Free Web NovelChapter 305: Chapter 40: Garuda Cried, And You?
Garuda: "I’m willing! I’m willing!"
"Why did you really try to stop us?"
Garuda: "To see what humans are really like, and to find out if you’re as vicious, cruel, heartless, and terrifying as the black giant hole said."
’A black giant hole? What’s that?’
Hearing this unexpected piece of information, Su Zhou, who considered himself a good person, frowned slightly. ’I spared Garuda’s life. How am I not a good person?’ He thought for a moment, then continued his questions. "You know about humans? Is it from your bloodline inheritance or from records in the Kunlun Secret Realm? Do you know what this place is... Oh, right. How long has it been since you were born?"
Garuda: "My bloodline inheritance mentions humans, and there are records in the Secret Realm as well. This is an old gathering place for the Demon Race, a land where countless demons are buried. I don’t know anything beyond that... As for when I was born, it was about sixteen years ago. There are clocks in the Secret Realm, so I’ve been able to keep track of the time."
’Damn.’ Su Zhou let out a standard Zhengguo curse in his head. Realizing his opponent was truly just a young girl, he suddenly felt he might have gone a little too far. But for some reason, images of roasted squab, suckling pig, roast lamb, and roasted veal immediately flashed through his mind. ’Young animals do seem to taste better, don’t they?’
’No, Su Zhou, you have to resist! My bottom line is not eating intelligent beings unless they’re guilty of heinous crimes!’ freēwēbnovel.com
After repeating this to himself several times, Su Zhou felt his mind clear. He lowered his head and continued his questioning. "How were you born? Did you come from the legacy of a Demon God’s corpse in these mountains? If so, why are you the only scion of a Divine Bird in the Kunlun Secret Realm? Why haven’t the legacies of other Divine Beasts given rise to new ones?"
"According to the black giant hole, I was born through Metamorphosis... I have no father or mother. I was nurtured by heaven and earth."
Garuda replied in a daze. Realizing she wouldn’t be killed immediately, her voice became more fluid. "My birth wasn’t normal. In my mind, I have the pure legacy of a Divine Bird, but I also have the legacy of a Divine Bird that came from a Demon God of human origin... So I’ve always been wondering, am I a Divine Bird, or a human who gained the power of one? But I don’t feel like I’m either..."
Garuda’s confusion was an identity crisis that had plagued her for over a decade. For a new being who had lived her entire life alone in a sealed environment, even with automatically unlocked knowledge from her bloodline legacy, it is extremely difficult for an individual to develop a sense of "self" without an "other" to contrast with. Through her legacy and her battles with the surrounding Spirit Beasts, Garuda had barely managed to grasp the concept of "I." Her subsequent conversations with the black giant hole further solidified this, allowing her to rapidly develop her intelligence.
But with intelligence came the questions. ’I am me, but to which side do I belong?’ The Mimic Dao Demon Gods and the pure Divine Beasts were mortal enemies. Although she was born naturally through Metamorphosis, she had relied on what was likely the corpse of a human-turned-Demon God... And how would humans view her? Such questions constantly troubled Garuda, making it difficult for her to decide on a path for her future.
That was why she had always wanted to find humans and make contact with them.
And now, an ordinary human, Su Zhou, had arrived.
He didn’t even have to think about Garuda’s confusion. "You really are a bit slow, aren’t you? You already know the Transformation Technique. Can’t you just be a human if you want to be human, and a bird if you want to be a bird?"
Garuda, the human: "Huh?"
’It works like that? You can just decide your Race based on what you feel?’ freewebnovel.cσ๓
Seeing her hesitation, Su Zhou shot her a look and shook his head. "The fact that you can turn into a person means you’re a descendant of a demon—and all demons were originally transformed from humans. Although, that doesn’t really prove much. Real self-identity is built on cultural identity. Since you’ve been learning all by yourself in this Secret Realm, we’ll just say you’ve been brought up in the culture of Kunlun."
"And Kunlun has been Zhengguo’s Divine Mountain since ancient times. The Kunlun Secret Realm is also Zhengguo territory. Hmm, in that case, if we round up a bit, that makes you a person of Zhengguo. You’ll just need to apply for a birth certificate and household registration."
Garuda, the person of Zhengguo: "Ah?"
’My nationality is settled just like that? And what are a birth certificate and household registration?’
Clearly, this line of reasoning—so simple an elementary school student could follow it—was a bit too complex for Garuda. Taking into account that she’d never been to school, Su Zhou, out of Compassion, decided not to bring up even more complicated philosophical issues like idealism or the idea that Evil People aren’t really people. Instead, he went straight to brainwashing... er, educating her. "Understand? Helping us is helping yourself. You are a person of Zhengguo, one of our compatriots. Helping us control the Kunlun Secret Realm is the same as helping yourself control the Kunlun Secret Realm..."
After rambling on for a while, Su Zhou paused. He looked at the Golden-winged Bird, whose gaze was vacant. Never mind resisting; she might not have had much capacity for thought left at all. He offered some placating words. "Don’t worry. Seeing as you haven’t had a chance to make any huge mistakes yet, you definitely won’t die. At most, you’ll be charged with obstructing official business. That charge can be major or minor; it all depends on how you behave from now on."
"However, speaking of which, what exactly is this ’black giant hole’ you kept mentioning?"
