Chapter 15: Eating, Drinking, Whoring, Gambling, Birth, Aging, Sickness, Death
Zhou Ziheng stood in place, somewhat slow to react.
He had originally thought that the National Teaching Academy would continue as in previous days, finding ways to stall, then figuring out how to face his challenge—for instance, the academy might invite Her Highness Luoluo out of the Detached Palace, in which case he would naturally have to concede or avoid battle. The Tianhai family had prepared contingencies for this: if the academy truly brought out Her Highness Luoluo, they would certainly use it to stir up even greater waves. But what he never expected was that Chen Changsheng would actually agree.
Only after a moment did he truly come to his senses. Looking at Chen Changsheng with a grave expression, he asked, "Who will fight for the National Teaching Academy?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Me."
When he uttered the word "me," there was no pause, nor any hesitation. It seemed utterly natural and taken for granted.
Yes, he was the dean of the National Teaching Academy. When the academy was challenged, it was only right that he should face it.
Zhou Ziheng suddenly noticed that Chen Changsheng today seemed different from two days ago, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed.
"Very well." He looked at Chen Changsheng and asked, "Since the time is set, does any place suit you?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "According to the detailed rules in the two Holy Hall Archbishops' proposal, since we of the National Teaching Academy set the time, the location is naturally determined by the Ancestral Temple."
Zhou Ziheng glanced at the dense crowd outside Baihua Lane and said expressionlessly, "Since so many people have already gathered, let's settle it right here."
Chen Changsheng nodded in agreement. Spotting the soy milk and fried dough sticks that Tang Thirty-Six had somehow bought, he shook his head helplessly and said, "Is eating and drinking really that important?"
Tang Thirty-Six said, "Eating and drinking are not life and death; they are above life and death."
The gate of the National Teaching Academy closed again, but this time it was entirely different from the isolation of previous days. Everyone knew that tomorrow, this tightly shut door would open once more.
The commotion outside Baihua Lane continued unabated, and with it, the entire capital stirred.
The Ancestral Temple challenging the National Teaching Academy—this would be the first battle of the Academies' Martial Exhibition.
It had nothing to do with the profound significance of the new national teaching regulations for humanity's struggle against the demons. People understood clearly that this represented the forces of the Tianhai family and the new faction of the national religion finally making their voice heard to the Detached Palace.
It didn't take long for the news to spread throughout the capital. Soon, many laborers arrived with various construction materials, and in no time, a simple awning took shape. Then, dozens of carriages came to the outside of Baihua Lane. Many people alighted: painters, storytellers, merchants, and guest experts from the Four Great Houses.
Yes, these people, who reacted even faster than the Capital Prefecture, all came from the famous Four Great Houses of the capital.
The Four Great Houses did business in everything: eateries, taverns, brothels, grain, luxury goods, textiles. But the most profitable business was always the gambling houses.
Every year during the Grand Examination, the Four Great Houses made the most money. How could they miss such a naturally perfect betting opportunity as the Academies' Martial Exhibition? In fact, many suspected that the Detached Palace had managed to push through the two Holy Hall Archbishops' proposal so quickly, despite opposition from the Ecclesiastical Office, precisely because the behind-the-scenes backers of the Four Great Houses had secretly driven it.
Of course, while Baihua Lane became bustling, the people from the Four Great Houses dared not disturb the tranquility of the National Teaching Academy. Businessmen were businessmen after all.
What happened next was somewhat unexpected.
A steward from Tianxiang House, seemingly ignoring the wary glances of the Detached Palace priests and the Imperial Guard, leisurely walked up to the gate of the National Teaching Academy. Watching this scene, people were puzzled, wondering what this steward intended to do. After all, Tianxiang House was the weakest among the Four Great Houses, always ranked last. During this year's Grand Examination, upsets had come one after another, and Chen Changsheng's unbelievable capture of the top spot had caused Tianxiang House heavy losses. Rumors even circulated that Tianxiang House might change hands. Where did this steward get his confidence?
An even more surprising thing happened: the gate of the National Teaching Academy actually opened, and the steward walked right in.
"You're saying… Tianxiang House is a property of your Tang family?"
Chen Changsheng looked at the steward, who stood before Tang Thirty-Six with an extremely humble demeanor, and asked in astonishment, "Why have I never heard of this?"
Tang Thirty-Six said, "It was only settled after the Grand Examination."
Chen Changsheng said, "I've heard that the Four Great Houses of the capital all have deep backgrounds, and one of them is even said to be a property of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. Why would the former owner of Tianxiang House be willing to sell?"
Everyone knew that the Tang family of Wenshui was the wealthiest family in the world. The problem was that the relationship between the Tianhai family and the Tang family had always been somewhat strained. Over the years, the Tianhai family had secretly prevented the Tang family's influence from entering the capital. If Tianxiang House truly belonged to the Tang family, all of the Tianhai family's efforts would be in vain. So he couldn't understand how the Tang family had managed it.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and smiled, offering no explanation.
Chen Changsheng found it somewhat baffling.
The steward looked at Chen Changsheng with a strange expression, thinking to himself, "If it weren't for the Wenshui Tang family placing such heavy bets on you during the Grand Examination, how would Tianxiang House have lost so badly that it had to be sold?" Naturally, he dared not say these words aloud. Looking at Tang Thirty-Six for instructions, he said, "Young Master, according to family rules, the money in the house cannot be touched. I can only stake your personal savings."
Tang Thirty-Six calculated the amount and realized that even if he won, it wouldn't be enough to buy Cheng Lake Tower. He turned to Chen Changsheng and Xuan Yuan Po and said, "How much money do you two have? Give it all to me."
When he borrowed money from others, he naturally didn't need to write any IOUs or such things. As for what he planned to use the money for, he couldn't be bothered to explain. Borrowing money from someone was, in his view, doing them a favor.
Unfortunately, his two classmates at the National Teaching Academy were truly disappointing in this regard.
Xuan Yuan Po rummaged through boxes and chests, finding about seventy taels of silver.
Chen Changsheng was even worse off. He searched his entire person and couldn't find even a scrap of paper.
Tang Thirty-Six felt sympathy for Xuan Yuan Po but was furious with Chen Changsheng. "What about the banknotes I gave you? What about the treasures Her Highness Luoluo gave you? After the Grand Examination, the National Teaching Academy received so many gift lists—where did everything go?"
Chen Changsheng looked a bit embarrassed and said, "Those… were all left in the Zhou Garden."
Tang Thirty-Six knew very well how much property Chen Changsheng had before entering the Zhou Garden. Not to mention the boxes of banknotes, even he was somewhat envious of the treasures Luoluo had given him. And yet… he had lost them all. Thinking that the Zhou Garden had now collapsed and those goods could never be recovered, he felt even more pained. Looking at Chen Changsheng angrily, he said, "You really are a wastrel."
Chen Changsheng, thinking of the boxes and books deep in the lake of the Zhou Garden, also felt a deep regret. He thought to himself that he had to find a way to retrieve them. In the past two days, he had tried several times, but after his spiritual sense passed through that ocean of sword intent, it still couldn't penetrate the phantom of that black stone tablet. Finding a way back to the Zhou Garden seemed destined to be a very long process.
Xuan Yuan Po suddenly thought of a question. Glancing at the Tianxiang House steward who was counting the silver, he asked Tang Thirty-Six, "You want the money to gamble?"
Tang Thirty-Six said, "What else? To go whoring?"
Xuan Yuan Po shook his head and said, "Our tribe says humans are the most cunning. I can't gamble with you. I'd rather keep it and do some small business."
With that, he prepared to take back his silver.
"What a stupid bear," Tang Thirty-Six said irritably. "In just two days, one tael of silver will become eleven taels. What business is more worthwhile than this?"
Xuan Yuan Po stopped in his tracks, somewhat surprised, and asked, "How can the odds be so high?"
The demon race didn't like gambling with humans, but that didn't mean they didn't gamble at all. Even the most simple-minded bear-tribe youth understood the concept of odds.
Tang Thirty-Six said, "The odds just calculated by the Four Great Houses: the highest is one to eleven, the lowest is one to nine."
Xuan Yuan Po suddenly felt something was off and asked uncertainly, "Are you talking about us winning?"
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him like he was an idiot. "Zhou Ziheng is in the Star Gathering realm, Chen Changsheng is in the Penetrating Obscurity realm. Do you think the Four Great Houses would offer one-to-eleven odds on Zhou Ziheng?"
Xuan Yuan Po was shocked and shouted, "You want to use my money to bet on Chen Changsheng?"
He knew that among those dozens of taels of silver, besides the subsidies from the Ecclesiastical Office, the rest were hard-earned money he had saved from washing dishes at the night market. How could he bear to let it all go to waste?
Tang Thirty-Six sneered at him and said, "You need to understand: if you don't bet on him, he'll use his authority as dean to make things hard for you, and then complain to Her Highness Luoluo about you. What will you do then?"
Xuan Yuan Po sighed helplessly, feeling deeply distressed.
The room was filled with plum blossoms, still in full bloom, as if between a few simple walls, there truly existed the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
Unfortunately, human life could never possess such beautiful and miraculous scenes. Once it entered the harsh winter, it could never return to spring.
Melissa's illness was already very severe. All the affairs of the Ecclesiastical Office had been handed over to his subordinates, and some matters were transferred to Mao Qiuyu.
In truth, he knew very well that he wasn't sick—he was just old.
If it were an illness, it could be treated, especially since he was the one ill. If he were willing, the entire faculty and student body of the Azure Thirteen Divisions would come to perform the Holy Light Technique on him.
No one could cure old age. Not the Azure Thirteen Divisions, not the Holy Maiden, not even His Holiness the Pope.
As one's years wane and they are about to return to the sea of stars, different people react in different ways.
Melissa had studied scriptures and presided over ecclesiastical affairs in the national religion, living in solitude for hundreds of years. At such a time, what he loved most was bustle and noise.
Especially bustle related to Chen Changsheng and the National Teaching Academy.
After listening to Priest Xin's account of the morning's events, the wrinkles on Melissa's face relaxed, and he smiled, saying, "How lively."
As he said "how lively," a smile appeared on his aged face, and even the age spots seemed to fade slightly. But Priest Xin could detect a hint of loneliness in his words.
This made him feel very uneasy.
(Next chapter before midnight.)