Chapter 604: Before the Eyes, Only Night
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On the long journey south from the borderlands, Xu Yourong periodically cast the Holy Light Technique on Chen Changsheng, isolating his presence from the world.
When they passed through the North Mountain Commandery, she had even transfused blood to him twice in succession.
She had expended far too much of her mental energy, true essence, and most precious of all, her Phoenix True Blood and Holy Light. Moreover, on the Cold Mountain, she had taken a direct blow from the Heavenly Judgment Sword to save Chen Changsheng, suffering a serious injury.
Yet she still could not rest.
At this moment, she stood silently in the Hall of Light because this place allowed her to recover more quickly, especially by replenishing her Holy Light.
And it was closest to that place, separated only by a single wall. If anything happened, she could shatter that wall in the shortest possible time and rush over.
Right now, the Pope and Chen Changsheng were speaking in that room.
The stars filled the sky, and the capital seemed bathed in a silvery watery light. Deep within the Palace of Departure, eaves and corners abounded, preserving a greater share of the night's darkness.
Chen Changsheng lifted the blanket but did not stand up from the wheelchair.
He lowered his head, carefully folding the blanket into a small square, then raised his head to look at the Pope and asked, "Uncle-Master, who exactly am I?"
He had asked this question of the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man before.
The Heavenly Mechanism Old Man's answer had been certain, but not precise enough.
The Pope gazed at him silently for a long time. Just when Chen Changsheng thought that, like the previous times, he would still not get a precise answer, the Pope slowly spoke: "At the very beginning, when I received your master's letter, I thought you were a junior disciple coming to the capital for treatment. Treatment is self-cultivation, and you cultivated by following your heart's intent, so I did not reveal myself."
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng recalled the events that had occurred shortly after he first entered the capital two and a half years ago. He vaguely understood that his master's letter must have arrived in the capital before he had even entered the National Academy.
The Pope walked behind him and pushed the wheelchair deeper into the hall. On either side of the stone steps were sloping paths carved with flowing cloud patterns. The wheels rolled over them, producing a rhythmic clicking sound, much like the Pope's voice at this moment—calm yet tinged with a sense of reflection. "It wasn't until later, when Meri Sar found me, that I realized he had also received a letter."
The night hall was very quiet. The clear water in the pond reflected the starlight, casting mottled, clear light onto the stone walls and pillars. The lush green leaves in the basin swayed gently, beautiful to the point of being almost eerie.
"To be honest, even now, I don't know exactly what your master intends to do."
The Pope released the wheelchair, walked to the edge of the pond, picked up a wooden ladle, scooped up half a ladle of water, and began to water the green leaves.
Starlight fell from the glazed roof tiles onto the Pope's hemp robes, as if inscribing countless incomprehensible runes.
Chen Changsheng watched his slightly stooped figure and, after a moment of silence, asked, "If you don't know what he wants to do, then why help him?"
"I know very well that what you most want to know is why your master sent you to the capital... if you truly are Crown Prince Zhaoming."
The clear water from the wooden ladle fell into the basin with a splashing sound, not drowning out the Pope's voice, but rather serving as a kind of background.
"What your master has wanted to do all his life is simple: to ask Tianhai to step down from the throne, or rather, to drive her down, and return the throne to the Chen clan. I think... his sending you to the capital must have been with this in mind. By now, I have vaguely guessed your master's intentions, but I am still not certain."
"Back then, the bloodbath at the National Academy was said to have been carried out by you, Uncle-Master, who personally killed my master. Now it seems that was certainly not true."
The Pope's voice was as gentle and pleasant as flowing water: "You and I are the only orthodox successors of the State Church. How could I bear to kill him? Besides, although he was severely wounded by Tianhai in the palace back then, killing him would not have been easy for me... I originally thought this matter would remain hidden forever, but I never expected you to come to the capital."
Chen Changsheng said, "Because I came to the capital, because of my master's letter, and because you had to take care of me, Her Holiness the Saint Empress could easily discover that my master is still alive."
"It is said that the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man can fathom the Heavenly Way, and it is said that the Black Robe's schemes are unmatched. But in truth, your master is the true strategist. Not to mention his real purpose in sending you to the capital, just the fact that he deliberately let Tianhai know he is still alive is like tearing a crack between me and Tianhai—and that crack will only grow wider."
"Since this crack cannot be mended, the suspicion between you and Her Holiness the Saint Empress will eventually turn into hostility."
"Yes. Once there is hostility, once you perceive the other's hostility, then when you stand facing each other, you become enemies."
"Doesn't this mean that my master is using the kindness you once showed him to force you to take his side?"
Chen Changsheng looked at the Pope's back, noticing it was becoming more stooped, more like that of a weary old man. His voice unconsciously dropped, mirroring his mood at that moment.
Yet the Pope's voice remained calm: "I told you, your master is the true strategist. In his view, to achieve his goal, anything can be sacrificed."
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng's mood grew even heavier. He asked, "Why must it be this way?"
The Pope released the handle of the wooden ladle, picked up a dry towel beside the basin, and wiped his hands. He said, "Back then, your master and I fell out because we held different views of this world. Now, your master uses every means to force me to his side, yet I can accept it calmly because time has changed many things. My view of this world and Tianhai's have already diverged."
Chen Changsheng recalled the conversation they had in this night hall after he came out of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum.
"I now also believe that Tianhai should abdicate."
The Pope's voice rang out in the night hall. It was not loud, yet it seemed as if a thunderclap had sounded in the distant heights of the night sky.
The hall fell silent, except for the sound of the wooden ladle suspended in the air pouring water onto the green leaves in the basin.
After an unknown length of time, Chen Changsheng spoke again: "And me? What role am I playing? Why have you and Archbishop Meri Sar taken such care of me these past two years?"
"I can only guess at your master's thoughts. Meri Sar probably knows a bit more, but you must believe that this old man, who has already returned to the sea of stars, would never harbor any intention to harm you. His thoughts are not entirely the same as your master's. He firmly believes that in this process, you will suffer much harm, but you will also gain many benefits."
"Benefits?"
"Meri Sar believes that only through this method can your illness be cured."
"Can my illness be cured?" Chen Changsheng's voice trembled slightly.
The Pope walked before the wheelchair, looked into his eyes, and said, his voice as calm as water: "Even fate can be changed, let alone an illness?"
Chen Changsheng quickly calmed down. He looked at the Pope seriously and asked, "Uncle-Master, you have known about my illness for a long time."
The Pope said, "Yes."
Chen Changsheng's expression grew even more serious. "Then, do you also know about that matter?"
This was the deepest part of the Palace of Departure, the most secluded, even dark, with only the glazed roof tiles allowing some starlight to fall.
He sat in the wheelchair, the woolen blanket folded into a neat little square placed beside his leg, his clothes thin.
Time passed, stars shifted. The brightest star in the night sky, the Dragon Soaring Star, had somehow come to hover above the night hall. Starlight fell through the glazed tiles and landed on him.
The starlight was softer than snowflakes, falling silently. Yet, for some reason, a faint sizzling sound seemed to arise, as if something had been ignited.
It was Chen Changsheng, using the starlight to ignite the meager remnants of star radiance within his body.
The meridians in his body were all severed. The true essence generated in his Nether Palace and Snow Plain had nowhere to flow, colliding chaotically within him.
Soon, his body grew hot. The skin on his face, neck, and even his hands, exposed outside his clothes, turned somewhat red.
To the eye, it was a light pink, but inside his body, it was blood red, because it meant he was bleeding internally.
As his body temperature rose higher and higher, his skin grew redder and redder, shifting from a deceptive appearance of health to an eerie, ghostly hue. At the same time, an extremely faint aura emanated from the countless pores on his skin and his five sense organs, drifting up with the night wind and arriving before the Pope.
The Pope's expression suddenly changed. The endless starry sea in his deep eyes transformed in an instant into a violent river of stars.
In those eyes, no trace of benevolence could be seen any longer, only a powerful indifference and a cold and ruthless will.
The Legend of Nightfall