Ze Tian Ji Chapter 128

Chapter 128 – Ten Thousand Strings of Cash Wrapped Around the Waist (II)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

The following conversation took place by the lake.

Tang Thirty-Six could faintly see iron-like black hairs on Xuanyuan Po’s right arm and asked, “Black bear?”

Xuanyuan Po glanced at him and knew that this question had been asked without malice. He replied, “Bear.”

Tang Thirty-Six went, “Oh, it really is a black bear.”

(TN: ‘Black bear’ can also mean ‘coward’.)

Xuanyuan Po seriously pondered the difference between a black bear and a bear and confirmed that he was being made fun of. He noted, “Tang Thirty-Two, you are not a good person.”

Tang Thirty-Six’s face turned somewhat unsightly. “I said before, don’t call me Tang Thirty-Two.”

Xuanyuan Po was very stubborn. “Tang Thirty-Two, didn’t you say that we should call you whatever rank of the Proclamation of Azure Sky you were?”

“That was for the sake of motivating myself.”

Tang Thirty-Six explained, at the same resolving himself to put everything on the line for the Grand Examination so that he could enter the top ten when the Proclamation of Azure Sky was next revised.

Xuanyuan Po said, “You also don’t like the name Tang Tang.”

Tang Thirty-Six explained, “It’s too much like a girl’s name.”

Xuanyuan Po’s gaze fell on Tang Thirty-Six’s chest and said, “If you weren’t too flat, a person with such a sharp and unkind mouth as yours would truly be easily mistaken for a woman.”

After saying this, he carried the half of a tree that he had chopped down and walked to the kitchen, paying no more attention to Tang Thirty-Six.

This boring conversation had ultimately been won by the demi-human youth.

As they were conversing, Chen Changsheng was swiftly walking in the nearby snow.

He walked very quickly, his course followed by a cold wind. He was naturally not taking a stroll, nor was he walking off his meal. He was cultivating. Although he had inexplicably crossed the pass of Purification, and true essence had begun to flow through his body, the problem of his meridians had still not been addressed. Fortunately, he had long since made preparations for this, and the progress that Luoluo and Xuanyuan Po had made was proof that his thinking was correct.

The difficulty lay in the fact that the amount of true essence he possessed was truly too small, and he did not dare risk setting ablaze the snowy plain again right before the Grand Examination. If he wanted to attain any sort of accomplishment in it, he needed to think of another way, like fully using the wondrous changes that had occurred in his body: he now possessed a strength greater than that of an ordinary demi-human, possessed an unimaginable speed and toughness.

In the end, he decided to place his hopes onto movement techniques, so he decided to continue his research on the Yeshi Step.

The Yeshi Step was a demon secret that was never transmitted to outsiders. He had gained some understanding of it through his reading of the Daoist Canon and could recite its several thousand positions. He had even taught Luoluo a simplified version of it that had shocked the entire audience during the fight with Guan Feibai. However, Guan Feibai’s sword had not been carrying true essence at that time. If he wanted to defeat such cultivators during the Grand Examination, the simplified Yeshi Step was far from enough.

The snowy ground was covered all over in his footprints. While they were still not covered by the snow, they formed all sorts of patterns, some simple and others complex. If the clouds in the sky were to disperse and people were to gaze up at the starry sky, they would probably be able to find the connection between these patterns and the multitudes of stars.

It was right at this moment that a carriage from the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education entered the Orthodox Academy. Priest Xin had come to pay a visit.

Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six were somewhat surprised. The application procedures for the Grand Examination had been completed a long time ago, all of it handled by Priest Xin. The Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education had even secretly sent the information for all the other applicants to the Orthodox Academy. Logically speaking, everything that should be done had been done and the Grand Examination was about to begin. What was he coming to the Orthodox Academy for? Was he not afraid of provoking criticism?

Jin Yulu, holding his teapot, shook his head at the two youths, thinking to himself, truly such good children, not even able to understand a matter like this.

Priest Xin’s stated purpose was that there had been an omission in the application and Chen Changsheng needed to take out the register and seal to confirm things once more.

After this matter was settled, Priest Xin did not immediately leave.

Chen Changsheng had Xuanyuan Po bring up a cup of good tea to express their gratitude.

Priest Xin took the tea, but did not drink it. He walked out of the library and stood in the snow next to the lake, gazing at the shore on the other side. He suddenly said, “Reaching the other shore truly requires a supreme intelligence.”

Upon finishing this melancholy statement, he returned the teacup to Xuanyuan Po’s hands, smiled at the youths, then boarded his carriage and left the Orthodox Academy.

Chen Changsheng and the other two were truly quite confused, mystified as to what Priest Xin had intended with this scene.

‘Other shore’ was a phrase belonging to Buddhism, but the Buddhist faith had faded into nothingness ages ago and was rarely mentioned by others. Was this sentence of Priest Xin’s a pure sigh of melancholy, or was there some deeper meaning? (TN: ‘Other shore’ can also refer to the Buddhist concept of paramita, meaning perfection.)

“This guy, when did he suddenly take a liking to voicing his deepest thought?” Tang Thirty-Six asked.

Jin Yulu could no longer restrain himself, cursing, “Fool, you can’t even tell that he’s so obviously leaking the questions to the test?”

“Eh?” Xuanyuan Po gaped, thinking to himself, where are the questions?

Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six glanced at each other, thinking, His Reverence’s ways of doing things is truly unreliable. On such an important matter, couldn’t he speak a little more clearly?

The Grand Examination was divided into a literary test, a martial test, and one-on-one matches. All the consideration the Bureau of Ecclesiastic Education showed for the Orthodox Academy had basically been for Chen Changsheng’s sake. Based on his specific circumstances, the literary test was not something worthy of concern, and the one-on-one matches relied on strength and had no questions. Thus, the question that Priest Xin had specifically come to divulge would most likely occur during the martial test.

“Crossing a lake?”

Tang Thirty-Six walked to the lake and stood on a rock that had been half-shattered by Xuanyuan Po, gazing at the other shore several dozen zhang away. Somewhat puzzled, he said, “This is very simple.”

“It’s pretty difficult for me to cross.” Xuanyuan Po then turned around to Chen Changsheng and added, “But to throw a stone across to the other side is very simple.”

Chen Changsheng understood what he meant, but did not reply. He fell silent for a while, then said, “I have to think about it.”

……

……

The tree that Xuanyuan Po had hacked down was too thick and very difficult to chop into firewood. In a rare sight, Jin Yulu’s interest was piqued. He took the half-tree and set it on fire, then suspended a black deer sent by Luoluo from the Li Palace over the fire. Roasting something like deer and eating it was a domineering act. As oil and fat streamed down from the roasting deer, the Orthodox Academy swiftly became engulfed in the fragrant scent of meat.

Xuanyuan Po stood by the roasting deer, waiting for the meat to cook, his eyes fixed in an unblinking stare. Tang Thirty-Six stood with knife and plate, occasionally gulping in anticipation. Only Chen Changsheng was not by the bonfire. Even though the Grand Examination was soon to begin, he did not relax in the slightest, but strictly continued his routine. How could he possibly eat something as unhealthy as roast deer?

He was still swiftly moving through the snow by the lake, borrowing the memories of his body to make the Yeshi Step an instinct. The question leaked by Priest Xin was not at all difficult for him. At present, he had at least three methods of crossing a lake, but using them would expose his secrets and would harm his chances in the one-on-one matches, so he was still thinking of other methods.

After some time, the deer was done roasting. Xuanyuan Po called across the lake to him and he waved back, indicating that he really didn’t want to eat any of it. He then saw Xuanyuan Po tear at the meat with his arms, Tang Thirty-Six cut at the meat with his knife, and Jin Yulu carry out a pot of good wine that he refused to share with the two youths.

Chen Changsheng shook his head, thinking to himself, what’s so good about wine and meat? …But the ox tongue had truly been delicious. As he thought about these insubstantial things, he climbed up the great banyan tree and stood at the tip of one of its thick branches. The snow had stopped, and he stared silently at the white roofs and black eaves of the capital, his hands on his waist, for a very long time.

There was probably a vast plain of snow outside the capital by now.

There was also a vast plain of snow in his own body.

Perhaps right beneath his palms.

That snow plain was entirely made of star radiance. At any moment, it could be converted into an incalculable amount of true essence.

Although he did not dare to touch this star radiance, its existence soothed his mind.

He was just like the wealthy young master who possessed a ridiculous amount of wealth. He only had a few pieces of silver ready to use, yet he did not dare untie the bundle carrying ten thousand taels of silver. A demon was also inside that bundle, and if he untied it, that demon would escape.

A normal person in his situation would probably have gone crazy by now, but he was still very calm.

To have was always better than to lack.

If ten thousand strings of cash were wrapped around his waist, even if he couldn’t spend it, it was still something worth being happy about.

He stood on the tree branch and looked upon the snow-covered capital, his heart happy.

Only the sealing of the well in New North Bridge made him somewhat concerned.

Just then, a white puff of smoke shot out of a distant cloud.

At the very head of this smoke was a pure white crane.

With several clear cries, the White Crane flapped its snow-white wings and landed on the tree branch, its weight causing the branch to slightly sink.

It had returned from the Longevity Sect in the south, carrying Xu Yourong’s letter with it.

Chen Changsheng remembered that it had been a very long time since he had written that letter to Xu Yourong and was somewhat confused as to why she had not written back for so long. He was also curious as to what she had written in this letter. Was it still that he should not misunderstand, that he should do his best, or was she giving him a silver banknote?

Fine, he admitted that this final scenario was too ill-intentioned; she would probably not do such a thing.

He took the letter from the White Crane’s body, opened it, and began to read. Then, he fell quiet for a long period of time.

In this letter, Xu Yourong mentioned the Ivy Festival, offering him her congratulations. She mentioned the Grand Examination, offering him her blessings. She also mentioned that because of some matters she needed to take care of in South Stream Temple, she could not return to the capital to attend the Grand Examination. In his letter, Chen Changsheng had requested a face-to-face interview, but she could not fulfill it at this time.

Lastly, she mentioned the White Crane, asking him just what he had done for the White Crane to treat him so amicably. She also told him to not misunderstand, she was just curious about the matter and didn’t mean anything else by it. She also said that she had heard that he wanted to take first rank of the first banner in the Grand Examination. It was not convenient for her to offer any evaluation on this, so she only wished that he do his best.

Very good.

‘Do not misunderstand’, ‘do your best’.

Both phrases were included.

Chen Changsheng shook his head, crumpled the letter into a ball and intended to toss it below into the cracks in the ice created by Xuanyuan Po. Unexpectedly, the White Crane closely stared at him, forcing him to put the paper ball into his bosom.

Thinking about the matter Xu Yourong asked about in the latter, he felt incredibly grateful towards the White Crane, and warmly rubbed its neck.

He suddenly remembered something and asked the White Crane, “Can you stay in the capital for a few days?”

……

……

The winter had just passed and spring had not even truly begun to return to the world. The branches peeking into the streets of the capital were still plum branches, not plum blossoms. The branches had only newborn daubs of green, no complete leaf in sight. In this period during which a haze of green enveloped the world like the oft-occurring morning fog, the Grand Examination began.