Chapter 78: The Past Is Time
(Note: Huang An's "All Red," recommended listening while reading this chapter)
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Time flowed away amidst farewells and commotion.
Although even now, there was no sign that Su Li and the Southerners he represented would abandon the beliefs they had upheld for countless years, everyone could see through countless details that the unification of North and South was inevitable. At this moment, a relatively small matter actually overshadowed this great event.
The reason that matter was considered small was because it was a marriage.
According to news from the Li Palace, during a very private conversation, His Holiness the Pope admitted that he had dissolved the engagement between Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong.
This news spread secretly throughout the capital and across the continent. There was no evidence, and the Eastern Divine General's Mansion and the National Academy remained silent, yet people gradually came to believe it.
At the Ivy Banquet, the Southern delegation proposed marriage on behalf of Autumn Mountain Lord. At that time, the still-unknown Chen Changsheng pushed open the door, produced a marriage contract, and then a white crane arrived from Holy Maiden Peak.
From then until now, this marriage had always been the focus of discussion across the continent, because the engagement involved the three most promising and outstanding young people in the human world, as well as many other things—the State Church, Holy Maiden Peak, Her Holiness the Empress, the Autumn Mountain family, and the Li Mountain Sword Sect. It could be said that the most powerful forces on the continent were all connected through this marriage contract.
Would it end like this?
If this matter were true, and Chen Changsheng had personally requested His Holiness the Pope to dissolve the engagement, how would the Eastern Divine General's Mansion, which had been ridiculed for so long, handle itself? The Heavenly Phoenix True Maiden, loved and admired by all, now facing such an awkward situation—what feelings would she have at this moment?
Many people, because of this rumor, felt great anger toward Chen Changsheng, especially those who admired Xu Yourong.
But in the end, it was just a rumor. No one could ask His Holiness the Pope directly, and naturally, there was no reason to vent their anger at the National Academy.
Even if people wanted to confront Chen Changsheng and ask if this matter was true, it was hard to find him. So all emotions gradually settled and fermented—some angry, some mocking, some just wanting to watch the drama. Because of all these varied emotions, the entire continent increasingly looked forward to the day Xu Yourong returned to the capital. They anticipated what seemed like a fated battle between the two sides.
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Chen Changsheng was indeed hard to encounter. These days, he kept a low profile, especially after the rumor that the Pope had dissolved the engagement began to circulate secretly.
Because of this matter, he felt somewhat sorry for Xu Yourong. Since she was a young woman, he decided to remain silent about it, waiting until she returned to the capital to find a way to tell her the truth. He would let her propose dissolving the engagement in front of the whole world, and then he would accept it. That way, she might not have to bear strange looks, even if those looks were full of pity. As for the inevitable mockery and sympathy directed at the party in the engagement, he would take it, because he was a man.
For some reason, though he had never met Xu Yourong, he was very certain she was not someone who would accept others' pity.
So when Tang Thirty-Six heard the rumor and came to ask him, he just shook his head and said nothing.
About engagements, or matters of the heart, the young man who had first entered the capital did not understand. It was only after the Zhou Garden that he realized what it was all about.
He had liked a girl, and that girl had died.
He had been liked by a girl, and that girl had left.
He hoped that Xu Yourong, this girl, could be happier than him.
During this period, he tried to avoid meeting people as much as possible, and his meetings with the Black Dragon became much more frequent.
He often went to the bottom of the well at North New Bridge, bringing all kinds of food to the Black Dragon, especially the big pot meals from the National Academy cafeteria that she specifically requested.
Whenever the Black Dragon pretended to be refined and slowly ate her food, he would crouch beneath the stone wall, studying the formation that trapped her and the iron chain, but he never made any progress.
One night, as autumn gave way to winter, at the third watch, Chen Changsheng was still awake.
He stood by the window, looking at the large banyan tree that had shed all its leaves and the lake beginning to form a thin layer of ice, thinking about some things, when he heard a song coming from beyond the wall in the distance.
In recent nights, he often heard some songs, and he shook his head.
The National Academy had now become a famous attraction in the capital. Because the battles had temporarily ceased, the locals coming to watch the excitement had decreased, but tourists from other prefectures had increased instead. Adding to that, the students, instructors, and workers at the National Academy numbered several hundred. Where there were people, there was business opportunity, and merchants never missed any chance. The entire street opposite the Hundred Flowers Lane had been sold or rented out, transformed into various places—inns and taverns—growing increasingly bustling and lively.
Every night, the business at the inns and taverns became very good. Some guests came because of the reputation, but of course, most were students from the National Academy. No matter how strict the academy rules or how tight the curfew, students always found various ways to get past the gatekeepers and the walls, then enter the taverns and inns to do things young people liked.
Like eating, drinking, enjoying music, and talking about life...
The instructors at the National Academy naturally wanted to control this. If they couldn't control the students, they wanted to drive away the taverns that brought so much noise. But it was very difficult. Neither the National Academy Cavalry, the City Gate Department, nor the Imperial Guard could do anything about it. The one person truly capable of dealing with all the taverns and inns opposite Hundred Flowers Lane, Tang Thirty-Six, couldn't conveniently step in, because two of the taverns and one of the inns were his.
Late at night, the bustle continued. The singing from beyond the wall grew louder and clearer, drifting into the National Academy.
Chen Changsheng was about to find the mink fur that Mo Yu had left here one night, stuff it into his ears, and fall asleep, when he was suddenly captivated by the lyrics of the song.
The singer was probably a new student at the National Academy. His voice was rough, maybe still changing, but it was very loud. The lyrics of this song were very simple, not elegant, even a bit vulgar, but they were filled with a unique youthful flavor. Combined with the boy's voice, it seemed especially vibrant and full of life.
"Youthful days, everything's red, you are the master of your fate. Rain when you want it, wind when you wish, leaping over the dragon's gate makes all the difference..."
Chen Changsheng stood quietly by the window, listening.
Listening to this song, thinking about the people and events he had encountered since coming to the capital nearly two years ago, he found it hard to stay calm. Countless emotions surged like a tide.
Yes, like a tide surging in.
He had always thought this description was an exaggeration in romance stories, but now he knew it was all true.
Instinctively, he touched the stone bracelet on his wrist and returned to the Zhou Garden.
These days, he often came to the Zhou Garden, sitting in the grassland in a daze.
Perhaps it was because he felt that being with those beasts was much simpler than dealing with humans.
Those beasts were very obedient. Under his arrangements, they dredged waterways, tended the grasslands and lakes, and with the self-repair after reopening, the Zhou Garden had somewhat restored its former appearance.
He, who usually cherished time, was willing to spend so much time and energy in the Zhou Garden because he wanted to leave some memories.
He stood at the end of the Zhou Mausoleum divine path, watching the Inverted Mountain Ape directing tens of thousands of beasts to rebuild the White Grass Path.
The beasts were a dark, dense mass.
He felt this scene looked familiar, and then he remembered that it was here, with her, that they had watched the beasts on the grassland surge like a tide.
And so, sorrow and longing surged like a tide.
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On the official road south of the capital, a convoy of dozens of carriages was advancing grandly.
Hundreds of Heavenly South cavalry rode mixed-blood dragon horses, vigilantly watching their surroundings, protecting the convoy.
Dozens of Nanxi Zhai disciples and representatives from various Heavenly South forces sat in the carriages.
The carriage in the very center was clearly the most important, because in front of it were eight pure white celestial horses.
This carriage was very large, or rather, it should be called a palanquin.
Xu Yourong sat inside the palanquin.
Her black hair fell over her shoulders, making her skin look like white jade.
People often used "eyebrows like paintings" to describe beautiful women, but how could her beauty be captured by ink and brush?
Her eyelashes were long, her lips were red, her features were flawless, her beauty was perfect, yet it gave no pressure.
Because her beauty was very serene.
Like a tea mountain after rain, a lake before rain, the mist between Holy Maiden Peaks, the cooking smoke from a small town.
This time, she was returning to the capital to deliver an extremely important message to the world.
Whether it was the Great Zhou or the Heavenly South, these days they were all preparing for the unification of North and South. The message she brought was the premise, or rather the permission, for all of this.
Then, she was going to attend a meeting, or rather a battle.
The entire continent, even the demon nobles in Snow Old City, were waiting to see that battle.
In many people's eyes, compared to the demon princess Nanke, that person was her true destined rival.
Because he had once been her fiancé, and now, in many people's eyes, he was the cold-hearted man who dissolved the engagement and humiliated her.
The convoy suddenly stopped. With a few soft sounds, a woman lifted the curtain and sat inside the carriage, looking at her with complex emotions and saying, "Junior disciple, the capital is just ahead."
This woman was He Qingbo, an elder of the outer sect of Nanxi Zhai, already at the middle Star Gathering realm.
After saying this, He Qingbo suddenly remembered something, a nervous expression appearing on her face. Awkwardly, she said, "Qingbo misspoke; please forgive me, Sect Master."
"Uncle, no need to be formal."
Xu Yourong looked at her calmly, then stood up and walked toward the outside of the carriage.
With her movements, her black hair and white ceremonial robes gently swayed.
The front edge of her black hair was perfectly even, as if trimmed by the sharpest sword. As it swayed, it made her gaze calmer and stronger.
A belt studded with stars was tied around her white ceremonial robes. She wore no sword, because she had come to the capital to retrieve her sword.
The Tong Bow was placed in a corner of the carriage, not in her hand, because she didn't want to be seen by someone in the capital just yet.
In another corner was an umbrella.
Stepping onto the official road, she looked toward the faintly visible city on the distant horizon and slowly clasped her hands behind her back.
The capital had no city walls, nor any real city gates, so as a child, she never understood why there was a City Gate Department.
As she appeared, the Heavenly South cavalry around her dismounted as quickly as possible and knelt on the ground.
The Nanxi Zhai disciples and envoys who had come down from the carriages also knelt.
They knelt to pay their respects.
"We pay homage to the Holy Maiden."
Xu Yourong was still looking at the capital.
She hadn't been back for some years, but the capital was still familiar to her.
Because her home was here, Mo Yu, Ping Guo, many people she knew from childhood were here, Her Holiness was here, and that guy was here now.
Suddenly, two lines appeared in the blue sky—one white, one gray—heading straight into the capital.
Seeing this scene, she came back to her senses and remembered that everyone was greeting her.
Some days had passed since that incident, but she still wasn't used to it. She didn't know what words to use to respond to people's devout and respectful greetings.
Suddenly, she remembered a phrase she often said on that grassland in the Zhou Garden, on that guy's back. Back then, she never forgot to say this phrase to him every day, because it represented her most sincere wish. Perhaps... this would be the most suitable reply?
So, looking at the people, she said, "May the holy light be with you."
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(End of Volume Three: Wind and Thunder)