Chapter 187: Straight, Difficult
(The first trailer for "The Legend of the Night" TV series has been released—to be precise, a teaser, very short, but like me, it's all about the vibe... It's quite good. I've posted it on my WeChat public account and Weibo; everyone can go take a look.)
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Looking at the pear tree before the night palace, at the pear blossoms falling on Madam Mu, Chen Changsheng naturally recalled the scene he had seen a few days ago.
The pear tree on the viewing platform had been reduced to invisible dust by his sword, but he had only learned the story of the person in that painting through Luoluo.
Moved by Luoluo's deep affection and devotion, he thought about how much thought Madam Mu had put into making Luoluo accept the Demon Lord.
She should have cherished her only daughter dearly—why was she so ruthless in this marriage?
If that speculation was true, why would she be so cold-blooded after years of loving the White Emperor?
What kind of person was she, really?
"The Xiang tribe is like their bodies—tall, massive, and cold, like dull mountains," Madam Mu said. "For the Pope to ignore their presence and come here, your methods are indeed impressive."
She was praising Chen Changsheng, but her gaze did not fall on him; instead, it still looked into the distance in the night.
That direction should be north.
"When I was very young, my teacher once used a phrase to praise my senior brother, and at the same time, to teach me. That phrase was: 'A thousand words are not worth a single silence.'" Chen Changsheng said. "After that, I spoke much less, but I still couldn't match my senior brother. I always couldn't help wanting to talk—to the fish in the stream, to the books in the temple. And every time that happened, I would feel so self-reproachful. Even now, when I chat with Thirty-Six, I still occasionally feel this way."
Madam Mu said, "The Emperor was always a mute."
"My senior brother used to comfort me with that too." Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then continued, "So later, I changed one word in that phrase and made it my guiding principle."
Madam Mu asked, "Which word?"
Chen Changsheng said, "'A thousand words are not worth a single straightness.'"
Madam Mu slowly raised an eyebrow and asked, "Wang Po's straightness?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Exactly. I can't cling to remnants or keep my Dao heart unwavering. If I think too much and say too much, I'll make too many mistakes. So why not be straightforward? As long as I believe what I'm doing is right, then I'll just do it."
Madam Mu said, "This is one right and wrong; that is another right and wrong."
Chen Changsheng said, "But at least Wang Po and I believe there is right and wrong."
Madam Mu continued, "So tonight, you can come straight to me with your sword?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Walking straight with a sword often gets you to your destination faster."
Madam Mu sighed, "I've cultivated the Dao all my life without obstacles, but when it comes to action, I do tend to waver. Perhaps this is a congenital weakness of women?"
"Mother..." Luoluo called out softly, wanting to speak but stopping.
Madam Mu's lips curled slightly, with a hint of mockery, saying, "A daughter's outward loyalty is also a weakness."
Luoluo felt sad and said no more.
"The Pope is right; one should indeed be straightforward in action," Madam Mu said. "That day on the viewing platform, I should have killed you directly."
As she spoke, she still didn't look at Chen Changsheng but gazed into the distance in the night.
Deep in her eyes, there was a faint trace of weariness and regret.
Was she regretting not killing Chen Changsheng that day, or was she regretting something else?
Where exactly was she looking at this moment?
On this side of the sea, beyond the mountains, across the lake, there was a black cliff, its peak covered in ten-thousand-year-old ice and snow.
Her gaze had been fixed there all along, regret deepening, emotions fading, killing intent growing.
A wind came from the Western Sea. Beneath the night sky, countless snow-capped peaks remained unchanged, but the ice and snow that had accumulated for countless millennia on the black cliff began to fall in a rustling cascade.
The ice and snow were torn apart by the cold wind, then swept up, howling as they struck the cliff face and the surrounding trees.
Xiao De waved his hand, reducing a heavy, fallen tree to dust. He looked up toward White Emperor City, the brownish-yellow in his eyes growing darker, filled with extreme ferocity. Jin Yulu stood behind him, squinting in the same direction, his gaze cold and razor-sharp.
They could feel the boundless divine might contained in the sea breeze, but they would not take a single step back. Instead, they were prepared to fight to the death.
The White Emperor was behind them, inside the black cliff.
The restrictive formation within the cliff had been gradually worn down by Chen Changsheng using the Nanxi Zhai sword formation, creating a weak point. In just a little more time, they would be able to see the White Emperor. Even if their worst suspicions about Chen Changsheng came true, at least they could prove Madam Mu's conspiracy.
Madam Mu could not stand by and watch this scene unfold.
She would definitely stop it all.
Xiao De and Jin Yulu were mentally prepared for this and had made their preparations.
In these past days, while Chen Changsheng sat before the black cliff, contending with the restrictive formation, they had silently watched their surroundings.
They waited for countless powerful demonic beings to surge in like a tide, for the demon army to blanket the entire snowy mountain like black snow.
They waited for Madam Mu to act personally.
Just like now.
The next moment, the ice and snow falling from the cliff top suddenly stopped, the howling sound vanished, and everything became so quiet.
It was as if the wind from the Western Sea had never existed, still chasing the drifting clouds over the sea.
Xiao De and Jin Yulu exchanged a glance, puzzled, but they did not let down their guard; instead, they grew even more uneasy.
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"Since you wanted to kill me, why did you change your mind?"
Chen Changsheng didn't know what had happened in the Falling Star Mountains, but he could sense the shift in Madam Mu's aura.
More importantly, earlier outside the imperial city, the Xiang tribe chieftain and those demonic strongmen who had torn through the night to appear had shown that she truly had murderous intent. Yet in the end, the Xiang tribe chieftain and those demonic strongmen did not attack Chen Changsheng; instead, they silently watched him enter the imperial city.
Madam Mu finally withdrew her gaze from the distant mountains.
She looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "The Pope's question sounds very much like an invitation."
Chen Changsheng said, "If you can bear the consequences."
Madam Mu was silent for a moment, then said, "Besides your teacher, who else could bear them?"
Chen Changsheng said, "But there are still many who want to kill me, perhaps because they have nothing to hold them back."
"With nothing to hold them back, naturally there is nothing to fear," Madam Mu said. "I don't like this place, never have, but in this world, there are still things that hold me back."
When she said this, she didn't look at Luoluo but at White Emperor City under the night sky.
But in truth, she might have been looking farther away.
The world was vast, with everything within it, and the Great Western Continent, though distant, was also within it.
Luoluo lowered her head, her heart even sadder.
"Actually, I envied Tianhai for many years, because whether in terms of realm or will, she was infinitely close to the other shore of freedom. Sometimes her very existence even made me doubt certain views I had formed since childhood." Madam Mu looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "But in the end, she still died by your hand."
Chen Changsheng remained silent.
Madam Mu concluded, "This incident taught me a lesson and made me understand many things. Since we cultivate the Heavenly Dao, and the Heavenly Dao is inherently without emotion, then if we want to endure and attain the Great Dao, we must sever emotions and extinguish nature."