Chapter 301: If Life Were Only Like First Meeting (12)
That was a dilapidated little temple, severely eroded by wind and rain. Only from the remaining sacrificial beasts on the eaves could one vaguely discern its original scale and purpose.
Standing before the temple in the rain, Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong both said nothing, remaining very quiet.
This was a sacrificial temple.
White grass as the road, leading straight to the sea of stars, a thousand-mile sacrifice.
This ruined sacrificial temple stood by the white grass road, proving that their guess was correct—this road did indeed lead to some tomb. Not all tombs could be called mausoleums. For a thousand years, aside from the three successive emperors of the Great Zhou Dynasty, only one person had dared to call his grave a mausoleum, building it according to that scale, and no one, no matter who, dared to raise any objection.
That person was, of course, the Lone Sovereign of Zhou.
"Is this the legendary First Sacrificial Temple?" Chen Changsheng murmured, gazing at the ruined temple in the night rain.
The three imperial mausoleums of the Great Zhou Dynasty each had their own grandeur, but the First Sacrificial Temple, a thousand miles away, had long been demolished by Her Holiness the Empress at great risk of defying the world's will. She felt that a temple a thousand miles away, aside from supporting a bunch of useless Ministry of Rites officials, had no meaning and was an extreme waste.
This matter, like when she sent Zhou Tong to dismantle the stele hut at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, was done with the same clean efficiency—very reasonable, yet very unreasonable.
This dilapidated little temple was probably the only First Sacrificial Temple left on the entire continent.
The night rain continued to fall, growing heavier. The ball of light on the distant grassland surface had long vanished without a trace, and heaven and earth were shrouded in darkness.
Chen Changsheng carried Xu Yourong on his back, standing in the rain without entering the temple to take shelter. For some reason, they did not.
In the past, there must have been many remarkable human cultivators or demon clan experts who, like them, had found this white grass road and seen this temple.
Then, those people had continued onward toward that tomb.
In the end, they all died.
He asked, "Can we turn back?"
"No, this is a road from which there is no return." Xu Yourong shook her head.
During the two previous times Chen Changsheng had fallen asleep, she had used the Fate Star Disk to perform divinations. The results were very unfavorable. Though she couldn't calculate her own fate precisely, his destiny remained bleak, and if they stopped moving forward and turned back, they would surely become lost in this grassland.
They could only go forward. Would they then meet the same end as those before them?
Before the temple, there was no sound except the pattering of rain.
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong's expressions gradually grew calm, their gazes gradually became tranquil, and they regained their composure.
Without asking or answering, without looking at each other, not knowing what the other was thinking, they both firmly believed that they would be different from those who had come before.
...
...
Rainwater fell from the eaves, splashing into flower shapes on the broken stone steps, only to be swallowed by more rain before they could bloom. Inside the temple, a fire was burning. The wooden divine statue, which had sat for who knows how many centuries, had been split into firewood and gave off a strong smell when burned. Chen Changsheng crouched by the fire, constantly pulling out wet kindling while using a candlestick stand to turn a few root tubers in the flames.
Xu Yourong leaned against a pile of grass, her face slightly pale, looking very weak. Given her injuries and the loss of her true blood, it was already a miracle that she had held on this long, even winning several fierce battles along the way.
The few root tubers—some kind of wild grass—were roasted, giving off a faint fragrance. Chen Changsheng picked them out from the ashes, peeled off the skins, and walked over to her. Xu Yourong took them, tore them apart with her hands, and ate slowly. Chen Changsheng watched her quietly. Until now, he still didn't know how she had saved him that night, because she had never spoken of it. But along this journey, he had witnessed with his own eyes her indescribably powerful strength. He always thought that if it weren't for him, or perhaps from the very beginning, she might have already been able to leave safely.
Xu Yourong indeed had never spoken of those matters, because she had her own pride, and she believed that this young man from the Snow Mountain Sect had also saved her, so they were even.
Before long, she finished eating. Chen Changsheng handed her a damp handkerchief, then began to eat himself.
Xu Yourong took the wet handkerchief, gently wiped the corners of her mouth, and quietly watched him sitting by the fire, saying nothing.
Along the way, for various reasons, they rarely spoke, but they did many things for each other.
Living and dying together, never abandoning or forsaking each other—these most brilliant and deeply entangled words in the world were simply and casually fulfilled by her and him.
May the holy light be with you.
Looking at his clear eyes that could reflect the campfire, she said in her heart.
Then she said to him, "You are a good person."
She said this very calmly, but also very seriously.
Chen Changsheng looked at her, smiled, and said, "So are you."
Then he suddenly remembered something and said somewhat apologetically, "I'm sorry, I only now ask—may I know your name, miss?"
Xu Yourong smiled and said, "And you?"
It was truly interesting—the two of them still didn't know each other's names, who the other really was.
The rain continued to fall, with no sign of stopping. No stars could be seen in the Zhou Garden either. Yet looking into her eyes, Chen Changsheng felt as if he could already see the night sky of Xining Town after the rain—no trace of mist, spotlessly clean, yet made incomparably bright by the stars in the sky, so bright it was a little unsettling, so much so that he simply couldn't lie while looking into those eyes.
Xu Yourong was also looking into his eyes. Those eyes were very clean and clear; she could see herself distinctly in them. Faced with such eyes, it seemed one could only give an honest answer.
The eyes are the windows to the soul. This was a famous saying, but because it appeared too many times in the world, unless one was a child just beginning enlightenment, no one was willing to say it, and most of the time it wasn't remembered. But at this moment, looking into each other's eyes, they both recalled this saying.
The feeling of being surrounded by the crowd in Wenshui City wasn't good. Once the other knew he was Chen Changsheng, they probably wouldn't be as calm and casual as they had been along this journey.
Having lived a life in the spotlight since childhood, whether in the capital or the south, she was the center of all gazes, the object of everyone's admiration. She didn't like this kind of life, nor did she want, after the other knew she was Xu Yourong, for his gaze to suddenly become fervent and his words and actions to become restrained and dull, like other young men.
But looking into each other's eyes, they decided to reveal their true identities, because this represented respect.
However, just as their lips moved and their names were about to slip out, they once again... changed their minds.
Because they both had a marriage contract known throughout the world. If this white-clothed girl from the Xiu Ling tribe knew he was Chen Changsheng, she would know he had a fiancée named Xu Yourong. If this hidden disciple of the Snow Mountain Sect knew she was Xu Yourong, he would know she had a fiancé named Chen Changsheng.
Neither of them liked that marriage contract; both wanted to break it off. But he didn't want her to know about it, and she didn't want him to know about it either.
This emotion was very complex; this thought was very simple. Because no matter how remarkable they were, he was still a young man, and she was still a young girl.
So, they made the same decision. Until many years later, what happened in that ruined temple in the night rain still had no answer. No one knew what reasons led them to make this decision, and even they themselves never told each other what they were thinking at the time.
Xu Yourong's smile gradually faded, becoming very calm.
Chen Changsheng's smile gradually calmed, not wanting to reveal any flaws.
Their voices sounded at the same time.
"Snow Mountain Sect, Xu Sheng."
"Xiu Ling tribe, Chen Chujian."
...
...
The night temple was very quiet, with only the sound of falling rain—not annoying, but adding to the stillness.
Before waking up in the cliff cave, Chen Changsheng had vaguely heard the voice of that old monster and knew that because of the black dragon, the other had mistaken him for a hidden disciple of the Snow Mountain Sect, and also knew that the girl was from the Xiu Ling tribe. He didn't want to admit his identity, so he went along with the mistake, not knowing that Xu Yourong was thinking the same way.
Her voice was very soft, the tip of her tongue slightly curled, the ending sounds gently drawn out. Even when saying her own name, it sounded a bit hesitant. When it reached his ears, he found it pleasant to hear—the voice was nice, and the name was nice too. Surname Chen was good, and being called Chujian was also good. Wasn't there a saying? If life were only like first meeting? He looked at her slightly swollen but still beautiful face, thinking of the days before by the green grass pile, when she covered her cheeks with her hands—such an adorable image. He thought to himself, if life could be like this girl named Chujian, that would indeed be quite good.
Xu Yourong's thoughts were simpler. Knowing that this young man also had the surname Xu, she thought that when she first saw him unconscious, she had felt a sense of familiarity and wanted to get close—could this be the reason?
After exchanging names, what to do next? The rain temple fell silent again.
"One round?" Xu Yourong produced a chessboard from somewhere and invited him.
Looking at the chessboard, he knew that she, like him, was hiding many secrets, and couldn't help but smile.
Xu Yourong also smiled without speaking. They both knew the other was not ordinary, but why talk about those dull and uninteresting matters? If they couldn't leave this Zhou Garden, what did those worldly affairs matter? Yes, besides life and death, nothing was more important than enjoying life. But the important thing was...
"I don't know how to play chess," he said somewhat sheepishly. Seeing her slightly disappointed expression, he added, "Or maybe play something else?"
Xu Yourong thought that if they wanted to play dominoes, they were short two people; if they wanted to play Yangzhou paper cards, they were short even more. With only two people, if not chess, what could they do?
The long night stretched on, the cold rain was dreary—not a good time for sleeping. Besides, along this journey, she had already slept enough.
So there was only idle chat, and it wouldn't consume mental or physical energy.
But they were on the run, not on a blind date, so naturally they wouldn't delve into too deep questions—like how many people are in your family? Are your parents well? How old are you this year? Why are your eyes so beautiful? Is there residual Xuan Shuang Dragon blood in your body? Are you betrothed?
This was, in the truest sense, their first real conversation. They were cultivators, not very familiar with each other, so they could only talk about cultivation.
Here, cultivation meant actual cultivation, not that sour talk about life being a kind of cultivation.
The campfire in the rain temple illuminated the faces of this young man and woman. At this moment, they had no idea what the other meant for their lives.
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(The "If Life Were Only Like First Meeting" segment ends here. Originally planned for eleven chapters, like a rose, to make it wholehearted... but it ended up at twelve chapters. This seems to say something, wahahaha. What ends is the first half of the plot; the second half begins immediately. This entire segment is the part I liked most and looked forward to most before starting to write "Ze Tian Ji." Without exaggeration, at least half of the purpose of the previous 800,000 words was to lay the groundwork for this segment. So I wrote very slowly, very seriously. Regardless of the final result, I am very satisfied with it. Next, it won't be "first meeting" anymore, but the stage where they truly see each other. Finally, please trouble yourself to cast a recommendation vote. Thank you.)