mutating."
Upon hearing Shen Zheqi’s inquiry, Chen Yuanshan tried to recall and began to speak:
"I felt something my heart yearned for seemed to sprout, blossom, and grow rapidly into a gigantic tree, filling my entire mind."
"Then I was immersed in my own dreamland, losing perception of the outside world."
"Indeed, it doesn’t differ much from my previous speculation." Shen Zheqi nodded slightly, "Amplified desires can cause mutation, and after mutation, self-awareness gets trapped in one’s own dreamland, leaving only instincts in external behavior."
Upon confirming this point, Shen Zheqi devised a fixed method to solve individual mutations.
By using "Telepathy" ability, establishing a bridge into the dreamland of the person, and successfully awakening them,
it’s possible to successfully resolve the mutated state.
Unexpectedly, after hearing Shen Zheqi’s analysis, Chen Yuanshan let out a long sigh, his expression becoming much heavier.
"Xiao Shen, you’re oversimplifying the problem."
Chen Yuanshan’s words made Shen Zheqi raise an eyebrow slightly.
As the Legion Commander of the Fourth War Zone, being instructed on perspective by a breakfast shop owner?
Shen Zheqi patiently asked him, "Uncle Yuan Shan, what insights do you have?"
"I wouldn’t say insights, but in some issues, we ordinary people of Great Xia have a different perspective from yours."
Chen Yuanshan continued, "Great Xia has now recovered its lost lands, avenged great enmity, technology is rapidly advancing, military strength is soaring, everything is moving towards a good direction, and that’s truly great."
"But some wounds aren’t that easy to heal."
"How many families were torn apart by disasters, how many lovers were separated by war, how many warriors lost their future utterly."
"In Great Xia, major problems are solved, but there are still many small cracks, almost invisible, yet densely packed."
Time indeed can heal all wounds, but only a few years have passed since Great Xia endured that greatest catastrophe,
"Desires, in a way, can be seen as unwillingness, as obsessions, and if it truly is the root cause of mutations, then the entire Great Xia..."
Chen Yuanshan didn’t finish his sentence, but Shen Zheqi understood.
Then there is a huge problem for the entire Great Xia!
"This is the aftermath of calamity and war."
