Chapter 58: Will |
He could not imagine it.
How Old Man Shan had managed to do it alone…
Day after day, year after year, facing that cold mountain wall in solitude, repeating such monotonous and despairing labor.
Just imagining that kind of loneliness and endless passage of time made his heart tremble with fear.
However, as he looked at Old Man Shan’s resolute back,
a strong sense of admiration rose within He’s heart.
The simple words “digging the mountain”—only after witnessing it with his own eyes did he understand the power contained within those two words!
It was a kind of will he had never seen before…
yet one that could shake heaven and earth!
A trace of sorrow rose in his heart.
More than twenty years of unrelenting effort by a single person,
yet he could not even dig through one mountain.
How could he possibly dig through these endless mountain ranges and reach the outside world?
“Shan, give up.”
“Even if you dig through this mountain, there will still be mountains behind it!”
“The ranges stretch endlessly. You…”
“cannot possibly see the outside world.”
He believed Old Man Shan should return to the tribe, spend his later years in peace with his children and grandchildren, rather than die alone on this path destined to yield no result.
Hearing this, Old Man Shan instead smiled.
He had heard such words too many times.
“Yes, I know.”
His voice was calm.
“Even if I exhaust this entire life, I cannot dig through these endless mountains.”
“I also know…”
“I will not see… the outside world.”
He paused,
yet his eyes seemed to burn with fire!
“But I believe I will not be the first in the tribe to want to see the outside world, nor will I be the last!”
“But I am willing to be the first to dig the mountain!”
“For every inch I dig, those who come after will need to dig one inch less. For every drop of sweat I shed, my descendants will shed one drop of blood less!”
“One day, these endless mountains will be dug through!”
“And when that day comes, everyone will be able to see the outside world!”
As Old Man Shan spoke these words,
what shone in his eyes was a light of belief—pure and unwavering—that He had never seen before.
That radiance was even more shocking to him than the starlight of Divine Grace.
This was a kind of will he could not fully comprehend.
It was sacrifice, dedication, and selflessness without expectation of reward!
He sought only that future generations…
might live more easily, more happily!
“But…”
“They won’t remember your sacrifice!”
He could not help but say.
In the Solar Dynasty and the Theocratic State of the Stars,
those recorded in history were always the great nobles!
The contributions of ordinary people,
like dust, would eventually be forgotten by time!
Old Man Shan shook his head,
his face carrying a transcendent calm.
“I never did these things to be remembered.”
To him, whether he was remembered or not was meaningless!
What mattered was,
whether this path could be carved out!
Whether future generations would have the chance to leave the mountains and glimpse that vast world!
He did not know how to describe the old man before him.
He was foolish, naïve,
yet so sincere, so great.
He was willing to spend his entire life,
to pave a path for those who came after.
He took a deep breath and made up his mind.
He extended his hand. Warm starlight radiated from his palm, enveloping Old Man Shan’s hunched yet towering body.
The starlight flowed, nourishing the hidden injuries and chronic ailments accumulated from years of labor.
In such a backward tribe, living to forty was considered long life. Most people died in their twenties or thirties.
Yet Old Man Shan, relying on sheer will, had lived into his fifties.
Now his body was already riddled with damage.
He could not even comprehend
what kind of belief sustained this broken body, allowing it to swing the hoe day after day.
Old Man Shan could not help but groan.
He felt that his once pain-ridden body now emitted a warm sensation.
Comfortable, soothing.
At the same time, his heart was filled with shock.
“You… are you a god?”
He remembered what that outsider had once said.
That there was a great god in the outside world.
Its name: Lord of the Stars.
He bestowed Divine Grace, granting fire to all beings and freeing them from illness and injury.
He was the origin of everything, the ruler of the stars, the eternal god!
He withdrew his hand and shook his head.
“I am not a great god.”
“I am only a… mortal who has received a trace of the god’s grace.”
For some reason, when facing Old Man Shan,
He felt a sense of shame.
He felt that
Old Man Shan better fit the definition of a Recipient of Divine Grace.
He was more deserving of receiving the god’s blessing.
Despite his denial, the power he displayed was no different from a god in Old Man Shan’s eyes.
He instinctively wanted to kneel,
to express his gratitude and reverence.
He, however, reached out and firmly supported him.
“You do not need to kneel to me.”
In the past, he had been a high-ranking member of the Theocratic State, and the kneeling of believers had felt natural to him.
Because he was a cleric, the most devout follower of the god.
Later, he had become a Recipient of Divine Grace, a spokesperson of the god in the mortal world.
The kneeling of mortals felt normal to him.
Because he was a Recipient of Divine Grace!
But now, facing Old Man Shan’s kneeling, for some reason, a trace of confusion and shame arose in his heart.
As if he could not bear that kneel.
And when this thought appeared, he did not feel anger.
Instead, he felt it was right.
He had never seen such a person before.
He thought that perhaps the only one comparable to Old Man Shan was the legendary first Solar King, the great Leo Constellation, Apollo.
He looked at Old Man Shan, his gaze firm.
“Together! We will dig open this mountain!”
Old Man Shan was momentarily stunned, then nodded heavily.
“Good! Together, we will dig it open!”
…
When Luo Yi awoke,
she found herself trapped inside an iron cage.
Her hands and waist were also bound with iron chains.
A thick black cloth covered the cage, trapping her in darkness.
She did not know where she was,
nor how much time had passed.
No matter how she cried for help,
no one responded.
The only sound she could hear
was the rolling of wheels.
Time blurred in the darkness.
Her only food and water came from occasional pieces of bread and small amounts of clean water thrown in from outside the cloth.
“Lady Luo Ya… please save me…”
“I won’t dare to run around again…”
Luo Yi sobbed softly,
silently praying that Luo Ya would come to rescue her.
After an unknown amount of time,
she finally heard faint voices of conversation.
She immediately shouted for help.
Unfortunately…
the people outside completely ignored her voice.
Then, the cage was lifted.
It was moved for a distance,
and then set down.