Chapter 580: Who Am I
Who is Chen Changsheng?
He is the river child picked up from the stream by Ji Daoist.
He is the young Daoist from Xining who is betrothed to the Heavenly Phoenix True Maiden Xu Yourong.
He is the successor of the National Church, the heir to the Pope.
He has thoroughly read the Daoist Canon, possesses extraordinary talent, and is a genius of the sword.
But, who is he really?
He looked into the eyes of the Old Man of Heaven's Secrets and asked very seriously, "Am I Crown Prince Zhaoming?"
This was one of the most sensational yet most secret rumors in the capital over the past year.
No one knew the answer.
They said the Old Man of Heaven's Secrets knew everything, so did he know?
This question was simple, direct, and exceptionally sharp, like Su Li's sword or Wang Po's blade.
Even though the Old Man of Heaven's Secrets had mentally prepared for this, his eyes still narrowed, and he remained silent for a long time.
After an unknown period, he finally spoke: "Her Majesty asked me to make a special trip to the capital to see you, actually wanting to ask the same question."
Chen Changsheng thought this was exactly what he most wanted to know and asked, "The result?"
The Old Man of Heaven's Secrets said, "There is no result, because... your age doesn't match Crown Prince Zhaoming's."
Chen Changsheng did not feel relieved by this answer, for two reasons.
He had calculated carefully. Although his age didn't match Crown Prince Zhaoming's, Senior Brother Yuren's age matched perfectly. Moreover, the Old Man's words carried a hidden meaning: because the ages didn't match, there was no result. So did this mean that if the ages did match, from every aspect, he should be Crown Prince Zhaoming?
"If your age really did match Crown Prince Zhaoming's, then this matter would instead be wrong."
"Why?"
"Because it would be too right."
Because it was too right, it was wrong. This sounded somewhat mysterious, but Chen Changsheng understood it easily. If his age matched Crown Prince Zhaoming's, the rumors in the capital would easily come true. The hidden storms and thunder would inevitably burst forth, either tearing open the capital's dark veil or blasting him to pieces.
The Old Man of Heaven's Secrets' next sentence directly jolted Chen Changsheng awake, making his body stiffen.
"I know you have a senior brother. His age does match Crown Prince Zhaoming's."
The Old Man looked into his eyes and said, "Don't be nervous. I'm not saying he is Crown Prince Zhaoming."
Chen Changsheng asked, "Why?"
The Old Man said, "Because he matches Crown Prince Zhaoming completely."
Chen Changsheng didn't know what to say.
"I have always admired Dean Shang's myriad Daoist methods."
The Old Man of Heaven's Secrets said calmly, "When the false is taken as true, the true becomes false. Unfortunately, it can't fool me."
Chen Changsheng didn't ask why it couldn't fool him. His mind was entirely elsewhere at this moment.
He recalled a volume of the Daoist Canon called the Sutra of Time. Time... meant age.
"So, aside from age... do I match Crown Prince Zhaoming in every other aspect?"
"Yes, I am very certain you are a descendant of the Chen royal clan."
Hearing these words, Chen Changsheng could no longer remain calm.
In the rumors or tales circulating in the capital for over a year, before saying he was Crown Prince Zhaoming, they would first mention that he was a member of the royal clan.
"Why? Why is everyone so sure I'm from the royal clan? Just because my surname is Chen?"
He looked at the Old Man of Heaven's Secrets and asked, not noticing that his tone was higher than usual.
This kind of emotional agitation was rare for him.
The garden was filled with thick fog, tightly sealing off their conversation so that absolutely no one could hear it.
"Why can we be sure you're from the royal clan?"
The Old Man looked at him, a complex emotion in his eyes, and said, "Because there was once a Sun Wheel inside your body."
"Sun Wheel?"
Chen Changsheng was not unfamiliar with this term, though since the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress came to power and the royal clan members were all expelled from the capital, few people mentioned it anymore.
Back when the Chen royal clan emerged from Tianliang Prefecture to pacify the world, producing peerless experts like Chen Xuanba and Emperor Taizong, it was because the bloodline talent of the Chen clan was inherently unique. Their cultivation differed from other sects and schools. The specific differences were, of course, the royal clan's greatest secret, but the term "Sun Wheel" had still leaked out.
Chen Changsheng recalled his cultivation journey from Xining to the capital, especially the countless times he had meditated and observed himself. He shook his head: "No, I haven't found any Sun Wheel inside my body."
"That's because the Sun Wheel inside you was destroyed long ago. More precisely, it exploded."
The Old Man of Heaven's Secrets looked at him quietly. Whether it was an illusion or not, Chen Changsheng felt there was a hint of pity in the other's gaze.
"How is that possible? If, as you say, there was once a Sun Wheel inside me that exploded, why didn't I feel anything?"
"Because when the Sun Wheel inside you was destroyed, you were still an infant."
"...But even so, why has no one ever discovered traces of a Sun Wheel in my body before? Why didn't you notice it when you came to see me in the capital last time?"
Chen Changsheng still couldn't accept this reasoning, even though it came from the Old Man of Heaven's Secrets.
"Because your cultivation level wasn't high enough back then. As your cultivation deepened, starlight entered your body, making your meridians more clearly visible, allowing me to finally confirm it."
"Weren't we talking about the Sun Wheel exploding? Why did you bring up meridians?"
"You... have broken meridians, and your true essence circulation has always been problematic, hasn't it?"
The Old Man of Heaven's Secrets looked into his eyes and asked.
Chen Changsheng was stunned into silence.
Like his blood, his blocked or broken meridians were also his body's greatest secret.
This secret was even more terrifying because, according to his master, the problem with his meridians would directly cause him to die at age twenty.
He hadn't expected this secret to be so easily seen through and spoken aloud by the Old Man of Heaven's Secrets.
But... what did broken meridians have to do with him being from the royal clan? What did they have to do with the Sun Wheel?
The Old Man raised his right hand and, across the table, pointed at a spot between Chen Changsheng's chest and abdomen.
"When you were an infant, the Sun Wheel exploded right here, then spread like a spider web, severing your nine meridians."
"You want to know what connection broken meridians have with the Sun Wheel's explosion?"
"Your broken meridians are the scars of the Sun Wheel's explosion, the most direct evidence."
"Among countless people in the world, only you have this kind of meridian damage."
"So you are from the Chen royal clan."
"Of course, you are a very unfortunate member of the royal clan."
"Logically, at the moment the Sun Wheel exploded, you, still an infant, should have died."
"But you survived. That in itself is already a miracle."
The garden fell silent.
The fog became exceptionally thick.
The warm, spring-like atmosphere suddenly turned as cold as deep winter.
Chen Changsheng remained silent for a long time without speaking.
Until a long while later, he looked at the Old Man of Heaven's Secrets and asked, "But... I'll still die, won't I?"
This time, it was the Old Man of Heaven's Secrets' turn to fall silent.