Chapter 52

The door of the library was open, but Tang Sanliu insisted on climbing in through the window. It was unclear whether it was out of laziness or for some other reason. For him, climbing through the window was usually a simple task, but today it was difficult. He sat on the floor, breathing heavily, and coughed a couple of times.

"You're really injured," Chen Changsheng squatted in front of him and was about to take his pulse.

Tang Sanliu blocked his hand and said, "I'm fine, just a bit tired."

Chen Changsheng naturally knew he wasn't telling the truth, but the guy did seem very tired. He leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.

The morning light filtered through the window, shining on Tang Sanliu's face, making it appear even paler.

Chen Changsheng shook his head, fetched a thin blanket from the side room, and gently covered him.

As the sky gradually brightened and time passed, Luo Luo and Xuanyuan Po went to the Hundred Grass Garden. As members of the same clan, there were some matters that needed to be discussed.

Tang Sanliu woke up and looked at Chen Changsheng, who was sitting on the floor, engrossed in a book. He asked, "Why didn't you go last night?"

Chen Changsheng put down the book and asked, "Where?"

"To the Qingteng Banquet, it was the second night last night."

Tang Sanliu pulled the thin blanket aside, stood up, and yawned. He seemed much more energetic and said, "On the first night, the National Teaching Academy made such a big splash. Last night, everyone was waiting for you."

Chen Changsheng said, "I didn't want to go, so I didn't."

Tang Sanliu looked at him and said, "You're a strange person."

A place like the Qingteng Banquet, where one could simply decide not to go, would indeed seem odd to most people.

"I think you're stranger," Chen Changsheng replied.

Chen Changsheng remembered the last time he went to the Tian Dao Academy, where this guy was practicing hard. He asked, "You prepared for so long for the Qingteng Banquet, but you didn't show up on the first night. What happened?"

Hearing this question, Tang Sanliu was silent for a moment and said, "I don't like that little monster from the Zong Si Office."

Chen Changsheng said, "So?"

Tang Sanliu said, "So I once said that if I had the chance, I would cripple him."

Chen Changsheng said, "I know about this. Tian Hai Yar said it that night."

Tang Sanliu's mood was not good, and he said, "Since he dared to show up at the Qingteng Banquet, I was really going to cripple him, but... some people didn't let me, so they kept me in the dormitory that night."

Chen Changsheng was silent, thinking that with this guy's personality, it wasn't the rules of the Tian Dao Academy or the authority of the teachers that could change his mind. The so-called "not letting him participate" probably meant that the teachers of the Tian Dao Academy directly restrained him.

He could understand the caution of the Tian Dao Academy, as Tian Hai Yar's background was too terrifying. Apart from someone like Luo Luo, who had an even more terrifying background, there was no good way to deal with it. If Tang Sanliu really crippled Tian Hai Yar at the Qingteng Banquet, no one knew what the outcome would be.

But he could understand Tang Sanliu's anger even more.

"What happened last night?" he asked, looking at Tang Sanliu's slightly pale cheeks.

Tang Sanliu said, "Last night was the martial arts competition. The one who won first place was a young priest from the Ligon Annex."

Chen Changsheng didn't want him to continue dwelling in negative emotions, so he changed the topic. He wasn't really concerned about the Qingteng Banquet and just nodded to show he understood.

Tang Sanliu raised an eyebrow and asked, "Aren't you going to ask?"

"Ask what?"

"Why did that young priest from the Ligon Annex win first place?"

"Ligon Annex... that's the direct lineage of the Pope. Is it surprising that he won first place?"

Tang Sanliu pointed at himself and said, "Is it not surprising that someone could beat me?"

Chen Changsheng thought this guy was still so narcissistic and asked helplessly, "Okay, then... why?"

Tang Sanliu was satisfied and said, "Because I didn't participate."

This time, Chen Changsheng was really surprised and asked, "Why?"

"Zhuang Huan Yu and those on the Qingyun List didn't participate either. They probably thought it was beneath them and were preparing for the third night. I didn't participate because the academy still didn't let me, and they kept me in the dormitory."

Tang Sanliu's face was somewhat gloomy.

Chen Changsheng couldn't understand. If the Tian Dao Academy didn't let Tang Sanliu fight Tian Hai Yar on the first night, it was understandable, though a bit excessive. But not letting him participate on the second night made no sense. Didn't the Tian Dao Academy worry about Tang Sanliu's loyalty?

"Why?"

"Because I want to challenge Zhuang Huan Yu."

The library was silent.

After confirming he hadn't heard wrong, Chen Changsheng felt that Tang Sanliu was indeed a strange person, or rather, an interesting one.

He was actually challenging a senior from the same academy, and a representative of the academy at that.

Chen Changsheng thought that if he were a teacher at the Tian Dao Academy, he wouldn't agree either.

Moreover, the Qingteng Banquet probably didn't have such rules.

"Why?"

"Because I don't like him."

"This reason..."

"What's wrong with this reason?"

"It's too strong."

Chen Changsheng was speechless. He knew that Tang Sanliu had deeper reasons for challenging Zhuang Huan Yu, but since this guy wasn't willing to say, he couldn't do anything about it.

"I spent half the night breaking through the academy's restrictions to get to the venue, but by then, the Qingteng Banquet was already over."

Tang Sanliu thought about last night's experience and was silent for a moment. "I felt the air in the academy was a bit unpleasant and didn't want to stay. I'm not very familiar with the capital, so I didn't know where to go, so I came to find you."

Chen Changsheng confirmed that he had been injured when he broke through the restrictions set by the Tian Dao Academy teachers.

The Tian Dao Academy was solemn and dignified, but it didn't suit Tang Sanliu.

The capital was vast, yet he couldn't find a place to go.

He wandered aimlessly through the streets in the darkness before dawn, only to realize that he only knew Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng walked to him, folded the thin blanket, and then sat next to him, leaning against the wall under the window, without saying a word.

Without looking at each other or talking, Tang Sanliu knew what he was thinking.

"Don't pity me, and don't feel sorry for me... I'm a genius on the Qingyun List."

"Being a genius doesn't mean you don't need pity."

"But you don't have the right to pity me. In the entire capital, you only know me."

Tang Sanliu said sarcastically, thinking about this fact, and for some reason, he felt happy.

At that moment, Luo Luo and Xuanyuan Po entered the library through the main door.

Xuanyuan Po was holding a food box that was clearly larger than usual.

Luo Luo walked to Chen Changsheng and said, "Sir, it's time for lunch."

Chen Changsheng glanced at Tang Sanliu, spread his hands, and indicated that he didn't mean to.

Tang Sanliu always thought that Chen Changsheng's personality flaws were much more severe than his own. In the past two months, he hadn't made any friends at the Tian Dao Academy, but this guy had made two, one of whom was a very pretty girl, which was a big blow to him.

Then he remembered the scenes from the first night of the Qingteng Banquet that Deputy Dean Zhuang had described to him.

"Was it you who crippled Tian Hai Yar?" he asked, looking at Luo Luo.

Using true essence to resist true essence and crippling that little monster from the Zong Si Office was something even he found hard to do. This girl from the National Teaching Academy was clearly extraordinary, and the fact that the National Teaching Academy remained unscathed afterward proved that her background was even more extraordinary.

Now many people in the capital were speculating about the background of the National Teaching Academy. Some suspected Chen Changsheng's background, but Tang Sanliu knew that this guy was just a country boy from Xining Town. Therefore, it could only be this girl.

So he asked with a serious and solemn expression.

Luo Luo ignored him, walked to Chen Changsheng, squatted down, opened the food box, cleaned the chopsticks, and handed them to Chen Changsheng.

Seeing this, Tang Sanliu couldn't help but frown.

Chen Changsheng felt a bit embarrassed, handed the chopsticks to him, and introduced, "His name is Tang Sanliu."

"I know, sir," Luo Luo replied.

Of course, she knew that Chen Changsheng knew Tang Sanliu. More accurately, before her, he only knew Tang Sanliu.

Chen Changsheng thought that Tang Sanliu was a young genius on the Qingyun List, and Luo Luo wasn't an ordinary person, so it wasn't surprising that they knew each other.

Luo Luo understood what he was thinking and said, "I know who he is, but I don't know him."

Chen Changsheng said, "I thought you knew Zhuang Huan Yu, so you would know him too."

Luo Luo glanced at Tang Sanliu and said, "Zhuang Huan Yu's seat is right next to mine, so it's hard not to know him. He... is a bit far away."

Chen Changsheng felt he had heard this before but still didn't understand. Tang Sanliu didn't understand either, but he could tell that the girl was looking down on him, which made him somewhat angry. So he picked the most expensive dishes from the food box and ate them quickly.

Luo Luo was very unhappy.

Xuanyuan Po ate quietly beside them without a word.

After lunch, Tang Sanliu unceremoniously took the Anxi stir-fried black tea that Luo Luo had given to Chen Changsheng, drank a couple of sips, and rinsed his mouth.

Luo Luo looked at him and sneered.

Chen Changsheng was helpless and asked Tang Sanliu, "What's next?"

"I must participate in the third night. I don't believe the academy will treat me like this again."

"Why are you so sure?"

"This time, four of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom are coming. Can Zhuang Huan Yu handle it alone?"

Chen Changsheng was confused and asked, "What do you mean?"

Tang Sanliu put the black tea on the floor and looked at him, "You don't know? The Southern Delegation will arrive in the capital earlier this year."

Chen Changsheng remembered what Priest Xin had said about the so-called variable and realized what it was. He asked curiously, "They usually arrive after the Winter Solstice. There's still a long time before the Grand Examination. Why are they coming so early?"

Tang Sanliu said, "At first, no one understood, but now, the entire continent knows."

Chen Changsheng asked, "Why?"

Tang Sanliu said, "The Southern Delegation wants to formally propose marriage on the Qixi Festival."

"Propose marriage?" Chen Changsheng asked.

Tang Sanliu said, "Yes, Xu Yourong... is finally getting married."

Chen Changsheng was stunned and then fell silent for a long time.

Suddenly, he got up and walked out of the library.

"Sir, what are you going to do?" Luo Luo asked.

Chen Changsheng didn't turn back and said, "The food is a bit salty. I need to be alone for a while."

The food was a bit salty today.

His voice was somewhat faint.

The words were a bit jumbled.

Because his heart was in turmoil.