Chapter 9: The Scenery of Naihe Bridge

Chapter 9: The Scenery of Naihe Bridge

The alley of the Northern Military Command Post was utterly silent. The two crabapple trees in the courtyard had long since shed all their blossoms, but over the past two days they had gathered some snow, making it seem as if a sea of flowers had reappeared.

Zhou Tong stood beneath the crabapple trees, looking at the subordinate kneeling before him reporting, and said with some disgust, "Do I need to be specifically informed about such trivial matters?"

The subordinates were baffled. They thought that the battle between Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng was undoubtedly the most important event of the year's end. Why was their lord so indifferent?

"Since no life or death will be decided, it's a trivial matter."

Zhou Tong held exactly the same view as Tang Thirty-Six. After saying this, he turned and entered the room, paying no further attention to the matter.

Zhou Tong was not concerned about this battle, but many others were.

In a quiet, snow-covered lakeside area in the northern part of the city, Tianhai Chengwu leaned against the railing, watching the snow. For some reason, he suddenly thought of the lake outside Chenglu Tower, and his mood turned sour.

These past few days, he had been somewhat more polite than usual when speaking to Xu Shiji, because Xu Yourong had become the Holy Maiden earlier than anyone had imagined.

But because his mood was now bad, or perhaps also somewhat tense, his attitude toward Xu Shiji reverted to its former state, even harsher and more direct.

"You want to rely on the Li Palace, but you have to see if they're willing to let you. The Pope forcibly annulled the engagement, and the Divine General's Mansion is once again ridiculed by the world. What good does that do you?"

Tianhai Chengwu said, "Since this fight is inevitable after all, why bother with useless preparations beforehand?"

Xu Shiji remained silent, his face expressionless, but inwardly he was furious to the extreme.

Tianhai Chengwu smiled faintly and said, "Today, let's see how Yourong avenges her father."

...

...

The number of people at the National Academy wasn't too large; all together, they numbered just over a hundred.

But when so many people walked together on the street, their momentum was somewhat astonishing, especially when behind them, thousands of Kyoto citizens followed along. The shengshi (momentum) was immense, and the sight was quite zhenhan (stunning).

Not far past Huilong Temple, they reached the Luo River, also called the Luo Canal. Ahead, the famous bridge could already be seen.

But not everyone could cross. Besides Chen Changsheng, Tang Thirty-Six and the accompanying students were stopped at the entrance of Baliu Street.

From Baliu Street to Sifang Street, the area around Naihe Bridge, several li in radius, had been cordoned off.

Unable to enter, the watching citizens could only stand on both banks of the Luo River. Many people had already arrived, lining the tree-lined embankments in a dense, dark mass that stretched so far it seemed endless.

Everyone was discussing the upcoming battle, analyzing who was stronger and who would win.

Completely different from this time last year, Chen Changsheng was no longer what he had been. On the Green Vine Banquet, he had engaged in a verbal sword duel with Gou Hanshi. At the Grand Examination, he had miraculously taken first place. In the Mausoleum of Books, he had drawn starlight down to Kyoto, leading many to compare him to Wang Zhice of old. Not to mention the events in the Zhou Garden and the battles on the road back south. From early summer to now, the National Academy had faced countless challenges, and Chen Changsheng had not lost a single one. Even more astonishing was that he had consecutively defeated six cultivators at the initial Star Condensation realm. Only then did people finally realize that what seemed like an impossible cross-realm victory was not an accident for him, but a matter of course.

From initial shock to present acceptance, even to a degree of numbness, Chen Changsheng had already given this world too many surprises.

As for the other party in this battle, there was no need to elaborate. Xu Yourong was inherently special. Like Qiu Shanjun, she possessed the true phoenix bloodline and had, from the very beginning of her cultivation, exceeded the scope of ordinary imagination. She had also, in fact, surpassed her peers. She didn't need to participate in the Grand Examination; she was qualified to enter the Mausoleum of Books at any time. In fact, from the age of ten, she had already begun studying the Heavenly Books. To this day, no one knew if she had ever fought against cultivators at the initial Star Condensation realm, but many, including Chen Changsheng, unhesitatingly believed that she could easily accomplish this feat, which was traditionally considered extremely difficult.

If Chen Changsheng had given this world too many surprises this year, then Xu Yourong was the world's most delightful discovery.

"They're here!"

Some citizens on the banks of the Luo River spotted Chen Changsheng and the arrival of the National Academy group, and they started shouting. The scene became noisy and lively.

Some citizens respectfully bowed to him and offered greetings; some loudly asked questions. But no one cheered him on. Among countless words, not a single "You must win" could be heard...

"News from the Four Markets says that, besides the National Academy and the Ecclesiastical Office, basically no one bet on you winning... Even many priests in the Li Palace bet on Xu Yourong."

Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and said comfortingly, "But you can interpret this as the will of the Kyoto people. It's not necessarily a judgment of your abilities."

Chen Changsheng thought, if that were really the case, it wouldn't exactly be comforting.

He asked Tang Thirty-Six, "And what about you?"

Tang Thirty-Six said, "I have confidence in you."

This confidence wasn't blind, nor was it related to the closeness of their friendship. It was based on a clear understanding.

Tang Thirty-Six knew very well that over the past seven days, Chen Changsheng had prepared with incredible seriousness and hard work. Watching Chen Changsheng calculate and deduce in his room every day, he even felt that no one in the world could be more serious than Chen Changsheng. As they say, Heaven rewards diligence. As long as the stars remained bright, there was no reason for someone as serious as him to fail.

"I suggest you still bet on me losing."

Chen Changsheng patted him on the shoulder, then, led by a priest, walked into Baliu Street.

Watching his retreating figure, Tang Thirty-Six wanted to say something but ultimately said nothing. He vaguely felt that Chen Changsheng's last words seemed to imply something.

Xuan Yuan Po, seeing his grave expression, asked in confusion, "You said earlier that since no life or death is at stake, it doesn't matter. Why are you worried now?"

"I'm not worried about whether he'll lose; I'm worried about my silver." Tang Thirty-Six turned and walked out of the crowd.

Xuan Yuan Po was even more puzzled and shouted, "What are you going to do?"

Without looking back, Tang Thirty-Six said, "I'm going to the Four Markets to cancel my bet."

...

...

Baliu Street was very quiet. Apart from the guiding priest, no one else was visible.

And when they reached the side alley off Baliu Street that led to the Luo Riverbank, that priest also stopped and gestured for Chen Changsheng to proceed.

Chen Changsheng nodded and walked into the side alley. Soon, he reached the Luo Riverbank. Ascending the steps, he arrived at the base of Naihe Bridge.

Naihe Bridge was the largest bridge over the Luo River. Its deck was very wide, allowing more than ten carriages to travel side by side. The bridge was tall but not steep, and compared to other bridges, it was relatively flat. Standing at the base and looking up, the deck felt more like a square.

Chen Changsheng walked onto the bridge and soon reached the very center of the deck.

There was no one on Naihe Bridge, no one on the opposite side, and indeed, no one in sight anywhere. It was very empty and quiet.

Standing on the bridge, looking at the flowing water below, he remembered something.

A couple of years ago, a cargo ship had collided with one of Naihe Bridge's piers. The imperial court had spent a lot of money to reinforce it with formations.

That formation was beneath the bridge.

Similarly, several important water gates on the Luo River were also attached with formations to ensure that the water surface wouldn't freeze during the harsh winter, allowing grain ships and merchant vessels from the south to pass freely. But today, many areas of Kyoto were under martial law, especially around Naihe Bridge. The Luo River, usually bustling with continuous boat traffic, was very quiet today.

Just like this bridge.

Not a single person, not a single boat.

As he was thinking about these things, he saw a large ship slowly sailing upstream.

That ship was truly massive. It should be a warship of the Great Zhou Navy. The uppermost deck was almost level with the deck of Naihe Bridge.

Many people stood on the large ship. The number of people on the uppermost deck was relatively small, and many of them he recognized.

With a gentle splash of water, the large ship slowly came to a halt and dropped anchor, about a li away from Naihe Bridge.

Chen Changsheng could see clearly. On the uppermost deck stood several divine generals in full armor. He recognized Xue Xingchuan, Fei Dian... even Xue He had returned, and of course, Xu Shiji was there. There were also the heads of the various Green Vine academies. In the center was Zhuang Zhihuan, the current dean of the Heavenly Dao Academy. Further forward stood the important figures of the imperial court and the state religion. He saw Mao Qiuyu, Linghai Zhiwang, and Siyuan Daoren. He saw the Minister of Rites, and he also saw Mo Yu and Prince Chenliu.

But even these important figures were not standing at the very front.

At the very bow of the ship stood three painters from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. One of them had previously witnessed the battle between Chen Changsheng and Zhou Ziheng. The other two had just arrived from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion and were both at the Star Condensation realm. Back in Xunyang City, seeing the assassin Liu Qing, who was at the upper Star Condensation realm, had seemed unbelievable. So three painters at the Star Condensation realm...

Chen Changsheng looked at the people on the ship.

The people on the ship looked at him on the bridge.

Siyuan Daoren said, "Although I've always thought this was nonsense, he is, after all, the dean of the National Academy. I just hope that when he loses later, it won't be too ugly."

Mao Qiuyu said calmly from the side, "The battle hasn't even started yet, and you're already talking about victory or defeat. That's premature."

Linghai Zhiwang said expressionlessly, "Victory and defeat are already decided."

In the eyes of these peak Star Condensation experts, who were only a step away from the sacred realm, any detail before or during a battle could affect the final outcome.

Linghai Zhiwang believed that since Chen Changsheng had arrived first, he was bound to lose. The appointed time for the battle was still early. Arriving this early might indicate that his mind wasn't calm enough. Moreover, standing alone on Naihe Bridge at this moment, even if he wanted to calm his mind, it would be very difficult.

Because he was waiting. Waiting meant passivity. These moments on the bridge needed to be filled with thought, but thinking too much before a great battle was never a good thing.

"It's not necessarily good, and not necessarily bad."

Mao Qiuyu looked in the direction of Naihe Bridge and said calmly, "Whether one becomes restless or calms their spirit, adapting to the environment first, it all depends on the person's temperament."

This statement made sense.

In fact, everyone had their own reasoning. It was just that due to different positions and inclinations, the principles they held and the words they spoke naturally conflicted. Similarly, one could discern the positions of those present from the principles they held and the words they spoke.

"I don't understand cultivation, but judging from Dean Chen's past performance, there's no need to question his calmness and patience."

The speaker was the Minister of Rites.

Many people cast surprised glances, and even Prince Chenliu turned to look at this high official. Only then did people realize that this Minister of Rites was actually inclined towards the old imperial clan!

...

...

At the National Academy, Zheshe looked at the gray, overcast sky outside the window. After a long silence, he finally stood up, picked up the crutch leaning against the wall, and walked out.

Just as he stepped out of the small building, he felt a slight coolness on his face. Reaching up to touch it, he found it was a melting snowflake.

He looked up at the sky and realized it had started snowing again.

...

...

"It's snowing," someone on the ship said.

The falling snowflakes caused a slight stir among the people on the large ship, and then they fell silent again.

People looked at Chen Changsheng on the bridge, wondering if the snow fell heavier, it might disturb his current state of mind.

Watching the falling snow, would Xu Yourong arrive earlier, or would she deliberately come later?

The snowflakes gradually turned into snowflakes.

Before long, Chen Changsheng's body was slightly dusted with white.

The citizens on both banks of the Luo River opened their umbrellas. Tens of thousands of umbrellas opening simultaneously was a somewhat spectacular sight.

Chen Changsheng couldn't see this scene; he could only see the snow falling before his eyes.

He had been standing quietly on the bridge for a long time, but as Linghai Zhiwang had judged, his heart still couldn't completely calm down.

Because he was very nervous at this moment.

To be precise, he had been nervous all along.

From the moment he saw the white crane land by the lake of the National Academy, he had started to get nervous. He had been nervous for so many days, and he still was.

He wasn't used to this kind of nervousness. He knew this emotion was bad for his body and would affect his performance in battle.

So, he gradually became somewhat anxious.

The source of his nervousness and anxiety was, naturally, this battle. But more importantly, it was because his opponent in this battle was her.

From Xining Town to Kyoto, too many things had happened. The origin of it all was her, and now, he was finally going to meet her.

In the past few days, amidst his calculations and deductions, he couldn't help but wonder what he should say when he actually met her.

He hadn't figured it out.

If he couldn't figure it out, he wouldn't think about it.

At this moment, he finally made a decision.

He stopped looking at the large ship and the people on it, because that was worldly affairs, too complicated.

He also stopped looking at the snow falling from the sky, because the movement of snow was traceless and elusive.

He looked at the water beneath the bridge.

In the deep winter, the Luo River was calm, but beneath the surface, it flowed unceasingly.

Movement and stillness were unified in this canal water. This was the unity of movement and stillness.

He looked under the bridge, pouring all his thoughts into the flowing water, gradually calming down, until he forgot everything, approaching a state of emptiness.

Just then, Xu Yourong arrived.

She came from the direction of the long street, as if walking with the wind and snow. Her arrival was silent, without any disturbance.

The wind and snow were very natural things. Her arrival was also very natural. Without startling anyone, she arrived at the base of Naihe Bridge.

At this moment, Chen Changsheng was on the bridge, looking at the scenery of the flowing water.

She looked at the person on the bridge who was looking at the scenery.

The white crane flew from afar, stirring up snow grains, and landed on the black eaves of a residence behind the bridge.

This was a very beautiful scene.

...

...

(There will be another chapter tonight.)