Chapter 604 – Under the Starry Sky, There Is Nothing to Revere
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
"Sacred Light?" Chen Changsheng looked somewhat perplexed.
He naturally knew of the Sacred Light, it was just that although he was well-versed in the Daoist Canon, he had never entered the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green before, nor had he gone to Holy Maiden Peak. So why was his body filled with Sacred Light?
Suddenly, he recalled a name, a place very rarely mentioned and of which no explicit record existed in the Daoist Canon.
He had truly first heard this place's name on that snowy day at the beginning of the year when he discussed with Xu Yourong where Senior Su Li might have gone.
As expected, in the next moment, he heard that name once more in the Pope's words.
"Could your master really have gone to the Sacred Light Continent?" The Pope slightly creased his brow as if he had encountered an incomprehensible problem.
"But it is also impossible to be completely sure about this. There has always been a rumor that a portion of the descendants of the deceased imperials within the Cloud Grave passed through the spatial barrier and reached the Sacred Light Continent. As Emperor Taizong could no longer exterminate them, he halted his manhunt. If that branch of the Chen Imperial clan really does live on that side, there might be an explanation for your situation."
Only then did Chen Changsheng understand that the Sacred Light Continent was not some imaginary existence, and that there might even be people who had gone to that side, and those people were highly likely to be his clansmen…
But there were some problems that still were not explained. "Could it be that people living in the Sacred Light Continent all have bodies filled with so much Sacred Light?"
"It is rumored the world of the Sacred Light Continent is brimming with limitless Sacred Light, but the situation you describe is still impossible—your situation is ultimately still special."
The Pope gazed at him piteously and said, "When you were still in the womb, your sun wheel was destroyed. Logically, it was utterly impossible for you to survive. I speculate that it was probably some amazing individual on the Sacred Light Continent who gathered up an unimaginable amount of Sacred Light and forcefully poured it into your body, helping you survive."
After a moment of silence, Chen Changsheng noted, "This survival has been somewhat exhausting."
"But in the end, living is still a good thing."
The Pope gently rubbed his head and said, "Go—if you continue to stay around, I'll really start to grow anxious over whether or not the Holy Maiden will burn the Great Hall of Light."
Chen Changsheng lowered his head, receiving the Pope's blessing of tender affection.
The firm gray stones resounded with the rolling of the wheelchair as Chen Changsheng maneuvered the wheelchair out of the hall.
The Pope gazed at his back and warned, "In the future, do not use this method to probe—it's very dangerous."
Chen Changsheng stopped the wheelchair. After a pause, he nodded.
"Whether it's human nature or the human heart, you cannot test them, because when you begin to think about methods to test them, that would mean that you have already begun to doubt."
The Pope lastly said, "And doubt is the source of all misfortune."
……
……
It was early autumn and still not chilly. The great banyan tree by the lake was still ostentatiously showing off its green leaves, and only on the grass lawn would one be able to spot the occasional slightly yellowed fallen leaf.
Today, the Orthodox Academy was under heavy guard. The Orthodoxy cavalry were patrolling vigilantly in the lane outside, and those restaurants which would normally have lanterns hung outside had also received the news and closed early, resulting in a desolate scene.
The South Stream Temple disciples did not remain at the Li Palace, nor did they go to the Imperial Palace. They had gone straight to the Orthodox Academy and begun erecting tents on its lawn, at the same time impolitely taking up the library.
The teachers and students of the Orthodox Academy were kept out by a curtain of silk. Seeing those beautiful female disciples of South Stream Temple going in and out, they truthfully did not feel too conflicted, and were even inwardly happy. However, they did not outwardly show this, still indignantly grumbling, "When did the Orthodox Academy come under the management of Holy Maiden Peak?"
Su Moyu and Xuanyuan Po were at this moment in the kitchen that had been rebuilt not even half a year ago. Based on what the South Stream Temple disciples had said, they were temporarily unable to return to their house. They could only wait for permission before they could return to that house and take with them clothes and everyday items. This naturally made them very angry.
"Just what has happened? For what reason should the people of Holy Maiden Peak stay in this academy? And if they even want to steal away our place, then where are we going to live?"
Zhexiu sat on the doorsill of the kitchen, looking at the newly planted scholar trees by the wall. As in the past, he was feigning a solitary self, modeling despair. The person replying to this question was naturally Tang Thirty-Six.
"There is one matter that all of you might not know, but I'm confident that you'll learn of it very soon, just like everyone else in the world."
He said very seriously to Su Moyu and Xuanyuan Po, "That guy Chen Changsheng has long been together with Xu Yourong."
These words were very coarse, but they could very clearly describe the present situation.
All was quiet. Su Moyu and Xuanyuan Po required quite some time to digest the shock in their minds.
Su Moyu's first reaction was to wrinkle his brow and glance at Tang Thirty-Six, chiding, "How can you use such coarse words to describe the Holy Maiden?"
Xuanyuan Po's response was very direct. His face full of praise, he sighed, "The principal is truly extraordinary, but…what about the Princess?"
It was Tang Thirty-Six's turn to be shocked. He looked at the pair and asked, "Could it be that neither of you is disappointed or angry?"
"Why would we be disappointed?"
"That pair of adulterers has kept it hidden from us for so long."
"Tang Tang, I'm warning you, when speaking of the Holy Maiden, do not use such vulgar words," Su Moyu solemnly rebuked.
Enraged, Tang Thirty-Six said, "You've all been driven out of your rooms, and you're still speaking on their behalf?"
Xuanyuan Po was a picture of honesty and frankness. "This is basically the newly-married wife bringing her family's servants on her visit. It's only right that we properly receive them."
……
……
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were clueless to the fact that Tang Thirty-Six had once more called them a pair of adulterers. They were currently discussing what had happened just now in the Li Palace.
"'Doubt is the source of all misfortune'—these were the last words Martial Uncle said to me. I know that was a lesson for me, but I think that when he was saying this, he might have been thinking about when my teacher sent me to the capital, at the same time stabbing a thorn between him and the Divine Empress. Then…to him, that incident could also be considered a sort of misfortune."
"His Holiness's heart embraces the world. The misfortune he feels should be the misfortune of the world, the misfortune of millions upon millions of people."
"But to be used by Teacher in this way, even if Martial Uncle really does believe that the Divine Empress should abdicate, would still feel rather uncomfortable."
"So he said that your teacher is truly a schemer. Right now, I really wish to know what sort of person he is."
Xu Yourong drew her gaze back from the distance and looked at Chen Changsheng.
The starlight and the winds of early autumn entered together through the window, falling upon his face. It was comfortable, just like the feeling he gave to others.
She did not know what sort of person Daoist Ji, or Principal Shang, was, but she only knew that she had never loathed a person so much before.
Even though that person was Chen Changsheng's teacher.
Precisely because he was Chen Changsheng's teacher.
Just who in the world would so coldly and impassively treat a student he had raised as a chess piece to be used, and was even unwilling to let go the senior brother who had once let his life go?
Chen Changsheng recalled the words recorded in the notebook Wang Zhice had left in the Lingyan Pavilion.
Wang Zhice's notebook did not specifically mention Daoist Ji, but in his recollections of paying visits to several of the ministers and famed generals of the Lingyan Pavilion before they died of illness, he would often encounter or hear that Daoist Ji had paid a visit.
As the divine doctor most skilled in the medical arts in that period of the Great Zhou Dynasty, to receive an imperial decree to visit and treat a great minister or famed general who was seriously ill was seemingly a very ordinary matter.
But thinking about it from the other way, it could also be said that not long after Daoist Ji visited those great ministers and famed generals on the order of Emperor Taizong, those people whose accomplishments would go down in history, one by one, returned to the sea of stars. And if one further considered that Daoist Ji was a legitimate successor of the Orthodoxy and after many years would reinstate his true name of Shang Xingzhou to wield power over the Orthodox Academy while secretly attempting to overthrow the Divine Empress's rule…
"I think…Teacher was probably Emperor Taizong's must trusted confidant."
After Chen Changsheng said these words, he suddenly felt that the autumn wind blowing in from the window was somewhat chilly.
The room was quiet for a very long time.
If this matter really could be traced back to Taizong's era, if it really extended towards that distant and unknown continent, then it was far too complex.
Although he and she were no ordinary young man and woman, they were still two people who would not turn seventeen until two months later. They had no idea what exactly happened all those many years ago, so how could they see through this thick and heavy fog?
"At the moment, we can only be sure that His Holiness bears you no ill will," Xu Yourong stated.
Chen Changsheng nodded. This was a fact he had only confirmed after taking an enormous risk, but in truth, he still did not completely understand why the Pope had stayed his hand at that moment.
If it really was as the Pope had said and his body contained an innumerable quantity of Sacred Light, eating him would allow one to reach an unimaginable level and obtain a truly Grand Liberation, thus transcending the hardships of life and death. Even the Demon Lord was willing to risk entering Mount Han to eat him, so how could the Pope control himself?
Senior Yu Ren had said before that only a Saint could resist the allure of his blood. Resisting here spoke of ability, not necessarily will.
If Chen Changsheng himself were confronting this sort of situation, even he did not know how he would choose.
Just what was more important than this in the Pope's heart? It was naturally not authority.
He silently thought, it could only be the future of humanity.
Xu Yourong knew what he was thinking and answered, "It's out of reverence."
A figure like the Pope had already reached the pinnacle in terms of both cultivation and status. What could he possibly revere?
The common people raised their heads and saw the starry sky as well as that light in its deepest depths.
Perhaps that light was virtue, or principles, or romantic love, or familial love, or a bowl of noodles with fried egg, or the blood within one's body, two loves deeply intertwined.
Not all people would preserve this sort of reverence.
Xu Yourong believed that Chen Changsheng's teacher did not.
To still preserve this reverence in one's heart even though one stood at the peak, this sort of person was truly extraordinary.
From beginning to end, from heaven to earth, from light to shadow, to revere nothing, this sort of person was truly terrifying.
Up until now, that person remained in the shadows. It was only known that he would assuredly use Chen Changsheng, but not what he would use Chen Changsheng for.
"I still insist on my opinion from Mount Han."
Xu Yourong continued, "We should tell everything to the Empress."
Chen Changsheng quietly gazed out the window, saying nothing for a very long time.