Chapter 157: The Little Mermaid (27)

Sang Lan buried Kan Tian in a stretch of sandy ground.

And from the very moment General Kan Tian's corpse was buried, a giant ship thousands of miles away sank instantly.

When Tang Mu and Yu Yun opened their eyes once more, they found themselves standing in front of the giant clam again.

"This is the full truth of what you have come to understand." It was not as if Sang Lan was unaware of what General Kan Tian had done. Otherwise, she would never have uttered the words, "Unlike you, you have never given me a choice."

"Then what about the doubts in your heart?"

Since Sang Lan was not as vicious as the other spectral entities in the instances, and was surprisingly approachable, Tang Mu naturally went straight to the point.

"Which question are you looking for the answer to?"

Logically speaking, for a woman as spiritually enlightened as Sang Lan, one who could communicate with the heavens and earth and wield immense divine power, it was hard to imagine any question in this world that could still perplex her.

Yet, the fact that Sang Lan remained steadfastly within the giant clam and refused to leave proved one thing.

The obsession in her heart was as deep and vast as the endless waters encompassing this entire sea.

"For the first decade, I resented my lover for refusing to communicate with me, which led to such a tragic outcome for both of us. For the middle decade, I believed I should turn back time and let things start over so that everyone could achieve a happy ending. In the final decade, I came to realize that once certain things have happened, regret will always remain. Regret is simply regret. They are like the sea sand at the bottom of the ocean; no matter how much you grasp in your hand, there is always another handful waiting for you to take. The tighter you clutch it, the faster it slips away. You can never make everything tend toward perfection."

Judging from Sang Lan's words,

she must have wandered alone in this illusion for many years,

and had repeatedly reversed time in an attempt to alter the outcome.

Yet, in the end, she had still chosen to present the original story to the eyes of Tang Mu and Yu Yun.

"My confusion now is: what is the meaning of all living things existing in this world? Why must humans, and other creatures, live?"

...

...

Such a broad question.

This question would likely stump a great many people.

No wonder so many had perished here, unable to escape.

Presumably, they, too, were ignorant of the answer, weren't they?

And for Sang Lan to set this question as the condition for clearing the instance...

What an interesting boss.

Indeed, different people harbor different desires. And with different desires come different inner demons and obsessions.

"I cannot answer this question. I don't know."

Tang Mu simply gave up trying to sound profound.

"Human life is inherently brief. From birth to death, a few years of ignorance, a few years of eating, a few years of sleeping, a few years of schooling to acquire knowledge, a few years of work, a few years of play, and a lifetime is over. Most people muddle along, accomplishing nothing, with simply no spare time to ponder why they are alive."

"For these people, living is just living. There is nothing worth pondering over."

"Then there are those who have their own dreams. They can give everything—even their lives—for their vision."

"There are also those who live for others. When war strikes, for instance, they are willing to sacrifice themselves for the people behind them whom they wish to protect."

"Anyway, in this world, as long as something exists, it leaves its traces."

"But if you ask me what the meaning of life is? I truly cannot answer. Life appeared on this Earth 4.1 billion years ago. Back then, the Earth was only 500 million years old. Life 4.1 billion years ago... probably consisted of nothing more than a single cell, right? Single-celled organisms have no thoughts; for them, to live is simply to live. Survival, reproduction, and the seizure of living space are practically their instincts. Creatures like them do not ponder the meaning of living, let alone contemplate how special an existence they are within the vast, boundless universe."

"Later on, there came us."

"From single-celled, we evolved into multi-cellular. We began to carry physical flesh and developed a spirit. We acquired joy, anger, sorrow, joy, and grief, along with the flavors of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, and salty. We gained perception, emotion, and experience."

"We even acquired souls and reincarnation."

"The existence of the spirit is attached to the physical body and matter. This is uniquely one of a kind among at least hundreds of billions of stars. How fortunate we are to find such a vibrant place among countless stars to meet one another, and walk through a journey that, to the universe, is no more than the blink of an eye."

"You ask me, does human existence have any meaning to the universe? I think it has no meaning."

"To the universe, we humans are probably just an ephemeral flash, an amusing little trinket meant to entertain for a fleeting moment."

"But if you ask me, does human existence have meaning to humans themselves? I think everyone holds their own answer."

"So, if this is your obsession, then I'm sorry, I cannot answer it."

Tang Mu casually picked a stone, sat down upon it, and quietly gazed at the massive clam shell before her, adding this final sentence: "If you've already started pondering this question at such a young age, I think you're no longer a mermaid; you've truly become divine."

"We mortals are simply weighed down by greed, anger, ignorance, arrogance, and doubt, wandering miserably in the mortal realm without finding liberation. With these things come karmic obstacles. With karmic obstacles come cause and effect. Just like the concepts taught in high school physics: action and reaction, and the mutual nature of forces."

"A single person's thoughts and intentions can influence the material trajectory of their surroundings."

"The thoughts and intentions of all the people on an entire Earth will influence the material trajectory of the entire Earth."

"And then the solar system. The Milky Way. The universe."

"Well, thinking along these lines, I find it quite interesting."

"What do you think?"

Inside the giant clam shell, Sang Lan listened to the endless chattering coming from outside. Suddenly, she let out a soft chuckle.

"Indeed, one still needs a point of comparison. If one does not contemplate problems from the perspective of the boundless universe, one will magnify them many, many times over from one's own perspective."

Compared to a planet with a lifespan spanning billions of years,

humans are far too insignificant. So much so that the various confusions of human existence in this world seem like nothing more than the tiniest trace in the universe, easily scattered by a gust of wind.

The significance of a living existence is momentous,

yet at the same time, as insignificant as dust.

One hardly knows whether to marvel at the greatness of life or sigh at its ant-like humbleness.

"But Tang Mu, right now I don't want to contemplate the meaning of the existence of all living things from the perspective of the universe. I just want to ask about the meaning of our existence, the meaning of us living creatures."

"My life hasn't reached its end yet," Tang Mu tilted her head and smiled. "The meaning of my life probably won't be calculated until the very moment I draw my last breath. If you ask me now, what kind of answer could I possibly give you?"

"Why don't you just kill me right now?"

Tang Mu egged Sang Lan on. It wasn't as if she hadn't died in the previous instance anyway, and she had successfully escaped from it all the same.

This time, it didn't really matter either.

Besides, Yan Xingwen's soul was here too.

Even if she died, she and Yan Xingwen would still be together in this instance.

"If you kill me now, I can tell you all the trajectories of my life on this Earth over the past twenty-something years. If you want to know, I can tell you every single word without missing a thing."

"Would you like to listen?"