"Tang Nan, for the sake of Xiao Jiu, I'll let you off one last time. Take your wife and children and leave Beijing."
"Are you afraid of Old Ghost?"
"Does fear or no fear matter? You can get Xiao Jiu to deal with me? Speaking of which, can you even find Xiao Jiu?"
Talking to Teacher Wang Ren is truly exhausting; she always leaves me speechless.
"Think about it, do you really have talent? If you think I'm right, I'll give you three days. If you're still in Beijing after three days, Tang Nan, I will officially put you on my enemy list. Please leave!"
...
Teacher Wang Ren chased me out of her office, where she completely denied my talent as a Schemer.
At the doorway, I still appeared very angry about Teacher Wang Ren's judgment. But not long after I left, a smile spread across my face.
I came here today to declare war, just to see Wang Ren's attitude.
...
To be honest, Wang Ren has defeated me twice already.
The first time, she planted a chain like a thorn in my heart, locking it. With Old Ghost's help, I managed to break free. After breaking free, I immediately returned to Beijing.
Upon arriving in Beijing, I made a bet with Wang Ren, and she shattered my confidence with her absolute calculations. At that time, I felt her prophecy was irreversible.
This is my third time in Beijing, and the third battle after tearing ties with Wang Ren.
...
When I saw Huang Huang, I was suddenly reminded of the word "destiny." Everyone's talent seems to determine their fate. Of course, everyone's fate relies on their own struggle and effort.
But in reality, some destinies are not true destinies, and some talents are not true talents.
...
Wang Ren was right, I don't have talent. Yet, I was led into the world of Schemers by Old Ghost, and Li Jiu still chose me to be the fifty-sixth generation inheritor of Schemers.
Why is this?
If I were to explain everything from beginning to end, it would likely be a very long story.
I will focus on the essentials. Everyone knows Sun Wukong, right? He sprang from a rock and instantly became the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. He wreaked havoc in heaven, ate immortal pills, stole peaches, and knocked down the Ginseng Fruit Tree.
He was quite a troublemaker. If you cause trouble, you die. Which demon could commit heavenly crimes and still achieve a positive outcome? Sun Wukong could, because his birth was never a coincidence, was it?
Think about it. Sun Wukong was a divine stone left over from Nuwa mending the sky. He didn't pop out of the stone crack early or late, but specifically chose that moment to emerge. Was it a coincidence?
Definitely not!
The Jade Emperor wanted to win over the immortals and make them obey him. They were all immortals, like Erlang Shen, whose abilities were comparable to Sun Wukong's. Why should they obey him?
Immortals have desires. What they crave are the three divine items that immortals cannot easily obtain: first, Laozi's immortal pills; second, the Queen Mother's peaches. Besides these two treasures, there are also Zhenyuanzi's ginseng fruits.
With any of these three items, one could bypass so much cultivation hardship.
But these three resources were held by three individuals other than the Jade Emperor.
If the Jade Emperor were to say to these three, "Hand over your immortal pills, peaches, and ginseng fruits for me to manage," wouldn't they rebel? With such good things, wouldn't they be able to attract good subordinates?
Therefore, the Jade Emperor couldn't openly fall out with these three. So, he secretly discussed the matter with the Buddha. The Buddha couldn't suppress them with trickery, so he had to resort to an open stratagem.
"If it doesn't work, let's create a Sun Wukong."
...
And so, Sun Wukong, who was supposed to be stillborn, suddenly sprang from the stone.
Bodhi was a wise man. He understood the intentions of the Buddha and the Jade Emperor, and immediately took Sun Wukong as his disciple, teaching him the Seventy-two Transformations and granting him the Somersault Cloud, allowing him to roam heaven and earth, omnipotent.
Why did Bodhi disappear later? Despite all that Sun Wukong experienced, Bodhi never intervened.
This is Bodhi's cleverness. The higher powers wanted Sun Wukong to cause trouble. If Bodhi had come out, with his status and abilities, not inferior to a Bodhisattva, he would have solved everything in a flash, and Sun Wukong would have lost his significance. What if he was blamed by the higher powers?
Therefore, Bodhi is the true winner. He made everyone remember his goodness, allowing him to live the rest of his life in peace.
...
Looking at the later outcome, the immortals held a Peach Banquet. The Queen Mother didn't refuse, but the peaches she presented were not of the highest quality. You could eat them, but they wouldn't necessarily benefit you. The immortals had complaints but dared not voice them, fearing they might receive even worse ones.
However, you won't give them, right? Sun Wukong went to the peach garden and caused chaos.
At this point, inferior products were presented, increasing the conflict. The immortals had to speak up. The Jade Emperor was also more accommodating then, as the main conflict was not between him and the Queen Mother, but between Sun Wukong and the Queen Mother.
Similarly, eating immortal pills and knocking down the ginseng tree seemed to be Sun Wukong's doing, but if you think carefully, wasn't someone fanning the flames?
...
And I am the Sun Wukong in this world...
The peach garden, immortal pills, and ginseng fruits in my world correspond to Li Jiu's criminal organization, Old Gao's immense wealth, and righteous individuals like Wang Ren, Wang Zeyin, and Li Qiang, who have walked the gray areas.
...
Three powers stand in opposition. If Li Jiu's criminal organization were directly eliminated, what would happen if Old Gao's side then rose to power? With individuals like Wang Ren and Wang Zeyin, they would be unable to deal with Old Gao.
Therefore, as long as the criminal organization serves its purpose, it cannot be casually uprooted.
Similarly, people like Wang Ren, Wang Zeyin, and Li Qiang are not exactly virtuous characters. If they were to be eliminated, evidence could certainly be found, but if they were removed, whether it be "Logical Paradox" or "Demon Forest," it would be difficult. Once public sentiment became unstable, the gains would not outweigh the losses.
After all, this is a stable society, and the society does not allow the common people to know that there are criminal organizations present.
The criminal organization is used to restrain the Gao family.
The Gao family is used to balance these righteous individuals.
And the righteous individuals are used to restrain the criminal organization.
The tripartite confrontation has always been controlled in this manner.
However, now the higher powers want to reclaim this setup. What then? It's difficult for the higher powers to directly confront anyone.
So, they can only find one person and make this person have major conflicts with all three sides.
Thus, I, a person without background or talent, came into being. Old Ghost's appearance in my world is analogous to the cleverest Bodhi in Journey to the West.
This is also why Wang Ren said I could never find Old Ghost to deal with her, and that I might not even be able to find Old Ghost at all.
...
In some minor disputes, Old Ghost continuously taught and guided me.
Until I, the criminal organization created by Li Jiu, and the Gao family officially came into conflict, I could no longer escape.
The criminal organization became my enemy.
The Gao family became my enemy.
Even eventually, the righteous individuals led by Wang Ren would have to become my enemy.
What was originally a conflict that the higher powers should have resolved has now become a conflict between me and everyone.
...
From beginning to end, I was only responsible for causing trouble. The higher powers must have already figured out how to wrap things up.
...
I underestimated the Schemers.
I truly do not possess that talent. In fact, Old Ghost taught me from the very beginning the true way of a Schemer: those who follow heaven live, those who defy heaven perish.
Everything originates from heaven!
The grand scheme, the reason I couldn't understand it for so long, was because I never planned with a grand scheme in mind. Instead, I enjoyed delving into these minor arts, such as Wang Ren's "form precedes function," and Senior Sister's "demons." Even Old Ghost's enigmatic phrase: "All things under heaven are not owned by anyone; all things under heaven can be used by me."
For these, I was tirelessly engaged.
I was wrong!
Although it was a belated realization, I have discovered it.
After Wang Zeyin's death, Wang Ren also vaguely sensed this grand scheme.
And her foresight is not due to illness; it's merely a trick of hers. Wang Ren's most formidable ability is to rebuild this tripartite confrontation.
She will continue to represent justice in the gray areas.
At the same time, she will force Gao Ziyan to become someone like Gao Ji.
Once Gao Ziyan becomes such a person, then it will be between me and Lao Tie.
...
Lao Tie is a hidden piece. Wang Ren's pardon of his crimes does not mean he is forever free of guilt.
Activating Lao Tie will force me onto the path of crime, and at that time, I will be Li Jiu's true successor.
...
Once this scheme is formed, it cannot be broken. It has existed since ancient times, and its name is the Three Immortals Presenting a Cauldron formation.