Chapter 65: One Mountain, Observing One Person
Mo Yu looked at him and said very casually, "In the end, it's still up to you to decide. If it were up to me, it would be best if you beat her. I don't like her anyway."
Chen Changsheng was somewhat puzzled and asked, "I remember you said you and she were very good friends."
"Friends are the easiest to get on each other's nerves."
Mo Yu turned and walked out of the library.
While Chen Changsheng was talking with Mo Yu, Tang Thirty-Six had remained silent. Only after her figure disappeared from the library did he walk up to Chen Changsheng, staring into his eyes without saying a word.
"You look a bit scary like that," Chen Changsheng said.
Tang Thirty-Six stared into his eyes and said, "They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. I really want to see just how many things you're still hiding from us."
"What have I hidden from you?"
"How come I didn't know when you and Miss Mo got so close?"
Chen Changsheng didn't know how to explain.
They belonged to different factions but had private contact... though that was a minor matter. The key issue was that he really couldn't reveal the reason he and Mo Yu had met. No matter how powerful and influential Mo Yu was, she was still a beautiful woman, and her reputation was important. He couldn't very well tell the whole world that the fairy-like Miss Mo Yu, in everyone's eyes, would climb onto his bed to sleep whenever she had nothing better to do...
"Chen Changsheng, you're something else," Tang Thirty-Six sighed. "The scabbard is the Divine Artifact Hidden Edge from the Li Palace, the sword is about to become a famous name on the Hundred Weapons List, your fiancée is Xu Yourong, your female student is Luoluo, and now you're entangled with Miss Mo, the woman every man in the Zhou Dynasty loves..."
Chen Changsheng said seriously, "Let's get this straight. I haven't even touched her hand."
Tang Thirty-Six's expression clearly showed disbelief, but the next moment he turned serious and looked at him earnestly. "Stay away from her."
Chen Changsheng understood what he meant and nodded.
Tang Thirty-Six said, "Remember my words. This woman is not simple, and she has a cold temperament. Even if you're doing business, don't choose her."
Chen Changsheng thought of Mo Yu, who had once imprisoned him in the Tong Palace, and nodded again.
Then he remembered the black dragon deep in the Tong Palace and realized that because he had been so busy lately, he hadn't been to Beixin Bridge for several days.
"I need to go out tonight for something," he said to Tang Thirty-Six.
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him with a cold smile and said, "See, there's another secret."
Chen Changsheng smiled but said nothing.
As they walked side by side out of the library, Tang Thirty-Six suddenly said, "I won't blame you for that matter anymore."
Chen Changsheng was confused and asked, "What matter?"
"Last year at the inn, I wanted to take your sword, and you wouldn't let me. That bothered me for a long time... But thinking back now, we had just met then, and it made sense for you to be cautious."
The head manager of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion had just confirmed the value of Chen Changsheng's sword. Tang Thirty-Six asked himself that if he were in Chen Changsheng's shoes, he would also treasure that sword like a precious gem and be unwilling to show it to others easily.
Chen Changsheng was momentarily stunned before recalling that old incident. He shook his head and said, "You really hold grudges."
Tang Thirty-Six raised an eyebrow and said, "You know that in the demon territory, they can see fewer stars than we can here, right?"
This was recorded in the Daoist scriptures, and not long ago, Chen Changsheng had just returned from the demon snow plains, so he was very clear on this. He nodded.
"At night, our sky is full of stars, but theirs is different. Some places have dense clusters of stars, others are sparse. Nearby stars connect to form pictures."
"I know. Nanke's Southern Cross Sword was derived from the two rivers of stars in their night sky."
"The rivers of stars are very wide and vast. What we're talking about is what's in between them."
"What's that?"
"The demons group different star shapes into constellations. Those born on different dates belong to different constellations, each with their own characteristics."
"And then?"
"If I were in the demon territory, based on my birth date, I would be a Scorpio."
Chen Changsheng stopped walking, remembering that there were indeed records of this in the Daoist Canon, but he didn't understand why Tang Thirty-Six suddenly brought this up. After all, the cultural backgrounds of demons and humans were fundamentally different, and within their respective territories, the other side's totems or revered things often became taboos.
"By the way, that head manager of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion just now..." He stopped in confusion because he realized he had forgotten what that head manager looked like.
The sword viewing had only been a short time ago, and his memory was naturally excellent. How could he have forgotten the appearance of someone he had just met?
Tang Thirty-Six, who hadn't heard him continue asking about constellations, was feeling a bit unsatisfied. When he heard Chen Changsheng's words, he was also stunned.
Because he realized that he too had forgotten what that head manager looked like. Moreover, as he continued to recall, the events of that time seemed to be growing increasingly...
Not everything was fading, just that head manager. He even had a feeling that earlier in the library, only he, Chen Changsheng, and Mo Yu had been watching the sword.
Chen Changsheng exchanged a glance with him, seeing the unease and fear in each other's eyes.
Was the head manager of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion really that formidable?
Who exactly was that head manager?
Who... was he?
After leaving the National Academy, the head manager didn't wait for Mo Yu but went directly into the imperial palace.
Waiting for him at the palace gate was that aged eunuch leader.
The eunuch leader's face carried a faint air of arrogance. Even when the guard captain or other eunuchs bowed respectfully, he only acknowledged them with a slight grunt from his nose and naturally didn't speak to this head manager.
No one noticed that in the quiet, secluded depths of the palace, the cold arrogance on the eunuch leader's face completely vanished. He spoke in a low voice to the head manager, his demeanor even appearing somewhat humble.
On this continent, there were fewer than ten people qualified to make this eunuch leader so humble.
In the mortal world, the head manager of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion was certainly a big shot, but he definitely wouldn't rank among those ten.
So the truth was simple: this old man was not the head manager of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.
Although he did indeed come from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.
In a remote palace hall, the Holy Empress met with this old man.
Even she showed great respect to this old man, asking him to sit first before she sat down.
The old man's identity was now almost obvious.
The conversation ended very quickly because the Holy Empress and this old man from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion only exchanged three sentences in total.
Two of those sentences were spoken by the old man.
"His surname is Chen."
"I can't tell how old he is."
After hearing these two sentences, the Holy Empress was silent for a long time. Then she looked at the old man and said calmly, "You've worked hard. The scenery at Feiya Mountain is beautiful. I'll visit sometime if I have the chance."
The old man nodded, stood up, and left the palace.
At that moment, the hot tea on the table had just been brought up, still steaming.
The Holy Empress gazed blankly at the white mist above the teacup, lost in thought, not knowing what she was thinking.
Feiya Mountain was a famous mountain by the West Sea, spanning several hundred li in circumference with beautiful scenery. It was said that on the clearest days, standing on the highest peak, one could faintly see the White Deer Horn of the Great Western Continent.
This famous mountain had once belonged to the Southern Lands and had also been occupied by the Great Western Continent. In the last two hundred years, it had been territory of the Zhou Dynasty, but since not all powers recognized this, it was nominally ownerless land.
The Holy Empress had said earlier that she would visit Feiya Mountain if she had the chance, meaning that from today onward, the Zhou Dynasty would no longer be the master of Feiya Mountain.
Feiya Mountain changed hands today.
This famous mountain by the sea was the price she paid to invite that old man to the capital.
For this, the old man only needed to take a look.
Of course, not at the sword, but at the person.
Even if the Stainless Sword was a divine weapon that would be recorded on the Hundred Weapons List, how could it be worth a Feiya Mountain?
What was truly worth that price was Chen Changsheng.
The Holy Empress watched the gradually dissipating white mist, thinking about the two sentences the old man had left behind, and remained silent.
Chen Changsheng was, of course, surnamed Chen.
When the old man said he was surnamed Chen, he meant that he was of the Chen imperial clan.
Many people knew that Chen Changsheng was sixteen years old.
When the old man said he couldn't tell his age, it meant that he might be younger than sixteen, or his actual age might be greater.
The Holy Empress stood up and walked out of the hall.
Her robes brushed lightly, and the hot mist rising from the teacup on the table vanished instantly. The tea in the cup turned into ice.
Walking outside the hall, she clasped her hands behind her back and looked at the small pond before her, a hint of pride in her expression.
But it was unclear what she was thinking about.
The water in the pond was very green, very still, gently rippled by the night breeze, creating fine lines.
She stood by the pond for a long time, from morning to dusk, and then night fell.
Suddenly, the water in one part of the pond began to churn, as if something was about to emerge from below.