Chapter 1136: Luoyang
Liang Wangsun would not participate in this war, at least not at the very beginning, but he had to make his stance clear, so he left behind a single sentence and a name.
That name represented half the wealth of the Liang Estate and Liang Hongzhuang, a master of the Star Gathering Realm.
Liang Wangsun had already obtained the military appointment through Mo Yu. The place Liang Hongzhuang was to go was Yonglan Pass. He would surely become a general, and on the battlefield, he would be stationed in relatively safe locations, but generals die in battle a hundred times over, let alone this war, which was destined to be a protracted conflict lasting years. Who could guarantee they would return alive?
Moreover, Liang Hongzhuang knew his own temperament and was certain that once he went, it would be difficult to come back alive.
This was what it meant to face death. Yet before that, there were still some unfulfilled wishes, such as the fact that certain people were still alive.
Over the years, he had developed an excellent relationship with the City Lord of Xunyang, the Archbishop, and others.
Although his relationship with Liang Wangsun was quite ordinary, he was still a member of the Liang Estate, so the big shots in Xunyang City always gave him some face.
All of this was for today.
Liang Hongzhuang had already prepared himself to kill all these people tonight.
He knew their preferences and had made ample arrangements with the ox candles, painted screens, red lanterns, and food.
Not to mention the several assassins he had hired at great expense from the former Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, hidden in the night.
When she saw the red lanterns, Xu Yourong sensed that fleeting moment of killing intent, which was why she furrowed her brow slightly.
In the end, Liang Hongzhuang changed his mind. Even long afterward, no one knew why, and it was impossible to know.
In the coming summer, there would be a breakout battle on the grasslands, and he would die beneath the steel hammer of the Ninth Demon General.
……
……
Sitting at the table, looking at his own face in the mirror, Chen Changsheng thought about the story Liang Hongzhuang hadn't finished and sighed.
A rustling sound came from behind him. He turned his head and saw a graceful figure within the gauze curtain, faintly visible patterns of pale flowers on white undergarments.
He quickly walked over and tidied up the bedding on the floor so it wouldn't be in the way.
Xu Yourong got out of bed, washed up briefly, threw on a thin robe without fastening the buttons, and walked to the window, pushing it open with both hands.
The morning breeze entered through the window, landing on her face, stirring her slightly damp black hair.
Spring light also entered the room.
The room was full of spring.
Seeing this scene, Chen Changsheng naturally thought back to many years ago.
It was in this very inn, on another day of bright spring light.
He had shouted to the entire city of Xunyang, "The Little Master of Li Mountain, Su Li, is here!"
Wind and rain had suddenly arrived, followed by a series of bloody battles.
Today, he didn't need to shout that sentence, and being with Xu Yourong was certainly far more pleasant than being with Su Li.
The most important difference was that back then, the human race was divided—whether between the old and new factions of the State Church, or between the Holy Empress of the Heavenly Sea and the Chen imperial clan. The biggest rift of all was between the north and south. Even a benevolent figure like the Pope was solely focused on wanting to kill Su Li, let alone others.
Now, it was completely different.
Luoyang had voluntarily sent the Fire Cloud Qilin to Cong Province, and Xue He remained silent.
The Liang Estate had moved away entirely but left behind half its wealth. Liang Hongzhuang ultimately didn't kill anyone and went directly to Yonglan Pass.
Hatred still existed, cracks still remained, but they were no longer significant.
Now, the human race was united as never before.
Everyone knew that the Great Zhou Dynasty was about to launch a northern expedition—after centuries, the human race would once again attack the demon race. This time, the goal was very clear: to complete the great undertaking that Emperor Taizong's generation had failed to achieve, to conquer Snow Old City, to thoroughly defeat the enemy, and then subjugate them.
In the face of such a war, nothing else mattered, whether it was personal grudges from a thousand years ago or conflicts of ideology.
For generations to come, this was how it would be.
Xu Yourong didn't turn around. Squinting her eyes, she looked at the spring light in Xunyang City, like a rabbit that had just woken up, somewhat adorable.
"You stayed in White Emperor City for so long. How did the negotiations actually go?"
Last winter solstice, the State Church delegation left the capital and traveled tens of thousands of miles to the demon domain. Pope Chen Changsheng was among them.
It wasn't until the day before yesterday, when spring was already deep and Xiao Zhang was about to return, that Chen Changsheng left on a white crane.
More than a hundred days had passed in between.
Chen Changsheng said, "Although there are precedents for everything, it's been centuries since the last time. Getting the White Emperor to agree to a joint army wasn't difficult, but the details were very troublesome."
Xu Yourong said, "It seems it was even harder than fishing on the Red River."
When she said this, there was no expression on her face.
But everyone knew what emotion she was trying to convey.
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng was momentarily stunned. He vaguely understood why she had been so cold from the night before last until today, but he didn't know how to explain.
The next moment, he suddenly remembered Tang Thirty-Six's advice. His expression changed slightly as he shouted, "Look, there's a kite in the sky."
Xu Yourong raised an eyebrow slightly and looked out the window at the sky. The azure sky was clear, with nothing else.
Chen Changsheng quickly stepped forward, embraced her from behind, wrapping his arms around her, fitting perfectly.
"I'm not letting go."
"The entire continent is so united; how can we be divided?"
"The merging of north and south, the unity of court and church—it all depends on us."
"Just give in."
"Or, I'll give in to you."
Xu Yourong raised an eyebrow slightly but said nothing.
This should have been an emotion of disgust, but under the light of spring, why did it seem infinitely shy?
……
……
Morning drizzle, revisiting this old place, a person alone, hiding.
More than ten miles away, looking at the capital from afar, the convoy split into two columns: one following the Luo River to the capital, the other heading into the distance.
The distance from the capital was not another place on the continent, but Luoyang—this was a rather poetic way of putting it.
Many years ago, when he left Xining Town for the capital, Chen Changsheng had passed through Luoyang, but he hadn't entered the city at that time.
Living in Luoyang was not easy; the inns there were notoriously expensive.
This was Chen Changsheng's first time entering Luoyang, and also his first time stepping into Changchun Temple.
This was the first time in ten years he had seen his master, Shang Xingzhou.
Back then, after the battle at the National Academy, Shang Xingzhou had retreated to Luoyang and lived in Changchun Temple without leaving. Ten years had passed since then.
The past was gone, but it was not like the wind. The human race was now incredibly united, but there were always some cracks, spanning certain people and events.
The deepest and most important crack was naturally between Chen Changsheng and Shang Xingzhou.
Shang Xingzhou had not involved himself in political affairs for many years, but as long as he lived, he represented a faction, or rather, many beliefs.
The Daoists of Changchun Temple did not obstruct him. They calmly submitted Chen Changsheng's request for an audience.
So even though their temple master had been killed ten years ago by Liu Qing, whom Chen Changsheng had brought, they still maintained courtesy toward Chen Changsheng, without any hatred.
This kind of existence without emotion, or rather without subjective consciousness, was truly terrifying.
Only such Daoists could probably have forced Xiao Zhang into the snowy plains, right?
Chen Changsheng thought silently, and then he received a response from within the temple.
A little Daoist boy, six or seven years old, ran out of Changchun Temple, panting, and said, "The Old Ancestor said he won't see guests today!"
Chen Changsheng reached out and pinched the little Daoist's snow-white, rosy cheek, smiling as he said, "Tell the Old Ancestor, this is about White Emperor City."
No one blocked his path anymore. It seemed this sentence really meant something to Shang Xingzhou.
Changchun Temple was filled with fields everywhere.
The fields were not planted with rice. The pine trees on the ridges were beautiful, but that didn't mean the fields were planted with scenery.
A faint aura enveloped the early spring fields. The dozens of acres of temple land were all planted with medicinal herbs.
Led by the little Daoist, Chen Changsheng walked to this medicinal field, picked up the hoe on the ridge, and began weeding and moving leaves.
……
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(No update tomorrow.)