After losing to Zhou Dufu, the Demon Lord was heavily injured and spent a thousand years recuperating in Xuelao City. Just what did he want to do by suddenly coming to Mount Han? Just what matter was worth the Demon Lord taking such a massive risk? What did Chen Changsheng have on his body? Or what did his existence signify?
This was a matter that the Elder of Heavenly Secrets could not calculate, and Xu Yourong could not use the Fated Star Plate to calculate, but she could directly ask.
She dared to ask, so Chen Changsheng dared to answer, even though this was his greatest secret. He had no secrets from her, let alone a secret that he had already confessed to her long ago in the Mausoleum of Zhou. To be more precise, a part of his secret was currently in her body.
Chen Changsheng pointed at his own body. He did not make a sound, only used his mouth to form a word, "Blood."
Xu Yourong understood. Coupled with the records of the Demon Lord's injuries in South Stream Temple, she completely understood the origins of this matter.
"Nanke?" she also silently asked.
Chen Changsheng nodded his head.
Xu Yourong looked at him, her eyes filled with worry.
Now that the Demon Lord knew Chen Changsheng's secret, this also meant that he could move against Chen Changsheng at any time. This was the most terrifying expert of the continent. To be coldly watched by such an expert at all times, what sort of heavy shadow was this? To live under this shadow, what sort of pressure would one have to endure?
Xu Yourong's Dao Heart was brightly lit, but even she found it impossible to imagine how she would respond if she were to face this problem. She was very worried about Chen Changsheng. Even if he did not leave the capital in the future and the Orthodoxy protected him, if his mind was restrained, it would still be extremely disadvantageous to his cultivation.
Chen Changsheng himself was not worried about this problem, because he had already lived under this shadow for many years. What he was more worried about was whether the secret of his body would be known by even more people. He had never forgotten the words that Senior Yu Ren had said that night: no one could endure this sort of temptation.
Xu Yourong replied, "No."
Chen Changsheng thought it over and agreed with her view. The Demon Lord would probably hide this secret.
This was like a treasure submerged in a lake. Those who knew of this news would definitely not spread it to the world, but would slowly and stealthily fish it out.
"Have you ever thought that the Demon Lord's appearance in Mount Han was a scheme?"
Xu Yourong seemed to have thought of something. She looked into his eyes and spoke very seriously.
Chen Changsheng, Tang Thirty-Six, and Zhexiu had speculated about this, but they could not think of any reason, so they shook their heads.
Xu Yourong looked into his eyes and said, "Where is Dean Shang? What did he want to do? What does His Holiness the Pope want to do? "
Chen Chang Sheng didn't want to continue with this question and remained silent.
Xu Yourong also fell silent.
After some time, she suddenly said, "Tell this matter to the Empress."
Chen Chang Sheng looked at her eyes and didn't say anything.
Xu Yourong calmly stared back at him, showing no intention of yielding. "If this is His Holiness the Pope and Principal Shang's scheme, then only the Empress can break it."
Chen Changsheng replied without hesitation, "I trust His Holiness the Pope."
Xu Yourong asked, "Then what about Principal Shang?"
Chen Chang Sheng didn't respond. He got up and poured himself a cup of tea.
Xu Yourong gazed at his back, a hint of pity flashing through her eyes. "Everyone believes that you are the successor to the Orthodoxy and naturally stand against the Empress, but have you ever thought that if you look at it from a different angle, the scenery might be completely different?"
Chen Changsheng knew that she was not acting as a lobbyist for the Divine Empress. She was concerned about him, but he could not say anything.
Just like the conversation he had with Tang Thirty-Six in the Orthodox Academy, every person had their own responsibility.
He was a jiangliu. He had been picked up by his master, raised into a man, and educated into a talent. After coming to the capital, he had been cherished and nurtured by Archbishop Mei Lisha and had been valued by the Pope. He had obtained far too many things from the Orthodoxy, so he had to bear the corresponding responsibility. Moreover …
"I don't trust the Empress," he said very calmly, his back to Xu Yourong as he held the teacup.
"Why?" Xu Yourong stood up and asked, "Just because the Empress is a woman and not a man?"
Chen Chang Sheng looked at the teacup in his hand and said, "No, it's because she is not a good person."
The matter involved the throne of the Great Zhou and the inheritance of the Orthodoxy. They were talking about important figures who had been in the world for many years, but they were using male and female, good and bad to talk about it. If other people heard this, they would definitely laugh at the young man and woman talking to each other for being childish, naive, and funny.
But they were talking very seriously.
Xu Yourong knew that Chen Chang Sheng was this kind of person.
She herself was also this kind of person.
The room became quiet, and for a long time, neither of them spoke.
This was the first time since they met that they had formally discussed this issue. They had never talked about it before because of the word "camp."
"To me, the Empress … is like a mother."
After some time had passed, Xu Yourong's voice rang out once more. It was rather light, but it was very emotional.
As for the relationship between the Tianhai Divine Empress and Xu Yourong, many people, including Chen Chang Sheng, felt somewhat confused. Just how did this sort of love and trust come about? Only when the Burning Heaven Sword in Su Li's letter soared into the sky and met the Wooden Sword Little Phoenix in the night sky of the capital did everyone know the true reason — the Divine Empress also possessed the bloodline of the Heavenly Phoenix. From this perspective, Xu Yourong was her true successor, a successor even more important than her child.
"But she is not a good person." Chen Chang Sheng looked into Xu Yourong's eyes and calmly yet firmly said, "So I will not trust her."
Xu Yourong softly asked, "What is the standard for good and evil?"
Chen Chang Sheng replied, "I don't want to argue with you, and the argument that great good is also evil is not something I can grasp. I only know that she has killed many innocent people."
Several hundred years ago, when she began to take control of the country, the number of people that had died at the Tianhai Divine Empress's hand was uncountable. There was the Chen Imperial clan, the Orthodoxy's conservative faction, corrupt officials, and criminals who had committed all sorts of crimes. But no one could deny that in this process, many people who should not have died had died because of her.
"Martial Uncle Su has also killed many people. Although he did it unintentionally, the number of innocent people that died under his sword was not small."
"Intentional or unintentional, in my view, is a very large difference."
"Then how can you be sure that those innocent people who died were intentional actions of the Empress?"
"Because of Zhou Tong." Chen Chang Sheng looked into her eyes and said, "Zhou Tong is a pure evil person. He takes pleasure in cruelty, tortures all living beings. From the first day the Empress used this person, it was impossible for her to say that she did not do evil intentionally."
After a moment of silence, Xu Yourong said, "Do we have to attribute all of Zhou Tong's crimes to the Empress? This is rather unfair. "
Chen Chang Sheng replied, "A dog owner does not keep a leash. If a dog bites a person, it is naturally the fault of the owner. If a sharp blade is unsheathed to kill, it is naturally the fault of the person holding the blade."
The entire world knew that Zhou Tong was a vicious dog raised by the Divine Empress, a sharp blade.
Xu Yourong looked into his eyes and said, "You are willing to defend Martial Uncle Su, but you are not willing to empathize with the Empress. In the end, you are still prejudiced."
Chen Chang Sheng replied, "I have never seen just how many people Senior Su Li killed in the Longevity Sect and Xunyang City, but … the Empress and Zhou Tong's killings in the capital were all written in books, and I've read those books. I know that those words were all written in blood and are very dazzling."
Once more silence, the two of them saying nothing for a very long time.
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