Qinghe District, 1 a.m.

In a very remote old tavern, under the neon lights, the signboard is dim.

An old man in a white suit, leaning on a purple wooden cane, slowly walked into the tavern. Perhaps due to its remote location, the tavern should have been open for business at this time, but there was no one inside.

Zhou JiRen came to the bar and lit a cigarette. He glanced at the inside of the bar and tapped the table.

"Thump, thump."

The trembling sound was not loud.

But with two taps, the entire bar counter, including the huge display cabinet and shelves behind it, seemed to ripple.

If there were other customers in the tavern, they would see the space resembling a lake, with ripples vibrating in sync with the two taps...

In the dark shadow on the inside of the bar counter, someone suddenly opened their eyes.

A burst of light flashed in their eyes.

It's hard to believe that the burst of light came from a ragged old man. He was wearing a thin beggar-like cloth, and his thin body resembled a skeleton. His eye sockets were sunken, giving him the appearance of not having slept, and he tightly held a dirty bottle in his hand.

Two old men stood in the light and darkness, with contrasting clothing, figures, and spirits.

"I didn't expect your business to be so bad... Am I the only one here?"

Mr. Shu slowly sat on a high stool and handed the lit cigarette over.

The ragged old man took it, took a deep breath, and chuckled in a hoarse voice like a skeleton.

"Who would come to this kind of tavern to drink besides you?"

He took out a tall glass from the display cabinet, skillfully mixed it under the counter, and brought it to Mr. Shu in a moment.

"Rum, lemon, ice cubes, coffee, honey... Hmm... It has a familiar and free taste, but it's a bit strange." Zhou JiRen took a sip, frowned at the glass, and muttered, "Did you secretly add something to it?"

"No money, can't afford coffee or honey."

The old man who finished smoking the entire cigarette in two or three puffs turned around and began to tidy up the display cabinet behind him. Because of the ripples just now, the positions of some bottles had changed, and some bottles had cracks that were difficult to detect with the naked eye.

He reached out and touched the mirror-like surface, slowly wiping it.

Those dry palms seemed to possess incredible magic. The lingering vibrations instantly disappeared, and the faint ripples that were still resonating were completely wiped away at this moment...

The slight buzzing noise was completely eliminated in an instant.

The tavern fell into silence, and you could hear a pin drop.

"It's worthy of being the man who once defeated all opponents in Nagano. After twenty years of neglecting cultivation, you are still a mighty lion." Mr. Shu said lightly, "Bai Atractylodes, are you planning to stay in a place like this for the rest of your life?"

"..."

The ragged old man named Bai Atractylodes smoothed out the ripples on the bar counter and sat back in the darkness. He said in a soft voice, "Defeating all opponents in Nagano is just a joke... Even if I cultivate for another hundred years, I still won't be a match for Gu Changzhi."

"Be more open-minded. Without Gu Changzhi, Nagano's invincible is still considered invincible. There's no need to compare yourself with him."

Mr. Shu sighed deeply.

"And..." He exhaled a puff of smoke and said leisurely, "I admire your ability to adapt and compromise, like a hero. Look... those who burn themselves out too early, do they have a good ending? After Gu Changzhi came back, he's still lying in bed, whether he can wake up or not is uncertain. If you fight now, you will definitely win."

"Get lost!"

Bai Atractylodes coldly spoke, "Zhou JiRen, if you're just here to humiliate me... you've achieved your goal. The drink is finished, you can leave."

"No, no, no... Let's talk slowly."

Zhou JiRen immediately backed down, putting on a pleasing smile. He slapped a file bag on the table and handed a box of cigars.

Bai Atractylodes frowned.

He took the cigars but didn't take the file bag.

"Allen Turing... A-009... The Ruler of Truth..."

Mr. Shu spoke softly, whispering secret words. After hearing some key words, Bai Atractylodes narrowed his eyes, slowly grabbed the file bag, and dragged it in front of himself.

Expressionless, he opened it and read it word by word.

During this process, Zhou JiRen kept staring at Bai Atractylodes' face, observing his expression. After seeing the confusion he expected in Bai Atractylodes' eyes, Zhou JiRen grinned and said, "This file is quite interesting... isn't it?"

Bai Atractylodes closed the file.

"An interesting young man." He gave such an evaluation, "A file that has nothing to do with me."

"I don't understand... What's the use of showing me these?"

He looked at Mr. Shu blankly and said, "This world is developing too fast, and it has nothing to do with remnants of the old era like me. I just want to live underground, and that's where I belong."

"You can go out and take a look. Young people are doing well, but this world still belongs to us old folks." Zhou JiRen shrugged and smiled, "But the power of one person is ultimately weak. I haven't looked for you in these years, haven't disturbed your life, but after seeing this file, maybe you should change your mind."

"Never come to find me again."

Bai Atractylodes didn't hesitate for a second.

Expressionless, he said, "Zhou JiRen, you should be very clear... If I wanted to go out into the world, if I still had the same personality as twenty years ago, you wouldn't have been able to enter this tavern safely. The moment you stepped in, I would have attacked you.""Once, you were my friend, but now..."

Bai Atractylodes slowly leaned back.

"What I despise the most... are the Parliament, the Tribunal, and people like you who knowingly serve them despite knowing the truth."

Mr. Tree fell silent.

After these words, the bar returned to its extreme quietness.

Bai Atractylodes held onto the document bag, pushing it back to the edge of the table.

He didn't speak anymore, didn't even bother to open his eyes, just waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, like shooing away a fly.

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This time, he didn't even bother to argue.

"..."

Mr. Tree took back the document bag, stood up, walked to the entrance of the bar, paused, and then returned.

Bai Atractylodes, still in the shadows with his eyes closed, furrowed his brows, showing an impatient expression.

"No matter what you say... at least I'm doing something in pursuit of hope. Even if the hope is slim, even if she will never wake up in the end." Zhou JiRen said coldly, "And you? Lying in a shabby bar, half-buried in the ground, doing nothing but drinking and sleeping, are you planning to fulfill your promise to her in your dreams?"

Bai Atractylodes opened his eyes.

A fierce flame of rage ignited in his pupils.

In an instant, something unfolded.

The entire underground bar fell into absolute stillness—

Including Mr. Tree.

And the next moment, all the flames were extinguished.

Bai Atractylodes closed his eyes again.

There was no anger in his voice, no sadness, only endless emptiness and numbness.

"Fool..."

"Stop chasing." He turned over, murmuring in his sleep, "Hope is something that should never exist."