Chapter 10: Severed Hand (Part 2)
(Today is the birthday of Sandbag Sister and Fenghuo, and also Chen Changsheng’s birthday. Happy birthday to them. Among the readers, there must be some celebrating their birthdays today as well. Happy birthday to you too. It suddenly occurred to me that every day there will be readers celebrating birthdays, so I’ll wish you a happy birthday in advance!)
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Before being encountered by Tang Thirty-Six, Bishop Meichuan met Xu Yourong in the woods.
He had never seen Xu Yourong before, but he knew who she was.
Just as Tang Thirty-Six had said earlier in these woods, she was truly beautiful.
Bishop Meichuan was somewhat surprised, yet his etiquette and demeanor during the greeting remained impeccable.
Equally surprising was that Xu Yourong knew he was the new instructor of the National Academy and also knew of his relationship with Melisandre.
Thus, Bishop Meichuan couldn’t determine whether this meeting was purely coincidental.
Xu Yourong said to Bishop Meichuan, “The National Academy is very important to them.”
Bishop Meichuan replied humbly, “Your subordinate understands.”
Xu Yourong said, “But you don’t understand what they’re willing to do for the National Academy.”
“Dean Tang told that instructor to get lost. I suspect he’ll never dare come to the National Academy again.”
Bishop Meichuan remarked with emotion, “His teaching of the Dao Source Primer was truly excellent.”
Xu Yourong asked, “Tang Tang didn’t tell you to get lost?”
Bishop Meichuan paused slightly, then replied respectfully, “No, he did not.”
Xu Yourong was silent for a moment, then said, “So that’s how it is.”
Bishop Meichuan’s expression shifted subtly.
Xu Yourong explained softly, “If he didn’t tell you to get lost, then he wants you dead.”
Bishop Meichuan’s expression changed.
Xu Yourong shook her head and said, “I think they’re wrong to do this.”
Bishop Meichuan’s tense nerves relaxed a little.
“This is the National Academy, and you are an instructor sent by the Ecclesiastical Office. If they act, they’ll ultimately have no way to explain themselves to the clergy and believers.”
Xu Yourong looked at him calmly and said, “But I don’t need to explain myself.”
Bishop Meichuan’s just-relaxed mind tightened again.
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is, since I don’t need to explain myself, and the Ecclesiastical Office wouldn’t dare demand an explanation from me, then it should be me who kills you.”
Wind blew in from outside the woods, stirring the mountain plum blossoms bearing scattered snow, and rustling her robes.
Her eyes were as serene and distant as ever, showing no negative emotions within, not even murderous intent.
Bishop Meichuan asked with confusion and a glimmer of hope, “You want to kill me?”
“If you were merely an instructor of the National Academy, I wouldn’t interfere. But since you are Melisandre’s nephew, I have no choice but to kill you myself.”
Xu Yourong remained as calm as ever, as if she weren’t talking about killing someone but discussing the Dao interpretations on the Heavenly Book Stele with him.
This calmness, however, filled Bishop Meichuan with unprecedented fear and coldness, to the point that his voice trembled.
If Xu Yourong truly killed him, what could the Ecclesiastical Office, or even the Li Palace and the imperial court, do about it?
Would the Li Palace and the imperial court demand that the Southern Saintess atone for a bishop’s life with her own?
“If you kill me at the National Academy, the great cause of unifying the state religion that you and His Holiness the Pope are pushing forward will suffer greatly.”
Bishop Meichuan’s voice quivered, but his expression was earnest, as if he were genuinely considering her interests.
Xu Yourong’s response was extremely indifferent, which also made it terrifying.
“I don’t care.”
With those words, the Zhai Sword appeared in her hand.
Bishop Meichuan’s pupils contracted sharply. His right hand rose like a drifting cloud to block in front of him, and his figure blurred as he prepared to retreat.
It was too late.
With a soft hiss.
Bishop Meichuan’s right hand fell from his wrist.
The Zhai Sword pierced through his chest.
Amid a buzzing sound, over a dozen clusters of sparks, as faint as wild plum blossoms, drifted from the Zhai Sword.
These were all Heavenly Phoenix True Fire.
All signs of life, upon encountering these faint sparks, were extinguished.
Bishop Meichuan was a Star Gathering Realm expert, but before Xu Yourong, he had no chance of victory, nor could he even block her for a moment.
The gap in their cultivation levels was too vast.
More importantly, until the moment the Zhai Sword brought death upon him, he still couldn’t believe Xu Yourong would kill him.
He wasn’t just himself.
He was an instructor sent by the Ecclesiastical Office.
He represented the collective will of the old faction of the state religion.
He was the hand that Shang Xingzhou had extended toward the National Academy.
Even if you were the Southern Saintess, faced with this hand, shouldn’t you negotiate, make concessions, and ultimately reach a compromise?
Bishop Meichuan found it all absurd. His pale face was filled with disbelief.
He collapsed onto the snowy ground, coughing up blood continuously, until gradually, he had no breath left.
The woods fell silent. From somewhere came a voice filled with complex emotions.
“Even if you killed him, you still need to give a reason.”
Xu Yourong said calmly, “I said I don’t care. I just need people to know that I killed him.”
The person sighed and said, “No wonder you asked me to come here.”
Xu Yourong said, “Yes, I wanted you to see.”
Once she learned of this matter, she decided to kill Bishop Meichuan. That was why she came to the National Academy and arranged to meet the person in the woods.
She just hadn’t expected Chen Changsheng to encounter this person first, which caused a bit more trouble.
“Yes, I saw it.”
A young man walked out of the woods.
He wore royal robes, was handsome and spirited, and carried even more grace and nobility than in years past.
Prince Chenliu.
His father, King Xiang, was the most powerful prince in the Great Zhou imperial court, and his status had become even more special after breaking through to the Divine Realm.
As the only member of the Chen imperial clan remaining in the capital, his position was already unique.
Coupled with rumors of Shang Xingzhou’s admiration for him, Prince Chenliu was undoubtedly the most popular figure in the capital.
But to Xu Yourong, he was still the companion with whom she had studied in the palace over a decade ago.
Prince Chenliu likely saw her the same way.
So, watching her kill Bishop Meichuan, his thoughts didn’t linger on the aftermath but instead turned to her heart.
“I never expected you to care so deeply for Chen Changsheng.”
Prince Chenliu said with emotion, “Back then, I never would have imagined you’d do so much for a man.”
Bishop Meichuan was the hand Shang Xingzhou had extended into the National Academy.
How to handle it? Anyone calm and wise enough knew that this hand had to be severed.
But the relationship between Bishop Meichuan and Melisandre made this matter very complicated.
Shang Xingzhou’s status in the Great Zhou imperial court and the state religion was too high.
For Chen Changsheng to oppose his teacher, aside from his identity as the Pope, he needed to continuously enhance his prestige.
So-called prestige stemmed from cultivation level and strength, but also from reputation.
Under the Li Palace’s promotion and the influence of fervent followers like An Hua, Chen Changsheng’s reputation on the continent had been rising.
This reputation came from the Cinnabar Pill, from the simultaneous release of ten thousand swords on the demon battlefield three years ago, and from that falling stone in White Emperor City.
It was built by Chen Changsheng with his own blood and sweat, his impeccable virtue, and a long period of time.
If he killed Melisandre’s descendant, it would greatly damage his reputation.
In more worldly terms: it would dirty his hands.
Xu Yourong knew Chen Changsheng would be troubled.
She guessed that Tang Thirty-Six wouldn’t let Chen Changsheng face this difficulty.
But Tang Thirty-Six was also a member of the National Academy.
Earlier, while walking by the lake and gazing into the distance from the banyan tree, she had felt a slight regret at not being part of Chen Changsheng’s past.
Now, she thought, this was a good thing.
She wasn’t a member of the National Academy.
She could kill.
A crane’s cry startled the entire National Academy.
Snow on the treetops fell with a rustle.
Dozens of instructors and students walked out of the teaching building, followed the crane’s call, and then entered the woods.
Several cries of surprise rang out from the woods. (To be continued.)