Pretending To Be A Boss
Chapter 914 - 65: The Weakness of the Lord of Eden_2

"You live from birth to death amidst the bustling crowds, yet never hear a single voice calling your name."

Zhong Yao sobbed uncontrollably.

Tang Xian told himself he had to be ruthless, to make her remember that the world wasn't only a sacred sanctuary surrounded by ruins. This world also had a place called the human realm, and in the human realm, someone was still waiting for her.

"When I met Xiuxiu, I asked her why she was so obsessed with dissecting the brain."

Tang Xian bit his lip silently:

"She said she was studying the soul—this thing called the soul. She'd been called a freak since she was young, as if she lacked empathy for others of her kind, incapable of feeling compassion. She often wondered if she was missing some structure, if something could make her emotions richer."

"She just… wanted someone to call her lovable, instead of a monster."

Tears splattered onto the smooth, spotless floor. What mother wouldn't love her own child?

Tang Xian's words brought back the immense pain and regret Zhong Yao had long buried.

He gently wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. His sister was happy now, and compared to that, at least he knew the ending—it hurt less, in a way.

And so he pressed on relentlessly:

"My first thought was that this girl resembled my younger self—she even gave me an ineffable sense of closeness. So I asked Xiuxiu's parents about her. She only remembered her mother's surname being Zhong."

"I asked another question—I asked if she hated you."

As he spoke, Tang Xian hesitated, reluctant.

Zhong Yao grew tense. Deep down, she hoped her daughter hated her—it would at least lessen her feeling of guilt.

Tang Xian said sorrowfully:

"She said she'd thought about wanting her parents to spend more time with her but wasn't sure if 'longing' was the right word. She thought you hadn't done anything wrong. Knowledge was simply too interesting; Daddy and Mommy must have been very smart people. And smart people… being engrossed in fascinating knowledge must have been more engaging than caring for a peculiar child, right?"

If someone isn't loved for long enough, they inevitably start questioning, 'Am I even worthy of being liked?'

Tang Xian had experienced that himself.

Back then, he thought it didn't matter whether anyone liked him—it wasn't worth caring about.

But through Yan Xiaoling's death, he came to realize that even someone as broken as him could be cherished by others.

Tang Xian wasn't lying—Zhong Xiuxiu had indeed wrestled with her own self-doubt countless times throughout her life.

Thankfully, fate had ultimately been kind to her.

But today, Tang Xian was cruel enough not to tell Zhong Yao about that ending.

"Mom, you always said that in such a vast world, we're bound to meet people who love us. But my sister… maybe even now, she still thinks she's just a child nobody wants."

"No… no… you know that's not true."

Zhong Yao was on the verge of collapse. She slumped over the table at the learning sanctuary, her fingers subtly curling as the knuckles turned faintly white. Tang Xian steadied her and said:

"My sister is in Baichuan City; everyone is in Baichuan City. We have to find a way to leave this place. If you feel regret, then go see her! Whatever is owed to her, I'll help you repay it!"

"She's not a monster; she's your daughter!"

Women are inherently delicate, but mothers are made resilient.

Had Zhong Yao ever truly forgotten her daughter? No—it was just that all along she'd wished for Xiuxiu to have an ordinary life, to live like a normal person.

Because it was something she hadn't given Tang Xian, she hoped at least her daughter could have it.

How could she have known what Zhong Xiuxiu had gone through?

It took a long, long time before Zhong Yao stopped crying. Her earlier tears had flowed like a breached dam, and along with them crumbled her fear of Eden's Master.

Slowly, Zhong Yao's hand clenched into a fist:

"Can we really leave this place? I want to see her."

"We absolutely can. If Eden's Master could occupy my body and act using my identity, why would it wait until now? Why not strike earlier or later?" Tang Xian said firmly.

"Its preparations aren't thorough. This place exists at the crossroads of reality and consciousness. You yourself said Eden's Master never left here. Since this domain is its realm, and every domain centers on its wielder, we must be able to find Eden's Master's true form here."

Zhong Yao was slightly puzzled:

"Find its true form?"

"If my body were to be taken, leaving me as a disembodied consciousness, wouldn't the Eden's Master that occupies my body also leave behind an empty shell?"

Now Zhong Yao understood.

In an instant, hope sprang into her eyes.

Not that she hadn't thought of this possibility before—it was that Eden's Master had always stayed here, and she hadn't foreseen it would try to seize Tang Xian's body.

That condition hadn't been valid before.

Tang Xian saw the look he wanted and breathed a little easier.

To leave this place, they'd have to rely on Zhong Yao's familiarity with it.

It wouldn't be a task completed overnight.

"You know, Mom, I'm actually quite amazing. I've saved many lives. A number of powerful primal beasts, even the future Children of Order and the Order Keepers, have all fallen into my hands before."

Zhong Yao nodded slightly, understanding Tang Xian's thoughts.

Tang Xian had awakened her maternal instinct to protect her daughter. With newfound resolve, he naturally seized the moment to further build her confidence.

"When I first saw Eden's Master's notes, I wondered how many times I'd have to die to face such a terrifying opponent. A being capable of orchestrating a plan to toy with both humans and primal beasts at once—what kind of adversary must it be?"

"But then I thought about it: Eden's Master and I don't possess equal information."

Zhong Yao listened attentively, gazing into Tang Xian's eyes brimming with spirit. She suddenly felt comforted, her nose tingling.

"I don't know what the personalities of the beast gods are like, and humanity's understanding of the mining zone remains sparse.

One layer after another of enemies blocks our way like thick fog. History is buried too, and nobody knows the reasons humans entered the Pyramid.

And regarding the Order Keeper, there's almost no information. All it has to do is remain hidden.

It's not that it calculated against me—it's simply that my game with it has only just begun."

Tang Xian spoke calmly and earnestly. Zhong Yao nodded vigorously.

She shed her grief and sadness. One current-era Konstantin and one former-era Ju Mang—two of humanity's brightest minds—now quickly began exchanging their respective knowledge.

Tang Xian painstakingly recounted his experiences in the mining zone and the human realm, while Zhong Yao shared useful information, such as the locations of maze ruins within the sacred ruins and descriptions of other ruins.

The ruins formed a sort of moat: preventing enemies outside from entering but also trapping those within.

According to Zhong Yao, if Eden's Master's physical form were here, it was unlikely to be concealed in the sacred sanctuary, as few places within the sanctuary were unknown to Zhong Yao.

After much discussion, they decided to head toward the eastern ruins. Perhaps Eden's Master wasn't hidden in the sanctuary after all but somewhere within the ruins.

That place was separated by golden light pillars. From afar, it looked nothing more than a distorted, blurred golden sea of clouds. But within the clouds, the occasional roar of giant beasts could be heard.

"Can we truly go… to that place? As mere consciousnesses, we're so easily scattered and broken."

"The Nether Phoenix's former domain could house the dead, but after the Nether Phoenix died, the dead began appearing in the real world too. The reason we can maintain physical forms within this realm of consciousness is that this domain makes consciousness tangible. But the domain's capabilities go beyond that—it can turn tangible domains into conscious realms."

It is just like the magical brush of Ma Liang, whose creations can be plucked from the painting or whose surroundings can be drawn into the canvas.

Tang Xian gazed intently at the twisted distortion ahead and said with determination:

"That's why, as we look forward now, those places appear distorted, mysterious. The Eden ruins and Eden sanctuary are in fact of the same nature. The difference is that the ruins being devoured grow smaller, while the sanctuary devouring them grows larger. Since this place allows us to exist, so can the ruins. The more fearsome and perilous entities placed in the ruins by Eden's Master, the more it shows… it dreads anyone breaking into them."