Chapter 632: The Second Squirrel
The night forest was silent, the cicadas hushed, and the autumn insects stilled.
On the stone table, the tea had grown cold and the lamp had burned low.
Suddenly, a faint rustling sound came from somewhere in the woods.
The two of them looked over and saw a squirrel darting swiftly across a tree.
That squirrel was very plump, its fluffy tail trailing a gray blur behind it, looking quite adorable.
Watching this scene, for some reason, Chen Changsheng forgot the impending death—or even a fate more miserable than death—and a naive smile appeared on his face.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden did not smile. She simply watched the squirrel quietly, lost in thought.
She flicked her sleeve, as if to brush away some unwanted emotion.
That adorable squirrel was just leaping from one tree to another when it burst into a spray of blood in midair.
Chen Changsheng was stunned. With some sorrow, he asked, "Why?"
The Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden did not answer him. What answered him were the sounds that began to ring out one after another in the early autumn night forest.
Those sounds were muffled, like pouches filled with wine that could no longer withstand the internal pressure and suddenly burst open.
A middle-aged man staggered out from behind a tree. His chest and abdomen had caved in, as if crushed directly by some terrifying force. Blood sprayed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Before he could say a word, he collapsed.
Chen Changsheng recognized him. He was one of the three Red Cardinals of the Pontifical Council.
He had come looking for Chen Changsheng, or rather, he had been sent by the Li Palace to protect him.
Now, he died right before Chen Changsheng's eyes.
Those muffled sounds continued. In the early autumn night forest, whether in the trees or among the fallen leaves, more than a dozen sprays of blood erupted.
Each spray of blood represented a master of the National Religion dying from a violent bodily explosion.
Further off in the darkness, some National Religion masters who had not been affected were forced to reveal themselves, scattering in all directions. But how could they outrun the wind that cut through the night forest?
Watching this terrifying, almost surreal scene, Chen Changsheng felt a chill run through both body and mind.
These people dying before him were all rare masters in the world, yet before the Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden, they had no power to fight back at all.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden's hands had already been clasped behind her back again, and the wind from her sleeves was still weaving through the forest.
The merciless slaughter continued. From time to time, someone died, their deaths too gruesome to describe.
Chen Changsheng shouted, "Enough!"
He felt his voice was loud enough, but she acted as if she hadn't heard.
He felt his voice carried blood, but she seemed to feel nothing.
Dozens of incomplete corpses lay silently in the night forest.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden, expressionless, looked into the darkness and raised her right hand again.
A pained grunt suddenly came from the darkness, and then a figure was forced out of the shadows.
The person who emerged from the darkness was Liu Qing. The sword in his hand was bent and twisted, his clothes were covered in tears, and blood streamed down without stop.
He knelt among the fallen leaves, looking at the Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden behind Chen Changsheng. His eyes were filled with shock and awe, but not fear.
Su Li and that mysterious assassin had both left this continent. Having reached the peak of Star Convergence at Cold Mountain, Liu Qing was undoubtedly the most powerful assassin in the world now. But he couldn't even get close to the Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden. His secret technique for hiding in the darkness had been seen through by her at a glance, making him look like a complete joke.
After encountering the Demon Lord at Cold Mountain, he had already understood very clearly the gap between himself and those true masters of the sacred domain. He realized how ridiculous it had been back then to insist that Su Li bring them all to the capital to assassinate the Holy Maiden. But he had still come to the capital.
Because he was an assassin. This was what he was supposed to do.
Assassins always die. To die in an assassination attempt on the continent's strongest figure—he had no complaints. In fact, he felt exhilarated. Neither Su Li nor Big Sister had ever truly crossed hands with Heavenly Sea. Though he had lost without a doubt, he had at least tried. And... Heavenly Sea was truly this strong!
Looking at the Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden by the stone table, Liu Qing's breath quickened, his eyes bright, as if excited.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden raised an eyebrow slightly.
She knew Liu Qing was from the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion. Out of respect for the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man, she had originally planned not to kill him. But now she intended to, because she didn't like being looked at that way.
Whether because he had been watching her every move, or because of some mysterious bond between them, Chen Changsheng heard the faint crunch of leaves beneath her boot and saw her raised eyebrow. He knew she was about to kill Liu Qing, just as she had coldly killed those Li Palace priests before.
Liu Qing had saved Su Li in Xunyang City and helped him at Cold Mountain. Chen Changsheng certainly didn't want him to die. He grew anxious, especially when he heard the faint sound of hooves outside the wall and guessed it was the National Religion cavalry rushing over after hearing the commotion. If he couldn't stop her from killing more people, tonight's National Academy and Hundred Herbs Garden could easily become a terrifying graveyard.
But he couldn't move now. Only his neck and above could make tiny movements. He could only try again to persuade her with words. He looked at the Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden and pleaded, "Please spare them. They're just low-ranking cavalry, unrelated to matters of this scale. As for him... he's always been a madman. Why bother killing him?"
The Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden looked down at him and said, "Why should I agree to you?"
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, "After all, you gave birth to me, but you didn't raise me. I won't ask for anything else—just this one thing."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden raised both eyebrows again, a hint of mockery in her expression.
Chen Changsheng pretended not to notice her change in expression and continued, "Why kill so many people? Isn't it enough just to kill me?"
The Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden withdrew her gaze and looked at a patch of blood among the fallen leaves. That blood wasn't left by the Li Palace priests, but by that squirrel with the fluffy tail.
For some reason, looking at that patch of blood, she was silent for a long time, as if pondering something.
The sound of cavalry hooves outside the courtyard wall grew closer. Vaguely, Chen Changsheng could hear that the National Academy was in chaos. He even heard Tang Thirty-Six's shouts.
Time was still passing. He grew more and more tense.
Suddenly, the Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden reached out and grabbed him by the collar. The night wind swept through the autumn forest, and the two of them vanished.
Liu Qing struggled to his feet from the fallen leaves, spat out another mouthful of blood, and looked at the now-empty stone table, his expression dazed.
With crashing sounds and the creak of doors opening, several gaps were torn in the courtyard wall. National Religion cavalry and people from the National Academy rushed into the forest.
Liu Qing turned and disappeared into the night.
...
...
Chen Changsheng felt his body lighten, and then he found himself in the air. The autumn forest of Hundred Herbs Garden became a patch of carpet far below. The lanterns of the Imperial Palace turned into reflections of stars in a river. The torches burning in the National Academy gradually faded away. Then he saw the distant Qu River, saw the Boiling Time Forest, and then entered a layer of clouds.
Breaking through the clouds, the cool night wind howled past. The ground and those shallow irrigation channels rushed up to meet him. His feet touched the ground, and looking around, he realized he had arrived at the Mausoleum of Books.
The next moment, his feet left the ground again—not flying, but being lifted.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden carried him, like a chicken about to be slaughtered, across the stone plaza and its clear channels, to the very top of the Mausoleum of Books' sacred path.
There stood a pavilion. Inside sat a figure, entirely hidden in armor, like a bronze statue.
The night sky over the capital was cloudy, with few stars visible.
When the Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden brought Chen Changsheng before the pavilion, a tiny gap opened in the clouds. Starlight fell, landing on the armor.
The figure inside the armor awakened. From the depths of the dark helmet emerged two distant, ancient gazes.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Maiden said, "All who ascend the sacred path shall be killed."
The figure in the armor did not speak. He only slowly raised his right hand and grasped the sword hilt at his waist.
With that motion, a few strands of dust flew from the armor, as if six hundred years of time were contained within.