Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Dignity of an Ant

“Brother Mu, you and I met by pure chance, and our acquaintance could be said to have begun with a clash. What happened that day was nothing but a jest, so you need not take it to heart. You are free to come and go as you please; there is no need to bind yourself to empty words.” Kong Sheng leaned against the balustrade, gazing up at the sky, thick with gathering clouds.

Mu Changfeng’s robes fluttered in the wind as he stood tall, a cold laugh escaping his lips. “What kind of man do you take me for? My word is worth its weight in gold. Since I have given my promise, I will protect you for three years! But know this—I have my own ways of doing things!”

The implication was clear: though he would keep his promise, Kong Sheng should not expect to command him at will; he would do what ought to be done even without being told, but would not act against his principles, no matter what was asked of him.

Kong Sheng smiled faintly and shifted the topic. “Brother Mu, the world is vast beyond imagining. Though our Great Tang claims dominion over lands stretching thousands of miles, compared to the world, we are but a drop in the ocean. Beyond the edges of the land lies the sea, and beyond the sea, more land. Countless races and forms of life thrive and evolve, and nations and civilizations like ours abound—some known, others shrouded in mystery. Even if we devoted a lifetime, we could never grasp the whole.”

Mu Changfeng opened his mouth but remained strangely silent. Kong Sheng’s words seemed profound and obscure, but he grasped the gist: there were many human kingdoms like the Tang, and many races unlike the Tang people. The constant arrival of foreign envoys and merchants already proved as much.

As they conversed, the heavy clouds were slowly swept away by the wind, revealing a corner of the vast, star-studded sky. The stars shone with renewed brilliance after the rain.

Kong Sheng lifted his hand and pointed to the heavens. “Brother Mu, the sky is boundless, the universe infinite, filled with countless unknowns… The world beneath our feet is, in truth, a planet just like those stars above.”

Having opened the floodgates of thought, Kong Sheng spoke freely, unconcerned whether his modern, out-of-time theories were understood by Mu Changfeng, or whether he had unsettled the older man’s heart.

“Brother Mu, do you believe that, one day, we might fly to the heavens, set foot on other planets, and explore the endless expanse of space?” Kong Sheng gestured widely. “Perhaps, among the stars, there are other humans or forms of life no different from ourselves…”

Mu Changfeng’s expression grew ever more peculiar. He stared intently at the youth who spoke such wild and fanciful notions, torn between the urge to refute and the difficulty of finding words. Part of him found Kong Sheng’s words outrageous and absurd, yet another part sensed a certain logic.

He could not fathom where Kong Sheng’s strange ideas came from, or why he would share them with him. In truth, Kong Sheng had simply spoken on a whim, treating Mu Changfeng as a convenient listener for his tangled emotions, with no hidden agenda.

Kong Sheng bent down and picked up an ant that was silently crawling along. He placed it on his palm and watched as it scurried about in panic. “Brother Mu, we can crush an ant at will—its life and death are wholly in our hands. So, by the same reasoning, might there not be higher beings in the vast heavens above, watching us unseen, who could govern our fate as easily as I hold this ant?”

“The same logic holds—if the common folk are ants, then the powerful and the high-born are those who decide the fate of ants at a whim; yet, they too can be called ants, for there are always greater forces above them.”

With simple gestures, Kong Sheng distilled his profound and novel ideas. Mu Changfeng’s face turned pale as he watched Kong Sheng gently set the ant back on the ground, his mind blank with shock.

“That’s why I wish to seize my own destiny. Even if I am but an ant, I will live with dignity and worth. Brother Mu, do you truly understand?”

Mu Changfeng shook his head reflexively, his voice hoarse and weak. “No, I cannot understand your words.”

“That’s just as well.” Kong Sheng chuckled, turned, and walked away to his guest room. He quickly entered, shut the door tight, leaving Mu Changfeng alone in the corridor of the inn, where the autumn wind blew cold. Mu Changfeng stood there for most of the night, staring dazed at the vast night sky until the first light of dawn crept in from the east before he left, still troubled.

Mu Changfeng did not think of himself as an ant—he could roam free, act on his whims, and right wrongs as he saw fit. Yet, by Kong Sheng’s logic, he too was an ant compared to those more powerful, his life in their hands. If he was, in the end, an ant, what pride could he truly claim?

The night passed in silence. As the sun rose once more over the horizon, the bustling city of Jiangning resumed its daily clamor. Merchants, commoners, officials, nobles, and foreign travelers—regardless of station—hurried about their business, pursuing profit and survival along their set paths, year after year, day after day.

Mu Changfeng, clad in white as ever, stood on the highest eaves of the City God Temple, gazing over the cityscape. Yet in his mind, Kong Sheng’s words about ants echoed, and a trace of helplessness and bitterness crept onto his lips.

How ignorant the world is, himself included! Whether swathed in silk or living on plain fare, the people of this city—seemingly free or high above—are all but confused ants, never truly free. To perceive this truth and strive to break free of fate—how deep and ambitious is this youth Kong Sheng? If Kong Sheng knew Mu Changfeng’s thoughts, it would surely astonish him.

Kong Sheng, for his part, could never have imagined that his idle musings would prompt Mu Changfeng to reflect so deeply, to the point of near self-hypnosis. He truly had the makings of a mystic; his wild words had left the proud wanderer lost and disoriented, caught in the web of Kong Sheng’s logic for a long time to come.

Fortune Like Spring Inn.

News that Kong Sheng had been summoned yesterday by Yang Qi and treated to a banquet could not be kept from the city’s interested parties.

Zhou Chang’s face was pale. Though he sat upright, cowed by his father’s authority, his heart was in turmoil. He had believed that, with his family’s power, his return to Jiangning would win him Yang Qi’s recommendation and a beautiful bride, bringing him both fame and fortune. Yet, unexpectedly, Kong Sheng—a fallen youth—had become a mountain standing in his path, a presence that made him tremble.

Zhou An’s face, too, was grim, his heart seething with anger. The Zhou clan of Yixing had paid a heavy price, yet Yang Qi showed not the slightest trace of sincerity in return. Why was this so?!

What was so exceptional about this young servant from the Kong family, to earn Yang Qi’s favor?

Until now, Zhou An had never considered Kong Sheng a threat. But at this moment, he could no longer dismiss him.

“Chang’er, be patient. I will visit Yang Manor again to sound out Yang Qi’s intentions.” Zhou An stood slowly, his face dark, and waved his hand.

Zhou Chang opened his mouth, but closed it helplessly, watching his father leave as jealousy flickered in his eyes.