428 The Plum Blossoms Bloom in Every Season, But the Fruit of Autumn Descends

(TN: There’s a wordplay here with ‘plum blossom’ (梅) and ‘beautiful’ (美),which share pronunciation. The more commonly used line is 四季皆美, ‘the fourseasons are all beautiful’, but here it is 四季皆梅.) Edited by: Michyrr In the eyes of the common people, the Pope's trust and love towards ChenChangsheng could not be any greater, and was even somewhat unfathomable.Logically, it was only natural that Chen Changsheng act according to the Pope'swill, but in reality, from the military fort to Xunyang City, Chen Changshenghad done many things that had gone against it. No matter what angle it waslooked at from, the Pope should be very disappointed or at least ask for somereason. The Pope did not ask. He only calmly gazed at Chen Changsheng and said, "It'sreally difficult to imagine that my Senior Brother could actually raise astudent like you." Chen Changsheng was struck dumb. He suddenly realized that his impression ofhis master was very blurry. Just what sort of person was Master? In the Pope'sview, just what sort of student should Master have raised? He didn't know theanswer, but he was very certain that the Pope's words were correct, because hehad never been raised by his master. It was Senior Brother Yu Ren that hadraised him… As he thought about Xining Village's old temple, the mist behind the mountainand those sounds in the mist, and also his senior brother and the wildflowers,he became somewhat lost in thought. The Pope looked at him calmly and then smiled. He thought to himself, at thistime, anyone else would get nervous, but it seems that this little kid actuallyhas the leisure to think about other things. Truly extraordinary. "Sit," he said to Chen Changsheng. Chen Changsheng gave an affirmative and then very obediently sat down on thechair. He didn't lean against the back of it, nor did he deliberately attemptto adjust his seat. In brief, he acted very obediently and did nothingintentionally. The Pope pointed at a teapot. Chen Changsheng understood. Raising the teapot, he filled the cup in front ofthe Pope. After thinking about it, he also filled the cup that was in front ofhim, and then his mind began to wander off once more. It was because he remembered those two nights in the Hundred Herb Garden, thatsmall table, and sitting across from that woman as they drank tea in silence. The Pope placed the cup down and randomly said, "Talk about the Garden ofZhou." It was said randomly, and what he wanted to hear was also any random thingthat had happened in the Garden of Zhou, because there was only one matter thatwas certain: there was no Su Li in the Garden of Zhou. "In the Garden of Zhou…I met a girl," Chen Changsheng inadvertently said. The Pope was a little surprised. "Oh?" At this, Chen Changsheng awoke from his stupor and felt his face heat up. Hehurriedly elaborated in great detail on what had happened in the Garden ofZhou, from the time he had obtained the Yellow Paper Umbrella from the Tangclan in Wenshui up to the Mausoleum of Zhou. It was just that there were somedetails unrelated to the general picture, such as that girl, that he naturallydid not mention. In addition, for some inexplicable reason, he did not mentionthe Halving Blade technique in the Mausoleum of Zhou, nor those lost HeavenlyTome Monoliths… Light seeped in through the eaves of the hall, resting on the floor as glossyas jade. It created numerous patterns on the floor, forming what seemed like achessboard. The Pope sat in his chair, gazing silently at him for what seemed like forever. The Mausoleum of Zhou, the Heaven Shrouding Sword, the Yellow Paper Umbrella,Mount Li, the Sword Pool, the monster tide, the story from several hundredyears ago, the destiny linking the two worlds—after he had finished hearingabout these things, even he could not help but sigh with regret. "As it turned out…the Sword Pool was a Sword Sea and was really the Plains ofthe Unsetting Sun. That person's grave was also within." The Pope's voice resonated through the peaceful hall. As one of the supreme Saints of the human world, his understanding of theworld far surpassed the imaginations of the common people, but even for him, itwas only today that he realized that the plains that he had seen so many yearsago actually contained so many secrets. "The obsidian coffin in the Mausoleum of Zhou was empty." Chen Changshengwould naturally not forget this most important detail. The Pope smiled, but said nothing. That person's fate was an enigma for manypeople, but time was ultimately the world's strongest object. At this time, heno longer paid too much attention to it. Comparatively speaking, the Pope cared more about another matter. "This beingthe case, those swords are all with you?" Without any reluctance, Chen Changsheng took the dagger from his waist andused both hands to offer it to the Pope. Back then in the Plum Garden Inn, when Tang Thirty-Six wanted to hold thisdagger, he had been rejected, but now Chen Changsheng could not reject. Thiswas because the Pope was the Pope and also his martial uncle. The swords of the Sword Pool were in his hands—this was a matter impossible toconceal. Back then in the wilderness when he was battling Divine General XueHe, those swords had already revealed themselves. "Do you know what this sheath is?" The Pope did not take the dagger, insteadgazing at him and asking this question. Chen Changsheng shook his head. The Pope was somewhat sorrowful as he explained, "This was once the mostprecious treasure of the entire Orthodox Academy. Later on, it vanished amidstthat scene of fire and blood. It seems now like your master took it away." Chen Changsheng didn't know what to say. "I and Senior Brother were schoolmates and even fellow disciples. As a matterof fact, in terms of talent in cultivating the Dao or intelligence, he hasalways been above. Yet in the end, I inherited the position of Pope while hewent to become the Principal of the Orthodox Academy." The Pope lifted his eyes up to the sky outside the hall, the stars in theocean of his eyes slowly winking in and out of existence, like the passing ofclouds or time. "Because his obsession was too great. You should not learn fromhim." Chen Changsheng still did not know what to say. Concerning the OrthodoxAcademy's past, even today, he still did not have a clear picture of what hadreally happened. Even if he knew, he didn't have the qualifications to talkabout it. "What do we do about the swords from the Sword Pool?" "The Li Palace will send out a notice informing the world. Those sects thatstill have descendants can first register, and then we will return theirswords. As for those sects whose succession has already come to an end, thoseswords are yours to hold." Chen Changsheng understood. In carrying out this matter in this fashion, afterthat night of bathing the Mausoleum of Books in the radiance of the stars, hewould once again have achieved a great merit for the human world. Thecriticisms brought by Liang Xiaoxiao and Zhuang Huanyu's death would, for themost part, be mollified. He said, "I leave it up to Sir to take care of it." He did not deferentially say 'His Holiness' and he did not pull on his sleeveand say 'Martial Uncle'. He only softly said the word 'Sir'. This was already asort of progress, the sort of progress where he had finally returned to thenaturally intimate world of his master's home. The Pope was very satisfied and said to him, "Go, and rest up well." Seeing his expression, the Pope understood what he was concerned about. Headded, "Zhexiu will quickly come out." From start to finish, the Pope had not asked him anything about Su Li. Having just returned to the capital, how could he possibly rest up well?Exiting the Li Palace, he had no time to return to the Orthodox Academy orinquire after Zhexiu. Priest Xin came and took him over to the Bureau ofEcclesiastic Education. The row of maple trees there should have been as red as fire, but in the deepspring and beginning of summer, they were a verdant green that surpassed thecolor of jade—just like how that building behind them had the two importantidentities of being the Imperial Court's institution for managing education aswell as the hall of the Orthodoxy responsible for learning. Deep within the hall in that room filled with all sorts of plum flowers, MeiLisha sat behind the table. His eyes were closed, seemingly asleep but not. Theold spots on his face were clear to see, just like that rouge plum blossom onthe table. Chen Changsheng stood in front of the table, separated by that rougeplum blossom from the archbishop, his emotions somewhat complex. Unlike the Pope, there was no relationship between him and Archbishop MeiLisha. Logically, it would be more appropriate for them to be strangers, but he always thought that the archbishop really was extremely kind to him forsome reason. Whether during the Grand Examination or the journey to the Gardenof Zhou, Archbishop Mei Lisha had always offered aid or convenience. Althoughthere were times when those matters placed a rather large pressure on him, itwas not these things that made his emotions complicated. Instead, it was thefact that the archbishop was getting older. Chen Changsheng didn't know what level of cultivation Mei Lisha had reached,but given that his seniority and level of influence in the Orthodoxy could besaid to be on par with that of the Pope, and then considering the attitude ZhuLuo and those other people had for him, he was probably not very far from theDivine Domain. Priests at this level of cultivation were not different fromother cultivators. To live eight hundred years was a very common occurrence,and in those long and endless years, even as these experts with profoundcultivations aged, they would only show it in their hair and a few wrinkles ontheir face. They would absolutely not grow weak and elderly. Only in the finalstage of life would they begin to consider the question of descendants andcontinue their bloodline. Then, with an almost unimaginable speed, they wouldbecome old. Would they die like the quiet beauty of the autumn leaf? No, it was more likethe descent of a fruit knocked down by the wind. In this year, the entire continent knew that Archbishop Mei Lisha had becomeold. This signified that the archbishop did not have many days left on this world.At any moment, he could return to the sea of stars. The rouge plum blossom's gaudiness, and the plum blossoms blooming throughoutthe room made it seem like it wasn't late spring, but rather any of the fourseasons of the year, any time of the year in which the plum blossoms couldbloom. In comparison to the flowers filling the room, the archbishop's elderlinesswas all the more shocking to see. Chen Changsheng felt somewhat sorrowful. At this time, the archbishop opened his eyes and smiled at him. "Come here." Chen Changsheng complied and approached him. Mei Lisha looked at him and said emotionally, "When I heard that you werestill alive, I was very happy, and at the same time, somewhat sad." Chen Changsheng didn't understand the meaning of his words, but for somereason, his heart was abruptly filled with unease and even fear. "Since Su Li did not die, I still must withdraw my gaze and have it fall uponthe capital once more, just like you must return to the capital in the end." Mei Lisha continued, "The Boiling Stone Summit will happen next year. I do notknow if I will be able to see it, but at the very least, I will be able to seethis year of yours to the end." Chen Changsheng wanted to say some comforting words, but then he realized thathe wasn't so good in that aspect. He lowered in his head in self-reproach. Mei Lisha calmly watched him and said, "This year is very important for you." Chen Changsheng said, "I don't understand." "You must mature as quickly as possible." As he said these words, his expression became somewhat heavy and his eyessomewhat dimmed. However, he soon after brightened up just as before. "Believein me. Ultimately, you and us, we will obtain victory." Chen Changsheng really couldn't comprehend. He thought to himself, who am Ibattling with? Is it the Divine Empress? Even if it is, what sort of strengthdo I have to partake in a battle at that level? "The problem between the Orthodoxy and the Empress is still about that seat inthe Imperial Palace." Mei Lisha somewhat laboriously stood up and walked Chen Changsheng over to thewindow. Looking at the Imperial Palace not too far away, he said, "In thisbattle, you will play an extremely important role." Chen Changsheng said, "Is it because…I am Teacher's student? Representing thesupport for the Imperial clan?"  Mei Lisha sighed with regret. "Of course it's not just this." The archbishop did not give a more elaborate explanation. It was because thismatter was too difficult to explain, even impossible, and also because someonejust so happened to knock upon the door!