Chapter 208: Thank You, You're Welcome
Time seemed to stop at this moment.
The stardust, shattered like snowflakes, floated suspended in the night sky before the Heavenly Book Mound.
Xun Mei and Han Qing gazed at each other in silence.
A snowflake fell from the eaves of the pavilion, landed on Han Qing's armor, quickly melted into water, and then evaporated into vapor.
Time began to move again.
Gou Hanshi's expression shifted slightly. Without hesitation, he released his grip on Chen Changsheng's hand, seized the hilt of the iron ruler sword at Qi Jian's waist, and drew it out like lightning.
Chen Changsheng reacted with equal speed. With a clang, he pulled out Tang Thirty-Six's Wenshui Sword from his side.
The two swords pierced through the fine snow drifting before the youths, crossing in front of them.
A thunderous roar erupted before the sacred path.
Then came countless sharp cracks as countless shards of ice split apart, followed by the howling of wind and snow.
No one knew how long passed before the scene finally fell silent again.
The stardust wasn't real snow, so naturally, no snow had accumulated on the sacred path before the pavilion.
Xun Mei had left dozens of footprints on the sacred path, but snow had gathered in the foremost footprint.
That footprint had originally been wet, carrying clear water from the shallow channel, but now it had frozen into snowy slush.
Starting from the front, those footprints gradually turned white.
Step by step, they became snow, and the footprints grew blurry.
It was as if the person who had walked the sacred path earlier was now retreating.
The footprints kept turning to snow, kept vanishing, kept retreating, all the way back to that line.
Xun Mei's will had withdrawn, returning to his body.
His forward-leaning body, as if struck by a heavy blow, straightened up.
Boom! Xun Mei left the ground, hurtling backward into the night sky. His black hair danced wildly, and the strands of white hidden among it remained striking under the starlight.
But even more vivid was the blood spraying from his mouth.
With a slap, he crashed heavily onto the twisted water channels, splashing up a great spray of water.
Seeing this, Chen Changsheng, ignoring the still-dangerous residual energy, ran over. For some reason, he felt a deep closeness to Xun Mei.
The night sky above the stone platform was as cracked as the ground itself, terrifying. In just a few dozen feet, Chen Changsheng's clothes were sliced into countless fine slits, and white marks appeared on his skin. If he hadn't undergone perfect marrow cleansing, he would have been drenched in blood, perhaps unable even to reach Xun Mei.
The night wind gradually calmed. The snow-like dust all turned into starlight. The Heavenly Book Mound returned to peace. Only then did Gou Hanshi lower the iron ruler sword in his hand.
Earlier, at the final moment, the countless sharp cracks that had filled the scene were the sound of the sharp air currents produced by the collision of the two experts' auras, sweeping in all directions. If Gou Hanshi and Chen Changsheng hadn't reacted quickly, using their swords to resist, the youths would certainly have been injured. Fortunately, though the battle was terrifying, only residual waves of those auras reached them. The iron ruler sword, a ceremonial blade from the Lishan Sword Sect's Discipline Hall and ranked on the Hundred Weapons List, was undamaged. But Gou Hanshi's hand was covered in fine cuts, oozing blood.
He handed the iron ruler sword to Qi Jian and also ran over.
Chen Changsheng had already lifted Xun Mei from the water channel and was taking his pulse.
Xun Mei lay on the ground. The blood sprayed onto his clothes had been washed away by the channel water, and no wounds were visible.
Like Chen Changsheng, Gou Hanshi inexplicably felt close to Xun Mei. When Xun Mei had charged the sacred path earlier, they had silently cheered him on. Naturally, they didn't want anything to happen to him. "How is it?" he asked.
Chen Changsheng withdrew his fingers from Xun Mei's pulse point, was silent for a moment, then shook his head.
The battle between two experts at the upper Star Condensation realm—nearly approaching the Saintly realm—was far more terrifying than the phenomena displayed earlier on the sacred path. Xun Mei had no wounds on the surface of his body, but all the meridians inside were completely severed, and his Nether Palace was destroyed. Though his Sea of Consciousness was intact, there was no possibility of survival.
This was entirely different from Chen Changsheng's own physical condition.
Gou Hanshi was speechless.
Tang Thirty-Six and the others had also arrived by now.
In the pavilion, Divine General Han Qing lowered his head. His aged face was once again covered by his armor, dark and indistinct. Aside from the still-drifting dust, it was as if he had never moved.
No one noticed the faint sigh that seemed to sound there.
"Please, send me out of the mound."
Xun Mei looked at the youths weakly. "I've been stuck here for thirty-seven years. I'm really tired of it. I don't want to die here in the end."
Though weak, his expression was calm. For a cultivator, to seek the Dao and attain it—what regret could there be?
Gou Hanshi thought for a moment and asked, "Is there anything... you want to entrust to us?"
"I still have the strength to speak my last words. There's no rush."
Xun Mei smiled with difficulty, then looked at them seriously. "Thank you, children."
This was already his second earnest thanks.
Zhe Xiu said expressionlessly, "We didn't do anything."
Xun Mei looked at him and said, "I was able to finally know why I would die, all because of your words about dying with clarity. How could I not thank you?"
Chen Changsheng looked at him, wanting to speak but hesitating.
Xun Mei smiled. "Are you going to ask about lodging?"
Chen Changsheng thought, you're about to die—why would I ask about that?
Xun Mei said, "It's just a shabby hut. You can stay if you want. I've been here for thirty-seven years. Every year after the Grand Examination, I always see some children who only come to their senses after sleeping out in the open for days, scrambling to find a place to stay... But I like quiet. You can stay, but no one else."
These words carried a subtle implication, but Chen Changsheng and the others didn't notice it at the time.
Gou Hanshi lifted Xun Mei and placed him on Guan Feibai's back. The youths escorted Xun Mei toward the exit of the Heavenly Book Mound.
For some reason, the stele attendants never appeared.
When they reached the main gate of the Heavenly Book Mound, before Tang Thirty-Six could call out, the stone door slowly opened on its own.
The ground trembled slightly, and the lights outside the mound swayed. The soldiers guarding the mound were already waiting outside.
Xun Mei signaled Guan Feibai to set him down and walked out of the Heavenly Book Mound.
Chen Changsheng and the others watched his back, their emotions extremely complicated.
This former pride of the Heavenly Dao Academy had read the steles in the Heavenly Book Mound for thirty-seven years. Tonight, he could finally leave.
But probably only for tonight.
Xun Mei himself seemed to have no such sentiment. He walked out casually.
Entering the Heavenly Book Mound, leaving the Heavenly Book Mound—thirty-seven years was merely the opening and closing of a stone door. Life and death were also merely an opening and closing.
Outside the Heavenly Book Mound, two people had been waiting for Xun Mei.
Chen Changsheng and the others recognized the Heavenly Dao Academy's Dean Mao Qiuyu. They bowed from within the gate, also curious—who was the other person?
If it were any other time, Mao Qiuyu would have offered a few words of encouragement to young talents like Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi. But now, his eyes held only Xun Mei. He hurried forward two steps, supported Xun Mei, his lips trembling slightly as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing.
Xun Mei forced himself back two steps, bowed, and then said with a trembling voice, "Senior Brother, I've let you down."
Hearing this "Senior Brother," Mao Qiuyu's old tears flowed freely. "Why do this? Why do this?"
Seeing his senior brother cry, Xun Mei could no longer hold back. His eyes moistened. "In the end, I still woke up. That's fortunate enough."
Then he looked at the other person and said, "I never thought you'd be waiting for me outside the mound."
That person's emotions were complex. "I always felt you would leave the mound today, but I didn't expect you to leave like this."
Xun Mei said with some shame, "I've let you down all these years too."
That person's expression suddenly turned stern, disagreeing strongly. "How can you speak of disappointment? In tonight's battle, you turned stars into snow, glimpsing the sacred Dao. If Divine General Han Qing weren't the mound's guardian, if he weren't wearing that armor, he might not have been able to defeat you. In terms of realm and cultivation, you've already surpassed me."
Xun Mei was momentarily stunned, then said with some uncertainty, "Are you saying I've surpassed you?"
That person said, "You know I never speak falsely, not even now."
Xun Mei paused, then said, "From the age of twelve, I fought you one hundred and twenty-seven times and never won. I never thought I'd win one in the end."
After saying this, he laughed joyfully, as happy as an innocent child. The coldness between his brows completely dissipated.
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng and the others finally realized who that person was, and they were greatly surprised.
That person wore a cloth shirt washed extremely clean, but the distance between his brows and eyes was somewhat narrow, giving him a very bitter look. Could he be that person?
Yes, this man, who clearly held half the wealth of the Huai Courtyard yet still seemed utterly destitute, was one of the most famous experts in the world today—Tianliang Wang Po.
Wang Po looked at Xun Mei and said seriously, "In the future, when I cultivate to the Saintly realm, I'll climb to the top of the mound and take a look for you."
Xun Mei laughed. "That would still be you, not me. Are you trying to annoy me even at the end?"
Wang Po said, "Then what should I say at the end?"
Xun Mei was clearly very interested in this question. He asked curiously, "What do you most want to say to me?"
Wang Po thought very seriously for a moment, then said, "Thank you."
When he said thank you, his expression was utterly sincere, without any falsehood or consolation.
Yes, without the brilliant Tianliang Wang Po of those days, why would Xun Mei have trapped himself in the Heavenly Book Mound for thirty-seven years?
Without the tenacious, never-give-up, ever-pursuing Treading Snow Xun Mei, how could there be the Tianliang Wang Po of today?
Xun Mei looked at him quietly and said, "You're welcome."
The stone door slowly closed.
The last image Chen Changsheng and the others saw was Xun Mei closing his eyes in Mao Qiuyu's arms.
Back in the thatched hut, the youths sat on the threshold, stepped on the fence, or gazed at the Heavenly Book Mound, all silent.
Gou Hanshi was the oldest and had the highest cultivation. Logically, he should have said something at this moment, but he didn't.
Winning the Grand Examination and entering the Heavenly Book Mound—this should have been the time for these young people to be at their most spirited. Who would have thought they'd witness something like this on the very first night?
In the future, among them, who would say thank you to whom, and who would say you're welcome to whom?
(My estimate was indeed off. Yesterday I said I'd finish this section I really like in eight thousand words. Today I worked hard and wrote nine thousand five hundred words, but the effect was achieved. I'm very satisfied with this last chapter. My condition is getting better and better. I hope I can maintain it for a longer time.)