Chapter 65: The Cloud Wanderer
Who had died, and who still lived? Hearing these words from the middle-aged scholar, the man who looked like a tourist fell silent for a moment. Gazing into 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 here, 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 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 any trap I might 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 said, "Your Majesty has always followed his advice without question. Why not this time?"
The middle-aged scholar turned to face the peaks on the opposite side of the cliff. 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 much larger scale. The time the man referred to, however, meant that the Cold Mountain Heavenly Stone Grand Formation had already been activated. If the middle-aged scholar did not leave immediately, he might indeed be surrounded by the world's most powerful experts.
"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 it 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 assassins after me. I enjoy this life and have no intention of changing it."
The middle-aged scholar turned around and looked at him, saying, "You and he are the kind of people every emperor most wants to eliminate. You have survived to this day because you are clever enough—and, of course, strong enough. Whether I or Tianhai want to kill you, it 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 trash like Zhu Luo will come."
The man suddenly 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 accustomed to asking Your Majesty for reasons. Today, I ask out of habit. Please do not take offense."
In this sentence and throughout this 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 said, "All that is old, rotten sesame seed business. Why bring it up again? 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 replied, "That is correct."
The middle-aged scholar said coldly, "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 an insignificant little brat, why would Your Majesty come all this way to kill him? Though I do not know the reason, I can at least confirm that he is important to the human race."
The man continued, "Your Majesty's life is certainly more important than his. But the problem is, 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, matters of life cannot be judged by value."
The middle-aged scholar said, "Though this statement is absurd, it also has some reason."
How could the absurd also be reasonable? Ordinary people would not understand—people like Chen Changsheng and the old man timidly hiding behind the man—but the two speakers understood.
Both were legendary figures of their eras, their actions naturally extraordinary. The middle-aged scholar turned and left without hesitation, completely unconcerned. He paid no mind to how important and risky it was for him to leave Snow Old City and come to Cold Mountain, nor how hard it was to accept returning without gaining anything.
Because no matter how hard it was to accept, one must always accept the karma that had already occurred.
The middle-aged scholar knew the man was not wrong. Everything the man had said and done in his life seemed never to have been wrong.
So he chose to leave.
...
...
Watching the middle-aged scholar's figure disappear into the night fog, listening to the thunderous rumbling grow fainter and fainter, it was a long time before the tourist-like man confirmed that the middle-aged scholar had gone far away and would not return. Only then did he let out a soft sigh, filled with emotion.
"Can he break through the Cold Mountain Heavenly Stone Grand Formation?"
The old man, who had been hiding behind him, finally dared to step forward. Still shaken by lingering fear, he asked, "If he can't break through, will he come back?"
The man smiled and said, "Heavenly Secrets has always thought highly of himself. He inevitably overestimates himself a bit."
The old man understood his meaning. He was saying 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. This puzzled him, and he asked, "So... if you had struck earlier, sir, it would have been the perfect chance to kill him."
"A thousand years ago, whether among humans or demons, the strongest all wanted most 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."
"But... it still 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 one that you were held back, sir."
Earlier, facing the middle-aged scholar, the old man had been exceptionally humble and extremely respectful to the man beside him. But his words and demeanor toward Chen Changsheng were utterly rude.
After the Grand Examination, Chen Changsheng had vaguely established his position 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, so Chen Changsheng's status meant nothing to him.
Chen Changsheng did not react, because he was too shocked to make any response at all. In fact, from the moment the tourist-like man began conversing with the middle-aged scholar, he had been unable to speak. With just a few words, the man had made the middle-aged scholar retreat. Where in the world was there still such a figure?
He knew who the middle-aged scholar was. From the conversation, he had vaguely guessed the true identity of this tourist-like man.
He was too astonished, even unable to believe it.
Earlier, this tourist-like man had told the middle-aged scholar not to bring up those old, rotten sesame seed matters... No, those matters were great events recorded in history books! They were both great figures destined to be recorded in 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 sounded from the cliffside, jolting Chen Changsheng out of his shock.
He looked at the man who had walked up to him. His mouth opened, but for a long time, he could not speak.
The man had a handsome, refined face, with a touch of weariness at his brows. When he spoke, a faint scholarly aura drifted from his lips, giving him an indescribably lofty air.
Chen Changsheng stared at this face, completely unable to think about how to answer. He was so stunned that even the hand gripping his sword hilt trembled slightly.
Anyone who saw a legend that everyone believed to be dead suddenly appear before them would probably react this way. Not to mention that this legendary figure was the one he admired most.
His voice trembled as he said, "You are..."
The man smiled and shook his head, signaling him not to ask.
"Don't say it, or we'll be struck by heavenly punishment," the old man beside him warned, his expression serious, not joking.
Chen Changsheng did not understand, but he obediently clamped his mouth shut, afraid that if he spoke carelessly, he might leak some heavenly secret and bring trouble to the other. Then he lifted the front of his robe and, without hesitation, knelt to perform a grand bow.
The man did not let him kneel. He caught Chen Changsheng by the arms, looked at him, and smiled without speaking.
His gaze drifted down to a certain spot on Chen Changsheng's body, and his brows slowly rose, as if he had discovered something very interesting.
Finally, he shook his head, let out a soft sigh, turned, and walked 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 walked straight into the abyss beyond the cliff.
At that moment, the night that shrouded Cold Mountain was gradually fading, as if a second dawn was arriving.
A white cloud, 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 Heavenly Stone Grand Formation and returned to the north.
Chen Changsheng did not feel the relief of surviving a disaster. He did not even think about it. He just stood at the edge of the cliff, staring blankly in the direction where the white cloud had disappeared.
After coming to his senses earlier, he had had so many things he wanted to say to that tourist-like man, but unfortunately, he had not had the chance. 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 touched the string of stone beads, staring at the black stone, silent for a long time. No one knew how much time passed before he bowed deeply in the direction where the white cloud had vanished. Then he turned and walked toward the cliff in the opposite direction of the sea of clouds. But before he could take two steps, he collapsed to the ground.