Zhu Yanyi raised her eyebrows slightly, looking at the Ruthless Young Master. "What could I be thinking? If I sneeze for no reason, it must mean someone is cursing me."
"If you say one thought and two curses, maybe someone is missing you," the Ruthless Young Master said. "The first sneeze means this person is thinking of you. The second sneeze means that person is missing you. That is why there are two sneezes."
"Can it be understood that way?" Zhu Yanyi paused, stunned. Then she tilted her head, looking at her. "Ruthless Young Master, you are not someone with low emotional intelligence. Why do you think practicing the Ruthless Path means cutting off all emotions?"
"That is hard to explain. When I was Chi Wu, I practiced the Ruthless Path. So, naturally, I continued practicing it after reincarnation. But I found that humans practicing the Ruthless Path feels very different from gods who are born with it. It is much harder for humans."
The Ruthless Young Master paused before speaking slowly. She did not know why she was sharing this with Zhu Yanyi.
"The perspective of a god is different from that of a human. When you were a god, you practiced the Ruthless Path because you were high above everything. You did not care about anything because nothing was worth your attention. You had no family or friends, so you could be ruthless. But when you are human, humans are social creatures. You cannot live alone. Without parents, you would not exist." Zhu Yanyi spoke slowly, but her words were very precise.
"What do you think the Ruthless Path should be like?" the Ruthless Young Master asked, surprised by her words.
"I do not practice the Ruthless Path. But let me say this. I do not believe in the common saying that seeming affectionate is actually ruthless. I always think that whether it is being ruthless, cutting off emotions, or destroying emotions, the starting point is always 'emotion.'
This emotion can be love, family ties, friendship, gratitude, teacher-student bonds, or even a brief kindness from a stranger. Emotions change in many forms. As long as you are human, you will have countless emotions.
But how do we distinguish between being ruthless, cutting off emotions, and destroying emotions? I think the words themselves explain the meaning."
Zhu Yanyi pondered for a moment and continued. "'Wu' (None) means disappearance. Everything turns into nothingness. That is the meaning of 'Wu.' 'Duan' (Cut) means to sever, chop, or break. 'Mie' (Destroy) means to pinch off, pull out, or eliminate.
Among these three meanings, 'cutting off emotions' is the easiest to distinguish. For example, if you cut off feelings with your relatives, that is not being ruthless. That is just cutting off emotions. Do you think cutting off emotions means there are no emotions left? Your reincarnated flesh and blood were still given by them. This family bond exists naturally. Unless you have the heart of Nezha, cutting off your bones to return to your father and your flesh to your mother, you cannot possibly cut off this bond. After all, they did not wrong you. Instead, you wronged them."
The Ruthless Young Master interrupted here. "Do you mean I really made a mistake?"
"I do not know. Because I am not you. I value my family very much. I do not allow anyone to hurt my family. So I can never do something like cutting off emotions. Therefore, I cannot understand your state of mind," Zhu Yanyi answered seriously.
The Ruthless Young Master thought for a long time. "Then explain 'ruthless' and 'destroying emotions' to me."
"Actually, these two are harder to distinguish. On the surface, both result in having no emotions. But essentially, they are different," Zhu Yanyi explained seriously.
"Destroying emotions means having nothing left in the end. For example, if you originally had ten units of emotion, destroying it turns it into zero. You eliminate the original emotions and become a cold-blooded creature.
But being ruthless does not mean having no emotions. It means elevating emotions. My understanding of true ruthlessness is that it is not rejecting all emotions. Instead, it is hiding all emotions deep within your bones and blood. From then on, I am emotion, and emotion is me. When you see me, you see emotion. If there is no me, there is no emotion. That is called 'ruthless.'"
Zhu Yanyi took a deep breath. "What I said sounds a bit strange. Anyway, this is just my personal understanding. You do not need to take it to heart. I was just talking casually."
"No, your casual talk makes a lot of sense," the Ruthless Young Master said seriously.
"For these few days, the Immortal Emperor has been taking me to see the human world. I watched children playing, couples supporting each other, and the warmth of the elderly. I always did not understand why humans have so many emotions. Between brothers, sisters, parents, children, teachers, students, friends, and neighbors. There are countless emotions, shallow or deep, but they are all emotions.
I was still confused. But now that you have told me this, I think I understand a little."
Zhu Yanyi raised her eyebrows. "What did you understand? I was just talking casually. Do not treat my words as absolute truth. If I am wrong, I will be in eternal damnation."
"Let's go back first. Then I need to contemplate." After saying this, she pulled Zhu Yanyi and instantly returned to Ouyang Mingyue's teahouse. She sat to the side, crossed her legs, closed her eyes, and began to contemplate.
Ouyang Mingyue and Yan Aohan were both surprised at first. Yan Aohan saw Zhu Yanyi's confused expression and worried she was scared. "What happened?"
Zhu Yanyi had to explain what happened on the way. "I just said a few casual things. She said she needed to contemplate, and then she teleported us here."
Yan Aohan and Ouyang Mingyue looked at each other again. Ouyang Mingyue looked at Zhu Yanyi and said, "Your words were straightforward, but they made sense. They are very useful for those practicing the Path of Emotion. No wonder the Ruthless Young Master suddenly wanted to have an epiphany."
"I really was just talking casually," Zhu Yanyi rubbed her forehead.
Yan Aohan put his arm around Zhu Yanyi's shoulder. "It's fine. Even if it was casual talk, it is good that it led to an epiphany. And I think your theory on ruthlessness, cutting off emotions, and destroying emotions has some merit."
Zhu Yanyi was speechless. Her casual words actually made sense. But she did not say anything. Epiphanies are generally good things. It is not easy for a cultivator to have an epiphany. Not everyone is like Zhu Yanyi, for whom epiphanies are common.
Zhu Yanyi sat aside and ignored the Ruthless Young Master. Since Yan Aohan said she was fine, she must be fine. She only mentioned taking people to see the Emperor later. "It seems demon cultivation is not simple either."
Yan Aohan smiled slightly. "Demon cultivation is not simple itself. Did you forget the Silver Fox? His schemes are much more than ordinary people's." Although Yan Aohan sympathized with the Silver Fox, he still said what needed to be said.