Chapter 200: The Tourist
Wearing an old suit of armor, covered in dust, he had sat guarding the Book Mound for several hundred years.
Chen Changsheng gazed from afar at that pavilion, at the legendary divine general beneath it, and remained silent.
Occasionally, mountain winds rose, carrying mist from the waterfall that drifted into the pavilion and settled on the worn armor. The wind could not wash away the dust on the armor; instead, it might only cause it to rust faster. The figure in the armor did not move, sitting on the stone, head bowed, leaning on a sword, as if asleep.
For centuries, Han Qing, the continent’s foremost divine general, had served as the guardian of the Heavenly Book Mound. Without a doubt, this was a great honor. Yet, whether in wind or rain, snow or shine, to sit day and night before the mound until he himself became part of it—what a lonely life that must be!
Seeing this scene, Chen Changsheng naturally thought of Jin Yulu. After the gate of the National Academy was broken, Jin Yulu sat on a bamboo chair, becoming the gate himself. But compared to the legendary divine general beneath the pavilion, his sitting posture was quite different. Then he recalled the great battle centuries ago and wondered if Jin Yulu might actually know this man.
He did not leave, nor did he approach. Standing across a dozen shallow water channels, he quietly watched the pavilion for a long time. After all, he was just a fifteen-year-old youth. Occasional sighs and complex emotions drifting through his heart would not last long; more than anything, he felt awe and shock.
After an unknown length of time, he bowed respectfully toward the pavilion, then turned and left, continuing to wander through the scenery around the Heavenly Book Mound.
The scenery within the academy was actually more beautiful than that of the Heavenly Book Mound, but that beauty always carried a sense of isolation and falseness. Perhaps it was because the azure sky and pure white clouds were too perfect. Looking at them for too long easily grew cloying, stirring a desire to escape.
Standing by the railing at the top of the main hall, Luo Luo gazed at the distant clouds, as fine as silk. A trace of distaste flickered across her pretty face. “Why can’t I go to the Heavenly Book Mound?”
Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six had gone to the Heavenly Book Mound. After leaving the palace, Jin Yulu came to the academy to see her. Hearing this, he said with a troubled expression, “Your Highness, of course you can enter the Heavenly Book Mound. Whenever you wish, you may enter. But not now, because… didn’t you have no results in the Grand Examination?”
“Then why can Zhe Xiu go?” Luo Luo turned to ask.
“Wofu Zhe Xiu is just a lonely wandering soul.” Jin Yulu looked at her, his expression serious. “The Zhou Dynasty places the highest value on military merit, so from the Empress Dowager to the Star Plucking Academy, everyone treats him well. But he is still a lonely wandering soul. Humans won’t be too wary of him, nor will they pay him too much attention.”
“I hope Teacher can help this poor child,” Luo Luo said with a hint of pity. She was younger than Zhe Xiu, but as the princess of the demon race, all demon youths were children in her eyes. Zhe Xiu’s background and bloodline moved her to sympathy, and she truly hoped Chen Changsheng could help him.
Jin Yulu sighed. “Wofu Zhe Xiu’s problem is far more troublesome than Your Highness’s. If it weren’t so hard to resolve, your mother would have long sent someone to bring him back to White Emperor City. How could he have wandered the Snow Plains for so many years, surviving by hunting those lone demons?”
Luo Luo knew Jin Yulu spoke the truth and sighed softly. Changing the subject, she asked, “If the Heavenly Book Mound is inconvenient, what about the Zhou Garden?”
Only those who had reached the Penetrating Obscurity realm could enter the Zhou Garden, but she believed she could break through within a month, even without viewing the steles at the Heavenly Book Mound.
“Even if Your Highness truly breaks through, His Majesty will not allow you to enter the Zhou Garden,” Jin Yulu said. “And even if His Majesty tacitly agrees, the two saints here in the capital will not let you take the risk.”
On the stone steps before the Teaching Pivot Office, priests and officials bustled about, going up and down like ants foraging for food. The sky was dimming, and the slanting sunlight stretched their shadows long across the steps, as if fire had ignited there, with people passing through it.
In the deepest part of the building, in a room full of plum blossoms, Bishop Merisa opened his eyes and asked wearily, “What is that child doing?”
Priest Xin hesitated beside him, holding back for a long time before finally saying, “He… is wandering around, as if sightseeing.”
“Sightseeing?”
Merisa looked out the window at the burning sunset clouds. His murky eyes were washed a bit clearer by the brilliant light. With a slightly puzzled expression, he asked, “So from dawn until now, that’s all he’s done?”
“Yes,” Priest Xin replied nervously, lowering his voice. “He has already circled the entire Heavenly Book Mound.”
Merisa frowned slightly. The room fell into utter silence, and the atmosphere grew oppressively tense.
Just as Priest Xin expected an outburst of anger, he heard a laugh.
The old man’s laugh was a bit hoarse, but it was clearly one of genuine joy, with no other emotion.
“At the Heavenly Book Mound, he doesn’t look at the Heavenly Books but only at the scenery?”
Merisa gripped the armrest of his chair and slowly stood up. Supported by Priest Xin, he walked to the window and looked south toward the Green Hill, which seemed to burn in the twilight. He shook his head with a smile and fell silent for a long time before speaking slowly, “I’m curious—what exactly does he intend to do?”
In a side hall of the Daming Palace, Mo Yu set down the memorial she had just finished reviewing. Rubbing her tired brow, she looked at the setting sun before the hall. Remembering that today was the first day the Grand Examination candidates entered the Heavenly Book Mound to view the steles, she turned to the female official beside her and asked, “How is it going?”
The female official reported the process of the young candidates leaving the palace and entering the Heavenly Book Mound, covering the details appropriately without missing anything important.
But Mo Yu felt something was missing. Frowning slightly, she asked, “What did Chen Changsheng do? Which stele did he see?”
The female official hadn’t expected Mo Yu to care about a single candidate. After a brief pause, she quickly retrieved the records and presented them.
Mo Yu flipped through the records and glanced at them casually. Her expression changed abruptly. Her slender brows arched, and a frosty air settled over her face. “This guy, what exactly does he want to do? At such a critical moment, he’s still wasting time!”
Similar intelligence had been delivered to the Tianhai family by noon.
Among the six giants of the state religion, the three Saint Archbishops remaining in the capital sat in the main hall of the detached palace, looking at the news from the Heavenly Book Mound, completely at a loss for words.
Today, the entire capital was watching Chen Changsheng’s movements at the Heavenly Book Mound. He was the top scholar of this year’s Grand Examination, so young and already at the Penetrating Obscurity realm. Moreover, the Pope had twice expressed goodwill and care for this youth through some method. People were eager to know if his stele viewing and enlightenment at the Heavenly Book Mound would once again bring shock.
Chen Changsheng did it. He shocked the capital again.
For an entire day, he did nothing. Stele viewing and enlightenment? He didn’t look at a single stele. He didn’t even truly step into the Heavenly Book Mound. He just circled it once, looked at a lot of scenery, and spaced out a lot, like a real tourist—the most leisurely kind of tourist.
…