Chapter 571: The Cloud Wanderer
Who had died and who still lived? Hearing the middle-aged scholar’s words, the man dressed as a traveler fell silent for a moment. Gazing at the distant mountains to calm his heart, watching the sea of clouds and feeling the vicissitudes of time, he said calmly, “Neither you nor His Majesty are that kind of person. So, logically speaking, you shouldn’t be here.”
The middle-aged scholar did not directly answer his question. Instead, he said, “Seeing you appear, I am finally convinced this is not a trap.”
The man asked, “How so?”
The middle-aged scholar replied, “If this were a trap you had set, I would likely be in some trouble today—at least far more trouble than I am in now.”
The man said, “Not necessarily. Since he has always been by Your Majesty’s side, how could he fail to see through a trap I set?”
The middle-aged scholar shook his head and said, “He disagreed with my decision, so this time I came alone.”
The man was somewhat surprised and asked, “Your Majesty has always followed his advice without question. Why not this time?”
The middle-aged scholar turned to face the peaks across the precipice. After a moment of silence, he said, “My time is running short.”
The man said, “Your Majesty’s time is indeed running short.”
The time the middle-aged scholar spoke of was clearly a concept on a larger scale. The time the man referred to, however, meant that the Cold Mountain Heaven Stone Grand Formation had already been activated. If the middle-aged scholar did not leave quickly, he might indeed be surrounded by the peerless experts of the human world.
“You want to keep me here a while longer?” The middle-aged scholar did not turn around. His voice carried a hint of coldness, yet remained confident and overbearing.
The man gestured for his elderly companion to stand behind him. Looking at the middle-aged scholar’s back, he said, “I have paid no heed to worldly affairs these past years. Neither you nor Little Tianhai have bothered to send people to hunt me down. I enjoy this life and have no intention of changing it.”
The middle-aged scholar turned to face him and said, “You and he are both the kind of people any emperor would most want to eliminate. That you have survived to this day is because you are clever enough—and, of course, strong enough. Whether it’s me or Tianhai, killing you would inevitably cause some trouble.”
The man said, “Indeed. In a little while, when Tianhai and Yin arrive, you’ll be in trouble.”
The middle-aged scholar said coldly, “They won’t make it in time. At most, some useless fools like Zhu Luo will show up.”
Suddenly, the man glanced at Chen Changsheng and asked, “Why does Your Majesty want to kill this youth?”
The middle-aged scholar looked at him and said, “Do I need to explain my actions to you? I am not your Emperor Chen.”
The man smiled and said, “I was once used to asking Your Majesty for reasons, and today I ask again. Please forgive my impertinence.”
In this sentence and throughout the conversation, the title “Your Majesty” appeared many times, but it did not refer to a single sovereign.
The middle-aged scholar sneered and said, “No wonder your Emperor Chen never liked you.”
The man replied, “These are all old, rotten matters from years past. Why bring them up? Your Majesty, your time truly is running short.”
The middle-aged scholar stared at him quietly and said, “You want to spare this youth’s life?”
The man said, “Correct.”
The middle-aged scholar’s expression turned cold. “What will you offer in exchange?”
“Of course… Your Majesty’s time,” the man said. “Time is life.”
The middle-aged scholar said, “A thousand years ago, you painstakingly led your cavalry across ten thousand miles of snowy plains just to kill me… Today’s opportunity is far better than that. I don’t understand why you would give it up—for this insignificant little brat?”
“If he were truly insignificant, why would Your Majesty come all this way to kill him? I don’t know the reason, but at least I can confirm he is important to the human race.”
The man continued, “Your Majesty’s life is certainly more important than his, but the problem is that I am not that fortune-teller at the peak. I do not believe trading this youth’s life for Your Majesty’s is the right choice. In truth, life itself cannot be judged by value.”
The middle-aged scholar said, “Though this statement is absurd, it also holds reason.”
How could absurdity hold reason? Ordinary people wouldn’t understand—like Chen Changsheng or the old man timidly hiding behind the man—but the two speakers did.
Both were legendary figures of their eras, their actions naturally extraordinary. The middle-aged scholar turned and left without hesitation, utterly indifferent. Despite how important and risky it was for him to leave Snow Old City and come to Cold Mountain, he gained nothing and returned—a difficult outcome to accept.
But no matter how hard to accept, one must always accept the karma that has already occurred.
The middle-aged scholar knew the man was right. Everything the man had said and done in his life seemed never to be wrong.
So he chose to leave.
…
…
Watching the middle-aged scholar’s figure vanish into the night mist, listening to the thunderous rumbling grow fainter, it was a long time before the man dressed as a traveler confirmed that the scholar had truly gone and would not return. Only then did he let out a soft sigh, filled with emotion.
“Can he break the Cold Mountain Heaven Stone Grand Formation?”
The old man, who had been hiding behind him, finally dared to step forward. Still shaken, he asked, “If he can’t, will he come back?”
The man smiled and said, “The Heavenly Mechanism has always thought highly of itself, inevitably overestimating its own abilities.”
The old man understood his meaning—that as long as there was no interference, the middle-aged scholar should be able to break out of the formation in a very short time. He couldn’t help but ask, puzzled, “If that’s the case… then if you had struck earlier, it would have been the perfect chance to kill him.”
“A thousand years ago, the strongest of both the human and demon races wanted nothing more than to kill him. But… the situation is different now.”
“How is it different?”
“He lost to Big Brother by one move, so he is no longer invincible. And he has grown old.”
“Still… it feels like such a pity.”
“Besides, if we fought, what would happen to this little one?” The man pointed at Chen Changsheng.
The old man looked at Chen Changsheng with disdain and said, “It’s all because of this little brat that you were held back.”
Earlier, facing the middle-aged scholar, the old man had been exceptionally humble and respectful toward the man beside him. But his words and demeanor toward Chen Changsheng were extremely rude.
After the Grand Examination, Chen Changsheng had been implicitly established as the successor to the Pope. No one in the world would treat him so rudely anymore. Even his opponents maintained proper courtesy. It could only be said that this old man had seen too many great figures in the capital back in the day to be constrained by Chen Changsheng’s status.
Chen Changsheng did not react, because he was too stunned to do anything. In fact, from the moment the man dressed as a traveler began speaking with the middle-aged scholar, he had been unable to utter a word. A few exchanges had been enough to make the middle-aged scholar retreat—what kind of person still existed in the world today?
He knew who the middle-aged scholar was, and from the conversation, he had vaguely guessed the true identity of the man dressed as a traveler.
He was too shocked, even unable to believe it.
Earlier, the traveler had told the middle-aged scholar not to bring up those old, rotten matters from years past… No, those were major events recorded in history books! They were all great figures destined to be written into history, and they would surely occupy the largest space and the most important positions!
“Little friend, why did he come to kill you?”
Just then, a gentle voice rang out among the cliffs, jolting Chen Changsheng from his shock.
He looked at the man who had walked up to him, mouth open, unable to speak for a long time.
The man had a handsome, refined face, his brows lightly touched by the wear of time. As he spoke, an air of scholarly elegance drifted from his lips, giving him an indescribably lofty aura.
Chen Changsheng stared at that face, utterly unable to think about how to answer, too stunned even to notice his hand trembling slightly on the sword hilt.
Anyone who saw a legend everyone believed dead suddenly appear before them would probably react the same way. Not to mention that this legendary figure was the one he admired most.
His voice trembled as he said, “Are you…”
The man smiled and shook his head, signaling him not to ask.
“You can’t say it, or we’ll incur heavenly punishment,” the old man beside him warned, his expression serious, not joking.
Chen Changsheng didn’t understand, but he obediently clamped his mouth shut, afraid that speaking carelessly might leak some heavenly secret and bring trouble to the other. Then, lifting the front of his robe, he unhesitatingly knelt to perform a grand bow.
The man did not let him kneel. He supported Chen Changsheng by the arms, looking at him with a silent smile.
His gaze drifted down to a certain spot on Chen Changsheng’s body, and his brow slowly rose, as if he had discovered something very interesting.
Finally, he shook his head, let out a soft sigh, and turned to walk toward the edge of the cliff.
The old man followed behind him.
Chen Changsheng hurried after them, but to his surprise, the man and the old man stepped directly into the abyss beyond the cliff.
At that moment, the night shrouding Cold Mountain was gradually fading, as if a second dawn had arrived.
A white cloud, coming from nowhere, rose from the bottom of the ravine.
The man and the old man stepped off the cliff and landed on the cloud.
The white cloud drifted lazily into the distance.
This was what it meant to be a cloud wanderer.
…
…
The mountain wind was slightly cold, and daylight had returned. Presumably, the middle-aged scholar had already broken through the Cold Mountain Heaven Stone Grand Formation and returned to the north.
Chen Changsheng felt no relief at having survived. He didn’t even think about it. He just stood at the edge of the cliff, staring blankly in the direction where the white cloud had disappeared.
When he had come to his senses earlier, he had wanted to say so much to the man dressed as a traveler, but unfortunately, there was no time. He wanted to tell him that he had been to Lingyan Pavilion, seen his portrait there, read his notes, and taken the black stone he had left behind…
Thinking of this, he pulled out the string of stone beads, looked at the black stone, and remained silent for a long time. After who knows how long, he bowed deeply toward the direction where the cloud had vanished, then turned and walked into the cliffs opposite the sea of clouds. But before he could take two steps, he collapsed to the ground.