Chapter 917: Follow Your Heart, Let Emotions Be
With a *puff* sound.
It wasn't laughter.
A mouthful of blood sprayed from Xu Yourong's lips.
It all landed on Chen Changsheng's body.
Chen Changsheng looked quite disheveled.
Xu Yourong opened her eyes and saw this scene. After a moment's thought, she guessed what had just happened.
She raised her sleeve to wipe the bloodstains from the corner of her mouth, revealing a mischievous smile.
Chen Changsheng ignored his own state, looking at her slightly pale face with concern. "Are you alright?"
Xu Yourong knew he had a mild case of cleanliness obsession. Seeing him pay it no mind, she was slightly moved. She took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the blood from his face.
"It's good that the stagnant blood has been forced out."
She had closed her eyes against the twilight, meditating to heal her injuries, but Chen Changsheng had misunderstood her intent.
Chen Changsheng felt a bit awkward, but more than that, he was worried, even after hearing her say she was fine.
The seclusion at Hezhai was an extremely important matter. Today, Xu Yourong had been forced to break through the wall and emerge early because of him, which would inevitably have a major impact on her cultivation.
Most critically, her Dao heart would be left with a mark that would be difficult to erase completely, and it was even highly possible that she would never again find the opportunity to break through to the next realm.
Thinking of this, Chen Changsheng's mood grew even heavier.
Xu Yourong knew what he was thinking and said, "Many cultivators who encounter a situation like mine, if they suffer a setback, their Dao heart wavers, and they lose any chance to seek the divine from then on. But you don't need to worry about me, because I am more confident than anyone else. I am still very young."
What they called cultivating the Dao was cultivating time itself. As the youngest cultivator in recorded history to see that threshold, she still had many years to comprehend and savor. Most importantly, she had a very clear understanding of this herself, ensuring that those years would not be wasted and that her Dao heart would not be affected in any way.
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng's mood improved slightly.
The blood on his face had already been wiped clean by Xu Yourong. Any remnants vanished without a trace, transformed into Phoenix fire by the twilight, but his clothes couldn't be dealt with. He very naturally took a set of clean Daoist robes from the sheath of the Hidden Sword, then turned around to change. The entire motion was particularly practiced, as if he had repeated it countless times before.
Xu Yourong asked, "You've always been in the habit of carrying clean clothes with you? Why are you so practiced at changing?"
Chen Changsheng thought of the big hole that had been punched through the wall of the National Academy back then, the eyes staring at him from the edge of the large wooden tub, the little girl whose face was already bright red but pretended not to care. A wave of longing suddenly washed over him, but he wouldn't mention that. Instead, he just talked about the scenes of the cold pool beneath the North New Bridge leading to the Cold Palace.
Xu Yourong had known the story of the North New Bridge since she was a child, so she wasn't surprised. She asked, "What exactly is going on with Little Black Dragon?"
She was asking about the matter of Bie Tianxin being killed.
Although everyone now knew it was a conspiracy from the Great Western Continent, the problem was that before the conspiracy was exposed, Chen Changsheng had never agreed to let Little Black Dragon come out to confront it. As sharp and intelligent as she was, she had naturally guessed that something must have happened to Little Black Dragon.
Chen Changsheng said, "It can't be confirmed right now, but she shouldn't be in danger."
Xu Yourong said, "Is there anything that needs to be done?"
Chen Changsheng shook his head. "Let's wait for a while."
Xu Yourong said no more and asked, "Have you had a chance to look around here?"
Chen Changsheng said, "I've seen some of the scenery you mentioned in your letters, but I didn't have time to look closely."
Xu Yourong smiled and said, "Shall I take you to see it?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Alright."
A mountain breeze stirred gently, flowers and trees swayed, and fragrance assailed the senses. A white crane broke through the twilight and landed before them.
With a clear cry, the white crane carried the two of them into the air, once again tearing through the twilight at incredible speed, piercing through clouds and mist, until they reached the peak. Standing at the cliff's edge, looking at the plains under the twilight, the Tong River, and the mountains that had already turned into ink-wash colors, Chen Changsheng said with emotion, "When we were young, you said in your letters that the scenery here was excellent. It's true indeed."
Xu Yourong forced herself to stay calm and said, "Did I write you letters when we were young? You might be mistaken. A few years ago, I did write you quite a few letters."
Chen Changsheng smiled and said, "The white crane should still remember. How could you have forgotten?"
Hearing this, the white crane chirped softly twice beside them, indicating that it was indeed so.
A look of slight annoyance appeared on Xu Yourong's face. "I don't know how you tricked it into trusting you, to the point where it doesn't even listen to me anymore."
Chen Changsheng took her hand and sat down on the most prominent green stone at the cliff's edge.
"Since I was a child, I've loved to meditate and cultivate in peace on this green stone."
"Mm, you said that in your letter when you were nine."
"Hey, you really have it wrong."
"I don't have it wrong, because the scenery you described in your letter is exactly the same as here."
"I don't want to talk to you anymore."
"Alright, then three years ago you said in your letter that there were many birds here. Why haven't I seen any?"
"Do you want to see them? I can get many birds to come and play."
"Is this the so-called 'Ten Thousand Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix'?"
"Yes."
"Better not. Night is falling; they all need to rest. Why disturb them?"
"Alright."
"But what about that mountain chicken?"
Chen Changsheng was naturally referring to the Golden-Winged Roc in the Zhou Garden that was far from fully grown.
"It likes to eat meat. I sent it to the grasslands."
"The grasslands?"
"The grasslands you gave me."
"Mm... Let's find a chance to go see it together."
"See what?"
"If the beasts in the Zhou Garden like it, they can live there. We... can too."
"..."
Yesterday, he had rushed all the way from Fengyang County to this place, his worries unresolved. Then he encountered the two major events of the Nanxi Zhai seclusion and Bie Tianxin's death, along with several heart-stopping battles. Chen Changsheng was utterly exhausted, and drowsiness gradually crept over him.
He sat with Xu Yourong on the green stone at the cliff's edge, leaning against each other, just like in the Zhou Garden. He was very relaxed and comfortable, and soon closed his eyes.
No one knew how much time had passed when Xu Yourong suddenly opened her eyes.
She quietly looked at Chen Changsheng's face, as if trying to find some emotion on it besides exhaustion, but found nothing.
He was still like he was back then, utterly clean from the inside out, untouched by dust, free of stray thoughts.
"Chen Changsheng, why did you stop replying to my letters after you turned ten?"
Xu Yourong looked at him and said softly.
Chen Changsheng was already asleep and couldn't answer her question.
Suddenly, Xu Yourong's eyes widened as she looked at Chen Changsheng, a curious expression appearing on her face. Then, thinking of something, she became a little nervous.
She looked around.
The birdsong among the peaks and cliffs abruptly ceased. The various strange beasts all lowered their heads. Even the white crane twisted its neck to gaze at the distant mountains.
Xu Yourong lowered her head and kissed him.
Mm, it tasted like sticky rice cake. Not bad at all.
Just then, Chen Changsheng opened his eyes.
But they didn't part.
...
...
(Didn't see that coming, did you? How could I be so easily figured out by you! Still the same line I've repeated for years—my romance novels are the best!)