210 Viewing the Monoliths at Dawn

The courtyard was quiet, the mood was oppressive. The first to break thesilence was Chen Changsheng. He walked into the hut and saw Tang Thirty-Six finishing the leftovertea-soaked rice. For some reason, this angered him. Any other time, he probablywould have left to wash the dishes and wipe the table twice over, but right nowhe was not in the mood. He told the others, “I’m going to bed.” Having said that, he turned around and walked into the hut, found a blanket,and put it over his face. The rest, who were still immersed in that complex and melancholy mood, wererather surprised when they saw him really go to sleep. Guan Feibai arched hiseyebrows and unhappily said, “He really is a cold-blooded guy.” Gou Hanshi shook his head to indicate that he should say no more. Tang Thirty-Six sneered. “You bastard, you’re just a battle maniac. How areyou any different from that old man under the pavilion?” Suddenly, Zhexiu spoke up. “To be a little cold-blooded is better.” Everyone there was stunned by those words, such that even Tang Thirty-Sixthought it was a little far-fetched. “Colder blood means less likely to get a fever, and even less likely to gocrazy.” Zhexiu expressionlessly explained himself, turned and entered the hut. Hefound a blanket, laid on the bed and began to sleep. Tang Thirty-Six suddenly thought of something and walked into the hut. “Hey,how many blankets are there anyway? You haven’t used them all, have you?” Hearing this, Guan Feibai leapt from the doorstep and shouted into the hut, “Idon’t care how many blankets there are, but we need at least two!” On the brink of death, Xun Mei had passed on this grass hut to these youths.It was a very solemn affair, as if it were his greatest legacy. In reality, thehut was very crude and wretched. It only had three rooms; the kitchen, the mainroom and the inner room. No one could stay in the kitchen, and the remainingtwo were very small. To have seven people living there was rather crowded. Chen Changsheng, Tang Thirty-Six, and Zhexiu stayed in the relatively nicerlooking inner room. After all, they had come first; and while Xun Mei had giventhe hut to all of the youths, he did so mostly because of those three.  Thus,other than Guan Feibai, who stubbornly putting his all into getting twoblankets, the four disciples from the Mount Li Sword Sect really had noobjections. Xun Mei had only left three sour-smelling blankets. After two of them had beenwrested away, there was only one left. Fortunately, Zhexiu had grown up in thesnowy plains and did not need a blanket. To normal people, spring was a chillyseason; but to him, it had the all the pleasantness of early summer. As thechild of such a wealthy household, Tang Thirty-Six had actually brought a furskin with him. Thus, luckily, Chen Changsheng did not have to share his blanket. The night grew darker, but Chen Changsheng’s eyes remained open; he had notfallen asleep. It was not because of the sour smell coming off the blanket, although that wascertainly a big reason. The person that had slept on this bed for thirty-seven years just died beforetheir eyes. Who could sleep knowing that? Like him, there were actually many people who could not sleep. “Was it worth it?” Tang Thirty-Six asked as he looked out the windows at thestars in the night sky, his mood downcast. Zhexiu’s eyes were closed. He was not asleep, but he did not respond. Thoughton this matter was unnecessary. Chen Changsheng also did not answer; but, under the blanket, he gripped thatblack stone a bit tighter. Last night in the Pavilion of Ascending Mist, he hadunderstood some things. Tonight in the Mausoleum of Books, he had encounteredsome things. These things all came up too abruptly, and were too much for hisfifteen-year-old self to handle. In fact, he was probably even more frustratedthan Tang Thirty-Six. Gazing up at the stars, he could feel that distant little red star which washis own. He silently thought, if I wanted to change my fate, I would first havethe change the fate of all the people I’m connected to, changing their stars.But how can I know which stars correspond to which people? Xun Mei…where is hisstar? There was already a connection between the two, would his death changeanything? Or is it to say that because he entered the Mausoleum of Books, XunMei’s fate had changed? To change his fate, would he really have to bringsuffering and death to those by his side? And if the star he affected were his Senior’s? Or Tang Thirty-Six’s? Or LuoLuo’s? Even if it were Xu Yourong’s, would he be able to coldly look on as herstar grew dim? Just as he was thinking about such trivial things, TangThirty-Six suddenly got up, flung off the fur skin, and began to fan himselfwith the front of his shirt. “What’s wrong?” He asked. “It’s a little hot.” Tang Thirty-Six continued, “I really don’t know how thepeople in my family prepared for this.” Chen Changsheng chuckled, but did not say anything. Tang Thirty-Six suddenly turned to him, his mood serious. “Chen Changsheng, Ineed to tell you something.” Puzzled, Chen Changsheng asked, “What?” Tang Thirty-Six was very serious. “In the future, no matter what happens, Iwon’t ever say ‘thank you’ to you, and you won’t ever say ‘you’re welcome’ tome.” Chen Changsheng did not respond. He knew that Tang Thirty-Six had been deeplymoved by Xun Mei and Wang Po’s final conversation. Guan Feibai’s jeering voice came from the other room. “How come you’re the onesaying ‘thank you’ and he’s the one saying ‘you’re welcome’? You’ve alreadydecided that, in the future, you’re going to be Wang Po, and that ChenChangsheng will never be your match; only able to play the role of encouragingyou forward? Don’t forget, he’s already at Ethereal Opening. You’re stillpretty far from him!” In this serious setting where two brothers shared their bond, Tang Thirty-Sixcould not help but fly into rage at these sudden words. He shouted back, “Youmake it sound like you’re so much stronger than me!” Guan Feibai sneered. “Regardless of how much stronger I am, I’m stillstronger.” Gou Hanshi interjected. “Stop quarreling.” Chen Changsheng added in, “Just go to sleep early.” The hut finally grew quiet. However, not too long after, everyone heard QiJian’s shy voice. “Second senior brother, I…. I…. think I’m hungry.” There was silence, then laughter all around. Qi Jian’s small face blushed. Chen Changsheng saw that while Zhexiu’s eyes were closed, the corners of hislips perked up. After a few rounds of argument and laughter, their moods had all somewhatsettled down, and they gradually fell asleep. Chen Changsheng was still awake. He calmly looked out the window at the nightsky filled with stars. Tonight, Xun Mei had said he had learned a lot from him and Zhexiu. In truth,Chen Changsheng had also learned many things. Zhexiu had said that the most important thing in life was not to live, but tolive awake or die awake. To him, the most important thing in life was to followhis heart. In the old temple in Xining village, he had studied the DaoistCanons with his master. The Dao which he had practiced was not for killingpeople with flying swords, or living forever without aging, but to follow hisheart. When trying to live while facing death, the only thing that held any meaningwas that he was already between life and death, so he obviously had to staysober and follow his heart. It was also because he had truly faced life and death that in the past fewyears, he had taken the three words ‘follow your heart’ and cultivated them toan incredible level. He had then gone to the Divine General’s estate to cancelthe engagement, appeared at the Ivy League Gathering, and finally obtained thefirst place on the First Banner in the Grand Examination. However, when he hadfinally been able to enter the Pavilion of Ascending Mist and discovered thosesecrets, he had seen life’s hope for the first time in many years, but hisheart had been instead perturbed. His loss of interest in cultivation and his playing tourist on the first dayin the Mausoleum of Books were because his heart had been confused.Fortunately, he had heard Zhexiu’s answer and met Xun Mei. Xun Mei had takenthirty-seven years to wake up, while he had only used one night. He could nothelp but admit that he had been rather lucky. Now that Chen Changsheng had gotten back his tranquil mood, he naturallyreturned to his familiar lifestyle. Despite the fact that so many things hadhappened last night, that both his body and soul were worn out, and that he hadeven slept later than usual, he opened his eyes and woke up early at fiveo’clock when the sky was still dark. When he awoke, he did not immediately get up, but instead took five breaths oftime to calm his mind. Then, he got up and put on his shoes and clothes. As heprepared to make the bed, he realized that there were two people on the bed. Hesaw Tang Thirty-Six tightly holding onto his fur skin, curled up into a ball,like an insecure child. In contrast, Zhexiu was lying on the ground with hisback straight, and, to bluntly put it, he seemed like a stone statue. Chen Changsheng shook his head and walked to the outer room. He saw GouHanshi, Liang Banhu, and Guan Feibai all bundled up under one blanket, while QiJian slept in the corner with his own blanket. Chen Changsheng could not helpbut shake his head. Truly, the Mount Li Sect Master’s final disciple receivedspecial treatment. He walked out to the courtyard and went the nearby creek, using the water towash his face and rinse his mouth. Afterwards, he cooked a big pot of riceporridge and also steamed the remaining two-thirds of the salted fish. Then, hewent over and opened the window in attempt to wake up Tang Thirty-Six. TangThirty-Six’s two hands balled up into fists, and he spat out a few angryexpletives, after which Tang Thirty-Six paid him no more attention. For the third time after he woke up, Chen Changsheng shook his head. Hehelplessly turned around, only to find Zhexiu squatting by the collapsed fenceas he brushed his teeth. He could not help but be surprised. Chuckling, hesaid, “I didn’t expect this.” Squatting on the ground, Zhexiu did not turn his head. He said in a somewhatmuffled voice, “Didn’t expect what, that a wolf cub like me like to be clean?” Chen Changsheng thought it over and decided that it was his way of thinkingthat was wrong. Apologetically, he replied, “It was my mistake.” Zhexiu threw away the tree branch that he had been using to brush his teeth,which he had gotten from a willow or some other tree, and then cupped somewater in his hands to wash his face. Finally, he said, “There’s nothing to bemistaken about. On the snowy plains, I really wouldn’t wash my face every day.The oil and grease can help protect me against the wind. But at the very least,I would brush my teeth twice a day, and from time to time, I would chew on someice.” Chen Changsheng was intrigued. “Why did you do that?” Zhexiu replied, “On the snowy plains, meat would sometimes freeze solid.Sometimes I would have to eat the meat raw, and that requires a good set ofteeth. Only in this way would my teeth be strong enough to chew on it.” Chen Changsheng thought it over and agreed. “Very reasonable.” Zhexiu added, “In the various tribes, the old people that lived the longestwould often have the best teeth.” Chen Changsheng noticed that Zhexiu’s teeth were indeed very white and healthy. Paired with the salted fish, the two each drank down three bowls of porridge,then left the grass hut. Cutting through a large forest of orange fruit trees,they walked towards the Mausoleum of Books. Nobody said anything along the way, so the atmosphere was very quiet. When they had almost arrived at the main path in the Mausoleum, Zhexiusuddenly stopped. “It’s a bit weird,” he said. Chen Changsheng stared at him and asked, “What’s weird?” “I’m used to being alone.” After a moment’s thought, Chen Changsheng replied, “Then you first.” “I still need you to cure my illness, so you should go first. Besides brushingteeth, the snowy plains have another rule: you shouldn’t offend your doctor.” Chen Changsheng laughed. “You don’t need to be so courteous about this sort ofthing.” Zhexiu did not respond, instead directly thrusting out a clenched fist. Chen Changsheng was rather surprised. “Don’t tell me we also have to fightover this?” Zhexiu asked, “Do you know how to play the finger-guessing game?” “I only know how to play rock-paper-scissors.” Zhexiu was silent for a moment, then finally said, “I also only know thatgame.” Using a tattered rag to wrap around a rock-like fist, Chen Changsheng was ableto obtain victory and was the first to leave. Following the main path northwhile occasionally hearing the fluttering of the morning birds, Chen Changshengshortly arrived at the Mausoleum of Books’ main gate and walked on the onlypath by which one could view the monoliths. The monoliths were all in the mountain, so naturally, this monolith-viewingpath was a mountain path. However, it was not very steep. There were many stonesteps carved into the path, making the climb very easy. It was just now truly dawn. The morning sun rose from the eastern horizon,illuminating the distant buildings in the capital. The Palace of GreatBrilliance and the Pavilion of Ascending Mist were particularly prominent. The somewhat chilly morning wind lightly brushed his cheeks while the dawnlight illuminated his path forward. As he walked through the quiet woods whilelistening to the song of the morning birds and saw the morning sun be turnedinto a flowery face by the tree branches, Chen Changsheng’s mind was serene andjoyful. Although he had started a day late compared to others, it did notreally matter. Yes, this was indeed wasting away at his life. Just as he had mentioned to Zhexiu, playing chess and the zither, painting andcalligraphy, and enjoying the scenery were all a waste of life. But how beautiful wasting one’s life in this manner was. And how beautiful it was to have a life to waste in such a manner. Within the quiet and uninhabited mountain forest, Chen Changsheng climbed thesteps. Soon afterwards, he arrived at a monolith. He walked in front of themonolith, but all he could see on it were marks that seemed to have been madeby knives and hatchets, not words. There also did not seem to be any lines; itwas very obvious that somebody had destroyed them. He recalled the decree thatthe Divine Empress had issued in the past, and he knew that this was not themonolith he had come to see. He shook his head and continued walking. He did not walk too far before he saw yet another monolith. This place was a cliff, and in front of the cliff was a hut. The monolithstood in the center of this hut. The eaves of the hut furled out on all sides. Even if there was a great storm,it would be very difficult for this monolith to get wet. Chen Changsheng walked to the front of the hut and looked at the monolith, andhis state of mind wavered slightly. The shape of this monolith was not very proper. Even its thickness was notuniform. Compared to normal monoliths in the world, it seemed even more like anunfinished product. The monolith’s surface was very glossy. Who knew how many hands had rubbedagainst it? This was a Heavenly Tome Monolith. The first monolith of the Mausoleum of Books. Chen Changsheng restrained himself from looking at the monolith’s surface, andlooked around the hut instead. The forest outside the hut acted as an obstacle. The stone steps continued nofurther, ending at a rock plateau. Through the gaps in the forest, one could faintly the eaves of roofs in thedistance. Perhaps they were other monolith huts, but there was no path to reachthem. Seeing this picture, Chen Changsheng became lost in thought. The morning light spilled over the rock plateau, a cool breeze ran through thetrees, and two kingfishers chirped as they flew into the sky. Chen Changsheng awoke from his stupor, and then turned to the monolith withinthe hut. He subconsciously put his hands behind his back and calmly began toexamine it. When his gaze landed upon the surface of the monolith, he could not keep hisheart from racing.