Chapter 700: The First Snow Falls
Everyone knew Chen Changsheng was going to kill someone today. They watched every corner of the capital, with the Northern Military Command Alley naturally being the top priority, and even the Imperial Palace wasn't overlooked. Yet no one could have imagined that after leaving the Li Palace, he wouldn't head to the Northern Military Command Alley or the Imperial Palace, but instead to the Wei Residence.
This caught many off guard, and then they felt the same confusion as Zhou Tong.
What kind of residence was the Wei Residence? Why did Chen Changsheng go there first? In his mind, did it rank even above the Imperial Palace and Zhou Prison?
Then, some recalled that the current Vice Minister of Rites was named Wei, and the wife he had just divorced was named Xue, the eldest daughter of the Xue family.
Was that the reason?
What was Chen Changsheng doing at the Wei Residence? Seeking justice for the Xue family? Or trying to persuade Vice Minister Wei to reconcile with his wife?
When Vice Minister Wei first recognized Chen Changsheng, he had already begun anxiously pondering the other's intentions and had reached a similar conclusion.
Chen Changsheng must be here to vent for the Xue family, or perhaps to "persuade" him to reunite with Xue Zhihua.
The word "persuade" here was, of course, a euphemism for "force."
Vice Minister Wei was somewhat angry but dared not show it.
If he truly took back his divorced wife, the Wei Residence would certainly lose some face, and he would have to endure considerable grievance. But... what else could he do?
Chen Changsheng was the future Pope, far above him in power and status.
He had already prepared himself. When Chen Changsheng made his demand, he would act tense and angry but not overly agitated, reluctant yet still maintaining his dignity as he accepted the request.
Just then, Chen Changsheng stated his purpose, his eyes bright, his attitude upright, his voice sincere—"I've come to kill you."
Snowflakes drifted down, landing in the courtyard. The world fell into utter silence.
Vice Minister Wei stood in the snow, his face pale, his mouth slightly open, unable to speak for a long time.
So, he hadn't come to cause trouble or to force a marriage. He had come to kill.
He was the Vice Minister of Rites, to ordinary people an unclimbable mountain. But the young man standing before him was a true mountain to him.
If the future Pope wants to kill you, who would still be willing to save you? Death is your only possible outcome.
You should be tense and angry but not overly agitated, reluctant yet still maintaining your dignity as you accept the request... to die.
No one wants to die.
"Even though I've done very wrong things, there's no reason I must die for it."
Vice Minister Wei stared into Chen Changsheng's eyes, his own gaze turning unusually dark, his breathing becoming extremely rapid.
"Yes, neither Zhou law nor the Church canon says that divorcing a wife warrants execution. In the past, I certainly wouldn't have killed you. But now, my thinking has changed. Correcting excess doesn't necessarily require going overboard, but doing wrong must come with a price, and it must be seen. You were ungrateful and betrayed kindness. I want to tell the world and the believers that what you did was wrong."
Chen Changsheng concluded, "And punishing ugliness is how we celebrate beauty."
As he spoke these words, his eyes were very bright, his tone very earnest. He wasn't lying, wasn't deliberately mocking the other, wasn't trying to humiliate him before death—he truly believed this. He came to the Wei Residence to kill, hoping that in the future world, such things would happen less often.
Two unnaturally red patches appeared on Vice Minister Wei's pale face, and his body began to tremble.
He didn't know what to say.
To a "normal person" like him, Chen Changsheng now seemed like a madman. Who would pay with their life for divorcing a wife? Even if there was some ingratitude, cold-heartedness, and a heart like iron... why should death be the consequence? His wife's family, and the wife he had divorced, would indeed be destroyed by the court if nothing unexpected happened. But... what did that have to do with him?
If this were just an excuse to kill, that would be one thing.
But it wasn't. This was Chen Changsheng's reason for killing.
The brighter his eyes, the more earnest his tone, the crazier he seemed to "normal people."
Vice Minister Wei looked at the courtyard wall through the snow, searching for a way to survive, only to find it futile. Utterly despairing, he wept bitterly.
The light snow fell on paper, making a very faint sound, crisp, like the moan of something beautiful being torn apart.
It was a sheet of paper as white as the first snow, with several black holes on it, looking eerily terrifying.
A voice came from one of the black holes: "Everyone says I'm crazy... but I think you're even crazier than me."
...
...
Many knew that Xiao Zhang, the Painting Armor, had a violent temper and some mental issues.
But this early winter, when he saw Chen Changsheng in the snow, his bright eyes fixed and his earnest tone describing his intent to kill to Vice Minister Wei, Xiao Zhang felt an extremely strange sensation.
He thought Chen Changsheng was the real madman—a deadly serious madman—and this surprised him greatly.
Chen Changsheng was also surprised when he saw Xiao Zhang behind the tree. No one in the entire capital knew he would come to the Wei Residence. He believed many were now rushing here. Why was Xiao Zhang already waiting for him?
"How are you here?" he asked, astonished.
At the same time, the short sword, razor-sharp, spotless, and free of frost, had already pierced through the sleeve and the surprise among the three, arriving before Vice Minister Wei's throat.
Xiao Zhang's face was covered with white paper, so naturally, he had no expression. But anyone who saw that white paper seemed to perceive disdain.
This disdain was naturally directed at Chen Changsheng's sword, like a silent, strange laugh, full of mockery.
You dare to kill someone right in front of me?
The iron spear broke through the flying snow, stirring sleeves and robes, shattering the chill, as if to split heaven and earth.
With just a thought, the fiercely cold tip of the iron spear would meet Chen Changsheng's sword.
No matter how talented Chen Changsheng was, even if he had defeated Old Man Lin in the National Academy, how could he be a match for Xiao Zhang when sword met spear head-on?
In the next moment, Xiao Zhang's iron spear would break Chen Changsheng's sword.
He would stand before Vice Minister Wei.
On this day of the capital's first snow, the first assassination attempt would fizzle out.
Even at this moment, it seemed like the natural course of events.
But there would always be surprises.
Like today.
The white paper on Xiao Zhang's face rustled loudly. The unspoken mockery and disdain vanished without a trace.
The silent, strange laugh turned into a real, bizarre shriek, echoing through the entire Wei Residence, tearing through the snowy sky.
The trajectory of the iron spear shifted with the most subtle deviation.
It failed to strike the sword.
The cold sword cut through the air, drawing a line of blood.
The blood burst into the flying snow, creating a beautiful scene.
An object shot into the air, whirling wildly, spinning at high speed, then fell, splashing up a few wisps of snow and ice.
It was Vice Minister Wei's head, its eyes still open.
Xiao Zhang jerked his head up, staring ahead, his face suddenly cold, as if gazing into an abyss.
At the entrance of the Wei Residence stood a figure in blue robes.
His brows drooped slightly, looking deeply sorrowful and utterly reluctant. In his arms, he held a sheathed blade.