The library's door was open but Tang Thirty-Six insisting on coming in through the window, perhaps because he was lazy or for some other reason. To his usual self, jumping through a window was assuredly a very simple task, but today, it was somewhat challenging. He sat on the floor, gasping somewhat painfully and even coughing a couple of times.
"You really are injured." Chen Changsheng crouched down by his side and made to take his pulse.
Tang Thirty-Six blocked his hand, saying, "There's nothing wrong with me, I'm just somewhat sleepy."
Chen Changsheng naturally knew that he wasn't speaking the truth, but it seemed that this fellow truly was very sleepy, leaning against the wall, closing his eyes, and falling asleep.
The barely warm morning light from the window fell upon Tang Thirty-Six's face, making it even paler.
Chen Changsheng shook his head. He took a thin blanket from the side room and lightly placed it over Tang Thirty-Six.
The sky gradually grew bright and the sun gradually moved. Luoluo brought Xuanyuan Po to the Hundred Herb Garden. As a member of her race, there were some things that needed to be communicated to him.
Tang Thirty-Six woke up. He turned to Chen Changsheng studiously reading on the floor and asked, "Why didn't you go last night?"
Chen Changsheng put down the book and asked, "Go where?"
"The Heavenly Dao Academy. Last night was the Ivy Festival's second night."
Tang Thirty-Six cast the thin blanket over him to the side, stood up, and yawned. His spirit much recovered, he continued, "On the first night, the Orthodox Academy stirred such a big storm, everyone was waiting for you last night."
Chen Changsheng answered, "I didn't want to go, so I didn't go."
Tang Thirty-Six looked at him and noted, "You truly are a strange person."
For a place like the Ivy Festival, to not go solely because one did not want to was truly a rather bizarre way of thinking to a normal person.
"In my view, you're even stranger."
Chen Changsheng recalled how when he had last gone to the Heavenly Dao Academy, this fellow had been bitterly cultivating, so he asked, "You prepared for so long for the Ivy Festival, but you never appeared on the first night of the Ivy Festival. Just what happened?"
Hearing this question, Tang Thirty-Six did not respond for a few moments. Finally, he said, "I don't like that little monster of the Temple Seminary."
Chen Changsheng asked, "And so?"
Tang Thirty-Six explained, "So I once made it known that if I had the opportunity, I would cripple him."
Chen Changsheng replied, "I know about that—Tianhai Ya'er mentioned it on that night."
Tang Thirty-Six's mood was rather poor. "Since he dared to appear at the Ivy Festival, I really was prepared to cripple him, but…but some people didn't dare let me cripple him, so they didn't let me participate last night and had me remain in my dorm."
Chen Changsheng fell silent, thinking, with this guy's personality, how could he change his mind because of the Heavenly Dao Academy's rules or the dignity of its teachers? By not letting him participate, the teachers of the Heavenly Dao Academy must have acted directly and locked him up.
He could understand the Heavenly Dao Academy's caution. Tianhai Ya'er's background was far too terrifying. Besides Luoluo's even more frightening background, it was truly difficult to find a means of coping with it. If Tang Thirty-Six really did cripple Tianhai Ya'er during the Ivy Festival, nobody knew what the final conclusion would be.
But he could understand even more Tang Thirty-Six's anger.
"What was the situation last night?" he asked as he looked at Tang Thirty-Six's slightly pale cheeks.
Tang Thirty-Six replied, "Last night was the martial test. The person who ended up getting first place was a young priest of the Li Palace Academy."
Chen Changsheng had not wanted Tang Thirty-Six to remain in that negative mood, so he had changed the subject. He truly wasn't much interested in the Ivy Festival, so he only gave an 'I see' to indicate that he understood.
Tang Thirty-Six slightly arched his brow and asked, "You're not going to ask?"
"Ask what?"
"Why that young priest from the Li Palace Academy got first place?"
"The Li Palace Academy…that student is basically learning from the Pope, so what's extraordinary about getting first place?"
Tang Thirty-Six pointed at himself and declared, "If a person can defeat me, how can they not be extraordinary?"
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, this guy is still narcissistic as usual, and helplessly asked, "Fine, then…why?"
Satisfied, Tang Thirty-Six replied, "Because I did not participate."
This time Chen Changsheng truly was rather shocked. Confused, he repeated, "Why?"
"Zhuang Huanyu and those other guys on the Proclamation of Azure Sky didn't participate either. It was probably because they wanted to boast about their status and also to prepare for the third night. On the other hand, I didn't participate because the academy still did not allow me to participate and had me stay in the dorm."
Tang Thirty-Six's complexion was rather unpleasant.
Chen Changsheng found it impossible to understand. If speaking about not letting Tang Thirty-Six face Tianhai Ya'er in a match on the first night, this action of the Heavenly Dao Academy, although rather excessive, was still one taken out of caution. But on the second night, it was completely without grounds. Was the Heavenly Dao Academy afraid that Tang Thirty-Six would turn against it?
"Why?"
"Because I wanted to challenge Zhuang Huanyu."
The library was silent as a grave.
Upon confirming that he had not heard wrongly, Chen Changsheng felt even surer that Tang Thirty-Six was a strange person, or perhaps an interesting one.
He actually wanted to challenge the senior brother of his own academy, and it was the senior who represented the entire academy.
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, if I were a teacher of the Heavenly Dao Academy, I also wouldn't agree.
And the Ivy Festival also probably doesn't have such a rule.
"Why?"
"Because I don't like the look of him."
"This reason…"
"What about this reason?"
"Too formidable."
Chen Changsheng had nothing to say. He knew that Tang Thirty-Six assuredly had deeper reasons for challenging Zhuang Huanyu, but since this fellow wasn't willing to say, he couldn't do anything.
"I used half the night to break through the academy's restriction and rushed over to the meeting place, but at that point, the Ivy Festival was already over."
Tang Thirty-Six thought of this encounter last night in silence for a few moments, then said, "I found the atmosphere and smell of the academy to be rather unbearable and didn't want to stick around anymore, but because I'm not too familiar with the capital and didn't know where to go, I came to find you."
Chen Changsheng affirmed that when he had forcefully broken through the restrictions laid down by the teachers of the Heavenly Dao Academy, he had been injured.
The Heavenly Dao Academy was dignified and solemn, but it was not at all ideal for Tang Thirty-Six.
Although the capital was vast, he had found no place he could go.
In the darkness before dawn, he had aimlessly wandered the streets before realizing that he knew Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng walked to him, folded the blanket, and then sat beside him. Leaning against the wall below the window, he said nothing.
They didn't look at each other, didn't speak, but Tang Thirty-Six knew what he was thinking.
"Don't sympathize with me, and don't you dare pity me…after all, I'm a genius of the Proclamation of Azure Sky."
"Being a genius doesn't mean you don't need sympathy."
"But you don't have the right to sympathize with me. In the entire capital, you also only know me."
Tang Thirty-Six teased. When he thought about this fact, he felt happy for some reason.
Just then, Luoluo and Xuanyuan Po walked in through the library's main entrance.
Xuanyuan Po held a lunchbox in his hand that was somewhat larger than usual.
Luoluo walked up to Chen Changsheng and said, "Teacher, it's time to eat lunch."
Chen Changsheng glanced at Tang Thirty-Six and spread out his arms, indicating that this was not on purpose.
Tang Thirty-Six had always felt that Chen Changsheng's personality flaws were more serious than his, but in these two months, he had not made a single friend in the Heavenly Dao Academy while this guy had acquainted himself with two other people, and one of them was a really pretty girl. This fact dealt him a heavy blow.
He then recalled the scene described to him by Vice Principal Zhuang of the Ivy Festival's first night.
"It was you that crippled Tianhai Ya'er?" he looked at Luoluo and asked.
To resist true essence with true essence and cripple the little monster of the Temple Seminary, even he would find such a feat difficult to pull off. This girl of the Orthodox Academy was naturally unusual, and that the Orthodox Academy was able to remain safe and sound after the matter was proof that this girl's background was even more unusual.
At present, many people were speculating on the Orthodox Academy's backing. Some people suspected Chen Changsheng's background, but Tang Thirty-Six was keenly aware that this fellow was a rustic youth from Xining Village, so the culprit could only be this girl.
So he had asked the question with a serious and solemn expression.
Luoluo ignored him. She walked to Chen Changsheng's side and crouched down. Opening the lunchbox, she wiped clean a pair of chopsticks and handed it to Chen Changsheng.
Seeing this scene, Tang Thirty-Six couldn't help but crease his forehead.
Somewhat embarrassed, Chen Changsheng offered the chopsticks to him while simultaneously introducing, "He is called Tang Thirty-Six."
"I know, Teacher," Luoluo responded.
Of course she was aware that Chen Changsheng knew Tang Thirty-Six. To be more precise, before her, he only knew Tang Thirty-Six.
Chen Changsheng thought to himself, Tang Thirty-Six is a young expert of the Proclamation of Azure Sky and Luoluo is no ordinary person. It's not surprising that she knows who he is.
Luoluo understood what he was thinking and said, "I know who he is, but I don't recognize him."
Chen Changsheng commented, "I thought that since you recognized Zhuang Huanyu, you would also recognize him."
Luoluo glanced at Tang Thirty-Six and explained, "Zhuang Huanyu's position was right beside mine, so it would be difficult for me to not recognize him. He…is a bit farther."
Chen Changsheng felt that he had heard similar words before, but he still didn't quite understand. Tang Thirty-Six also didn't understand, but he could hear the disdain in this girl's voice and couldn't help but get angry. Thus, he picked out the most expensive foods in the lunchbox and ate them, gobbling them up like a hurricane.
Luoluo was very displeased.
Xuanyuan Po sat on the side, obediently eating and not making a single sound.
After lunch, Tang Thirty-Six rudely snatched away the black tea that Luoluo offered Chen Changsheng and took two sips to rinse his mouth.
Luoluo glared at him and gave two cold laughs.
Very helpless, Chen Changsheng asked Tang Thirty-Six, "Then what do you plan to do next?"
"I absolutely have to participate in the third night. I don't believe that the academy will continue to treat me this way."
"Why are you so sure?"
"This time, four members of the Divine Kingdom's Seven Laws will be attending. Will Zhuang Huanyu alone be able to hold on?"
Puzzled, Chen Changsheng asked, "What?"
Tang Thirty-Six placed the black tea on the floor and said to him, "You don't know? The southern diplomatic mission this year arrived early in the capital."
Chen Changsheng recalled that so-called variable Priest Xin mentioned on that day and realized that it was about this. He curiously asked, "In the past, didn't they always come after the winter solstice? It's still so long until the Grand Examination; why did they come so early?"
Tang Thirty-Six answered, "At the very beginning, nobody understood, but now the entire continent knows."
Chen Changsheng asked, "What's the reason?"
Tang Thirty-Six declared, "The southern diplomatic mission plans to formally propose on the day of the Double Seventh Festival."
"Propose?" Chen Changsheng questioned.
Tang Thirty-Six explained, "Yes, Xu Yourong…will finally be married off."
Chen Changsheng froze and then fell silent for a long time.
Suddenly, he stood up and walked out of the library.
"Teacher, where are you going?" Luoluo asked.
Without turning his head, Chen Changsheng said, "The food was somewhat salty; I'm going to compose myself."
Today's food was somewhat salty.
His voice was somewhat faint.
His words were somewhat messy.
Because his mind was in a mess.