Part 24: Freedom in death

Ren Zu was extremely happy when he saw Feathermen because they had wings on their back. Since the Feathermen could understand Ren Zu's words, both sides could communicate. Ren Zu requested the Feathermen, “Feathermen, please help me. My daughter is in Ordinary Abyss and cannot come out. Please fly down and rescue my daughter, let us father and daughter reunite.” The Feathermen laughed loudly, “Human, how can you order us? Us Feathermen are the most free living beings in the world; no one can order us or bind us. You want us to listen to your request and follow your wish, that is impossible.” Ren Zu kept on persuading and even pleaded with them, but the Feathermen simply kept on flying in the air, enjoying the pleasure of freedom. Ren Zu's mouth had already dried, but the Feathermen only treated him as a clown, ridiculing Ren Zu as if they were looking at a joke. “Oh look, such a pitiful human.” “So, what if he is the life form with the most intelligence in the world?” “He doesn't have wings and can only walk on the ground; he is so pitiful. Fortunately, I am not a human, but a Featherman. See how vigorously I can fly.”

In Ren Zu's Heart of Loneliness, Self Gu started getting angrier as it heard these words. Finally, it could not hold the anger back and jumped out. “All of you, come down,” Self Gu displayed its might, capturing all the Feathermen in the sky at once. Ren Zu could not help but become greatly startled at this: “Self Gu, when did you become so strong?” Self Gu said proudly, “It is only natural. I took a bite out of Strength Gu, now that I have my own strength, I possess immense might. Moreover, there is no need to pay any price to use this strength. Human, you need to know what is most reliable is your own strength. And without strength, freedom is just an illusion.” The Feathermen were captured and could no longer fly to the sky, pressed onto the ground without being able to move. They began to throw curses at Ren Zu and Self Gu in anger. Ren Zu heaved a sigh, “Feathermen, I did not mean to offend you. Please forgive my rudeness. I only want to ask you to save my daughter. When I reunite with her, I will definitely reward you.” “Impossible! We Feathermen are the most free.” “Even if our bodies lose freedom, our hearts are still free.” “Right, right.” “Cruel human, you can't impose your will on any Featherman.” The Feathermen kept on shouting without any intention to compromise. Ren Zu persuaded them for three days and three nights, but it was in vain. Helpless, he could only let go of these Feathermen. Self Gu spoke bitterly, “Human, how could you release them so easily? Don't you want to rescue your fourth child?” Ren Zu, however, replied confidently, “I have already understood that these Feathermen cannot be forced. After these days of contact with the Feathermen, I have found these Feathermen might be free, but they don't have dens to shelter themselves from wind and rain, and they also don't have enough food to fill their stomachs. To make them help, I have to make them do it willingly.” Thereupon, Ren Zu built a house near the Feathermen. Every day, he relied on Self Gu to gather a lot of wild fruits and hunt many beasts. The Feathermen soon discovered the safety and warmth of the house. Especially during the days of storms, the Feathermen could only hide in groves of trees, shivering and starving, while Ren Zu stayed within his house, enjoying the warmth of a fireplace and sumptuous food. On one cold night, some Feathermen quietly moved under the roof of Ren Zu's

house, to evade the wind and snow, while also greedily absorbing the warmth leaking out from the crack in the door. Ren Zu wore the mask of Attitude Gu and opened the door, using an extremely warm attitude to invite these Feathermen into the house and to enjoy the warmth and food with him. As this repeated several times, more and more Feathermen came into Ren Zu's house. Ren Zu was very hospitable and would entertain the Feathermen every day, even giving the area near the fireplace to the Feathermen. No matter how much the Feathermen ate, he let them eat without restraint. The Feathermen gradually became accustomed to living this way until one day, Ren Zu saw the timing was ripe and took off Attitude Gu, revealing his true, cold expression. He shut the door of the house and stored all the food as well, no longer supplying them to the Feathermen for free. The Feathermen were caught off-guard and were frantic. They were already used to the safety and warmth of the house, used to plentiful food; they rarely flew now and hunted even less. Their stockpile of food was extremely small. Many Feathermen were fat to the extent they could not fly. The Feathermen had no way to deal with Ren Zu's behaviour. They could not beat Ren Zu, who possessed Self Gu. Soon, all the Feathermen reached a situation where they would die from hunger or the cold. Several days later, many Feathermen died. Ren Zu waited and waited until he became extremely anxious, as the Feathermen showed no signs of coming to terms with him. In the end, when most of the Feathermen died, Ren Zu could not help but mention the old matter again: “Feathermen, as long as you move your wings to fly to Ordinary Abyss and rescue my daughter, I will give you enough food and also warm houses.” However, the remaining Feathermen still shook their heads. Eventually, they all died. From these Feathermen's corpses, many small creatures flew out. They looked like tiny specks of light, shining with all kinds of colors. Ren Zu tried to grab them but was not able to. “It is no use,” Cognition Gu informed him at this moment. “Wild Freedom Gu cannot be caught. These Feathermen chased after freedom since their birth, but it

is a pity that only after their death could they find freedom.”