[Dark Group Owner: First question!]
A cold smile curled on Hattori's lips as his hands flew across the keyboard.
[Dark Group Owner: Knowing full well that your father, Heixin Hu, has limited talent and can hardly achieve supremacy even by drinking the Qilin's blood, you still blindly follow him with foolish filial piety. Does such behavior count as following your heart?!]
[Young Master of the Demon Cult: I... What's wrong with me being filial to my father?]
Hei Xiaohu's hands trembled as he replied, somewhat guilty.
In reality, he knew perfectly well.
Heixin Hu started practicing martial arts at eight and only mastered the 'Heavenly Demon's Chaotic Dance' at thirty.
Compared to him, who had already achieved minor mastery of the 'Heavenly Demon's Chaotic Dance' in his teens, his father's innate talent could hardly be considered good.
[Dark Group Owner: Second question! Knowing that the Seven Heroes are the great enemies of the Demon Cult, yet for the sake of one Lantu, you repeatedly went easy on them, creating endless future troubles. Does such behavior count as that of a Demon Cult's member?!]
[Young Master of the Demon Cult: Impossible! How do you know about Lantu?!]
Hei Xiaohu's body jolted violently.
He looked at the group chat in disbelief.
Only a few high-ranking members within the Demon Cult knew about him going easy on the Seven Heroes.
'Zhu Wujie was timid and fearful, so he wouldn't dare leak it.'
'Niu Xuanfeng was loyal and righteous, so he wouldn't engage in such petty behavior.'
'So how did this all-powerful Group Owner, capable of transmitting messages over thousands of miles, come to know about it?'
[Dark Group Owner: Let's not discuss how I know. Hei Xiaohu, search your heart. For a woman, you disregard the great cause of the Demon Cult and place your filial father in peril. Does that count as the action of a Demon Cult's member?]
[Young Master of the Demon Cult: I...]
[This Queen Is So Beautiful: Tsk tsk tsk, to act like this for a woman. Even this queen, born in the Kuja Kingdom, looks down on you.]
[The Dead-Last Jinchuriki: I used to like a girl too. I realized later that losing yourself over a woman isn't worth it at all.]
[Second Pillar Thinks He Can Do It: Women? What's the use? Troublesome things.]
Looking at the unanimous criticism in the group, Hattori didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Many of those who walked the path of darkening had been screwed over by women.
A simp always ends up with nothing in the end.
It really wasn't just a saying.
[Dark Group Owner: So, Hei Xiaohu, can you give me an answer?]
"I... I don't know..."
On Black Tiger Cliff, Hei Xiaohu looked at the silk ribbon in his hand… the only item that had fallen from Lantu, which he had carefully preserved.
His heart felt as if cut by a knife.
How could he not know?
No matter how much he gave, no matter how much effort he devoted to Lantu, in her eyes, there was only ever Young Hero Hongmao.
Righteous and evil stand opposed, human and demon are fundamentally different.
From the moment of their birth, the two were destined never to be together.
But…
If the word 'love' could be explained by reason, there wouldn't be so many suffering people in the world.
Hei Xiaohu was obsessed with Lantu.
Obsessed with her peerless beauty, obsessed with her elegant temperament.
Obsessed with her tenderness filling the mountains, the resilience and gentleness of a woman's heart.
She was like a clear spring.
For Hei Xiaohu, who had done nothing but train since childhood, she was like a poppy flower… dangerous and beautiful.
Asking Hei Xiaohu to truly let go of Lantu…
To let go of his obsession…
Was as difficult as climbing to the sky.
[Young Master of the Demon Cult: Group Owner, I can't forget her. I can't let her go. I know everything I'm doing is betraying my father, betraying the Demon Cult, but I just can't control myself. Whenever I think of her face, a warmth rises from the bottom of my heart, and I can't help but want to help her, to side with her.]
Hei Xiaohu typed in pain, involuntarily speaking his mind.
'Perhaps…'
'This mysterious expert who could transmit sound over thousands of miles and see through all worldly affairs…'
'Could resolve the knot in my heart.'
"When you simp too deeply, you become as humble as dust."
Hattori shook his head helplessly, typing with frustration.
[Dark Group Owner: So, the way you love her is by watching her be tender and affectionate with another man. And then you repeatedly provide them with opportunities. Is that it?]
[The Dead-Last Jinchuriki: 666, Group Owner Mister's logic is flawless.]
[This Queen Is So Beautiful: Based on this queen's understanding of women, that woman definitely doesn't love you at all. At best, she acts pitiful when you're useful. Hah, simp.]
[Cat Burglar: Although I don't know what you're talking about, simps should just die.]
[Second Pillar Thinks He Can Do It: +1. Simps should just die.]
[Young Master of the Demon Cult: How come when you all say it, it becomes so heart-wrenching?]
It was indeed heart-wrenching.
So heart-wrenching it felt like his heart was splitting apart, shattering into tiny pieces.
Hei Xiaohu laughed foolishly.
He laughed at his own humility.
A prominent Young Master of the Demon Cult, an influential figure feared throughout the martial world…
Had become a tool in others' eyes, summoned and dismissed at will.
Lantu's character wasn't that of a white lotus, her attitude towards him had always been firm. (T/N: White Lotus refers to a female character who appears innocent, naïve, impossibly perfect, and pure on the surface, but uses this reputation to back stab, blame, or sling mud on others.)
It was just that he was the one degrading himself.
Time and again, he delusionally tried to move her by going easy on them.
But the result he got was…
The Seven Heroes grew stronger, Hongmao became more powerful.
And in Lantu's eyes, only that one figure remained.
[Dark Group Owner: The third question is the one that truly questions your soul.]
[Dark Group Owner: In your eyes, what exactly is the word 'love'?]
[Dark Group Owner: Is it humbling yourself to the dust, using endless kneeling, simping, and giving until you bleed, begging for the other to bestow upon you a paltry bit of love?]
[Dark Group Owner: Or is it looking down upon the world, the overlord's passion of 'I want it all', regardless of whether the world is willing, I rather betray the world than let the world betray me?]
[Dark Group Owner: Hei Xiaohu, which kind of love do you truly want?]