Chapter 506: The Saintess Returns to the Capital
The sounds of wind, rain, and reading—today at the National Academy, only the sound of reading could be heard for the moment. The snowflakes that had just begun to fall from the sky were too light and gentle, and only after a while did the students in the classrooms notice them, eliciting a burst of delighted gasps. A stern instructor from the Teaching Council shouted a few words to suppress the faint commotion, but when the howling wind suddenly swept past the windows the next moment, no classroom could remain calm any longer. The young students surged toward the windows.
The wind swept up the thin layer of snow that had just accumulated on the grass, and a white crane slowly descended from the sky, dancing as if in the snow, breathtakingly beautiful.
"So pretty!" the girls shouted excitedly at the sight.
With the powerful rise of the human, demon, and demonic races, the ferocious beasts that once ravaged the continent had long been forced to retreat into the vast marshes and desolate mountains. Correspondingly, divine beasts and immortal birds had become extremely rare, generally only seen in the deep mountain sects. Most of the new students at the National Academy came from various prefectures and counties, and compared to the well-traveled people of the capital, they had even fewer encounters with these legendary immortal birds. However, there were also those who had lived in the capital for a long time. Chu Wenbin, who had transferred from the Heavenly Dao Academy, looked at the white crane and recalled something, exclaiming in surprise, "This... isn't this the white crane from the Xu Mansion?"
At these words, the area around him fell silent. Then, all the classrooms grew quiet. The students gazed at the white crane, no longer daring to make a sound.
This white crane was no ordinary crane. Its appearance signified a name, and to the students, that name was as sacred and beautiful as it could be, not to be defiled.
At the same time, the students knew what the return of this white crane meant for the National Academy and for their Dean.
Sure enough, not long after, a figure appeared in the students' line of sight.
Chen Changsheng walked to the lakeside lawn and stood before the white crane. The crane looked at him and nodded, then tilted its head to glance at the nearby library building and the students by the windows, appearing somewhat puzzled, as if it didn't understand why such great changes had occurred here in just one year.
Looking at the crane, he was silent for a moment, then asked, "She... has returned?"
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Two lines shot straight into the capital—one white, one gray. The white was the crane, and the gray was the Golden-Winged Roc that Xu Yourong had brought out from the Garden of Zhou.
—The reason it was gray was that this roc was not yet fully grown; its feathers had not yet become vibrant, let alone golden. It looked dull and somewhat small, just like Chen Changsheng's initial reaction—it currently resembled a pheasant.
As it entered the capital, the white crane let out a clear cry. The red eagles that were about to take off to intercept it naturally let it pass upon recognizing it. However, this young roc did not follow the white crane to the National Academy. Instead, it seemed to take an interest in these "kin" atop the imperial city. It made a sharp turn in the air, flapped its wings, and landed on the palace wall.
It was said that a fallen phoenix was worse than a pheasant. This young roc looked like a pheasant, but in the end, a phoenix was a phoenix, and a golden roc was a golden roc—it could never truly become a pheasant.
It folded its wings, raised its head and puffed out its chest, and strode arrogantly toward the group of red eagles ahead on the palace wall, glancing around with a cold, disdainful gaze, exuding an unruly air.
The red eagles were the most powerful attack birds raised by the Great Zhou military. They were unimaginably fast, proud and fierce by nature, and never cowered even before the most formidable enemies. Legend had it that during the Demon-Slaying War a thousand years ago, the demon commander of that era had raised a Sky-Devouring Beast, which was ultimately pecked to death in the blue sky by dozens of red eagles at the cost of their own lives. Yet now, facing this small, pheasant-like creature on the palace wall, the crest feathers of over a dozen red eagles bristled simultaneously, showing extreme wariness. Even the nearby Imperial Guard soldiers could sense their fear. As for the few red geese perched on the side of the pavilion, they fared even worse—they were so terrified that they collapsed to the ground and couldn't even stand up.
What kind of bird was this? The Imperial Guard soldiers were puzzled, watching warily and instinctively tightening their grips on their spears.
Just then, Hong Yunlin, who had been staring blankly at the black sheep in the distance below the palace wall, suddenly looked up.
In the room, Xue Xingchuan, who was tempering his spear with his mind, sensed something and also looked up.
On the palace wall, the young roc suddenly stopped, because it felt a killing intent.
It looked down, its gaze landing on Hong Yunlin, and found him a bit troublesome.
Then it noticed the source of that killing intent and looked toward the room, realizing it was a big problem.
If the Golden Roc were fully grown, it could naturally ignore Hong Yunlin's provocation and wouldn't fear Xue Xingchuan, but not now.
When it saw the black sheep on the palace lawn, the gray feathers on its neck fluffed up slightly, and it felt a strong sense of unease.
The world outside the Garden of Zhou was indeed as dangerous as in its past-life memories, especially this human capital. It was exactly the same as before—it had only landed to play for a bit, so how could it run into so many troubles? Just before the Imperial Guard soldiers closed in with their spears, it spread its wings and flew down from the palace wall. In the span of a few moments, it swept across the square before the palace, flew over several princely mansions and three straight streets, and landed on a street in the distance.
That street was bustling with noise and excitement. Standing on the palace wall, one could vaguely see a magnificent carriage slowly advancing along the street.
When the soldiers saw the strange bird land on that carriage, they realized it must be from the Holy Maiden Peak and thought to themselves, no wonder it was so formidable.
An official hurried over to report a piece of news just received.
"The former Saintess has abdicated? Xu Yourong is succeeding her?"
Hearing this news, Xue Xingchuan looked toward the distant street, thinking with surprise, what had happened at the Southern Stream Monastery? Why such a major change?
For the disciples of the Southern Stream Monastery and the people of the Southern Lands, Xu Yourong was the future Saintess. For the people of the Great Zhou capital, Xu Yourong was their pride, because she had grown up here. As news of Xu Yourong's formal succession as the Southern Saintess spread, the capital's citizens, who had lined the streets to welcome her, fell silent for a moment in shock, and then cheers erupted like thunder.
Children chased alongside the carriage on the roadside, young women waved handkerchiefs and flowers, devout worshippers knelt where the carriage passed, endlessly praying and blessing, and the eyes of young men burned with passion—even though the wind carried light snow and the weather was bitterly cold, it couldn't diminish the capital's fervor that day. When the wind lifted the carriage's curtains, faintly revealing the figure of the young woman inside, the atmosphere reached its peak. Many people, no longer heeding the scolding of the palace priests or the blocking of the city gate cavalry, and ignoring the wary glances of the Southern cavalry, crowded toward the middle of the street. Though they were ultimately stopped by the cavalry, they couldn't be stopped from throwing their offerings.
In an instant, flowers rarely seen in deep winter rained down like droplets, and within moments, Xu Yourong's carriage became a sea of blossoms.
Washed fruits and melons were thrown without restraint into the hundred or so carriages. In one of the rear carriages, Ye Xiaolian reached out and caught a bright red holy fruit, took a gentle bite, found it sweet and sour, and her eyes narrowed with joy. Of course, like the other senior sisters in the carriage, her joy came more from the enthusiasm of the capital's citizens—thinking that the Saintess was so beloved by the Zhou people, after the union of north and south, the Holy Maiden Peak's status might not decline and could even improve. The unease caused by the Abbess's sudden departure greatly diminished. With seven parts joy and three parts pride, they thought, "Legend has it that when Zhou Yuren entered the capital back then, it was probably no more than this."
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"When Zhou Yuren entered the capital back then, he was nearly stared to death. I remember I was still young then, and I sneaked a look with the young lady of the Scholar's Mansion from atop Cheng Lake Tower. What a spectacle..."
Perhaps it was because seeing Xu Yourong reminded her of her younger self that the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress rarely showed a touch of nostalgia, but it lasted only a moment before she returned to her usual calm demeanor and said, "If you don't want to be stared to death, you need a thick skin and a strong body."
In the eyes of the world, Xu Yourong had always been the serene and aloof fairy, and only in front of her Saintess teacher and Her Majesty did she feel most natural. She said, "A thick skin... isn't exactly a good thing."
The Holy Empress looked at her, a warm expression in her eyes, and said with affection, "What's good about a thin skin? Look at your little face, all flushed."
There was naturally deeper meaning in this exchange. Whether it was about a thick skin or a strong body, the Holy Empress was giving her guidance.
To secure the position of Abbess of the Southern Stream Monastery and ultimately be recognized as the Saintess of the entire Southern Lands, in the Holy Empress's view, ruthlessness was a necessary condition.
A thick skin meant ruthlessness, and only by being strong enough oneself could one have the power to be ruthless when needed.
"To strengthen our bodies, shouldn't we start eating?"
Mo Yu stood nearby, arranging the dishes. Seeing Xu Yourong's somewhat dazed expression, she knew she either didn't want to respond or had spaced out like she did as a child, so she smiled and changed the subject.
The Holy Empress said, "Kids these days don't like listening to us old folks anymore."
Xu Yourong said softly, "Your Majesty isn't old. Your Majesty will never grow old."
Mo Yu shivered beside her and said, "Haven't seen you in a few years, and your little mouth is still this sweet."
"Don't talk while eating."
The Holy Empress picked up her chopsticks, placed a dish in Xu Yourong's bowl, and then began to eat.
In the vast palace, there were no eunuchs or maids, only the three of them, making it feel very empty.
Especially after they started eating, no sound was heard again, making the scene somewhat eerie.
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(The new chapter of The Legend of the Seeker has begun. My leader and I have already passed the Shanhai Pass. I know we're slow, just like writing a book, but that's how we stay steady... Let me report to everyone that since my saved drafts are really running out, to avoid as many interruptions as possible, I'll be switching to one chapter per update for a while. Please be aware.)
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