Chapter 14 – Xu Yourong
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In the present world, the Orthodoxy upheld the radiance of the Heavenly Tomes, unifying all under its beliefs. Because the Mausoleum of Books was located in the capital, its pulpit was also naturally based in the capital. Before the Great Zhou, the Popes had all been people of Shang. After the Shang fell and the Zhou was established, every Pope afterwards was necessarily a person of Zhou. This dynasty of the Central Plains which had been founded in the capital had on its own been very powerful, and with the additional protection of the Orthodoxy, it naturally became the center of the human world.
When comparing the Great Shang of the past to the Great Zhou that replaced it, there were far more powers on the southern part of the continent during the Great Zhou. The various sects and kingdoms all ruled their own regions and while they were rather loosely consolidated, the number of experts they possessed was not at all small. It even faintly exceeded the number of experts possessed by the Great Zhou. Amongst these powers, Holy Maiden Peak's South Stream Temple, the Longevity Sect, and the Qiushan clan were the most powerful.
After the bitter war between the humans and demons concluded, the powers of the south that had similarly made many sacrifices naturally wished to obtain statuses that they felt they should have. They believed that the Mausoleum of Books should be a sacred object held in common by the entire human world, not under the sole grasp of the Great Zhou. Similarly, the authority to interpret the Heavenly Tomes should not purely be for the Pope, who represented the Orthodoxy.
For this reason, the southern powers engaged in an unremitting struggle with all three emperors of the Great Zhou over the process and even name of the Grand Examination. Even the Orthodoxy splintered off a southern faction—although the southern faction was still under the Orthodoxy, it only revered the Pope as a spiritual leader, whereas day-to-day matters were handled by the Holy Maiden.
The Holy Maidens of the southern faction were naturally all supreme experts of surpassing cultivation. However, because the successive Holy Maidens had to balance the numerous powers of the south and did not have a powerful army backing them, their power and status was in reality inferior to that of the Pope in the north. But the Holy Maidens were still the most respected of the great figures of the south. Spiritually, they were equals with the Pope and could treat each other informally.
Because of the special status possessed by the Holy Maiden of the southern factions, the successive Holy Maidens had always been women of the south, a tradition unbroken for several thousand years. This lasted all the way until the present, when finally, a possible exception appeared.
The Holy Maidens of the south had all originated from South Stream Temple, and this was also why the mountain on which this temple had resided for countless years was called Holy Maiden Peak. At present, South Stream Temple had only one successor.
That girl was called Xu Yourong, the true reincarnation of the Heavenly Phoenix. Her talent in cultivating the Dao was without peer, and she was well-versed in the true meanings of the Daoist Canon. When she was twelve, she went to Holy Maiden Peak and was able to comprehend the genuine impressions of the Heavenly Tomes. All the elders of Holy Maiden Peak were shocked, and regarded her as a divine being. Ultimately, disregarding the fact that she was a person of Zhou, they announced to the world that they would be taking her in as the sole female disciple of South Stream Temple's inner sect. This signified that if nothing out of the ordinary were to occur, this girl called Xu Yourong would become the next Holy Maiden of the south, the religious leader that could stand on par with the Pope in the north!
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The night was deep, with multitudinous stars filling the sky. They seemed as if they would never move and also like they were moving at each and every moment, so solemn and serene that they enchanted the heart. Faint fog drifted about the dark peak in silence when suddenly, a clear and bright crane cry rang through the clouds. After a moment, a White Crane broke through the night sky and descended.
In the darkness, the White Crane was rendered almost unreal by the illumination of the stars, almost like it was made of paper, free from the slightest filth. The crane's cry was transmitted throughout the spacious and serene cliffs, breaking through the clouds and flying through. Perhaps for this reason, or perhaps merely because the time had come, the night gradually began to wane and a hint of white appeared on the eastern horizon. Just like that, dawn light abruptly appeared in the world.
The young girl sitting by the cliff untied the silk bag from the White Crane's body, took out the letter within, casually opened it, then began to calmly read. As she read the letter, her picturesquely slender brows would occasionally rise, but most of the time, she was very calm. Her bright eyes which reflected the slightly warm dawn light were like lakes. A hint of childishness still hung about her appearance, but no ignorance.
The dawn light gradually flourished. The south was very humid, so the fog also descended once more. When the rays of light, dispersed by the moisture, fell upon her face, they made it seem even gentler. Thus, although her features did not become more distinct, they did become more beautiful, so beautiful that she seemed suffused with a faint divinity.
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"That guy is very strange. He kept saying over and over that he wanted to end the engagement, yet for some inexplicable reason, he decided not to. I really don't know what he's playing at. I originally thought that it was because he felt embarrassed, so he deliberately said it, but afterwards, I felt that this was wrong, because when he said those words, he was very cool-headed without the slightest hint of anger.
"Nanny watched him for several days. I hear that this guy will wake up promptly before dawn at five every morning. He does everything strictly according to the rules, like some sort of blockhead. Moreover, he's obsessed with cleanliness, and whenever I hear about it, I always recall that sinister pervert you once told me told about, Young Lady, that makes people tremble in fear. Fine, Young Lady, I must admit, that guy is actually not ugly. When I was speaking with him, I found him quite lovable, making others want to get to know him. But that's even more frightening. After all, that was the first time I met him, don't you think?
"That guy probably did not tell anyone else about the engagement. I don't know whether it's because he's smart or he's stupid. But in any case, the family has been constantly sending people to keep an eye on him. Young Lady, I always feel that this guy is a sham, his schemes deep and his plots many. Given the present situation, if he continues to pester us this way, the master and madam are prepared to do something about it.
"Young Lady, I don't believe this guy's crimes are deserving of death, but when I think of that guy holding the marriage contract and looking at the estate with those cold eyes and self-assured appearance, I really hate him. And also…I hear that the Qiushan clan plans to come to the capital to propose next year. If that scoundrel were to make trouble at that time, what then?"
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The girl sat by the cliff, quietly reading the letter. The clothes draped over her shoulders fluttered in the wind while her black hair drifted about like threads of silk. As they drifted across her profile, a sternness was added to her pleasing and young beauty.
After reading the letter, she fell silent for a while, then mumbled to herself, "He really came to the capital?"
As she read the letter, the White Crane quietly waited at her side. Even when crouching, it was still half the height of a human. Upon seeing her close up the letter, the White Crane turned and took up from somewhere a brush. The brush tip had been dipped wet with ink, full but not overflowing. Where this ink had been produced was unknown, but it carried a delicate fragrance.
The girl smiled and caressed the White Crane's smooth and slender neck. She took the brush and intended to write a reply, but she was momentarily at a loss as to what to write.
She had been very close to her grandfather as a child. If her grandfather had not passed away, perhaps she would not have left the capital when she was twelve and come to South Stream Temple to seek the Dao. Even the White Crane by her side had been left to her by her grandfather. If this were any other task left by her grandfather, she would definitely have complied, but…an engagement was absolutely out of the question.
She remembered that the young Daoist boy from Xining Village was surnamed Chen, yes?
She slightly creased her brow. As she recalled those things she heard when she was young, she realized that she really didn't have much of an impression of this young Daoist boy.
She remembered that her grandfather had specially requested the current Pope to bless this marriage contract with his signature. Only the male side could end the engagement. Recalling the words in Shuang'er's letter, her slender brows slightly perked up. She silently thought, was that young Daoist boy such a hypocrite and scoundrel? She remembered that when she was small, she didn't feel like he was that sort of person.
She knew that many people in the capital, her father included, ardently hoped that she would represent the Great Zhou in a marriage of unification with the south and would definitely not allow this young Daoist surnamed Chen to affect all of this. There was even a high chance that they would kill him. As her thoughts rested on this point, she felt that this young Daoist was truly very foolish and very stupid. Did he really think that he could rely on his petty tricks and small craftiness to obtain even greater benefits?
As she thought about this, she became rather displeased. This was quite a rare emotion for her, but she didn't know whether it was because this young Daoist didn't understand the concept of self-preservation or if it was because…that young Daoist really did make other people feel annoyed—fine, no matter what that young Daoist became, this engagement must definitely be ended.
But…don't harm him.
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With a clear cry, the White Crane broke through the clouds, her two letters in tow. Sent off by the morning wind and with the morning light as its companion, it flew off towards the distant capital.
She placed the brush in a puddle to soak, stood up, and began making her way down the cliff, a jacket draped over her shoulders and her hands held behind her back.
Her appearance was still pure and childish, but her bearing was not ordinary. That was not to say that she was like Chen Changsheng, possessing a maturity and composure that far surpassed her age. Rather, she could be described as possessing an imposing manner. She was a young girl with a petite body, but when she stood on the cliff and was caressed by the morning wind, she gave off the impression of the fathomless depths of the sea or a lofty mountain that soared into the heavens.
Fathomless depths and lofty mountains were normally terms used to describe grandmasters that had lived for several hundred years.
She was only fourteen this year, but she could be matched with this description.
The morning wind continued to caress her, ruffling the jacket draped over her shoulder and the black hair hanging over her shoulder. Her hair drifted past her young and beautiful cheeks, carrying the hint of a smile with it.
She only needed five breaths' worth of time to completely forget about that letter, forget about all external things. Only tranquility remained, thus her smile.
With her one smile in the spring, all the flowers in the mountains bloomed.
Countless birds of all sorts flew up, their clear cries ringing out without end. There were even three Blue Luans amongst them.
(TN: The Blue Luan is a mythical bird related to the Phoenix.)
All the birds had come to pay homage.
(TN: The Phoenix is known as the king of birds in Chinese mythology.)
She was the sole young Phoenix of the human world.
She was the next Holy Maiden of the south.
She was first-ranked on the Proclamation of Azure Sky.
She was Xu Yourong.
She was still innocent, but not a mischievous sort of innocence, rather a guiltless one.
Her smile was brightly colored, and this wasn't a sort of emotion, but the radiance of spring.
She did not want to care about the people and matters of the world. Those things that people believed to be related to her truthfully had no relation to her at all, such as the engagement that she was on the verge of forgetting, or even Qiushan Jun.
She would admit that Senior Brother Qiushan Jun was truly very perfect, the ideal companion in the eyes of all, but what did that have to do with her?
All of it was very good, very good, but she wanted none of it.
Of course, that young Daoist didn't even need to be considered.
What she wanted to do was to look over this cliff, enjoy the snow, listen to the rain, pick herbs, and read, read, and read.
Books contained the Great Dao, and one book was enough to win against love countless times.
She had offered her heart and soul to the Dao; who could sway her mind?
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Chen Changsheng departed the inn, heading towards the school that was second-to-last on the list his master had provided him.
He really wished to know just what sort of methods that Young Lady Xu would use to make him fail this time.
Of course, even if he failed once more, he would still not be swayed.
What he had done ever since he was a child was to watch the temple, sweep the snow, shelter from the rain, eat medicine, and read, read, and read again and again.
Books contained the Great Dao, and one book was enough to win against one thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers.
He had devoted his heart and soul to seek the Dao; who could hold fast his footsteps?