Chapter 112: The Chicken and the Egg, Beauty and Ugliness

A disgusting remark from Huo Yuanzhen confirmed one thing.

People really do have potential.

Luo Caiyi dragged her injured body forward, crawling for over ten meters, until she reached a small creek less than a meter wide. She washed the pill thoroughly, wiping it several times, and after a long while, she finally swallowed it.

She was too weak to even kill herself, yet she could still crawl this far.

While she was taking the pill, Huo Yuanzhen quietly swallowed another small restoration pill himself.

After that, Luo Caiyi rested from afar, absorbing the medicinal power.

Huo Yuanzhen also seized the time to absorb his own, lest the demoness recover before him, leaving him defenseless.

The night passed without a word, and the next morning came.

There was no sunlight penetrating the gorge, only a thin strip of sky visible above.

After finishing his cultivation, Huo Yuanzhen had absorbed enough medicinal power, and his internal injuries were almost healed.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that Luo Caiyi was still healing. It seemed her injuries were slightly worse than his.

With his internal injuries healing, the external ones weren't a major concern. Huo Yuanzhen had initially thought his leg was broken, but now he saw it wasn't truly fractured; it had just been a harsh impact.

He took out some ointment for external injuries and applied it to his leg. He could move a bit now.

The Shaolin ointment for wounds and fractures was unparalleled in the world. Huo Yuanzhen estimated that in two days, his injuries would fully heal.

After he was done, Luo Caiyi opened her eyes.

From her expression, Huo Yuanzhen could tell her internal injuries had healed as well.

However, her external injuries were more severe than his, particularly her left arm, which had become stiff and immobile.

Luo Caiyi opened her eyes, her small nose twitching a few times. She smelled the ointment.

"Thief monk, don't you have enough medicine?" she sneered.

Huo Yuanzhen handed her the last bit of ointment. "This is the last of my medicine for external injuries, only to be used after internal injuries have healed. Please forgive me for not giving it to you sooner."

At this point, Luo Caiyi didn't care about formalities and took the ointment, applying it without hesitation.

Both of them were now applying medicine, unable to move for a while. They looked at each other in silence, feeling incredibly bored.

Just a short time ago, they were enemies locked in mortal combat. Now, they found themselves in the same predicament, and the role reversal was so sudden that even someone as self-assured as Huo Yuanzhen couldn't quite adjust.

About an hour passed. Luo Caiyi, feeling extremely bored, turned to Huo Yuanzhen and asked, "Thief monk, how did you meet Wan Jun?"

Huo Yuanzhen wasn't bothered by her constant teasing. He had been the abbot for a long time and knew when to let things slide. Smiling, he replied, "Miss Ning came to Shaolin to seek solace for her troubles, and I helped her understand some things. That's all."

"You can help people with their troubles?" Luo Caiyi asked skeptically.

"I am a monk of compassion. The Buddha's teachings are meant to alleviate people's suffering," Huo Yuanzhen responded calmly.

Luo Caiyi turned her gaze to Huo Yuanzhen. "Thief monk, solving people's troubles requires great knowledge and experience. You're so young, what skills could you possibly have?"

"Although I am young, I believe I can offer some insights," he replied with confidence.

"Well, I also have some things troubling me. Can you help me resolve them?"

"Of course, Miss, speak freely."

Luo Caiyi's eyes gleamed mischievously as she asked, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"

Huo Yuanzhen couldn't help but chuckle. It seemed this question existed in every world and dimension. Even this martial world demoness was curious about it.

But this, Huo Yuanzhen believed, was a question he alone could answer.

After a moment of thought, Huo Yuanzhen said, "This is a good question. Whether the chicken came first or the egg is certainly up for debate, but I believe it was the chicken."

Luo Caiyi shook her head. "That's not right. If the chicken came first, where did it come from?"

"The chicken evolved," Huo Yuanzhen answered.

"Evolved? What does that mean?"

"Evolution is the process of life progressing. Take birds for example. They couldn't fly at first, but they longed for the blue sky, so they gradually grew wings and began to soar."

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "Fish in the water didn't swim initially either, but they couldn't live on land, so they developed fins to glide through the water."

Luo Caiyi was entranced by his explanation, but then interjected, "Your explanation is strange."

"What I'm saying is, the bird that became the chicken wasn't originally a chicken. It was a clumsy bird that didn't want to fly, so it slowly evolved into a chicken and laid eggs."

"And what was that bird's origin?" Luo Caiyi asked curiously.

"Is that a second question?" Huo Yuanzhen smiled.

Luo Caiyi didn't continue with that line of questioning and instead shot back, "I still think you're wrong. If I wanted to fly, why didn't I grow wings? Things are what they are. They don't change."

"But humans weren't always human," Huo Yuanzhen replied.

"Humans weren't always human? Then what were humans?"

"According to the theory of evolution, humans evolved from monkeys. Monkeys, with their hands and feet, were the species most similar to humans. Long ago, through countless years, some monkeys gradually evolved into humans. They learned to use tools, harness fire, and the male monkeys became men, and the female monkeys became women. Healthy monkeys evolved into beautiful humans, and ugly monkeys became the so-called demons."

"Thief monk! You..."

At first, Luo Caiyi had been intrigued, but as he continued, she realized he was mocking her.

"I don't believe what you're saying. You monks always speak nonsense. You say beautiful things are ugly, but I don't believe it."

"Beauty and ugliness are relative. Everything that seems beautiful also has an ugly side," Huo Yuanzhen said, undeterred.

"I don't believe that. A flower blooming is beautiful," Luo Caiyi retorted.

Huo Yuanzhen, seeing the debate heating up, smiled. "A flower blooming is indeed beautiful, but it blooms at the cost of its roots being deeply buried in the mud. Pull up the flower and see the muddy roots. Do you still think that's beautiful?"

Luo Caiyi was silenced for a moment.

But she was stubborn and refused to be outdone. "That's just one example. There are many beautiful things. Like the peacock. When it spreads its tail, it's the most beautiful thing."

After saying this, Luo Caiyi glanced at Huo Yuanzhen proudly, thinking she had won the argument. Surely he couldn't argue against the beauty of a peacock's tail feathers.

Huo Yuanzhen shook his head slightly. "I've already said, everything has two sides. You see the beautiful side, but you haven't seen the ugly side."

"Then tell me, what's ugly about a peacock spreading its tail?" Luo Caiyi challenged.

A smile played at the corner of Huo Yuanzhen's lips. "The peacock's tail is beautiful from the front, but if you look at it from behind, you'll see that it reveals its backside. Can that still be called beautiful?"

Luo Caiyi was stunned. The thought of the peacock revealing its backside made her blush immediately, and she pointed at Huo Yuanzhen, "You thief monk, you're so rude!"

Huo Yuanzhen thought to himself, "Rude? You kill people without a second thought, yet you're upset about me saying this. You should know better, I'm just being polite to you as you're likely still a virgin, but I could have been more blunt if I wanted to!"

Luo Caiyi was left speechless, but she couldn't deny Huo Yuanzhen's point. A peacock's tail feathers were beautiful from the front, but not so much when viewed from the back.

Huo Yuanzhen continued, "I believe that everything has a balance. Peace and elegance don't attract criticism. For example, if the peacock just stood still without spreading its tail, people would grow to appreciate it. When it finally shows its tail, people would be even more amazed. That's when the peacock is truly beautiful."

Luo Caiyi paused, seemingly reflecting on his words.

Huo Yuanzhen quietly thought to himself, "If she can understand this, then maybe she'll calm down and behave more gracefully. My life will be a little easier."

Indeed, Luo Caiyi no longer wore that fierce expression. Her voice softened as she said, "Actually, you do have a point."

"Just a small point," Huo Yuanzhen humbly replied, choosing not to engage further.

Even though she was a great beauty, he was a monk, and before he achieved mastery in his martial arts, he had to stay detached from worldly pleasures. It was better to remain composed and act like a noble monk, avoiding gossip.

Luo Caiyi, seeing Huo Yuanzhen closing his eyes and not speaking further, felt a slight peace in her heart.

It seemed that the thief monk wasn't as bad as she initially thought, and his words did have some wisdom, though his choice of language was occasionally crude. Despite that, he was convincing.

But every time her opinion of him slightly improved, she still felt a lingering pain in her chest. Looking at him closing his eyes, she shot him a glare and quietly placed her hand on her chest, gently rubbing it.

The thief monk's head was too hard. After that collision, she wondered if he had any lasting injuries.