It's All Worldly Wisdom

Raul endured the longest two minutes of his life. Screams, roars, the chaos of panicked running and crashing, and the wretched weeping of men begging for mercy… The cacophony buzzed deafeningly in his ears. The keep he had painstakingly fortified was torn to shreds as if made of cardboard. The high-priced mage consultant he had hired cast a single fireball before teleporting away, and the mercenaries he had pampered with good food and drink scattered like frightened birds after just a few were trampled to death. Everything he had painstakingly built was thoroughly destroyed in a mere two minutes. By the time the black knight, covered in blood and filth, ascended to the highest point of the keep and stood before Raul, everything had already been ruined. The black knight casually tossed the corpse of a mercenary whose head had been crushed onto the floor before Raul and asked, "Still resisting?" Raul stared in disbelief at the gory scene, his voice trembling as he asked, "Who on earth are you? I've never offended you. Why are you…" The black knight cut him off impatiently. "Did those slaves ever offend you? How old are you? You're not some sheltered brat who's never seen the world. Why ask such a stupid question?" When Hastings was alive, he had been an adventurer and seen far more life and death than Raul ever had. Even though his past included the tragic ordeal of being violated by a hag and later being turned into an undead by a lich, he was never as naive as Raul. In the end, Raul offered no further resistance, assuming the posture of a lamb awaiting slaughter. Hastings hoisted him up by the collar but did not leave immediately. Instead, he asked, "Where's the woman who gave you all those rotten ideas?" Raul froze. Why was this black knight asking about that? Did he know about Ivy's existence? "Who on earth are you?" Raul asked agitatedly. "You don't even recognize me? Ah, that makes sense. I just got a new suit of armor. I'm Hastings. Remember me?" "Hastings?!" Raul remembered that name. Wasn't that the undead serving that lich? Why had he suddenly appeared here, slaughtering his way through Raul's estate? Raul said angrily, "Did Isabel send you?!" Hastings dangled Raul by the collar and looked around, seeing no sign of Ivy. Annoyed, he said, "There is definitely something wrong with your head. I already told you—my master ordered me here!" Raul's eyes went wide. In shock, he muttered to himself, "Master… How is that possible… He…" Hastings could not be bothered with this fool who still could not read the room. Tapping his own chest, a blob of mercury seeped out from the gaps in his armor and quickly coalesced into human form. Hastings commanded, "Hares, go find that woman and kill her." Hares hesitated. "Uh, is that really a good idea? The master said 'dead or alive only if they resist.' We've already captured this guy." Hastings scoffed. "Since when would the master care about the life or death of a woman like that? That bitch stirred up trouble and made us make an extra trip. Shouldn't we vent a little frustration?" Hares nodded vigorously, then melted back into a silvery pool. He slid rapidly across the floor and vanished from sight in an instant. Hastings kept dragging Raul down toward the lower levels of the keep. Before he even reached the ground floor, Hares returned. Enveloped in the mercury was a severed human head, eyes still wide in terror and death—the very woman who had been lounging in Raul's arms moments earlier. Raul stared blankly at the head, entirely unable to comprehend what had just happened to him. Then, a sharp pain struck the back of his head, and he blacked out. Once he was sure Raul was completely unconscious, Hares grumbled, "Bro, why go to all that trouble? Why put on a show in front of him? We clearly did it to vent some anger on Miss Isabel's behalf, yet you framed it like we were taking revenge for ourselves." Hastings scoffed. "You don't understand a damn thing. Avenging Miss Isabel is something Miss Isabel needs to know about, but if Raul knew, that idiot might end up resenting his own sister later. Tell me, would we be doing someone a favor, or would we be driving a wedge between them? "Right now, Raul hates us, while Miss Isabel will owe us a favor. That favor will come in handy sooner or later. Working under our lich master isn't just about fighting and killing—it's all about worldly wisdom." Hares sighed helplessly. "It's even more complicated than when we were adventurers." "Of course it is! Back then, when we did our underhanded double-crosses, we were dealing with people at the bottom. But now, who around the master isn't among the top figures in the world? We're just ordinary adventurers by origin—you a ranger, me a rogue. If we don't want to get discarded like this idiot, we'd better know our place." Hastings was lecturing his brother when he suddenly added, "You didn't use to be this stupid. You couldn't even see through that? Have you been sleeping too long and letting your brain rot?" Hares said helplessly, "That's just what happens when you become undead. You slowly lose all kinds of desires, and naturally, your ability to think dulls as well. It's only because the master added a little extra something to our souls that we've lasted this long. If you don't sleep more, your willpower will fade even faster." "That won't do. When we get back, we have to mention this to the master. I don't want to turn into a zombie that drools all day." "Yeah. If I lose my consciousness, I'll literally just be a puddle of… Actually, those mercury soul puppets look like they have it pretty good. The first batch can already work on the factory assembly lines." Chatting along the way, the two brothers carried the unconscious Raul back to the keep. *** Anbaixiu did not ask for specific details. He simply instructed the two brothers to wake Raul up. Seeing Anbaixiu in the mirror, Raul trembled and said, "Master, you… you really were resurrected." Anbaixiu said with a smile, "What? If I hadn't been resurrected, you'd still think you did nothing wrong?" Raul said unwillingly, "Where did I go wrong? I was only trying my best to climb up in the world. In the end, it was just that I didn't know you had returned to life, Master. If I had known, how would I have dared…" "Yet Isabel didn't know at first either." Anbaixiu's words silenced Raul for a moment. Then, growing even more agitated, he said, "That's because Isabel is a woman! She's different from me! I had to climb up! I had to gain power and influence in this cruel world just to protect my own life! Otherwise, I would have ended up like today, destroyed by you with effortless ease! "I know the despair of waiting for death. Every time I have a nightmare, I dream of that scene! I only wanted to control my own destiny—what was wrong with that? I don't have immense power like you, Master. I could only rely on earning money to buy the strength to protect myself! Doing business means dealing with people. In this Dwarven Royal Capital, the Alchemy Association's power is colossal. What was wrong with cooperating with them? "If you were still alive, Master, I never would have done that! If you had given me even the slightest bit of help, I wouldn't have needed to beg those alchemists! Why was I in the wrong? Anyone in my position would have made the exact same choice! No one wants to bow their head to fate!" Anbaixiu showed no impatience. He simply waited for Raul to pour out all the grievances in his heart, making no attempt to refute them. Only then did he say calmly, "You're right. No one wants to be controlled by fate. Everyone, myself included, is fighting against destiny. "However, you lost." Raul stared at Anbaixiu in surprise. He had thought this wise sage, whose deeds were sung across the lands, would deliver some profound, long-winded speech. That was it? Anbaixiu said curiously, "What? Am I wrong?" Raul froze, not knowing how to reply. Had he lost? Indeed, he had lost. The domain he had built with great difficulty had been breached with effortless ease. His mercenaries had fled, his slaves had scattered in the chaos, and he was bound to go bankrupt. If that wasn't losing, what was? But was that all? Anbaixiu knew very well what Raul was thinking and said placidly, "Raul, the world isn't that complicated, and I have no interest in preaching life lessons to you. If you believe anyone in your position would have made the same choice, and you also believe you did everything you could to the absolute best of your ability, then what do you have to feel bitter about? "Even if you were given a second chance, wouldn't the outcome be the same? "You feel you worked very hard, but you still lost. Choices matter more than effort, and luck matters more than choices. That is simply how fate works sometimes." Raul said agitatedly, "Then what meaning is there to life?" "Go find the meaning yourself. Why should I care? Now, go apologize to Isabel, and then get yourself over to Silver Coin Island to work. Ponder the meaning of your life on the factory assembly line." Anbaixiu waved his hand impatiently, motioning for Hastings to toss the man into the teleportation array. Once Raul had disappeared, the two brothers, Hastings and Hares, grinned obsequiously and leaned in front of the magic mirror. One look at their expressions told Anbaixiu they were up to no good, but seeing as they had handled the task reliably, he deigned to hear them out. When Hastings and Hares brought up the adverse effect of undead gradually losing their willpower, Anbaixiu clapped his hands together and exclaimed excitedly, "I would've forgotten all about that if you hadn't mentioned it! Perfect timing—I happen to have an experiment here that might resolve the issue once and for all. I was just short of experimental materials… Ah, no, volunteers. Do you two want to give it a try?" Hastings: "…" Hares: "…" Did this lich master just say *experimental materials*? Hastings could not help but ask, "Master, may we ask about the danger of this experiment?" Anbaixiu said with full confidence, "Don't you know my methods by now? Even if your soul shatters, I can stitch and patch it back together for you. I guarantee you won't die." Hastings and Hares exchanged a glance, both reading the clear message of *we're doomed* from the other's posture. They knew this master's habits all too well. When he opened his mouth and guaranteed they wouldn't die, they indeed wouldn't die—but that also meant the experiment would very likely shatter their souls into pieces. Yet precisely because they knew Anbaixiu's habits, they knew that now that his eyes had lit up, this experiment was going to happen whether they refused or not. At this point, did they even have the right to refuse? Hares spoke up first. "Master, we are one hundred percent willing to be volunteers! However, last time, I was transformed into an undead first while Hastings was locked in a container for a long time. This time, I can't take the lead again. Please let my big brother go first." "Huh?!" Hastings stared at his brother in utter shock. This little punk—earlier he had claimed he was getting stupider, but now it was obvious he was completely faking it! Serving this master truly wasn't about fighting and killing; it was all about worldly wisdom.