It took a while for Shuang'er to come to her senses.
She could see that this Daoist youth was not deliberately teasing or playing with her, but rather had truly not taken her words to heart. Seeing the youth's calm and serious expression, she began to get angry for some reason.
She hatefully declared, "You will die."
Chen Changsheng opened his eyes wide and replied, "Everyone will die."
Shuang'er retorted, "You know that this is not my meaning."
Chen Changsheng very earnestly replied, "Thank you for telling me these things."
Shuang'er's face was extremely unsightly. "The Madam wanted to end the engagement. Your response was to get payback. What need was there to insist on getting angry and saying that you came to end the engagement? Could it be that you thought that this was the only way you could recover a little face? If that really was the case, then whatever, but why did you have to change your mind at the end? Such a fickle look is really not appealing."
"In truth…I really came to end the engagement. It's not important whether you believe it or not. It's just that right now, I really don't want to end it anymore."
"Why?"
Chen Changsheng cocked his head as he pondered this question. A smile gradually appeared on his young and tender face, because he had found an answer that he could convince himself with. "Because…you never asked me for my name."
Shuang'er did not understand.
"From the moment I entered the estate until now, whether it was the Madam or you, none of you asked me for my name."
Chen Changsheng looked at her and seriously said, "I am called Chen Changsheng. I know that this name is very crude, but Master hoped that I could live forever. The intention was very good, so I've always used this name."
(TN: Changsheng '长生' of Chen Changsheng means long life/longevity.)
While he was saying these words, his eyes were very bright and his expression very upright.
Shuang'er abruptly felt that this seemingly normal Daoist boy seemed to be emitting a sort of light. Probably from that serious temperament? She understood his reason, and then she mysteriously felt a sense of shame.
From the moment he entered the Divine General's estate until now, no one had asked him his name. But he had never shown any anger or seemed to suffer any humiliation. Whether he was talking to the Madam or Shuang'er, he had always acted very courteously, not lacking in any aspect of etiquette, even to the extent that he felt rather stuffy. However, the wondrous thing was that those people that made him unhappy were even unhappier than he was at the end.
It wasn't that he was specialized in making other people unhappy, but rather that he very earnestly did the things that he thought should be done. No matter if it was ending the engagement or changing his mind, he felt it was all right and proper. He was absolutely certain, so much so that it made people feel like they couldn't object. Consequently, those people that he made unhappy would eventually become so depressed that it was very difficult for them to be happy again.
Shuang'er had grown up in the Divine General's estate. Because of her young lady, her status was exceptionally high. Even the Divine General and his Madam did not say any harsh words to her. She had never before encountered a person like Chen Changsheng and was very unused to this sort of feeling. She subconsciously began to feel uneasy. Perhaps to convince Chen Changsheng or to convince herself, she strengthened the tone in her voice and said:
"In the entire continent, only my young lady has the true blood of the Phoenix! She is unique!"
"In my senior brother's notebook, there is a phrase which I've always felt to be very reasonable. Today, I will give it you in the hopes that you will be able to seriously learn from it in the future. He said: Every person in the world is unique."
Chen Changsheng sincerely said to her.
...
...
At the end of the long street was a simple stone bridge. Under the bridge flowed not the Luo River, but an unremarkable little stream. Chen Changsheng walked onto the bridge and then turned to look back at the general's estate. He saw countless quiet, but still bustling, great houses and beautiful gardens, the Xu Estate standing out amongst the rest as the most eye-catching and illustrious. He couldn't help but shake his head.
On arriving at the capital, he had not gone to any of those famous sights, nor was he in a rush to head to the Mausoleum of Books. Rather, he had freshened himself up a little by the Luo River and then headed directly to the general's estate—he wanted to end the engagement. He was truly in a rush. If he became wed to the young lady of the general's estate, if his illness could not be cured, was there any need to involve the other side? Even if it could be cured, it would most likely waste many years of time.
He did not want to waste the years of her youth, yet he had not imagined that in the Xu Estate, he would encounter that arrogance, that contempt, that ridicule. Now that he thought about it, after he turned ten, the temple no longer received any gifts from the other side. The two sides had cut off relations, perhaps indicating that the other party had long had the intention of breaking the contract. He had come today to voluntarily annul the engagement, so it should have been achieved very effortlessly, an affair which both sides should have been delighted to see. But he did not think he would encounter this sort of display, and as a result, he had decided to change his mind on the spot.
He had not cultivated and he wasn't a Daoist priest either, but he had studied the Daoist scriptures since he was a child and had been deeply influenced by them. Taken together with his gloomy future prospects, among the three thousand great Daos, he had chosen the one of following his heart. The so-called "following his heart" was to do everything in a way that left him with a clear conscience. Journeying ten thousand li from afar to come to the capital and end the engagement was following his heart. To not end the engagement was also following his heart. The Divine General estate had been discourteous, so he did not want them to follow their hearts, because if he allowed that, it would be difficult for him to accord with his heart's desire.
Of course, even now, Chen Changsheng only wanted that Madam who concealed coldness behind a kind face and the maid who only looked at the sky to feel a little anxious. After a few days, he would naturally return the marriage to the other side. Human life was beyond value. The young lady Xu's happiness was always more important than the cold reception and arrogant gazes he had received. He still felt this way.
However, in the end, it still made people feel very unhappy. At times, Chen Changsheng himself would forget that he was only fourteen years old. In the end, he was still but a youth, possessing his own pride and dignity. After being humiliated, there would always be some emotion.
He walked down the bridge and bought two sesame seed cakes from a stand by the street. Crouching on a stone by the stream, he nibbled on the sesame seed cakes while gazing at the distant Divine General's estate. His mood was a little sour. He knew where this emotion had arisen from, but he also understood that if he let this emotion flood through him, it would harm his body, and would be of no help in resolving this problem.
On the distant Luo River, reflections sailed across the surface of the water like clouds. On the long street opposite the river were wolf riders that had come from the west. Even separated by such a distance, it was still possible to smell the rancid stench arising from the mouths of massive wolves. A dark shadow drifted across the river. He lifted his head and saw the snow-white wings of a Pegasus as it towed a grand and luxurious carriage north. In an arrow tower on the distant city wall, Red Falcons entrusted with carrying military information were constantly flying in and out. In the even more distant azure sky, the city guard's flying carriages were on patrol, looking just like those bothersome dragonflies outside a temple.
This was the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty. There were countless mystical scenes that someone from the rustic countryside would find very difficult to imagine. Chen Changsheng gnawed on the sesame seed cakes and opened his eyes wide, taking in these scenes with relish while comparing them to the records in the Daoist Canon. He didn't know when he would get the chance to see those legendary mystical spirits, like the Spirit Tortoise which was said to have supported the stone pillars of the Li Palace for more than three thousand years, and maybe there were still those incomparably noble and awesome dragons spoken of in legends in the Imperial Palace. It was said that the rarest and most respected Golden Dragon had not appeared amongst humans for tens of thousands of years. Would he have an opportunity to see it in the future? That's right, there was also the legendary Phoenix…
The sesame seed cake was very delicious and also very hard, so eating it was quite the chore. Chen Changsheng had originally thought that he had cast the bitter experience he had in the Divine General's estate to the back of his mind and successfully dispelled his sour mood, yet when he thought of the word 'Phoenix', he very naturally thought of the true blood of the Phoenix that he had just heard about today. He thought about that young lady Xu who possessed the true blood of the Phoenix, and then he thought about those little gifts he received all those years ago…
He looked at the final bit of the sesame seed cake in his fingers and vacantly stared at it for a while. Only then did he put in his mouth, carefully chewing it thirty-two times before swallowing. From his sleeve, he removed a handkerchief, which he used to wipe the crumbs off his hand. Standing up and taking up his luggage, he disappeared into the crowd.
He had not noticed that not far from him in the corner of a street, an unremarkable carriage was parked. On the shaft of the carriage in some unremarkable place, the slightly dim crest of a blood-red Phoenix could be seen. Of course, even if he could see it, he would still not know that this crest represented the estate of the Divine General of the East. After the young lady of the Xu Estate was born, the Divine Empress had bestowed the blood-red Phoenix on the Divine General's estate as a new crest. This was a supreme honor and also a sort of proclamation.
The warhorse hitched to the front of the carriage had the blood of the Unicorn. Its eyes that looked at the flowing water under the bridge seemed very cold. The eyes of the old lady in the carriage were also very cold, but hidden within were also astonishment and wariness.
She had been following Chen Changsheng ever since he left the Divine General's estate. She had not imagined that the youth would be so calm after seeing the capital of the Great Zhou. He was completely unlike an inexperienced child from the countryside. This was because she did not know that this youth had grown up with countless scrolls. Within these scrolls, he had seen countless sights, traveled countless li of roads.
...
...
Xu Shiji sat in his study, his body which was tall and sturdy as a mountain emitting a faint smell of blood. In a tree, more than ten zhang away on the other side of the window, a kingfisher bird was so alarmed that it buried its head in its wings and didn't dare to make a single noise. That powerful Qi which carried a bloody scent about it was proof of this Great Zhou Divine General's power, and also indicated that his current mood was very terrible.
What made his mood so violent was that half of a jade pendant on his table.
"Back then when Father was Grand Minister, he had the deep trust of the Divine Empress and, following orders, was sent to Mount Tai to preside over the book burning ritual of reporting to the Heavens. The demons wanted to disrupt this affair, and sent Gong Yangchun to assassinate Father. Father was heavily wounded. Even when His Holiness personally came to Mount Tai, Father could not be cured. It was only when a traveling Daoist passed through Taishan County that father's injuries were finally cured. Thus, we have this marriage contract."
Madam Xu said in a low voice, "From the looks of it, that Daoist truly does seem to have some skill."
Xu Shiji lifted his head and looked out the window at the azure sky. "In this boundless universe, the winds follow the tiger and the clouds follow the dragon, and there exist an innumerable number of experts. In the field of medicine, that Daoist could be called a saint, so naturally he can't be ordinary. Or else why would father betroth Little Rong to that person's descendant?"
Madam Xu was somewhat uneasy and advised, "At the moment, the most important thing is that marriage contract…if that Daoist's background is not impressive, if he isn't someone important, it's not necessary to be too overly cautious."
Xu Shiji's expression was cold. "Let that young Daoist wake up a little."
Madam Xu's voice dropped even lower, such that one would have to listen carefully to hear clearly. "That little Daoist doesn't seem to be someone that will take his leave for any random benefits. If he continues to harass us, what then? During next year's opening of the Mausoleum of Books, the southern sects will definitely send a diplomatic mission. At that time, I'm afraid they will formally go to the Imperial Court to propose. We can't let anything go wrong."
Xu Shiji narrowed his eyes like a fierce tiger about to sleep. "Then we just burn him into ash and toss it into the Luo River."
The rainy season would arrive in the next few days and the Luo River was on the verge of rising. Whether it was bones or ashes, when thrown into the Luo River, they would all quickly disappear.