Is this mangaka crazy?

"No... Dad and Mom, you misunderstood me..."

Fan Siwei quickly explained: "I just... have some ideas about this lately."

He didn't say they stemmed from reading "Fire Punch", otherwise, Fan's mother would have gone to his room and thrown away all the loose copies of "Fire Punch".

However, his words did not reassure Fan's parents.

"Siwei, do you want to go on a trip lately?"

Fan's father also changed his previous seriousness, smiled at Fan Siwei as kindly as possible, and said: "Let's take a father-son break and take you on a trip to relax...".

He only has one son; even if he takes half a month off from work, he must ensure that Fan Siwei doesn't do anything foolish! "No..."

Fan Siwei shook his head blankly. "School just started not long ago, and there are still many classes...".

"Classes don't matter!"

Fan's father quickly said: "Siwei, go on a trip with Dad. You can learn anytime, but there aren't many opportunities to travel."

"I'll also take a break, and our family will go out and have fun!" Fan's mother also said.

'Are you kidding? Now they're just afraid something will happen to Fan Siwei.' 'Go to work? Is it important for Fan Siwei to go to work?' 'Let alone asking for a break; even if it means quitting, they won't hesitate.'

"But I still want to know, what is the meaning of life?" Fan Siwei asked. "Is it living according to others' expectations?"

Upon hearing this, Fan's father sighed and understood.

That's Fan Siwei's knot. If it's not resolved, it will only make the knot in his heart grow bigger and bigger.

In the end, his heart will be completely blocked.

"No, living is living for the sake of living."

Fan's father said firmly: "When your father was in college, the first book I read was titled 'To Live'."

Fan Siwei looked thoughtful. He had heard of "To Live", but he had never read it.

"To Live is a very tragic story. Perhaps you young people don't like reading this kind of novel now."

Fan's father said: "The protagonist, Fugui, was originally a rich man, but he lost all his family's property due to eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling, and became a tenant. As a young man, he was conscripted into the army and worked as a handyman. When he reached middle age, his daughter became deaf and mute, and his son died from excessive blood donation, leaving him in a dead end...".

"Look, he feels so miserable, because he can only watch all this happen, and there's no way to resist or change it."

But when he grew old, his wife, who had supported him through thick and thin, also died of illness; his daughter died giving birth; and his son-in-law was crushed by a concrete slab... The only grandson left, Kugen, became his last hope, but died from eating too many beans.

In the end, Fugui was only left with an old ox to accompany him on the muddy country road.

When the sunset fell behind them, it was so pale!

When I finished reading this novel, I felt very, very miserable.

Fan's father solemnly said: "From the prosperity and bustling beginning to the misery and hardship later, Fugui had nothing left in the end, but he was still alive."

"Just as you said, Siwei, this world is a big lie."

"Everyone strives to live for illusory happiness, waiting for the moment when happiness finally arrives."

"But how many people really expect that happiness to arrive?"

"Fugui was very happy when he was young. He was a rich young master and an unrestrained playboy. However, from being a rich man to losing everything and passing away one after another, for him, the happiest time was not when he squandered his fortune."

"It was when he was going through hardships. Back then, he believed his wife was the best wife in the world, that his children were the best children in the world, and there were also his son-in-law, his grandson, the old ox also named 'Fugui', and those friends...".

I read this sentence in another essay, "Wisteria Waterfall", and I still remember it...

"Flowers and people will face various misfortunes, but the long river of life is endless."

"Precisely because of this, choosing to live is the best."

"Because only by living can you feel everything in this world. If you lose your life, you cannot feel anything."

"Your thinking means you exist."

"We don't sing praises of suffering. If we want to sing, we sing praises of the brilliantly growing branches and buds and dazzling flowers in the mud. What we sing is life itself, indomitable!"

"Only when life itself continues will there be infinite possibilities, and you can see this colorful world!"

"So... no matter what, keep living!"

Like a poem I love: "You don't want to plant flowers," you say, "I don't want to see them wither little by little." Yes, to avoid the end, you avoid all beginnings.

"Yes, you can't refuse to start just because you don't want to see flowers wither... Likewise! You can't refuse the beginning of everything because living is too painful."

Fan's father's words made Fan Siwei fall into deep thought.

Suddenly, he understood: 'isn't the same true for Agni?' Although he suffers great pain, he has to live.

He has lost his loved ones and everything he cherishes, and he is enveloped in inextinguishable flames, enduring the pain of burning flames all the time.

He has to... live.

Not just for revenge.

That's why the mangaka of "Fire Punch", Silverhand, has always wanted Agni to live...

Because only if Agni lives will he continue to exist in this world.

Only then can he save people, and the destruction of Besim Druk will happen.

Only then will he meet Togata and the others, and everything that happened afterward will occur.

If Agni had died at the beginning, all these stories would not have happened.

Even if the pain had been avoided, it would also have been meaningless.

"It seems that... I understand..."

Fan Siwei's eyes reflected a certain understanding. "Being alive... is the meaning of everything!"

"Even if living is a lie or is painful, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being alive!"

"So even if life is full of thorns and is painful, you have to keep living!"

Upon seeing Fan Siwei's expression, his father immediately smiled with relief.

It seemed... that Fan Siwei had finally figured it out.

After dinner, Fan Siwei returned to his room and continued reading the unfinished volume of "Fire Punch".

He no longer had that heavy mindset.

He wants to keep reading, even if the next story of "Fire Punch" is still so sad! Fan Siwei continued to look at the place where he had just finished reading.

- - - - - -

Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this chapter, I have great news. On my Patreon, I have over 150 advanced chapters ready for you to read.

@patreon/iLikeeMikee

Plus, subscribers get 5 daily chapters of all my novels. It's a great way to catch up and support my projects!