Xuan Tian trembled as he spoke, “…Yes, yes…”
“Is it, or is it not?” Chen Changsheng continued asking.
His tone was calm, but to Xuan Tian’s ears it felt icy cold. Every word made Xuan Tian shiver uncontrollably.
Xuan Tian swallowed hard and admitted, “N-no, it isn’t.”
After hearing this, Chen Changsheng sighed softly and lightly raised his hand.
The kneeling Xuan Tian was lifted up by an unseen force.
Xuan Tian could no longer stay calm. Fearfully, he pleaded, “Spare , sir! Xuan Tian will never dare again! I b…”
Chen Changsheng ignored him. He stood up and surveyed the inside of the Directorate of Celestial Observation. Everything there was richly splendid and incredibly valuable. Even the teacup on the table was made entirely of jadeite.
Xuan Tian watched the gentleman walk towards the corridor.
Chen Changsheng turned his head back and said, “The world bustles to seek gain; the world scuffles to seek profit. Actually, you aren’t really wrong.”
Xuan Tian saw the gentleman turn away again. Before his eyes, the gentleman’s figure gradually dissipated and vanished.
The Directorate of Celestial Observation returned to stillness.
Thump.
Xuan Tian collapsed onto the floor. Unspeakable terror filled his eyes, and the clothes on his back were already soaked through with cold sweat.
It felt like he had survived a catastrophe.
Chen Changsheng hadn’t taken his life, nor had he punished him. The world was full of too many people like him.
As the saying goes, a man who doesn’t look out for himself will be destroyed by heaven and earth.
That Xuan Tian had managed to enter the Directorate of Celestial Observation was due to his own ability, and one being willing to strike while the other was willing to be struck. Hard to bla anyone.
Chen Changsheng couldn’t help but murmur a reminder, largely because this man was an old acquaintance. He spoke up out of respect for the man’s Master.
Whether he listened or not was his own affair.
That elixir cost the emperor life-force. The life of a Human Emperor was of imnse value. This karmic burden was more than Xuan Tian could bear. Only after Xuan Tian died and entered the Underworld Tribunal would he understand this truth.
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After leaving the Directorate of Celestial Observation, Chen Changsheng saw the Old Sword Cultivator had been waiting there for quite so ti.
The Old Sword Cultivator stood with his hands clasped behind his back, smiling as he looked at Chen Changsheng.
“Has the revered Celestial Immortal just co from the Directorate?”
“Has the Old Sword Cultivator just erged from the houses of pleasure?”
The Old Sword Cultivator chuckled and said, “Naturally.”
“Shaless old man.”
Chen Changsheng shook his head. “This Shangjing City lacks enjoynt. After one night, I should be leaving.”
“Leaving so soon? Why not stay and enjoy a few more days?”
“I will return in the future.”
The Old Sword Cultivator sighed and shook his head. “What a pity…”
Though he addressed him as “revered Celestial Immortal,” he had already co to view this man as a friend. In these troubled tis, finding soone who shared one’s temperant was rare. That he was leaving so soon felt like a lost opportunity, which saddened the Old Sword Cultivator.
Chen Changsheng said, “If I return to Shangjing next ti, rember to offer good hospitality.”
“Naturally!”
The Old Sword Cultivator thought for a mont, then pulled out a talisman from his robe and handed it to Chen Changsheng.
“If the Celestial Immortal ever needs , activate this talisman. Within a thousand miles, I will sense your presence.”
“Well.”
Chen Changsheng put away the talisman. “At that ti, I will invite you for a drink.”
The Old Sword Cultivator smiled and nodded. “I truly do wish to taste the Celestial Immortal’s wine.”
Chen Changsheng gave a warm smile. He raised a hand. “Farewell.”
The Old Sword Cultivator nodded. Then he watched as Chen Changsheng raised two fingers. The flying sword strapped to his back floated into the air.
Chen Changsheng stepped onto it and, like a streak of light, soared away upon his sword.
That figure in a blue robe was beyond the mundane…
Not a Sword Immortal, yet profoundly like one.
“A Transcendent among Celestials…”
The Old Sword Cultivator’s lips curled into a grin. This Celestial Immortal truly is extraordinary, he mused. To have forged a connection through the sword… what a fortunate thing.
.
.
Chen Changsheng traveled by swordsight, crossing mountains, rivers, and the great rivers.
Before his eyes flowed the mighty rivers hurtling into the sea, an endless vista.
Yet Chen Changsheng was not drawn in by this magnificent scenery.
He returned to Autumn Moon Market. Compared to the vast rivers of Great Jing, Autumn Moon Market was but a tiny speck. Yet this place held many of Chen Changsheng’s mories.
Upon returning to Autumn Moon Market, Chen Changsheng went to the tavern run by Old Man Zhang.
Three years had passed. Xiaoliu had grown more mature. A thin mustache now graced the corners of his lips, and his clothes were no longer those of a re waiter.
Now, he was the Manager of the tavern.
Xiaoliu looked up and saw a gourd being held towards him.
The Green-Robed Gentleman said, “As usual, fill the gourd.”
Xiaoliu blinked, then smiled.
“You ca, sir.”
Chen Changsheng returned a warm smile and nodded.
Xiaoliu ushered Mr. Chen into the tavern. After bringing out the Autumn Moon Brew, he also set down two small plates of snacks.
Xiaoliu wasn’t as enthusiastically talkative as one might expect. He seed to be holding words back, unsure of how to voice them.
“Stop fussing. Sit,” Chen Changsheng said.
“Alright.”
Xiaoliu agreed and sat down.
He fidgeted nervously. After hesitating for a long while, he finally found his resolve. “Manager Zhang, he…”
Chen Changsheng took a sip of the Autumn Moon Brew. “I know.” Latest content published on Nove1Fire
Xiaoliu lowered his head. “In his later years, Manager had his leg ailnt healed by you. He passed from natural causes. It was a fitting end.”
“Did he leave any words for ?” Chen Changsheng asked.
Xiaoliu replied, “He asked to run the tavern well. Said not to close its doors. So that if you ever ca back, there’d still be wine ready.”
Chen Changsheng sighed. “Your Manager had a solitary fate. For most of his life, he walked it alone. Only in his twilight years did he find you, bringing him so joy to cherish. Do not betray that trust.”
Xiaoliu said, “Sir, I rember. My na is in the Ancestral Hall register. I bear the Zhang surna for life. I’m Zhang Xiaoliu.”
Chen Changsheng nodded upon hearing this. “Take to see your Manager.”
“Alright.”
Xiaoliu closed the tavern door and led the gentleman outside the market.
Old Man Zhang was buried on a hill outside Autumn Moon Market. He had said the view here was good; he could see the road leading into the market. That way, he’d see when Sir arrived.
Arriving at Old Man Zhang’s grave, the headstone read: Tomb of the Honored Father, Zhang Gong Wudi.
“Zhang Wudi.”
Chen Changsheng murmured, “What sort of na was that?”
Co to think of it, this was his first ti learning Old Man Zhang’s real na. He had never asked, always simply calling him “Old Man Zhang.”
Xiaoliu explained, “The manager used to say his family was small. His grandfather gave him this na hoping for more brothers and sisters. Sadly, he ended up the only one.”
“Is that so.”
Chen Changsheng gazed silently at the grave. He opened his gourd, walked forward, and drizzled the wine inside over the earth before the tombstone.
Xiaoliu had brought spirit money, incense, and candles. He burned them all in front of Old Man Zhang’s grave.
Chen Changsheng said nothing. He had co here simply to learn Old Man Zhang’s na.
Zhang Wudi.
Sotis fate works against one’s wishes. Hopes for a flourishing lineage can lead to a life of solitary hardship, ending without descendants of one’s own.
Chen Changsheng looked at that little mound of earth.
“Old friends fade away one after another… like leaves falling in the wind…”
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