The great hall of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education was very quiet. Luoluo stood where she was without coming over.
The Pope calmly gazed at Chen Changsheng and said, "Since it is a view of the world, then it can only be changed because of the world."
Chen Changsheng thought it over, then said, "I still don't understand."
The Pope calmly said, "You don't need to understand … old people like us have experienced far too many storms, seen far too many sunrises and sunsets. We've already become numb to many things. Many times, the way we view the world is rather boring. We don't mind using some methods that aren't very beautiful, even doing some things that go against our hearts, but many times, we do these things not because we want to protect something, but because we clearly understand where our responsibilities lie."
"Responsibilities?" Chen Changsheng asked.
"Yes, the longer one lives, the greater the responsibilities." The Pope said, "Our responsibilities towards this world, as time passes, grow heavier and heavier. We have the responsibility to seek a better future for humanity. For this, we can bear the stigma, we can disregard the price. In the past, I was enemies with your teacher, and now I am enemies with the Empress. It is all for this reason."
Saying this, the Pope walked into the depths of the great hall, and then he never appeared again.
Chen Changsheng and Luoluo walked out of the great hall, down the stone steps, and came to the maple forest in front of the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education.
In spring, the maple forest was green, but at dusk, it was blood red. Now, in the darkness, it had become black.
As it turned out, the so-called colors were all dyed by the heavens and earth.
Not too long after, the heavy tolling of a bell resounded in the hall.
The bell also rang in the Li Palace.
The ringing of the bell was the signal to return home.
In the scriptures of the Orthodoxy, it had always been believed that the death of a person was not like the extinguishing of a lamp, but the soul would not remain in the present world, but would return to the sea of stars.
Between the sea of stars in the night sky was the Divine Kingdom, the Heavens, and even more, the eternal home.
Archbishop Mei Li Sha's soul, in the instant the bell tolled, calmly left the mortal world, his soul returning to the sea of stars.
There was no conspiracy, no grand and magnificent ending. He just calmly and normally followed the laws of life and departed, just like many ordinary old people.
But in the end, he was no ordinary old man. He was the Orthodoxy's oldest and most senior Archbishop of the Sacred Hall.
He had seen three Popes, four Holy Maidens, he had seen Emperor Taizong, he had seen Zhou Dufu, he had seen Chen Xuanba, he had seen Wang Zhice, he had seen life and death in the Hundred Herb Garden, he had seen blood and fire in the Orthodox Academy, he had seen countless years, he knew countless secrets, and those years and secrets would be buried along with his departure.
Hearing the bell, Chen Chang Sheng raised his head and looked at the night sky. He saw that the sky full of stars was either covered or separated by the leaves swaying in the wind.
He did not know which star the bishop had, nor could he see it, but he knew that the star should be dimming at this time.
If death was really the soul returning to the sea of stars, then why would that star dim?
The bell continued to ring. A continuous stream of carriages arrived at the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education from all over Jingdou. The important figures all personally came to express their grief. Chen Chang Sheng stood in the forest and looked at these scenes without saying anything – he saw the head of the Tianhai clan, he saw Xue Xing Chuan, he saw Mo Yu, he saw Prince Chen Liu who was holding back his tears, he saw Xu Shi Ji.
He did not want to meet with these people. He held Luoluo's hand and walked through the forest. They arrived at a relatively secluded street and returned to the Orthodox Academy.
This was the first time in a long time that Luoluo spent the night in the Orthodox Academy. Jin Yu Lu followed her and knew that tonight's situation was special, so he did not say anything.
Chen Chang Sheng brought her directly to the lakeside and climbed up the great banyan tree. They sat side by side and looked at the stars in the sky and in the water, talking softly.
He talked about many things, the events of Xi Ning Village, the events of the Garden of Zhou, the many dangerous and cruel things that happened on the way south. He did not tell her last time, but tonight he told her everything.
Luoluo quietly listened and did not say anything.
"Ripening is a very difficult matter because it is very difficult to grasp the degree of maturity. Once the fruit is ripe, it is very easy to rot."
Chen Chang Sheng said, "I still firmly believe that living should not be about fighting."
After saying this, he let Luoluo go to sleep. He continued to sit on the great banyan tree, thinking about a few things.
Su Li had taught him three swords. The Intellectual Sword was very powerful, all sorts of calculations and deductions, that was battle. The Blazing Sword was very powerful, all sorts of burning of life, that was battle. But the one he truly liked was still the Stupid Sword, because the Stupid Sword required courage and not battle.
He only wanted to live, he had never thought about fighting. He did not like fighting, but to live, sometimes fighting was unavoidable, especially when you needed to bear responsibility.
Up until now, he still did not know what kind of responsibility Archbishop Mei Li Sha wanted to bear, but he understood that attitude.
He sat on the great banyan tree with his eyes closed, but he did not sleep for the entire night.
At five in the morning, he opened his eyes, just like every other day, except that his eyes were bloodshot. He took five deep breaths, calmed his heart, and cleared his mind. He got down from the tree and walked a circle around the lake, stretching his somewhat stiff body. In the kitchen, he ate two bowls of Xuanyuan Po's porridge, and even made an exception and ate half a salted duck egg.
"Today, there should be many people going to the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education to offer their condolences. You will represent the Orthodox Academy," he said to Luoluo.
Luoluo thought about today's battle and did not want to leave, but she could not resist Chen Chang Sheng's gaze, so she could only nod her head.
… …
… …
The morning light gradually retreated, and the area outside Hundred Flowers Lane gradually became lively. The temporarily erected awning was already filled with people. The best seats did not belong to the most powerful figures, but to the painters and storytellers of the Four Great Markets. They were responsible for recording all the details of today's battle and then spreading it to the entire capital and the entire continent.
Zhou Ziheng had already arrived. He stood in front of the Orthodox Academy's gate, feeling rather regretful.
To use a Star Condensation cultivation to challenge an Ethereal Opening youth was rather shameful no matter how one looked at it, but his opponent was still the Principal of the Orthodox Academy. As a result, he believed that today's battle was certain to greatly increase his reputation. He dared not say how much it would increase his ranking on the Proclamation of Liberation, but at the very least, more people would know of his name.
As a guest official, reputation was often more important than strength.
If he wanted to use this battle to make his reputation even more resounding, he needed an audience, especially a very powerful audience, not those painters and storytellers. Regretfully, Archbishop Mei Li Sha had died last night. Those important figures that could have appeared would all go to the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education to offer their condolences. As a result, he felt rather regretful, even somewhat angry. You could have died any other time, so why did you have to die now?
… …
… …
(Today, only this chapter, because my mood is rather heavy. Tomorrow, there will be three chapters, because I have nothing to do, so I want to live a bit more.)
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