488 Two Wildflowers Fill the Cliff III

Since Chen Changsheng arrived at the capital from Xining Village, the mostimportant event he had experienced was not when he went to the Divine Generalof the East's estate to end the engagement, nor was it when he met Luoluo ather time of need in the Orthodox Academy, and it wasn't even when he met theBlack Dragon in the depths of the Tong Palace. Although, at a certain level,those two meetings had changed his fate, what had truly brought about a changein his life was that meal in the Plum Garden Inn. It was only upon meeting Tang Thirty-Six that he understood that the youngshould be frivolous and not like himself and Senior Yu Ren, clearly very youngyet living like elders of many years with pure hearts and few desires. It wasonly upon meeting Tang Thirty-Six that he understood there were some matters inthe world that should be fought for, and also some things that should beabandoned if they needed to be abandoned. In other words, he learned from TangThirty-Six how to live life a little less seriously. Correspondingly, after coming from Wenshui to the capital, the most importantevent Tang Thirty-Six experienced was also meeting Chen Changsheng. From ChenChangsheng, he learned even more than Chen Changsheng learned from him. Their temperaments agreed with each other. That didn't mean they werecompletely alike. In fact, they were precisely the opposite of each other. Onewas active, the other quiet. One was like water, the other like fire. When puttogether, they mutually matched with each other and were truly able to displaya power far beyond their ages. Even more importantly, if Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six had not met,then the Ivy Festival might not have developed the way it did, the final resultof the Grand Examination might have been very different, and the OrthodoxAcademy absolutely would not have reopened its doors and recruited newstudents. Chen Changsheng would have been unable to cope with the pressureapplied by the Tianhai clan and the Orthodoxy's new faction, and the entirestory would have walked a completely different path. One could even say that history itself would also change. From a certain perspective, it was still Chen Changsheng, the young Daoist boyfrom the countryside, and Tang Thirty-Six, who was in the capital for the firsttime, meeting in the Heavenly Dao Academy that time that was truly importantbeyond measure! "Perhaps you did it deliberately, perhaps you did it intentionally." Regardless, it wasn't uninteresting. Tang Thirty-Six stared into his eyes and continued, "You've never thought thatI and Princess Luoluo are similar. In fact, I also bear a very heavyresponsibility." Chen Changsheng believed that Luoluo already bore the heavy responsibility ofthe Demi-human race, so she shouldn't bear the pressure of the conflict betweentwo powerful forces of the human world. As a result, he didn't let her returnto the Orthodox Academy and even deliberately decreased the number of timesthey met. However, he had not thought about the fact that Tang Thirty-Six wasthe heir of the Wenshui clan. The many things he had done in the capital, inthe eyes of some observant people, perhaps could be taken as the will of theOld Master of the Tang clan. Upon hearing Tang Thirty-Six's words, he suddenly understood. He was instantlyfilled with regret and wanted to say something. Tang Thirty-Six raised his right hand, indicating that he shouldn't speak somuch nonsense. "But it doesn't matter. I'm not an adult yet, so I cantemporarily ignore these things." "A moment ago, you asked just what I wanted to do, why I wanted to help you?You're incorrect. I'm not helping you, I'm helping myself. After all, I'm alsoa student of the Orthodox Academy, and this place isn't the sole property ofyou, Chen Changsheng. What do I want to do? What I want is to be able, before Ireturn to Wenshui and inherit the family business, to not think about theproblem of the livelihood of several hundred thousand people, to not thinkabout the problem of the continuation of my clan for another thousandgenerations. I don't want to write about any of those problems. For myself, forus, I want to wantonly and joyfully play around!" Tang Thirty-Six continued to gaze at Chen Changsheng as he spoke, "A few daysago, I said to you here, young people should live like young people. If youshould laugh, laugh! If you should curse, curse! If you should…why isn'tXuanyuan Po hitting trees today? Are the appetizers of Clear Lake Restaurant sotasty? In any case, in the future when you become the world's most powerfulperson, when people bring up me, besides my identity as head of the Tang clan,they'll also talk about how, several centuries ago, you and I allowed theOrthodox Academy to stand up once more. That thought fills me with joy." His fate was predetermined to be the head of the Wenshui Tang clan, thewealthiest man on the continent. This did not require struggle, did not requireeffort. So he cared even more about the future of the Orthodox Academy, becauseit was not some gift left behind by his ancestors, but a project they hadworked on with their own hands. All youths enjoyed speaking of struggle, but not all youths understood thisreasoning. "I know how to work hard." Chen Changsheng thought it over, then said, "For certain reasons, I wasoriginally planning to work hard until I became the most powerful person in theworld. This matter is something I can do incidentally." Tang Thirty-Six replied, "You've used the word 'incidentally' very well. Ifind it very admirable. It seems indifferent and particularly uncaring. In thefuture, when you become the world's most powerful man, don't forget this word." Chen Changsheng replied, "I will remember." Tang Thirty-Six extended his hand. "Deal." Chen Changsheng had never performed this sort of action before. He somewhatclumsily imitated Tang Thirty-Six in extending his hand. Tang Thirty-Six very casually gripped the hand and then released it. "Let’s go. The Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education sent news saying that theOrthodox Academy will have guests tomorrow. We have to prepare a little." "You're the principal, this sort of thing is meant for you to do. I'm too lazyto care about it. Let me stick around for a little more." Tang Thirty-Six walked over to the great banyan tree by the lake. "In thepast, you and Princess Luoluo always hogged this tree. Today, you have to letme enjoy it a little." Without saying anything, Chen Changsheng turned and left. After a moment, heheard a voice coming from the great banyan tree. Turning his head, he saw thatTang Thirty-Six was already standing on the tree branch. The light of stars spilled down from the night sky, enveloping the greatbanyan tree and plating his clothes with a faint layer of the radiance of thestars. From a distance, he seemed like a very beautiful little silver man. The plot of the Tianhai clan and the Orthodoxy's new faction had encounteredan unforeseen setback. No one was able to tell whether this was a plot or a farce. Under Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six's seemingly mischievous, buttruthfully quite tough and unyielding resistance, this offense which used theAll-School Martial Exhibition as its origin had been forced to temporarily cometo a stop before it was able to transform into a fierce storm. After Su Moyudisciplined that servant of the Bie family called Ye Xingqing, Bie Tianxin mostlikely realized that this was a warning from his father. Even after the lastmatch concluded, he still did not appear. The Orthodox Academy welcomed a momentary peace, and then it very quicklywelcomed its first group of guests. In the early morning, when the weather was still not too hot, the OrthodoxAcademy's main gate completely opened, with the priests of the Li Palacearrayed outside. The new students who had just concluded their breakfast or hadalready begun their morning studies curiously looked over. News began to spreadand the new students revealed tense and excited expressions on their faces. Oneby one, they made their way over to the main gate, curiously peering out. Itdidn't take long before two carriages stopped in front of the gate. TheImperial Guards that had opened the way handed off their duties to theOrthodoxy cavalry. Palace maids walked before the two carriages and solemnlyand respectfully supported the passengers off the carriages.