Cthulhu Gonfalon

Chapter 819: Vol V Chapter 179

What exactly was “goodness”?

The level of this question was slightly higher. A layman like Sui Xiong would not be able to figure out a reliable answer. To him, goodness would be nothing more than being happy that one could be of help to others or doing something for the good of others. The lower variety of goodness would be to frequently give blessings to others while the next level up was to sacrifice oneself to save others. The highest level of goodness was nothing more than a piece of news he saw before traversing world—the daughter of a member of a certain country’s Refugee Rights Protection Organization was first X then X by another fellow refugee. Though his daughter died such a horrible death, so much so that the sight of it was simply unbearable, this member insisted that he should protect the rights and interests of the refugees. He would absolutely not waver…

Wrong. Thinking carefully, the last example did not seem to be considered as goodness. How could something that shielded evil be regarded as goodness?

In short, Sui Xiong felt that though his definition of goodness might not be considered as very incisive, at least he was able to list about one to six items—every item could probably be further divided into several smaller points, and every smaller point might even point to a different direction.

But it was only until now did Sui Xiong realize that his understanding of “goodness” was in fact, still lacking.

Also, he was lacking quite a substantial amount of information. As for… if he were to make a list of what he did not know, he would probably have to write them down on a piece of paper.

So, Sui Xiong was having some make-up lessons.

He did not feel that there was a great mistake in his understanding of goodness, nor did he wholly accept his understanding of the God of Virtue. But he had to admit that there were many imperfections and shortcomings in his way of thinking. He certainly needed to study hard to make up for them.

This was similar to the situation on Earth. Perhaps due to advanced information technology, even a young schoolboy would be able to surpass the ancient scholars in some way. But once the younger generations entered the field of expertise of their predecessors, most of them would still find themselves beaten hands down by the ancient scholars of a thousand years ago, or even two thousand years ago. Then they would have no choice but to conscientiously study hard. And even if they had put in their best, after spending almost half their entire lifetime studying, they would still be beaten hands down by the predecessors from a few decades ago, or maybe even those from just a hundred years ago, in the various fields of expertise.

Only people with both talent and diligence, as well as the ability to work hard perseveringly and consistently would ultimately be able to surpass their predecessors. They were the ones who could truly stand on the shoulders of giants to reach out and point in the direction of the future of humans.

Sui Xiong knew that he was no ingenious and extraordinary talent. There were people who would go “Ah, hey, adding from one to a hundred, oh darling me. It’s just too troublesome. Why don’t you simply break these up into 50 groups of 101, then finally multiply them to get 5050?” These people were born to put others down; that was their reason for existence. But Sui Xiong was not that kind of person.

Honestly, he really wanted to be someone like that. Regrettably, he lacked the talent in this aspect.

He had never seen that kind of person in his life. Perhaps he was an alien cloaked in human skin, so the normal people simply would not have the chance to meet him.

Sui Xiong belonged to the category of normal people, or at least he felt that he was normal—oh, he did not even have a human appearance now. Maybe he should be called a “normal jellyfish?” Wrong, a normal jellyfish would become nothing more than a cold dish of either marinated cold jellyfish salad or marinated cold jellyfish skin salad, that was all. Brother Xiong was so mighty and domineering, so naturally he would not become ingredients like jellyfish or jellyfish skin, not even for the use of cold dish salads! He was old, so his flesh would not taste as well. A chef who chose to cook a dish out of a thousand years old jellyfish would definitely be swept out of the door, and never again would he be given the chance of returning to the kitchen…

What messy thoughts. Stop right now!

The amazing thing was, even though Sui Xiong’s thoughts were all sixes and sevens, he was still able to focus and concentrate on learning at the same time. He was presently studying as hard as he did in the month of October when he was in his third year of high school. At that time, he attended tuition lessons at an art gallery that was said to be so good that it could turn dust into miracles with a mere touch of art.

Right, at that time, Brother Xiong participated in the entrance examination for art college, and thereafter, he studied fine arts. As for his college examination results… honestly speaking, his results were not fantastic. But in their faculty, he was unexpectedly considered to be the top student.

After entering university, he got to know about this. He froze for a long time, and finally, he sighed and said, “That explains why the admission cut-off mark for the art faculty is so low…”

Sui Xiong also knew about his lack of talent. This was why he had always studied very earnestly and assiduously. While not to the extent of tying his head to the wooden beam overhead and stabbing his thigh with a sharp awl to keep himself awake, at least he could guarantee that he had put in more effort than Sima Guang—at least when his level was not up to standard, he would understand that he was still not up to mark. Then he would learn from those who did well. He would not obstinately suffocate himself and go crazy making mistakes so as to earn his notoriety as a “wayward person.”

By the way, Sui Xiong’s understanding of Sima Guang was only limited to two things. The first was the story of “Sima Guang Breaks the Vat” that he had learned in primary school; the second was what he had learned from Professor Cheng in his university days. On more than one occasion, Professor Cheng had mocked Sima Guang for being a “gray prime minister” and “being unworthy of his title.” Professor Cheng had even contemptuously swept up things like “corrupted nature that was inherent to feudal landlords” from the praises that generations of politicians and scholars had given Sima Guang. He truly deserved to be called a purebred Bolshevik.

In the barren gray wilderness, Sui Xiong once again changed back to the size of a hat and fell to the ground. Facing that light ball that was half the size of his body, he was silent.

The Dragon of Chaos, on the other hand, went back to looking unbearably old. He lay on an old chair that seemed to appear out of nowhere and went into a semi-conscious state.

Amidst this silent wilderness, there was nothing more than dead silence. Not even the sound of a light breeze could be heard.

But in Sui Xiong’s heart, there were countless knowledge, concepts, thoughts and emotions, surging like tides of waves.

The amazing thing was, when these things flowed past his mind, they were like a spring of fresh water that gushed over the surface of white stones. Other than a few fleeting ripples, they left no traces at all.

This was because these things did not belong to Sui Xiong.

With his present state and level, he certainly had yet to reach the point of qualifying as a “greater Divine Power.”

Just like how the Goddess of Bumper Harvest had gotten this treasure into her possession for so long, but ultimately, she was unable to harvest any comprehension. She had once spent a great deal of time and energy on examining this treasure in great detail to understand the “virtue” contained within it. But everything was in vain. Until death, she was never able to draw anything of value from it.

But Sui Xiong was not discouraged. He still continued to study in silence.

At the beginning, he was still able to maintain clarity in thoughts. He understood why he could not learn well and understood where the gap was. He was even able to set aside a part of his mind to let his thoughts run wild. But with the passage of time, his thoughts gradually scattered and became so messy that not a single thought was well-formed. Everything was just like a chaotic pipe dream.

After that, the disorderliness of his thoughts finally began to subside gradually. And his thoughts completely entered into a realm of emptiness. His empty mind and soul seemed to have become a mirror that reflected the wisdom and perspectives of the God of Virtue.

Lying on its chair, the Dragon of Chaos, who seemed to have fallen asleep, opened its eyes to look at him intently.

After some time, Sui Xiong suddenly smiled.

After this smile, he instantaneously restored his vitality from his prior frozen state. Once again, his eyes shone with the brilliance of wisdom. But amidst this brilliance, there was a touch of indescribable clarity.

If he had previously given off the vibe of an “intelligent guy,” then now, the feeling he gave was that of an “intelligent guy who knew the answer.” And it more apt to use a Chinese idiom to sum up that indescribable clarity in his gaze.

Certain and well-prepared with the answers to everything.

“You found your understanding?” the Dragon of Chaos asked.

Sui Xiong shook his head but showed a smile and said, “Though I’m not able to fully understand this, I think I’ve already found my direction.

“What will the ‘goodness’ that belongs to me look like? I’m almost certain of the direction that I should be striving to work towards.”