Chapter 123: Mother and Son (Part 1)
Returning to the courtyard, he prepared a meal, ate his fill, then packed several lunch boxes before heading once more toward the Heavenly Book Mausoleum.
As he reached the straight path at the foot of the mausoleum, he suddenly changed his mind and turned to the right.
The weather was fine, and there were many people in the mausoleum grounds. He had just met them earlier, and meeting them again so soon felt a bit too frequent. Besides, if they met again, did that mean they were now acquaintances? Or perhaps acquaintances who weren't quite familiar? Would a simple nod of greeting be considered lacking in propriety?
These questions were troublesome. Yu Ren wasn't very good at handling such matters, so he decided to take a different path up the Heavenly Book Mausoleum.
He didn't know that for the vast majority of cultivators in the world, there was only one path into the Heavenly Book Mausoleum.
In the dense forest, he tried many times but still failed. Because of his unsteady legs, he fell several times, his body covered in grass clippings and pine needles, looking quite disheveled.
He felt somewhat helpless, wondering why he couldn't find a path.
Then, he saw a road in the mountains. It was paved with white stone, gleaming like jade under the sunlight.
This road was very straight and led directly to the highest point of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum.
Yu Ren happily walked toward that road. But when he got closer, he found it strange because there wasn't a single person on this mountain path.
This path was the straightest and shortest route to the Heavenly Book Mausoleum. Why wasn't anyone using it?
Could it be that the tablet observers were tempering their willpower and deliberately avoiding this shortcut?
Thinking of this possibility, and recalling his own delight at seeing the straight mountain path, Yu Ren felt a bit ashamed.
But he glanced at his leg and thought, after all, he wasn't like ordinary people. Taking a shortcut shouldn't be too disgraceful, should it?
With a hint of embarrassment, he leaned on his crutch and headed toward that mountain path.
With his leg, crossing those shallow drainage ditches was truly inconvenient. Just reaching the foot of the path left him feeling tired. Fortunately, there was a pavilion there where he could rest for a while.
Arriving at the pavilion, he looked at the bronze statue covered in dust and rust and thought to himself, if his junior brother saw this, how sad would he be?
This referred to Chen Changsheng's obsession with cleanliness.
Yu Ren glanced at the straight mountain path, thinking that climbing it would take a lot of effort. It would be better to rest here first and gather his strength. So he sat down beside the bronze statue.
But he still felt uncomfortable. Having grown up with Chen Changsheng, they had influenced each other, and both had mild obsessions with cleanliness.
After a moment's thought, he took a handkerchief from his sleeve, walked to the pool, bent down with some difficulty, wet the handkerchief, then returned to the bronze statue and began to wipe it carefully.
He had just polished the left shoulder of the bronze statue when he suddenly heard a voice coming from within the statue's armor.
The voice was very low, not loud, unable to carry far, but to his ears, it was like thunder.
"Just wipe the helmet clean."
The autumn wind stirred the clear water in the shallow ditch, stirring up dust from the armor's crevices. The area beneath the pavilion fell silent.
Yu Ren stared at the bronze statue for a long time, stunned, thinking in surprise, it's actually alive!
...
...
When Chen Changsheng first entered the capital, he had no understanding of the world's common knowledge. Yu Ren, having grown up with him, was naturally no better.
He didn't know that the straight mountain path was the Sacred Path, which no one except the Heavenly Sea Empress and His Holiness the Pope could set foot on.
He also didn't know that the general's statue beneath the pavilion wasn't a real statue but a real general—Han Qing, the continent's foremost divine general who had guarded the mausoleum for over six hundred years.
But at least now he knew the other was alive, and judging by the dust and rust on the armor, this person had been sitting here for a very long time.
Sitting here for so long—wasn't it boring? Although Yu Ren also didn't like dealing with people and wasn't good at it, he asked himself: if he didn't see anyone for many years, he would still find it dull. Besides, there was another very important question: if this person had been sitting here all this time, how did he handle meals?
Thinking about food, he instinctively took out a lunch box, held it out toward the armor, and gestured, asking if the other was hungry.
No sound came from the armor.
Yu Ren thought for a moment, then made a few more complex gestures, meaning: should I go cook you some noodle soup?
A voice came from the armor: "Just leave it there. Also, you cannot take this Sacred Path."
Yu Ren placed the lunch box on the ground, bowed, cast a reluctant glance at the Sacred Path, and leaning on his crutch, headed back the way he came.
Not long after he left, the autumn wind once again swept over the shallow ditch and the pavilion, stirring up dust from the armor's gaps.
Two deep, world-weary gazes lit up deep within the helmet.
Han Qing opened his eyes.
Then, he closed them.
A lunch box sat quietly on the ground before him.
...
...
Returning along the same path, Yu Ren arrived before one of the Heavenly Book Tablets—he wasn't sure which number—and continued observing it.
Perhaps because this tablet was too profound and difficult to understand, or perhaps because he was pondering certain matters, this time he stood before the tablet for a very long time.
It wasn't until the night grew deep and quiet that he was still there.
He felt hungry, and just then, a light rain began to fall from the night sky.
He moved into the tablet pavilion, took out the remaining lunch box, placed it on top of the Heavenly Book Tablet, and began to eat.
The night rain wasn't heavy, but its sound was somewhat irritating.
Yu Ren packed up the lunch box, leaned against the Heavenly Book Tablet, and looked out beyond the pavilion.
This was already a high point of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum. His gaze pierced through the veil-like thin rain and could see the lights of the capital.
Perhaps because the night was too deep, many courtyard lights had gone out, and the capital looked somewhat dim.
Yu Ren worried about Chen Changsheng again.
He believed that his master would surely solve the problem his junior brother faced, but what about his junior brother's illness?
Suddenly, he sensed something and looked toward a certain spot in the night sky, frowning slightly, not understanding what this feeling was.
That spot in the night sky held no stars—it was a high platform.
The Sweet Dew Terrace.
...
...
Someone was on the Sweet Dew Terrace.
The Heavenly Sea Empress stood with her hands behind her back at the edge of the high platform, quietly gazing at the night sky.
Tonight, many clouds had drifted over the capital, like deeper darkness, naturally obscuring the stars.
But those darknesses and clouds could not hide anything from her eyes.
Just as the light from those night pearls and the fine rain falling from the sky could not touch her body.
There was a solemn expression between her beautiful brows, because she could clearly sense that the Heavenly Dao had changed.
Was this fate?
Her destiny star in the distant sky faintly showed some obscurity.
Or perhaps it was because her other destiny star was in the capital.
That was the bane of her fate.
What should she do?
Wave her sleeve to obscure the light of that star?
But what use would that be?
If she truly did that, then in the future, it would be difficult for her to truly overcome the Heavenly Dao.
But if she didn't do it, could she overcome the Heavenly Dao now?
...
...
Chen Changsheng knew his time was running out.
This time, it was truly running out.
To kill Zhou Tong, he had paid a heavy price. Blood was now flowing through his internal organs. His meridians were broken and scattered. The layer of holy light that Xu Yourong had covered his body with was growing thinner and fainter. At any moment, he might emit the most fatal allure to the life in this world, and at that moment, he might die.
How much time was left? One day or two? The length of a song or a cup of tea?
Without any hesitation, he took the yellow paper umbrella from under the bed and jumped out the window.
Tang Thirty-Six and Zhe Xiu and the others hadn't slept. Some were guarding outside the house, some in the trees, but they couldn't stop him from leaving again. Even if Zhe Xiu on the banyan tree sensed his departure, he would probably grant him his final freedom, because the young wolf clansman had grown up on the desolate, bloody snowy plains and knew that death should be peaceful.
The fine rain fell on the yellow paper umbrella without making a pattering sound, gentle as if nourishing it.
Holding the umbrella, he walked into the dense forest beside the lake, then turned back. In no time, he reached the wall.
Deep in the dense forest, there was a door leading straight to the palace.
On this wall, there was a door that Luo Luo had once had her subordinates open.
But he didn't take either door, because he couldn't be sure whether people from the palace or from His Holiness the Pope's faction were stationed behind them.
He glanced at the old moss-covered wall and lightly leaped over it.
After the nourishment of this year's spring winds and autumn rains, the Hundred Herbs Garden, once stripped bare by him and Tang Thirty-Six, had now regained its vitality. Many precious herbs and spiritual fruits quietly watched him from the beds and branches, waiting for him to pick them, but he walked straight ahead, not looking sideways.
His final destination was the palace.
He wanted to confirm that Xu Yourong was safe.
He wanted to see the Heavenly Sea Empress. He wanted to ask her some things. He wanted to ask if all of that was true—are you my mother? And then... then that would be enough.
In his bosom was the letter Su Li had left behind. On his wrist were five stone beads formed from Heavenly Book Tablets. He also had the Zhou Garden.
But he didn't plan to do anything in the palace. It was truly enough. What did conspiracies, grand schemes, righteous causes, or the war between humans and demons matter to someone about to die? Who could bear to ask him to do anything more at a time like this?
He just needed to know some things, then leave quietly.
No one could decide how they came into this world, but when leaving, everyone hoped to be clear-headed.
Many people had said this, and he had said it too. So he had to follow through.
But he couldn't enter the palace.
Because in the forest deep within the Hundred Herbs Garden, he saw a scene he had witnessed before.
In the woods was a stone table. On the table sat an iron teapot, and beside it were two teacups. Judging by the color of the tea, tonight's brew was probably white tea.
The person drinking tea was still that middle-aged woman.
Seeing her calm expression, Chen Changsheng was somewhat surprised.