Chapter 2: Audience with His Holiness the Pope
The term "traitor" was not quite accurate, or rather, not precise enough. In this story, it would be more fitting to say "spy" or something else entirely—like the words that shattered the crowd's silence next: "Chen Changsheng, you vile fiend! You colluded with the demons to murder the elite of Lishan, and now you've driven Huan Yu to his death!"
"Driven to death? I think some big shots used underhanded means. This is a shameless murder—utterly disgraceful!"
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
After viewing the steles at the Mausoleum of Books, Chen Changsheng was no longer the target of hatred and hostility from all of Kyoto. Many had begun to regard him as the pride of the Great Zhou. Some loudly accused Chen Changsheng, while others defended him even more vehemently. For a time, the main street of Kyoto erupted in fierce arguments, noisy and chaotic.
Chen Changsheng stared at the curtain, listening to the sounds outside the carriage, astonished. On the road, through Hua Jiefu, he had finally learned all the details of what happened outside the Zhou Garden. He had assumed that upon returning to Kyoto, his first task would be to confront Zhuang Huanyu. But Zhuang Huanyu had died last night?
The noise outside the window grew louder. The crowd's disputes became more intense, their words sharper, chaotic and vexing. Chen Changsheng wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing. He bowed his head in silence, his eyelashes trembling slightly, the youthful innocence between his brows nearly gone.
Whether amid cheers of the masses or the pointing fingers of the crowd, under the gaze of countless Kyoto citizens, Chen Changsheng returned to Kyoto. Only when the carriage drove deep into Hundred Flowers Alley did the world outside the window finally grow quieter.
Palace priests from the Li Palace guarded the perimeter of Hundred Flowers Alley, keeping everyone at bay. Chen Changsheng looked at the still-new gate of the National Academy and the old ivy vines above it, feeling the solemn stillness around him, and found it hard to adjust.
He had viewed all the steles of the front mausoleum in a single day, bathed in starlight over Kyoto for one night, and been established as the successor to the Pope. Not much time had passed since then. But after leaving the Mausoleum of Books, he had entered the Zhou Garden, spent days that felt like years in the Sunless Prairie, and then fled across ten thousand li of snowy plains, too busy and too pressed for time to sense these changes. Now, it felt like a lifetime ago.
Many things had changed. The National Academy, once surrounded by furious Kyoto citizens, was now a place ordinary people couldn't approach. Though it had yet to regain its former glory, its atmosphere had been renewed.
Fortunately, many things remained unchanged. Jin Yulu still stood at the gate of the National Academy, his silk robe adorned with coin patterns, as ostentatious and rustic as ever, smooth as water. Xuan Yuan Po remained as mighty and imposing as before, his arms thicker than tree trunks, his embrace always giving Chen Changsheng the illusion of being swallowed whole.
Luo Luo was still Luo Luo. She slipped into his arms like a gentle breeze, wrapped her hands around his neck, rubbed her forehead against his chin, and wore a satisfied smile on her small face.
Standing on the great banyan tree by the lake, Chen Changsheng talked with Luo Luo for a long time. He recounted everything that had happened in the Zhou Garden and the journey south over ten thousand li, sparing no detail for the young girl.
"That girl from the Xiu Ling tribe... is she very beautiful?"
Amid all these events—the grand and turbulent, the conspiracies and assassinations, a single sword spanning ten thousand li, ten thousand swords drawn, an iron blade breaking through wind and rain—Luo Luo only cared about this. She stared at Chen Changsheng with wide eyes, asking curiously.
Chen Changsheng naturally couldn't forget the girl named Chen Chujian, but he suddenly realized he could barely recall her features. For some reason, he felt a chill throughout his body, as if he were losing something.
Luo Luo could sense his emotional shift. She looked at him with sympathy, grabbed his sleeve, and said softly, "Master, don't worry too much. I'll find another way to ask someone to investigate."
The journey from Xunyang City back to Kyoto was long, giving Chen Changsheng plenty of time. Besides sorting through these memories and preparing for matters in Kyoto, he had naturally asked people from the National Church to help track down Miss Chujian's whereabouts. Yet neither the priests in the Li Palace nor those from Hanqiu City could confirm whether such a girl had entered the Zhou Garden as a Tongyou realm cultivator. Thus, they couldn't determine if she had survived.
Hearing Luo Luo's words, Chen Changsheng felt a bit more at ease. The Xiu Ling tribe had close ties with both White Emperor City and the Great Western Continent. Luo Luo's mother was the Grand Princess of the Great Western Continent, and her father was the White Emperor of the demon race. It should be convenient for her to ask someone to investigate.
Luo Luo added, "Zhuang Huanyu is dead."
She had long forgotten that when she studied at the Heavenly Academy, she had once seen that former genius classmate in Dean Mao's garden. She brought it up now only because she worried that Zhuang Huanyu's death might cause trouble for her master.
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, "Mm, I know."
Luo Luo continued, "Master, I went to the imperial palace twice to ask them to release Zhexiu, but I didn't succeed."
Chen Changsheng ruffled her hair and said with a smile, "Blame you for that?"
Luo Luo rubbed against his palm, looking adorably cheeky.
Sunlight fell on the spring lake, reflected back among the branches of the great banyan tree, forming countless shifting patches of light. One landed on Chen Changsheng's face. Luo Luo stared at that patch of light and giggled. She was happy because her master hadn't blamed her or thanked her, and had even imitated her way of speaking to cheer her up.
Next, Chen Changsheng spent half an hour and three large buckets of hot water scrubbing himself clean from head to toe. Then he went with Luo Luo to the Li Palace.
His Holiness the Pope was waiting for him there.
Not in the Hall of Light, but in that quiet side hall.
The light in the hall was faint, with only the tender green of a potted plant leaping into people's eyes. Then, he saw the divine staff casually leaning against the wall, the clear pond, the exquisitely ornate crystal throne, and the indescribably magnificent Yin-Yang Crown upon it. Finally, he saw the old man in hemp robes.
Unlike the fervent, worshipful imaginations of the faithful across the world, the supreme Pope looked like an ordinary old man—even less eye-catching than the divine staff or the crown.
Watching the Pope water the green plant, Chen Changsheng's thoughts were in turmoil. Everyone knew he was the Pope's chosen successor. Some big shots even knew he was the Pope's junior disciple. In other words, he was the Pope's only disciple in this world. But the problem was, he had only met the Pope twice. He truly wasn't familiar with the Pope, let alone close.
The Pope wiped his hands with a handkerchief, turned to him, and said with a smile, "I recall Su Li is fond of fine food. Did you get to eat anything good while following him?"
Though the Pope's expression was kind, his voice gentle—like an elder asking a junior returning from afar, and to avoid making the junior nervous, he started with trivial matters—Chen Changsheng felt as if a mountain spanning heaven and earth was pressing down on him.
From the demon snow plains to Xunyang City, many had tried to kill Su Li. Behind those people stood a towering figure like a deity.
That figure was the Pope.
But Su Li had survived, largely because of Chen Changsheng. So he couldn't help but feel that the Pope's words carried a hidden meaning, and he couldn't help but be nervous.
(This nervousness is probably like the nervousness of meeting one's father-in-law? Two chapters tomorrow.)