The Pope gazed into the depths of the darkness and said, "This is sending him to his death."
The person in the darkness indifferently replied, "What does death count for? So many members of the Imperial clan died back then. "
The Pope was quiet for a very long time, the sea of stars in the depths of his eyes gradually growing calm. "You are not a member of the Imperial clan, so why have you never been able to let go of these matters?"
The voice in the darkness was calm and firm. "This is His Majesty's final decree."
The Pope knew that the 'His Majesty' he spoke of was naturally not Emperor Xian, but that most extraordinary sovereign since ancient times: Emperor Taizong.
This conversation had begun many years ago with a letter sent from Xining Village to the capital.
This debate had begun two and a half years ago, when that youth called Chen Changsheng walked into the abandoned campus of the Orthodox Academy.
It seemed that this conversation should end tonight.
But even now, the Pope still had not made up his mind. Just like the Green Leaf in the pot, it gently swayed in the wind.
This did not mean that he did not have his own standpoint, that his Dao heart was not firm enough. On the contrary, it was precisely because he had to consider too many things, far and wide and meticulous that he found it very difficult to make a decision.
"Other than me, no one knows that you are most skilled in the Scroll of Time, the Canon of Flowing West."
In the darkness, a gaze seemed to fall on the small pool in the hall, and then on the wooden ladle by the pool.
The person said to the Pope, "You are the gurgling clear water flowing west. Although you have been flowing for a thousand years, you are still unstained by a speck of dust or filth, so clear that the bottom can be seen, so calm and gentle, yet filled with an inexhaustible divine power. Then … you do not need to make a decision now. At the final moment, you will ultimately discover what your heart is."
After saying this, there was no more sound in the darkness.
The Pope stood on the stone steps, gazing at the shadows cast by the eaves, standing in front of the sound of flowing water, the Green Leaf slightly swaying in the wind.
"Senior Brother, you cultivate the Dao of following your heart, so you are so confident that my heart will follow yours?"
… …
… …
After leaving Xining Village, Yu Ren followed his master to many places, but whether it was the snowy plains of Mount Han or the wilderness beneath Snowhold Pass, he did not like them very much. There were too few people, and White Emperor City on the shore of the Red River did not leave a very deep impression on him. Only when he heard that the demi-human Princess was his junior brother's student did he feel somewhat happy.
He had been in a good mood these past few days, not because this was the capital, his hometown.
He had been raised by his master since he was a child. He only had some vague memories of his childhood, but he could no longer remember them clearly. His master had told him that he was from the capital and had lived here before, but he could not remember where his home was. Furthermore, he did not like the capital. The reason he did not like the snowy plains and wilderness was that there were too many people in the capital.
There were too many people in the capital and too few in the snowy plains. It would be best if Xining Village had an equal number of people.
He did not know why his master had brought him to so many places, or why they had come to the capital. He was only worried about his junior brother's health and wanted to meet with him. However, after his master had brought him to the Mausoleum of Books, he had quietly disappeared. He had also instructed him not to leave the Mausoleum of Books, saying that in a few days, he would naturally be able to meet with his junior brother.
Seeing his master's disappearing figure, he thought about it and felt that this was also good. No matter what his junior brother encountered, his master would always be able to resolve it. Moreover, there were truly too many people in the capital, and he really did not like it. The people in the Mausoleum of Books were neither too many nor too few. There were green trees and flowing water, and it was very easy for him to think of the mountain behind Xining Village and that stream, as well as the happy days he and his junior brother spent together memorizing the Daoist Canon and catching fish to eat. He had heard that when his junior brother had viewed the monoliths and comprehended the Dao, he had drawn down a sky full of starlight. This made him very proud and happy, and so he felt that he had even more reasons to like this place.
There was also another very important matter — in the Mausoleum of Books, one could view the Heavenly Tome Monoliths. He had studied the Daoist Canon since he was a child, and other than the last of the three thousand scrolls of the Great Dao, he had long since mastered them. Although he was the same as Chen Changsheng and his master had not taught him how to cultivate, he naturally felt a sense of closeness towards the Heavenly Tome Monoliths that hid the truths of the Dao. He wanted to see some interesting things from them.
When his master had left the Mausoleum of Books, he had told him not to leave, but he had not said that he could not view the Heavenly Tome Monoliths. He prepared two days' worth of food in that small courtyard, and then leaned on his cane as he stood by the fence and watched the sunlight change twice. Feeling that there should not be any problems, he took his packed lunchbox and left the plum garden, following the mountain path towards the mausoleum.
There was still a long period of time before the Grand Examination. Because of last year's opening of the Garden of Zhou and the Boiling Stone Summit, as well as the many unforeseen events that had occurred afterwards, the monolith viewers of the Mausoleum of Books had left the mausoleum one after another. The number of cultivators remaining in the mausoleum was much fewer than in previous years. He walked on the mountain path for a very long time, but did not encounter a single person until he arrived in front of the first monolith hut.
In front of this monolith hut, he encountered a Monolith Guardian called Ji Jin. That Monolith Guardian had a very gentle temperament, and he had an indifference and ease that seemed to have seen through the affairs of the world. He gave Yu Ren a very good impression. He thought to himself, the Mausoleum of Books truly is a holy land for cultivation. After viewing the monoliths for a long time, could it be that one's temperament would undergo such a transformation?
The Monolith Guardian called Ji Jin asked him which sect he was a disciple of, and why he had entered the Mausoleum of Books at this time to view the monoliths.
Yu Ren did not know how to answer. Fortunately, he had never been able to speak. He placed his cane on the pillar of the pavilion and used one hand to make a few gestures, but he did not know if the Monolith Guardian would be able to understand.
Ji Jin could not understand his sign language, but he could clearly see Yu Ren's handicap. He felt sympathy and did not ask any more questions. He even reminded Yu Ren not to force himself when viewing the monoliths and to pay attention to rest.
As he watched the Monolith Guardian depart along the mountain path, Yu Ren wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. A smug smile appeared in his eyes as he thought to himself, my junior brother is wrong. How could I not deceive people? It's just that in Xining Village, I don't need to deceive people. Look, I've succeeded in deceiving a senior.
The first Heavenly Tome Monolith of the Mausoleum of Books was the Reflecting Monolith.
Yu Ren slowly dragged his legs over to the monolith and gazed at it. He was somewhat curious, somewhat excited, and even could not help but extend his hand to touch it. He felt that this Heavenly Tome Monolith was truly very interesting. That poem written by a virtuous predecessor was truly wonderful. His fingers felt very comfortable, ice-cold, just like that small stream on the mountain behind Xining Village.
Then, he arrived in front of the second Heavenly Tome Monolith.
This Heavenly Tome Monolith was also very interesting. He looked at it with great interest, feeling that those lines were very beautiful, just like the rays of light cut by the leaves on the mountain behind Xining Village in autumn.
Then, he arrived in front of the third Heavenly Tome Monolith.
This Heavenly Tome Monolith was even more interesting. The marks on the monolith were still clear, the lines still beautiful, but they were not as complicated as the first two monoliths. In his eyes, they had become extremely simple lines.
Simple did not mean that they were not beautiful, nor did it mean that they were easy to understand. It was just like when it rained in Xining Village, the lines of water that slid down the eaves of the old temple, as well as the traces left behind by the yellow leaves that had been knocked down by the rain. In order to understand the pattern in those traces, Yu Ren spent quite a bit of time this time. He even put his cane to the side and sat on the ground to think for a while.
And then, the fourth Heavenly Tome Monolith.
The fifth Heavenly Tome Monolith.
The sixth.
The seventh.
… …
… …
After some time had passed.
Yu Ren arrived in front of a monolith hut. Leaning on his cane, he slightly tilted his head and looked at the monolith under the hut. He felt that it was rather strange.
Because that monolith was broken. He did not know where the original monolith had gone.
He did not know that this broken monolith had been cut down by a person called Zhou Dufu. With this broken monolith as the boundary, he had seen those Heavenly Tome Monoliths. They were all called the monoliths of the front mausoleum.
He knew that his junior brother had very smoothly viewed the monoliths in the Mausoleum of Books last year, making him very proud, but he did not know about the saying of viewing all the monoliths of the front mausoleum in one day.
He raised his head to look at the sky and realized that the sun had not yet reached its zenith. The weather could not be considered too hot, so he decided to continue viewing.
It had not even been half a day since he had entered the Mausoleum of Books.
How to view the broken monolith? He also did not know.
He slowly walked in front of the broken monolith and stretched out his hand to touch the broken stubble on the monolith.
After a while, he withdrew his finger and thoughtfully looked around. He realized that he was still in front of the broken monolith.
He switched sides of his cane and used his broken arm to hold it. He used his free right hand to scratch his itchy back. He was somewhat confused and thought to himself, "How should I go next?"
The autumn wind in the mountain mausoleum gently blew, lifting up the Daoist robe that had been washed white and lifting up the black hair on his forehead, revealing his eye.
He had one eye that could not see, but he did not know if he could see anything else.
He walked to the forest behind the monolith hut and used his hand to push aside the thorny branches of grass. He curiously looked inside.
He could faintly make out a path there. It had probably been trampled out, but it was almost covered in weeds. No one knew how many years it had been since anyone had walked on it.
Seeing that it was difficult to stand on the small path, Yuren's face revealed an awkward expression. However, after thinking it over, he still used his cane and hobbled inside.
The weeds gradually drowned out his figure, and the desolate path gradually extended under his feet and the cane.
After some time, he finally walked out of the forest and arrived in front of another monolith hut.
He raised his arm and used his sleeve to wipe the sweat off his face. He felt his face heat up and thought to himself that it was fortunate that he had not gotten lost, or else it would have been troublesome and he would not have been able to call for help.
He walked to the monolith hut and began to view the monoliths.
This was no longer the front mausoleum.
Of the thirteen Mausoleums of Heavenly Books, he had already arrived at the second mausoleum.
After Zhou Dufu had broken the monolith in the Mausoleum of Books, he was the first person to directly walk to this place.
Of course, he did not know any of this. He continued to view the monoliths, continued to advance, looking at monolith after monolith.
When he felt hungry, he would take out a lunchbox from his bosom and eat. When he was hungry, he would find some mountain water to drink.
The food in the lunchbox was very simple: green peppers stir-fried with cured meat.
He had found the cured meat on the beam of the kitchen in some abandoned courtyard. He had picked the green peppers from an untended vegetable field.
The sun set and the stars rose into the night sky. The sun rose and the stars retreated behind the light. The clear streams in the mountains slowly flowed, just like time.
After some time, Yuren realized that his lunchbox was empty. Whether it was the green peppers stir-fried with cured meat or the fermented bean curd, there was nothing left.
He was truly rather hungry, so he retraced his steps. As he walked past those monolith huts, he finally saw a few cultivators.
In the last few days, he had only seen the silent forest and monoliths. Now that he could finally see people, Yuren was rather happy and nodded to those cultivators in greeting.
But those cultivators looked at him like he was a ghost.
Who was this person? Why had they never seen him before? Why had he come back from the front? Had he already seen the next Heavenly Tome Monolith?
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