Chapter 71: A Night Like a Honey Date

Chapter 71: A Night Like a Honey Date

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Xu Yourong walked to the window, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and gazed at the scattered stars reflected in the lake water outside. Her voice became as faint as the water itself.

"If something really happens in the capital in the future, what would you do?"

Chen Changsheng said, "I cultivate by following my heart. If something comes, my heart will naturally move."

Xu Yourong did not turn around. After a moment of silence, she asked, "What if what comes is me?"

Chen Changsheng thought about it very seriously, but found he could not envision that scene, no matter what conclusion he reached in advance. He said, "I don't know."

The dozen or so small buildings that the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion had built by the lake were extremely exquisite. The one Chen Changsheng lived in, in particular, had windows that opened directly onto the lake. Outside the window was a wooden plank path. Following this path down, one could walk right into the shallow water at the lake's edge. Under the starlight, several black fish were swimming in the shallows.

Xu Yourong walked down the wooden plank path. At the lowest wooden platform, she took off her shoes and socks and stepped into the clear, shallow water.

Those black fish were not at all afraid of people. Instead of being startled and swimming away, they gathered around, slowly circling her bare, snow-white feet. The scene was beautiful.

Chen Changsheng watched her standing in the lake water, feeling that her silhouette seemed a little lonely. Then he felt a sense of confusion. Logically speaking, she was the Southern Saintess. Neither the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Master nor Mao Qiuyu should have hidden this matter from her. So why was it that even tonight, she still could not confirm that the middle-aged scholar was the Demon Lord?

The conversation earlier had diluted many emotions. He did not want things to continue developing this way, so he asked about his doubts.

"When the Demon Lord broke through the Cold Mountain Heavenly Stone Formation, the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Master was severely injured and had not yet recovered, so I did not see him."

"What about Dean Mao?"

"He is the arm of the Pope. How could he give me too many conveniences?"

In the end, it was still a matter of factions. Chen Changsheng thought, as the representative of the new faction of the National Church, Linghai Zhiwang must have already pledged allegiance to Her Holiness the Empress. Why hadn't he told you either?

He did not ask this question, but Xu Yourong knew what he was thinking.

She reached her hand into the lake water to tease the little fish, and said casually, as if it were nothing, "He and Tianhai Chengwu invited Xiao De to deal with you. I wasn't happy, so I ignored him."

Hearing that she was unhappy because of this, Chen Changsheng was very happy. He also walked down the wooden plank path outside the window and came to the shallow water by the lake.

The slightly cool lake water rose and fell gently. The fine, soft silver sand felt very comfortable underfoot.

"The Dao Canon says that the Heavenly Pond is formed by the convergence of hot springs. Why is this water a bit cool?"

"The water in the center of the lake is much hotter. I've heard that the water at the two hottest hot spring outlets can boil eggs."

"That sounds interesting. Want to find a chance to try it?"

"Just because it can boil eggs?"

"Mm. It feels very convenient and saves trouble."

"Do you know how to cook?"

"I do... Didn't you eat my cooking in the Zhou Garden?"

"Mm... Then I should probably learn to cook properly."

"The cafeteria at the National Academy is pretty good."

"The chef at Cheng Hu Lou naturally has extraordinary skills, but I can't exactly go back to the capital from Nanxi Zhai every day for a meal."

"Did the White Crane come this time? Want to ask what it thinks?"

"The White Crane has always liked you very much. If it knew you had this kind of idea, it would probably change its mind."

"I was just saying it casually."

"Ah, just saying it casually, huh."

"Ah, I'm serious."

He and she stood side by side in the lake water beneath the small building, looking at the stars in the night sky, chatting casually. Then, gradually, their voices faded away.

They were quiet for a long time, neither speaking.

Unlike the silence in the room earlier, this silence was beautiful.

Because his shoulder gently touched hers. Sometimes they would separate slightly, but then they would lean together again.

No one knew who was leaning towards whom.

After who knows how long, probably tired of standing, the two of them sat down on the lowest wooden platform.

Xu Yourong took a small cloth pouch from her sleeve and took something out of it.

Chen Changsheng didn't notice. Pointing at a dark stone in the lake, he asked, "Is that a Heavenly Stone?"

Xu Yourong's voice was a bit unclear: "Yes."

Chen Changsheng turned to look at her and asked, "How is your understanding of those stones coming along?"

They also had stones, and these were far more important than the Heavenly Stones in Cold Mountain, because those stones were the Heavenly Book Monoliths.

He had come to the Stone Boiling Conference not because he wanted to gain insight from the Heavenly Stones, but just to see her.

But who would have thought that the ten-thousand-mile journey would be safe, only for them to encounter such a major event upon entering Cold Mountain.

"No progress for now. We'll take it slow."

Xu Yourong leaned back slightly, supporting herself on the wooden platform with her hands, her bare feet gently patting the lake surface. She looked very cute.

"I'm a bit anxious... after seeing the Demon Lord."

Thinking of the bloody scene he had witnessed on the mountain path, a tremor of fear stirred in Chen Changsheng's heart.

Xu Yourong understood his feelings and said, "Encountering such an unparalleled powerhouse and surviving will always bring some benefit."

Chen Changsheng hummed in agreement and said, "I just didn't expect the Demon Lord to be so terrifying. The gap is too great."

Back in Xunyang City, Zhu Luo's attacks were mostly blocked by Wang Po.

But this time in Cold Mountain, facing the Demon Lord, Liu Qing and Xiao De were almost completely helpless.

Xu Yourong said, "The Demon Lord is naturally much stronger than Zhu Luo, but there's another key point: Wang Po is also much stronger than Liu Qing and Xiao De."

Chen Changsheng was puzzled. He thought Liu Qing was a peak Star Gathering assassin, and Xiao De was a top-five expert on the Carefree List. Although Wang Po was the number one on the Carefree List, how could he be said to be that much stronger?

"Wang Po is an extraordinary person. He can't be judged by common sense," Xu Yourong said seriously.

Chen Changsheng couldn't rationally accept the fact that Wang Po was stronger than Liu Qing and Xiao De combined, but emotionally, he was very willing to accept it.

"Besides the Demon Lord, who else is formidable on the demon race's side?"

"The Demon Marshal. I've heard he's very strong. Then there are those Demon Generals. You should have seen them on the Snow Plain."

Thinking of the mountain-like shadows he had seen in the distance on the demon domain's Snow Plain, Chen Changsheng subconsciously shook his head.

With his current level of strength and realm, he was far from being able to fight against such powerful enemies.

"Staying in the capital, it's really hard to realize there are so many powerful people in the world."

"You're very powerful too. At least when the Demon Lord was your age, he definitely couldn't beat you."

"I think... that sentence could also apply to you."

"That was my intention."

"..."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

Chen Changsheng wanted to say that her voice was very nice, sweet and soft, as if she had a honey date in her mouth. (Note 1)

With a *pfft*, Xu Yourong spat something into the lake water. The object slowly sank in the water, attracting the little black fish to peck at it.

The lake water was very clear. Chen Changsheng looked closely and realized that what she had spat out was actually a date pit.

The little black fish, finding it wasn't food, swam away disinterestedly. Xu Yourong found it amusing, propped up her feet, and laughed happily.

"Hey..." Watching this scene, Chen Changsheng couldn't help but scratch his head.

Xu Yourong then came to her senses. This wasn't the empty, solitary secluded peak, nor was it beside the card table in the small town.

A young man was sitting beside her.

Her face felt a little hot. Subconsciously, she took the embroidered pouch of snacks from her sleeve, handed it to him, and said softly, "Do you want some?"

At this moment, there was no date pit in her mouth, but her voice was still soft and sticky, because she was a little embarrassed.

She lowered her head and didn't look at Chen Changsheng at all.

Chen Changsheng looked at her long eyelashes, her fair and tender skin, her rosy lips, and for a moment, he was stunned.

He thought to himself, why can I only think of such boring adjectives? (Note 2)

He took the pouch from her hand, took out a snack, didn't even look at what it was, and threw it into his mouth.

"What's wrong?" Xu Yourong looked up and glanced at him.

Chen Changsheng was a very honest person. Looking at her seriously, he said, "You are really beautiful."

Xu Yourong blushed slightly and lowered her head. After a moment, she looked up again and asked him, "Am I more beautiful now, or was I more beautiful in the Zhou Garden?"

Like all young girls, even though she was a Saintess, at a time like this, she would still ask some foolish questions.

Of course, the foolishness here refers to her asking the question, not that the question itself was easy to answer.

When Xu Yourong entered the Zhou Garden, she used the identity of a Qing Yao Thirteen Division disciple, wore a disguise, and her appearance was only ordinary.

Now, she was the most beautiful young woman recognized by the world.

But if Chen Changsheng honestly said she was more beautiful now, that would definitely be wrong.

In fact, this was like that eternal puzzle of the Falling River—very difficult to answer, and it concealed more complex tests and dangers.

This question had no correct answer at all. Whether Chen Changsheng's answer satisfied her depended entirely on her mood at the time.

Chen Changsheng was not good at lying. The wonderful thing was that he had seriously thought about this question himself and had long since reached a conclusion.

"Both are beautiful. Different kinds of beautiful."

He looked at Xu Yourong and said this very seriously.

This was what he truly felt in his heart. The truth.

Xu Yourong was very happy to hear it.

Seeing her happy, he was also very happy.

If only they could sit like this forever. The lake before them, the mountains behind them, the brilliant starry sky above.

You, right by my side.

But could they be together forever?

From somewhere, a layer of clouds drifted over, covering a certain star field in the southern sky, casting a shadow on the lake's surface.

A shadow also appeared in Chen Changsheng's heart.

"There's something I've been hiding from you."

"You said that before."

"Did I?"

"Mm."

"I forgot... Do you want to know?"

"Everyone should have their own secrets. I do too, and I don't want you to know my secrets. So."

"Hey, I suddenly realize I really want to tell you that secret."

"Just because you want to know my secret?"

"Yes."

"Chen Changsheng, you're not some gossipy market woman. Why are you so interested in prying into other people's privacy?"

"Mm... Maybe it's because I cultivate by following my heart?"

...
...

A man and a woman deeply in love could repeat the same sentence three hundred times and never get tired of it.

Because for them, the act of speaking itself wasn't important. What was important was speaking to the other person.

However, for the listeners, having to hear such similar-sounding words so many times was indeed an extremely difficult thing to endure. The sweeter the words, the more so.

Tang Thirty-Six was feeling very uncomfortable right now. He felt he had eaten too much for dinner and wanted to throw up. (Note 3) There was only one path leading to the small building from the mountain side. He was currently sitting cross-legged there, the Wenshui Sword lying horizontally across his knees, a wild grass stalk dangling from his mouth, his face full of indignation. He thought to himself, what a perfect pair of adulterers and adulteresses.

...
...

(Note 1: I forget which novel I read this description in. I think it's particularly good, but I forgot the source. Note 2: Boring adjectives—this is mainly referring to me. Note 3: I'm not sure if Tang Thirty-Six would find it annoying. I'm really worried that you, the readers, might find it annoying. But I really do enjoy writing romance... The shallow water, white sand, and small building—this is naturally the Maldives. The dates, of course, refer to a honeymoon. Let's have a sweet moment. See you all tomorrow.)