Ze Tian Ji

Edited by: Michyrr

’So be it.’ Whether or not there would be a happy conclusion, the matter before their eyes needed to be finished first.

Just like Shang Xingzhou had said, the thing right before everyone’s eyes was Xuelao City.

As Xuelao City got closer and closer, the distance between Chen Changsheng and that small carriage got smaller and smaller. It was now only ten-some li away, and he could clearly see the person inside.

It was parked on the slope of another small mountain. There was a dried-up tree on this slope, and several jackdaws were perched on it. Their eyes weren’t red, so they probably had never eaten human flesh.

The small carriage was parked under the tree. The young Daoist boy was crouched on the ground, digging at something.

Chen Changsheng suddenly said, "I think the White Crane tricked you."

Xu Yourong’s arms were around her waist and she was wearing a simple dress. She turned her head and asked, "Tricked me about what?"

After some hesitation, Chen Changsheng said, "I wasn’t that pretty when I was little."

Xu Yourong faintly smiled. "Jealous?"

Chen Changsheng gazed at the distant mountain slope and softly grunted.

Xu Yourong replied, "Probably only your senior brother and that person know what you looked like when you were little. When you get the chance, you should ask."

The chance came sooner than he expected.

One evening, Shang Xingzhou sent a message asking Chen Changsheng to come over.

The master and disciple ate several papayas personally roasted by the young Daoist boy, serving as their last supper. And then, they began a conversation.

At the start of this conversation, they did not discuss Xuelao City which was right in front of them, or the urgent matter of the capital, and they certainly did not wax nostalgic about their life in Xining Village’s old temple.

The style of this conversation was very like Shang Xingzhou’s attitude to the world, and was also a little similar to Chen Changsheng’s path of the sword: forthright and concealing behind it a deep contempt.

"The White Emperor once said that no one on this continent would trust me. This is where I am inferior to you."

Shang Xingzhou added, "But that is because all of you are young, with limitless possibilities, and I am already old."

A logical connection did not seem to exist between the two statements.

Chen Changsheng quietly listened.

"When death, this greatest fear of all, is right before one’s eyes, anyone would find it difficult to escape."

Shang Xingzhou continued, "In this aspect, I am far inferior to you. I am very anxious, so there were several matters in the last few years that I acted on with undue haste."

Chen Changsheng was sure that he had understood.

It turned out that some other things had been concealed behind the contempt.

This counted as an explanation and could even be counted as an apology, but to put matters simply, these were things that Shang Xingzhou could never say straight out.

This was how elders were.

Chen Changsheng suddenly felt rather sad and no longer wished to continue this topic.

"I feel like something is off about this matter."

Shang Xingzhou was completely unconcerned about the rebellion in the capital, and Chen Changsheng was also not terribly concerned. What truly required his concern was still Xuelao City.

The demons had lost too quickly.

It was not merely the master and disciple who thought this. This was a view shared by every level of society.

In the initial plan, the Human race had prepared to fight for three years, perhaps even longer, but they ended up finishing the war in half a year.

This made Chen Changsheng feel uneasy.

"Black Robe might be up to something, but she will never succeed. Those accustomed to being enigmatic simply have no understanding of true strategy. In the end, they will die in the mouse hole of their enigmas. Three hundred years ago, if not for Wang Zhice, I and your martial uncle would have already killed her. She’s not even worth mentioning."

Shang Xingzhou had an extremely harsh evaluation of that most renowned Demon Military Advisor. It was not merely because he had the right to evaluate her strategy and mystery, but because he and Black Robe had quietly been exchanging blows for centuries and had grown extremely familiar with each other.

He took out a porcelain bottle and gave it to Chen Changsheng. "This medicine’s effect is no worse than the Cinnabar Pill’s, but its recipe is simple. The primary ingredient is the fire of the ancestral spirits beneath White Emperor City."

Chen Changsheng momentarily froze at these words. Opening the bottle and sniffing, he somewhat uncertainly asked, "The Golden Cash Fur from the Monastery of Eternal Spring?"

Shang Xingzhou affirmed, "Correct."

Confused, Chen Changsheng said, "At the time, I really had planned on using this herb to control the strength of the medicine, but..."

Shang Xingzhou asked, "I taught you the medical arts. Did you think you could surpass me?"

Chen Changsheng felt a bit choked up at these words, and then he became happy as he thought, no wonder the casualties this time were much smaller.

Shang Xingzhou said, "Stop refining Cinnabar Pills. You’re not a woman, so why are you bleeding every month?"

Chen Changsheng choked up again. His jaw slightly dropped as he struggled to find something to say.

For some reason, Shang Xingzhou was a little angry at his appearance. "There’s nothing else. Leave."

He was still harsh and occasionally extremely cold.

Chen Changsheng suddenly recalled how when he was living in Xining Village’s old temple, his master’s emotions would always sway between cold indifference and harshness, just like in today’s conversation.

He was harsh more often than he was cold.

Shang Xingzhou had been cold to the young Chen Changsheng precisely because he was afraid that he would end up liking this young Daoist boy that he had raised.

Because he knew that he was using Chen Changsheng.

Later on, he so hated Chen Changsheng precisely because he hated that part of him that was related to Chen Changsheng.

Both master and disciple knew this, and they had talked about it in the Orthodox Academy and the Mausoleum of Books. There was no need to bring it up now.

The current Shang Xingzhou was probably very blessed, because he no longer needed to worry about liking the young Daoist that he had raised.

As Chen Changsheng gazed at the young Daoist boy outside the carriage, whose face was blackened from the smoke of the fire, Chen Changsheng thought to himself, you are also blessed.

Before leaving, he finally couldn’t help but ask that question.

"Master, when I was little, was I pretty?"

Shang Xingzhou pondered the question and replied, "I suppose you were decent."

......

......

"Both your students have treated you rather decently."

After Chen Changsheng left the mountain slope, the Tang Old Master came back from the rear of the mountain.

Ever since coming to the front lines, the Tang Old Master had not stayed with the rest of the Tang clan, but spent every day with Shang Xingzhou.

Shang Xingzhou replied, "It’s not like you don’t know how these two rascals bossed me around ten years ago."

The Tang Old Master sighed, "That’s still more filial than my grandson. That little brute almost took apart the clan’s ancestral hall."

Shang Xingzhou glanced at him and asked, "Just what do you want to say?"

The Tang Old Master earnestly asked, "Are you still doing well?"

Shang Xingzhou was quiet for a while. "Not too well."

The Tang Old Master turned to Xuelao City, illuminated under the starlight. "It’s already come to this. You have to wait a little longer."

Shang Xingzhou replied, "All those people I personally sent off weren’t able to see it, so I naturally have to."

......

......

The human armies did not withdraw to the south. They continued to prepare for the final assault. The Western and Eastern Armies continued to clear the strongholds and forts in a circle around the city, but it was impossible to completely suppress the news of the rebellion. It quickly spread, and the atmosphere in the camps grew increasingly tense.

Perhaps because the Demon Lord had learned of the internal strife amongst the humans, the demons sent out their wolf cavalry several times to counterattack, but they were all firmly beaten back by the human armies. To the consternation of the humans, the upper society of the Demon race still had no intention of forsaking Xuelao City, but it was impossible to tell what they were thinking.

One morning, at five o’clock, Chen Changsheng opened his eyes, waking from his sleep. After calming his mind for five breaths, he got out of bed, whereupon An Hua helped him put on his clothes and shoes. He washed his face and rinsed his mouth, then walked out of the tent. After walking several times around the hills where the Central Army had set up their tents, he began to blankly stare at the mist-shrouded Xuelao City.

Even after his fate had been changed in the Mausoleum of Books, his life was still simple, austere, and healthy, but it was not as strict and disciplined as it had been ten-some years ago.

In truth, it had been a long time since he had gotten up this early.

At six, Xu Yourong woke up, and the two ate breakfast together.

After eating two bowls of oat porridge, Xu Yourong decided to sleep a little more. Chen Changsheng felt very bored and decided to continue strolling.

As the morning sun rose, the thin mists scattered. A vibration came from his wrist, after which he heard Luoluo’s voice.

Chen Changsheng glanced once more at the increasingly visible outline of Xuelao City and then walked toward the mountain slope ten-some li away.

He stood in front of the carriage and said, "The time has come."

After a moment of silence, Shang Xingzhou ordered, "Enter the city."