Chapter 211 – Ten Thousand Ways to Comprehend the Monoliths (Part One) (1/2)

Chapter 211 - Ten Thousand Ways to Comprehend the Monoliths (Part One)

After saying these words, the middle-aged man took his leave. Chen Changsheng stood on the mountain path, baffled at what had just occurred, and naturally also a bit angry. After a little time had passed, he realized that the man had last mentioned that someone in front of the mausoleum was looking for Chen Changsheng. Arriving at the mausoleum entrance, he saw the still closed stone doors, which made him reminisce on the scene from last night of Xun Mei walking out those doors. Just as he had begun to feel somewhat melancholy, he suddenly heard somebody calling his name.

He followed the voice to the side of the stone door and saw that there was a small window set into the wall, through which Priest Xin was waving at him. Somewhat surprised, he paid his respects through the window then asked, “Why did sir come?”

Priest Xin passed some things through the stone window and replied, “His Eminence asked me to come and check on you.”

Chen Changsheng received the things and replied, “All of our luggage is still on the carriages. Yesterday they didn’t let us bring it in.”

“Those are the rules of the Mausoleum of Books. After they’ve finished checking them, they will return it to you. It should probably all be done by the end of the day.”

Chen Changsheng thought about those sour-smelling stinky blankets back in the grass hut and decided to ask, “Could I trouble sir to get us some clean blankets?”

Priest Xin was surprised, then replied, “That won’t be difficult.”

“Since they will be returning our luggage to us, then I don’t think there’s anything else I need.”

Chen Changsheng looked through the things Priest Xin had handed over and realized that there was actually a bag of boiled chicken eggs. He could not hold back his curiosity and asked, “In the Mausoleum of Books, do we have to manage all three meals by ourselves?”

Priest Xin explained, “Every school and sect has made preparations so that every day they can have supplies delivered. As for the commoner students, the Imperial Court will supply them with daily necessities, but they will be of lesser quality. Right now the Orthodox Academy still has many things that need to be done, so you and Tang Thirty-Six definitely would not have made any preparations. Instead, His Excellency the Bishop has already taken care of your preparations, so there is no need to worry.”

Holding a conversation through this tiny window, Chen Changsheng could not but feel a little strange. It felt like he was a prisoner speaking with a visitor.

Seeing his expression, Priest Xin guessed at what he was thinking. “The Mausoleum of Books is a holy ground, yet it is also a prison.”

Chen Changsheng was a little surprised, but then he thought back to Xun Mei’s bitter experience. “That’s reasonable. Many thanks to sir for this warning.”

“How could I be the one to have said such reasonable words? His Holiness the Pope of the previous generation said them. His Eminence asked that I convey those words to you.”

“I understand.”

Through the stone window, Priest Xin looked into his eyes. “You must remember, in one month’s time the Garden of Zhou will open. You must come out before that time.”

Chen Changsheng did not answer, but instead brought up the incident on the mountain path with the arrogant Monolith Guardian.

“How could this happen?”

Priest Xin creased his brow. “To make it easier for their students to view the monoliths, those various schools and academies probably found some way to curry favor with a few of the Monolith Guardians. Along with their special status, this would probably make some of them arrogant and aloof; but they have all offered themselves to the Orthodoxy, so how would they dare offend you?”

Chen Changsheng did not quite understand the logic behind these words. “Not dare offend me?”

Seeing him so at a loss, Priest Xin smiled. “Right now the entire world knows that you are someone watched over by His Holiness and the His Eminence. To offend you is to offend the Orthodoxy.”

When the Monolith Guardian had been lecturing, he had said that no matter how great Chen Changsheng’s background, the youth would still have to revere the Mausoleum. Now that he had heard what Priest Xin had to say, Chen Changsheng had a newfound understanding of those words. Inwardly the youth guessed that it was because of his background in the Orthodoxy that caused some of the Monolith Guardians to innately have some antipathy towards him.

Pondering over these matters, Chen Changsheng walked back to the grass hut. It was completely empty. Those youths had all probably gone to the Mausoleum of Books to view the monoliths. The large pot of porridge he had cooked before dawn had all been eaten up and all the dishes had already been washed. Even the water jar had been refilled. Although he had not seen who had done it, for some reason he felt that it had been Gou Hanshi who had taken care of it all.