Chapter 37: True Heart

“Eat more. The more a boy eats, the better. Today, my sister-in-law is treating, so you can eat as much as you like.” Zhao Jingyi smiled at me as I ate bowl after bowl of cold noodles, encouraging me to eat more and not caring that there were already many empty bowls on the table.

It was a hot summer day, and the fragrant, numbing and spicy cold noodles were surprisingly light and refreshing. They were so delicious that I couldn’t stop eating them. I didn’t need my sister-in-law to tell me to stop, I couldn’t bear to stop myself, and I ate three mouthfuls of noodles at a time, sweating all over my head.

My master is just as ‘ferocious’ as I am. I’ve already eaten five bowls of grass jelly, and he’s even better, having eaten six bowls.

My sister-in-law didn’t care, but my brother-in-law did. He ordered ten pot-buns and said to my master and me, “Master Jiang, Sanwa, this cold jelly is even better when eaten with pot-buns.

“Really?” I glanced at Brother Sheng, but I kept on pouring the jelly into the pot-shaped pastry.

Guokui is a white flour pancake, except that the outer layer is fried to a crispy aroma, while the inner layer retains the flavor of the flour. It is very delicious. After I poured the jelly into it, I took a big bite of the pancake. The taste was so good that it made my eyes squint. The sauce from the jelly seeped into the pancake, and then the jelly was sandwiched inside. The flavor was so good that even immortals couldn’t resist it.

I finished one pot helmet in two bites, and so did my master. He was just about to take a bite of the second pot helmet. Both of us were covered in oil, but we didn’t want to wipe it off because we were too busy eating.

Seeing that I was enjoying my meal, my sister-in-law turned to my brother-in-law and said happily, “Yang Sheng, I don’t remember you being so thoughtful before. Have you changed your personality today? Are you afraid that your little brother won’t be able to eat the famous Guokui jelly?”

Brother Sheng laughed and said, “I didn’t think about it that much. I just thought that they were so hungry, and we weren’t rich, so it would be better to order a few more pot-stewed dumplings so they could eat faster. Otherwise, what if they couldn’t pay?”

“Haha, you’re really stingy, hahaha…” Sister-in-law laughed heartily again, poking Yang Sheng’s forehead.

I coughed a bit and almost spat out the pot-bun in my mouth. I hadn’t seen him for a few years, but he’s become so thoughtful?

As for the master, he ate without changing his expression, and said while eating, “Sichuan cold noodles are very famous and delicious! I didn’t get to eat them last time I came here in a hurry.”

Finally, the four of them left the famous cold jelly shop very satisfied, and sat down in a teahouse. As soon as they sat down, my master said, “Yang Sheng, you’re not bad. How long have you been here and you already know about cold jelly from northern Sichuan?”

Yang Sheng said seriously, “I’ve been here with Jingyi for a week, and I just found out that the cold noodles here are especially delicious.”

“A week? Brother Sheng, you’ve been here for so long? What have you been doing?” I was a little surprised.

“Organizing information and preparing for the trip. We came along this time because the case of the old village chief is so special that we must thoroughly investigate it, which is very positive.” Brother Sheng said seriously.

“Positive significance?” I was puzzled.

“Yes, in terms of biology, his existence is far more significant than that of a zombie. Do you know why? According to Taoism, a zombie only has two spirits that direct all actions. In terms of biology, this means maintaining physical mobility without any ability to think. But the old village chief, I once read a report from the Special Operations Department, which said that the old village chief had indeed become a zombie, but he had retained three souls and seven spirits. This is significant.” There was a hint of fanaticism in Sheng’s eyes.

“What’s so important about it? It’s just a special case in a special place. It’s a pseudoscientific achievement. Yang Sheng, I’ve always held my own views. Don’t think you can break through the shackles of humanity and live forever. Rather than saying that the price of immortality is to become a monster like that, I’d rather live happily for a few decades.” In the face of Sheng’s excitement, Jingyi’s sister-in-law appeared much calmer, and she poured a bucket of cold water on Sheng.

Facing such a brother, I suddenly felt a little strange. His scientific ideas were too crazy. He actually wanted to pursue immortality for humans?

Shengge wanted to say something else, but Master interrupted him: “Yang Sheng, your idea may be well-intentioned, but I think Jingyi is right. If you die with such a grudge, and then become such a monster, would you be willing to do that? Don’t think that he is still the same as he was in life, like a vengeful ghost, still retaining all the memories of his life, but his actions are completely dominated by his grudge. Your idea is not feasible.”

Master’s words were obviously authoritative, and Shengge was in deep thought. But after a moment, he looked up and said firmly, “In my opinion, everything can be explained by science, it’s just that science hasn’t found the right way. Resentment and other things are things that science can’t capture. Before it is proven that it exists, I just need to simply study the old village chief. I don’t care what you think, as long as it is beneficial to the future development of mankind, I will persist in exploring it.”

The master was silent. He knew that he could not change Yang Sheng’s “stubbornness.” He also understood that the reason the country had sent Yang Sheng on this mission was because it was a secret scientific project, not just a simple road repair.

Zhao Jingyi glared at Yang Sheng. She must have been deeply aware of her lover’s character. She sighed and said, “Rather than studying the method of turning people into monsters, I would like to explore the humanity in this matter. Master Jiang, in my opinion, the incident in XX Village is almost a dead end. The villagers are wrong, but they can’t be blamed for trying to survive. The old village chief was full of resentment, and even came to take revenge…

“It’s not a dead end, but there is no heart.” The master also sighed and said lightly.

“The heart? Is it to do things according to one’s heart?” Zhao Jingyi asked with great interest.

“Not the heart, a heart that has been integrated into the secular world is not called the heart. What is the heart? It is something that grows with a person, mixed with many personal feelings, mixed with many disputes over interests, mixed with many grudges and calculations. And the heart? It is the pure heart that a person has when they are born. Do you understand? When you were ignorant, was the world black and white? Were you naturally drawn to the light? Did you look at people kindly? Whoever was kind to you, you were kind to them? Did you want to be a hero? When you were very young, were you afraid of death? If you had to sacrifice yourself to be a hero, would you be willing to do it? At the very least, when you were young, did you want to be a good person and instinctively hate bad people? The heart is very complicated, so the master tried to explain it in simple language.

Zhao Jingyi thought for a long time before saying, “I understand. They have no conscience. If they had acted according to their pure conscience, they would have saved the old village chief and there would have been no tragedy. Is that so?”

“Probably, the fact that they regretted it afterwards and felt guilty only shows that these people have not completely lost their conscience, but that their conscience is very weak in the face of their own hearts,” the master said.

“What about the old village chief? Why did he kill the whole village? According to you, he was clearly in his right mind.” Zhao Jingyi asked.

“It’s not that complicated. No matter how clear-headed he is, he is no longer human. He is alive, but from another perspective, he is already dead. Do you understand? The thing that lives in his body is not a soul, it’s a ghost! The foundation that keeps him alive is resentment, just like a vengeful ghost! He will definitely do things according to his resentment.” The master explained.

These words made Sister-in-law fall into deep thought. Sister-in-law is a scientist, but that doesn’t mean that scientists will reject metaphysics. On the contrary, the more they come into contact with it, the more they won’t reject it. The only choice they have is to explore.

Just like Einstein, Newton began to study theology in his later years, and was even very pious.

After talking for so long, Brother Sheng asked, “Master Jiang, when are we leaving? Are all the people who will be accompanying us here yet?”

“Not yet. I’m still waiting for two people. As soon as they arrive, we’ll set off,” the master said.