Chapter 363 – Full-time Teaching (Part Four) (1/2)

Chapter 363 - Full-time Teaching (Part Four)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

”When I mentioned Daoist Ji last time, you said that you didn't know anything…were you deceiving me?” Su Li said as he looked at the expression on Chen Changsheng's face.

Chen Changsheng could only maintain his silence, given how he was not too skilled at making up lies.

Su Li continued to talk to himself. ”Then just what are those old guys planning to do by pushing you out?”

These dialogues frequently occurred, and their conclusion often did not require an answer. Chen Changsheng could not find an answer, and Su Li only used up a short amount of time to think about it.

Confirming that the cavalry of the Great Zhou were truly far away, Chen Changsheng put Su Li on his back and passed through the black willow forest, continuing south.

As he walked, or perhaps ran, the climate began to gradually grow warmer, and the scenery that the two of them saw gradually began to draw closer to the true season. In the capital, it was most likely the peak of spring, while in Mount Li in the south, it was already late spring. However, it was still somewhat chilly here, and their eyes could still spy remnants of snow like little stars. Fortunately, there were also little patchy stars of green.

Seeing those grasses that had died in the previous year budding forth with green sprouts, Chen Changsheng recalled that it had already been one whole year since he had left Xining village. Far too many changes had occurred within this year. Even if he was just a youth in the midst of his spring, from time to time, he would turn back, and he would inevitably sigh with a regret more appropriate for a middle-aged man.

After they passed by a farmer village called Woli village, their situation changed somewhat. They now had a carriage, being pulled along by two hale and hearty furry deer.

Chen Changsheng sat at the front of the carriage, pulling on the ropes that had been tied around the necks of the deer. Every now and then, he would make a few incomprehensible noises, perhaps wanting to imitate the methods of the farmers. Yet it was very obvious that those two furry deer had no idea what he was saying. Thankfully, the general direction was correct, always heading south. The south was still very far away, but as long as they kept persisting forward, they would continue to get closer.

Su Li was lying down in the carriage, a thick blanket cushioning him from below while his body was covered by a thick but smooth animal hide. The Yellow Paper Umbrella was set down at his side, as well as food and drink. He held a bamboo flute against his lips, from time to time blowing a clear and elegant sound. He seemed contented to the extreme, with none of that miserable feeling of a heavily-injured person attempting to escape.

After proceeding for two more days, they could faintly make out an earth-colored city on the official road. Unlike that military stronghold they saw at the beginning, this was an actual city. Based on the size and perimeter of the city, it seemed like it could hold tens of thousands of people. Presumably, it was very bustling and lively within. If one wanted to reconnect with the human world, this was without question the most convenient place to do it.

Chen Changsheng turned his head and shot a glance at Su Li, using his eyes to ask whether he wanted to enter the city.

Su Li was just then using a piece of fur to carefully clean the holes of his bamboo flute, not paying any attention.

Chen Changsheng understood, but still did not quite understand. Shaking his head, he grasped the reins and had those two deer carry the carriage down the official road, passing by the slightly hard fields and bypassing that earth-colored city.

South of the city was a forest of birch trees. The several thousand birch trees were not at all thick. They seemed slender and straight, like swords growing up from the ground and piercing into the sky.

It was deep spring, but these birches in the cold ground had still not put forth any green leaves. The eyes did not encounter any sort of hindrance, letting one see the trees several li away.

‘When encountering a forest, don't enter.’ This was not something Su Li had taught Chen Changsheng from his experience traveling the world, but some old saying he had seen written many times in those miscellaneous essays.

Chen Changsheng lightly pulled on the reins, indicating that the two deer should stop.

He did not sense the slightest danger, only acted subconsciously.

With difficulty, Su Li sat his body up in the carriage. At some point, the bamboo flute had been stuck in his waist and been replaced by the Yellow Paper Umbrella.

He looked at the calm birch forest, then suddenly said, ”They've come.”

Who came? It was naturally his enemies. The people that wanted to kill Su Li had come.

Chen Changsheng's mood instantly became tenser. He leaped down from the carriage to the ground, using his fastest speed to untie the ropes around the necks of the deer. Then he used the sheath of his dagger to give them two strikes on their thick behinds. In pain, the furry deer ran off in the opposite direction of the birch forest. It was just that this sort of docile livestock actually did not run very far. They stood several dozen zhang away, looking at Chen Changsheng with expressions of bewilderment, as if they didn't understand why he had struck them.

”You care about their lives, but what about me?” Su Li said to Chen Changsheng angrily.

Chen Changsheng grasped the sheath of his dagger and asked, ”Then does Senior want to go in or not?”

When they had just left the hot spring in the snowy ridge, he had asked Su Li this question. Back then, Su Li had not been willing, and it seemed like he had still not changed his mind. He only heard Su Li sneer, ”If I go in, what will I do if you die? I have no desire to place all my hopes on another, let alone such a weak guy like you.”

In his heart, Chen Changsheng truly felt that this was very reasonable. Although Senior could not fight, his battling experience and knowledge far surpassed his own by many times. Senior being at his side would always be some assistance to him. There was no activity from the quiet birch forest. He somewhat uneasily asked, ”What should we do next? Should I be rushing into the forest?”

Su Li had no idea what he was talking about and asked, ”And what will you do once you've rushed into the forest?”

Chen Changsheng replied, ”Yesterday Senior said that the most important moment in battle was the instant in which one turned from defense to offense. If one could truly be caught off guard, then even the strongest opponent could lose.”

Su Li stared at him and asked, ”So you are prepared to rush into the forest, find that person, and then kill him?”

Chen Changsheng very earnestly nodded his head.

Su Li put his hands on his forehead and asked, ”Do you know what level of cultivation that assassin in the forest is?”

Chen Changsheng very earnestly shook his head.

Su Li furiously bellowed, ”And so just how are you prepared to charge in? Do you plan to throw away your life?”

Chen Changsheng was at a loss, not knowing whether he should nod his head or shake it. After thinking it over, he asked, ”Is this…not according to Senior's teaching?”

Su Li dispelled his anger and helplessly said, ”You must first understand that for those things I mentioned, you first have to establish that you and your opponent are on similar levels. Even if you're lacking, you can't be too lacking.”

Chen Changsheng replied, ”But Senior's original words were clear… even the strongest opponent could lose.”

Su Li retorted angrily, ”Rhetoric, this is rhetoric! Do you not understand that rhetoric and exaggeration are a part of the art of speaking!?”

Chen Changsheng lowered his head in silence. After a while, he could not help but raise his head back up and ask, ”Then what do I do if I really do encounter an opponent that is much stronger than me?”

The answer Su Li gave was exceptionally concise and plain, straightforward and clear. ”Flee, or kneel.”

Flee? The speed at which Chen Changsheng could run with Su Li on his back was not necessarily faster than the speed of that assassin in the forest who had still not appeared. It must be known that the people who chose to take the profession of assassin would always possess body movements and speed faster than the average cultivator. Kneel? Chen Changsheng was like Su Li. Neither of them would place their lives completely in the hands of another, even if it was someone they trusted, let alone someone that had come to kill them.

Not being able to flee and not being able to kneel, in truth there remained still one other option: waiting.

Chen Changsheng took out his dagger and stared at the still and noiseless birch forest, gazed at the green buds which from a distance were gradually about to densely grow but from close-by were very difficult to see, waiting for that person to appear.

From start to end, the person never appeared.