Chapter 298: Between Life and Death |
It wasn't fair to say that the world revolved around only one man alone—but at that moment, in Bao's eyes, it almost seemed to be the case. Li Yang stood at the edge of the cliff and could easily fall to his death if he was unlucky and was not careful at all.
Jagged and sharp rocks awaited him at the bottom, shaped by the harsh winds that blew and beat at them.
But was it a better outcome than becoming a Vampire's eternal slave?
The beautiful Vampire reached out to him, much faster than Li Yang thought possible—realizing that the Vampire only ran slower earlier to give him a false sense of assuredness. Elizabeth Hawthorne, the Vampire within the in-between realm, clutched the man's collar and spoke thusly.
"You speak about me understanding you and yet you wish to flee from my sight and neither do you want to remain here with me," Elizabeth said. She took a step forward and placed the man hanging at the edge of the cliff. "That is a silly thing to say."
Bao's gaze temporarily swept over the dark waters that sent even it a chilling bite of coldness. A salty scent that sharpened one's senses before it returned to the man currently in plight.
Well, Li Yang looked far from being disturbed. Even at the position of being literally held up by a lady's arm and strength, the man's face was calm. Li Yang looked her in the eye.
"It may sound silly to you, but simply understanding a person does not mean that you'd be sympathetic to their cause, wouldn't you? We know a snake needs to eat but we kill it if it proves to be a menace."
"So you run away, knowing that while I understand you—I will not be helpful to you at all. Instead, I am a nuisance to your own plans and agendas?" Elizabeth pursed her lips and returned his gaze unflinchingly. "That honesty instead of trembling… have you no fear?"
"Ah, courage. I would say it's just an underdeveloped ability to feel fear, but those are just descriptions and fail to capture the entirety of the whole." Elizabeth loosened her grip tightly. "Do you believe that if I release you now, you would survive? Will the Heavens intervene?"
"I am not one who can predict the actions of the Heavens. They are chaotic and might do another thing if I say one thing at all." Li Yang replied. "As the heavens send their tribulations to those who dare defy the natural order of things—"
"Natural, you say?" Elizabeth scoffed. "Do you mean to tell me that you've deluded yourself to think that death is natural for all things and that my nature as a Vampire is something wrong and worth correcting?"
"... I think it's a little different for your kind," Li Yang said.
There was a look on the man's face that seemed to be contemplating between kicking the Vampire in the abdomen to release him or to pull out a weapon and put it to use. Either way, the two of them were suddenly wrapped up in a debacle.
Neither of which were interested in stopping just yet.
"How the Reapers and Avatars of Death must have fooled you and your kind." Elizabeth eyed the man with a sense of disgust. "Do you think that life has no purpose and meaning unless there is some kind of physical death and afterlife?"
"..." Li Yang stayed silent for a moment and then said, "It is hard to contemplate happiness without pain. So it is easy to squander life if you do not understand that you can lose it."
"Oh, so that means that this sensation or emotion of happiness would not exist if it were not for suffering existing as well?" Elizabeth frowned at him. "Must things always be in a dichotomy that cannot be removed? Surely, you wouldn't make a child kill another for them to appreciate life."
"Well, that's just kind of messed up—" Li Yang faltered slightly, but then sighed inwardly. He thought about how most parents did their best to give their children a happy life. "I suppose it is possible to live a life of happiness and comfort without not knowing pain that much. But that is nothing more than blocking things out."
"And so you think that those who look for immortality are nothing more but individuals who are refusing to accept the natural order of death?" Elizabeth smiled a little.
"Death has always been a part of life." Li Yang muttered. "That is how things always have been… unless you are to tell me that things are different from the beginning of it all."
"Not everything that is natural is good. I've been made aware of how humanity changed over the centuries and I do not remember them complaining about it at all." Elizabeth said without batting an eye. "Or would you like to return to the age of cavemen and hunt without weapons?"
"That's innovation…" Li Yang frowned slightly at the logic she was going with. It made sense to him to a certain extent, but what was the purpose of this? Make him agree into becoming a blood servant?
"So you admit that people try to make their lives better. Why not make it infinitely better by living forever?" Elizabeth smiled.
"It's not just as simple as that."
"I am living proof that there's not much problem with immortality." Elizabeth explained and motioned to herself with a free hand. The Vampire's red eyes glowed at the moment with a certain earnestness that surprised anyone who might have assumed their people's cold nature. "I have lived long and I do not go about my life wishing I cease to exist."
"Then good for you," Li Yang said. "But are we really going to be discussing this while I am only seconds away from falling to my death once your hands slip?"
"Once again you speak of death, but I am not that blind to see that you've already begun to change." Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
"Change?" Li Yang raised a brow. Was a Vampire capable of knowing that he was gathering and condensing qi in his body?
"I have tasted it in your blind—the components, the structure… well, that is just me saying that the Philosopher's stone, little bits of that, I can taste." Elizabeth stood at the edge of the cliff and smiled. "You're changing your body into a living work of alchemy."
"Oh… that," Li Yang said, a bit impressed that a Vampire could tell the difference between a mortal and a cultivator by the taste of their blood. It meant that she could detect the strength in his blood. "Well, it's something that my people do."
"And yet you tell me that it's natural to die."
"Most people do."
"Then they are unfortunate, made to believe and soothe themselves with the lies that death awaits everyone."
"I am sure that you are aware of the afterlife, are you not?"
"What of it?"
Li Yang might have agreed with the narrative that Elizabeth drew upon, and yet a certain part of him remembered his conversation with Bo Lifen in the ship. A promise of having tea with her in the next life if things were to end differently between the two of them.
Perhaps he was seeing it through lenses that were biased, but those words of hers made her think about it differently. He wouldn't ever think that Bo Lifen was unintelligent for thinking that death was a part of life.
Li Yang spoke again.
"Some people do think that immortality is something not worth pursuing and one's death is not even actually permanent. They are simply reborn into another life and the cycle begins again. Do you really not think there is no beauty or worth in that kind of system?"
"And yet the chances of True Death exist there if you are not careful." Elizabeth spoke bluntly. "So it is nothing but you simply giving up your freedom to be dictated by this 'system' who decides where, when and how you are born. Do you know who decides that? Will you entrust yourself to that?"
Li Yang grimaced. "Well…"
"You see my point. Compared to choosing immortality now and paving your life as you see fit—I see that human's desire for the afterlife or rebirth as nothing more but wishful thinking." Elizabeth waved him around the air. "Do you not see the difference between the two of us now? Your life is literally in my hands."
"I believe I can change that."
"...Will you lay a hand on me?" Elizabeth Hawthorne's brows suddenly furrowed. "That is quite brutish. Barbaric."
"I'm surprised that you're even saying that now. Such concepts don't seem fitting at all."
"Well, that's—"
Li Yang pulled out his Yao Slayer from the Inventory and quickly slashed down. His weapon sliced through the fabric of his shirt, close enough to the Vampire's fingertips as the man suddenly plunged down to the waters.
It left only a small piece of cloth in Elizabeth's grasp.
—-—-
Author's Note: Is immortality good or bad? Such questions tend not to be questioned in Eastern Novels where the point is becoming literal gods and bending the universe to your will. But ah, it also isn't strange to hear quotes about how death gives meaning to life. What's your take on this? Kurzgesagt and CGP Grey's video on 'Why Die?' and 'Why Age?' inspired the conversation today.