Chapter 23: Sitting Across and Gnawing Bones
The kang table in this shop was very clean, and even the edges of the kang, which usually gathered dust easily, showed no trace of it. Yet Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong did not sit down. Listening to the sounds of an argument coming from behind them, they couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward. It wasn’t until the owner walked over that the atmosphere eased somewhat.
Perhaps because of the yellow paper umbrella, or maybe because the corner was a bit dim, the owner failed to recognize them. A smile plastered on his face, he asked, “What would you two guests like to eat? Our shop’s specialty is all kinds of bones. Is there anything you fancy?”
Chen Changsheng looked toward Xu Yourong, who was sitting across from him, wanting to hear her opinion. Xu Yourong kept her head down and said nothing.
“How about… you two start with a bowl of pork bone broth to warm yourselves up, and then take your time deciding?”
The owner increasingly felt that this young couple was a bit odd, but having run an eatery in the capital, he had seen all sorts of strange situations and naturally wouldn’t meddle.
Hearing a certain word in the owner’s sentence, Chen Changsheng felt his face flush again. He waved his hand repeatedly and said, “Better not. How about beef bones?”
The latter half of this sentence was naturally seeking Xu Yourong’s opinion. Xu Yourong had no particular opinion, but as she recalled their conversations in the Zhou Garden, she didn’t remember him having any aversion to pork. She couldn’t help but feel curious about why he reacted so strongly now.
The owner was a very straightforward person. He took the liberty of adding a few small dishes for them and then went to the back kitchen to prepare. Only the two of them remained at the kang table in the corner. Xu Yourong blinked slightly, shutting out the noise of the argument from the front table, and looked at him, voicing the doubt in her mind.
“It’s not that I have an aversion… it’s just…”
Chen Changsheng hesitated for a moment, then said honestly, “Tang Thirty-Six called me a pig. I think I really am a pig, so I don’t want to eat pork right now.”
Xu Yourong understood the meaning behind his words and couldn’t help but smile. Then, suddenly thinking of something, she frowned slightly and asked, “Did you tell Tang Tang?”
“No, he called me a pig for a different reason,” Chen Changsheng explained.
After he finished speaking, the area around the kang table fell silent again. The guests at the other table were still arguing fiercely, but no sound reached them. Not even the wind and snow outside the tavern could be heard—only the crackling of firewood beneath the kang. And yet, this sound was something ordinary people couldn’t hear.
“That person was wrong.”
Xu Yourong glanced at the kang table, then turned to him and said seriously, “I didn’t hold back on the Naihe Bridge. I was very earnest.”
She had to make this clear because it was the truth, and because it represented her respect for Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng said, “Even though my deductions and calculations pointed to a draw, my realm, talent, and comprehension are all inferior to yours. If I hadn’t gone all out, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve it.”
“I just wanted to fight you fair and square.”
Xu Yourong said calmly, “Whether in the Zhou Garden or in the future, I doubt there will be another chance. So after entering the capital… I didn’t come looking for you.”
Only then did Chen Changsheng fully understand why she had kept it from him all along.
One was a reserve Pope, the other a newly appointed Saintess, and they respectively represented the two major forces of the National Religion and the imperial court. On the surface, they were natural adversaries. But if he had known her true identity, there was no way there would have been such a fierce battle on the Naihe Bridge today—not now, and not for a long time to come.
He couldn’t bring himself to be her enemy, and he believed she felt the same.
“But you still didn’t use your most powerful means.”
Chen Changsheng looked at her and said, “If I’m not mistaken, in the Zhou Garden, your innate bloodline had already awakened again.”
Xu Yourong said, “Yes.”
Chen Changsheng said, “If you had truly used the bloodline of the Heavenly Phoenix, I wouldn’t have been your match.”
Xu Yourong said, “Do you really want to be defeated by me that badly?”
Chen Changsheng hesitated for a moment, then said, “Actually… I just wanted to see what you look like with phoenix wings. I thought it must be beautiful.”
There are many things that truly don’t need teaching, no guidance from Tang Thirty-Six. Even the most tongue-tied person can occasionally say something very beautiful.
—When facing the one they want to express their goodwill and affection to.
Xu Yourong thought to herself, *You’ve seen it before, but you were already asleep at the time.*
Because of Chen Changsheng’s exceptionally rare beautiful words, she felt a bit uncomfortable, a bit shy. She changed the subject and said, “You only used one sword, too.”
She knew better than anyone in the world that all the swords in the Sword Pool were inside Chen Changsheng’s scabbard—that was his true strongest means.
“Even if ten thousand swords flew out together, they might not be able to stand against your Great Radiant Sword head-on.”
Chen Changsheng looked into her eyes, full of admiration and emotion. “You’re truly remarkable.”
Xu Yourong looked into his eyes, full of helpless emotion. “You really didn’t feel it?”
“Feel what?”
“The blade intent hidden within the Great Radiant Sword.”
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng was very surprised. He thought, *The Great Radiant Sword is the most exquisite sword technique in the world. What blade intent could possibly drive it?*
“I used the Two Severing Blade Art, transforming blade intent into sword intent, just barely managing to wield the Great Radiant Sword.”
Xu Yourong said, “I also have to thank you for the clash of your sword intent back then. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to master this sword technique in just a few days.”
When Chen Changsheng heard the words “Two Severing Blade Art,” he was even more shocked. He thought, *Wasn’t the Two Severing Blade Art temporarily unusable?* It wasn’t until he heard the latter half of her sentence that he understood. Although he had never used the Two Severing Blade Art, it was so domineering and wild that it still forcefully hid within his sword intent. On the Naihe Bridge, Xu Yourong had merged the portion of the blade art she had grasped with the blade intent he had emitted, ultimately comprehending a trace of blade intent, allowing her to unleash the Great Radiant Sword.
In many people’s eyes, the battle on the Naihe Bridge that began this morning represented many things. Who would have thought that for Xu Yourong, besides being a chance to fight to her heart’s content, it was also an excellent opportunity to help her comprehend the profound mysteries of the Two Severing Blade Art and subsequently master the Great Radiant Sword?
Thinking of this, Chen Changsheng couldn’t help but admire her greatly, yet he also felt it was somewhat inappropriate. He thought, *Why the rush, and even taking such risks?* If during the Naihe Bridge battle she had failed to grasp the essence of that portion of the Two Severing Blade Art and couldn’t master the Great Radiant Sword, and if he had slipped up even slightly, how terrifying would that have been?
Without words, seeing the worry in his eyes, Xu Yourong knew what he was thinking. She said calmly, “I am the youngest Saintess in history, and also the weakest. My teacher has left, and Her Majesty is ultimately a Zhou person, so I need to establish my authority as quickly as possible.”
These words were plain, even a bit crude, but very sincere.
Most Southern Saintesses entered the sacred domain, and her teacher was a sage who could easily defeat the Eight Winds and Rains. Even the weakest of the Southern Saintesses were at least half-step sacred-level powerhouses. Only she had become a Saintess at the age of sixteen, before even breaking through the Star Gathering Realm.
As the youngest and weakest Southern Saintess in history, with Saintess Peak and Nanxi both silent, what kind of pressure was she bearing? What storms was she facing?
Chen Changsheng looked at her somewhat slender shoulders and suddenly recalled their conversations in the Zhou Garden. Back then, she had said she carried heavy responsibilities, found it very hard, and wanted to avoid them. He had thought she was a genius girl of the Xiu Ling clan, bearing the burden of reviving her people, and had tried to comfort her several times. But now he knew—she was the reincarnation of the Heavenly Phoenix, the hope of Saintess Peak and the Saint Empress, bearing the responsibility of the entire human world’s struggle against the demon race. How could he comfort her now?
“Some things… let me handle them from now on.”
“I can do it.”
“I am the dean of the National Academy.”
“In the future, I will become the Pope of the National Religion.”
He ran through these thoughts in his mind, organizing the order, and felt they sounded like something Tang Thirty-Six would say. Just as he was hesitating…
“Authentic beef bones. Take your time, you two.”
The owner brought over a steaming pot of beef bones, interrupting an important conversation about the future of the human world.
Unlike other places that stewed bones in iron pots, this shop prepared the bones in the back kitchen before bringing them out. Though it lost a bit of rustic flavor, it was much cleaner. No wonder the area around the stove was so spotless, not even a speck of dust in sight.
Then, various small dishes were also brought up, and the two began to eat.
Whether it was because the small dishes were too delicious, or the bones were too fragrant and troublesome to eat, Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong remained silent for a long time.
In the quiet corner, only the crackling of firewood beneath the kang and the occasional clink of bowls and chopsticks could be heard.
After who knows how long, Chen Changsheng couldn’t help but look up toward the opposite side. Only then did he notice that today she wasn’t wearing that white ceremonial robe or a white dress, but a rather thick cotton-padded jacket. He also recalled that in Xunyang City, when he saw the Saintess, he had found that white ceremonial robe somewhat familiar. Then he remembered that in the temple by the White Grass Path, she had said she had strict rules about eating since childhood—no talking. This quietness now was probably the environment she was used to?
*Then I’ll just eat according to her habits,* he thought. *At least it won’t make her uncomfortable.*
Thinking this, Chen Changsheng didn’t pick up his chopsticks again but continued to look at her.
Because she was truly beautiful.
The hot steam rising from the iron pot was very much like the smoky snow and misty rain on the Naihe Bridge. Her small face was on the other side of the mist, exquisitely beautiful, like a painting.
But at this moment, she didn’t resemble the legendary Phoenix Fairy.
Her small frame seemed almost entirely wrapped in the cotton jacket, the brilliance she showed before thousands of people completely concealed, like an ordinary little girl.
She lowered her head, gently blowing hot air, carefully nibbling the shreds of meat off the bones. Her manner was adorable, like a little beast.
The coarsest iron-pot stewed bones, yet she managed to eat them with an air of delicacy, as if she were savoring fine southern pastries. But no matter how delicately she ate, her speed wasn’t slow. Before long, the table in front of her was piled with very clean bones.
Her face was slightly flushed—whether from the heat, embarrassment, or because she felt his unyielding gaze…
…
…
(One chapter today. Also, a heads-up: in the next couple of days, I plan to let them continue their romance.)