Chapter 21: A Good Person
The King of Linghai and Daoist Siyuan hurried over. Seeing Xu Yourong beside Chen Changsheng, they paused briefly, then revealed expressions of joy.
As representatives of the new faction of the National Religion, they naturally felt very close to Xu Yourong because of her relationship with the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress. However, after bowing in greeting, the joy on their faces quickly faded. They said to Chen Changsheng, "Dean Mao has emerged from seclusion."
During the reign of the previous Pope, at least three of the Wind and Rain obeyed the orders of the Li Palace. Now there were none. Therefore, Mao Qiuyu’s hope of breaking through to a higher realm was extremely significant to the Li Palace—arguably the most important matter for the Li Palace in recent times.
His emergence from seclusion today meant he had successfully broken through and become a powerhouse in the Sacred Domain.
For the National Religion, this was certainly a tremendous blessing.
But the expressions of the King of Linghai and Daoist Siyuan were somewhat grave.
In the past few years, Mao Qiuyu had shown much care to Chen Changsheng and the National Academy. After Chen Changsheng succeeded as Pope and left the capital, Mao Qiuyu became the executor of Chen Changsheng’s will in the capital.
The problem was that Mao Qiuyu was ultimately a member of the old faction of the National Religion. Moreover, now that he had crossed that threshold, he could no longer be treated as ordinary.
During this period, the old and new factions of the National Religion had been fraught with conflict. Just two days ago, Chen Changsheng had returned to the capital and carried out a purge of the Teaching Pivot Office.
What would Mao Qiuyu think when he learned of these matters?
……
……
Winter was about to pass, but the weather hadn’t warmed up; instead, it had grown even colder.
Knife-like winds swept goose-feather snow from the sky, painting over a dozen palaces white.
Xu Yourong said, "Can I meet him first?"
The King of Linghai looked at Chen Changsheng.
He certainly knew the relationship between the Pope and the Saintess, but this matter was too important.
Mao Qiuyu’s successful breakthrough would completely change his status within the National Religion.
If he couldn’t be persuaded by His Holiness the Pope, then today would be the first day of his breakthrough into the Sacred Domain—and it must also be the last.
Looking at Mao Qiuyu through the wind and snow, at his graying hair draped over his shoulders and his two sleeves fluttering in the breeze, Chen Changsheng recalled the first time he had seen him at the Green Vine Banquet back then.
At that time, Mao Qiuyu was the Dean of the Heavenly Dao Academy and also Luo Luo’s first teacher.
Chen Changsheng also remembered many other things—outside the Tomb of Heavenly Books, Mao Qiuyu had wept bitterly while holding Xun Mei’s remains; during the Academy Tournament, Mao Qiuyu had sat silently in a teahouse; when Chen Changsheng went to kill Zhou Tong, Mao Qiuyu’s carriage had appeared outside that courtyard full of crabapple blossoms.
Over the years, Mao Qiuyu hadn’t said much or done much, but he had always stood silently behind Chen Changsheng and the National Academy.
Perhaps it was because of the Pope’s junior uncle, or perhaps because of the entrustment of Archbishop Melisandre.
But regardless of the reason, Mao Qiuyu had been extremely kind to him.
Chen Changsheng reached out to brush away the falling snowflakes before him, also brushing away those superfluous thoughts.
He looked at Xu Yourong and said, "Then you go."
Daoist Siyuan’s expression shifted slightly, but he dared not defy the order. The National Religion’s experts and formations hidden within the wind and snow all withdrew.
……
……
That Daoist hall in the wind and snow remained quiet for a long time.
No one knew how much time had passed before Xu Yourong walked out, smiling slightly at Chen Changsheng.
The King of Linghai and Daoist Siyuan both breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
Xu Yourong departed into the wind and snow, likely having many matters to attend to.
Chen Changsheng walked into the Daoist hall and stood shoulder to shoulder with Mao Qiuyu at the window, gazing out at the Li Palace in the wind and snow.
The Li Palace was very quiet. There were no footprints in the snow, making the figures of the King of Linghai and Daoist Siyuan stand out clearly.
"The people are getting fewer and fewer," Mao Qiuyu said with deep emotion.
Chen Changsheng understood his meaning.
Of the original six giants of the National Religion, Melisandre had left first, followed by Mu Jiushi, whose National Religion techniques were crippled by the previous Pope and who was expelled from the Li Palace. White Stone Daoist was executed in Wenshui, and last night, Archbishop Anlin had also been dismissed in disgrace.
Now, even counting Mao Qiuyu himself and Hu Sanshier, they couldn’t gather enough people to form the Li Palace’s great formation.
Moreover, Mao Qiuyu himself was about to leave this place.
Chen Changsheng said, "My junior uncle asked me to do this, so there are some things that must be done."
"This" referred to wielding the National Religion’s scepter as Pope.
"Some things" referred to what had already happened, such as those departures.
"I heard you said something last night," Mao Qiuyu said.
"You will bear all the sins you should bear?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Yes."
Mao Qiuyu turned to look at his profile and asked, "But who has the right to judge whether you are guilty?"
Chen Changsheng thought for a long time, then gave an answer that surprised Mao Qiuyu.
"Why have you never asked my master and my junior uncle this question?"
He didn’t mention the will of the people, nor history, nor the future of the human race. Instead, he posed a counter-question.
Mao Qiuyu noticed the seriousness in his eyes and the persistence in his expression, and then found that he couldn’t answer this question.
Chen Changsheng hadn’t expected to get an answer either. He continued, "Maybe it’s because I’m relatively young? Tang Thirty-Six once said that youth is correctness. That statement isn’t correct, because correctness has nothing to do with age, so old age doesn’t represent correctness either."
Mao Qiuyu said, "Seeing more and having more experience might help avoid some detours."
Chen Changsheng said, "Between two points, the straight line is the shortest; naturally, it doesn’t bend."
This referred to his sword, which came from Wang Po’s blade.
"Sharpness is certainly important, but governing the world is like cooking a small fish—it cannot be lightly stirred."
Mao Qiuyu looked at him seriously and said, "This is the Way of the previous Pope."
The biggest difference between the previous Pope and the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress and Shang Xingzhou lay here.
He didn’t care about the conflict between the old and new factions of the National Religion, nor about the struggle between the Chen royal family and the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress.
He only supported actions that could stabilize the situation of the world.
Over twenty years ago, Shang Xingzhou plotted rebellion, and the world was on the verge of chaos, so he opposed it.
Twenty years later, the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress refused to return power to the Chen royal family, and the world was bound to fall into chaos, so he opposed it.
Mao Qiuyu looked at the distant figure gradually fading into the wind and snow and said, "What the Saintess is doing will surely throw the world into chaos. If it were the previous Pope, he would have done everything to stop it. But now I choose to look the other way. I truly don’t know if this is right or wrong."
Earlier, when Xu Yourong was persuading him, she had conducted a very complex series of deductions and calculations, then said one sentence.
"Since your sleeves are empty of worldly concerns, why not stand by and watch with folded arms."
"Empty sleeves" was Mao Qiuyu’s Daoist name.
"Actually, I’ve always thought that my junior uncle’s approach back then wasn’t necessarily correct," Chen Changsheng said.
Thinking of that night at the Tomb of Heavenly Books, when the Pope’s junior uncle stood in the stagnant water of the southern city slums, fighting the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress while still remembering to protect those innocent commoners, Chen Changsheng felt both admiration and a complex mix of emotions.
The Pope’s junior uncle was a good person.
But should good people have to work so hard?
Mao Qiuyu knew what he was thinking and earnestly advised, "Your Holiness, we should still strive to be good people."
"There’s no need to strive to be a good person, because I am already a good person."
Chen Changsheng looked at him seriously and said, "I just hope that good people will be rewarded."