Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 549 – Continuing Matters of the Past in Front of the Broken Monolith

Ji Jin, from Scholartree Manor of the south. After swearing a blood oath and becoming a Monolith Guardian, he could not leave the Mausoleum of Books for the rest of his life.

Last year, this person attempted to help the Scholartree Manor student Zhong Hui to view the monoliths and comprehend the Dao so that he could surpass Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi. He had issued many biting jeers and criticisms towards Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi’s method of comprehending the monoliths, but Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi ultimately used facts to shame him into silence.

Ji Jin stared at Chen Changsheng, his eyes containing hostility and hatred.

Although the Monolith Guardians could never leave the Mausoleum of Books, they weren’t cut off from the world. Bit by bit, news from outside the Mausoleum of Books had also made its way into his ears.

Chen Changsheng took a single day to view the entire front mausoleum; he had become the youngest Principal of the Orthodox Academy; he had gone to the Garden of Zhou; he might have died but then turned out to have survived; he journeyed together with Su Li back south; he traveled one thousand li on the path of the sword in a single day and surpassed cultivation levels to defeat Star Condensation cultivators, and even defeated the pride of the generation, Xu Yourong; he had finally been confirmed as successor to the Orthodoxy…

Zhong Hui, the student of Scholartree Manor that he had placed his hopes on, had obtained third rank on the first banner of last year’s Grand Examination, beneath Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi. In the brief span of a year, Zhong Hui had achieved enormous progress and shocked the entire south, but how could he be compared to Chen Changsheng?

Crucially, this place was the Mausoleum of Books, the Mausoleum of Books that he had been willing to offer his life and freedom for so that he could remain!

For what reason can you just casually walk in!

Xu Yourong did not recognize Ji Jin, but she could perceive that this Monolith Guardian with unfathomable cultivation was clearly hostile towards Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng seemed to understand where Ji Jin’s anger came from. He slightly bowed his body, not saying anything.

Based on principle, it was Ji Jin that should have bowed to him, but he felt that given Ji Jin’s age and his life spent here, he should greet first.

But Ji Jin seemed to have no intention of greeting him, only staring.

Xu Yourong was very calm, her eyes gazing at Ji Jin gradually growing brighter.

Chen Changsheng shook her head and led her to the other side of the mountain path to walk past.

The two hands extending from Ji Jin’s sleeves were trembling, and when Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong brushed past his body as they walked past, their veins were even showing.

In the end, he did nothing, because he did not dare.

He had lived these last few years in depression and wished deeply to vent his feelings. Chen Changsheng was naturally the best target.

But even though he was in the Mausoleum of Books, his family and Scholartree Manor still remained outside of it.

If he did not wish for his family and Scholartree Manor to be burned to ash by the Orthodoxy’s fury, he could do nothing.

He did not need to bow to Chen Changsheng, but he could not move against him.

……

……

The sun gradually rose but the clouds had already dispersed. The capital in winter had a different feeling, imbued with a sort of broad and open beauty.

Standing amidst the trees of the mausoleum and gazing at the distant streets of the capital, Chen Changsheng thought of how he used to sit on the great banyan tree in the Orthodox Academy and gaze at the streets with Luoluo. He said, “I once had Luoluo help me investigate any information on you. Since…I’ve found you, I feel I should tell this matter to her, so I mentioned it in a letter I wrote to her.”

Xu Yourong softly replied, “When I was at Mount Li, I had thought you were dead, so I told Senior Brother of the events in the Garden of Zhou. Senior Brother was somewhat worried about me. A few days ago, after eating beef ribs, I wrote a letter to him.”

After meeting that day on the Bridge of Helplessness and then eating beef ribs together, they had confirmed some things and should now clear some things up—this was a very responsible attitude. Even though he and she had no experience in this aspect, nor had they thought about them specifically, they still did it.

Their mentioning of these two letters was naturally their own way of displaying their intentions.

From the Garden of Zhou to now, he and she had displayed their intentions to each other many times, but they had always used rather special methods, like brushing away snow, like touching shoulders, like writing letters to other people.

Chen Changsheng’s eyes were very clear, like a small stream, so it was easy to see the happiness that swam through his eyes like fish.

Xu Yourong whispered, “I had you come to the Mausoleum of Books, not because…because of a serious matter.”

The words were not complete—the ‘not because’ in this sentence should really have been ‘not merely because’.

To meet in the Mausoleum of Books, what serious matter could there be? Naturally, it had to do with the Mausoleum of Books.

Behind them was the monolith hut of the Reflecting Monolith. On the surface of the black monolith, the poem was exceptionally vivid, but those remaining lines were still nigh incomprehensible.

Chen Changsheng approached the monolith and, recalling the time last year he spent viewing this monolith, felt somewhat emotional.

“At the time, I was cooking rice in the grass hut while watching the light fall upon the fence…”

Without excluding anything, he explained what he had experienced as he viewed the monoliths and comprehended the Dao as well as the various methods he had used.

Xu Yourong quietly listened, her two hands behind her constantly shaking in the refreshing breeze. It was like she was moving the Fated Star Plate, performing calculations according to his words.

After Chen Changsheng finished, she began to explain her experience and gains from the first time she viewed the Reflecting Monolith, “…so in essence, the shades are also fluctuations in the rays of light.”

Chen Changsheng was somewhat unsure, replying, “The ink of the rubbings have their own varying shades—might not some meaning be lost?”

Xu Yourong replied, “The Heavenly Tome rubbings kept in South Stream Temple were made by the first Holy Maiden by using the will of the heavens to imprint on her soul and then placing this imprint on new monoliths. At least twenty to thirty percent of the true meaning is retained.”

Upon hearing these words, Chen Changsheng could not help but feel a limitless reverence to the Holy Maiden that founded the southern faction of the Orthodoxy.

To only preserve twenty to thirty percent of the true meaning sounded like a rather poor example, but it must be known that the true meaning here was the true meaning of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths. The first Holy Maiden had actually been able to take this true meaning, imprint it on her soul, and then once more lay out those lines. This really could be regarded as a divine ability.

This sort of rubbing of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths was naturally completely different from those rubbings sold at the stalls in front of the Plum Garden Inn.

“Moreover, I wasn’t speaking of rubbings just now. The shades I was speaking of are the shades of the brush strokes on the Heavenly Tome Monoliths,” Xu Yourong explained.

Chen Changsheng was somewhat slow to come around. He asked, “You came to the Mausoleum of Books to view the monoliths before?”

Xu Yourong said somewhat embarrassedly, “When I was five, I was dragged here by the Empress.”

Chen Changsheng fell silent, thinking, truly a person that makes others speechless.

After they finished viewing the Reflecting Monolith, they moved on to the next Heavenly Tome Monolith. They would occasionally see a few monolith viewers, but there were not many, and those people had stayed many years within the Mausoleum of Books. Their Dao hearts had long been still and all their focus was placed upon the monoliths. Thus, the pair’s arrival was not noticed.

The two casually strolled within the mausoleum, discussing their first experiences viewing the monoliths and their enlightenments. Now that they compared notes, they benefitted even more.

When they arrived before the broken monolith, the winter sun had already reached its zenith.

There was no one in front of this monolith hut. Chen Changsheng walked into the monolith hut and gazed at the shorn monolith base in silence.

Xu Yourong walked by his side and shook her head at him. Softly, but firmly, she said, “Don’t.”