Chapter 548 – A Date in the Mausoleum of Books (2/2)
On the night of the very same day, he received the Pope's reply. In the letter, the Pope praised and was delighted at his eagerness to study, wishing him well on his re-entering the Mausoleum of Books to view the monoliths and comprehend the Dao. Finally, the Pope wrote that if, in the future, he wanted to enter the Mausoleum of Books, he only needed to record it in the Li Palace. There was no need to especially write a letter to the Pope.
Reading the words on this letter, Chen Changsheng finally felt a real sort of change.
The Mausoleum of Books was not a place one could enter just by wanting to. In order to obtain the qualifications to enter the Mausoleum of Books, the cultivators of the continent had two options. They could engage in bloody battle with the demons up north in order to slowly accumulate military merit, or they could strive for a high rank in the Grand Examination so that they might enter the three banners, but ultimately, very few people were able to obtain this qualification.
To the current him, the Mausoleum of Books was a place that he could enter whenever he wanted.
He was no longer the young Daoist boy from Xining Village.
He was the Principal of the Orthodox Academy, the martial nephew of the Pope, the future Pope.
He was still very young, but he was already an important figure.
……
……
The heavy stone doors slowly opened, causing the ground to shake.
Upon seeing that the mountain mausoleum before him was still green in the deep winter, Chen Changsheng very naturally recalled that time a year ago when the ground had begun to shake here.
When those priests and cavalry guarding the Mausoleum of Books saw the youth standing in front of several cardinals, they guessed at his identity and couldn't but have rather complex feelings towards him.
Chen Changsheng walked into the Mausoleum of Books, this time not as a tourist, nor as a monolith viewer, but more like an inspector.
Because of the respectful attitude displayed by those cardinals at his side, this feeling seemed all the more real.
He declined the residence that the Li Palace had prepared for him and went straight to the grass hut left behind by Xun Mei.
The grass hut had been uninhabited for a long time, the edge of the pot rather dusty. The dried meat suspended from the beam had not been completely eaten. On the other hand, the fence in the yard was much firmer than before, but he didn't know whether it was Tang Thirty-Six or Guan Feibai that had fixed it.
As he thought of those days of making meals, watching the sun, and viewing the monoliths, he began to feel a little longing. He could see Tang Thirty-Six and Zhexiu every day at the Orthodox Academy, but it had already been a year since he last saw Gou Hanshi and the others, and he didn't know how they were getting on in Mount Li.
A voice came from beyond the fence. Perhaps because the wintersweet in the forest was just beginning to bloom, it carried a clear and cold aroma.
”This is Senior Xun Mei's residence?”
Chen Changsheng awoke from his recollections and turned around, seeing Xu Yourong standing beyond the fence.
In the forest beyond the fence, the wintersweet was blooming. Standing there with the morning light spilling over her, she seemed as beautiful as a flower.
Chen Changsheng could currently enter the Mausoleum of Books whenever he wished. As the Holy Maiden, she naturally could as well.
He said, ”Yes, at the time, we stayed here for a very long time.”
Xu Yourong walked past the fence. Examining the rather dilapidated grass hut in the morning light, she calmly said, ”There are times when I find myself very curious: at the time, you and my senior brothers from the Mount Li Sword Sect were like fire and water, but you had to live under the same roof. Could it be that you didn't fight every night?”
Chen Changsheng replied, ”Gou Hanshi is a modest and cautious gentleman.”
Xu Yourong replied, ”But Senior Brother definitely doesn't have as good a temper.”
Chen Changsheng thought about their first night when Tang Thirty-Six and Guan Feibai fought for a clean set of bedding and almost came to blows, and he began to smile.
”The Grand Examination doesn't begin until tomorrow. The Mausoleum of Books should still be very quiet.”
He looked at Xu Yourong and praised, ”This truly was a good idea.”
The capital was abuzz with those rumors. Although they were mainly poking fun at Chen Changsheng, they still represented some complications to Xu Yourong.
It was rather difficult for the two to meet, and to quietly talk together was even more difficult. Her writing a letter inviting him to the Mausoleum of Books was truly a fantastic idea.
Of course, to use the Mausoleum of Books that the cultivators of the world had to struggle and strive to enter as a place for a date was truly rather preposterous.
It was also only something she and he could do.
Seeing that he had understood her meaning and had even said it out loud, Xu Yourong felt somewhat ashamed, but not angry.
Because when Chen Changsheng said these words, his eyes were very clean, his expression very sincere.
He burned with passion, but when he was calm, his eyes were bright, but did not burn others.
One could call Qiushan Jun a sun, giving off warmth and heat, open and honest to the extreme.
Chen Changsheng was a refreshing breeze.
Everyone loved the sun.
But she loved more the refreshing breeze that curled around her as she took a casual stroll.
The capital in the deep winter was ten thousand li of silver, but the Mausoleum of Books was still verdant and lush.
As they walked into the forest of the mausoleum, what confronted them was the spring wind, delightfully refreshing to the extreme.
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong walked along the mountain path, heading in the direction of the Reflecting Monolith hut.
A middle-aged man appeared in the middle of the mountain path, blocking them from moving forward.
This person's eyes were deep and serene and his cultivation level was clearly extremely high. As he stared at Chen Changsheng, his eyes contained a limitless cold. If one carefully looked, one could even see a little hatred.
……