Upon hearing this news, Chen Changsheng fell silent for a very long time.
Several days later, the party arrived at Fengyang City.
Fengyang City was a county city under the jurisdiction of the Feng City government. Compared to other counties, it was much smaller, but it was already one of the most bustling places in the valley.
Standing on the cliff and gazing at the lights of the distant county city, the party decided to rest for the night and enter the city in the morning.
Thinking that Nanke's identity was rather sensitive, Chen Changsheng sent her into the Garden of Zhou.
She had already completely forgotten what had happened in the Garden of Zhou, but she was very fond of the environment and did not show any resistance.
Back then, Tang Thirty-Six had been viewing the monoliths in the Mausoleum of Books and had never entered the Garden of Zhou, so he was rather curious and asked Chen Changsheng to send him in to play.
But not long after he entered, he came out.
He found the Garden of Zhou very boring, and Nanke found the Garden of Zhou very good for the same reason.
There were no people in the Garden of Zhou, only countless monsters.
Nanke instinctively felt relaxed, but this only made Tang Thirty-Six feel bored.
To Chen Changsheng's surprise, Zhexiu also wanted him to send him into the Garden of Zhou.
He quietly sat on the plains for a while. After coming out, he said to Chen Changsheng that the plains were now boring because the sun would set.
The seal over the plains had already been broken, and the monsters living in the Garden of Zhou were constantly rising in level.
Chen Changsheng knew that Zhexiu did not find it boring for these reasons, nor was it really because the sun would set. It was because the girl who used to watch the sun with him was no longer there.
At five in the morning, Chen Changsheng calmed his mind and opened his eyes to look at the river below the cliff. He felt rather regretful.
For an entire night, he had spread his spiritual sense across the two shores of the valley, hoping to find any trace of Chusu, but he had found nothing.
The climate in the valley was much warmer than the plains beyond the mountains, and Fengyang City was also much hotter than Wenshui City. Even in the depths of winter, there was still no snow. Even wearing a cotton-padded jacket would make one feel rather hot. It was just like those extremely thick chains on the river. In the sunlight, they did not give off the cold feeling of iron, but rather a burning sensation.
Fengyang City was built against the mountains, and as one walked along the cliffs toward the city, one would see nothing but tea trees. Moreover, it was obvious that these tea trees had just been picked.
Seeing the confused expressions of Chen Changsheng and the others, Hu Thirty-Two explained, "This place abounds in wild tea, and the winter batch has the best flavor. In the last ten-some years, Fengyang's wild tea has only gotten more and more famous, and the winter wild tea has also become a valuable commodity. Every year, a tea party will be held at this time, with the prefectural magistrate and archbishop personally attending. Countless tea merchants will gather here."
It was still early in the morning, but Fengyang City was already bustling with activity. On both sides of the main road leading from the river to the Seven Treasures Stronghold above the city, several dozen tea shops had already opened their doors. Shouts and greetings rang out incessantly, and one could even smell the simple fragrance of tea wafting along the stone steps in the morning breeze.
Under Hu Thirty-Two's lead, Chen Changsheng and the others first strolled around the Seven Treasures Stronghold, and then they went to the river bank to take a look at the famous White Dragon Stone. As the sun gradually grew brighter, they found a relatively quiet tea house near the ferry to sit down and rest while they waited for the latest news to be reported back.
The Seven Treasures Stronghold was like a miniature city. It was built against the mountains and had a total of seven floors, which wasn't all that remarkable. Moreover, because of the preparations for the tea party, the top three floors had been sealed off. This year, it just happened to be the winter flood season, so a large half of the White Dragon Stone had been submerged in the river. Tang Thirty-Six was rather unhappy, but only after he drank some tea did his mood somewhat recover.
"I didn't think that this tea would be so good." He raised the teacup in his hand and glanced at it in surprise.
The wild tea in the cup was steaming, and the tea was rich but not greasy, as if it contained some sort of wild interest.
"When it comes to tasting tea, the first person that people think of is Liang Wangsun, but Painted Armor Xiao Zhang looks down on Liang Wangsun the most, believing that he has been burdened by a false reputation and has long since lost his true interest. Back then, a busybody once asked Liang Wangsun about this matter, and Liang Wangsun smiled and replied, 'I don't submit to him in fighting, but I have no choice but to submit to him in discussing tea.' "
Hu Thirty-Two continued, "Only then did the world realize that Xiao Zhang was also a tea lover, and he had never liked those famous teas. He only liked to search for wild teas in the mountains and forests, poor villages, and small temples. The reason why Fengyang City's wild teas are famous is all because of Xiao Zhang's publicity in the last few years."
When drinking tea, if there were no snacks, there would definitely be interesting topics to talk about. Only in this way could one talk about tea. Hu Thirty-Two was the most knowledgeable and tactful person in the Orthodoxy, so he naturally would not let go of such a good topic.
Tang Thirty-Six was a descendant of a noble clan, so he was naturally interested in this topic. Alas, Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu had never had anything to do with elegance. When he heard these words, he was not thinking about how Fengyang City's tea was or the gossip between Liang Wangsun and Xiao Zhang, but about some very boring matters.
"I wonder who is stronger, Liang Wangsun or Xiao Zhang?" Chen Changsheng asked.
Everyone knew that this was the age of blooming wildflowers in the cultivation world, and this age had been opened by people like Wang Po, Xiao Zhang, Liang Wangsun, Xun Mei, and the Tang Second Master.
Of the outstanding figures of this generation, Wang Po was unquestionably the strongest, but Painted Armor Xiao Zhang and Liang Wangsun were also extraordinary figures.
In Xunyang City, Chen Changsheng had met Xiao Zhang and Liang Wangsun once, and on the day that he killed Zhou Tong, he had met Xiao Zhang again.
On that snowy day, he had killed his way in and out of the office of the Department for Purging Officials. Wang Po had severed his arm on the snowy river, broken through the Divine Domain, and cut down Tie Shu with his blade. In the end, he had been saved by Xiao Zhang.
No one could understand why Xiao Zhang had done this.
If Liang Wangsun's goal in his life was extremely clear, known to the entire continent, then just what was Xiao Zhang's goal?
"Xiao Zhang is stronger than Liang Wangsun."
The person who answered this question was Zhexiu. His words were naturally not based on the rankings on the Proclamation of Liberation.
"His life's goal is to become the strongest. His goal is even clearer, his methods even simpler, so comparatively speaking, he's even more terrifying."
What was the martial path that Xiao Zhang pursued? It was not Zhou Dufu's path of killing, nor was it Wang Po's straightforward path. His path was to fight.
Whether he could win or not, he still had to fight, and the more he couldn't win, the more intense his desire to fight became. As a result, many people believed him to be a madman.
Over the past several decades, he had fought countless times with Wang Po, but he had never won once, but he had never admitted defeat.
Now that Wang Po was an expert of the Divine Domain, the gap in strength between the two was many times greater than it had been in the past, but Xiao Zhang still would not give up.
From this aspect, Wang Po's words on the snowy street were not wrong. The Tang Second Master was far inferior to Xiao Zhang, Xun Mei, and the others.
Hu Thirty-Two suddenly said, "Xiao Zhang has been rather miserable these past few years."
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