NOVPUBNo One Is Perfect
The towering giant before her was tall and obese, greedily devouring the dishes of wine and delicacies served by the little immortals.
Xu Shulou recognized the fabric of his robes—it was the same cloth she had painstakingly woven. She studied him for a long moment before finally connecting him to a figure from the scrolls by the mole on his lip.
She leaped into his line of sight and cut straight to the point: "I, too, am one who entered the painting. Do you wish to leave with me?"
The man impatiently swatted her away with a massive hand. "What nonsense are you spouting? Don’t disturb my feast."
Xu Shulou froze, then turned her gaze to the void. "His memories…"
"Those who submit to the rules here become part of this place," a voice explained to her. "Over time, they forget even their origins."
"How long has he been here?"
"By the measure of time here, tens of thousands of years. And in all that time, he never once tried to resist. Isn’t that fascinating?" The voice seemed amused. "At first, he didn’t dare. Later, he rose through the ranks by following the rules, becoming an ‘upper immortal,’ and no longer needed to resist. Instead, he began to relish his privilege, oppressing others."
"…"
"What? You insisted I show you, and I did," the voice chuckled. "Are you disappointed?"
"…"
When she remained silent, the voice pressed on triumphantly, "Didn’t you want to take people out of the painting? He’s feasted on flowers nourished by flesh and blood. Do you really think someone like him is worth saving?"
"Please take me to the next one."
"Fine. I’ll accompany you until you give up."
They traversed this illusory paradise, witnessing countless souls—some struggling to survive by adapting to its rules, others callously feeding on the suffering of their fellow men, and still others who had become the architects of those very rules, devising ever harsher decrees to torment those who came after them…
"Well? After seeing all this, have you lost all faith in humanity?"
Xu Shulou slowly shook her head.
The voice faltered. "Why? You’ve seen their true faces. You should be as disillusioned as I am…"
Xu Shulou smiled bitterly. "That’s not fair. In the real world, they might have been good people. You can’t throw them into such an environment, force them to become monsters, and then condemn them for it."
"You’re far too naive," the voice retorted. "If they turn wicked because of their surroundings, it only proves they were rotten to begin with. How is that my fault?"
"…"
"Why so silent? Don’t you agree?"
"I just think we won’t convince each other for now," Xu Shulou sighed. "There’s no real right or wrong in this debate. Humanity has argued over it for millennia without reaching a conclusion."
"Hmph. I’m obviously right!"
Xu Shulou asked, "Is there any way to erase their memories of this place and release them?"
"There is," the voice replied smugly. "But why should I?"
"Because people in the real world are waiting for them."
"Here, you can blame me for corrupting them. But if I let them go and they turn wicked again in the real world, who will you blame then?"
Xu Shulou shook her head. "I won’t blame anyone. If they repeat their crimes in reality, I’ll end their lives myself."
"One moment merciful, the next bloodthirsty—what kind of bizarre path are you cultivating?" the voice muttered.
"I’m not sure what to call it," Xu Shulou shrugged. "When I think of a suitably grand name, I’ll let you know."
"…"
"Surely not everyone has succumbed," Xu Shulou pressed. "I remember one of the entrants was Li Qu, known as the ‘Great Philanthropist.’ Is he here too?"
"He’s not in this celestial realm," the voice sneered. "Ironically, this ‘Great Philanthropist’ couldn’t even pass my third trial."
"Can you take me to him?"
"Very well," the voice agreed readily. "It’ll be amusing to show you the true face of this so-called saint."
The voice led Xu Shulou away from the celestial realm into a small world constructed from Li Qu’s memories.
"A mill?" The simplicity of this world surprised her. She stepped inside—and froze at the sight before her.
At the center of the mill stood an enormous grindstone, pulled by several patient mules. But what was being ground wasn’t grain—it was human heads.
The heads were fed into the millstone, crushed into a bloody pulp, staining the stone and the ground beneath in deep crimson.
And the "Great Philanthropist" Li Qu was tied to a pillar nearby, forced to watch it all unfold.
The cycle had repeated so many times that the moment Xu Shulou—an anomaly—entered the mill, Li Qu’s eyes lit up. He strained toward her, but the ropes held him fast. His hoarse throat emitted unintelligible sounds, whether pleas or wails, she couldn’t tell.
Xu Shulou stared at the grindstone. "Whose heads are these?"
The voice answered, "Li Qu’s parents, brothers, wife, son, daughter, nieces, and nephews."
"…Why?"
"In his third trial, I made him choose between his family and the lives of countless others. He chose his family," the voice dripped with scorn. "So I made him watch them die, over and over, day and night. This is his punishment."
Li Qu seemed to hear the malicious voice. He wailed again, kowtowing frantically toward the void, his struggles leaving bloody streaks on the ground.
From his garbled cries, Xu Shulou made out fragments: "I was wrong, I was wrong… please… kill me…"
"Always the same act," the voice scoffed. "He’s tried to kill himself many times, but here, he can only die if I allow it."
Xu Shulou turned to the void, baffled. "Did you have an unhappy childhood? Or was there someone who hurt you deeply?"
"Of course not. I’m not even human—how could I have a childhood? And no one’s ever harmed me, except when you hit me with bricks," the voice replied, puzzled. "Why do you ask?"
"…" Xu Shulou flicked a strand of spiritual energy, rendering Li Qu unconscious. "What’s the point?"
"I simply despese these so-called saints and wanted to expose his true nature. What’s wrong with that?" The voice carried a childlike cruelty. "When you leave, you can tell everyone what happened here—it’ll make for a fine joke."
"Back in the cultivation world, I once heard of the name Li Qu," Xu Shulou sighed softly. "In the real world, he was a good man—a loving father, a devoted husband. He helped many people, saved countless lives. During floods, he served porridge to the victims and helped them rebuild their homes... That alone makes him a good person by universal standards. What does his 'true nature' matter? Who cares what choice he made in an illusion?"
"He failed my test! He doesn’t deserve to be called virtuous!"
"What are you trying to prove?" Xu Shulou asked gently. "Why force him to choose between his family and the world? That’s inherently unfair. What’s wrong with valuing one’s own family over the greater good? Who appointed you the judge of right and wrong? How many people could pass such a test?"
"You could. I saw your memories—you gave up revenge for the sake of the world!"
"Yes, I chose the world. But so what?" Xu Shulou countered. "Does that make me the moral standard for all humanity? Should those who choose differently deserve death?"
"What’s wrong with everyone being like you? I’ve seen so much in you these past days..."
"What’s right about everyone being like me? The world is fascinating precisely because of its diversity." Xu Shulou gazed into the void. "I chose this world because I love it—not because I want everyone to face the same impossible choice. Let them go."
"They failed my test. Why should I release them?"
"Testing humanity this way won’t reveal good people—only the perfect saints of your imagination. But no one is perfect," Xu Shulou reasoned. "I only escaped your trap by luck. I’m far from perfect myself. I don’t even meet the criteria to enter this place. I’d need ten times more audacity to call myself 'pure and flawless.'"
"..." You’re certainly self-aware.
"Nothing in this world is perfect. Humanity is inherently flawed—you must accept that," Xu Shulou murmured. "We’re only human, with all our shortcomings, desires, fears, and greed. You shouldn’t hold us to such impossible standards."
"I just wanted to find some aspect of humanity that wouldn’t disappoint me. Is that wrong...?"
"Of course not. But... humanity is complex. For all its flaws, there’s also beauty. If you look differently, you’ll see the light in Li Qu too. You can’t define him by one choice—that’s unjust."
The voice snapped, "You don’t understand at all!"
"I do. I once wanted to kill them all, just like you. But humanity has both darkness and light. In the mortal realm, I’ve met people who champion grand ideals and others who cherish small kindnesses. In my memories, you saw a scholar who surrendered to rebels yet devoted his life to serving the people, and a bloodstained emperor who brought prosperity to the realm. By your measure, they’d deserve death too. But their legacies aren’t ours to judge."
"...Are you saying I have no right?"
"Yes," Xu Shulou admitted without fear, reaching toward the void as if to touch the voice. "Close this twisted world. Let its people go. I’ll show you the real world outside. With your power, why waste it testing humanity? Imagine what good you could do instead."
"..."
When this painting first gained sentience, it was like a child—neither good nor evil, unaware of right or wrong. All its knowledge came from the memories of those who wandered into its realm. Layer by layer, test by test, it grew tainted with malice, its darkness deepening.
It believed trapping those who failed its trials was a service to the real world—that people with darkness or painful pasts were likeliest to turn wicked. It adored pure, flawless souls and had spared a few such individuals... until it met Xu Shulou, who was anything but "pure and flawless."
At first, it was certain she’d lose her way, for her soul shone with too many contradictions. But...
It suddenly wondered if the humanity it sought wasn’t naive innocence after all. Perhaps those weathered by suffering, their complex souls still holding unextinguished light, were rarer and more precious.
Every entrant left a mark on the painting.
If forced to name what Xu Shulou had given it... perhaps it was mercy?
Was she right? If Li Qu did good in reality, did that make him good—free from its bizarre, merciless judgments?
Had it been too absolute? Was it truly wrong?
The crude little mill remained silent for a long, long time.
Then the voice whispered, "If... if I let them go, what do you think they’d do? Good or evil?"
"I don’t know what they’d choose," Xu Shulou exhaled in quiet relief. "But my first act would be painting a giant cowpat on you."
"..."
