Chapter 69: The True Crux of the Matter
“What’s wrong?” Tang Thirty-Six asked.
Back then, at the edge of the cliff, when Chen Changsheng wanted to confirm whether that man dressed like a tourist was the legendary Wang Zhice, the other party had merely smiled without speaking and shook his head. However, the elderly man accompanying him had said very seriously that this was a secret of heaven that could not be revealed, or else divine punishment would follow…
“This matter… I probably shouldn’t speak of it.”
Chen Changsheng looked at Tang Thirty-Six and Zhe Xiu, speaking with some unease. “You can’t tell anyone else.”
Tang Thirty-Six and Zhe Xiu exchanged glances for the third time today.
Silence once again fell over the room.
No one knew how much time passed before Tang Thirty-Six and Zhe Xiu nodded.
Seeing this scene, Chen Changsheng felt relieved. He knew very well that these two friends of his, once they agreed to something, would definitely follow through.
“Your luck… is really good.”
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and said, his tone filled with emotion, and one could even detect a faint trace of envy. Money could move the gods, and there were very few things in this world he couldn’t accomplish, so he rarely envied anyone. But Chen Changsheng’s fortune and opportunities were enough to make him envious.
The legendary Wang Zhice was still alive and had reappeared in the world, and Chen Changsheng had seen him, precisely at the moment he was being hunted by the Demon Lord. At that time and place, aside from someone like Wang Zhice, who had no reason to appear, who could have saved him?
Since arriving in the capital from Xining, Chen Changsheng had heard too many times the assessment that his fate was good. He knew very well that his fate was not good, but having heard it so often, he sometimes couldn’t help but wonder if these encounters he had were the starry sky’s compensation for his destiny?
At this moment, Tang Thirty-Six said with some confusion, “Since Lord Wang is still alive, why hasn’t he appeared all these years?”
Zhe Xiu said expressionlessly from the side, “Why should he appear?”
Tang Thirty-Six said, “Whether it’s to resist the demon race or to strengthen our Great Zhou…”
He stopped mid-sentence because he had understood the meaning behind Zhe Xiu’s words. No one knew what had happened before Wang Zhice disappeared back then, but the entire continent knew that Emperor Taizong had never really liked him. And if he truly did reappear, how would the Great Zhou court treat him?
As for resisting the demon race… Wang Zhice had already done too much; the entire human world had no right to demand more from him.
“How many days was I unconscious?” Chen Changsheng finally thought to ask this question.
Tang Thirty-Six was still immersed in the shock of Wang Zhice being alive and didn’t answer him.
Zhe Xiu held up five fingers, like a slap.
So he had been unconscious for five days. Chen Changsheng wondered what had happened on Cold Mountain during this time and asked, “Any new developments?”
Zhe Xiu thought for a moment, realized there was too much to say, so he shook his head and directly slapped Tang Thirty-Six on the back, snapping him out of it.
Tang Thirty-Six then spoke about the tense situation on the continent and the strained atmosphere on Cold Mountain.
“Then… will the Stone Boiling Assembly still proceed?”
“Based on the attitudes of Mao Qiuyu and the King of Linghai, if you remained unconscious, they would take you back to the capital, and the assembly would naturally end. But now you’re awake.”
“Have all the people attending the Stone Boiling Assembly arrived? Did they encounter any danger?”
Tang Thirty-Six gave him a meaningful look and said, “Everyone who should be here has arrived. Nothing’s wrong.”
Upon hearing that Chen Changsheng had awakened, Mao Qiuyu and the King of Linghai came to the small building to inquire. After confirming that his body was fine, they withdrew their proposal to return to the capital. Important figures from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion also came to visit, their attitude very respectful, even overly humble, and they mentioned that in a few days, the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man would personally come to see him, and so on…
Chen Changsheng didn’t quite understand. He thought that even if he were the successor to the Pope, it shouldn’t make the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion so deferential. Moreover, the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man, as the foremost of the Eight Directions Winds, was of such high status. And if he needed a few days, could it be that the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man had suffered serious injuries during the Demon Lord’s breaking of the formation?
As he pondered these questions and many more, time passed, and it grew late into the night. Everyone inside and outside the small building had fallen asleep. The national religion’s cavalry and the experts of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion patrolled vigilantly not far away. All around was quiet, and one could clearly hear the sound of the lake water lapping against the rocks.
After waking up, Chen Changsheng had asked Tang Thirty-Six whether all the people attending the Stone Boiling Assembly had arrived and whether they had encountered any danger. Tang Thirty-Six had answered that everyone who should be there was there, his words carrying hidden meaning, because only he knew who Chen Changsheng was truly asking about.
When everyone on the peak had fallen asleep, the person who should have arrived finally came.
The window was pushed open, and the warm lake breeze drifted in, along with a graceful figure.
That figure, accompanied by the lake breeze, floated directly to his bedside, sat down, and asked softly, “How are you?”
Chen Changsheng looked into her eyes, as clear as autumn water, and saw the concern in her gaze. He suddenly found that being injured wasn’t such a hard thing to accept.
“I’m fine, really.”
The person who came was naturally Xu Yourong.
Hearing Chen Changsheng say he was fine, she didn’t relax. She closed her eyes, raised her right hand, and aimed it at his brow from a distance.
A holy, clear light descended and entered Chen Changsheng’s body.
There were very few people in the world who could use the Holy Light Technique to such a level. Aside from the Pope and the three Red Cardinals of the Azure Thirteen Divisions, she was probably the strongest.
Chen Changsheng only felt a gentle breeze brush his face, then enter his body. The true essence in his meridians flowed joyfully like a spring stream, and his injuries gradually healed.
“Thank you.”
“Who was that person?”
The former Southern Holy Maiden and Su Li had drifted away together. Now, the Southern Creek Nunnery was led by a young girl like Xu Yourong, so some information couldn’t be obtained too accurately.
“It should be the Demon Lord,” Chen Changsheng said.
The room was very quiet. After a long time, Xu Yourong reached out and patted the back of his hand, saying, “As long as you’re fine.”
It was clear that she had never done anything to comfort someone before, so both the patting motion and her tone of voice seemed somewhat stiff or clumsy.
She didn’t ask how Chen Changsheng had survived, but Chen Changsheng didn’t intend to hide it from her, even though during the day he had told Tang Thirty-Six and Zhe Xiu that this matter couldn’t be mentioned.
“I might have met Lord Wang Zhice.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Yourong was truly shocked. The image of that middle-aged scholar creating bloody and terrifying scenes by the stream, revealing incredibly powerful strength, combined with the reactions of the strong in the human world, had already led her to basically confirm that the other party was the Demon Lord. She had only needed final confirmation from Chen Changsheng, but she never expected to learn from him the earth-shattering news that Wang Zhice was still alive.
To her, this was even more shocking than the news of the Demon Lord’s reappearance.
Wang Zhice held a very special position in the history of the human world. Back then, when the allied forces of humans and demons fought against the demon cavalry, Emperor Taizong was the commander-in-chief, the leader, while Wang Zhice was the deputy commander. He personally led the allied forces deep into the snowy plains for tens of thousands of miles, straight to the Snow Old City. In terms of merit alone, he was in no way inferior to Emperor Taizong; one could even say he deserved the highest credit. If it weren’t for the Hundred Herbs Garden Incident and other complex reasons, and Emperor Taizong’s deep dislike and fear of him, he would have absolutely been qualified to rank first in the Lingyan Pavilion.
Although this news was shocking, Xu Yourong quickly came to her senses and asked, “Why did the Demon Lord come to kill you?”
In the eyes of Tang Thirty-Six and Zhe Xiu, how Chen Changsheng managed to survive the Demon Lord’s attack was the most important thing, and they thought everyone was most concerned about this question. Xu Yourong didn’t think so. She was much calmer and more clear-headed, and she directly asked about the true crux of the matter.
…
…
(See you in the evening.)
The Legend of the Mortal