364 Full, time Teaching Part Four

"When I mentioned Daoist Ji last time, you said that you didn't knowanything…were you deceiving me?" Su Li said as he looked at the expression onChen Changsheng's face. Chen Changsheng could only maintain his silence, given how he was not tooskilled at making up lies. Su Li continued to talk to himself. "Then just what are those old guysplanning to do by pushing you out?" These dialogues frequently occurred, and their conclusion often did notrequire an answer. Chen Changsheng could not find an answer, and Su Li onlyused up a short amount of time to think about it. Confirming that the cavalry of the Great Zhou were truly far away, ChenChangsheng put Su Li on his back and passed through the black willow forest,continuing south. As he walked, or perhaps ran, the climate began to gradually grow warmer, andthe scenery that the two of them saw gradually began to draw closer to the trueseason. In the capital, it was most likely the peak of spring, while in MountLi in the south, it was already late spring. However, it was still somewhatchilly here, and their eyes could still spy remnants of snow like little stars.Fortunately, there were also little patchy stars of green. Seeing those grasses that had died in the previous year budding forth withgreen sprouts, Chen Changsheng recalled that it had already been one whole yearsince he had left Xining village. Far too many changes had occurred within thisyear. Even if he was just a youth in the midst of his spring, from time totime, he would turn back, and he would inevitably sigh with a regret moreappropriate for a middle-aged man. After they passed by a farmer village called Woli village, their situationchanged somewhat. They now had a carriage, being pulled along by two hale andhearty furry deer. Chen Changsheng sat at the front of the carriage, pulling on the ropes thathad been tied around the necks of the deer. Every now and then, he would make afew incomprehensible noises, perhaps wanting to imitate the methods of thefarmers. Yet it was very obvious that those two furry deer had no idea what hewas saying. Thankfully, the general direction was correct, always headingsouth. The south was still very far away, but as long as they kept persistingforward, they would continue to get closer. Su Li was lying down in the carriage, a thick blanket cushioning him frombelow while his body was covered by a thick but smooth animal hide. The YellowPaper Umbrella was set down at his side, as well as food and drink. He held abamboo flute against his lips, from time to time blowing a clear and elegantsound. He seemed contented to the extreme, with none of that miserable feelingof a heavily-injured person attempting to escape. After proceeding for two more days, they could faintly make out anearth-colored city on the official road. Unlike that military stronghold theysaw at the beginning, this was an actual city. Based on the size and perimeterof the city, it seemed like it could hold tens of thousands of people.Presumably, it was very bustling and lively within. If one wanted to reconnectwith the human world, this was without question the most convenient place to doit. Chen Changsheng turned his head and shot a glance at Su Li, using his eyes toask whether he wanted to enter the city. Su Li was just then using a piece of fur to carefully clean the holes of hisbamboo flute, not paying any attention. Chen Changsheng understood, but still did not quite understand. Shaking hishead, he grasped the reins and had those two deer carry the carriage down theofficial road, passing by the slightly hard fields and bypassing thatearth-colored city. South of the city was a forest of birch trees. The several thousand birchtrees were not at all thick. They seemed slender and straight, like swordsgrowing up from the ground and piercing into the sky. It was deep spring, but these birches in the cold ground had still not putforth any green leaves. The eyes did not encounter any sort of hindrance,letting one see the trees several li away. ‘When encountering a forest, don't enter.’ This was not something Su Li hadtaught Chen Changsheng from his experience traveling the world, but some oldsaying he had seen written many times in those miscellaneous essays. Chen Changsheng lightly pulled on the reins, indicating that the two deershould stop. He did not sense the slightest danger, only acted subconsciously. With difficulty, Su Li sat his body up in the carriage. At some point, thebamboo flute had been stuck in his waist and been replaced by the Yellow PaperUmbrella. He looked at the calm birch forest, then suddenly said, "They've come." Who came? It was naturally his enemies. The people that wanted to kill Su Lihad come. Chen Changsheng's mood instantly became tenser. He leaped down from thecarriage to the ground, using his fastest speed to untie the ropes around thenecks of the deer. Then he used the sheath of his dagger to give them twostrikes on their thick behinds. In pain, the furry deer ran off in the oppositedirection of the birch forest. It was just that this sort of docile livestockactually did not run very far. They stood several dozen zhang away, looking atChen Changsheng with expressions of bewilderment, as if they didn't understandwhy he had struck them. "You care about their lives, but what about me?" Su Li said to Chen Changshengangrily. Chen Changsheng grasped the sheath of his dagger and asked, "Then does Seniorwant to go in or not?" When they had just left the hot spring in the snowy ridge, he had asked Su Lithis question. Back then, Su Li had not been willing, and it seemed like he hadstill not changed his mind. He only heard Su Li sneer, "If I go in, what will Ido if you die? I have no desire to place all my hopes on another, let alonesuch a weak guy like you." In his heart, Chen Changsheng truly felt that this was very reasonable.Although Senior could not fight, his battling experience and knowledge farsurpassed his own by many times. Senior being at his side would always be someassistance to him. There was no activity from the quiet birch forest. Hesomewhat uneasily asked, "What should we do next? Should I be rushing into theforest?" Su Li had no idea what he was talking about and asked, "And what will you doonce you've rushed into the forest?" Chen Changsheng replied, "Yesterday Senior said that the most important momentin battle was the instant in which one turned from defense to offense. If onecould truly be caught off guard, then even the strongest opponent could lose." Su Li stared at him and asked, "So you are prepared to rush into the forest,find that person, and then kill him?" Chen Changsheng very earnestly nodded his head. Su Li put his hands on his forehead and asked, "Do you know what level ofcultivation that assassin in the forest is?" Chen Changsheng very earnestly shook his head. Su Li furiously bellowed, "And so just how are you prepared to charge in? Doyou plan to throw away your life?" Chen Changsheng was at a loss, not knowing whether he should nod his head orshake it. After thinking it over, he asked, "Is this…not according to Senior'steaching?" Su Li dispelled his anger and helplessly said, "You must first understand thatfor those things I mentioned, you first have to establish that you and youropponent are on similar levels. Even if you're lacking, you can't be toolacking." Chen Changsheng replied, "But Senior's original words were clear… even thestrongest opponent could lose." Su Li retorted angrily, "Rhetoric, this is rhetoric! Do you not understandthat rhetoric and exaggeration are a part of the art of speaking!?" Chen Changsheng lowered his head in silence. After a while, he could not helpbut raise his head back up and ask, "Then what do I do if I really do encounteran opponent that is much stronger than me?" The answer Su Li gave was exceptionally concise and plain, straightforward andclear. "Flee, or kneel." Flee? The speed at which Chen Changsheng could run with Su Li on his back wasnot necessarily faster than the speed of that assassin in the forest who hadstill not appeared. It must be known that the people who chose to take theprofession of assassin would always possess body movements and speed fasterthan the average cultivator. Kneel? Chen Changsheng was like Su Li. Neither ofthem would place their lives completely in the hands of another, even if it wassomeone they trusted, let alone someone that had come to kill them. Not being able to flee and not being able to kneel, in truth there remainedstill one other option: waiting. Chen Changsheng took out his dagger and stared at the still and noiselessbirch forest, gazed at the green buds which from a distance were graduallyabout to densely grow but from close-by were very difficult to see, waiting forthat person to appear. From start to end, the person never appeared. Time slowly passed, and even the hand holding the dagger began to ache. Heshouted out into the forest. "Come out already! He's already seen you." Su Li had no idea he would do such a thing. He shook his head at the sky,giving off the feeling that he was ashamed to be associated with him. There was still no response from that person in the forest. Chen Changshengwhispered, "Senior, it seems this method of enticing the enemy also doesn’twork." That previous dialogue, even quarrel, he had with Su Li was naturally not areal quarrel. Gazing at the quiet birch forest, Su Li thoughtfully declared, "The person hasleft." "Eh?" Chen Changsheng was rather surprised. Su Li once again lay down in the carriage, putting down the Yellow PaperUmbrella and taking up the bamboo flute. The two deer, at Chen Changsheng's call, slowly walked back, then stooddocilely as the ropes were tied back around their necks. The clear sound of the bamboo flute once more sounded out. In the ensuing journey, Chen Changsheng grew much quieter, or perhaps it wasbetter to say that he was much more like his usual self—only when he was withTang Thirty-Six and Su Li would he become more talkative. His current silence was of course because of that assassin that could appearat any time. Just as not speaking would sometimes be more powerful than speaking, an enemythat did not appear was always more frightening than one right in front of you. Contrarily, Su Li acted as he normally would, and no trace of unease could befound on his body. He continued to blow on his bamboo flute, drink from hissmall wine bottle, and take care of his injuries. He was just like that daywhen he was lying in the hot spring, very content and serene. It was like hewasn't injured at all, just traveling on a normal trip. Chen Changsheng's vigilant and focused sight encapsulated all things. Therewas a massive pressure on his mind, and when he thought about some things, hismood grew increasingly heavy. In the military stronghold, they had encountered two assassins, and then thecavalry of the Great Zhou had been hunting all around for them. Perhaps it wasjust as Su Li had surmised, that Black Robe had calculated the direction oftheir escape and then spread this news to some powers in the human world. Howwould those powers act from now on? If it was the Divine Empress prompting thispursuit of Su Li, did she know that he and Su Li were together? If she didknow, would she have those experts and assassins also kill him at the sametime? If it was… the powerful figures within the Li Palace that wanted Su Lidead, could they possibly know that he was still alive? Or perhaps the demonshad purposefully concealed his existence? On a certain day at dusk, in a place eight hundred li from Tianliang County,the deer carriage stopped to rest for a while, the twilight rich as blood. Chen Changsheng took all his unease and poured it out to Su Li. Right now,regardless of what disputes remained between them, since he had not abandonedSu Li back in the snowy mountain ridge, he would not abandon Su Li midway. Atpresent, they were sitting on the same carriage, so they would naturally haveto confront the coming violent storms and massive waves together. "There shouldn't be many people that know of my being heavily injured, thereason for which I already told you a few days ago. We already analyzed thatassassination in the military stronghold… if that clumsy and ridiculous actioncould be considered an assassination. Together with those several hundred Zhoucavalrymen, we can clearly see that neither those guys who want to kill me norI, being hunted by those guys, want the entire continent to know." Su Li took up a tree branch and began to draw out a map on the ground.Pointing at a straight line, he said, "They have no need to besiege astronghold so that they can strike at reinforcements, so the reason we haveseen no activity can only be that our speed is too fast. After we broke throughthe line of the northern army, the people did not have enough time to muster upenough strong people to come kill us. If we were to view this as a war, thentheir main force would just be rushing over…" Chen Changsheng squatted on the side, listening closely. Over the past few days, this sort of scene had occurred many times. Su Liwould normally put forward a very indecent appearance, but on these occasions,he would always be exceptionally serious. He taught Chen Changsheng how todistinguish between the tracks of humans and beasts, how to tell which plantswere edible, which mushrooms were poisonous, what was the most important partof battles, and even tactics and marching. Besides swords and cultivation, he taught Chen Changsheng many things. Chen Changsheng once again asked, "Senior, why are you teaching me thesethings?" Choosing a future Pope for the southerners? This might have been the realanswer, but it was not enough. "Because, I taught Qiushan before." Su Li tossed aside the tree branch and said, "He studied from me for onemonth. If there's enough time on the road, I will also have taught you for amonth. You returned the Yellow Paper Umbrella to me, I took you away from thesnowy plain. Both sides are even, but you did not leave the snowy ridge, so Iowe you a favor. You can just act like I'm returning the favor to you!" "Favor?" "In the future, you and Qiushan will inevitably compete. I hope that you won'tbe lagging too far behind, that it's as fair as possible. This is my favor toyou." This was the first time after leaving the hot spring that Chen Changsheng feltSu Li possessed the demeanor of a worthy senior. Then he very seriously said,"The Yellow Paper Umbrella is not me returning it to Senior, but me lending itto Senior." Su Li calmly looked back at him, then suddenly smiled, "You're not used tothis warm scene, so you intentionally spoiled it?" Chen Changsheng replied, "Yes." Su Li said, "I'm also not too used to it, so in the future, don't ask me anysimilar questions." Chen Changsheng looked at him and sincerely declared, "Senior, you truly are agood person." Su Li looked back at him and very seriously said, "In the future, don't saythese sorts of words either." "Why?" "Because in the future, you will know that I was never a good man in thetraditional sense. I'm temperamental. If there's a single word that I findunsuitable, I'll explode and kill someone." "But you really can't tell! Fine Senior, although those words I said beforewere on purpose, it's a fact that the Yellow Paper Umbrella really is mine." "Yeah, it seems like you really don't believe that I might explode and killyou!" “Senior, if you could suddenly kill someone, we wouldn't need to wait untilthe middle of the night to dare to continue our journey." Since the conversation was no longer agreeable, they no longer needed to sayanything. In the ever-darkening twilight, Chen Changsheng began to preparedinner and the equipment needed to sleep outdoors. Su Li gazed at the youth bustling around the fire and slightly squinted hiseyes. He slowly stroked the bamboo flute in his hand, thinking about something. The twilight gradually retreated. After a simple meal of roast meat, ChenChangsheng extinguished the fire, ensuring that it would not become a beacon inthe night. After a wordless night, the morning arrived. The morning wind was somewhatchilly, bringing with it the smell of dew and grass. It made one feel carefreeand relaxed, and the two deer had a lively step as they marched, traversingmore than ten li in a short time. Many green plants grew in this vast stretch of plains. They might have beensorghum, but these sorghum plants were just budding, not at all like thelegendary green curtain of crops, much less able to cover up a figure. So it only took a glance for Chen Changsheng to see the person standing in thefield. It was a handsome man, covered all over in armor. On his back were seven longblades, shining gloriously in the morning light.