Chapter 14

"如果我没有看错，你应该是个……普通人！"

"Yes, I haven't formally started my cultivation yet."

"First place in the Great Imperial Examination... the top of the list?"

"Yes, I can only take first place."

Tang Sanshi's questions were direct and sharp, while Chen Changsheng's answers were serious and calm, as if he were talking about something very simple, like how one should eat a balanced diet, not too salty or greasy, and go to bed early to maintain good health—life is about eating, drinking, and daily routines, and there's nothing wrong with that. The attitude of treating serious matters lightly and making the profound seem mundane is also commendable—except that getting first place in the Great Imperial Examination is not a simple matter of eating and drinking.

Because he can only take first place, he will take first place. Such a matter-of-fact and self-evident statement actually has no logical basis. It's like a child who can't even catch a chicken saying he will pluck the whiskers of the world's most powerful golden dragon to use as a sword. It's a beautiful fairy tale, but in reality, if someone really said that, they would be considered delirious.

Such a person would be seen as a madman or a fool, of course, or perhaps a genius. The line between genius and fool is possibility. So, for someone like Chen Changsheng, who completely ignores this line and even believes it himself, which side should he be placed on?

Tang Sanshi is very proud and narcissistic, but today he discovered a guy who, despite being calm and even somewhat wooden, naive, and childish, could deal a devastating blow to his pride and narcissism. Logically, the delusions of a fool shouldn't threaten a true genius like him, but the problem is—when Chen Changsheng said such absurd things with a serious and determined look, he couldn't refute or mock him. Deep down, he felt that the impossible might actually be possible!

Why is that? He had never met anyone like Chen Changsheng—acting with integrity, so he is righteous, and thus confident—making it impossible to find a way to respond. This left him speechless, and he felt a deep internal pain. If he knew that Chen Changsheng had left Xu Furen, the lady of the Dongyu Mansion, and the maid Shuang'er speechless, he might feel a lot better and have a sense of shared suffering.

After finishing the fragrant tea, Tang Sanshi even chewed the tea leaves subconsciously before he came back to his senses. Looking at Chen Changsheng, whose expression hadn't changed as if he hadn't said anything, he couldn't help but shake his head, thinking that this guy was far more interesting than he had imagined.

"Less than a year left... I admire your ambition, but from a rational standpoint, I can't really see you succeeding, so I can't offer you any words of encouragement, as that would make me seem insincere. I just want to remind you that the Dongyu Mansion won't let go easily."

Tang Sanshi didn't know what Chen Changsheng's conflict with the Dongyu Mansion was. He thought that, given the capital is under the rule of the Holy Empress, the Dongyu Mansion, even if it tried to obstruct Chen Changsheng's future, wouldn't do anything too extreme.

Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment and then said, "I'll try to avoid them."

Tang Sanshi said, "Can you really avoid them? Even the Zhaixing Academy didn't admit you."

Chen Changsheng said, "That's something I don't understand either."

Tang Sanshi said, "The Dongyu Mansion can't influence the Zhaixing Academy. Xu Shijì doesn't have that power. I heard... someone in the palace spoke up, which is why I'm really curious about what the issue between you and the Dongyu Mansion is, and why it involves the palace."

Chen Changsheng was surprised to learn that there was such a secret behind the Zhaixing Academy's decision not to admit him. He was momentarily speechless, but when he came to his senses, he felt better—his respected Zhaixing Academy had been forced to do something unworthy.

The next question was why there was such an irresistible force.

Without mentioning the distant and mysterious Western Continent, there are many high and unreachable places on the Central Continent, such as the mountain gates of certain major sects in the south and the snow city in the north. With the Zhou Dynasty leading the human race to victory in the war against the demons, the imperial palace of the Zhou Dynasty has become the most remarkable place.

Legend has it that the palace is filled with countless experts of the Mystic Realm, that there are old eunuchs who are experts of the Star Gathering Realm, that there is a small green bamboo sedan chair, and that there is even a mighty and loyal thousand-year-old dragon in the palace!

In the past fourteen years of his life, Chen Changsheng had learned a lot about the Zhou Dynasty's imperial palace through books, but he never thought his life would be connected to such a lofty and mysterious place. Thinking about what Tang Sanshi said, he was silent, unable to figure it out.

"Before the Holy Empress, there are countless dogs kneeling. Xu Shijì is one of the more vicious ones, but he can't persuade the people in the palace to pressure the Zhaixing Academy. Even if he could, he wouldn't need to go to such great lengths. So, if he doesn't need to pay a high price, and the nobles in the palace are willing to do it...?"

At this point, Tang Sanshi's previously vague guess suddenly became clear, but looking at Chen Changsheng's youthful face, he felt his thoughts were a bit chaotic—could this guy, who can't even invite people to dinner, really... have something to do with that phoenix?

He really wanted to ask Chen Changsheng what was going on, but through today's interaction, he had a very clear understanding of Chen Changsheng's character. He knew that if Chen Changsheng didn't want to say something, he wouldn't say it no matter what. So, in the end, he could only say, "...The Dongyu Mansion has always considered her the most important person. You need to understand this."

As he said this, he kept looking into Chen Changsheng's eyes.

Chen Changsheng was silent for a long time and then suddenly asked, "What kind of person is she?"

Tang Sanshi's expression didn't change, but his heart was in turmoil. From Chen Changsheng's words and the subtle changes in his expression, he was certain that there was something between Chen Changsheng and that phoenix, though he didn't know what exactly.

"It's hard to describe what kind of person she is. Whether it's from rumors or second-hand accounts, she doesn't have any particularly unusual traits in her personality."

Tang Sanshi found it really hard to explain until he looked into Chen Changsheng's eyes and suddenly understood something.

"She... is a lot like you."

"She is also someone who leaves people speechless."

"Of course, you leave people speechless because your attitude is too calm and your tone is too annoying, making people want to vomit with frustration... According to rumors, she doesn't talk much and rarely appears in public, but like you, she easily makes people want to vomit with frustration."

Chen Changsheng was somewhat puzzled.

"She doesn't need to speak, mock, show contempt, or be condescending... Just her existence, just standing there, is enough to make many people want to vomit with frustration. I admit, I'm one of those people. With the bloodline of the Heavenly Phoenix, she awakened on her own at a very young age, and her cultivation has been incredibly smooth. Her insight and determination are also very strong... Don't you think such a person is over the top? Even a genius like me feels hopeless in front of her. Such a person who leaves people speechless is really despicable."

Tang Sanshi looked at him and said, "You and she are both friends who leave people speechless, but in completely different ways. She is really... too special. Actually, many people think that probably only Qiu Shanjun can remain calm when facing such a girl."

After saying this, seeing that Chen Changsheng didn't react, he bid farewell and left the inn.

After the young man in blue left, Chen Changsheng wiped the table until it was spotless. He rarely took a bath, and even more rarely read a book. Instead, he went to the courtyard, moved a bamboo recliner under a tree, and looked up at the beautiful stars through the sparse petals and growing green leaves, his face expressionless.

Hearing Xu Yourong and Qiu Shanjun's names again, his expression didn't change, but his emotions inevitably fluctuated. After all, he was just a fourteen-year-old boy. That slightly sour and melancholic feeling was something he had always tried to avoid, but he had experienced it twice since coming to the capital.

Failing four consecutive college exams due to the Dongyu Mansion made him angry. The palace's intervention to suppress the Zhaixing Academy's decision, which was not because of the Dongyu Mansion but because of her, made him even angrier. Combined with his current sour and melancholic mood, he found himself increasingly disliking the girl named Xu Yourong.

When he was young, he told his senior brother that he might hate someone but couldn't learn to dislike anyone.

Now, he started to dislike that girl.

Yes, even the Heavenly Phoenix, who leaves countless sect geniuses and young men from the snowy region speechless, is just a girl in Chen Changsheng's mind.

He remembered very clearly that she was born on November 11th, three days younger than him.

Even one day younger is younger, let alone three days.

That woman named Xu Yourong is really very annoying.

Chen Changsheng's mood got worse and worse. He wondered why his master had arranged such a marriage for him. He flipped over in the chair, took a small bamboo object from his waist, and put it in the deepest part of his luggage, then began to wash his face and hands, making himself clean and tidy, which finally made him feel better.

In that box was a marriage contract. The small bamboo object was sent to him from the capital when he was eleven. He remembered the white crane that delivered it, the letter that came with it, and the words in the letter. He also remembered clearly that the white crane never came again after that day.

...

...

Tonight.

A white crane landed on the peak of the Southern Holy Maiden Mountain.

Under the starry sky, a girl sat on the cliff.