467 The One Who Blocks the Path Dies

The first person Chen Changsheng saw was Xu Shiji. That cold and solemn faceinstantly made him recall last year, when he saw that figure in the carriageoutside the Heavenly Dao Academy. It was only afterwards that he noticed themiddle-aged man in front of Xu Shiji. This middle-aged man seemed to have aheroic spirit about him. Chen Changsheng didn't know who this man was, butgiven that Xu Shiji was following behind him, he guessed that this middle-agedman possessed an incredibly high status. He bowed to Xu Shiji. He was a junior, and this was a required courtesy. Thathe did not take the initiative to speak first was similarly a courtesy. Inaddition, he really didn't know what to say to Xu Shiji. Granted, Xu Shiji'sattitude to him had markedly changed after the Grand Examination—he had eveninvited him to partake in a family dinner at the Divine General of the East'sestate. However, that family dinner had not ended very pleasantly. That marriage contract's journey, even now, had still not reached its finaldestination. Upon straightening his body, he realized that Tang Thirty-Six was bowing tothat middle-aged man. This was a very rare occurrence because Tang Thirty-Sixhad never been one to pay much attention to courtesy. To be more precise, hewas a person that despised the overly complex and elaborate customs of theworld. Even back when he was before Archbishop Mei Lisha, he had not been sowell-behaved. Tianhai Chenwu gazed at Tang Thirty-Six and asked, "Is your grandfather doingwell?" With his identity as head of the Tianhai clan, there were extremely few peoplein the world that he was required to inquire about. Even amongst the WenshuiTangs, only that Old Master was worthy. Tang Thirty-Six smiled and replied, "His health is particularly good! A lettercame from home saying that for every meal, he still eats four bowls of rice,and he never forgets to have his night-time snack." As he spoke, he was very well-behaved, incredibly similar to a sensiblejunior. There was none of his usual insolence. Chen Changsheng was stunned as he thought, just who is this middle-aged man? At this time, Xu Shiji said to him, "In a few days, Little Rong will return tothe capital. When you find the time, come to the estate to have dinner." As these words rang out, the corridor became incomparably quiet. Tianhai Chenwu turned to Xu Shiji and slowly narrowed his eyes. Only then did Chen Changsheng realize that…Xu Yourong was returning to thecapital. After a moment of silence, he responded very courteously to Xu Shiji,"Sir knows that the Orthodox Academy has recently been more busy than usual. Iam not sure if I will have the time." From the moment Xu Shiji spoke, Tang Thirty-Six's eyes had been darting backand forth between Xu Shiji and Tianhai Chenwu, looking to see something. Tianhai Chenwu gave a smile, which slowly began to fade away. Turning to ChenChangsheng, he said, "You say you're busy, but you have the leisure to comehere to eat?" It was a simple question, but Chen Changsheng felt like it had placed amassive pressure on him. Particularly, the chill in that voice seemed to causehis Dao heart to freeze. It was at this moment that Tang Thirty-Six's voice, rich with his unique brandof shamelessness, just so happened to rise up. "I hear that Sir greatly enjoysdining at Clear Lake Restaurant?" He was asking Tianhai Chenwu. Tianhai Chenwu quietly stared at Chen Changsheng, ignoring the question. Tang Thirty-Six did not feel embarrassed, chuckling as he continued, "Sirknows, in that match some days ago involving Chen Changsheng and Zhou Ziheng, Iwon a rather considerable amount of silver. After gathering some more moneyfrom here and there, I managed to pool enough silver to buy this restaurant.Today, we came to receive the restaurant. From tomorrow onwards, Clear LakeRestaurant will have to close down for renovations. In the coming days, Sirmight not be able to eat blue lobster anymore." Tianhai Chenwu turned to him and said derisively, "The child has quite thetemper." Tang Thirty-Six smiled, "I am just informing Sir. In the coming days, when theautumn weather is clear and refreshing, perfect for dining on crab, thisrestaurant still might not have opened in time. Sir might have to have thesteward of your estate seek out another location." Tianhai Chenwu said to him, "As the years have gone by, there have been fewerand fewer people who dared to provoke me in front of my face. You are worthy ofbeing Old Master Tang's most beloved grandson. Your boldness truly stands outfrom the masses." Tang Thirty-Six widened his eyes and feigned innocence. "I don't quiteunderstand Sir's meaning." Tianhai Chenwu began to laugh, and then sighed, "I just wanted to have theOrthodox Academy experience some excitement. It seems now that I will have tomake you all taste a little suffering." Saying this, he resumed walking forward. The corridor was not narrow, nor was it wide, especially with Xuanyuan Po'ssmall mountain of a body taking up space. If Tianhai Chenwu wished to move forward, the three youths would have to giveway. Xuanyuan Po had already sensed that the mood was oddly tense. Seeing thatmiddle-aged man walk over in such a manner, he got very angry and was preparedto use his own body to stand in the way! However, this was no quarrel amongst the children of the bear tribe, nor wasit a game played out by his fellow students of the Orthodox Academy. Tang Thirty-Six's expression turned cold. His hand shot out like lightning andgrabbed Xuanyuan Po's belt. With a surge of true essence, he forcefully draggedXuanyuan Po and pushed him to the wall. With a boom, the wall collapsed from Xuanyuan Po's fall, producing a cloud ofdust. Chen Changsheng had long realized that there was something up with thismiddle-aged man. When Tang Thirty-Six turned to yield the path, hesimultaneously did the same. With his hands clasped behind his back, Tianhai Chenwu expressionlesslystrolled out. Xu Shiji glanced at Chen Changsheng, then followed him out. "What's wrong with you!" Xuanyuan Po was seated on the ground amongst thebricks and gravel, simultaneously angered and perplexed. He didn't understandwhy Tang Thirty-Six had suddenly decided to move against him. Suddenly, he realized that both Tang Thirty-Six and Chen Changsheng wereignoring him. He inadvertently turned his head and saw more than a dozen tablesbehind him, every table fully seated with guests. As it so happened, at the other side of one of the walls of the specialcorridor was Clear Lake Restaurant's first-floor dining hall. They had knocked over the wall and so had ended up in the dining hall. It should clearly have been a bustling restaurant, alive with conversation,but now it was even quieter than the Imperial Palace. Countless gazes rested on Chen Changsheng and the other two. Those who were both qualified and wealthy enough to dine at Clear LakeRestaurant were all extraordinary people. Many were officials of the ImperialCourt, bishops of the Li Palace, as well as the most unremarkable, and yet mostrenowned, young elites. At present, the Orthodox Academy was exceptionally famous in the capital, andso this clientele would naturally recognize Chen Changsheng's group. Previouslywhen that wall collapsed, many people had glimpsed Tianhai Chenwu's profile.Even earlier, there had even been some people who could faintly hear theargument on the other side. No one knew completely what had gone on, but they could confirm that ChenChangsheng's group had some sort of conflict with those recently departedpersonages. That was no ordinary personage, that was the head of the Tianhai clan. Whether it was the calm Prime Minister or the Ministers of the Six Ministries,whether it was the Six Prefects of the Orthodoxy or the principals of the IvyAcademies, none of them could compare to that man's soaring power and influencein the Great Zhou Dynasty. In the aftermath, how could Chen Changsheng and the other two remain unharmed?Although that bear youth called Xuanyuan Po was in a somewhat sorry state, howwas he not dead? Realizing that such a matter had actually concluded in this way, how couldthese spectators not be shocked, how could they not be speechless? "Sirs, there's nothing wrong, nothing wrong." Although his appearance on the stage was not equal to that of a restaurantmanager in a story, Tang Thirty-Six really did possess the consciousness thathe was the new master of the Clear Lake Restaurant. He clasped his hands to thecrowd and smiled, saying, "Continue eating, I'm definitely not letting you alleat for free." This said, he brought Chen Changsheng and Xuanyuan Po and began to headupstairs. It was at this moment that someone who had managed to catch a fewwords of the conversation in that special corridor, and of course was verynosey, stood up and asked, "Young Master Tang, is it really true that ClearLake Restaurant will close?" Tang Thirty-Six paused. Standing on the steps, he turned his head back to therestaurant and announced, "It truly is so." Clear Lake Restaurant's dining hall erupted with discussion. Another personasked, "It's soon going to be crab season! Isn't Sir just worrying us to deathwith this?" Another person asked, "Young Master Tang, even if you are preparing to closefor renovations, shouldn't you also have an estimate for how long it will take?When will the grand reopening be?" Tang Thirty-Six looked at the crowd, revealing a profound smile. "This willprimarily depend on when we can find time to take care of the business." Hearing these words and thinking of the meaning hidden within them, therestaurant was abuzz with discussion. Everybody knew that  Tang Thirty-Six was a student of the Orthodox Academy.When he said, "when we can find time," this primarily meant when he was in themood. As for when he was in the mood, that was naturally when the OrthodoxAcademy was no longer so troubled. Clear Lake Restaurant was the capital's most profitable and, simultaneously,most costly restaurant. The phrase 'another day, another peck of gold' wasinsufficient to describe the speed at which this lakeside restaurant mademoney. Tang Thirty-Six, in order to prevent that powerful figure of the Tianhaiclan from dining on blue lobster and autumn crab, was actually willing to partwith such a huge sum for such a long time by closing down the restaurant. Allthe guests could not help but be shocked speechless, thinking to themselves,  he's really worthy of being the sole grandson of the Wenshui Tangs. He's trulywillful to the extreme. The sole table by the balcony on the top floor of the restaurant had long beenwiped clean, a dozen or so dishes of fresh fruits and vegetables laid out asappetizers atop it. There were also three kinds of young tea leaves that onecould enjoy at their leisure. Xuanyuan Po had never experienced this sort ofthing before. Seeing those precious porcelain dishes that had all come fromvarious famous kilns, he felt himself in a rather tricky situation. They're sothin, if I'm not careful, what happens if I break them? They're so white, ifI'm not careful, what happens if I dirty them? "In this case, you were truly a bit too willful," Chen Changsheng shook hishead and said to Tang Thirty-Six. Tang Thirty-Six sneered. "That old man loves nothing more than to eat bluelobster at Clear Lake Restaurant. The problem is, he made my mood sour, so justwhy do I have let him be happy!?" Chen Changsheng chided, "But that doesn't mean you should stop treating silveras silver." Tang Thirty-Six replied, "I'm relatively rich." This was stated very calmly and indifferently. There was no sense that hewished to brag, only to explain. Only this way could it make Chen Changshengspeechless, and at the same time, it made him think of last year in the PlumGarden Inn when he first treated Tang Thirty-Six to a meal. He also recalledthat it was then that Tang Thirty-Six told him that Chen Changsheng and XuYourong were companions in making other people speechless. He couldn't help butchuckle and shake his head. "Right, that person…just who was he?" it was only now that he recalled thisimportant question. "Tianhai Chenwu, the current clan head," Tang Thirty-Six explained. "TheDivine Empress's nephew by blood. In other words, if the Empress decides thatshe doesn't want to return the title of emperor to the Chen Imperial Clan, heis the one most likely to become the Great Zhou's next emperor." Chen Changsheng finally realized that he had been such an important figure. Xuanyuan Po awoke from his stupor that had been induced by the luxuriousfurnishings of the restaurant's top floor. Thinking of what Tang Thirty-Six haddone to him on the first floor, he grumbled, "Why did you stop me back there?Are you afraid of him?" Tang Thirty-Six said scornfully, "I'm not afraid of him. I was afraid that ifyou didn't stand aside, you would have been beaten to death on the spot." Xuanyuan Po wasn't convinced at all. "With his feeble appearance, I couldeasily hit him so hard he'd flip three times." Tang Thirty-Six sneered. "Just how many peak Star Condensation cultivatorsdoes my Great Zhou Dynasty have that would let you knock them over? Do youthink he's one of those trees by the lake, letting a black bear like you hitthem whenever you please?" Xuanyuan Po was stupefied. It was beyond his imagination that such anordinary-looking middle-aged man was actually a peak Star Condensation expert.