Chapter 70: This Is Not Good
Back when he was defeated by Zhou Dufu, the Demon Lord suffered severe injuries and spent a thousand years recuperating in the Snow Old City. Why did he suddenly come to Han Mountain this time? What could be worth such a great figure taking such a huge risk? What does Chen Changsheng possess? Or rather, what does his existence signify?
This was something the Old Man of Heaven’s Secrets could never calculate, and Xu Yourong couldn’t deduce it using the Fate Star Disk either, but she could ask directly.
If she dared to ask, Chen Changsheng dared to answer, even though this was his greatest secret. He had no secrets from her, and besides, this secret had already been revealed to her back in the Zhou Mausoleum. More precisely, part of that secret now resided within her own body.
Chen Changsheng pointed at himself and, without making a sound, mouthed a single word: “Blood.”
Xu Yourong understood. Adding this to the records of the Demon Lord’s injuries in the Nanxi Study, she now grasped the entire origin of the matter.
“Nanke?” she asked, equally silently.
Chen Changsheng nodded.
Xu Yourong looked at him, her eyes filled with worry.
Now that the Demon Lord knew Chen Changsheng’s secret, it meant he could strike at any moment. That was the most fearsome powerhouse on this continent. To be constantly watched coldly by such a being—how heavy a shadow would that cast? Living under that shadow, what kind of pressure would one have to bear?
Xu Yourong, who prided herself on her clear Dao heart, couldn’t even imagine how she would handle such a situation. She was very worried about Chen Changsheng. Even if he never left the capital from now on, with the state religion’s heavy protection, if his state of mind was constrained, it would be extremely detrimental to his cultivation.
Chen Changsheng himself wasn’t worried about this problem, because he had already lived under a similar shadow for years. He was more concerned about whether more people would learn the secret within his body. He had never forgotten what his senior brother Yuren had said that night—no one could resist that kind of temptation.
Xu Yourong said, “They won’t.”
Chen Changsheng thought it over and agreed with her view. The Demon Lord would likely keep this secret hidden.
It was like a treasure sunk at the bottom of a lake—someone who learned of it would never shout it to the world but would instead quietly and slowly dredge it up themselves.
“Have you considered that the Demon Lord’s appearance at Han Mountain might be a conspiracy?”
Xu Yourong seemed to have thought of something and looked into his eyes very seriously.
Chen Changsheng had speculated about this with Tang Thirty-Six and Zhe Xiu, but they couldn’t figure out the reasoning, so he shook his head.
Xu Yourong looked into his eyes and said, “Where is Dean Shang? What exactly does he want? And what does His Holiness the Pope want?”
Chen Changsheng didn’t want to continue this topic and remained silent.
Xu Yourong fell silent too.
After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly said, “Tell Her Majesty about this.”
Chen Changsheng looked into her eyes but said nothing.
Xu Yourong quietly met his gaze without backing down. “If this is a scheme by His Holiness the Pope and Dean Shang, then only Her Majesty can break it.”
Chen Changsheng said without hesitation, “I trust His Holiness the Pope.”
Xu Yourong asked, “And Dean Shang?”
Chen Changsheng didn’t respond. He got up, walked to the table, and poured himself a cup of tea.
Xu Yourong watched his back, a flicker of pity passing through her eyes. “Everyone thinks you’re the successor of the state religion, naturally standing against Her Majesty. But have you ever considered that if you looked at it from a different angle, the view might be completely different?”
Chen Changsheng knew she wasn’t trying to persuade him on behalf of the Empress Dowager; she was concerned about him. But he couldn’t say anything.
Just like that conversation with Tang Thirty-Six back in the National Academy, everyone had their own responsibilities.
He was a river child, found by his master, raised, educated, and shaped into who he was. After arriving in the capital, he was nurtured by Archbishop Meilisha and valued by His Holiness the Pope. He had received so much from the state religion that he had to bear the corresponding responsibilities. And besides…
“I don’t trust Her Majesty.” Holding the teacup, with his back to Xu Yourong, he said very calmly.
“Why?” Xu Yourong stood up and looked at him. “Just because Her Majesty is a woman and not a man?”
Chen Changsheng looked at the teacup in his hand and said, “No, because she’s not a good person.”
When it came to matters as significant as the Great Zhou throne and the succession of the state religion, discussing figures who had weathered the world for years in terms of male and female, good and bad—if anyone else heard this, they would surely mock the young man and woman for being naive, childish, and ridiculous.
But they were speaking seriously.
Xu Yourong knew that Chen Changsheng was that kind of person.
She herself was that kind of person too.
The room grew quiet, and for a long time, neither of them spoke again.
This was the first time since they had met that they had discussed such matters relatively formally. They had never done so before, because of the so-called barrier of opposing camps.
“To me… Her Majesty is like a mother.”
After an unknown amount of time, Xu Yourong’s voice sounded again, faint but thick with emotion.
Regarding the relationship between the Heavenly Sea Empress Dowager and Xu Yourong, many people, including Chen Changsheng, found it hard to understand how such favor and trust had come about. It wasn’t until Su Li’s letter, with its sky-scorching sword rising into the night sky of the capital and clashing with the Wooden Sword Xiao Feng, that everyone learned the true reason—the Empress Dowager also possessed the Heavenly Phoenix bloodline. In that sense, Xu Yourong was her true heir, even more important than a child of her own blood.
“But she’s not a good person.” Chen Changsheng looked into Xu Yourong’s eyes and said calmly yet firmly, “So I won’t trust her.”
Xu Yourong looked at him and asked softly, “What is the standard for good and evil?”
Chen Changsheng said, “I’m not trying to debate with you. Arguments like ‘great good is evil’ are beyond my grasp. I only know that she has killed many innocent people.”
Since she took personal control of state affairs centuries ago, countless people had died at the hands of the Heavenly Sea Empress Dowager—members of the Chen royal clan, old factions of the state religion, corrupt officials, and criminals who did evil. But no one could deny that in this process, many who should not have died perished because of her.
“Uncle Su Li also killed many people. Though he didn’t mean to, plenty of innocents died by his sword.”
“Intent versus accident—to me, that’s a huge difference.”
“Then how can you be sure that the deaths of those innocents were intentional on Her Majesty’s part?”
“Because of Zhou Tong.” Chen Changsheng looked into her eyes and said, “Zhou Tong is pure evil. He delights in cruelty and takes pleasure in tormenting others. From the very day Her Majesty employed this man, she could no longer claim she had no intention of doing harm.”
Xu Yourong was silent for a moment before saying, “To lay all of Zhou Tong’s sins at Her Majesty’s feet—isn’t that a bit unfair?”
Chen Changsheng said, “If a dog owner doesn’t leash his dog and it bites someone, it’s the owner’s fault. If a sharp blade is drawn to kill, it’s the fault of the hand that wields it.”
The whole world knew that Zhou Tong was the vicious dog and sharp knife raised by the Empress Dowager.
Xu Yourong looked into his eyes and said, “You’re willing to defend Uncle Su Li but refuse to show Her Majesty any understanding. In the end, it’s still prejudice.”
Chen Changsheng said, “I never saw how many people Su Li killed back in the Eternal Sect or at Xunyang City, but… Her Majesty and Zhou Tong’s killings in the capital back then were all recorded in books. I’ve read those books, and I know those words were written in blood. They’re blinding.”
Silence fell again, and for a long time, neither of them spoke.