Chapter 32: The Morning Light Seen Again
Xu Yourong said, "If he doesn't come, the capital will inevitably fall into chaos. Once internal strife among the human race begins, it will be difficult to quell."
Chen Changsheng said, "Plucking chestnuts from the fire has always been his specialty."
"Power among the human race has long since lost its meaning to him. What he cares about is the bigger picture."
Xu Yourong continued, "Why did he keep retreating in the face of the Li Palace's offensives at Song Mountain Military Prefecture, at Wenshui, at the Southern Stream Sect, and at White Emperor City, until he turned himself into a solitary figure? It wasn't because he harbored goodwill toward you or had compassion for the common people of the world, but because he has a sense of the greater situation."
Chen Changsheng said, "You mean the Northern Expedition?"
Xu Yourong replied, "Exactly. The sole purpose and meaning of his life now is to annihilate the demon race. For that goal, he can sacrifice everything."
Chen Changsheng said, "But that doesn't include himself."
Xu Yourong said, "Yes, because he wants to witness with his own eyes—or rather, witness on behalf of the Taizong Emperor—the day the human army storms Snow Old City."
If ordinary people heard this conversation, they would likely simplistically regard Shang Xingzhou as a saint and naturally see Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng as villains.
But in this story, there are no clear-cut heroes or villains. Right and wrong only exist within the relationship between Shang Xingzhou and Chen Changsheng.
"Yet that day is also something we wish to see."
Chen Changsheng looked at Xu Yourong and reminded her, "Are you saying we can't consider the greater good?"
Xu Yourong said, "Why can't we?"
Chen Changsheng didn't understand, thinking to himself, but that's not who you are.
Xu Yourong smiled radiantly and said, "On this matter, just think of me as a willful little girl."
Chen Changsheng thought she looked very beautiful—more beautiful than anything except in the Garden of Zhou.
But he still pressed on, "Master still won't believe you'd actually let the capital fall into chaos."
Xu Yourong raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "Why?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Because he knows I'll stop you. I can't just stand by and watch the capital descend into chaos, with the people displaced, suffering heavy casualties, and blood flowing like rivers."
The shop fell somewhat quiet. The beef bones in the iron pot had been stewed to tenderness, making a gurgling sound like a cat acting spoiled.
Xu Yourong smiled and said, "The question is, can you stop me?"
With that, she stood up.
Several dozen young girls from the Southern Stream Sect, dressed in white ceremonial robes, filed into the shop.
Xu Yourong spread her arms.
Two young girls picked up hot towels and carefully wiped her hands.
Xu Yourong looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "When I decide to do something, no one can stop me."
Chen Changsheng said, "Even if you're doing this for me?"
Xu Yourong said, "You're only half the reason."
Chen Changsheng said, "The other half is Her Holiness the Saint Empress?"
Xu Yourong said calmly, "Correct. But you cannot stop me. Even if Her Holiness were resurrected, she couldn't stop me from doing this."
With that, she walked out of the shop.
On the street, the old willows sprouted new buds, enjoying the beauty of life in the warm weather.
Xu Yourong gazed at some unknown point in the sky, recalling something Mo Yu had relayed to her.
Back when Chen Changsheng had entered the capital with the marriage contract, and all the important figures who knew about it were concerned, the Heavenly Sea Saint Empress had once said something.
"She can marry whoever she wants, and if she doesn't want to marry, she doesn't have to."
In the Heavenly Sea Saint Empress's view, Xu Yourong would surely act this way, and it could also be understood as the Saint Empress's expectation of her.
Xu Yourong looked at that patch of sky and thought calmly, Your Holiness, you truly understand me best.
...
...
No sooner had Xu Yourong and the young girls of the Southern Stream Sect left than the bamboo curtain at the back of the shop stirred slightly, and Linghai Zhiwang and the others walked over.
Chen Changsheng looked at them and said, "You all heard that."
Linghai Zhiwang and the others had strange expressions on their faces, thinking, aside from witnessing a display of affection, what else had they heard?
This conversation hadn't mentioned love or romance, but anyone could see Xu Yourong's genuine fondness and tenderness for Chen Changsheng from within.
If it were an ordinary girl, wholeheartedly wanting to stand up for her lover, only to have him say he would stop her, she would surely be furious.
But Xu Yourong wasn't. She remained calm, even able to smile. Why was that?
Chen Changsheng looked at them seriously and said, "Because she knows I won't stop her."
Linghai Zhiwang and the others were startled, thinking, if the Daoist Lord doesn't return to the capital, would Her Holiness the Pope really stand by and watch the entire capital sink into blood and fire?
Chen Changsheng recalled his conversation with Gou Hanshi that night and said, "It's not that I can't stop her, but that I trust she won't do it."
Xu Yourong hadn't been angry, presumably because she trusted that he would firmly believe in her.
That final exchange just now was merely a performance.
She could have cleansed her hands with phoenix fire with just a flicker of her divine sense—why bother with that elaborate gesture?
That act was for the eyes of the world, and especially for Shang Xingzhou, far away in Luoyang.
Chen Changsheng walked out of the shop, not noticing the trace of worry on Hu Sanshi'er's face.
...
...
The morning sunlight shone on the not-so-tall stone pillars, casting countless long, thin shadows on the ground, unable to separate the crowd that had come to watch the excitement.
Clerks from the gambling houses kept shouting with paper slips in hand. Out-of-town folks listened curiously, sometimes tempted to pull silver from their robes. The local residents of the capital, who hadn't come in large numbers yet, watched this scene with sympathetic smiles, thinking, in all these years of the Grand Examination, aside from the priests of the Teaching Pivot Office and the National Academy, who had ever won?
The day of the Grand Examination had finally arrived. Young cultivators from all over the continent gathered once again before the Li Palace. The sunlight grew brighter, illuminating their faces more clearly, full of youthful vigor—yet one could no longer see that lonely figure in thin clothing from years past.
Even on such an important day, His Holiness the Pope, Chen Changsheng, still did not appear, remaining in his stone chamber.
Watching the figures of Linghai Zhiwang and the other archbishops, along with that black-clad girl, people felt puzzled but dared not say much.
As the clear and distant sound of bells rang out, the young cultivators walked along the sacred path into the Li Palace, and the Grand Examination officially began.
...
...
While the entire capital's attention was fixed on the Li Palace, a figure appeared before the heavy stone gate of the Mausoleum of Books.
The national religion cavalry, the Imperial Guard, the generals, and the bishops jointly responsible for guarding the Mausoleum of Books—none of them stopped that person.
Because by the time they saw him, he was already inside the Mausoleum of Books.
The man's shoulders drooped, his clothes washed white, looking somewhat shabby, with a sorrowful expression on his face.
More than a scholar, he resembled a bookkeeper.
In fact, he had worked as an accountant for a long time back in the Tang family of Wenshui.
He had also slain several powerful demon warriors on the snowy plains and made quite a name for himself in the Locust Tree Courtyard.
He had faced the bleakest storms in the city of Xunyang and split an iron tree with a single slash in the capital.
He was once on the Unfettered List and now belonged to the ranks of the sacred.
Wang Po had finally appeared.