Chapter 807: The Road Is Hard
"Do you have any idea how dangerous what you did today was?"
"I was carrying out His Holiness the Pope's decree. What danger could there be? Besides, you and the two archbishops came rushing over, didn't you?"
An Lin thought to herself that this child had spent years cultivating in the Qing Yao Thirteen Departments, cut off from worldly affairs, and was indeed still this naive.
"The Six Palaces of the Li Palace have been locked for three years. On the surface, it seems like quiet waiting, but in truth, they've been under immense pressure the entire time."
She withdrew her smile, looking at An Hua calmly and seriously. "The Dao Venerable is, after all, the saint of the state religion, and now he is the foremost person in the world. More and more people within the state religion are willing to follow in his footsteps. Even if His Holiness the Pope returns to the capital, it's not certain he can control the situation."
"The state religion has only one Pope."
An Hua looked at her seriously and said, "Aunt, you will always support His Majesty, won't you?"
"Three years ago, when His Holiness the Pope returned to the sea of stars, I, along with Mao Qiuyu and others, received the final edict. Naturally, we will protect it to the end. However..." An Lin's gaze passed through the front wall of the divine carriage, presumably landing on the carriage ahead. She said, "The Dao Venerable is, after all, His Holiness the Pope's teacher. I don't know what others think."
An Hua thought about it very seriously and felt there was no need to ponder it, because for her, His Holiness the Pope was the only sacred being.
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The King of Linghai and the White Stone Daoist sat together in a divine carriage.
The gazes of these two state religion titans never met. They were very calm, even appearing somewhat indifferent.
The cheers, hymns of praise, and sounds of kowtowing from outside the window failed to stir the slightest ripple in their eyes.
It wasn't until a biting wind swept up a withered yellow leaf, striking the window lattice, that the White Stone Daoist's expression softened slightly.
"It seems these three years His Majesty spent wandering the world weren't a waste of time after all. His methods have become much more ruthless."
He still didn't turn his head to look at the King of Linghai, his voice flat as if from a dead man.
"As the Grand Archbishop of the Wen Hua Hall, I only learned the full story last night. That His Majesty could keep even you and me so well in the dark is truly admirable."
Chen Changsheng naturally had a method of communication with the Li Palace; otherwise, the three state religion titans couldn't have brought two thousand state religion cavalry to the Song Mountain Military Prefecture with such thunderous speed. The problem was, the White Stone Daoist didn't know this method of communication, and in his view, the King of Linghai should be just as ignorant as he was.
Everyone knew that the relationship between the King of Linghai, Chen Changsheng, and the National Academy had been extremely poor back then.
If not for Chen Changsheng, he would very likely be the current Pope.
The White Stone Daoist's words could be seen as a lament, a praise of His Holiness the Pope's wisdom, but they could also be interpreted as sowing discord.
The King of Linghai's face remained expressionless, as it was most of the time.
Just as the second withered yellow leaf struck the window lattice, he finally spoke, but not in response to the White Stone Daoist's lament.
"Why haven't the people of the Tang family shown up yet?"
This shift was very sudden, very abrupt, and thus carried a chill.
The White Stone Daoist frowned slightly and said, "I don't know."
The King of Linghai's gaze left the window, and he turned to look at the White Stone Daoist.
The movement of his head was very slow, like a puppet, and one could even faintly hear the grinding of his cervical vertebrae, like a sword being slowly drawn from its scabbard.
"Before Mu Jiushi was expelled from the Li Palace, I never considered her one of us in the state religion. So I've always been the youngest among us. I have plenty of time; I can wait. Don't spout nonsense about Chen Changsheng being younger than me, and don't put on that deadpan face pretending to be detached and free from desire."
The King of Linghai stared into the White Stone Daoist's eyes and said, "Although I've never liked our Pope, if he were to be assassinated twice in a row, I would be infinitely angrier than I am now. Because that would be a provocation against the Li Palace, an insult to me. And when I truly get angry, you should know very well what I will do."
After saying this, he turned his head back to look out the window, as if he had done or said nothing at all.
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...
The state religion's carriage didn't stay long in Song Mountain Town.
Because the imperial envoy, the Prince of Zhongshan, and those important figures didn't take long to reach a conclusion and agreed to the conditions put forth by the Li Palace.
Chen Chou, the former main cavalry commander of the Seven Mile Creek, became the new Divine General of the Song Mountain Military Prefecture.
This news shocked the people in Song Mountain Town, especially those officers who knew Chen Chou's background and his history of demotion.
As for the reason behind this matter, it shocked people in many more places, from Yong Lan Pass and Yong Xue Pass to Xunyang City, all the way to the capital, Luoyang.
So, the Pope, who had disappeared for three years, had actually been on the northern battlefield all along. He had never forgotten the human soldiers fighting bloody battles against the demon army. He had spared no expense, consuming his own lifespan to refine cinnabar pills with his true blood, saving countless lives. And then he encountered an assassination attempt in the Snow Ridge.
The Li Palace, silent for three years, had suddenly raised its voice, using this incident to forcefully seize control of the Song Mountain Military Prefecture. What did that mean?
The exiled Pope seemed about to reappear before the world. So, was he going to return to the capital?
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Behind Song Mountain Town were towering peaks, crisscrossed by countless mountain paths. At the turns of these paths, simple pavilions or thatched huts were often built.
In the prosperous south, these thatched huts or pavilions would be called parting pavilions or parting lodges, used to prolong the time of separation and to feel more of the sorrow of farewell.
Here, these pavilions or huts were only used for shelter from the rain or for a brief rest.
On the battlefield, life and death could part at any moment. The parting of the living rarely stirred up too much bitter emotion in people.
Luo Bu held a small wine flask with two fingers, looking down at Song Mountain Town shrouded in mist. He was silent, lost in thought.
Chen Changsheng and Nan Ke stood beside him, following his gaze, but found nothing there.
Leaving the Ban Ya Horse Ranch and arriving here, as agreed beforehand, it was time to part ways.
The mountain path split into three here: one south, one north, and one west.
Going north meant descending the mountain to Song Mountain Town. If one continued north, they would reach the desolate snowy plains, where the shadows of demon wolf cavalry could appear at any moment.
Going south meant crossing the mountains, then traversing the vast meadow that stretched for a thousand li, before reaching Xunyang City.
Going west meant circling the mountain, crossing the Si Ya River, then climbing over a few small hills. In two days, one should be able to see the outline of Han Qiu City.
South of Han Qiu City was Wen Shui.
Chen Changsheng's destination was Wen Shui.
Luo Bu was going to Song Mountain Town to hand over the military seal and then return home.
Having fought on the northern snowy plains for nearly five years, he wondered if he would feel a sense of reluctance.
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(WeChat Q&A will be released on the official account today. Because there are too many questions, all together exceeding ten thousand words, it will be divided into several parts. Today is the first part.)