Chapter 100: Under the Starry Sky, Nothing to Fear
"Holy Light?" Chen Changsheng looked slightly bewildered.
He certainly knew what Holy Light was, but although he had thoroughly studied the Daoist scriptures, he had never entered the Qing Yao Thirteen Departments or visited the Holy Maiden Peak. Why was his body filled with Holy Light?
Suddenly, he recalled a term—a place rarely mentioned, with no clear record in the Daoist canon.
He had first truly heard the name of this place on a snowy day earlier that year, when he and Xu Yourong were discussing where Senior Su Li might have gone.
Sure enough, the next moment, he heard the name again from the Pope's words.
"Could it be that your teacher truly went to the Holy Light Continent?" The Pope frowned slightly, as if encountering a problem difficult to comprehend.
"Still, this cannot be fully confirmed. There have always been rumors that a remnant of the Cloud Grave's survivors crossed the barrier of space to reach the Holy Light Continent. The Taizong Emperor, unable to exterminate them completely, ceased the hunt. If that branch of the Chen imperial clan truly lives there now, your condition might also be explained."
Only then did Chen Changsheng realize that the Holy Light Continent was not an illusory existence. It was possible that people had actually gone there, and those people were likely his own kin...
But some questions remained impossible to resolve: "Does that mean everyone living on the Holy Light Continent has this much Holy Light in their bodies?"
"According to legend, the heavens and earth of the Holy Light Continent are filled with infinite Holy Light, but what you describe is still impossible. Your situation is ultimately unique."
The Pope looked at him with pity and said, "When you were still in your mother's womb, the Solar Wheel had already collapsed. By all logic, you should have had no way to survive. Based on my speculation, some extraordinary beings from the Holy Light Continent must have gathered an unimaginable amount of Holy Light and forcibly infused it into your body, helping you survive."
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment before saying, "Living has been somewhat difficult."
"But living is ultimately a good thing."
The Pope reached out and gently stroked his head, saying, "Go now. If you don't leave soon, I fear the Holy Maiden might burn down the Hall of Light."
Chen Changsheng bowed his head, accepting the old man's blessing tinged with affection.
The sound of wheels grinding against the hard bluestone floor echoed as he pushed the wheelchair toward the hall's exit.
The Pope watched his retreating back and said, "Don't use this method to test me again in the future. It's very dangerous."
Chen Changsheng stopped the wheelchair, was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Neither human nature nor the human heart can be tested, because when you start thinking of ways to test them, it means you've already begun to doubt."
The Pope concluded, "And doubt is the root of all misfortune."
...
...
It was early autumn, not yet bleak. The large banyan tree by the lake still swayed with green leaves, with only a few slightly yellowed fallen leaves occasionally visible on the lawn.
The National Academy was heavily guarded today. National Church cavalry patrolled vigilantly outside the alley, and the usually brightly lit taverns beyond had received word and closed early, leaving the area desolate.
The disciples of Southern Creek Sect did not stay at the Li Palace or go to the imperial palace. Instead, they came directly to the National Academy, setting up tents on the lawn and unceremoniously occupying the library.
The instructors and students of the National Academy were kept behind a cloth barrier, watching the beautiful female disciples of Southern Creek Sect come and go. They felt little resentment in their hearts—in fact, some secret joy—but they didn't show it on their faces, still grumbling indignantly, "Since when did the National Academy fall under the jurisdiction of the Holy Maiden Peak?"
Su Moyu and Xuan Yuan Po were currently in the newly built kitchen on the other side of the lake, which had been in use for less than half a year. According to the Southern Creek Sect disciples, they were temporarily barred from returning to the small building. They could only retrieve their personal clothes and daily necessities when permitted, which naturally infuriated them.
"What exactly is going on? Why should the Holy Maiden Peak people move into the academy? And they're taking over our space—where are we supposed to stay?"
Zhe Xiu sat on the kitchen threshold, staring at the few newly planted locust trees by the wall, pretending to be lonely and mimicking despair as usual. The only one who could answer this question was, naturally, Tang Thirty-Six.
"There's something you might not know, but I believe you'll find out soon, just like everyone else in this world."
He looked at Su Moyu and Xuan Yuan Po very seriously and said, "That guy Chen Changsheng has already hooked up with Xu Yourong."
The words were crude, but they explained the situation most clearly.
Silence fell. Su Moyu and Xuan Yuan Po took a while to digest their shock.
Su Moyu's first reaction was to frown at Tang Thirty-Six and say, "How can you use such vulgar language about the Holy Maiden?"
Xuan Yuan Po's reaction was equally direct, his face full of admiration: "The Dean is truly remarkable, but... what about Her Highness?"
Now it was Tang Thirty-Six's turn to be shocked. He looked at them and said, "Aren't you disappointed? Aren't you angry?"
"Why would we be disappointed?"
"That adulterous pair has been hiding this from us for so long."
"Tang Tang, I warn you, when it comes to the Holy Maiden, do not use such filthy words again." Su Moyu said sternly.
Tang Thirty-Six said angrily, "You've been kicked out of your rooms, and you're still speaking up for them?"
Xuan Yuan Po said with a simple, honest face, "This is like a new bride bringing her family for the first visit. Of course, we have to treat them well."
...
...
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong had no idea they had once again been called an adulterous pair by Tang Thirty-Six. They were discussing their earlier visit to the Li Palace.
"Doubt is the root of all misfortune—that was the last thing Uncle Master said to me. I know it was a lesson for me, but I think, when he said it, he might have thought about how my teacher sent me to the capital, planting a thorn between him and Her Holiness the Empress. So... that was also a kind of misfortune for him."
"The Pope cares for the world. The misfortune he feels is more likely the misfortune of this world, the misfortune of billions of people."
"But being used like this by my teacher, even if Uncle Master truly believes Her Holiness should abdicate, he must still feel somewhat uncomfortable."
"So, your teacher is indeed a schemer. I really want to know now what kind of person he truly is."
Xu Yourong withdrew her gaze from the distance and looked at Chen Changsheng.
Starlight and the early autumn wind came in through the window, falling on his face, feeling as comfortable as he himself gave off.
She didn't know what kind of person the Daoist Calculator, or Dean Shang, truly was. She only knew she had never loathed anyone so much.
Even though that man was Chen Changsheng's teacher.
Precisely because that man was Chen Changsheng's teacher.
Who in this world would so coldly and heartlessly use a student they had raised as a pawn, and refuse to spare a senior brother who had once spared their own life?
Chen Changsheng recalled the words recorded in Wang Zhice's notes in the Lingyan Pavilion.
Wang Zhice hadn't specifically mentioned the Daoist Calculator in his notes. He only mentioned, while recounting visits to dying ministers and famous generals of the Lingyan Pavilion, that he had encountered or heard that the Daoist Calculator had come.
As the best physician of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it seemed normal for the Daoist Calculator to visit those ailing ministers and generals by imperial decree.
But thinking in reverse, it could also be said that shortly after the Daoist Calculator visited those ministers and generals on the Taizong Emperor's orders, those great figures who had left their names in history all returned to the sea of stars. And if one further connected that the Daoist Calculator was an orthodox successor of the National Church, who later restored his true name, Shang Xingzhou, to take charge of the National Academy and secretly sought to overthrow Her Holiness the Empress's rule...
"I think... my teacher must have been the person the Taizong Emperor trusted most back then."
After saying this, Chen Changsheng suddenly felt the autumn wind blowing in from the window was a bit cold.
The room was silent for a long time.
If this matter truly traced back to the Taizong era, and if it extended to that distant, unknown continent, it was far too complicated.
Although he and she were not ordinary youths, they were still two months shy of turning seventeen. They didn't know what had actually happened back then—how could they see through these dense mists?
"For now, we can only confirm that the Pope bears you no ill will." Xu Yourong said.
Chen Changsheng nodded. This was a fact he had confirmed at great risk, but he still couldn't fully understand why the Pope had stopped at that moment.
If what the Pope said was true—that his body contained countless Holy Lights, and devouring him might allow one to reach an unimaginable realm, gain true freedom, and transcend the suffering of life and death—even the Demon Lord had risked entering the Cold Mountain to devour him. How could the Pope restrain himself?
Senior Brother Yu Ren had said that only a saint could resist the temptation of his blood. That referred to ability, not will.
If Chen Changsheng himself faced such a situation, he didn't know what choice he would make.
In the Pope's heart, what was more important than this? Certainly not power.
He thought silently, it could only be the future of humanity.
Xu Yourong knew what he was thinking and said, "Also because there is something to revere."
What could a great figure like the Pope, who stood at the pinnacle of realm, strength, status, and position, still revere?
The starry sky that commoners saw when they looked up, and the light deep within their hearts.
That light could be morality, principles, love, family affection, a bowl of fried egg noodles, or the blood in one's body—thick and intertwined.
Not everyone preserved this reverence.
Xu Yourong believed that Chen Changsheng's teacher did not.
Those who, even when standing high, still held reverence in their hearts—such people were remarkable.
Those who, from beginning to end, from heaven to earth, from light to darkness, feared nothing—such people were terrifying.
So far, that person remained hidden in the shadows. All they knew was that he would definitely use Chen Changsheng, but not how he would use him.
"I still hold to my view from the Cold Mountain."
Xu Yourong said, "We should tell Her Holiness everything."
Chen Changsheng gazed quietly out the window, saying nothing for a long time.