Chapter 30: Su Li's Letter (Part 1)
"I guessed it." Xu Yourong gazed into the distance where dusk and snow mingled on the horizon, a faint trace of longing flickering across her beautiful face. "For figures like Teacher and Uncle Master to decide to leave this world, where else would they go besides a place like the Holy Light Continent, which only exists in legends?"
Chen Changsheng fell silent for a moment, then asked, "How do you get to the Holy Light Continent?"
How do you walk the Road of Fortune? How do you cross the Bridge of Helplessness? How do you reach the National Academy? How do you find the Li Palace? How do you travel to that legendary place?
This question was somewhat absurd, but his expression was serious.
Xu Yourong was equally serious, carefully recalling the conversation between the Holy Empress and her teacher from her childhood.
After a long time, she spoke two words with some uncertainty: "Cloud Tomb?"
Chen Changsheng fell silent again, this time for much longer than before.
The Cloud Tomb was the burial ground for all the clouds in this world, the most remote place on the continent, perpetually shrouded in darkness, utterly mysterious and unknown. But he was very familiar with the Cloud Tomb. He knew that within those endless mists and clouds stood an incredibly tall mountain, piercing through the clouds, its destination unknown. Because that mountain lay just three hundred li behind Xining Town, and he had been there. He knew that the mist-shrouded wetlands of that mountain hid countless ferocious beasts, countless dangerous rogue cultivators, and some remnants of the former dynasty struggling to survive.
Only today did he learn that this mountain might be a passage to another world.
"Shall we go to the Holy Light Continent together someday?" he asked Xu Yourong with great seriousness.
Even if the legend were true, and beyond the sea of stars there really was a place called the Holy Light Continent, since no one had ever known of it, it meant that perhaps no one had ever successfully broken through the barriers of space to find that world. He and Xu Yourong were both prodigies in cultivation, but they were still far from the sacred realm. The Holy Light Continent could only be a vague, ethereal term and conjecture for them. Yet he made his invitation with such earnestness, perhaps hundreds of years too early.
At this moment, he had long forgotten the fact that he might not live past twenty.
Xu Yourong smiled and said, "Alright."
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, how wonderful.
...
...
Returning to the National Academy, he stepped into the first floor and was somewhat surprised to find that Zheshou's room door was open, and Su Moyu and the others were all inside.
"What are you talking about?" he asked curiously, walking in.
Su Moyu said, "Since morning, Tang Tang has been asking everyone if love at first sight really exists in this world."
Tang Thirty-Six looked at Chen Changsheng and let out a cold laugh.
Chen Changsheng grew tense and asked, "Why bring this up out of nowhere?"
"Who knows what's wrong with him today," Xuan Yuan Po said with some grievance. "I answered seriously, and he ended up scolding me."
Zheshou stood by the window and suddenly said, "Su Li has left. She should still be on Li Mountain, right?"
Chen Changsheng was startled, thinking he had been discovered meeting Xu Yourong earlier, but then realized he was just confirming the answer.
"The news brought by the southern delegation should be accurate."
As Tang Thirty-Six said this, he glanced at Chen Changsheng again.
Chen Changsheng ignored him and looked at Zheshou with concern, asking, "What do you plan to do?"
The current National Academy, from the dean to the director to the logistics manager to the instructors, were all very young, none over twenty. They were all young people, and what they cared about most were the most poignant beauties and sorrows of youth—besides the engagement and battles between Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong, there was the story of Zheshou and Qijian.
Zheshou looked at the snow outside the window, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes, which, though weathered by storms, still held a hint of youthful rawness.
"Once I finish my business in the capital, I'll go to Li Mountain to pick her up."
Chen Changsheng and the others exchanged glances. They heard clearly that Zheshou didn't use the word "see" but "pick up."
At that moment, they could almost envision the countless battles on Li Mountain in the future, the splattered wolf blood.
Zheshou was heading to his death, but the problem was that no one in this world had yet appeared who could stop him from seeking it.
Tang Thirty-Six didn't want Zheshou to spiral into a frenzied state, so he signaled Su Moyu with a look and said, "What business do you have in the capital?"
Su Moyu caught on, thinking that no matter how Zheshou answered, they would all exaggerate the difficulty of the task to delay his trip to Li Mountain and his death.
"I want to kill Zhou Tong." Zheshou turned to face them, expressionless.
The room fell silent.
Tang Thirty-Six was quiet for a moment, then said, "Then let's all disperse. It's not something that can be settled in ten or eight years anyway."
Shortly after everyone dispersed, he came to Chen Changsheng's room, not caring about the mud and snow on his clothes, and sat unceremoniously on the spotless bed, where even a single strand of hair would be hard to find. Then he pointed at Chen Changsheng and said with certainty, "There's no such thing as love at first sight in this world."
Chen Changsheng glanced at the muddy water dripping from the hem of his clothes, controlled his emotions, and asked, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Oh, I wasn't precise enough. Of course, it's possible for you to fall for Xu Yourong at first sight. Someone as perfect as Qiu Shan Jun, who even I envy a little, is deeply in love with her, let alone a young boy like you who's never experienced matters between men and women."
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and continued, "But there's absolutely no way she fell for you at first sight, so something's off here."
Chen Changsheng wasn't too bothered by this issue, just curious, and asked, "Why can't she?"
Tang Thirty-Six pointed to the washstand by the wall and said, "Go look in the mirror."
Chen Changsheng actually walked over, looked at himself in the mirror, and said, "I'm not ugly."
Tang Thirty-Six opened his mouth, completely speechless.
He confirmed once again that both Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng were truly beyond words.
Chen Changsheng looked at himself in the mirror and chuckled.
Tang Thirty-Six grew furious and shouted, "There's no way she fell for you after just one meeting on the Bridge of Helplessness! Even if she had imagined you many times because of the engagement, it's impossible, because you're merely not ugly—far from handsome, and definitely not as good-looking as me!"
Chen Changsheng turned to face him and asked, "And then?"
Tang Thirty-Six stood up, walked over to him, looked him in the eye, and said, "I'm worried she has some ulterior motive toward you."
Anyone who didn't know the story of the Zhou Garden would, upon discovering that Xu Yourong was dating Chen Changsheng, definitely find it suspicious.
Chen Changsheng understood, so he didn't feel defensive or angry. He reassured him, "Don't worry, it's fine."
He spoke naturally but firmly.
Seeing his expression, Tang Thirty-Six was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "You've met before."
Chen Changsheng thought of Xu Yourong's instructions and shook his head.
Tang Thirty-Six sneered, "She wouldn't fall for you at first sight, yet she likes you. That means this isn't your first meeting."
This reasoning was full of holes yet irrefutable. Chen Changsheng didn't know what to do and tried to explain, "We exchanged letters when we were kids, so we're not strangers."
"Keep making up stories," Tang Thirty-Six said, expressionless.
Chen Changsheng was truly at a loss. He looked at him earnestly and pleaded, "Then you must keep it secret. Don't tell anyone."
Tang Thirty-Six's expression immediately softened. He put his arm around Chen Changsheng's shoulder, remembering to close the window, and raised an eyebrow. "Who am I? Can't you trust me?"
If he had to recount the entire story in detail, how long would it take, how many words, how much...
After hearing what happened in the Zhou Garden, Tang Thirty-Six was stunned for a long time without speaking.
Finally, he looked at Chen Changsheng and repeated the same sentiment: "Are you a pig?"
Chen Changsheng felt ashamed and had no confidence to refute this. Thinking of something else, he asked for advice, "I don't understand why she doesn't want me to tell anyone about this."
Tang Thirty-Six was speechless and said, "You don't get that? You really are a pig."
Being called a pig twice in a row made Chen Changsheng a bit uncomfortable. He said, "She didn't recognize me in the Zhou Garden either, did she?"
"So fate is destined. The two of you are what they call a match made in heaven."
Tang Thirty-Six pushed open the window, looking at the starry sky after the snow had stopped and the clouds had scattered, deeply moved.
Chen Changsheng was delighted by these words and said, "Thank you for your blessing."
Tang Thirty-Six turned to look at him seriously and said, "You and Xu Yourong are like a boar and a sow—perfectly matched."
...
...
There was something strange about Su Li's two letters—Chen Changsheng had confirmed this the moment he received them. So he didn't open them in front of Xu Yourong. Instead, he waited until late at night, when all was quiet, and went alone to the kitchen across the lake. After making all necessary preparations, he used the Stainless Sword to cut them open.
The Stainless Sword was arguably the sharpest sword in the world, easily slicing a thin line through the yellow envelope.
But his brow furrowed, because he could clearly sense that as the blade of the Stainless Sword moved through the envelope, it encountered countless extremely fine yet resilient threads of energy. These threads felt like hard iron bars. If not for the sharpness of the Stainless Sword, given his current cultivation level, he likely wouldn't have been able to cut open the envelope.
He took several deep breaths to calm his mind, then pulled the letter paper out of the envelope.
It was a thin, ordinary piece of paper. But when he unfolded it and looked at it by the dim light of the firewood, countless fine sword intents burst forth from the paper, turning into countless snowflakes outside the window, or like willow leaves falling by the Luo River in late summer.
Sssssssss! Countless sharp, almost piercing sounds rang out around him.
Those were sword intents. The iron pot on the stove was instantly shredded into countless pieces. The tiles on the stove were sliced into fragments. Then, the firewood beside the stove was also cut to pieces. The burning logs in the stove hole were shattered, sparks flying everywhere. Even the flames themselves seemed to be sliced apart by those sword intents.
Chen Changsheng stood amidst the swirling sword intents filling the room, his expression grave, not daring to move an inch.