426 Returning to the Capital Amidst Life and Death

Chen Changsheng was about to return to the capital. Hearing this news, ZhuangHuanyu fell silent for a very long time, just like a few days ago when he heardthat Chen Changsheng was still alive. Once their group that had gone to the Garden of Zhou left Hanqiu City andreturned to the capital, the Imperial Court removed Zhexiu from the Li Palace.Everyone believed that Chen Changsheng had died with the collapse of the Gardenof Zhou. Qi Jian, who had been returned to Mount Li, was still in a coma.Moreover, matters between man and woman were the most liable to cause quarrels,and so he believed that no one would ever believe Zhexiu and Qi Jian's defense.Thus, he was very happy, thinking that his life had finally returned to theright track. It was just that, from time to time, he would think of LiangXiaoxiao—that young genius who had used the final move of the Mount Li SwordStyle to commit suicide in front of him. When he recalled this, his body wouldgrow cold, and he couldn't feel warm no matter how many blankets he coveredhimself with. It was like some devil's shadow was quietly standing over hisbody in the air around him. Yet what made him feel even colder was that Chen Changsheng had not died. He had appeared in the wilderness in the northern stretches of TianliangCounty. It was said that he was together with that legendary Junior MartialUncle of Mount Li. Soon after, he heard that Divine General Xue He had gonethere, but Chen Changsheng still did not die. They had gone to Xunyang City,and then after that, Liang Wangsun and Painted Armor Xiao Zhang appeared. ZhuLuo and Guan Xingke, two of the Storms of the Eight Directions, appeared. Andyet, Chen Changsheng still did not die...why didn’t he just die? Zhuang Huanyu stood in a courtyard, gazing upward at the pitch-black abyss ofthe night sky. He voiced aloud, "Why don't you just die?" He stared at the night sky in silence for an interminable amount of time, thenmuttered to himself, "No one will believe it." Several months ago, following behind that night in which Wang Zhice lit up thecapital as he comprehended the Dao, the capital of the Great Zhou was once morebathed in silver starlight. This was because Chen Changsheng was in theMausoleum of Books, viewing the monoliths and cultivating. After that night,the entire continent knew of the meritorious deed he had accomplished for thehuman world, and they also knew of the Li Palace's true attitude towards him. Chen Changsheng became the youngest Principal of the Orthodox Academy inhistory. The Pope had chosen him to be his successor. He was the inheritor ofthe Orthodoxy. No one believed that the successor to the Orthodoxy would collude with thedemons, because it was impossible for the Demon race to provide him with anygreater benefits. If he had died in the Garden in the Zhou, then maybe it wouldhave profited a few people that were still alive, and then maybe some peoplewould be willing to believe. However, Su Li had lived and returned to Mount Li.Chen Changsheng had lived and was returning to the capital. Then all this wasabout to come to a close. The scheme Liang Xiaoxiao had woven with his owndeath was visibly about to collapse. Of course, there were also people who helddifferent views on this, such as that terrifying Lord Zhou Tong. This was because Zhou Tong knew that Chen Changsheng was Daoist Ji's student.He believed that for the sake of revenge, Daoist Ji would not only collude withthe demons, he would even be willing to bring the entire human world to ruin.But Zhuang Huanyu did not know of these matters, so as more and more news ofChen Changsheng's journey back south was relayed to the capital, he grew moreand more silent. He no longer left his own small courtyard, and his confidentfigure could no longer be seen amongst the verdant trees of the Heavenly DaoAcademy. He was finally beginning to understand why, after he saw Zhexiu carryQi Jian into the Mountainside Whispering Wood, Liang Xiaoxiao chose to die withsuch determination. Besides dying, what else could be done? He lowered his head, gazing at the dark well in the courtyard, seeing the dimreflection of the starlight in the water deep within the well. Suddenly, hebegan to shiver. He had grown up in the countryside, he and his mother relying on each other tosurvive. He lived a poor and destitute life, bitterly studying without end.After coming to the capital and entering the Heavenly Dao Academy, because hisfather was the Vice Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy and also because hepossessed an outstanding talent, he received the love of his teachers and therespect and adoration of his schoolmates. However, he had never relaxed therequirements he placed upon himself. Even on cold winter days, he would persistin using cold well water to wash himself. Now, it was the twilight of spring, and the capital was rather sultry, evenfeeling somewhat like summer. Yet he still felt that water in the well to besomewhat cold. That sort of cold made people fall into fear, into despair. He stared into the depths of the well, his face growing ever paler. After aseemingly endless span of time, he finally turned and left the side of the well. This was the first time in many days he had left the small courtyard in whichhe lived. As he walked, the students of the Heavenly Dao Academy that heencountered showed astonishment on their faces, then gave way for him, payingtheir respects. Zhuang Huanyu seemed to not even see them, nor did he speak tohis schoolmates. He directly walked to a building in the depths of the HeavenlyDao Academy. This was the residence of the Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy. In thepast, Mao Qiuyu had lived here. Later on, Mao Qiuyu went to the Li Palace totake charge as Archbishop of the Hall of Subjugation, and this place became theresidence of the newly appointed principal. The newly appointed Principal of the Heavenly Dao Academy had the surname ofZhuang. It was his own father. Standing outside the residence, separated by a sparse screen of plum branches,he gazed at the lights in the building and the figure of that man. ZhuangHuanyu once again fell into a very long silence, his face no longer as pale asit was before. Back then, his father abandoned his wife and child and entered the capital totake the imperial examinations, having some sort of affair with that girl fromthe Wenshui Tang clan. This was the worst ingratitude—this was a story thatZhuang Huanyu had persistently believed, and this was the opinion he had alwaysheld of his father. As a result, he had always harbored a deep loathing andhostility towards his father, and as a consequence, whenever he confronted hisfather, he would always become extremely brave. He didn't know why he came here tonight, but he realized that because of hisanger towards that man behind the window, the despair and coldness in his hearthad actually improved! Afterwards, he left the Heavenly Dao Academy and walked to the stone pillarsin front of the Li Palace. There, his footsteps stopped. He no longer movedforward. He was an outstanding talent of the Heavenly Dao Academy, and also a highlyvalued member of the next generation nurtured by the Orthodoxy. He was worthyenough to walk into the Li Palace, but he did not. He had not come to the LiPalace to take in the sights, even though he did get to see the last few cherrytrees in the night. He had come to the Li Palace to see someone, but even if hewere to walk into the Li Palace, it was impossible for him to see that person,just as even though he was the genius Zhuang Huanyu, he was also not worthy ofapproaching that person. Just as back in the Heavenly Dao Academy, it was onlyin Mao Qiuyu's residence when he was principal that he could see thatfairy-like junior sister, and then watch as she departed like a fairy. Standing in front of the Li Palace, he quietly gazed through the darkness atthe Hall of Pure Virtue, imagining that junior sister's life in the Pope'sGreen Leaf World. Zhuang Huanyu began to recollect the past. He wanted to sort out what happened over these past few years, to make clearjust how all these things had happened. Several years ago, he had met her in the Heavenly Dao Academy. Then, they metonce again at the Ivy Festival. When he thought that they could get to knoweach other, he saw that she was pulling along a youth called Chen Changsheng bythe sleeve. Yes, everything had originally started from here. In the Garden of Zhou by the lake, when Liang Xiaoxiao had suddenly launchedhis sneak attack and it was clear that the demon experts wanted to kill ChenChangsheng, Zhexiu, and Qi Jian, he was in the forest, not brandishing a swordand not meeting up with them. Yes, because he had been scared, because he was just a youth, because hewanted to live. But now that he thought about it, wasn't it because, in his heart, he hadalways held a deep jealousy and hatred for Chen Changsheng? He really wanted Chen Changsheng to die. Why couldn't he just die? A rain suddenly began to fall down upon the capital. The Li Palace was noexception. The air of late spring was suddenly washed clean, and the gray stone actuallybegan to emit a cold air. Zhuang Huanyu had no umbrella. He stood in the rain for a very long time. A priest from the Li Palace stepped forth to inquire, but when he realized itwas him, he remembered that Chen Changsheng was about to return to the capital.Thinking that he had guessed at something, the priest no longer disturbedZhuang Huanyu. Holding up umbrellas in the rain, those priests and students from the SixIvies walked about their business. When they saw his drenched figure, theemotions in their eyes were rather complex. There was some pity, some empathy,and of course, there was also ridicule. Zhuang Huanyu returned to his small courtyard in the Heavenly Dao Academy. His clothes had been completely soaked by the rain, so how could he careanymore whether something was cold or hot? Yet for some reason, in the end, hedid not jump into the deep and cold well. In the final moment of his life, he preserved a little of his pride. He used asword. He chose to die under his own sword. The news of Zhuang Huanyu's death quickly spread throughout the entire capital. That gray courtyard not far from the Imperial City was the first to receivethis news, because this place was the Department for Purging Officials. When Zhou Tong heard this news, he had been holding up a lantern, standingamongst a patch of green wormwood in his vegetable garden. He had beenattempting to find that wormwood stick-bug that had bitten one of his wormwoodstalks half to death. Zhuang Huanyu's death naturally had to do with Chen Changsheng's return to thecapital. Those who stood on Chen Changsheng's side presumably felt like theycould hold their heads up high, while those wanted to use this matter to attackChen Changsheng and even the Orthodoxy inevitably felt rather disappointed. Zhou Tong was likely the only person in the world that actually believed ChenChangsheng could collude with the demons, but not only did he lack any sense offailure, he even laughed and said, "It's good if he dies!" He was truly happy. Although he didn't laugh so much that he was rocking backand forth, the lantern in his hand swayed to and fro, so much so that theshadows of the wormwood on the vegetable field created all sorts of shapes,seeming just like a fence. After the conclusion of the matter in Xunyang City, once it was confirmed thatSu Li and Chen Changsheng had both survived, the rumors coursing their waythrough the capital suddenly changed. The Li Palace and the military placed an enormous pressure on the Departmentfor Purging Officials, demanding that Zhou Tong release Zhexiu. Liberating Zhexiu was a present, a great gift to welcome Chen Changsheng back. Of course, Zhou Tong would definitely not release Zhexiu. If not for ChenChangsheng's status being too sensitive, he would definitely have locked ChenChangsheng in that prison in his front yard. So he believed that Zhuang Huanyu had died well. He had died, and the deadcould not testify. The dead could not testify, so it was good. Of course, he was keenly aware that with Chen Changsheng's current status andidentity, Zhuang Huanyu's death was not too significant. But there were definitely people that would use this death. The fresh rain moistened the dust of the capital. The spring feeling of thecapital had not yet dulled, and, on the contrary, grew even deeper. It was sobright and beautiful that it even seemed somewhat sticky and greasy. A convoy of carriages returned to the capital. Chen Changsheng sat in one of the carriages, feeling the vibrations from hissheath. Knowing that the Black Dragon was about to wake up was very comfortingto him. Then, he heard a voice coming from outside. "Traitor!" Many people knew that Chen Changsheng was in the carriage. The commoners whowere used to the bustling sights of the capital also couldn't help but fill thetwo sides of the road to join the rest of the crowd. There was spiriteddiscussion, producing quite the clamor, and the scene was incredibly lively.