Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 737 – The Sorrow of Those Chasing After the Sun

The voice belonged to Shang Xingzhou.

‘Don’t let the capital see, don’t let the world see, don’t let him see’…but what if he was seen?

Everyone knew that the unspoken consequence was undoubtedly related to death.

Chen Changsheng said nothing, only gazed at the snow falling in the night, his eyes bright and calm.

He also had a few words in his heart, and they were undoubtedly related to his return.

……

……

Tonight’s snow did not intensify, nor did its power lessen. The uncountable number of cavalry surrounding the Orthodox Academy were still warily facing off against each other.

Shang Xingzhou returned to the Imperial Palace. Those blue-clothed Daoists reverentially bowed to him, then took their leave.

He stood in the snow, gazing at the silhouette of the young emperor cast upon the window by the light, feeling a sense of gratification.

Everything had been worth it.

There was a rustling sound on the ground, the sound of shoes crunching against the soft and pliable snow. Priest Xin came up behind him and softly whispered a few words to him, his appearance very humble.

Though Mei Lisha had returned to the sea of stars, the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education still had no new master.

This hall had a very special status in the Orthodoxy and concealed an enormous amount of power, so it was not convenient for Mao Qiuyu to lead it. He had only led it as a temporary leader for a few months.

Many people believed that Priest Xin, who was deeply trusted by Mei Lisha and was also very close to the Orthodox Academy, was the best candidate for taking charge over the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education, but his qualifications and seniority were somewhat lacking.

No one knew that Priest Xin actually had another identity as a secret agent for the Department for Purging Officials.

And no one knew that a few days ago when Zhou Tong had been hunted down and killed, the one that had plucked the array of the underground Zhou Prison and forced Zhou Tong out had also been him.

The reason was very simple. Priest Xin, who now had a bright future, would certainly be unwilling to continue serving as Zhou Tong’s dog, so he hoped that Zhou Tong would die.

Of course, if he had not already obtained a few promises or guarantees, his courage would probably have arrived a little later.

“There will be no problems in the capital for the moment and the Li Palace will be without problems for three years. There is not much meaning in your managing the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education.”

Shang Xingzhou continued, “Go to the south for me and see how Holy Maiden Peak and Mount Li are doing. Also, tell the Longevity Sect to send that object of mine to me.”

Priest Xin was somewhat shocked, as he had no idea what the Longevity Sect needed to send to the venerable master of the Dao that would be so important. But he said nothing, accepting the order and very quickly vanishing into the snow.

……

……

The snow that had accumulated on the lake had been blown away by the earlier wind, revealing the glossy layer of ice beneath. Under the illumination of the distant light, it appeared like a massive sheet of colored glass.

There were a few spots on this colored glass—the footprints that she had left behind as she walked across.

Perhaps because he was looking at this lake frozen into a sheet of colored glass, Chen Changsheng remembered a few things that were very important to her.

“Did you bring those Night Pearls and treasures with you?”

In the underground cavern beneath the well of New North Bridge, the ceiling had been inlaid with over a thousand extremely precious Night Pearls while the ground had been piled high with gold and silver.

They were the little Black Dragon’s treasures, and they had also served as the greatest source of mental support in her centuries of long imprisonment.

Chen Changsheng was well aware of how important these things were to her, so he had brought up the matter.

“Of course I brought them with me.”

The Black Dragon patted her stomach, exuding the aura of some hero that had just finished drinking eighty bowls of strong alcohol.

In her human form, she was very small, two heads shorter than Chen Changsheng. She looked like a girl of eleven or twelve, so this display of hers seemed rather amusing and also quite adorable.

Chen Changsheng knew that her black dress was her dragonscales and could not be parted from her, but it couldn’t hold too much. Moreover, she had no spatial artifact, so he couldn’t help but be very curious about where she had put all those things.

“You’re so stupid.” The Black Dragon was somewhat angry. She patted her stomach again and said, “I already said that it’s all in here.”

Chen Changsheng finally noticed that her stomach was slightly swollen like that of a child that had eaten too much.

It turned out that she had actually taken those thousand-some Night Pearls, the vast mountains of gold and silver, and the sea of coral…and swallowed it all.

At least he wouldn’t have to worry about money for the next few years, but did that mean that she would have to spit it out every time he needed money?

Chen Changsheng felt that this was quite a filthy method, and then he very naturally recalled that besides spitting it out, there was still another method. He instantly became uneasy.

“Cease your foolish thoughts!” The little Black Dragon very quickly reacted and roared, “If you continue to think such nonsense, I’ll swallow you whole.”

Chen Changsheng thought to himself, if you really do swallow me, you’ll have to spit me out in the end, or use that other method. His face grew even more queasy.

The Black Dragon very quickly understood and her face turned even more unsightly than his as she slowly raised her fist.

This was a rather delicate fist, looking like a solitary plum blossom in the snow, extremely pitiful.

……

……

Boom! A clap of thunder exploded in the Orthodox Academy. The ground shook and the snow on the great banyan tree rustled down.

Several cracks appeared on the frozen lake, with water appearing where the cracks intersected. In the floating shards of ice, the reflection of a person could be seen.

She grabbed this person and carried him off into the library.

In order to protect the books, the lights in the library were special and they exuded less warmth. Even a large quantity of these lights blazing for a very long time would be ineffective at drying soaked garments.

Chen Changsheng stood amidst several dozen of these lanterns, cold lake water constantly dripping from him onto the glossy black floor.

To be blown by a fist into the water, and thus thoroughly soaked and chilled to the bone, was a matter very worthy of being aggrieved and angry about.

He did not feel this way, as his body which had undergone perfect Purification was able to endure this sort of attack, and after his perfect Star Condensation, the normal heat and cold of the world was utterly incapable of encroaching upon his body.

Of course, the primary reason that he did not care was that the little Black Dragon was currently acting rather strangely.

Based on her personality, the black-clothed girl should have been quite pleased with herself, but now she was sitting across from him with her head lowered in dejection. He could even tell that she was feeling quite sorrowful.

“What’s wrong?”

“My strength has gotten weaker.”

“Perhaps…it’s because you just escaped and aren’t used to using it?”

“No.”

She looked at the chains still tied to her feet and said, “If we can’t find a way to break these chains, I might never be able to defeat your master.”

Chen Changsheng realized that this was what she had truly been worried about and consoled, “Even if we did break the chains, you still wouldn’t be able to beat him.”

She was very angry and huffed, “Is this how you comfort people?”

Chen Changsheng seriously replied, “Yes, because this is an objective fact. When I was a baby, a Golden Dragon wanted to eat me, but it ended up being driven away by my master.”

Amongst the Dragon race, the Golden Dragons and the Black Frost Dragons were the noblest and most powerful. Many, many years ago, when the Golden Dragon tribe had left the continent, it had been out of respect for the Black Frost Dragons. The Golden Dragon that he spoke of, based on Senior Yu Ren’s description, had probably been one of the members of this tribe, and it might have even been part of their Imperial clan.

That Golden Dragon had naturally been many times stronger than the little Black Dragon, yet it had still been no match for his master.

In his view, there was truly no need for the little Black Dragon to be worried or sad about being unable to defeat his master.

Who would feel sorrow about not being able to catch up to the sun?

……

……

Who would?

Of course, it would be those people daring enough, or perhaps mad enough, to chase after the sun.

Her gaze rested on the dagger at his waist.

When she first saw this sword, she had sensed that profound and familiar Qi that was worthy of either wariness or respect.

After hearing Chen Changsheng describe the events of the past, she was sure that this dagger was that Golden Dragon’s third whisker.

To be able to defeat a member of the Golden Dragon Imperial clan and to even pluck out its most precious third whisker to use it as a weapon, such a person would have to be very strong and very confident.

From that moment, she came to know just how terrifying a human Chen Changsheng’s master was.

If there was a chance, she naturally would not make this sort of human her enemy, but…

From this day forward, I am your Protector.

If that powerful human wants to kill you, I must think of a way to defeat him and kill him.

And so, I am rather sad.